Qi Yuan looked at the Old Madam with some confusion: “Do I look like I’m going out to kill someone?”
The Old Madam was almost amused out of anger.
Wasn’t she?
When had she ever come back without at least two lives on her hands?
The Old Madam took a deep breath and spoke tactfully, “I’m not saying you look like you’re going to kill someone. I mean, if you can avoid killing, it’s best not to kill.”
Although Qi Yuan always had flawless ways to stay hidden after each kill, walking by the river often enough—how could one avoid getting their shoes wet?
She couldn’t just keep killing everyone who dared to oppose her, could she?
Killing people would never truly solve problems.
Qi Yuan neither agreed nor disagreed. She simply raised her brows lightly. “Grandmother, that doesn’t sound like something a lady from a military family would say.”
The Old Madam immediately looked at her suspiciously.
She saw Qi Yuan smiling faintly, her bright eyes gazing back at her. “Back then, when Duke Chu led his army against the deposed emperor, they were unable to break Jiangyin City after a prolonged siege. Frustrated, he finally ordered a three-day massacre. In the end, only a little over three hundred old and weak survivors remained in the city…”
The smile on Qi Yuan’s face was laced with sharp sarcasm. “Yet who didn’t praise Duke Chu for being decisive in killing and likened him to the God of War, Bai Qi?”
The temperature in the room seemed to plummet instantly. The Old Madam felt a chill rush straight at her.
“Those who kill and burn gain golden belts; those who build bridges and pave roads leave no corpses.” Qi Yuan lightly tapped her fingers on the table and sneered coldly. “As long as I kill enough enemies, one day I’ll kill until they finally wake up and realize—I’m not someone they can afford to provoke!”
What’s the use of groveling?
When your status is low and you are looked down upon, even if you kneel and lick their shoes, they won’t spare you a glance!
So the solution is not to surrender, nor to accept fate.
She has never accepted fate. Even if she were to step into the Palace of Yama, she would still fight the King of H*ll. Until her soul is completely shattered, no one can say who will win and who will lose.
Vengeful ghosts, karmic retribution? She is h*ll itself.
The Old Madam was so shaken by Qi Yuan’s words that she couldn’t utter a single response.
It was only after Qi Yuan left that she finally took a deep breath and sipped her tea. “If she were a man, our Qi family’s nobility would not have stopped here.”
Qi Yuan was born to fight in the military!
By comparison, when the Old Madam thought of Qi Yunting, a man in name, she felt utterly frustrated.
The man is petty and overly sentimental, while the woman acts with grand boldness and unwavering momentum.
How could they have been born with the wrong genders!
The Old Marquis clapped his hands in delight: “Good! Excellent! Well said! Those who kill and burn gain golden belts; those who build bridges and pave roads leave no corpses! What’s there to worry about? Even if she’s a girl, it doesn’t stop her from building a great legacy. Just wait and see! All those noble heirs in the capital combined aren’t worth as much as my granddaughter, I tell you!”
The Old Madam took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and simply gave up.
Forget it—one or two of them are crazy anyway. If she can’t handle one, she won’t bother with two. Let them be mad.
After all, Qi Yuan always finds a way to clean things up.
Even the emperor isn’t anxious—what’s she, an old woman, panicking for?
Though truthfully, the emperor wasn’t entirely unconcerned either.
She carefully wiped her dagger clean, slipping one into the left boot, another into the right.
Baizhi watched, trembling with fear, stumbling over her words. “Miss… isn’t this a bit too much?”
What kind of decent person goes to someone’s birthday celebration carrying five or six daggers, with golden and silver needles hidden in their hair, and a soft sword coiled at their waist?!
Qi Yuan pulled down the wide sleeves of her robe, concealing the sleeve darts, stood up, and checked herself in the mirror. Seeing nothing amiss, she chuckled lightly. “Not too much—not at all.”
Every single one of them might be a life-saving weapon at a critical moment. She never fights battles she isn’t sure of.
This time, Qi Yuan was not accompanied by the Second Madam of the Qi family, but by Madam Wang.
Madam Wang had originally been set to recuperate at the family estate. Who would have thought she would faint in the carriage while leaving the city, and the illness had dragged on ever since, so she never ended up going.
Now, it was her own mother’s sixtieth birthday—of course, as her daughter, she couldn’t be absent.
Sitting across from each other in the carriage, Madam Wang’s gaze was complex as she studied Qi Yuan.
She had always thought that someone who grew up suffering in a rural estate would return meek, cautious, and servile.
But Qi Yuan had completely overturned her expectations.
She remembered Qi Zhen’s repeated warnings before he left, and the instructions from both the Old Marquis and the Old Madam before they departed. She tried her best to soften her expression. “What happened in the past was Yunting’s fault. He knows he was wrong. You two are siblings—blood is thicker than water…”
If it had been in her previous life, if Madam Wang had spoken to her like this, showing even this bit of soft sentiment, Qi Yuan probably would have been moved to tears.
But belated affection is cheaper than grass.
She had already died once. If Heaven hadn’t pitied her and given her another chance, Madam Wang would have only been able to say these words to her coffin.
Besides, she truly had many things to take care of now—she simply had no time to waste on this nonsense.
She raised her brows and looked at Madam Wang, her eyes cold as she spoke: “You don’t need to say this to me. As long as he doesn’t provoke me, I won’t bother with someone like him. But if he does provoke me, even if you plead with a silver tongue in front of me, it won’t make the slightest difference.”
Madam Wang’s face flushed with humiliation.
Fortunately, the journey wasn’t far. Before long, the carriage arrived at the Wang residence.
Madam Wang suppressed her anger and was helped down from the carriage by Xu Momo.
When Qi Yuan was about to disembark, Xu Momo deliberately pulled away the footstool.
Qi Yuan paused, glanced at her calmly, then smiled faintly: “Xu Momo, bring the stool back. There are people passing by. You’d better not make me repeat myself.”
Xu Momo was Madam Wang’s old nurse, and she had watched both Qi Jin and Qi Yunting grow up.
Since Qi Yuan had returned home, Xu Momo had disliked her, constantly showing her disdain in both obvious and subtle ways.
There’s nothing more despicable than someone who shows a dead face to you for no reason.
Qi Yuan used to have too much going on, and since Xu Momo hadn’t crossed any serious lines, she couldn’t be bothered to engage.
But now, in front of so many people, Xu Momo still dared to openly trip her up. Then she shouldn’t complain if her face got slapped.
Xu Momo’s face flushed bright red. She had overheard Qi Yuan being rude to Madam Wang in the carriage and had thought to take this chance to stand up for her mistress.
But who knew Qi Yuan would be this direct, not even pretending to care about appearances.
With a stiff face, Xu Momo forcefully placed the footstool back.
Just then, Wang Chan came cheerfully from inside. When she saw Qi Yuan, she happily called out, “Cousin, you’re finally here!”
She quickly greeted Madam Wang.
When Madam Wang saw her niece, her expression improved significantly. She nodded and asked, “Where’s your mother?”
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! :)
