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 accompanied his father to play 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 to launch 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 you come out here alone? Didn't Zac accompany you?"

"He's playing 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 eyelashes 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 the last 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 flash 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 flash her
a small smile from his stiff mouth.



She smiled lightly, and her smile faltered around the edges, surprisingly hazy and melancholic 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 exclaimed 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 uncontrollable 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," commented 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 related 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 relationship 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 play 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 glanced 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 to come 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 playing 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 eyelashes fluttered mischievously.

Zac couldn't help but laugh at her droll comment. He touched her white jade-like nose gently and said,
"Darling, your flattery 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 City last 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 relationship, 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 a coma, killed him out of sight, and eventually
caused the annihilation 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 popularity. 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 explain 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 become very close with Walt since he came back? Last night,
when Zac and Daddy were playing 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
completely bewitched by Essie.


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