Night had fallen, and after a night of chaos, the Yongping Marquis Manor finally quieted down.
All was silent—so still that even the old gate matron was dozing off, slumped over the table, yawning from time to time.
Half-asleep, she was suddenly startled awake by a sharp bang bang bang of urgent knocking at the door.
The noise made her jolt upright. At first, she thought she was dreaming. But as the knocking grew louder and clearer, she hastily wiped the drool from her chin and rushed to open the courtyard gate.
As soon as it opened, Gao Mama scolded with a frown, “What were you doing? Why did it take so long to open the door?!”
The old woman paled with fright and stammered, “The wind was so strong—I truly didn’t expect you to come at this hour…”
A cough of impatience came from behind her. Madam Wang said coldly, “Enough with the talk. We’ll speak inside.”
Gao Mama quickly agreed, brusquely brushing past the gate matron and hurrying to support Madam Wang as they entered.
Inside the room, a few maids were still awake, carefully attending to Qi Jin.
They, too, had noticed the marquis’s anger toward their young lady today.
It was a terrible sign.
Qi Jin was practically seething with rage. She had always believed she held all the cards—that by controlling Qi Yunting, she had the fates of both Madam Wang and Qi Zhen in her grasp.
After all, Qi Yunting was the legitimate eldest son, the undisputed heir of the Yongping Marquisate. It was a given that he would inherit the title in the future.
But she never imagined Qi Yunting could be this stupid!
If he wanted to drive away Qi Yuan, there were plenty of other methods.
But instead, he pretended to be sick…
The candlelight in the room flickered violently, and her right eyelid twitched with agitation.
Irritated, she pressed a white handkerchief against her eye.
Just then, the curtain was lifted.
Gao Mama entered, supporting Madam Wang.
The moment she saw Madam Wang, Qi Jin stood up and called out tearfully, “Mother…” She rushed forward and clung to her, tears instantly welling up. “You’re finally here—I was so scared… Is Brother all right?”
If this had been before, Madam Wang would have surely embraced and comforted her with gentle words.
But not tonight.
Instead, Madam Wang raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face.
Qi Jin stumbled from the force of it, hitting the edge of the table—pain flared through her lower abdomen.
She looked up in disbelief, swallowing her fury. “Mother…”
“Don’t call me that!” Madam Wang’s face was expressionless, her gaze colder than ever.
She couldn’t forget how Qi Yunting had, without hesitation, confessed to falsely accusing his own sister—all for Qi Jin’s sake. The very thought made her stomach churn with rage.
The son she had painstakingly raised had nearly been ruined—for Qi Jin.
Madam Wang was terrified.
She glared at Qi Jin. “You dared use your brother’s love for you to go after Qi Yuan! Did you ever stop to think—this could have destroyed him completely?!”
Qi Jin was on the verge of collapse from the injustice.
Yes, she had indeed hinted and implied that Qi Yunting should find a way to get rid of Qi Yuan.
But this idiotic plan—pretending to be sick—was not hers!
And now it had all backfired, and she was the one taking the fall. She shook her head desperately. “I didn’t! Mother, Brother never said anything to me about it—if I’d known, how could I have let him go that far?”
“Silence!” Madam Wang snapped, then turned to Gao Mama and ordered, “Go. Have the maids pack Second Miss’s things. She’s being sent to the countryside estate!”
It was like a bolt from the blue.
Qi Jin froze. Her mind rang out with a deafening buzz, as if fireworks were exploding inside her skull.
Send her away?
The Yongping Marquisate was abandoning her?
Ever since she discovered the truth about her birth, she had lived in fear every day—afraid of losing favor, of being cast aside.
That was why she had gone to such lengths to contact Butcher Xu and Li Xiuniang, to stop Qi Yuan from returning.
That was why she had hinted to Hua Momo that she could take action against Qi Yuan.
That was why she clung so desperately to Qi Yunting—so that he would always be on her side.
But now—she hadn’t even made her move—and she was already being taken off the board?!
In a panic, Qi Jin clung to Madam Wang’s leg, sobbing uncontrollably. “Mother! I really didn’t do it—I didn’t! I’ll never dare again, I swear! Please don’t send me away! I’ve never been apart from you—I can’t leave you, Mother!”
Her cries were so heart-wrenching that even a bystander might have been moved.
And Madam Wang had raised her by her own hand. When Qi Jin had cried herself hoarse, she finally crouched down and gently stroked her hair.
“Child… what you two did this time was truly outrageous…”
She was remembering Qi Zhen’s instructions.
Qi Zhen had told her to persuade Qi Jin to go to the countryside.
Which meant: there was still room to turn things around.
She needed to discipline Qi Jin—but couldn’t be too ruthless.
With a bitter smile, she said, “That useless Yunting—he won’t have it easy either. Your father has already decided to send him to the military. And you…”
Qi Jin clutched at that sliver of hope like a drowning person grabbing a lifeline, lifting her head to gaze at Madam Wang with teary eyes.
Madam Wang gently comforted her, “Just stay at the estate for a few days. Once your father’s anger passes, I’ll bring you back.”
Qi Jin widened her eyes in pleading. “Mother…”
“Be good!” Madam Wang’s tone this time was firm. “Ah Jin, you know how strict the Old Madam and Old Master are about rules. If we don’t give them an explanation for what’s happened, things will only get worse when they return.”
Qi Jin let go, sobbing quietly.
Madam Wang sighed. “Don’t worry. Once everyone’s calmed down, I’ll bring you back. I raised you myself—how could I possibly bear to part with you?”
She had said everything that could be said.
What could Qi Jin do?
She felt like a leaf caught in a violent storm, completely at its mercy.
But—why?
She had studied music, chess, calligraphy, and painting from a young age—back when Qi Yuan didn’t even know what those were, she had already been forced to memorize etiquette and read dreary texts.
She was known as the Jewel of the Capital not because of her title as the marquis’s daughter.
No!
There were plenty of noble girls—why was she the one who stood out?
Because she was good enough. Because she worked hard.
And now, the marquisate said they were done with her, just like that?
In the end, it was all because she wasn’t really one of them.
Under the eaves, one must bow their head.
Qi Jin lowered hers, her eyes red and swollen, her fingers clutching at her robes as she forced a smile through the tears and tried to comfort Madam Wang in return.
“Alright, Mother. I’ll go to the estate. Don’t worry about me… I’ll behave, I promise…”
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