Mu Qianrou quickly reacted and spoke in a pitiful yet restrained tone.
"Big Sister, what are you talking about? This necklace was clearly a token of love from Dad to Mom. What does it have to do with your mother? If you really want a necklace, I can give you another one. Can you please not make a scene right now?"
Lin Ru also sighed helplessly."Beiyin, I know you like this 'Siren' necklace, but it's already been donated—we can't take it back. Be good, there are so many pieces of jewelry at home. Isn't that enough for you?"
After hearing this, who in the room couldn't understand what was going on?
The way people looked at Mu Beiyin grew more and more disapproving.
"How could the Mu family's eldest daughter have such a bad temperament? She just wants to snatch what isn't hers and even slanders Miss Qianrou."
"I thought Lin Ru had kept the original wife's belongings to herself, but turns out it's Mu Beiyin throwing a tantrum for no reason. What a malicious woman."
Mu Yaohui was furious."Everyone in the family knows I gave this as a token of love to Lin Ru! Get down here, now!"
"A token of love?"Mu Beiyin sounded as if she'd just heard a joke, and calmly responded.
"Ms. Lin, are you sure this is yours?"
The crowd looked increasingly disgusted with Mu Beiyin's relentless questioning.
Lin Ru couldn't be happier to have everyone dislike Mu Beiyin—it only made Mu Qianrou look better.
She pretended to be aggrieved and burst into sobs."Of course it's mine! Beiyin, whatever you've wanted over the years, I've always given to you. Everyone says it's hard to be a stepmother, but I've done my best to consider your feelings. Why are you still not satisfied…"
Mu Beiyin sneered coldly.Even now, Lin Ru was still playing dirty, deliberately setting her up.
"Enough!"Mu Yaohui suddenly stood up, pointing at Mu Beiyin in anger, using his shouting to cover up his own guilt.
"If you're not ashamed, I am! This is not the place for you to act out. I'm only letting this go for Qianrou's sake—now shut up!"
Mu Qianrou curled her lips in satisfaction, looking at Mu Beiyin like a victor, as if she were being so magnanimous.
"Big Sister, just go home for now, okay? Please don't disrupt the auction any further."
"Heh…"Mu Beiyin's heart grew colder.Still clinging to the lie, are they?
She strode up to the stage, snatched the necklace, and placed it under the projector, her voice clear and powerful.
"This necklace was custom-ordered from Gu's Jewelry by my mother thirty years ago. It's one of a kind!"
"There are two characters, 'Xing Ling', engraved on the platinum setting beneath the diamonds. Ms. Lin, you keep claiming this necklace is yours—so tell me, why is your necklace engraved with my mother's name? Unless, of course, Ms. Lin used to be named something else?"
Boom.The crowd collectively widened their eyes in shock.
What?! There's a name engraved on it?!
Mu Qianrou's mind went blank, and her fists clenched tightly.
Lin Ru's face instantly went pale. Staring at the necklace, she saw the characters "Xing Ling" and immediately panicked.
H-How could this be…
"Oh my god, there really is a name! I remember Chairman Mu's first wife was named Su Xingling!"
"Looks like Miss Mu wasn't lying after all! Chairman Mu gave his first wife's necklace to the mistress as a love token? What kind of twisted move is that?!"
Mu Yaohui hadn't expected the necklace to be engraved. The situation reversed in an instant. He nearly fainted from rage, his neck stiff as he forced a response.
"Even if it was something your mother left behind, it's still mine now. What's wrong with me giving it to Lin Ru? You... you unfilial daughter! Is making a scene the only thing you know how to do?!"
Some people, calming down and thinking it through, started to feel he might have a point.
Su Xingling was dead. Her belongings stayed in the Mu family, and Mu Yaohui gave one to his second wife. Morally questionable, perhaps, but it wasn't really the daughter's place to criticize.
Mu Beiyin glanced at Mu Qianrou, who was softly sobbing, and suddenly narrowed her eyes.
Playing the innocent white lotus? She could do that too.
A mist of tears appeared in her eyes.
"But I never received a single piece of my mother's inheritance. Why does Dad give it to someone else? I didn't even have a decent piece of jewelry to wear to today's banquet, yet my sister casually donates a necklace worth sixty million."
The crowd gasped. Now they finally realized something was off.
That's right… Mu Qianrou grew up indulged, living off the inheritance of the first wife, while Mu Beiyin got nothing. That didn't seem fair at all!
Mu Yaohui suddenly felt like he was going to have a stroke. His face turned crimson, and he slammed the table in fury.
"Her stuff is my stuff! She's dead!"
Tears welled in Mu Beiyin's eyes as she spoke with aggrieved emotion.
"I have nothing left. Even for today's charity auction, Dad only brought the mistress and her daughter, deliberately ignoring me. I knew he didn't love me, but I didn't expect he'd even use my mother's belongings to please a mistress."
"I asked my sister for the necklace in private, but Aunt Lin told me it belonged to her—that I was trying to take what wasn't mine. Dad, am I really so unworthy of even existing?"
Mu Yaohui nearly fainted, his whole body shaking with rage."Y-You shut your mouth…!"
It was just a necklace, why drag it to the level of not worthy of living? How was he supposed to save face in front of everyone?
Mu Beiyin choked out, "You always said I'm not as kind as Mu Qianrou. Of course I'm not—everything she so generously gives away was taken from me to begin with."
Her sorrowful voice was the only sound in the grand hall. Many of the wealthy women present began to feel genuine sympathy.
"This is too much—giving the first wife's jewelry to the mistress? That's like rubbing salt into the young lady's wounds!"
"No wonder Chairman Mu pretended not to recognize her at the door earlier. He was afraid she'd expose him!"
"Mu Qianrou's always bragging about how kind she is, saying Miss Mu only knows how to spend money. What a joke! This mother-daughter pair of mistresses stole the original wife's inheritance and still have the nerve to claim moral high ground?!"
"Chairman Mu obviously favors his illegitimate daughter, but it turns out everything the girl has is stolen. How disgraceful! Poor Miss Mu…"
Mu Yaohui's face was flushed and speechless, on the verge of collapse.
Why was everyone accusing him of favoritism? He raised Qianrou since she was little—of course he'd favor her! And besides, wasn't she better than Mu Beiyin in every way? What was so wrong with that?
No. He couldn't let Mu Beiyin surpass Qianrou. Otherwise, all the years of effort he spent raising Qianrou would become a complete joke.
Mu Qianrou hated Yun Sheng to death at this moment. That wretched woman! She just wanted to see her humiliated. Shameless bitch!
But she had to calm down now!
Mu Qianrou's eyes turned red as she cried pitifully, tears streaming down like falling blossoms.
"Big Sister, I really didn't know it was Aunt Su's keepsake. There are so many necklaces at home—when Dad gave it to Mom, maybe he didn't realize either. Otherwise, he'd never have done it."
"But now the necklace has already been donated to a charity foundation. Do you really want to take it back? There are so many children in poor mountain areas depending on that money. Sister, please—show some compassion, let it go, okay?"
Mu Beiyin sneered.
Such a manipulative line—if she insisted on pursuing the matter, wouldn't that make her the heartless villain?
What a clever move.
Too bad she wasn't going to let Mu Qianrou get away with it.