The old Marquis had been waiting in Qi Yuan’s Mingyue Pavilion.
When Qi Yuan left, the crabapple tree in the courtyard was still bare, but now it had already sprouted some green leaves.
He couldn’t help but feel a little dazed.
In the blink of an eye, it had been nearly three months since Qi Yuan returned.
And in these three months, far too much had happened.
Steadying himself, he saw Baizhi coming out and took a deep breath to ask, “Has the young lady finished washing up?”
When Qi Yuan returned, she looked like a wild woman—who would believe this was the precious daughter of the Marquis’s household?
Someone who didn’t know might have thought she had been out mining coal in the northwest.
The old madam coughed lightly and quickly patted the old Marquis, glaring at him.
Baizhi beamed.
Since following Qi Yuan, she had truly been living a life she never dared to dream of before.
The maids who served in Mingyue Pavilion no longer had to endure any bullying within the Marquis’s residence.
Those masters who previously thought even glancing at them was a waste now treated them warmly.
Good fortune, to some extent, can nourish a person. Now Baizhi was full of energy and cheerfully replied, “The young lady invites the old Marquis and old madam to come in.”
Normally, when the younger generation returned, they would first go to the elders’ quarters to pay respects. Having the elders wait in her own courtyard while she washed and changed—this would have been unthinkable in other families.
But in the Qi family, no one found it strange.
The old Marquis and old madam entered the room and immediately relaxed when they saw Qi Yuan.
Thankfully, once cleaned up, Qi Yuan was still quite presentable.
Qi Yuan was moving her left elbow.
When she was hunting down Qi Wang, she had dislocated her arm to push forward in order to kill Xuanwu.
Although she had reset it herself, perhaps due to inadequate recovery, her elbow joint would still ache from time to time.
But this kind of pain was a minor issue to her, something she didn’t take seriously. She stood up and greeted the old Marquis and old madam: “Grandfather, Grandmother.”
The old madam quickly stepped forward to steady her, giving her a once-over and softly said, “You’ve gotten so thin.”
Qi Yuan didn’t particularly like being fussed over.
She raised an eyebrow and got straight to the point: “I killed Liu Jinghong, and Qi Wang was seriously injured.”
The old madam’s remaining words stuck in her throat.
……
She had thought she could handle any outcome, but upon hearing that Qi Wang was seriously injured, her heart still gave a sharp jolt, followed by a stabbing pain.
Heavens!
She really dared to tear the sky apart!
Compared to her, the old Marquis’s composure was much better.
It was fine—he was used to it.
Maybe because Qi Yuan had said several times before that she would kill Qi Wang.
So now he actually thought—it’s just a serious injury, not death, that’s not too bad.
He pulled the old madam to sit down with him in front of Qi Yuan and asked seriously, “Are you alright? Tell me everything in detail.”
Qi Yuan responded and briefly recounted the events.
The old madam’s heart wasn’t in great shape. She clutched her rapidly beating heart, her voice trembling: “So, you’re saying… Qi Wang’s life is uncertain?”
“Not uncertain,” Qi Yuan corrected her, “he’s most likely not dead.”
If he were dead, those surviving guards would have retaliated desperately by now.
And the capital wouldn’t be this calm.
Noble Consort Liu and Duke Chu’s household would have already gone mad.
Though it might still be the calm before the storm, at least no thunder was rumbling yet.
The old madam patted her chest. “Then… what are you planning to do next?”
How to wrap this up?
Liu Jinghong was Duke Chu’s shizi and their most outstanding successor.
Now he was dead, and Qi Wang was gravely injured. Duke Chu’s household would surely go insane.
The old Marquis pressed the old madam’s hand, signaling her not to say too much.
Then he calmly said, “Political struggles have always been life-or-death matters.”
Although he said this, his teacup was already empty, yet he still raised it to his lips as if to drink, then put it down expressionlessly.
He looked at Qi Yuan and said, “But your grandmother has a point. Ah Yuan, you’ve torn a hole in the sky—what follows will be a flood.”
Qi Yuan acknowledged this and said, “Everything I did was in secret. Liu Jinghong and Qi Wang raised death soldiers—that’s a capital crime punishable by extermination of the entire clan. My life isn’t worth much, but theirs is, and they all value their lives. So, there’s nothing to fear—they won’t dare touch me openly.”
In other words, don’t expect them to charge her with crimes in court.
Even the most tolerant emperor wouldn’t accept the act of raising death soldiers.
The Liu family would only go to h*ll faster.
The old Marquis knew Qi Yuan must have thought this through and nodded. “So…”
“So if I were the Liu family,” Qi Yuan smiled meaningfully, “hating an unmarried young lady to the bone but unable to openly attack her, and she holds no official position… what should I do?”
The old madam anxiously asked, “What?”
Qi Yuan gently tapped her fingers on the table and uttered the word: “Marriage.”
The old Marquis and old madam were stunned.
Then they realized.
Yes, in the eyes of society, a woman follows her father at home, her husband after marriage.
How to deal with an unmarried girl protected by her family?
Of course, marry her off.
Once married, she would belong to another household.
Some women married far away and never saw their family again for the rest of their lives.
Even if she wanted to seek help from her natal family, there would be countless obstacles.
Qi Yuan smiled at the old Marquis and old madam: “Just wait—you’ll soon see if I’m right.”
Meanwhile, Old Madam Liu, in deep grief, was angrily questioning Duke Chu: “What did you say?!”
Due to years of pampering, smooth sailing, and boundless pride, Old Madam Liu looked far younger than her peers.
But now, perhaps because too much had happened in such a short time, she looked much more haggard.
Duke Chu, distressed, helped her sit down and quickly patted her back as she struggled to breathe. “Listen to me! Doctor Xue only said it’s possible, it’s not certain!”
“That’s still not acceptable!” Old Madam Liu could not endure it. She burst into tears. “What kind of jinx is this Qi Yuan? Anyone who gets involved with her meets a terrible end! Is she here just to ruin our family?”
Liu Mingzhu was injured and might never bear children.
Liu Jinghong was dead, and they still couldn’t announce it publicly.
Now even Qi Wang had broken his leg.
A broken leg!
That was her most precious grandson!
If something happened to him, it would be a disaster for their family!
Duke Chu slowly crouched down and gently patted his wife’s hand. “Yes, she is indeed a jinx. But don’t worry—we have a way.”
Old Madam Liu gritted her teeth and asked, “What way?”
She truly wished Qi Yuan would just drop dead in front of her right now.
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 10+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
