A person’s life isn’t lived in years, months, or days—but in just a few defining moments.
Qi Yuan finally understood that saying now.
Of course she could rely on herself for everything. But when the one you love turns out to love you more than you expected… that feeling—was indescribably wonderful.
She couldn’t help but reach out and touch Xiao Yunting’s face. “I’ll wait for you to come back.”
Nothing more needed to be said. Just a single sentence was enough for her to understand everything he meant.
Xiao Yunting leaned in and suddenly pinched her cheek.
Just as he’d imagined—it was satisfyingly soft.
And he still had all his fingers. He couldn’t stop himself from laughing.
Whenever he faced Qi Yuan, it always felt like his heart had opened a crack, from which endless tenderness flowed out, unstoppable.
The gardenias on the shelf were in full bloom. A breeze blew in, carrying their fragrance. Qi Yuan reached out and moved his hand away. Before she could say anything, Qi Zhen came rushing in: “Ah Yuan!”
Seeing Xiao Yunting, he quickly halted and gave a quick cough before urgently saying, “Something’s happened.”
Something had, indeed, happened.
Li Changqing couldn’t stand waiting in the palace any longer. Emperor Yongchang kept summoning others but showed no intention of letting him attend court.
He grew increasingly uneasy. Unable to sit still any longer, he left the palace, planning to find Zhu Bin and ask if they’d caught the person yet.
But just as he returned to his own residence—he barely stepped through the gates—before the Embroidered Uniform Guard completely surrounded his home.
His young disciple came running to him in a panic, white as a sheet. “Master! Something’s wrong! The Embroidered Uniform Guard have surrounded our whole residence!”
Li Changqing’s heart sank instantly, and his expression changed.
Over the years, he had been treated like an honored guest by Emperor Yongchang and had received countless rewards.
He had met the Embroidered Uniform Guard before—seen Pu Wuyong before.
But every time, they had respectfully called him Daoist Li.
To now be surrounded like this—there was no way to tell himself this was nothing serious.
Something had gone terribly wrong!
He instantly understood.
He knew all that talk of divine punishment and heavenly retribution—lightning from the heavens—wasn’t natural. It had to be man-made.
His young disciple stood trembling, eyes full of despair. “Master, what do we do now?”
The Embroidered Uniform Guard had the entire estate sealed off—no way in, no way out!
But Li Changqing sneered coldly. “You think I can’t escape if I want to?”
The Embroidered Uniform Guard stormed in, quickly sealing off every corner of the residence.
Leading them was Lu Yifeng. With a wave of his hand, he brought several officers in with him.
Because he was a Daoist, Li Changqing had long insisted on not keeping many servants. The house was practically deserted.
Yet despite witnesses seeing him return home, Li Changqing was nowhere to be found—he had vanished.
Lu Yifeng’s face darkened instantly. He shouted, “Search! Turn this place upside down!”
The news that Li Changqing’s home had been surrounded could not be kept quiet.
This favored man at Emperor Yongchang’s side—known to all for his ability—who could have imagined he’d fall so suddenly?
Officials were baffled. What on earth did he do? What made His Majesty so angry as to order the Embroidered Uniform Guard to ransack his house?
“What did you do?!” At that very moment, Feng Yuzhang was explaining the situation to Feng Caiwei.
When Feng Caiwei heard that Li Changqing had been raided on the emperor’s orders, she nearly lost her mind. She looked at Feng Yuzhang in disbelief, shaking her head furiously. “No way! I don’t believe it—I don’t believe it! How could this happen?!”
How could this happen?!
That was Li Changqing!
Even when Duke Chu’s household collapsed, it hadn’t affected him. After returning from his travels, he’d remained favored and honored by the court!
How could he suddenly fall like this?!
Feng Yuzhang was absolutely livid. He raised his hand and slapped her across the face. “I told you long ago—don’t be clever, don’t think too highly of yourself! But you wouldn’t listen!”
Feng Caiwei clutched her stinging cheek and bolted for the door. “I don’t believe it! Grandfather must be lying to me—it’s not true, it’s not true!”
Feng Yuzhang gave a cold laugh. “Lying to you? You want to know why Li Changqing was arrested? Jiang Yanzhen reported him! That entire Mount Mao curse case—it was orchestrated by Li Changqing and Qiu Chuying! And the pills he gave His Majesty—they were filled with Wushi San! Wushi San, do you understand?!”
Wushi San…
Of course Feng Caiwei knew what that was.
She went pale and staggered back a step, collapsing to the ground. Whether to convince herself or to argue with Feng Yuzhang, she muttered, “That’s not possible… Daoist Li was so powerful—how could he be taken down so easily?”
Seeing her still in denial, Feng Yuzhang slapped her again, hard enough to make her ears ring.
Pointing at her furiously, he roared, “You’ve dragged this family into an impossible situation—alienated on both sides! We’re caught in the middle with nowhere to turn! Feng Caiwei, you deserve to die!”
Right now, he truly wished he could strangle her on the spot—but he also knew he couldn’t.
Li Changqing may have committed a great crime, but that didn’t mean all of his predictions were lies.
After all, many of his readings had come true in the past.
If Feng Yuzhang killed Feng Caiwei now, it would be the same as admitting guilt—like confessing they had colluded with Li Changqing. That crime couldn’t be escaped.
But even if he couldn’t kill her, Feng Yuzhang could barely suppress his fury.
Feng Caiwei bit down hard on her lip until her mouth was full of blood—but she felt no pain.
She didn’t understand—why?
Why, when everything had been going so smoothly, did one bolt of lightning blow everything to pieces?!
Meanwhile, Li Changqing himself was in dire straits. The Embroidered Uniform Guard were searching everywhere in the city for him.
He didn’t need anyone to tell him—he knew it had to be because of his connection to Qiu Chuying.
Otherwise, Emperor Yongchang wouldn’t be so enraged.
But what about His Highness?
If he fell, the emperor would surely take out his fury on the prince.
Li Changqing’s temples throbbed. He slammed his fist down on the table.
His young disciple walked in, face ashen, and said in a devastated voice, “Master… Lord Zhu Bin has also been arrested… I was hiding in the crowd—I saw the Embroidered Uniform Guard take him away with my own eyes.”
Li Changqing closed his eyes slowly.
He let out a grunt in acknowledgment.
The disciple looked at him nervously. “Master, we should leave the city immediately. Once we’re out, we can go find His Highness. We have to escape first—only then can we make plans.”
Li Changqing’s face was ashen.
He, Li Changqing, had dominated for a lifetime—was he now going to crawl away like a dog and lose to a little girl?
No.
Absolutely not.
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