Chapter 38 – Seeking Help: May I Ask What Brilliant Strategy You Have, Miss Yan?
Upon hearing that voice, Mu Qing immediately felt something was wrong.
Wasn’t that her cousin Yan Hong?
And what was even more baffling—didn’t this girl always call her “Cousin Sister”? Since when did it become “Ah Jie”?
When something deviates from the norm, it’s usually suspicious—especially when it came to this cousin of hers. If she came looking for Mu Qing out of nowhere, there was definitely trouble.
And how did she even get in here?
Baihe Academy had strict rules explicitly forbidding female visitors.
Mu Qing’s mind was swamped with questions, but her cousin was never the type to keep her waiting long.
Sure enough, just as she put down her pen, Yan Hong burst through the door in a flurry.
Mu Qing was already a little annoyed, but knowing her cousin’s personality, she didn’t bother saying much. She was just about to ask what had happened, but the moment she looked up, she was stunned.
Yan Hong was wearing men’s clothing.
But her figure was much more exaggerated than Mu Qing’s. The moment she put on that outfit, it looked glaringly mismatched and utterly unconvincing.
What made it worse—she had come in crying.
Her complexion was naturally fair, and her looks leaned toward the seductive and sultry type. So right now, she practically had the words “girl dressed as a boy” written across her face.
Mu Qing had no idea how she managed to get in.
Or had Baihe Academy suddenly changed its rules—now allowing women inside as long as they wore men’s clothes?
Mu Qing watched her cousin sobbing like a rain-drenched pear blossom and felt absolutely nothing.
Because she knew very well—with both Yan Hong and Liu Feng’s personalities, this kind of drama was bound to happen from the moment they got married.
She just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon—it had only been, what, a day since they left the Mu family residence in Tongzhou and arrived at Baihe Academy?
And already something had blown up?
Seeing her cousin sobbing in her arms without a word, Mu Qing was exasperated. She could only ask, “Hong’er, what happened now? Who made you upset?”
The moment she spoke, Yan Hong cried even harder.
But after years of growing up together, Yan Hong knew Mu Qing’s temperament well. She sobbed for a bit longer, but before Mu Qing completely lost her patience, she finally began to explain between sniffles.
As expected—it was about Liu Feng.
Clearly, Liu Feng had quite an eventful day yesterday.
Not only had he shared a delightful little journey with Miss Yanran, but he had also just so happened to run into his newlywed wife, Miss Yan…
Though Yan Hong’s crying made her storytelling disjointed and hard to follow, it didn’t stop Mu Qing from piecing together the full picture almost instantly.
Sure enough, after Liu Feng ran his mouth and went chasing after Miss Yanran again, it was no surprise he got smacked in the face.
That slap on the left side of his face had been delivered by Miss Yanran herself.
And as luck would have it, Yan Hong had been nearby doing some shopping—for items to furnish her and Liu Feng’s new home.
She had been in high spirits, enjoying the process… until she spotted her freshly wedded husband on the street, tugging and arguing with a stunningly dressed woman.
Fury erupted inside her, and she was just about to rush up and confront him—only to witness Miss Yanran slap Liu Feng hard across the face…
And that moment froze her in place.
She stood there, stunned. But Miss Yanran certainly wasn’t stunned. She glanced over at Yan Hong, her expression tinged with pity and curiosity: “You must be the cousin from the Mu family, right? Don’t worry, there’s nothing between your husband and me, and there won’t be in the future. But you’d better keep a close eye on his delusional, self-serving tendencies. If not, next time, it might be more than just a slap.”
She directly invoked Mu Qing’s name, which naturally shut Yan Hong up.
And in terms of capability, Yan Hong didn’t even come close to matching someone like Miss Yanran. The woman didn’t even have to raise her voice—just a few words, and she’d completely shut Yan Hong down.
Essentially: your man’s the problem, so don’t come looking for me. Come again, and I won’t be so polite.
Though Miss Yanran looked gentle and alluring, the moment her face turned cold, the chill was palpable…
After all, being the famed madam of one of the most influential brothels in the entire empire wasn’t something just anyone could pull off.
And so, with one slap and a few curt words, Miss Yanran left both Liu Feng and Yan Hong reeling.
By the time her figure disappeared from view, Yan Hong finally snapped out of her daze.
Clearly, she had no hope of competing with someone like that. She didn’t even manage to get a word in before the woman walked off. All that remained was Liu Feng, clutching his swollen face.
That, at least, was a target Yan Hong could handle.
So she put on a performance worthy of any dramatic stage—“Noblewoman throws a public tantrum, dashing young man flees in shame.” She ended her act with a slap that landed solidly on Liu Feng’s face.
Having just been slapped by Miss Yanran, Liu Feng instinctively dodged as Yan Hong rushed at him. But she used a classic feint—the slap he avoided on one cheek ended up landing squarely on the one already swollen.
A fresh injury atop the old—salt in the wound. His face puffed up like a steamed bun.
Mu Qing, picturing the scene, couldn’t help but chuckle. But seeing her laugh, Yan Hong burst out, heartbroken, “Ah Jie, you’re laughing? You’re heartless!”
…This was getting ridiculous.
Mu Qing sighed inwardly, but still pulled out a handkerchief and handed it over. “Alright, alright, stop crying. I get it—you’re upset. But didn’t you get your revenge right then and there? Why are you still sobbing?”
Yan Hong took the handkerchief and sniffled, “Ah Jie, you don’t know… Liu Feng, he—he wants to divorce me…”
What?
This time even Mu Qing was shocked. She blurted out, “Didn’t you two just get married two days ago?”
Yan Hong burst into tears again. “Exactly! That heartless man! Back then he was so… and now he’s throwing me away like trash. Absolutely shameless…”
Mu Qing listened to her cousin heap all the most vivid insults onto Liu Feng, and thought, yep—they were officially a toxic couple. She hadn’t expected their honeymoon phase to crash and burn quite this quickly though.
But what’s done was done. No use lamenting now.
She patted her cousin’s shoulder in consolation, but her tone remained blunt: “So? What’s your plan, Hong’er? Are you going to agree to the divorce?”
Mu Qing figured that if her cousin had finally come to her senses, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to just go through with it. After all, Liu Feng was no prize. If he weren’t the protagonist of this book’s world, he’d be just a pathetic, creepy man. Any woman she’d met thus far would be too good for him.
But clearly, that wasn’t what her cousin had in mind.
The moment Mu Qing’s words fell, Yan Hong stood up abruptly, gripping her handkerchief with a face full of resolve: “Divorce? Not a chance! Over my dead body! I, Yan Hong, won’t let a man I’ve set my eyes on escape my grasp!”
She declared her determination with great flair. Mu Qing, however, just felt speechless. She sighed heavily and asked her helplessly, “Then, may I ask… what brilliant strategy do you have, Miss Yan?”
Before she could finish, Yan Hong turned toward her with a pleading expression. “That’s why I need you, Cousin Sister… You have to help me. If you don’t, I might as well just die…”
