When Qi Yuan returned to the Qi household in the capital, the Old Madam had already been waiting for a long time.
The Second Madam had also been waiting with her the whole time. She spoke with deep worry: “If I’d known earlier, I would’ve gone with Ah Yuan…”
The Old Madam gave her a strange look.
Back then, whenever Second Madam accompanied Qi Yuan on outings, she would always come back in a daze, practically scared witless.
Now she was saying this?
Second Madam let out a heavy sigh: “I really couldn’t feel at ease. That Tian Baoci… my sister-in-law once told me he was no good. Back then at her household…”
As she spoke, Second Madam pressed her lips together, then continued: “My nephew’s wet nurse had a child around the same age. My sister-in-law was kindhearted and let the wet nurse raise both children in the residence.”
“But later, when Tian Baoci visited the residence, he actually kicked that child into the lake from a fake mountain. The boy hit his head on the rocks and died on the spot…”
At the time, Second Madam had been pregnant and was nearly scared into a miscarriage.
Ever since, she had harbored deep hatred toward Tian Baoci.
A child barely three or four years old!
What could a child like that have possibly done to provoke him—to deserve such cruelty?
The Old Madam’s brow furrowed deeply: “And nothing came of it?!”
Second Madam replied bitterly: “My sister-in-law wanted justice no matter what. But… the Tian family was wealthy and powerful. Duke Chengen’s household tracked down the wet nurse’s husband and gave him two hundred taels of silver.”
Two hundred taels was a huge sum to common folk.
A family of four could live off twenty taels for a whole year.
So the wet nurse’s husband stepped forward and testified that the child had slipped and fallen—that it wasn’t Tian Baoci’s doing.
The Old Madam slammed her hand on the table.
Second Madam’s eyes reddened with tears: “The wet nurse died not long after, from illness. As a mother, how could she use money stained with her child’s blood? That silver was a death sentence.”
She choked back a sob and looked at the Old Madam: “That’s why I’m so worried about Ah Yuan.”
To provoke a madman like that—especially one with power and influence—was no small matter.
The Old Madam held her hand and said flatly: “He won’t always be that lucky.”
At least now that he had run into Qi Yuan, his luck had likely run out.
Just then, Liuzhong rushed in, breaking all decorum: “Old Madam! Second Madam! The young lady has returned! She’s in Mingyue Pavilion now—I’ll go get a doctor!”
A doctor?!
The Old Madam and Second Madam stood up in unison, both faces turning pale.
No time for questions—they rushed to Mingyue Pavilion.
Inside, Baizhi and Lianqiao’s eyes were red like rabbits’.
Qi Yuan often returned from outings with injuries, but she never said a word about them.
This time was different. A deep bloody gash stretched from her neck down to her lower back, still embedded with short, coarse thorns.
It was a gruesome mess of torn flesh.
Baiyin reacted quickest. She fetched hot water and carefully took scissors to Qi Yuan’s clothes, gently saying: “Miss, bear with me. I need to remove all these thorns for you.”
Qi Yuan responded with a calm hum. Seeing Baizhi and Lianqiao with tears in their eyes, she smiled faintly: “It’s nothing. Go run the bath and find me a clean set of clothes.”
The two maids quickly went off.
Baiyin stayed, and with a pained expression, pulled out the first thorn.
She had assumed the young lady would cry out.
But Qi Yuan didn’t make a sound.
And for some reason, that made Baiyin—who hadn’t planned on crying—tear up. She turned away to wipe her eyes and choked back a sob: “Miss, if it hurts, just say something…”
Qi Yuan didn’t feel any pain.
She had once been shot through the shoulder by a pirate’s arrow and left by the seaside to wait for the tide to drown her.
She had also had all her fingernails and toenails pulled out under Eldest Princess Baorong’s orders.
Compared to those, this pain was nothing at all.
But while Qi Yuan didn’t feel it, the Old Madam and Second Madam—upon entering and seeing her back—both burst into tears.
Second Madam sat on the bed’s edge, then quickly stood up again: “Ah Yuan, does it hurt? I’ll go get the best wound medicine I have!”
Qi Yuan shook her head: “It’s alright, Second Aunt. It doesn’t hurt.”
The Old Madam gripped her hand, practically grinding her teeth: “Was it Tian Baoci who did this?!”
She was ready to take on the entire Tian family.
Qi Yuan raised her eyebrows: “No. It was Tian Bozhi.”
Duke Chengen?
The Old Madam reacted: “For a man of his rank to raise a hand against a younger generation—how impressive! I’ll go to the palace and request an audience with the Empress Dowager! Let Her Majesty explain this!”
But Qi Yuan coughed lightly and interjected: “No need, Grandmother. I’ve already handled it. Tian Baoci and Tian Bozhi are both dead.”
…
Second Madam’s tears immediately stopped. She stared at Qi Yuan in shock. Her lips moved, but no words came out.
Tian Baoci and Tian Bozhi—dead?
No need to ask. Qi Yuan must’ve killed them.
She quickly wiped away the rest of her tears.
Even the Old Madam froze. “How did they die?”
Qi Yuan casually gave a brief summary, not seeing it as anything major: “If they’d come back, there would’ve been endless drama. I didn’t feel like watching them fake guilt. I didn’t want to see the Empress Dowager and His Majesty clash over this. Especially Tian Bozhi—with all his in-laws and allies, his return would stir up a storm. It’s better this way.”
Only the dead truly admit their guilt.
The Old Madam was momentarily speechless.
So… they were dead.
After a while, she recalled something else and asked: “And what about Feng Caiwei?”
In the end, this whole affair had been her scheme.
If not for her manipulation, Qi Yuan wouldn’t have gotten entangled with the powerful and dangerous Tian family.
If Feng Caiwei was left alive, she would always be a threat.
There were too many people in the Qi family. You can guard a thief for a thousand days, but you can’t stop a thief who only needs one day.
How could they protect everyone forever?
Qi Yuan gave a soft “oh” and replied calmly: “She’s dead too. Mauled to death by Tian Baoci’s dogs. As for the men Qi Wang left her—Old Zhao and Liujin have taken them all. I’ve instructed them to hand them over to Grandfather. Let him handle the rest.”
Second Madam involuntarily took a step back.
So… on this trip, Qi Yuan had killed three people?
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