Mu Hanyan, accompanied by Huayue and Zirong, went directly to the northern part of the city and stood on the corner of the street, gazing at a tavern in the distance. This unassuming tavern actually concealed a realm of its own depths. And the real owner behind this tavern was none other than one of the older aristocratic families in Heishi City, the Zhou Family.
The true masterminds behind the plot to frame her for assaulting the Fourth Miss Zhao were actually the Zhao Family and the Zhou Family, along with a few other minor families. Mu Cheng was merely a pawn. Even if it was later discovered that Mu Hanyan had been wronged, the one to shoulder the blame would still be Mu Cheng. Because Fourth Miss Zhao was the victim, and moreover, this woman was truly exceptional.
Fourth Miss Zhao always appeared shy and timid in front of others, often on the verge of tears, giving the impression that she was being bullied by others. Many daughters of aristocratic families had been fooled by her act; before they could do anything, she would already be crying out of self-pity and then, as if asking for mercy, would tell others that it was not their fault and that it was all her own problem. This only made others feel even more sympathetic, lamenting that Fourth Miss Zhao was so kind-hearted to not blame anyone despite her own troubles. Look at how masterfully she uses these bitchy tactics. Therefore, in Heishi City, Fourth Miss Zhao truly had no female friends; all her associates were men.
To be schemed against by such a woman was indeed enough to make Mu Hanyan sick to her stomach. Therefore, today she really needed to settle this account once and for all.
"Huayue, I want you to do this..." Turning around, Mu Hanyan began to give her instructions to Huayue. After listening, Huayue nodded in agreement, her eyes resolute.
"Zirong, follow me." After speaking to Zirong, Mu Hanyan looked around at the streets, where the day was already well advanced and the number of people was increasing. She believed that the upcoming show would be extremely exciting.
...
Inside a hall in the back courtyard of the tavern.
Fourth Miss Zhao’s cheeks were slightly red as she drank her second cup of wine. She wouldn’t normally drink this early, but she had been very happy lately, especially today, since they had agreed on their next moves.
"My grandfather has already coordinated with the various aristocratic families. In the next two days, we will go to the City Lord’s Mansion to seek justice. When the time is right, we will join forces to challenge. I’m curious to see how the City Lord will deal with this. Having such a playboy and foolish son, he indeed has earned quite the fortune across several lifetimes, haha. Soon enough, there will be a new City Lord." The young man laughing proudly was the second young master of the Zhou Family, Zhou Qi. Zhou Qi was cunning and sly, always fond of using dark and dirty tricks to achieve his goals. Zhou Qi’s father was not fond of him, but, regrettably, the Zhou Family Patriarch—Zhou Qi’s grandfather—liked him a lot. He always believed that the Zhou Family would shine because of Zhou Qi, whose underhanded methods were described by the Zhou Family Patriarch as a great person not sweating the small stuff.
"When your grandfather becomes the City Lord, you will have made a great contribution. You mustn’t forget who I am," said Fourth Miss Zhao with flushed cheeks and affectionate eyes to Zhou Qi.
"How could I forget, my confidante? You will be my lawfully wedded wife." Zhou Qi laughed out loud, his laughter light-hearted. But in his heart, he scoffed at the thought of marrying this woman. With a misleading outward appearance and a bitchy attitude that reached the skies, bringing her home would surely disrupt his household’s peace. He preferred gentle and dignified women. Just because he enjoyed using unscrupulous means to his ends, didn’t mean he appreciated such a dark-hearted and poisonous woman. It seemed that on this point, Zhou Qi was quite self-aware.