Chapter 164 Yuyan in Trouble

Mu Yuyan seemed to have been startled awake. Her lifeless eyes shifted to Yu Youwei. After a moment of bewilderment, she suddenly seemed to recognize her older female cousin. Tears gushed wildly from her eyes, and a heart-rending, piercing cry burst from the depths of her chest: "Sister Wei!" Her voice was so hoarse it was barely recognizable.

Blood foam trickled from the corners of her mouth, followed by another fit of violent coughing that caused her body to shake even more intensely. Madam Yu the Fourth personally wrung out a warm cloth to wipe her face, but before she could even touch her, Mu Yuyan let out a shrill scream: "No! No! No!" Her body curled up tighter, burying herself into her older cousin's embrace like a frightened kitten.

Madam Yu the Fourth hastily stepped back, standing to the side to wipe away her tears. This poor girl had suffered the same fate as her own Shuang'er, and perhaps even more tragically. It was highly likely she had been violated by multiple men. Her heart ached as if it were being pierced by knives.

Back then, Shuang'er had only known how to cry, refusing to answer any questions while hugging her knees and shivering in the corner of the bed.

Back then, Shuang'er must have been just as terrified as Mu Yuyan. What had she, as a mother, done then? Instead of holding Shuang'er like Yu Youwei was doing, she had simply sat on the edge of the bed and cried blindly. Later, when the Ling family came, she had not asked for Shuang'er's opinion before agreeing to the Ling family's marriage proposal.

Back then, Shuang'er had not objected. Perhaps Shuang'er had simply been unable to speak at all, yet she had mistaken Shuang'er's silence for consent. Standing by the bedside and looking down at Shuang'er, she had said, "There now, the marriage is settled, and no one will gossip about you anymore." Just how cold-blooded had she been as a mother to remain so dense and fail to sense the trauma inflicted upon her daughter's body and mind?

Her hatred for that beast Ling Yanfeng had never burned as fiercely as it did right now. Madam Yu the Fourth also felt fortunate that Shuang'er still had a younger sister—even though they had never met, she was able to step forward at Shuang'er's most helpless and painful moment, rescuing her and granting her a new lease on life. "Tianming, is it because you were worried about the two of us that you specifically left Youwei behind to protect us?" she murmured infatuatedly, crystal-clear tears rolling down her autumn-water-like eyes.

"It's all right, Sister Wei is here..." Not knowing what else to say, Yu Youwei also wanted to hug her cousin and weep bitterly, but the raging fire of fury burning in her chest had dried up the fluids within her. Even her blood felt as though it were being scorched away, giving her the sensation that her body was about to explode.

"They, they..." After forcing out four barely distinguishable words, Mu Yuyan burst into another heart-rending howl.

Driving Madam Yu the Fourth and the maidservants out, Yu Youwei carried her cousin into the washroom to cleanse her body.

The young body, not yet fully matured, was covered in black and blue bruises, and the injuries in her private parts were horrifying to behold. What kind of beast could commit such an outrageous and heinous act? Possessing the memories of her past life, she could tell at a glance what kind of torment her cousin had suffered, filling her with an impulse to destroy everything in existence.

After applying medicine to her cousin, she placed her on the brick-bed and tucked her in with a quilt. Once Mu Youwei had calmed down somewhat, Yu Youwei asked, "Is there anything you want to tell Sister Wei?"

"I don't know." Mu Yuyan shook her head violently, her gaze wild and confused.

Unwilling to force her cousin to recall those humiliating moments, Yu Youwei did not press further. After standing guard until she fell asleep, she walked outside. Instructing the maids to keep a close eye on Mu Yuyan, she said to Madam Yu the Fourth, who was still waiting under the eaves, "Thank you for notifying me."

"Don't be so formal." Looking at her stepdaughter's calm face, which lacked even a trace of expression, Madam Yu the Fourth sighed and said, "The poor girl was screaming incessantly when the Mu family sent her over. She screamed until her voice bled. We placed her on the brick-bed and everyone left before she finally quieted down."

"Where are the people who brought her here?" Her voice was flat and devoid of inflection, and Yu Youwei paid no heed to the fact that her tone when speaking to her stepmother bordered on an interrogation.

Clearly, Madam Yu the Fourth did not find anything amiss and answered honestly, "In the front courtyard guest room."

"I'll go take a look." With those words, Yu Youwei turned and strode away.

Madam Yu the Fourth followed silently behind her.

However, the members of the Mu family who had brought Mu Yuyan had left without saying goodbye.

"How could they have just left!" Yu Youwei was so furious she almost choked the servant who delivered the report. Rolling his eyes in terror, the unlucky fellow was tossed aside, collapsing onto the floor like a sack of grain.

"I have seen those people and can draw their likenesses," Madam Yu the Fourth offered proactively. Although her cultivation talent was not particularly exceptional, she was proficient in all the traditional arts—qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Soon, she sketched out the four men who had carried Mu Yuyan.

Carrying the portraits to the Myriad Phenomena Tower, Yu Youwei grabbed Baili Feiyan, who was moonlighting as a shop assistant, by the collar. With fire spewing from her eyes, she barked, "Find these four people for me! Immediately!"

"Well, well, what on earth has driven our young mistress Yu into such a rampage?" Baili Feiyan said with a sarcastic drawl. Truth be told, she rarely saw the Poisonous Lady in such a near-loss-of-control state, and she wouldn't mind stoking the flames even higher.

Realizing she could hardly announce in public that her cousin had been gang-raped, Yu Youwei roared, "Another word of nonsense and I'll burn down your Myriad Phenomena Tower!"

Baili Feiyan shrugged indifferently and said, "Go ahead and burn it. Anyway, the Ning family is wealthy enough to afford the compensation."

"Fei, stop messing around!" Baili Yang appeared at the top of the stairs. "What is going on? Come up and talk."

Pushing Baili Feiyan aside, Yu Youwei flashed up the stairs, handed the four portraits to Baili Yang, and said in a chilling voice, "I want to find these four people immediately, and I'd prefer to know their current whereabouts."

"You go sit down at the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion, and I'll be right back." Baili Yang took the portraits and left.

Since it was inconvenient for her to follow, Yu Youwei could only go to the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion to sit and wait. Baili Feiyan personally brought in a pot of tea, poured a cup of fragrant spirit tea, and placed it before her, but Yu Youwei remained motionless like a petrified statue.

"What on earth is the matter?" Baili Feiyan asked in a cooing, affected voice.

Remaining silent and unmoving, Yu Youwei felt as though boiling oil was being poured over her heart at that moment, accompanied by a wicked urge to slap the irritating fly buzzing before her eyes.

"Fine, go ahead and space out by yourself." Stroking the bridge of her nose in boredom, Baili Feiyan decided to head to the All-Knowing Pavilion to see what her brother-in-law could possibly dig up.

Ignoring Baili Feiyan, Yu Youwei sat alone. It felt as though a century had passed before that "fly" flew back again, speaking in a tone even more frantic than her own: "Did something happen to little sister Yuyan?"

"Why are you howling?!" Roaring in response, Yu Youwei shifted her gaze to Baili Yang, who had entered the room right behind her. "Brother Yang, have you found anything?"

Baili Yang nodded. "The time was too short, so the details aren't comprehensive enough. I only know that those four individuals left the Imperial Capital at noon today in the company of Mu Yulin. Half an hour ago, they carried a woman into the Yu residence from the East Gate of the Imperial Capital. They had previously told people on the street that the woman was their eldest miss, Mu Yuyan."

Pushing aside the thoughts driving her mad, Yu Youwei concentrated her mind: Mu Yulin left the Imperial Capital at noon—was he driven away by the Ninth Prince, or did he leave of his own accord? Did Yuyan's encounter have anything to do with Mu Yulin at all?

"The rumors about little sister Yuyan are spreading through the Imperial Capital again," Baili Feiyan said through gritted teeth. "If I ever catch the scum spreading those rumors, I'll definitely grind their bones to dust."

"Do you know where they went?" Yu Youwei asked coldly, a murderous intent surging deep within her unfathomable eyes.