Chapter 12

Chapter 12 You Reap What You Sow

Soon, Nanny Zhenn had been brought over to Situ Hai forcefully.

As soon as she saw Situ Hai, Nanny Zhenn started shouting in panic, "Master Situ, I'm innocent! I went out only because my useless son got into trouble again! I have nothing to do with the cobra incident! Please, I've always been loyal to the Situ family!"

Nanny Zhenn's pleas fell on deaf ears as Situ Hai ordered for her to be tied up.

Without any hesitation, the housekeepers did as instructed.

Still ignoring Nanny Zhenn's cries, Situ Hai walked around the hall and found a leather belt left behind by a guest.

"Whip her!" he ordered as he handed the belt to the housekeeper.

Despite his initial hesitation, the housekeeper eventually carried out Situ Hai's orders.

Snap! With just one whip, Nanny Zhenn's skin instantly split open. The pain was so unbearable she started screaming and writhing on the floor.

Mu Xia watched silently by the side, her gaze cold and unfeeling.

「It looks like the person who had snuck onto my balcony to release the snake is this old hag.」

Mu Xia was furious and felt no pity toward Nanny Zhenn. 「It's only fair that she pays the price for this.」

After ten lashings, Nanny Zhenn was drenched in a cold sweat, unable to make a sound anymore.

Despite the pain she was in, she still refused to tell the truth. She'd be charged with murder if she did, and she couldn't let that happen.

The housekeeper who had been whipping Nanny Zhenn couldn't tolerate any more and spoke up. "Master Situ, we can't hit her anymore. At her age, if we keep this up, she's not going to be able to take it."

Situ Hai understood the concern, and likewise, he didn't want any mishaps before he got to the bottom of the matter.

Before he could give the order to stop hitting Nanny Zhenn, another housekeeper returned from his investigation.

"Master Situ, I've asked around the markets in the southern district. One of the sellers said he sold someone a venomous snake at midnight."

Nanny Zhenn froze when she heard that, and the subtle change in her demeanor didn't go unnoticed by the eagle-eyed Mu Xia. "Was it Nanny Zhenn who bought the snake?" Mu Xia asked.

The housekeeper shook his head. "I didn't ask, but I did bring the seller here. He'd also be able to confirm if the snake did come from him."

"Very good," Situ Hai replied. "Bring the man in!"

Soon, the snake seller walked in cautiously and greeted Situ Hai.

After getting someone to bring the severed snake over, Situ Hai asked, "Is this the snake you sold?"

It only took one glance before the seller nodded. "Yes, sir, this is the one. Some of the scales on its tail had come off during the transaction. That's why I recognized it immediately."

Situ Hai scoffed and walked over to Nanny Zhenn, who hadn't dared to look up since the mention of the snake seller. He brought her to the seller and once again asked, "Did this old lady buy the snake from you?"

The snake seller had no idea what was going on, only that he shouldn't lie to a man like Situ Hai. He took one good look at Nanny Zhenn and nodded. "Yes, that's her. She said she wanted to try making some exotic snake wine, so I recommended her the most venomous snake I have."

With a witness and evidence, the truth was finally out.

Situ Hai pushed Nanny Zhenn away angrily and asked coldly, "So? What do you have to say for yourself now?"

Nanny Zhenn sat on the floor shaking like a leaf. And yet, she remained silent.

"Nanny Zhenn, look what this has come to," Mu Xia chimed in. "It's time to come clean about everything. Before the police get here, tell us why you want to harm Qingshan! You watched her grow up, and yet you want to see her dead? Don't you think that's too cruel of you?"

"No, I didn't. Why would I want to harm Young Miss Situ? She's like a daughter to me!"

"Then who exactly did you want to harm? Is it my father?" Mu Xia continued. "Did someone else put you up to this to frame me? Or are you going to say I was the one who got you to buy the snake?"

Nanny Zhenn was taken aback by that last sentence.

She had wanted to insist that Mu Xia was the mastermind behind all this. However, now that Mu Xia had brought it up herself, it'd be foolish to accuse her.

Just as Nanny Zhenn was hesitating about telling the truth, Mu Xia turned to her father and said, "Dad, call the police. Someone as vicious as her deserves to spend the rest of her life behind bars!"

Nanny Zhenn immediately looked up at Mu Xia and pleaded, "No! Please don't! Both my sons still need me."

"Then tell us the truth. If you do, Dad might still let you off on account of your long service."

Nanny Zhenn had given up completely. She knew what she had to do.

If she told the truth, there was still a possibility that she could get away with it. If she didn't, she'd be serving jail time for Situ Qingshan.

No matter what Mu Xinyue and Situ Qingshan had done for her, Nanny Zhenn wasn't going to sacrifice that much for them.

"I'll tell you everything…" Nanny Zhenn cried out. "It was Young Miss Situ who instructed me to do it! She ordered me to buy the snake and release it into Young Miss Mu's room. But I don't know how the snake ended up being in Young Miss Situ's room…"

Mu Xia immediately piped up, "My room is very near Shanshan's, so the snake could have crawled over from the balcony. I just never expected Shanshan to hate me this much. I thought she had always treated me well…"

Mu Xia's voice trailed off as she stared into the distance in shock and disbelief.

"You old scumbag! And that little bitch! You reap what you sow!" Situ Hai hollered.

He let out a deep sigh and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "Bring Xinyue down. Let her see for herself how her good daughter had turned out!"

Situ Hai had spent so much money and effort on Situ Qingshan, only to have her turn out to be so cold and vicious. 「What have I done to deserve this?」

"Dad, don't get too mad," Mu Xia comforted. "I showed up so suddenly that Qingshan probably couldn't accept it. But I believe she will accept me in time…"

"You're still speaking up for her even after all this? Your kindness is going to be your downfall! If things had gone her way, you'd have been the one bitten by the snake!"

Mu Xia shook her head sadly. "Everyone makes mistakes. Qingshan is still young. There's much for her to learn…"

Before Mu Xia could go on, Mu Xinyue had been brought down from her room.

After Nanny Zhenn recounted the entire incident again, Mu Xinyue's face instantly paled.

「How could I have given birth to such a foolish daughter?」

Mu Xinyue had reminded Situ Qingshan over and over again how the time wasn't right to strike at Mu Xia. Not only did her words fall on deaf ears, but Situ Qingshan had even gone to extremes behind her back.

"I'm sorry, dear. I've failed to teach our daughter. When she comes back, I'll give her a good lecture! Xia, I'm so sorry. I've let you down and even accused you. But, please, forgive your sister. I'll get her to be a good sister to you."

Seeing how Mu Xinyue had taken the initiative to apologize to Mu Xia, Situ Hai calmed down a little.

"Fine. I don't want to air our dirty laundry in public, so this matter ends here," Situ Hai said before looking at Nanny Zhenn. "As for this old hag, she has to go. Get someone to send her to the farm, and make sure she doesn't come into contact with anyone!"

With that, Nanny Zhenn was taken away, never to step into the Situ residence again.

Before long, Situ Hai received a call from the hospital.

["Master Situ, Young Miss Situ has woken up, but she doesn't want to stay in the hospital. She wants to come home as soon as possible."]

["She can do whatever she wants!"] Situ Hai replied harshly.

「I still can't believe Qingshan can be so vicious. If she has the gall to harm Xia now, she might do the same to me in the future! How did my daughter turn out to be such a monster?」

Situ Qingshan had signed the discharge papers at the hospital and couldn't wait to return to the Situ family.

Even though her initial plan had gone awry, she was going to use it to her advantage by telling Situ Hai the snake had been placed in her room by Mu Xia.

She was going to tell everyone that Mu Xia wanted her dead!