Qian Jiaoniang frowned slightly. She didn’t need to think hard to know this must be Hang Zhi’s doing. Why else would he take the trouble to get into the back garden—did he mean to try barging into her room?
Rubbing her fingertips, Qian Jiaoniang left the main house and went to the west wing. In the room, there was a woman in a blue padded jacket with her back to her. Hongjuan, following behind Qian Jiaoniang, thought it was Qingya, but when the woman turned her head, it was Suier.
“Jiaoniang.”
The one sitting before the bronze mirror called out. Hongjuan looked and saw a phoenix-eyed woman with a full brow and high cheekbones rising to her feet. For a moment she felt dazed, before remembering this must be Miss Qingya with her face altered. Hongjuan marveled inwardly—what a rare sight! She truly looked like a different person, with not a single feature the same.
Qian Jiaoniang circled Qingya twice curiously. Qingya asked, “Well? Can you tell it’s me?”
Qian Jiaoniang took a deep sniff—Qingya had even changed her usual perfume.
“How about it? How’s my handiwork?”
The male voice came from the corner. A maidservant dressed as a rough servant girl lounged in a chair, hands behind her head, tilting it back, looking at Qian Jiaoniang with a challenge in her eyes. “Can you tell?”
Qingya jumped. “You…” Wasn’t this the maid Li Qianmian had sent to help disguise her? She was Li Qianmian himself?
Li Qianmian, dressed as a maid, stuck out his tongue and made a huge funny face.
Qian Jiaoniang arched a brow and looked him over. “Can’t tell.”
Li Qianmian nodded with satisfaction, fluttered a delicate wrist, and with a twist of the hand produced a flower, holding it to his nose with a flirtatious glance. “Then can your husband tell?”
Qian Jiaoniang thought seriously for a moment. “That I don’t know.” Xing Muzheng probably wouldn’t take the trouble to smell her, so did he recognize her by sight—or was he just deliberately testing her because of the look she’d given him?
Li Qianmian snorted. “We agreed—when your husband comes back, you must ask him how he saw through me!” His master said he was still a three-legged-cat at this, painting the skin but not the bones, and that a sharp-eyed person would spot the flaw quickly. He refused to believe it.
“All right, you wait.” Qian Jiaoniang dismissed him, telling Hongjuan to invite him to the main hall for tea. Turning to Qingya, she said, “Stay here, and don’t come out unless necessary.”
Qingya said, “Even I can’t recognize myself—he won’t be able to either. Why not take the chance to make him give up for good?”
“This is only for emergencies. Best not to reveal it unless absolutely necessary.” Qian Jiaoniang had her doubts. She didn’t know how Xing Muzheng recognized people, nor how well Hang Zhi knew Qingya. And with Xing Muzheng still in the palace, she didn’t want more trouble.
Qingya thought it over and agreed.
The two left the west wing together. Qian Jiaoniang told Ah Da to stay and protect Qingya, but Ah Da scratched his shaved head awkwardly. “Madam, before leaving the marquis ordered us under pain of death not to let you so much as lose a hair. I dare not disobey.”
“There are plenty of others besides you, and a few I can’t even see. What are you afraid of?” It was only that night when someone broke in that Qian Jiaoniang learned there were even hidden guards around her.
“I am afraid! Several groups have come in the past few nights—some just testing us, others with killing intent! Several of our brothers and Lord Hong’s guards have already been injured. If an assassin slipped in disguised during the day, that would be trouble.” Who wanted the madam dead—or was it Qingya they were after? They still didn’t know, so they dared not act rashly.
Ah Da followed Xing Muzheng’s orders more than he would the emperor’s decree, and Qian Jiaoniang couldn’t move him. She compromised and asked Dongsheng to stay, but Dongsheng also refused. Chosen by Xing Muzheng to guard her personally, Dongsheng was even more stubborn than Ah Da—especially after falling into a trap at the Crown Prince’s residence, she had nearly crippled herself in anger. This time she would not leave Qian Jiaoniang’s side.
Qian Jiaoniang was in a bind—if she took everyone with her, the room would be left empty, open to anyone.
Ah Da said, “Madam, with the marquis still in the palace, we should be extra cautious. You could take Miss Qingya along and have her wait in the side room with the maids—then we can watch both sides. Otherwise, even if we want to protect her, we must put your safety first.”
Qian Jiaoniang sighed. Qingya said, “Jiaoniang, I’ll go with you.”
Since she couldn’t make the guards stay, the only choice was to take Qingya along. Qian Jiaoniang told Qingya to put on a cloak, then shot Ah Da a glare. Ah Da, knowing she was annoyed, could only grin sheepishly.
“You can still laugh? Your marquis is locked up in the palace and you’re not worried?” Qian Jiaoniang said. She remembered how when Xing Muzheng had gone mad before, Ah Da and Wang Yong had been in total disarray, nearly unable to even find Beidu—and now that he was detained, they acted like nothing was wrong.
“Worried, of course worried!” Ah Da said. “But before he left, the marquis told us everything. If the marquis has a plan, he’ll always turn danger into safety! Madam, don’t worry—he might be back any time now!”
So as long as Xing Muzheng wasn’t mad or foolish, he’d be fine. Was that what they meant? “I’m not worried,” Qian Jiaoniang snorted. She beckoned to Qingya, who hurried out with her cloak, and strode off.
