The maid walked ahead lightly and swiftly. After a short distance, she looked back and saw that Qi Yuan was following slowly and unhurriedly, so she couldn’t help urging, “Miss Qi, please walk faster.”
Qi Yuan quickened her steps and replied with a gentle “alright.” But as soon as they entered the wooded area, she suddenly yanked the maid hard and threw her to the ground.
The maid was so terrified she nearly screamed, but when she saw Qi Yuan’s half-smiling, half-threatening expression, the scream caught in her throat. She stared in fright and stammered, “Miss Qi, what… what are you doing?!”
Qi Yuan’s expression was cold as she pulled the hairpin from her hair and pointed it directly at the maid’s throat. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? You drugged my tea, then used the Imperial Grandson’s name to lure me to the rock garden—what exactly were you planning?”
The maid was utterly petrified.
How did she know?!
How could Qi Yuan have known there was something in the tea? Or that she was only using the Crown Prince’s name as bait?
But she didn’t have time to panic. Qi Yuan’s hairpin was already pressed against her chest, right over her pounding heart. Qi Yuan said softly, “You only get one chance. You work for the Eldest Princess, don’t you? You must know she cares for me deeply. If I say you tried to kill me, and I stabbed you by accident while trying to escape, do you think she’ll punish me?”
The maid’s soul nearly left her body. She could feel the sharp tip ready to pierce her at any moment, and she shuddered violently.
Qi Yuan asked again, expressionless: “I’ll ask you just once—who bought you off?”
The maid burst into tears immediately. “Miss, I really don’t know, I don’t!”
Qi Yuan showed no mercy and pressed down slightly. The maid screamed in terror, sobbing as she trembled all over. “I’ll talk! I’ll talk! It was Young Master Wei—he came to my family and told me to help him with something…”
Young Master Wei?
Qi Yuan chuckled. “Wei Changying?”
Wei Qingyang’s older brother—and Feng Jun’s lackey.
If this wasn’t Feng Jun’s doing, it would be hard to believe.
She gave a faint smile and patted the maid’s cheek. “Want to redeem yourself?”
The maid nodded frantically.
Qi Yuan raised her brows. “Good. Then find a way to lure Young Master Feng to the rock garden. I don’t care if you say something went wrong or come up with some other excuse—I want him there. Got it?”
The maid nodded again, desperately.
Qi Yuan let go and pulled her to her feet, smiling sweetly. “Don’t screw this up again, little girl. If I don’t kill you, the Eldest Princess will. And your whole family too, don’t you think?”
The maid trembled even more violently.
—
Feng Jun sneezed.
As he sneezed out of nowhere, the people around him laughed. “What’s wrong, Young Master Feng? Feeling weak? Catching a chill?”
“Get lost!” Feng Jun snapped irritably. “Stop talking nonsense!”
As he bickered with them, a maid came toward him carrying tea, but “accidentally” spilled it on him.
Feng Jun frowned and was about to scold her when the maid subtly gave him a meaningful look.
He suddenly remembered Wei Changying’s arrangement for today. Playing it cool, he followed the maid a few steps away.
She hurriedly whispered, “Young Master Feng, please go to the rock garden right away. Something went wrong—Miss Feng followed Miss Qi over there. If you don’t go and take her away, it’ll ruin everything!”
“What?!” Feng Jun’s expression changed drastically. He snapped, “How could you idiots let Caiwei follow them?!”
Even as he scolded, he was already heading toward the rock garden. “Quick, go check!”
The maid breathed a quiet sigh of relief but kept her face composed as she quickly led him away.
The rock garden was massive, with a hollow interior containing a small, furnished room.
Among nobles, it had once been a trend to build such setups. In summer, the interior stayed cool and pleasant.
Now that the weather was warming, the Eldest Princess’s estate had reopened its own rock garden.
When Feng Jun arrived, he frowned. “Where’s Caiwei?”
Had she already gone in?
That would be bad!
He turned to ask for clarification when, suddenly, someone kicked him hard from behind. He lost his balance and stumbled forward uncontrollably.
The door of the rock garden was open, and he crashed straight into the furnished room inside, hitting the ground hard.
Something’s wrong!
He reacted quickly, bracing his arms to get up—only to receive another brutal kick to his rear. He fell forward again, scraping his elbows raw on the ground.
D*mn it!
He cursed inwardly, already aware things had gone terribly wrong. He immediately rolled to the side and pushed himself up—
—but just then, the door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Startled, he rushed to the door and yanked on it, shaking it violently. “Who the h*ll’s out there?! Who’s out there?!”
Outside, Qi Yuan answered lightly with a half-amused tone, “Young Master Feng, it’s me.”
Feng Jun froze. “Qi Yuan?”
He couldn’t stop himself from mentally cursing Wei Changying a thousand times over.
That useless idiot!
He’d promised the plan was watertight—this was his watertight setup?!
Qi Yuan’s smiling voice came through as she locked the door. “That’s right, Young Master Feng. You all thought this was so amusing, didn’t you? Well then, I won’t let you leave disappointed. Have fun in there.”
You all?
Feng Jun’s hands suddenly turned cold. He finally thought to look around the room—and in one corner, he spotted two people lying there.
One was Wei Changying.
The other was the servant boy Wei had prepared to trap Qi Yuan.
How did it come to this?!
Feng Jun immediately began pounding and shaking the door. “Open up! Open this door! Let me out!”
Qi Yuan chuckled softly. “You’ll be disappointed. I’m the kind of person who either does nothing—or goes all the way. Since you’ve come this far, why leave early?”
As she spoke, she held a fire striker to her lips, gently blew on it, and without changing her expression, lit the dry grass around the rock garden.
The dry brush had been laid out all over the area. A gust of wind blew, and flames roared to life like a dragon rising—sudden and fierce.
Qi Yuan turned and looked at the maid, her voice mild but mocking: “You must’ve discussed this thoroughly. Aside from your group, no one else should be around the rock garden for now, right?”
The maid’s legs had gone weak. Hearing the screams and banging from inside, she staggered backward in terror and nearly fell.
But she still remembered to answer, voice trembling: “Y-yes, miss.”
Qi Yuan clapped her hands. “Perfect. Let’s go back and enjoy the opera.”
Then she asked softly, “Where was I just now? Who was I with?”
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 20+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
