In fact, that was not the truth.
He had unearthed something else in his investigation. Mu Sheng, who had gone to great lengths to find her after she had walked out of his life, even mobilized the army. He was hell-bent on tracing the whereabouts of his adopted daughter.
His order was: I want to see Mu Qingcheng alive, but kill off her children. They are b*stards that must be eradicated.
The Mu family would not acknowledge illegitimate offspring.
She was trying to escape from his men when she met that fatal accident.
There was an old belief: Beautiful women did not have long lives.
As for her two children, they were lost without a trace; their bodies could not even be found at the site of the accident.
When the old man came to know of her untimely death, he was utterly heartbroken from devastation. Her death was a big blow to him, and he was sickly for the next five years. He was bedridden and often lost in a maudlin trance.
The moment he recovered from all that, he realized that he could find her two kids to make amends for the loss of her.
That led into Mu Wanrou being mistakenly adopted by him a decade and a half ago. He held a special delight for this girl and poured his love and attention on to her the way he wanted to do so for Mu Qingcheng.
His love for her was not that straightforward, though.
When Mu Yazhe was still a young boy, he passed by the hall once and chanced upon the scene of Mu Wanrou taking a siesta on the couch and his grandfather sitting beside her with eyes condensed on her face. Occasionally, he would brush aside her out-of-place fringe, and his wrinkly hand would caress her cheeks.
It was as if he had caught a glimpse of Mu Qingcheng in Mu Wanrou.
The tender emotion on his face was accompanied by a twisted sense of love.
Lowering his head, the old man kissed the young girl on the lips…
Mu Yazhe knew, deep down, that his grandfather created this marriage arrangement because he was projecting his obsession and lovesickness for Mu Qingcheng onto Mu Wanrou.
He was not particular about his marriage arrangement in the past. It was a mere formality to him that he needed to go through, so any woman would do for him.
He had his thoughts and fixation now, however.
He was adamant about breaking off this engagement.
The young man refused to look at his grandfather’s angry face as he slowly got off his seat. With his long and lean frame, he snorted smilingly. “Grandpa, I don’t care about what you think. I’ve made up my mind, anyway; I’ll find a date for a family meeting to make this announcement.”
“How dare you?!” Mu Sheng hobbled on his walking stick and stood up. The wrinkled hand that held the cane shook as he stared furiously at his grandson. “As long as I am around, your marriage arrangement remains valid! I will never agree to breaking off this engagement! I order you to take back your words now!”
The man only replied, “I’m unable to obey your order this time. Sorry.”
With that, he walked toward the stairs.
Mu Sheng was enraged beyond words.
This fellow was out to resist his will until the very end!
For a woman from the entertainment circle, he actually dared to defy his order. In a moment of extreme anger and shock, he vehemently threw the walking cane in his hand at his grandson’s back.
There was a popping sound.
The incense wooden cane landed heavily on Mu Yazhe’s back.
The man stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to face his grandfather; his eyes were full of disdain and chill.
The alarmed Mu Wanrou saw the tense face-off between the pair and hastily went up to support the angry old man who could not stop shaking.
The old man pushed her aside and chased up to his grandson. Pointing at his nose, he berated, “Unfilial! I tell you this; if you dare to cancel the engagement, you’ll lose your inheritance in the Mu family!”