When the Feng family first returned to the capital, they were in the spotlight. But shortly after their return, a string of major incidents followed, and they ended up under house arrest. More and more people in the capital began to catch on.
The Fengs had already been back for a while. During that time, aside from Feng Caiwei identifying over a hundred varieties of peonies at the Peony Banquet and displaying impressive calligraphy skills, there was little else that left an impression.
At the very least, when people really thought about it, they realized—if those in power truly intended to promote the Feng family, then surely it wouldn’t just be an unmarried girl getting all the attention.
The threshold of the Feng estate, once nearly worn through by visitors, suddenly became cold and deserted.
Madam Feng was so anxious she developed painful sores in her mouth.
She had fallen ill ever since Feng Jun’s death.
One day, while Feng Caiwei was keeping her company, Madam Feng finally seized the chance to grip her hand tightly—so hard her nails dug into Caiwei’s flesh—and stared at her with burning intensity: “Your grandfather said your brother told you something before he acted. What exactly was it?!”
In the capital, noble sons died all the time—it wasn’t even considered news. But for Madam Feng, it was seared into her bones.
Her face was pale, her entire being steeped in unease and fury.
Feng Caiwei hadn’t slept properly in days.
Ever since she saw what Feng Jun looked like after death, she’d been haunted by nightmares—every time she closed her eyes, she saw him grinning as he ran over and called her “sister.”
The more she couldn’t sleep, the calmer she became.
She had placed too much importance on Xiao Yunting.
If she hadn’t been so distracted, if she had paid more attention to her brother, many things could have been different.
Steeling herself, she slowly told the truth—that Feng Jun and Wei Changying had intended to set a trap for Qi Yuan, but something went wrong.
Madam Feng was stunned, almost disbelieving.
She clutched Caiwei’s wrist even harder. “How could this be?! Even so, how did your brother end up dead?!”
Even if they caused trouble, it shouldn’t have cost him his life!
Since her return, she had asked Feng Yuzhang countless times, but he kept telling her to stop meddling and pretend it had never happened.
How could she pretend?
Her grandson was dead!
Feng Caiwei lowered her gaze. Just as she hesitated, remembering Feng Yuzhang’s warnings, the door was suddenly flung open with a loud bang.
Feng Yuzhang stood in the doorway, his expression grim as he cast a sharp glance at Caiwei. “Get out!”
Ever since the incident, his attitude toward her had done a complete about-face.
Madam Feng was stunned. “Marquis!”
But Feng Yuzhang only gave Caiwei a warning look.
Caiwei immediately fled, covering her face.
Madam Feng was so angry she could hardly breathe. “Marquis, are you trying to kill me?! What did Caiwei do wrong? Why are you suddenly treating her this harshly?”
“What did she do wrong?” Feng Yuzhang walked over and sat heavily on a stool by the bed. “She’s flighty and full of schemes. When nothing’s happening, she can play the part—but the moment something happens, she completely falls apart!”
Seeing Madam Feng’s confused expression, he lost his patience and explained the situation around Feng Jun’s death. His face grew darker.
“I’ve interrogated the servants who were around Jun. They all said he’d already planned to ‘teach the Qi girl a lesson’…”
He gritted his teeth in frustration. “That fool didn’t know the meaning of fear! The Qi family holds real power now—they’re the Imperial Grandson’s right hand! Picking a fight with them is the same as slapping the Imperial Grandson in the face! What’s worse, Caiwei knew about it in advance but didn’t tell a soul!”
If they had been informed, he would’ve stopped it.
Feng Jun wouldn’t have had to die.
Madam Feng sat on the bed, utterly dazed, eyes wide with shock, unable to digest it all.
Feng Yuzhang slammed the table. “I’m not angry she’s scheming. For our family, having a daughter who knows how to strategize isn’t a bad thing. I’m angry she wasted all her schemes on useless things!”
Just thinking about it made him furious.
All that talk of “taking it slow” and “waiting for the right time”—if she had listened to them from the start, would Qi Yuan even be a problem now?
They had pampered her too much, raising her into someone with high ambitions and an inflated sense of self.
Madam Feng clutched her pounding head. Over the years, Caiwei had always been the most favored child in the household. Judging from what Feng Yuzhang said, was he just going to abandon her now?
She opened her mouth. “Then… the Imperial Grandson….?”
“What Imperial Grandson?” Feng Yuzhang gave a bitter laugh, unable to hide his disappointment. “There’s no way he’ll ever fall for Caiwei. Didn’t you see how he grabbed her by the throat at the Eldest Princess’s estate? If she had said even one more word, he might have strangled her on the spot!”
As a man himself, he could see it clearly—that was the end of the road.
No matter how talented or accomplished Caiwei was, it didn’t matter.
If a man had even the slightest affection for you, he would never put his hands on your neck.
He sighed deeply. “His Highness was right—we had just returned to the capital. Our foundation wasn’t stable. We should have kept a low profile, at least waited until we had a real post before making moves. But we were too eager.”
Madam Feng’s headache worsened. She rubbed her temples and asked, exhausted, “Then what did we even come back for?”
Was it all just false hope?
Feng Yuzhang looked at her quietly. “As long as we act wisely from now on and stop stepping on powerful toes, Her Majesty the Empress won’t abandon us.”
Feng Caiwei, of course, knew all this.
But that was never all she wanted.
She had poured her heart and soul into everything she’d learned these past ten-plus years.
When she was little, she’d almost died trying to draw enemy attention away from others.
How could Xiao Yunting say that they were even now, that their debts were paid?
She wiped her tears away. Her eyes were cold and emotionless. She sealed a letter with wax and handed it to her trusted maid. “Deliver this quietly to Daoist Qiu at the Huang Daxin Temple in West City.”
The maid, Ruixue, looked nervous. “Miss, this…”
Feng Caiwei didn’t even lift her head—just shot her a cold glance. “Do as I said.”
Ruixue saw that her young mistress had no intention of discussing it and quickly nodded before hurrying off with the letter.
Feng Caiwei leaned back against her pillow, face emotionless, and began destroying all the documents the family had collected on Xiao Yunting over the years.
Even the pipa she had planned to use for performing the “General’s Victory Tune” was thrown hard to the ground.
So he didn’t like her?
Fine. Then she’d find someone who did.
In this world, there may be many things hard to obtain—but two-legged men? Not them.
If he wanted to give away the opportunity, then let him.
Let him learn what it truly feels like to lose everything.
When the day came that he lost his position as Imperial Grandson—she’d see if he still preferred the beauty over the throne.
