Besides, Gu Yingxi was someone of very low status, yet even she was unwilling to marry a fool for free, instead needing the Mu family to pay to secure her for Mu Jinyan—that was the stark reality in the eyes of many!

It was precisely because of this that several matrons having tea with Tian Yuxin at the time nearly dissolved into hysterics upon seeing the situation unfold. Such a matter could not be contained; within half a day, it had spread throughout their circles. Before, people only mocked Mu Shaohua for being brilliant his whole life, yet having a single idiotic son.

But now, the mockery was directed at Mu Jinyan for being utterly foolish. Because of this foolish son, no one was willing to marry him, and Madam Mu actually had to use money to buy a daughter-in-law for her son!

This news spread rapidly, and with unseen hands deliberately fueling the fire, it naturally became more exaggerated with each telling. That morning, Father Lan even took Lin Min under the guise of a relative to "check on" the injured Madam Mu, securing firsthand information. Naturally, Lan Lingyan learned of it as well.

"No wonder Madam Mu called me," Ning Yunhuan couldn't help but laugh now. Fortunately, she hadn't been eating anything else, or she’d have sputtered it out again.

Gu Yingxi, with whatever strange reasoning she possessed, thought that by sacrificing herself like this, the Gu family would be grateful to her?

"Has she been watching too many TV dramas, genuinely believing that Mu Jinyan can’t find a wife and only she can condescend to marry him?" Ning Yunhuan couldn't help but laugh again as she spoke.

A prestigious family like the Mu clan, in terms of status and foundation, was beyond comparison with ordinary wealthy households. Countless people of lesser standing across Huaxia longed to latch onto the Mu family’s coattails. Even if Mu Jinyan were foolish, he was still the legitimate second young master of the Mu family; many seeking to curry favor with the Mus would willingly send their daughters over to forge ties.

As long as Madam Mu willed it, she could allow her son, known throughout for his foolishness, to have a life where he was flanked by multiple wives and concubines! Gu Yingxi’s misplaced confidence—believing Mu Jinyan couldn't find a wife and she was the only one willing to stoop—was baffling, especially since she herself was hardly pure, not even clear about the relationships with the men around her, yet now she was trying to marry Mu Jinyan.

The insiders within the Mu family must have had indescribable feelings about this!

Ning Yunhuan laughed so hard, clutching her stomach and crying out in pain. Seeing her on the verge of tears, Lan Lingyan allowed a slight smile to curve her lips and drew her into an embrace. Watching her roll with laughter in her arms, she leaned down and gently kissed the corner of her mouth, then added to coax her joy:

"Madam Mu Tian is absolutely furious; now, it's likely no one will dare propose a match with Mu Jinyan." Even if people wanted to flatter the Mu family, openly taking on the stigma of "selling oneself for glory" was something any respectable person would avoid. No matter how many benefits the Mu family offered, finding a suitably matched girl for their son would be difficult. Because of this, Tian Yuxin’s face had turned blue with anger when Gu Yingxi ruined things, but she had suppressed it while many people came to mock her that morning, only letting it explode later.

"She has detained Gu Yingxi; there’s a good show coming up."

Ning Yunhuan could easily imagine Madam Mu’s fury, as she could hear it in the phone call from noon. Hearing now that Gu Yingxi was detained, she couldn't help but laugh again, clutching her stomach and moaning about the pain.

Lan Lingyan reached out amusingly to rub her stomach as the waiter finally brought in the renewed dishes.

After much laughter and refilling their stomachs, as her wife prepared to leave, Lan Lingyan patted her head: "Don't worry about the Mu family's threats; I want to see what they plan to do!"

Ning Yunhuan nodded naturally. Gu Yingxi had nothing to do with her, and Madam Mu’s demand that she keep an eye on Gu Yingxi was unreasonable. Even without Lan Jiu’s reminder, she wouldn't have concerned herself with it. She had planned to visit Mother Ning at the hospital that afternoon for her rehabilitation, but unexpectedly, the matter she disregarded actively sought her out!

When her phone rang, a string of asterisks flashed incessantly. Ning Yunhuan was standing by the roadside waiting for her bodyguard, Lan Ge, to bring the car over. As the call came in, she frowned slightly before answering:

"Hello."

"Miss Ning, could you come to the Mu residence?" Tian Yuxin's voice came through, seemingly suppressing immense anger, her tone somewhat gloomy: "Miss Gu claims to be a close friend of yours and wishes for you to come and take her back!"

Hearing this, Ning Yunhuan truly found it strange.

She and Gu Yingxi had absolutely no relationship, yet Tian Yuxin always acted as if Gu Yingxi was under her jurisdiction. First, she called demanding Ning Yunhuan keep an eye on Gu Yingxi, and now she wanted her to come to the Mu residence to retrieve her. Ning Yunhuan was delighted to see Gu Yingxi suffer; who would rescue her from the pit of fire?

"I apologize, Madam Mu, but I think you are mistaken. I have no relationship with Miss Gu, nor am I a close friend. I have plans this afternoon and cannot possibly come to fetch her." Ning Yunhuan, whose mood of watching the drama unfold was now soured by Tian Yuxin’s call, was about to simply hang up when Tian Yuxin snapped:

"Miss Ning! Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! We are relatives; we can talk things out calmly. I won't hold this against you for Lan Lingyan's sake, but if you don't come, Gu Yingxi might as well forget about going back!"

Whether Gu Yingxi went back or not had nothing to do with her. Ning Yunhuan’s mouth twitched: "Madam Mu, I decline the toast and the forfeit. I told you, Gu Yingxi has nothing to do with me. I completely understand your feelings, and considering the familial relation between the Mu family and my husband, I will disregard what you said before. Whether Gu Yingxi returns is entirely up to you."

Having rebuffed Tian Yuxin, Ning Yunhuan didn't wait for another word before quickly saying, "I have matters to attend to; I must excuse myself." With that, Ning Yunhuan decisively hung up the phone!

At the Mu residence, Tian Yuxin’s face was twisted with rage. Listening to the dial tone echoing in the receiver, her face was ashen!

"Insolent wretch, how dare she hang up on me!" Tian Yuxin nearly crushed the phone in her hand. Her expression was hideous. Beside her, Gu Yingxi trembled violently, collapsed on the floor, too frightened to speak.

She didn't understand. She had meant to sacrifice herself to save her mother's life, but not only did the Mu family fail to appreciate it, they detained her instead! Gu Yingxi was stunned by this sudden turn of events. She had tried struggling and shouting, but it was useless. The Mu family bullied her with their power, detaining her without cause, but she was powerless to resist.

"Ning Yunhuan completely denies any connection to you and won't come to fetch you," Tian Yuxin took a deep breath, suppressing the rage in her heart, and quickly calmed down, staring fixedly at Gu Yingxi: "Miss Gu, if you have no relationship with Ning Yunhuan, then don't blame me."

How dare such a nobody come to disgrace the Mu family! Hadn't her son once saved Gu Yingxi? Later, the Mu family even lent her two hundred thousand for her mother's treatment. Yet, who would have thought such a minor figure would dare plot against the Mu family? If she hadn't investigated the Gu family out of concern for her son’s safety, she might have suspected Gu Yingxi was sent by her husband’s political enemies specifically to humiliate the Mu family!

Alas, this woman surnamed Gu was simply too foolish, with too many vulnerabilities. No discerning person would use such a pawn. The only possibility was that this woman wanted to become a phoenix from a sparrow, using her son as a stepping stone to climb into the Mu family!

"No, that's impossible." Gu Yingxi wasn't entirely stupid. Once she knew she couldn't escape through her own efforts, she started thinking of alternatives, but none of the people she knew held any significant power. Ning Yuncheng had some money, but he couldn't even see Father Ning right now, so he was useless.

Xie Zhuoyin was capable, but he vanished without a trace upon returning home. Gu Yingxi had some familiarity with the Mu family’s second young master, Mu Jinyan, but Madam Mu wouldn't let her see him. After Tian Yuxin forbade her from leaving, Gu Yingxi could think of no one else who could help her.

Gu Xiansheng was sick in the hospital, and how could she bear to let her sick mother endure the humiliation of the Mu family? After much deliberation, Gu Yingxi could only think of turning to Ning Yunhuan for help.

She could only hope that, considering their acquaintance and Yuncheng’s connection to her, she would come to her rescue! Most importantly, she missed Brother Lan Jiu so much her heart ached; she hoped that when Ning Yunhuan arrived, she could use the connection to see Lan Jiu just once, to soothe her lovesickness!

Thinking of the Mu family's tyranny and her secret crush on Lan Lingyan, Gu Yingxi’s heart ached again. She had never harmed anyone; why was Heaven being so cruel to her!

Tian Yuxin glanced with annoyance at the weeping Gu Yingxi, wishing she could stab her with a knife. "I believe I have treated you well enough. I never expected that not only would you be ungrateful, but you would also tarnish the reputation of my Jinyan. I warn you, return the two hundred thousand within two days, or I will hand you directly over to the police!"

"No, no, no!" Upon hearing Tian Yuxin’s words, Gu Yingxi’s face turned ashen with terror. She immediately knelt on her twisted leg and kowtowed to Tian Yuxin: "Madam Mu, please have mercy! Don't be so cruel! I didn't tarnish Jinyan's reputation; I... I wanted to take care of him, I wanted to repay your kindness, Madam..."

"Shut up!" Tian Yuxin shot her a look of icy coldness, still fuming over the morning's events. "What are you, that you dare repay kindness! You want to marry my son? Look in a mirror and see what qualifies you!"

Gu Yingxi's tears flowed uncontrollably, her expression weak and transparently pale: "Madam

Yet, who could have foreseen that in a bid to prove her innocence and sincerity—and to demonstrate she was not the sort of woman to demand two hundred thousand from someone without cause—she resolvedly wrote an IOU to the Mu family.

With this ready-made leverage in hand, Madam Mu naturally hounded Gu Yingxi for repayment. This pressure drove Gu Yingxi to desperation, leaving her helpless on several occasions, driving her to the very brink of collapse and death.

Gu Xian’s illness could no longer be delayed. Of the original two hundred thousand borrowed from the Mu family, about one hundred and seventy thousand remained, which absolutely could not be returned at this juncture. To prevent the Mu family from forcibly reclaiming the funds, Gu Yingxi, though deeply reluctant to ask the man she loved to donate a kidney to her mother, found herself backed into a corner by necessity.

Meanwhile, after Ning Yuncheng underwent a physical examination, all his compatibility markers with Gu Xian proved favorable. Since their blood types matched, the arrangement was met with universal joy, and soon Ning Yuncheng had a kidney removed and successfully transplanted into Gu Xian.

When Ning Yunhuan heard this news, she was utterly speechless concerning Ning Yuncheng!