Madam Lu, as the principal wife, was extremely busy managing her mother-in-law’s birthday celebration.
Yet when she saw Madam Wang, she still asked with concern, “Is your illness any better? The household has been busy lately. Do you still need the ginseng we sent?”
These everyday words greatly improved Madam Wang’s mood. She gave a light cough, her complexion pale: “It’s nothing serious, just a bit of a chill. Sister-in-law, you’re being too kind.”
Madam Lu smiled, then pulled over Qi Yuan. “You little girl, you really stole the show at the last polo match! When you have time, you must take your cousin out to practice horseback riding! She talks about it all the time, begging me to ask you to be her teacher.”
The mood immediately relaxed.
Madam Wang felt a complex mix of emotions—except when dealing with her and Qi Yunting, Qi Yuan seemed able to be gentle with everyone else.
Madam Lu, still smiling, took Qi Yuan along to greet the Wang family’s Old Madam for her birthday.
But Old Madam Wang was in no good mood at all. She was quietly complaining, “It’s just a sixtieth birthday, and besides, what’s my status? There are plenty of titled ladies ranked higher than me. Why would Cheng Wang personally come to offer birthday wishes?”
Her face looked quite displeased.
Cheng Wang was the current emperor’s uncle.
But his relationship with the emperor had always been unusually good.
The reason was simple—when the emperor returned from Fujian to seize the throne, he was still young, and no matter how the succession was decided, it would never have fallen to Cheng Wang. So there was never any conflict of interest between them.
Whether as a figurehead or something else, Emperor Yongchang had always been lenient toward this uncle.
But Cheng Wang had been notorious since childhood.
As a boy, he tormented palace maids and eunuchs, and was known for killing the cats and birds in the imperial gardens.
People in the palace feared him.
But since he was raised in the palace, only those inside truly knew his nature.
It wasn’t until he left the palace to establish his own residence and began marrying that people realized something was terribly wrong—every Wangfei he married would die.
At first, people gossiped, thinking he simply had an ill-fated horoscope.
But when the sixth Wangfei died, even the Ministry of Rites stopped discussing the selection of a new Wangfei for him.
One death after another—how could that be mere coincidence?
Everyone knew Cheng Wang had a serious problem.
Even Emperor Yongchang had subtly reprimanded him in imperial decrees.
And so, Cheng Wang’s Wangfei position had remained vacant for years.
Thinking of all this made Old Madam Wang feel a deep unease and foreboding. “Better to ask Wangye to leave. I truly cannot handle this.”
Master Wang looked troubled and lowered his voice, “Mother, he’s a Wangye and even brought gifts personally…”
If they drove him out, not only would they offend him, but they had no reasonable excuse!
Old Madam Wang was full of worry when Madam Lu arrived with Qi Yuan, cheerfully calling out, “Mother, look who’s here!”
Qi Yuan followed Madam Wang forward.
Old Madam Wang had to set aside her concerns about Cheng Wang and sternly told Master Wang, “Since he’s here, let him be, but you must keep a close eye and don’t let any trouble arise!”
Then, she turned to Qi Yuan with genuine affection and beckoned, “Good child, come here to Grandmother.”
She had heard about this granddaughter countless times from Wang Chan.
But seeing her now, all her previous speculations vanished.
She gently held Qi Yuan’s wrist, only to be shocked when she saw a long scar winding along it. Her smile instantly disappeared.
Pressing her lips tightly, her hand lingered on the scar. She softly asked, “How did you get this?”
Qi Yuan calmly adjusted her sleeve. Thankfully, the Old Madam didn’t see the other wrist—it was still strapped with a hidden sleeve arrow.
She quietly replied, “I’ve forgotten. I think it was one New Year’s when I was helping to slaughter pigs and got cut by the butcher’s knife.”
She genuinely couldn’t remember.
But Old Madam Wang’s eyes filled with tears.
She knew—anyone that strong had paid a heavy price for it.
A girl who could cling to the reins even after falling from a horse must have endured untold suffering.
A servant outside came to report that people from Duke Chu’s manor and Duke Cheng’s manor had arrived.
Old Madam Wang composed herself and forced a smile: “Good child, truly a good child. Go play with your cousin. We’ll talk more later.”
Qi Yuan acknowledged and saw Wang Chan approaching to pull her away, lowering her gaze to hide the coldness in her eyes.
Duchess Chu had arrived—trouble wasn’t far behind.
Wang Chan happily dragged her along, skipping like a deer. “Grandmother kept asking me what you were like. I told her you were unlike anyone else in the world.”
The coldness in Qi Yuan’s eyes melted. Looking at Wang Chan’s bright face, her expression softened.
She gently patted Wang Chan’s hair, just about to speak when a servant girl rushed over in panic. “Third Miss, the Sixth Young Master fell from the rockery! Please come quickly!”
The Sixth Young Master, Wang Jun, was Wang Chan’s younger brother and Madam Lu’s precious son. Wang Chan turned pale with fright: “How could he fall from the rockery for no reason?”
She immediately dashed off with the servant girl.
Qi Yuan remained where she was, when another little maid came running. “Cousin, since the other guests haven’t arrived yet, why don’t you wait in the Third Miss’s room for now?”
It was a reasonable suggestion for someone unfamiliar with the place.
Qi Yuan studied her, then smiled calmly and said, “Sure.”
The little maid silently sighed in relief and quickly led Qi Yuan through the moon gate to a courtyard. “Please wait here, Miss Cousin. I’ll prepare tea and pastries for you.”
Qi Yuan gave a soft hum and pushed open the door.
As the little maid turned to leave, Qi Yuan suddenly grabbed her wrist, yanked her inside the gate, and slammed the courtyard door shut with a bang.
Almost at the same instant, as if receiving a signal, a figure lunged forward like a starving tiger, pouncing toward the little maid.
Qi Yuan stared coldly at him for a moment, then sneered.
She had expected the Liu family to come up with some clever trick, but it turned out to be nothing more than a disgusting choice of person.
Cheng Wang.
The coldness in her eyes was impossible to hide. She shifted along the wall, carefully calculating the distance, then charged straight at Cheng Wang.
Unexpectedly, Cheng Wang actually knew some martial arts. Almost the moment Qi Yuan moved, he sensed the danger and suddenly shoved the little maid forward to block himself.
The little maid, terrified out of her mind from the moment Cheng Wang had lunged, now widened her eyes in panic and screamed, trembling uncontrollably.
Qi Yuan was forced to change her attack, spinning her dagger to the side and kicking at Cheng Wang’s hand.
