The Favored Heiress
Chapter 721: The Truth Revealed, The Real Culprit Is Someone Else

Chapter 721: Chapter 721: The Truth Revealed, The Real Culprit Is Someone Else

Mu Aoxian.

Li Qiao silently recited the name, finding it hard to associate him with the Mu family.

Mu Aoxian was Mu Aofan’s brother, and indeed, his name was on the list of the deceased.

Perhaps, as Xiao Dingshan had said, Mu Aoxian was another person who knew the truth of that year.

Li Qiao’s throat tightened, and all she could think of were the scenes of her past time at the Poor People’s Kiln with her teacher.

The meticulous care, the thoughtful concern, was it just because they belonged to the same bloodline?

Li Qiao turned to sit down, her movements slightly stiff. She leaned back in her chair, her arm covering her eyes, "Did you know who I was from the very beginning?"

"Pretty much," Mu Aoxian replied softly, his frankness making many things clear as he explained them as if unraveling silk from a cocoon.

The night the Mu family met with disaster, the reason he survived was not sheer luck but because he had a cold and fever and had been sleeping in his room, probably the only person in the family who hadn’t eaten.

He hadn’t eaten all day, the fever unrelenting, so he simply lay in bed under the covers and slept.

So, when he heard gunfire that night, he staggered to the window only to see countless mercenaries breaking in, guns blazing, slaying the young and old of the Mu family without mercy.

"That day," said Mu Aoxian, "all the food, seasoning, and drinks in the Mu family’s kitchen were laced with heavy doses of sleeping pills. It was a disaster that struck without warning."

Li Qiao nodded in understanding, so that was it.

No wonder so many members of the Mu family couldn’t escape; their enemy was well-prepared, stunning everyone before committing the atrocity.

More than two decades ago, Parma was far less developed than it is now, and the Mu family couldn’t even cry for help, dying silently and turning into ghosts.

But...

Li Qiao narrowed her eyes, raising a question, "How did you know they were mercenaries?"

Mu Aoxian sighed heavily, and after a long time, he answered with difficulty, "Because my sister-in-law got involved with people she shouldn’t have, it was inevitable that the Mu family would meet with trouble. No one expected, however, that they would be so ruthless as to annihilate both the Mu and Jing families."

The "sister-in-law" he mentioned must have been Jing Yilan.

Li Qiao recalled what Xiao Dingshan had said, that Jing Yifeng had been killed by his own sister.

Her guess was right. The successive disasters of the Mu and Jing families were indeed related to Jing Yilan.

Li Qiao closed her eyes and massaged her throbbing temples, "Didn’t the Mu family, as the preeminent blue blood of those times, have any defenses in place beforehand?"

Mu Aoxian seemed to laugh, "No matter how many defenses you have, nothing can withstand the onslaught of the mercenaries and the clandestine collusion of other families.

That night, all the access points of the Mu family were locked, the telephone lines were cut, and even the escape tunnels beneath the main house were doused with gasoline.

You must understand that night every direct and collateral member was at the old house attending the Clan Assembly; otherwise, not a single one would have survived."

"How did you manage to escape?"

As Mu Aoxian’s voice started to tremble, he said, "Jing Yifeng was staying in the room next to mine. While the mercenaries hadn’t come upstairs yet, I... moved him into my room, and I hid inside a storage box under the bed, staying there until the police arrived in the morning, and I left through the escape tunnel where the fire had subsided..."

Li Qiao remained silent; such a scene was too terrible to imagine. She breathed more heavily and deftly changed the subject, "Why did you arrange for me to meet Xiao Dingshan?"

Was it so I could take revenge for the Mu family?

She did not voice this last question.

In front of Shang Zonghai, she could make choices freely, but in the presence of Mu Aoxian, her teacher who had taught her everything, her blood-related uncle, she could not.

And the following words from Mu Aoxian filled her heart with profound sorrow.

"I saw the news and I know what you’ve done in Parma..." Mu Aoxian’s voice shifted, even becoming somewhat hurried, "But Qiaoqiao, you can’t be impulsive, times have changed, don’t joke with your own life.

The families in Parma are just accomplices, not the real murderers, standing against them will only put you in danger, do you understand?

The Mu Family is gone, I can’t watch you fall victim again, Qiaoqiao, I taught you martial arts so you can protect yourself, not so you can repeat the same mistakes for the Mu Family, do you understand?"

I understand.

It’s my mistrust.

Mu Aoxian coughed shortly, took a sip of water, and heaved a deep sigh, "Back then, your grandparents knew your aunt had gotten involved with people she shouldn’t have, but our main house was united, choosing to stand or fall together.

Even if the Mu Family encountered disaster, that was our own choice, what’s the point of your seeking revenge? The Mu Family won’t come back, no one can.

Qiaoqiao, I’ve changed my face and hidden away in Poor People’s Kiln, not to revive the Mu Family, but to... find what your aunt hid, to bring the real culprit to justice."

Turns out, Mu Aoxian had always thought that everything she’d done in Parma was for the sake of revenge.

Li Qiao lowered her gaze, her eyelids slightly reddened, the old gentleman on the phone, who was always in a hurry, was the teacher she knew well from the beginning to the end.

Now, there was an even deeper sense of kinship.

Li Qiao slowly opened her eyes, pausing with every word, "Who is the real culprit?"

"The Xiao family from Parma in the past, today’s British Imperial Charlman."

Mu Aoxian’s tone finally revealed a deep-seated hatred.

And Li Qiao’s pupils suddenly tightened, her usually composed face showing a hint of realization.

Mu Aoxian’s voice became unstable and hoarse, "Qiaoqiao, your aunt studied abroad in the British Imperial in her day, a rare educated woman of her time. I don’t know exactly what evidence she got a hold of, she only hinted that, once that document is released, it would not only shake the Charlman Family’s standing, but even the British Imperial Royal Family would not be spared."

"The Xiao family came from Parma?"

This, no one had ever mentioned to her.

Mu Aoxian collected himself, and after a few seconds, spoke gently, "Yes, but I have never seen them either. I heard that during Xiao Hongdao’s father’s generation, their whole family moved to the British Imperial, and in just a few years, they transformed into the Duke Charlman Family. It’s strange, the title of Duke is second only to the Royal Family, passed down from generation to generation, and yet the Xiao family became the only Duke of Asian descent."

I see.

The long-standing confusion, with Mu Aoxian’s explanation, all found its answer.

The joint action against the Mu Family was but machinations behind the scenes by Charlman.

The Ho Family, the Ming family, were all but accomplices sharing in the spoils.

My mother Jing Yilan, whom I had never met, held something in her hands that could topple the Charlman Family.

The Mu Family, the Jing Family, indeed perished because of her.

Charlman and the Royal Family wanted to cover up certain truths, and the best way was to silence them.

One was not enough, only by eradicating the entire family could they prevent future troubles.

Regardless of how she obtained it, Jing Yilan must have known better than anyone that those items, once they had the power to shake the Royal Family and the Ducal Family, would mean death even if she made them public.

It was a national Royal Family and noble Dukes, in an era when the internet was not well-developed, and official media in every country controlled the news channels; if she dared to make it public, the news would be blocked immediately, which was no different from a death sentence.

Only by hiding them was there a chance of making the enemy hesitate to take action.

But, unfortunately, it was still in vain.

Before hanging up the phone, Mu Aoxian solemnly advised, "Qiaoqiao, listen to me, don’t act on a whim. Fighting and killing won’t solve the problem, the Mu Family is not your responsibility, as long as you can find what your aunt hid, the Mu Family’s vengeance will naturally be avenged."