But when she lunged forward, she found nothing but emptiness. Aside from the few arrows she had left behind and some large crushed leaves, there was no other sign that anyone had been there.
They had fled?
Gripping the dagger tightly, Qi Yuan coldly scanned the scattered leaves. Just then, she heard movement atop the wall and instinctively raised her hand.
Xiao Yunting landed steadily beside her, pressing down on her wrist with a hint of irritation: “It’s me!”
Qi Yuan cast him a suspicious glance. “Your Highness, why are you here?”
Xiao Yunting’s heart ached.
He had sent Liujin to deliver all the necessary warnings, but who would have thought this woman would ignore them completely? Even knowing she was heading for disaster, she still insisted on smashing straight into it.
What could he possibly do about that?!
He cleared his throat and, glancing past her toward the corpse of Cheng Wang beneath the tree, his pupils shrank in shock. “You killed Cheng Wang!”
Cheng Wang, like Zhou Wang, was technically someone he should call grand-uncle.
Although Cheng Wang had indulged in all kinds of debauchery over the years, and everyone knew he secretly tortured and murdered his concubines, no one had ever caught him red-handed.
He was still a noble prince, the Emperor’s youngest uncle.
The Liu family had chosen him precisely because of this—everyone else feared making mistakes, but Cheng Wang did not.
Even if he committed atrocities, at worst he would be forced to ‘make amends.’ And the so-called amends would simply mean marrying Qi Yuan off to him as his Wangfei. But being Cheng Wang’s Wangfei would be no different from living in h*ll.
Xiao Yunting had deliberately tried to keep Qi Yuan from attending today’s banquet, precisely to avoid her crossing paths with Cheng Wang.
But now she had killed him!
She had actually killed him!
He couldn’t believe it. Gripping Qi Yuan’s wrist tightly, he lowered his voice, “Do you even realize who it is you’ve killed?!”
At this moment, he truly understood why the Qi family had always felt so helpless when it came to Qi Yuan.
She was utterly fearless.
Whether it was Liujinghong or Cheng Wang—if anyone targeted her, she would dare to kill them without hesitation.
Qi Yuan flicked her wrist free and exhaled coldly, “Did Your Highness come all the way here just to lecture me? Or to stop me from killing people?”
Tilting her head slightly, she pounced toward another nearby shrub, but again—nothing. They were gone.
She glanced at Xiao Yunting. “If you came to stop me, you’re too late. He’s dead now. If you came to lecture me, then don’t waste your breath. I won’t change. I’ll never regret it.”
Her habit of killing couldn’t be changed.
In fact, she had Xiao Yunting to thank for this. In her past life, if Feng Caiwei hadn’t berated her for being useless and incapable of protecting her master, she would never have been sent on those deadly missions where she could hardly even sleep with both eyes closed.
Xiao Yunting took a deep breath to steady himself. “That’s not what I meant. I was already working on resolving this.”
Originally, if Qi Yuan hadn’t killed Cheng Wang today, he would have found a way to smooth it over.
But now it was meaningless. The man was dead. What else could he say?
He frowned. “Go. I’ll take care of things here.”
Qi Yuan had never been in the habit of leaving her messes for others to clean up.
In her past life, Xiao Yunting had never cleaned up anyone’s messes either. She didn’t know why he seemed so different in this life.
She raised her eyebrows. “Things aren’t over yet. Since you came to help, then help me with one more thing.”
Although the commotion in the back courtyard had been quite loud, the Liu family had long since bribed the Wang family’s servants to give Cheng Wang free rein. No one dared to come near, so no one had noticed.
Meanwhile, in the main hall, Duchess Chu was smiling as she asked the Wang family’s Old Madam, “I heard your long-lost granddaughter has also come to celebrate your birthday. Where is she? Why not introduce her to us all?”
Old Madam Wang’s expression stiffened.
Everyone in the capital knew about the polo incident. Liu Mingzhu and Qi Yuan had thoroughly fallen out, and the Liu family had even stormed the Qi family estate demanding justice.
But Second Master Liu had been driven off by Old Master Qi and Qi Zhen with nothing to show for it.
Now Duchess Chu was bringing up Qi Yuan again. Old Madam Wang’s right eyelid twitched as she politely deflected, “The child isn’t used to these kinds of gatherings—she’s shy. She’s playing in the back courtyard with her cousin. A little girl like her doesn’t have much to say to us.”
Duchess Chu smirked. “That’s not quite right. Other girls her age may be considered children, but who could really treat your granddaughter as just a child? I’ve only heard of her reputation and haven’t met her yet—I’m truly curious. Old Madam, don’t keep her hidden away.”
The ladies continued their lively banter.
Old Madam Wang was starting to falter when a sudden commotion erupted outside.
At a banquet like this—especially for the family Old Madam’s birthday—there should never be such noisy disruptions.
Old Madam Wang’s face darkened. “What’s going on?”
Duchess Chu smiled faintly.
The timing was about right.
It was time for the show to begin.
Several servants hurried in, their faces pale as they prostrated themselves on the floor: “Old Madam, Cheng Wang… Cheng Wang is missing from the inner courtyard. Now… now the attendants from Cheng Wang’s residence are demanding to search the grounds.”
What?!
Old Madam Wang’s face changed dramatically.
She had known something was off.
Cheng Wang always acted like he was above everyone else. When had he ever cared about their Wang family?
There were plenty of noble families in the capital older and higher-ranked than theirs, and he had never shown them the slightest courtesy. Why would he suddenly come to her birthday celebration?
Sure enough, something had gone terribly wrong!
Her heart pounded violently, and even her lips turned purple from shock. “W-what does the master of the house say?!”
Madam Lu and Madam Wang exchanged a glance and quickly rose to support her on either side.
Duchess Chu feigned concern, exclaiming, “Oh no, why would His Highness suddenly enter your inner courtyard? That’s highly improper.”
Old Madam Wang’s face was like water, dark and cold. She forced herself to calm down and managed a smile. “His Highness must have had too much to drink and wandered off by mistake. Once they find him, everything will be fine.”
But her heart was gripped with dread.
Cheng Wang was a disaster. Why had he gone to the inner courtyard?
There was no way this was a coincidence.
Was he aiming for one of the Wang family’s girls since he couldn’t find another Wangfei?
Duchess Chu smiled sweetly, her body visibly relaxed.
By now, the deed should have been done.
Cheng Wang was a brute, but his martial skills were top-notch.
Dealing with that wretched Qi Yuan should have been child’s play for him.
She couldn’t wait to see how Qi Yuan would ever rise again after this!
Soon, the steward came running in, trembling all over. “Old Madam, Madam, the Master requests your presence immediately…”
Duchess Chu quickly asked with mock concern, “Did something happen? Is His Highness alright? We should go see!”
The steward hesitated, casting a difficult glance at Duchess Chu. “Duchess you… you’d best not go…”
