Qi Yuan’s move was ruthless and precise—almost instantly, the dagger pierced directly into Eldest Madam Lu’s heart.
Eldest Madam Lu didn’t even get the chance to hurl another insult before a sharp pain exploded in her chest. Her expression twisted grotesquely in pain, and she collapsed to the floor uncontrollably.
As soon as she fell, Tian Momo’s stomach lurched violently.
Tian Momo knew she should restrain herself—should hold it in.
But when that overwhelming wave of panic and nausea hit, she simply couldn’t control it. Her whole body bent forward as she started vomiting violently.
Qi Yuan sneered, her mouth curling coldly.
All that talk about noble birth and status—at the end of the day, humans couldn’t escape emotions or instincts. No one could.
She raised an eyebrow and crouched beside Eldest Madam Lu, smiling faintly. “Eldest Madam Lu, you have been saying for so many years that you live a carefree life thanks to Princess Consort Lu’s contributions, but you never said that you enjoy the good things and Princess Consort Lu bears the burdens of the troubles.”
This woman!
Eldest Madam Lu felt waves of nausea roiling in her stomach, and sharp pains stabbing at her heart—it was so intense she couldn’t even speak.
How had things come to this?
Why had everything turned out like this?
She couldn’t make sense of it.
She stared hard at Qi Yuan, her eyes still full of disbelief. She couldn’t understand how she had ended up in this position—how she had been forced to such an end by a girl raised by a backwater pig butcher.
But in the end, whether she understood it or not didn’t matter anymore.
Her injury was far too severe. A few mouthfuls of blood gushed uncontrollably from her mouth.
Her strength faded. Her gaze dimmed. Her fingers loosened.
Tian Momo’s face turned ghostly pale with fear. At this point, her soul felt like it had fled her body. She screamed in terror, unable to stop herself.
And yet, thanks to how strict and cruel Eldest Madam Lu had always been, no one downstairs dared to interfere.
Even though someone had just been killed upstairs, there wasn’t the slightest stir below.
Eldest Madam Lu had trained her household too well—no one dared act without her say.
Qi Yuan tsked. She found Eldest Madam Lu both pathetic and laughable. “Look at you—if anyone ever proved the saying ‘Those who do evil will meet their own destruction,’ it’s you. I see it in you, plain as day.”
Eldest Madam Lu vomited two more mouthfuls of blood.
Qi Yuan said gently, almost like comforting an old friend, “But don’t worry. You won’t be lonely on the road to the underworld. After all, your husband will be keeping you company. If I’ve got the timing right, Lu Minghui should already be waiting for you down there.”
…
Eldest Madam Lu’s eyes rolled back—and just like that, she fell completely silent.
She had literally been angeredto death.
Qi Yuan wasn’t surprised at all.
Some people did so much evil that they could only stomach good news. The moment something didn’t go their way, it felt like the sky was falling.
People like that—well, if they die, they die.
She slowly turned her head and smiled sweetly at Tian Momo.
Tian Momo was so terrified, she looked like her soul had left her body.
She had never seen a noble lady like this one before.
What noble young lady? She was clearly a demon in human skin!
She killed someone like she was casually tossing a dart on her family’s private training ground—calm, composed, not even blinking.
And now, it was her turn.
Tian Momo no longer had even a shred of her previous arrogance or false hopes. She immediately fell to her knees with a thump.
Qi Yuan smiled faintly, crouched down, and pulled the dagger from Eldest Madam Lu’s body. She smiled sweetly as she looked at Tian Momo. “Momo, I know that someone like you, a high-ranking servant with status and a sharp tongue, has a lot of sway with your mistress. When you say something, she listens. So this time she came to kill me… you must have done your share of planning too, right?”
Tian Momo was so frightened her heart nearly stopped. Clutching her chest, she shook her head frantically, eyes blank with fear. “I-I didn’t! I swear I didn’t, Miss Qi! It had nothing to do with me—nothing! It was all the Madam! She never liked you from the start! She always thought you were a bad influence on the young miss, that you stole the favor of Her Highness the Eldest Princess! That’s why she’s always wanted to get rid of you…”
Oh heavens, it really had nothing to do with her!
Eldest Madam Lu had always treated Qi Yuan like a thorn in her side, and this time, truly—truly—she hadn’t offered a single word of advice!
Qi Yuan let out a quiet “Oh,” casually wiping the blood off the dagger as she twirled it slowly between her fingers. She said lightly, “Whether you did or didn’t isn’t really that important. What matters is—today, Tian Momo saw how Eldest Madam Lu died.”
How she died?
Qi Yuan killed her—she had seen it with her own eyes!
Qi Yuan’s movements… she had killed like she was dispatching a chicken. It was that effortless!
But when she saw Qi Yuan’s smiling face, Tian Momo suddenly shuddered again. And then it hit her—
No! No!
Not Qi Yuan!
She shook her head instinctively, denying, “It has nothing to do with you! I saw it clearly—it wasn’t you! Our Madam’s death has absolutely nothing to do with you!”
Qi Yuan couldn’t help but laugh.
She’d seen cowards before—but never one this cowardly who still knew how to say all the right things.
She leisurely cleaned the dagger and toyed with it in her hand, then asked softly, “If it wasn’t me… then who was it?”
Who was it?
Tian Momo was about to break down.
How was she supposed to know who it was?
She couldn’t hold back anymore. With a choked sob, she burst into tears and wailed, “You say! You say, Miss Qi—whoever you say killed her, that’s who killed her!”
Meanwhile, back at Duke Chu’s residence, the Duke sat with his eyes closed, sneering coldly.
“All these years, your mother was perfectly healthy. Who caused her to fall ill? Who killed her?”
Madam Liu no longer dared say a word.
The things that had happened in the last six months alone were more than what she’d seen in the past few decades combined. At this point, she had no idea how to face her father-in-law anymore.
And now, outside, the constables from the Shuntian Prefecture were still urging the Duke to come to court.
She pressed her lips together, on the verge of breaking down. “Father-in-law… Mother-in-law has already passed… Can you please let her rest in peace and be buried properly…”
She knew how close the Duke and Duchess Chu had been. But the woman had been dead for a while—if it weren’t for the winter weather, the body would already be rotting.
Yet Duke Chu hadn’t moved a single step away from her.
What kind of madness was this?
But clearly, the Duke didn’t see it the same way. He turned and gave Madam Liu a cold look.
She immediately felt a chill crawl up her spine.
Before she could react, the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrived.
And the one who came was none other than Lai Chenglong—Commander Lai, the man most trusted by Emperor Yongchang.
He stepped forward and addressed Duke Chu directly: “Your Grace, the Madam of Grand Commandant Lu is dead. A servant of the Lu household witnessed you committing the murder. You’ll need to come with us.”
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