Chapter 196 Mudslinging


    Valery was discharged after staying in the hospital for two days. She couldn''t wait to continue her battle


    with Essie.


    Essie, on the other hand, was trying her best to ignore Valery''s existence —out of sight, out of mind.


    In the evening, Zac apanied his father to y chess in the study, while Essie went to the garden


    on her own. Last time, she didn''t see the Epiphyllum orchids blooming because of the rain, so that


    night, she intended to try her luck.


    She had decided tounch the Epiphyllum line with the slogan: "Seize the most beautiful moment."


    In the garden, Walt was wandering aimlessly like a ghost. When he saw Essie, he quickly walked over


    to her.


    "Why did youe out here alone? Didn''t Zac apany you?"


    "He''s ying chess with Dad," Essie said with a smile.


    "Walk with me?" he offered with a smile.


    Essie slightly shook her head, smiling back at him. "That''s okay, I want to wait for the Epiphyllum to


    bloom." Essie''s long curly eyshes fluttered like butterfly wings.


    "Epiphyllum?" This was news to Walt, and his face showed mild shock. "There are Epiphyllum orchids


    in the garden? When did you get them?"


    "Some time while you were in America," Essie replied with a smile. "It was raining thest time I came


    here, so I didn''t get to see them bloom. Today''s weather is so good, so I think God will bless us."


    "It''s a sh in the pan, and I''ve never seen it before. If you don''t mind, I''ll wait with you and see for


    myself what it looks like." Walt looked down at Essie with a slight smile. He was not really interested in


    flowers, only in the person who came to see them.


    They reached the southwest corner of the garden. Several flower buds and branches were drooping


    under the green leaves of the Epiphyllum.


    Essie''s face reflected her anticipation of the rare event, and she looked at the Epiphyllum with her big,


    beautiful eyes twinkling under the moonlight.


    "So, this is the mythical Epiphyllum," said Walt, rubbing his chin with a thoughtful look.


    "The flower only appears for a short while for the Bodhisattvaa Skanda. People say that it only


    blossoms for love," Essie said with a smile.


    "It also withers for love." Walt listened to her words, a trace of sadness in his eyes.


    "A beautiful thing will never be forgotten, even if you only had it for a short moment. It''s just like love:


    not all lovers can be together, maybe they are forced to separate for various reasons, but the days


    spent together will always be the best memories. Those days are remembered forever..." Essie gazed


    at the flower bud, her voice trailing off as she got lost in her thoughts.


    Her words struck a chord within Walt. The days spent in Maldives with her were exactly like the


    blooming of Epiphyllum buds—short-lived and beautiful. He had quietly buried the seed of love in his


    heart, and the seed took root, sprouted, and flourished. It was a pity that his love was unrequited.


    Before he was able to reach her heart, his younger brother got to her first.


    "Luckily, you and Zac are married. There will be no regrets between you two." He managed to sh her


    a small smile from his stiff mouth.


    She smiled lightly, and her smile faltered around the edges, surprisingly hazy and mncholic like an


    autumn night.


    Ultimately, the one whom icy guy wanted to spend the rest of his life with was not her. She was just a


    substitute.


    As for her, other than Hanson, she would probably never fall for someone again.


    She was so lost in thought that she almost did not notice the flower bud in front of her start to unfurl


    and bloom.


    She hurriedly took out her phone and recorded this magical moment. Not long after, exquisite blossoms


    as white as snow had appeared in front of them in their fully bloomed glory.


    "They''re so beautiful!" Essie eximed with childlike wonder. Her beautiful face shone in the moonlight,


    making her appear pure and enchanting. Her allure surpassed the beauty of the blossoms in front of


    her. Right then and there, Walt was struck by an almost uncontroble yearning to hold her in his arms.


    However, he knew that he shouldn''t, so he ruthlessly tamped down the urge.


    "They are lovely. It''s such a pity that they only bloom at night for such a short time. Too bad that only a


    few people can appreciate their beauty,"mented Walt with a sigh. In his mind, he was thinking how


    such a beautiful woman should not belong to only one man.


    "It only blossoms for Skanda''s sake, so the flowers will be happy as long as he can admire them." She


    smiled cheekily, showing off two charming dimples.


    Ducking his head, Walt chuckled. "Is that the same as a woman dressing up for her beholders?"


    "Exactly," Essie replied with a nod.


    Walt pulled out his phone. "Shall we take a photo in front of the Epiphyllum?"


    "Okay!" Essie instantly agreed. With a lovely smile, she walked up to him and took a selfie with him.


    Behind an old tree not far away, a pair of eyes secretly observed them.


    A man and a woman alone together at night aroused certain suspicions. They must be up to


    something!


    With a malicious smile on her face, Sage turned her back and left.


    Back in the mansion, she rted this matter to Valery.


    "She must be sucking up to Walt so that he could put in a good word for her in front of his mother."


    "Humph!"


    Walt had a better rtionship with his mother than Zac did. She loved her elder son dearly and did her


    best to cater to every single one of his whims, big or small, since childhood.


    "Actually, this can be viewed from another perspective." With a sly look, Sage said, "Maybe she''s not


    trying to y up to Mr. Walt... maybe she was seducing him..." She trailed off.


    A sinister grin slowly turned up the corners of Valery''s mouth. "Sage, you''re a genius," she said


    approvingly. After all, this wouldn''t be the first time that the bitch had an affair with another man. With


    this information, she can humiliate Essie for adultery.


    Essie came back from the garden full of inspiration, and she immediately started sketching Epiphyllum


    blossoms.


    Zac nced at her and remarked, "Looks like you''ve had a very productive evening."


    "Of course! I''ve finally seen the legendary Epiphyllum. It''s so beautiful." Essie said with a smile as her


    pencil flew across the paper.


    "Why didn''t you ask me toe with you?" Zac raised his eyebrows. Surely such a moment was very


    romantic and magical. Wasn''t that perfect moment wasted without him there?


    "If you were there, the flowers wouldn''t have bloomed," she retorted, an impish smile ying on her


    lips.


    "Why not?" Zac asked in mild surprise.


    "You are the most beautiful flower on earth. The flowers would have felt shy and dared not bloom if


    they saw you." Essie''s thick eyshes fluttered mischievously.


    Zac couldn''t help butugh at her drollment. He touched her white jade-like nose gently and said,


    "Darling, your ttery skills have greatly improved!"


    "Like husband, like wife." Essie snickered.


    "You show a lot of potential," Zac said humorously with his thumb up.


    The next morning, Valery invited Mary to an al fresco breakfast in the garden.


    "I have reminded the kitchen staff about your dietary restrictions and warned them to be very careful in


    preparing the food. I won''t allow the culprit to attempt anything again."


    Valery took a spoonful of bird''s nest soup, and said, "Mommy, I have something to tell you, but I''m not


    sure if I should."


    "Why are you hesitating, child? You know you can tell me anything." Mary smiled kindly.


    "Although Essie has married Zac, she still kept in touch with her ex-boyfriend. When she returned to


    Yang Cityst time, she secretly dated her ex-boyfriend behind Zac''s back. What''s worse, the man was


    engaged to be married. Essie ruined a perfectly good rtionship, and the wedding was called off."


    Valery told the whole story convincingly to pave the way for more.


    Mary was shocked, and her face clouded over. "Why didn''t you tell this to Zac?"


    "He knew about it. Paparazzi have taken photos of her dating her ex-boyfriend, but Zac suppressed the


    gossip," said Valery with her lips in a disdainful curl.


    "What''s wrong with Zac? How could he tolerate such a thing?" Mary had a hard time believing what


    she had just heard. Ever since he met Essie, Zac had changed, and not for the better. He was totally


    different from who he used to be.


    "I''m sure he has only been fooled by her honeyed words. The master of the temple of immortality


    warned that she was a viper. First, she put a man in aa, killed him out of sight, and eventually


    caused the annihtion of the man''s family." She stopped for a while, ate some of her porridge, and


    continued, "Since she joined the show ''Beauty on Runway,'' she gained some degree of poprity. The


    paparazzi unearthed her history. She was promiscuous in high school. She dated around and even


    underwent aborted several times. One time, five boys paid for her abortion because they didn''t know


    which of them was the father." She thoroughly painted Essie as a dirty slut in her determination to


    throw as much mud at her and thoroughly besmirch her name.


    Mary''s brows drew together in a livid frown. Her disgust and hatred toward Essie ran deeper than the


    Pacific Ocean.


    She looked at Essie with abject loathing, not only because of how she had married her son, but also


    because she reminded her of the person she hated the most. Since the first time they had met, Mary


    had this niggling feeling of familiarity when she saw Essie. The aversion she felt toward her came


    naturally, but she had no idea why at the time. When Albert reprimanded her yesterday, she suddenly


    understood.


    She didn''t know why she found herself thinking of Luce out of nowhere while she was burning with fury


    at Essie.


    She was the one who orchestrated the incident between Elizabeth and Baron. She did so to take her


    revenge on Luce for having an affair with her husband. She had kept this secret deeply buried in her


    heart, and Albert had no clue. All along, he only thought that she was meddling in the affairs of the Xu


    family. To this end, he took Minny in to his home to punish her and make her suffer.


    Last night, he scolded her for Essie''s sake and even asked her to apologize for that snake. As the


    matriarch of the Rong family, it was such a huge blow to her pride.


    She didn''t understand why he was protecting Essie like he did, but after Luce came to her mind


    unbidden, everything suddenly made sense.


    Essie looked exactly like Luce!


    Albert must have realized it, which would exin why he tended to favor Essie at every turn.


    He knew that he and Luce were wrong for each other, and now his son was living his dream.


    Mary believed Valery''s every word. She was hoping that she could dig up dirt on Essie in order to kick


    her out of the house. The fact that Essie was such a dirty, promiscuous woman was a perfect,


    sufficiently grave reason to finally kick her out of the Rong family. Disgust, anger, and a dark


    satisfaction warred in her heart.


    Satisfied with Mary''s reaction, Valery decided to drive her point home.


    "Haven''t you noticed how Essie had be very close with Walt since he came back? Last night,


    Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    when Zac and Daddy were ying chess, she secretly invited Walt to the garden to see the


    Epiphyllum..." She trailed off deliberately, and the implication in her words were clear. Mary''s face had


    turned ghastly pale. No wonder Walt helped Essie yesterday—that woman had been seducing her


    other son all this time!


    A wicked smile subtly appeared at the corners of Valery''s mouth. "I know women like Essie crave the


    attention of numerous men, and men throw themselves at her feet," she continued.


    Mary snorted.


    She was truly a carbon copy of Luce, who looked innocent and harmless on the surface but was a


    snake underneath.


    Back in the house, Mary immediately sought out Walt to confirm whether her eldest son had been


    <ppletely bewitched by Essie.