Xiao Jingzhao no longer wanted to talk to Feng Caiwei.
He frowned impatiently. “What exactly did you ask me out for?”
“Nothing, really,” Feng Caiwei replied casually, casting him a glance. “It’s just that if Your Highness didn’t agree to meet me, I wouldn’t have been able to come out. You can go now.”
This woman!
Xiao Jingzhao’s patience was wearing thin. “What is it that you really want?”
Feng Caiwei looked at him in surprise, her gaze laced with mockery. “What’s wrong? Doesn’t Your Highness not want to see me? Then why do you care what I’m doing?”
Xiao Jingzhao finally snapped. “Feng Caiwei!”
He couldn’t stand her sarcastic tone anymore.
This wasn’t how she acted around Xiao Yunting.
The realization irritated him even more.
Feng Caiwei, too, was running out of patience.
Since there were no outsiders in the private room of the teahouse, she took a sip of tea and said coldly, “Your Highness should know, my number one enemies are Qi Yuan and Xiao Yunting.”
Xiao Jingzhao did know.
Otherwise, even after finding out she had ties to Qi Wang, he wouldn’t have continued working with her.
But with Xiao Yunting now in Jiangxi…
Was she turning her sights on Qi Yuan?
That thought sparked something in Xiao Jingzhao.
Qi Yuan was indeed a mysterious figure. Xiao Yunting’s every move always seemed to involve her.
She rarely spoke, but when she did, it was always sharp and to the point.
Now that Xiao Yunting was away, removing such a powerful rival wasn’t a bad idea.
He suppressed his irritation, adjusted his tone, and raised an eyebrow at Feng Caiwei. “Didn’t they say she was sent back to her hometown to rest?”
That was the official story, but everyone knew the truth: the Qi family was trying to dodge the rumors about her being a bearer of misfortune from the heavens.
Feng Caiwei paid far more attention to Qi Yuan than Xiao Jingzhao did.
She sneered. “She’s already back.”
If Xiao Yunting’s repeated rejections were slaps in her face, then Qi Yuan’s very existence was a constant, humiliating reminder that she was a joke.
Qi Yuan did it on purpose.
All the skills and knowledge she had worked so hard to gain—what did they amount to in Qi Yuan’s eyes?
If not for her, Feng Caiwei wouldn’t have made so many missteps. She wouldn’t have ended up this pitiful.
But that didn’t matter.
Anyone who had seen her like this—would die.
She smiled slightly and looked slyly at Xiao Jingzhao. “Your Highness must be curious, right? If Qi Yuan is so powerful, why would I still dare go after her?”
Xiao Jingzhao felt a chill from her smile and hesitated before frowning. “Don’t do anything reckless!”
Reckless?
What did he mean, “reckless”?
Feng Caiwei looked at him coldly and tugged the corners of her lips. “No wonder the Imperial Grandson made such a splash after just two or three years back in court. If Your Highness had even half his decisiveness, you might have had a name in front of His Majesty by now.”
Her words hit Xiao Jingzhao like a whip.
His face darkened.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the throat.
What right did this woman have to look down on him?
If not for him, she wouldn’t even have the chance to be sitting here, spewing insults.
And yet, she dared to mock him?
Feng Caiwei burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears came out—even as her face turned purple from being choked, she continued to look at Xiao Jingzhao mockingly.
Only when he suddenly let go did she fall into a fit of violent coughing.
But even so, she showed no sign of backing down.
Afraid of what?
She was done swallowing humiliation.
If Qi Yuan could do it, so could she.
Just as she was about to say something even sharper, there was a light knock at the door.
A maid called out softly, “Miss.”
Feng Caiwei glanced at Xiao Jingzhao and covered her throat, then raised her voice. “Come in!”
Xiuyi walked in with brisk steps and stood respectfully a short distance away. “Miss, the two of them have arrived.”
The two of them?
Xiao Jingzhao’s gaze flickered. He grew more curious—what was Feng Caiwei up to?
Feng Caiwei pushed open the window. From the second floor, she could look down into the main hall.
But she wasn’t watching the patrons below. Her eyes were fixed on a few figures walking up the stairs.
Following her gaze, Xiao Jingzhao saw it too: a teenage boy was holding the hand of a child about four or five years old as they climbed the stairs.
Feng Caiwei withdrew her gaze and looked at Xiao Jingzhao. “No need to wonder. They’re Qi Yuan’s younger brothers.”
Qi Yuan’s brothers?
Xiao Jingzhao’s expression grew strange. He stared at her in confusion. “Why are you targeting two little kids?”
Feng Caiwei sipped her tea with a smile, her tone casual. “Obviously—to settle the score.”
Qi Yuan had caused the death of her brother.
So she would start—with Qi Yuan’s brothers.
To lose what mattered most, to watch family die right before your eyes—
Qi Yuan had never experienced that pain. So it was time to let her feel it.
Xiao Jingzhao immediately caught on. “You want to kill them?!”
Feng Caiwei yawned and leaned back lazily. “Don’t be so dramatic, Your Highness. Hiring someone to kill them would still count as murder. Why would I make trouble for myself?”
Now, Xiao Jingzhao really couldn’t read her intentions anymore.
A vague sense of unease rose in his chest. “Then what are you planning?”
Feng Caiwei gave him a mysterious smile. “You’ll see soon enough, Your Highness.”
She glanced at Xiuyi. “Tell our people downstairs to follow the plan. Don’t screw it up again.”
It hadn’t been easy for her to get out lately.
So every outing had to be worth it.
Xiuyi quickly turned and left.
Xiao Jingzhao stared at Feng Caiwei suspiciously. She was like a madwoman now.
And this madwoman—once she helped him get rid of Qi Yuan and Xiao Yunting—had to be discarded immediately.
Otherwise, she’d eventually burn him too.
Not long after, shouting and scolding could be heard outside—
Along with the sound of a child crying.
Xiao Jingzhao immediately stood up. Feng Caiwei smiled sweetly and followed behind him at ease.
The door opened a crack, and Xiao Jingzhao looked out.
A little boy was sitting on the floor, crying loudly, while a teenage boy stood protectively in front of him, arguing with someone across the room.
Xiao Jingzhao only needed a glance to recognize the person across from them— His expression changed drastically.
He turned around and stared at Feng Caiwei in disbelief.
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