Gold Cage - Chapter 41

Five months later, the highly publicized cases of Zhao Mengling and Mu Yunting, accused of intentional homicide and illegal transactions, were tried separately in open court at the Yu City Intermediate People's Court. In the same month, the cases of He Cheng and Mu Zhiye, charged with rape and unlawful detention, also went to trial.

Zhao Mengling, Mu Yunting, and their defense teams filed appeals in court, presenting arguments against the prosecution's charges. Due to the complexity and volume of evidence, the judges announced that sentencing would be deferred to a later date.

When Mu Zeju walked out of the courthouse, his ears were still ringing.

He had attended the entire trial proceedings for his father and mother. His father looked even older now, hunched over in the defendant's dock. His mother, too, had finally shed her perpetually cold and aloof demeanor—apparently, she too could feel fear and dread the consequences awaiting her.

To cover the deficits and fines caused by Mu Yunting, the Mu Group paid an enormous penalty. Meanwhile, Mu Hanxiao was no longer the chairman of the group, with several key directors and the general manager resigning one after another. Some employees also chose to leave after hearing about the Mu family's situation. The group suffered a heavy blow and was left in a slump.

Mu Zeju arrived at his car, momentarily at a loss. He took out his phone and called his elder brother.

After a few rings, Mu Hanxiao answered. For some reason, it was rather noisy on his end, but Mu Zeju didn't dwell on it and asked, "Brother, why didn't you come to the court hearing these past two days?"

Mu Hanxiao replied, "I was handling divorce procedures."

Mu Zeju nearly slammed his arm onto the car roof. Raising his voice, he exclaimed, "Divorcing Sister-in-law? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Now you know."

"Elder Brother!"

Mu Hanxiao's voice remained calm over the phone. "Come pick me up. I didn't drive."

Mu Hanxiao hung up. Liu Shuyan stood beside him, smoothing her wind-tousled long hair, and asked, "Shall I go ahead then?"

Mu Hanxiao nodded. "Goodbye."

Liu Shuyan looked at him for a moment before speaking softly, "Hanxiao, it's been a pleasure working with you."

Mu Hanxiao replied, "You're too kind. I hope Hongfeng will continue to support the Mu Group in the future."

Liu Shuyan gave a helpless smile. She seemed quieter than before, having shed her occasional restlessness, often lost in silent thought.

"Goodbye," Liu Shuyan said to Mu Hanxiao before getting into her car and driving away from the civil affairs bureau.

Soon after, Mu Zeju's car arrived. Mu Hanxiao got into the passenger seat and asked to be taken back to Yunhai.

Mu Zeju grumbled, "Why are you still staying there?"

Mu Hanxiao answered, "Phil made dinner. Let's eat."

Mu Zeju had no choice but to drive them to Yunhai. The two remained silent for a long while. Mu Hanxiao seemed to be resting with his eyes closed—this man wore the same expression whether getting married or divorced, making it impossible to tell what was truly on his mind.

"Elder Brother," Mu Zeju asked quietly, "Was it really you who sent the evidence to the authorities?"

Mu Hanxiao kept his eyes shut. "Yes."

"Why would you do that?"

Mu Hanxiao frowned slightly in impatience. "You already know the answer. Why ask?"

Mu Zeju fell silent. He did understand. If his elder brother hadn't cut their losses now, once their mother was promoted and their father's illegal transactions amassed even more assets not to mention the hidden time bomb that was the He family—if everything were exposed later, it could have led to the complete ruin of their family. By bringing everything to light now, at least his elder brother and he remained, and the entire Mu family wouldn't collapse entirely.

Upon arriving at Yunhai, Mu Zeju followed Mu Hanxiao out of the car with mixed emotions. Sometimes he felt his eldest brother was too cold and heartless—how could he still have the leisure to enjoy fine dining when their family was in such turmoil?

But when they entered the villa and stepped into the dining room, Mu Zeju's mental state instantly became unstable the moment he saw the person seated at the table.

Why was Mu Yu here?!

Mu Zeju took a step back, his back hitting the wall, the car keys flying out of his hand. Mu Yu, who had been sneaking a piece of meat, turned his head at the noise and glanced over. Spotting Mu Hanxiao and the stunned Mu Zeju behind him, he raised an eyebrow before turning back to continue eating.

Mu Hanxiao walked over to Mu Yu's side. Mu Zeju heard Mu Yu say, "Did anyone invite you back?"

Then he heard his eldest brother reply, "No."

"Then you can leave."

Mu Hanxiao went to wash his hands in the restroom. Mu Zeju rushed over to Mu Yu in a few strides, grabbing his shoulders and nearly lifting him off the chair. "Hey!"

"You're not dead?!" Mu Zeju roared.

Mu Yu hadn't seen Mu Zeju this close to breaking down since their noisy fights back in middle school. His arms ached from the grip, and he snapped irritably, "Can't you see for yourself?"

Mu Zeju was going insane: "You all lied to me together? Who else knows? Am I the only one in the world who didn't know you were alive?!" Mu Hanxiao emerged, drying his hands, and spoke from behind him, "A'Ju, put him down."

Mu Zeju reluctantly released Mu Yu. Seeing the anger and even traces of hurt on his face, Mu Yu hadn't expected Mu Zeju to care so much. At a loss for how to explain, he simply shifted all the blame to Mu Hanxiao: "It was all his arrangement. Not my fault."

"You all treat me like an outsider," Mu Zeju said emotionally, his eyes slightly red as he spoke earnestly. "Fine, I'm leaving."

He turned to go. Mu Yu suddenly felt at a loss, but Li Bing appeared just in time to stop Mu Zeju, gently persuading him, "Since you're already here, have a meal before leaving. Phil prepared enough for five people—Mr. Mu specifically requested it."

Li Bing guided the stiff Mu Zeju to sit at the table, resulting in the two icy-faced brothers sitting across from each other while Mu Yu leaned over the back of his chair, amused by the sight.

"At the very least," Mu Zeju managed to calm himself down and said through gritted teeth, "it's been half a year since the fake death. Couldn't you have told me sooner?"

Mu Yu replied, "I was busy."

"With what?"

"Getting new identification," Mu Yu said leisurely, swinging his legs. "I reacquired my original nationality. My ID now says Helkin Glinka. You should be careful too—don't call me Mu Yu anymore, or you might scare people."

Mu Zeju felt like the veins in his head were about to burst: "Are you trying to start your own royal family tree? How does getting an ID take half a year?!"

Mu Yu stuck out his tongue and fell silent. Mu Hanxiao finally spoke up: "The later his whereabouts are exposed, the safer he is. Once you leave Yunhai, act as if you've forgotten this. Don't tell anyone."

Mu Zeju had no choice or right to refuse. He pressed his hands to his face and took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. All he could think was that the grief-stricken version of himself from the past six months had been a complete and utter fool.

Seeing him on the verge of losing it, Mu Yu took rare pity and comforted him: "At least you know now, so it's not too late."

Phil's dishes were all served on the table. Mu Zeju refused to communicate further with him or Mu Hanxiao, silently focusing on his meal. Mu Hanxiao suddenly said, "The divorce is finalized."

It was unclear who this statement was directed at. Mu Zeju looked up in confusion while Mu Yu kept his head down, meticulously peeling shrimp. Hearing this, Mu Yu glanced at him before continuing: "What a shame, no child was left behind. You should remarry soon to secure an heir."

Mu Zeju couldn't help but ask, "Why the sudden divorce? Weren't you and sister-in-law doing fine?"

Mu Hanxiao's gaze shifted from Mu Yu to him, his voice cold: "That's my private matter."

Weren't you the one who brought it up? Mu Zeju suddenly sensed something, glancing between Mu Yu and Mu Hanxiao.

Noticing Mu Zeju's foul mood since arrival, Mu Yu generously placed the shrimp he'd peeled onto his plate.

"We didn't tell you to avoid dragging you into this mess," Mu Yu finally gave a proper answer to the question Mu Zeju had shouted upon entering. "Mu Hanxiao said you care most about your family. Had you known what was coming, you wouldn't have accepted it."

Mu Zeju nearly asked why they had to stage a fake death, but then realized—had Mu Yu not done so, he would have quickly become the center of controversy. Given his special status, if the Mu family's illegitimate child scandal resurfaced, the fallout would have been explosive and endless.

All of this was to protect Mu Yu. A sense of powerlessness washed over Mu Zeju.

It felt like no matter how hard he tried to prevent it, the inevitable had happened. He could no longer stop it, no matter how absurd it all was.

Mu Zeju ate the shrimp Mu Yu offered. Distracted throughout the meal, he later sat alone on the terrace, smoking and cooling off.

Mu Hanxiao slid open the glass door: "Aren't you going back?"

Straight to the point with dismissal. Mu Zeju was truly furious now and snapped, "I'm staying the night here!"

After a few drags, he said, "Xiao Ye might really go to jail, brother. Aren't you going to do anything?"

Mu Hanxiao replied indifferently, "Let him learn his lesson."

"You used to dote on him so much," Mu Zeju eyed him suspiciously. "Was all of that fake?"

After a moment of silence, Mu Hanxiao seemed too tired to answer and left. Mu Zeju sat outside alone for a long time, chain-smoking, until a flower landed on his head.

Looking up, he saw Mu Yu leaning over the second-floor balcony in pajamas, holding a few more flowers in his hand. Mu Yu waved them at him: "Mu Zeju, your room's ready. Go to bed already. If you keep smoking, you'll kill all my flowers—no more cigarettes!"

Mu Zeju glared at him but stubbed out the cigarette and grudgingly went inside. That night, he stayed at Yunhai Villa, which seemed unchanged from his childhood and teenage years still filled with blooming flowers and tranquil rooms.

Surprisingly, he didn't suffer from insomnia that night.

On the day of the court's final verdict, it was determined that Zhao Mengling and Mu Yunting were guilty of all charges. Zhao Mengling claimed she had no intention of killing Fang Wanjuan, only instructing her subordinates to retrieve evidence from the girl and intimidate her moderately. Her subordinates admitted to the accidental killing and subsequent cover-up, leading to her conviction for intentional assault resulting in death.

Both were sentenced to life imprisonment with all assets confiscated.

Meanwhile, Mu Zhiye received a seven-year sentence, and He Cheng was sentenced to ten years.

The upper echelons of the Mu Group underwent significant changes. After Mu Hanxiao stepped down, Xie Ming eventually joined the board of directors and became one of the company's shareholders. The group then began downsizing, divesting several industries and subsidiaries to gradually resolve its financial difficulties.

None of this had anything to do with Mu Hanxiao anymore. He no longer participated in any daily management of the group, becoming a complete idler.

At the tail end of summer, Yu City was washed by a heavy rain, slightly dispelling the stifling heat. The neon-lit city at night seemed to glow even brighter.

At eleven in the evening, Huo Shiyin, having finished a long day of work, kicked off her high heels under the desk and slipped into comfortable flats before leaving her office. She hurried downstairs with her bag, the elevator doors opening to the lobby. She hadn't eaten dinner yet and was about to grab something from the nearby convenience store when she suddenly heard voices from around the corner.

"You're still working this late..."

"Isn't that just how things are around here?"

Huo Shiyin thought the endless overtime had finally made her hallucinate—because why else would she be hearing Fan Enhe's—no, Mu Yu's—voice?

But the next moment, two figures rounded the corner and came face-to-face with her. One was a tall foreign man, unmistakably Fan En, and beside him, fair-skinned with green eyes—

Who else could it be but Mu Yu?

Huo Shiyin stared at Mu Yu in shock. He was holding a takeout bag of food he'd bought for her, equally stunned by the sudden encounter. Fan En reacted first, quickly stepping between them. "Hey, sweetheart, what a coincidence! Hermann and I were just heading up to see you! He got you something to eat—he knew you'd be hungry. Shiyin, listen, just—just hear us out—Shiyin!"

Huo Shiyin's bag slipped from her fingers and hit the floor. Her entire body trembled, tears spilling uncontrollably the moment she saw Mu Yu. The more she cried, the more her voice shook, rendering her speechless. She shoved Fan En aside and grabbed Mu Yu's arm, gasping for breath. Mu Yu steadied her. "A-Yin, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"I saw you lying in a coffin," Huo Shiyin choked out, her face alternating between flushed red and deathly pale. "We all saw you!"

"It was fake! A-Yin, I deceived you all."

Mu Yu pulled her into an embrace, trying to soothe her, but Huo Shiyin couldn't calm down. She pushed him away violently and screamed, "Where the hell have you been? You just abandoned us like that—vanishing for over half a year!"

Fan En signaled to the security guard approaching with a baton that everything was fine. It was the first time Mu Yu had seen Huo Shiyin lose her composure like this. He was so frightened he could barely speak: "A-Yin, don't be angry. I'll explain everything to you when we get back..."

"You'll explain right here! Right the fuck here! Mu Yu! I hate you! You're absolutely despicable! And Fan En—are you in on this too? You both lied to me?!"

Fan En immediately distanced himself: "I only found out he was alive two days ago. I beat the crap out of him when I did."

Huo Shiyin picked up her fallen bag and hurled it at Mu Yu. The bag was made of hard leather studded with diamonds, its clasp 18K gold. It hit Mu Yu so hard he yelped and ducked behind Fan En, who howled in pain. The three of them chased and scuffled through the office building's lobby hallway until the security guard, unable to take it anymore, finally separated them and forced them to calm down.

"I'm so furious I could die," Huo Shiyin said, not even bothering to fix her disheveled hair as she glared at Mu Yu from the couch. "I never want to speak to you again in my life."

Mu Yu spoke gently: "Shiyin, it's a long story. Just hear me out, okay?"

Fan En chimed in: "How about this—let's go find Lu Hao together and clear everything up, alright?"

The three of them got into a car and headed straight to Lu Hao's place. Lu Hao lived alone in an apartment, and Mu Yu knew the passcode. He entered it and let them inside. They crept stealthily into Lu Hao's bedroom—surprisingly, he was already asleep, probably exhausted from working nonstop lately.

Huo Shiyin turned on the bedside lamp. Lu Hao was snoring soundly in bed. Fan En patted him, but he didn't stir. He patted him again, and Lu Hao grunted irritably, rolling over and continuing to snore.

Mu Yu climbed onto the bed and shook him. "Lu Hao, wake up!"

Lu Hao jolted awake, his bleary eyes locking onto Mu Yu's. He stared blankly for a moment, still half-asleep, until Mu Yu chuckled and patted his cheek. "Still recognize me?"

That snapped Lu Hao out of it. He roared, "What the fuck?!" and sprang up from the bed, nearly knocking Mu Yu off. Dragging the blanket with him, Lu Hao backed against the headboard, pressing himself against the wall as he took in the sight of Fan En and Huo Shiyin standing by his bed—and Mu Yu on it!

"Who the hell is this?" Lu Hao pointed a trembling finger at Mu Yu, swallowing hard. "Am I seeing a ghost?"

Huo Shiyin crossed her arms and said coldly, "That's Mu Yu. He's not dead. He was faking it the whole time—just playing you for a fool."

Lu Hao stood on the bed, panting as he stared at Mu Yu. His eyes grew redder by the second, veins bulging in his neck. Mu Yu tried to placate him: "How could I be playing you? Don't listen to A-Yin's nonsense. Get down and sit properly. I'll explain."

Lu Hao turned and climbed off the bed, rummaging through his closet before pulling out a metal clothes hanger and gripping it tightly. Seeing this, Mu Yu immediately ducked behind Fan En. Lu Hao charged at him like the god of death himself. "I'm gonna fucking kill you today, Mu Yu!"

Mu Yu shrieked from behind Fan En, who deeply regretted ever agreeing to accompany him. He took the brunt of Lu Hao's misplaced blows, wincing as he stood his ground. "Everyone, calm down! You can beat him up after I leave!"

Twenty minutes later, everyone finally settled down. Lu Hao's bedroom was a wreck, so the four of them sat on the floor, sharing the cold late-night snacks Mu Yu had originally brought for Huo Shiyin.

Mu Yu recounted the entire incident to all three of them. After hearing it, Huo Shiyin and Lu Hao were so shocked they couldn't speak for a long time.

"Your brother has some nerve!" Huo Shiyin was utterly incredulous.

Lu Hao asked, puzzled, "So now we can't call you Mu Yu anymore, only Helkin?"

Mu Yu nodded while munching on fried meatballs. Fan En, sitting nearby, grumbled, "Helkin's older brother is seriously terrifying. Back then, when I thought Helkin was gone, I was devastated. And then he made me hide Zhao Zuo, using threats, bribes, and even torture. I didn't even go home for ages—no idea how much dirty work I did for him! Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking."

As Fan En and Lu Hao lamented the downfall of Zhao Mengling and Mu Yunting, Huo Shiyin keenly noticed something odd. She gave Mu Yu a strange look.

"Your brother is protecting you like this?" she asked, baffled. "Weren't you two always on bad terms? What's going on?"

Lu Hao also caught on. "Right, he faked your death just to keep you out of danger or controversy in this mess. But why go to such lengths for you? Didn't he never care about you before?"

"Speaking of which, that youngest son, Mu Zhiye, ended up in prison, and I didn't see your brother lifting a finger to help..."

Mu Yu finished his fried meatballs and licked his fingers. Huo Shiyin nudged him. "Did you and your brother bury the hatchet?"

"No," Mu Yu replied.

His phone buzzed—a message from Phil, asking when he planned to return home. It was already late, past the time for his usual nightly rest.

For the better part of the year, he had lived at Yunhai, never stepping outside unless absolutely necessary to avoid complications. Li Bing and Phil were always by his side, strictly regulating his schedule and diet. Without work to occupy him, Mu Yu hadn't stayed up past 11 p.m. in ages, nor had he indulged in street food like fried meatballs—his cravings had been unbearable.

Huo Shiyin suddenly said, "You should tell Xia Ge too. That day at the funeral, he looked utterly heartbroken."

Mu Yu gave a noncommittal hum. Fan En teased, "That kid's totally into you, Helkin. Now that you've got a second shot at life, why not start fresh with a little romance?"

Mu Yu chuckled. "I may be bad, but I'd never toy with a kid's feelings."

Lu Hao's thoughts took a detour. "Hey, I heard your brother and his wife got divorced?"

Mu Yu nodded.

"Man, the world's gone crazy. Everyone said they were the perfect couple, and now they're divorced just like that..."

Mu Yu lowered his head, idly scrolling through his phone, lost in thought. After a while, he stood up. "I'm tired. Heading back to sleep. See you next time."

The three walked him downstairs. Lu Hao slung an arm over his shoulders and warned, "If you ever pull a fake death or disappearance stunt again, I swear I won't go easy on you, got it?"

Mu Yu laughed. "Got it."

Phil's car was already parked outside Lu Hao's building, though none of them had noticed when it arrived. Mu Yu had long grown accustomed to the constant presence of Phil and Li Bing, shadowing his every move. He couldn't be bothered to argue with Mu Hanxiao about his freedom or personal space anymore.

Mu Hanxiao wouldn't listen anyway. Some things, he would give Mu Yu. Others, he never would.

Whether to leave or stay, to destroy or rebuild—it was all his call.

The lofty and autocratic king remained coldly seated on his throne, gazing down upon a life that seemed utterly detached from him, even as his kingdom crumbled and his wealth dissipated.

These were the walls he had painstakingly built high, only to watch them collapse and scatter with a resounding crash.

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