After Jiang Ning left the Prime Minister's Mansion that day, Nangong Muyan lay motionless on her bed for hours, until Nangong Ya entered the room with Luo Siyi.
Luo Siyi sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes red-rimmed. She gently caressed Nangong Muyan's face, calling her "Yan'er" without saying much else.
Nangong Ya stood by the bed, his face dark with worry, his brows so tightly furrowed that the crease between them could have trapped a fly.
"Was it the Prince of Rui?" Nangong Ya asked gravely.
"No," Nangong Muyan replied, her eyes flashing with obvious disgust.
Nangong Ya let out a long sigh of relief, his expression softening slightly as he pulled up a stool and sat by the bed.
"Then who was it?" he asked again.
Nangong Muyan closed her eyes, clearly unwilling to answer.
"At this point, beating or scolding you won't change anything," Nangong Ya said, his voice heavy with resignation. "I just want you to tell me who the father of this child is..."
Nangong Muyan remained silent. Luo Siyi began to sob, "Yan'er, were you forced? It wasn't voluntary, was it? Tell your father. If someone hurt you, he'll surely seek justice for you!"
"Your mother is right!" Nangong Ya's hands clenched and unclenched on his knees, his tone less severe. "Yan'er, if you were forced, tell me. I'll have that person torn to pieces!"
"Nobody forced me," Nangong Muyan finally spoke, intending to take all the blame to stop their questions. "On the contrary, I was overcome with lust. I used my status as the Prime Minister's daughter to coerce him into sleeping with me. It wasn't his fault."
"You... you... you!" Nangong Ya exploded with rage, leaping to his feet and raising his hand to slap Nangong Muyan.
"Husband!" Luo Siyi threw herself over Nangong Muyan, crying out, "What's done is done. What good will beating her do? Besides, she's carrying a child. How can you be so heartless? We should think of a solution instead..."
"Siyi, move aside. This shameless creature needs to be taught a lesson. If I don't, I'll be letting down the ancestors of the Nangong Family!" Nangong Ya reached out to pull Luo Siyi away, but the protective mother's anger flared.
"Nangong Ya, 'Failure to teach is the father's fault!' Yes, Yan'er made a mistake, but as her father, are you completely blameless? You're the one truly letting down the Nangong Family ancestors!"
Hearing his usually gentle wife's rebuke, Nangong Ya's hand froze in mid-air. A look of defeat crossed his face, and after a moment, he slumped back onto the stool, silent.
Nangong Muyan, watching her father being scolded, had just mentally cheered "Go, Mom!" when Luo Siyi turned back to her, staring into her eyes. "Yan'er, tell me, who is he?"
"Mom, what good would it do to tell you? You're not planning to have him arrested and forced to marry me, are you?"
Nangong Muyan had spoken offhandedly, but seeing Luo Siyi's serious expression, she realized she'd guessed correctly.
"Mom, please don't!" Nangong Muyan panicked, hurrying to dissuade Luo Siyi. "Let's not ruin his life, okay? You don't know how much he hates me. Making me marry him would be..."
Nangong Muyan's words trailed off as Luo Siyi slowly stood up. Before either Nangong Muyan or Nangong Ya could react, she pulled out her hairpin and pressed it against her own throat.
"Siyi! What are you doing?" Nangong Ya's eyes bulged, trying to stop Luo Siyi, but she shouted, "Don't touch me!"
"Mom!" Nangong Muyan sat up abruptly, alarmed. "What are you doing? We can talk about this. Don't resort to—"
The silver hairpin pierced the skin, and a streak of bright red blood trickled down Luo Siyi's fair neck, staining her sky-blue collar a dark color. The sight was unbearable to Nangong Muyan.
"It's Zhou Yi!" Nangong Muyan surrendered. "The child is Zhou Yi's."
"Who is Zhou Yi?" Luo Siyi didn't lower the hairpin.
"I... I don't know." Nangong Muyan told the truth. She had only met Zhou Yi twice before sleeping with him—once when she knocked him down while climbing over the wall at Jiang Ning's house, and once when she knocked him out and tied him up in an abandoned courtyard. She genuinely knew nothing about Zhou Yi's identity.
But Luo Siyi thought Nangong Muyan was trying to hide something again. Her wrist moved, about to push the pin deeper. Nangong Muyan was on the verge of tears. "Mom, I swear I'm not lying to you. I really don't know!"
"You only knew his name and you still..." Luo Siyi was incredulous.
"I... I..." Nangong Muyan knew she needed a plausible reason. Gritting her teeth, she said, "It was love at first sight! I fell head over heels for him the moment I saw him! I was so bewitched, I didn't ask anything else, just his name!"
Luo Siyi and Nangong Ya's faces froze simultaneously. They both wondered if this Zhou Yi might be some kind of demon to have enchanted their daughter so thoroughly.
"Then draw his portrait. I'll send people to find him," Nangong Ya said, looking at Nangong Muyan with a complex expression.
Nangong Muyan hesitated, and Luo Siyi raised her chin, pushing the hairpin back into the wound she had just made. "Yan'er, do you want to watch your mother die in front of you?"
Nangong Muyan immediately capitulated. "I'll draw! I'll draw right now!"
She got out of bed and walked to the table, took out a piece of paper and laid it out. Nangong Ya volunteered to help grind the ink, but she quickly refused, "No need, I'll use eyebrow pencil."
She only knew how to sketch, not paint with a brush.
Nangong Muyan made a few quick strokes with the eyebrow pencil, outlining Zhou Yi's features, then handed it to Nangong Ya.
Nangong Ya took the drawing and looked at it. The man in the picture had sharp features and a three-dimensional face, barely qualifying as a "handsome young man," but he was far from the breathtakingly beautiful man Nangong Ya had imagined.
"You fell in love at first sight with someone who looks like this?" Nangong Ya was deeply perplexed and shocked. "I was better looking than him when I was young. Your taste—"
"Shut up!" Luo Siyi threw down the hairpin and shouted at Nangong Ya. "Why are you still talking nonsense? Go arrange for people to find him!"
The once-powerful minister meekly closed his mouth and left the room with the drawing.
After Nangong Ya left, Nangong Muyan looked at the frosty-faced Luo Siyi and smiled ingratiatingly. "Mom, don't be angry. You should go find Li Jiu to treat your wound. It would be a shame if it leaves a scar."
Luo Siyi gave Nangong Muyan a long, meaningful look. "Behave yourself from now on. Don't do anything improper again."
"I promise! If I misbehave again, I'm a turtle's egg!" Nangong Muyan raised three fingers without hesitation, as if taking an oath.
In the end, Luo Siyi said nothing more. She gave Nangong Muyan one last profound look before leaving.
"Ah... there goes my gentle mother..." Nangong Muyan sighed deeply, lying back down on the bed, feeling utterly exhausted both physically and mentally.
The more Nangong Muyan thought about it, the worse she felt. Thinking of the one who had started all this, she wished she could drag Yuwen Xuan out of his coffin and whip his corpse.
