Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 147

The onlookers trembled with excitement, their eyes shining brightly. Could there be some juicy gossip here?

Sheng Mingzhu was so furious her vision darkened, and she swayed unsteadily, only kept from fainting by Jixue’s support.

“You wild girl! What nonsense are you spouting?”

It took Murong Dan a moment to process Huang Yaning’s implication.

She was both horrified and enraged. If this matter wasn’t cleared up today and word reached the elders at home, the princess would surely beat her to death!

Right now, she felt like killing someone! She lunged at Huang Yaning but was deftly dodged.

“Don’t you dare slander me! When did I ever say the Master and the Divine Physician bullied your sixth sister?”

Huang Yaning waved a handkerchief in the air, her brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly.

“Fourth Young Miss, if you’re talking, just talk. Must you spray spit everywhere? Are you trying to disgust me to death—”

“You— you— I’ll kill you—”

Murong Dan’s face turned the color of pig liver. She still wanted to attack Huang Yaning but was held back firmly by her maidservant, left to swing her arms uselessly in the air.

“My goodness, Fourth Young Miss, have you gone mad? You look absolutely terrifying right now—”

Huang Yaning patted her chest dramatically, a mischievous glint in her eye.

After years of frequent verbal battles, Huang Yaning had gained ample experience in infuriating people.

Her experience could be summarized as: never let the opponent control the pace.

If Murong Dan wanted to reason with her, she would deliberately be unreasonable. That alone was enough to drive Murong Dan insane.

And since Sheng Mingzhu had been pretending to be blind and deaf earlier, she would drag Sheng Mingzhu into the mess, to see if she could continue her act.

“Seventh Sister—” a heartbroken cry rang out.

Sheng Mingzhu had finally recovered enough to speak. Her face was etched with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks.

At this moment, she exuded a fragile kind of beauty, making the male onlookers wear expressions of pity.

“Master treats me like his own child, and Senior Brother cares for me like an elder brother. Their character is well-known to everyone at White Horse Temple.

“How could you… slander them so…

“Sister, do you still resent me? Do you want to drive me to my death… If you want my life, sister, you only need to say the word. Why must you smear my master and senior brother…

“If I cause Master and Senior Brother to bear such disgrace, I might as well die right now…”

As she spoke, she made as if to dash herself against the wall, but was tightly held back by Jixue.

“Young Lady, please don’t do anything foolish. These are baseless accusations. So many esteemed monks and noble guests at White Horse Temple can testify for you. You must not harm yourself over a few words…”

With that, mistress and servant clung to each other and wept, appearing utterly wronged and pitiful.

Some men in the crowd couldn’t help but speak up: “We believe you, Sixth Young Lady Sheng—”

Others chimed in in agreement.

“Seventh Young Lady Sheng, everyone knows Master Dale’s noble character and how he cherishes his disciples.

“Divine Physician Lin dotes on Mingzhu like his own younger sister. I hope you will refrain from making irresponsible remarks that lead to misunderstandings.”

Murong Yan spoke with a stern face, her tone righteous and solemn.

She had to admit that this wild girl from the Sheng family was sharp-tongued and formidable.

Huang Yaning looked at Murong Yan with feigned confusion.

“County Princess, it was your younger sister who just said my sixth sister had a difficult life at White Horse Temple.

“She also said the County Princess found my sixth sister pitiable, which is why you spoke up for her—

“Master Dale is a highly respected monk of his generation, and Divine Physician Lin is also an eminent figure. How could my sixth sister, being their disciple and junior sister, possibly have a difficult life?

“In what way could she be pitiable?

“So, when I heard the Fourth Young Lady say my sixth sister was pitiable, I assumed the Master and the others had bullied her. That’s where the misunderstanding came from—”

“You wild girl— how dare you—”

Upon hearing the blame being shifted to her, Murong Dan was once again furious.

But when her elder sister shot her a warning glance, she instantly shut her mouth, not daring to speak further.

“Since it was a misunderstanding, it’s good that it’s cleared up now.

“However, I hope Seventh Young Lady Sheng will not misunderstand Master Dale and Divine Physician Lin in the future. My younger sister only felt some pity upon hearing that Mingzhu has not received familial affection these past few years.”

Huang Yaning smiled, her gaze falling on Sheng Mingzhu, who was still covering her face with a handkerchief and crying.

“Sixth Sister, please stop crying!

“It was all a misunderstanding! Speaking of which, Sixth Sister, you are truly fortunate! By a twist of fate, you became a young lady of the Sheng family right after birth, and later, the beloved disciple of Master Dale—

“Sixth Sister receives boundless affection wherever you go. That’s why, knowing you were doing very well at White Horse Temple, our parents felt quite at ease and perhaps paid you a bit less attention—

“If there has been any negligence from our parents towards you these past few years, I hope Sixth Sister will not hold it against them…

“The truth is, several years ago I was dark, skinny, and withered. Perhaps seeing how pitiful I was, our parents showed me a bit more affection in recent years—”

Huang Yaning’s words served to defend Minmin, to prevent outsiders from labeling the mistress of the house as harsh.

Her words also reminded the crowd of the hardships she had endured in the past. Many felt that although this Seventh Young Lady Sheng had been raised for several years now, she only had a bit more flesh on her face and her skin was still rather dark. For an official’s daughter to remain like this was indeed pitiable.

Sheng Mingzhu also found it inappropriate to continue crying. She wiped her tears, opened her red-rimmed eyes, and spoke softly and weakly.

“My family has treated me extremely well. I have never blamed them. I only hope that in the future, sister, you will not say things that cause misunderstandings about my master and senior brother—”

“Of course,” Huang Yaning replied readily, then asked with a beaming smile.

“But speaking of misunderstandings, I know that several of our brothers at home sent carts of gifts to White Horse Temple for you during every festival, Sixth Sister—

“Over these five years, that must add up to at least a dozen carts of presents. Did Sixth Sister not receive them?

“If you didn’t, it must be because those wicked servants embezzled them! I’ll have them sent to the authorities for a thorough investigation as soon as I return—”

Sheng Mingzhu’s expression froze for an instant, revealing a smile uglier than a cry.

“You jest, sister. I received all those gifts—”

Huang Yaning put on an expression of sudden understanding. “So you did receive them all, Sixth Sister! Then why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

Sheng Mingzhu was so angry a mouthful of blood surged to her throat, nearly making her spit it out.

“Pfft—” someone in the crowd couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

The atmosphere shifted from the previous tragic misery to something more light-hearted and humorous.

“Since you didn’t speak up earlier, Sixth Sister, I actually thought you really hadn’t received a single thing from home these past few years—” Huang Yaning added.

“It’s truly not some blind and heartless person spreading a pack of lies, is it? If others heard it, they might genuinely think the family mistreated you, Sixth Sister. Wouldn’t that tarnish Father and Mother’s reputation then—

“I hope that in the future, if you hear such nonsense, you will also clarify things for our parents, to prevent people from getting the wrong idea!”