Looking at the corpse sprawled on the floor, Madam Zou let out a terrified scream, stumbling backward and falling to the ground. Her hands trembled uncontrollably as she braced herself against the floor.
Perhaps she was too overwhelmed with nerves, as she turned over and started dry heaving, large teardrops rolling down her face.
It had only been a single day, and yet everything that had happened felt like decades had passed.
Clutching her chest with both hands, she sat there silently, staring at Zou Xiaopeng’s lifeless eyes just a short distance away.
Qi Yuan reached out and pulled the blade from Zou Xiaopeng’s body. Seeing that his eyes remained open, she didn’t bother to close them. A man like that—dying with his eyes wide open—was fitting. Let him witness the consequences of all he had done.
The room was so quiet one could hear the breathing of those inside.
Once she had retrieved her blade and stood up, Madam Zou scrambled after her, asking anxiously, “Miss Qi… what… what am I supposed to do now?”
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks again. “He was a court official! The authorities will investigate his death!”
And there was still Chen Haohui. He was Zou Xiaopeng’s lackey. With Zou dead, Chen Haohui would lose his greatest patron—he surely wouldn’t take it lying down.
Just the thought of it made Madam Zou feel faint again.
Qi Yuan could see her panic and fear clearly. She understood it all too well.
So she placed a hand on Madam Zou’s shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. “Madam, don’t worry. I did this—if there are consequences, they’re mine to bear. As for you, just focus on calming down. Go take a hot bath to clear your head, then settle your children. I’ll tell you what to do next.”
Oddly enough, despite Qi Yuan being no older than her own daughter, Madam Zou found her incredibly reassuring.
Perhaps it was the way Qi Yuan killed—so clean, so decisive.
When she killed Zou Xiaopeng just now, Madam Zou had a strange and absurd thought: it was like watching someone slaughter a chicken.
An experienced butcher would first pluck a handful of feathers from the chicken’s neck, then swiftly slice it open with one clean stroke.
Qi Yuan had done exactly that. Even though she had stabbed him in the abdomen, somehow, he hadn’t even had a chance to cry out before he died. It had been so fast.
Thinking of this, Madam Zou looked again at Zou Xiaopeng’s body.
This time, however, there was no fear. No sorrow. No emotion at all.
The years of marriage had certainly meant something. But after Zou Xiaopeng framed her family—and then tried to poison her—that love had long since died.
She was no saint. She couldn’t feed herself to the tiger and still feel grateful afterward.
Calming herself, Madam Zou wiped away her tears and nodded. “Alright. I’ll do whatever you say, Miss.”
She followed through right away—settling her children, then changing her clothes.
When she returned to the main hall, Qi Yuan was already sitting calmly in one of the armchairs, waiting.
Madam Zou quickly approached. “Miss, what do I do next?”
“Simple,” Qi Yuan said. “You’re going to set out for Song City tonight. Go find the prefect there. Can you do that?” Her gaze sharpened. “I know you have a good relationship with the prefect’s wife.”
Madam Zou nodded. She was from the Xie family, a prominent clan in Jiangxi. Even the Lei family—who had served exclusively in the imperial palace for generations—had longstanding marriage ties with them.
The prefect’s wife had always treated her with respect.
Now that Qi Yuan asked her to go, she didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I can see her.”
Qi Yuan leaned in and whispered a few instructions into her ear.
—
Late that night, Chen Haohui returned home after a night of debauchery at the brothel, humming a tune drunkenly.
As soon as he stepped inside, his wife rushed up to him, concerned. “Why are you back so late again? And drunk, too? Mother—”
Before she could finish, Chen Haohui kicked her hard. “What are you yammering about? Get lost! Marrying you was the unluckiest thing I’ve ever done. Just wait—when I finally make it big, you’re the first one I’ll get rid of!”
Xu Ping stumbled into a flower pot and hit the floor hard. Dazed, she heard him start yelling at their son in the next room. She rushed in and saw him beating their eldest with a shoe.
“Useless brat! How the h*ll did I end up with a son like you? I’ve told you a thousand times—that girl is an idiot! Just toss her into some ravine and let her die!”
He kept striking the boy with his shoe. Smack! Smack! Smack! “Who the h*ll did your mother sleep with to give birth to a b*stard like you? You can’t even dispose of a person properly, can’t even learn basic torture techniques—why doesn’t heaven just strike you down already?!”
His fury mounted until he dropped the shoe and reached for the knife at his waist.
Thankfully, Xu Ping threw herself forward and grabbed his arm. “Dear, you’ve had too much to drink! Just go take a bath, you still have court duties tomorrow!”
Chen Haohui reeked of alcohol as he shoved her away. “Let go! Just seeing your face turns my stomach…”
He kept grumbling but didn’t keep hitting. Instead, he stormed off to the bedroom.
Xu Ping wept silently as she pulled her son up. “Are you alright, son? Don’t blame your father. He’s just…”
Before she could finish, the boy wrenched his arm free. “He’s just ‘under pressure,’ right? I’ve heard it all before!”
He walked away.
Xu Ping burst into sobs. “Why is my life so bitter?”
—
In the bedroom, Chen Haohui cursed as he lit a candle with a match. The dim light flickered. He was about to head toward the bed when he suddenly noticed a slender figure standing by the window.
The figure was as thin as paper, ethereal under the moonlight—like a fairy who had descended to earth.
Having spent years in brothels, Chen Haohui had a keen eye. He immediately recognized the woman’s stunning figure and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Had he drunk too much? Was he hallucinating?
Why would such a beauty be standing in his room?
He rubbed his eyes again—but the figure didn’t disappear. Instead, she turned to face him.
Her face was even more breathtaking than he’d imagined: peach blossom eyes, an oval face, cherry lips, all smiling sweetly at him.
A rush of heat surged through his belly. Without a second thought, Chen Haohui lunged forward. “Beauty!”
When lust takes over a man’s brain, the only thing that leads is the flesh between his legs. Completely dazed with desire, he didn’t stop to question how this woman had gotten in.
Didn’t matter. As long as he got to sleep with her, it’d be worth it.
Qi Yuan’s lips curled into a cold smile. Seeing him lunge at her, she didn’t dodge.
In fact, she leaned forward.
Chen Haohui beamed. “Beauty! Let big brother take good care of you!”
