An investigation was carried out, evidence was collected, and she was put on trial...
Given the lack of substantial evidence, the case was re-examined to look for more evidence, and the court hearing would continue...
To her dismay, after that one meeting with Yuan Xuan, he never appeared again!
What more, Yuan Xuan even cut off all means for her to be bailed out — those who bailed her out would be killed mercilessly!
The Mu Family certainly did not dare to offend Yuan Xuan.
Mu Chenyan thought that the case would soon be concluded and what awaited her would be nothing more but death!
Hence, she gave up appealing her case and chose to fight in silence.
But she was too optimistic!
Yuan Xuan did not leave her to her own destruction though...
...
"Miss Mu, I'm your lawyer. Mr Yuan appointed me to take full responsibility for your case!"
Since then, the lawyer named Wu Ze was the person whom Mu Chenyan came in contact with the most over the seven hundred plus days.
This renowned lawyer eventually became the person who cared the most about her life and death.
From the first trial to the second trial, and from the second trial to the appeal, all these took half a year!
Mu Chenyan noted Wu Ze dutifully performing his duties!
Hence, from the ruling of the death penalty to life imprisonment and later to being acquitted, Mu Chenyan stayed aloof from the case, as if she was just watching someone else's story unfolding.
...
Every night amidst the dead silence, Mu Chenyan would stare at the ceiling in a daze, recalling Yuan Xuan's words!
Does he hate me?
I am sure he does!
He thinks that I killed Shu Qinger!
Her once naive belief of one could achieve anything with sincerity (TN: the Chinese idiom literally translates as sincerity splits open metal and rocks) went up in smoke on the day Shu Qinger died!
'Who was the father of that fetus, was it really Yuan Xuan?'
Mu Chenyan never even dared to ponder the answer to that question!
However, she knew that in the end, Shu Qinger's body was buried in the Yuan Family's private cemetery, along with the unborn fetus.
...
Exiting the black iron gate, the free, cool air filled Chen Muyan's lungs...
Looking up at the gloomy sky, the corners of her mouth curved slightly upwards. Mu Chenyan gently wiped the tears away from the corner of her eyes!
The autumn rain is always lingering and moving.
Luo Hai City had been plagued with a haze for a week, and it was rare for the sky to clear up a little today!
The roads were washed by the rain again and again. On the wet paths, the potholes had been filled with water.
The cold wind blew, making the puddles of water rippled and shimmered.
Mu Chenyan tightened the thin, old coat around her body. The pair of canvas shoes on her feet was still the same pair sent by her older brother when she was first imprisoned!
Mud and rainwater splattered onto the shoes, which had been washed until its color had faded. A cold chill that could pierce the heart spread up from the soles of the feet.
Stepping forward, Mu Chenyan was oblivious as her shoes continuously got battered by the rainwater on the ground...
A black Jaguar braked suddenly and stopped right next to Mu Chenyan!
The shrill braking sound caused Mu Chenyan to lift her head up. Her expression was cold and indifferent as her clear eyes sized up the pair of old and young coming out of the car!
The old man had white hair with a face that must have been as distinctive as it had been in the past ten years, the veins on his dry red skin bulging. He met Mu Chenyan's gaze and spoke, "Young Mistress, Young Master had asked Ah Fu and me to bring you to the Yuan Family Mansion!"
The young girl standing beside him must be Ah Fu. She had a thin figure but was respectfully supporting Butler Fu.
Mu Chenyan smiled faintly. Yuan Xuan himself did not come, but he sent Butler Fu over. Could this be considered as giving her face?
After all, Butler Fu was someone who had gone through fire and water with Old Master Yuan. His current position in the Yuan Family was not lower than that of Young Master!
Ah Fu's eyes, which was clear as water, was curiously observing Mu Chenyan!
When she first arrived at Yuan Family Mansion, Mu Chenyan was already imprisoned!
Everyone in the Yuan Family Mansion was aware of the current situation of their Mistress, but being wise and discreet, they chose not to mention anything!
Ah Fu was only brought into the Yuan Family by her grandfather, Butler Fu, because the Old Mistress wanted to find a suitable maidservant to serve Yuan Xuan, the Young Master.
She had stayed by the Young Master's side for two years, but the Young Mistress whom she had never met before was in front now. Ah Fu could not resist her snooping heart, so when her grandfather was sent to bring the Young Mistress home, she volunteered to follow.
Mu Chenyan shivered in the cold, and her body contracted in the cotton coat. An undetectable scoff emerged on her pale little face.
"Butler Fu, you've got the wrong person! There's only Mu Chenyan here, no Young Mistress!"