At this moment, Qi Zhen was utterly exasperated.
He gave Liu Zhong a fierce kick and shouted in a fury, “What the h*ll were you doing?! You useless fool! I told you—dead or alive, you bring her back! Did that go in one ear and out the other?!”
Liu Zhong was nearly kicked into vomiting his bile. Hearing this, he scrambled to shake his head with a miserable look on his face. “My lord, how could I dare disobey? I carried out your orders to the letter! But when I got there… it was already too late!”
By the time he arrived, Madam Wang’s people had already let Qi Jin go.
Liu Zhong didn’t dare delay. He immediately tracked the leads and found out Qi Jin was headed for Jiangnan, so he gave chase right away.
But somehow, he hadn’t found a single trace of her along the way.
Knowing something was wrong, he rushed back to report.
“Where could she have gone?!” Qi Zhen’s head was pounding. One Qi Yuan was already more complicated than she appeared—ruthless and cunning beneath the surface.
And now, the daughter he’d raised since birth turned out to be just as hidden and calculating.
Not only was she heartless and cold-blooded, but she had also managed to vanish right under the nose of the marquisate.
Liu Zhong hurriedly added, “My lord, Second Miss was raised in the marquisate. She knows plenty of nobles and royals… I suspect she didn’t even leave the outskirts of the capital—maybe she’s already back in the city.”
Otherwise, how could there not be a single clue?
Qi Zhen fell silent.
Because he knew—what Liu Zhong said was entirely possible.
Qi Jin had grown up in the marquisate, beautiful and well-bred, and had always drawn attention.
If she wanted someone to shelter her, it would be all too easy.
But if that were the case, then the Qi family…
Then it would mean they had personally let the tiger return to the mountain—a venomous snake, set loose by their own hand.
And no one could say when that snake would turn around to strike.
He exhaled heavily and snapped at Liu Zhong, “Search! I want her found—no matter what it takes!”
They could not let Qi Jin roam free outside. She hated not only Qi Yuan now, but the entire Qi family. Who knew what damage she might cause if someone took advantage of her?
Liu Zhong, seeing his master in such a foul mood, didn’t dare say anything more and quickly agreed.
Qi Zhen then went to find the old Marquis.
The old Marquis had been reading. When he heard that Qi Jin had escaped, he looked up from behind his book and, with a loud thud, threw it onto the table, sneering coldly, “Your mother said your wife was muddle-headed, and she wasn’t wrong! Letting the tiger return to the mountain—do you know what trouble you’ve invited?!”
Qi Zhen didn’t even dare argue, only spoke anxiously, “Father, what do we do now?”
The old Marquis stood and looked at Qi Zhen seriously. “Let me ask you, that matter the Emperor entrusted you with—did you ever reveal anything to her?”
At those words, Qi Zhen’s expression turned grave. He shook his head immediately. “Father! I would never dare! I haven’t told anyone—not even Madam Wang!”
The old Marquis grunted, expression unmoved. “At least you still have some sense. The Emperor’s orders—if you so much as leak one word to anyone but me, you’ll be digging your own grave.”
Qi Zhen nodded solemnly.
Then the old Marquis said coldly, “Since she knows nothing of that, whatever she does know—others may try to use her, but it won’t be enough to bring serious trouble. Send men to track her down. If you find her…”
He made a cutting gesture and looked sharply at Qi Zhen. “Understand?”
Qi Zhen stiffened all over and answered heavily, “Yes.”
—
The night was dark and the wind harsh. Qi Jin huddled in a corner like a desperate, cornered animal.
Next to her lay Yunyan and a few of her maids—already dead, their bodies stiff, bluish splotches creeping across their faces.
The wind blew, making the candle flame flicker. The trees outside lashed against the window, their eerie shadows dancing like ghosts, nearly scaring her out of her wits.
Unable to hold it in any longer, she clutched her bundle and burst into sobs.
The worst thing she had ever done in her life—at most—was trying to ruin Qi Yuan’s reputation, or egging Qi Yunting on to deal with her.
But she had never killed anyone.
Everything now had gone far beyond what she could endure.
Bang!—the door was kicked open.
A group of men rushed in with torches, instantly flooding the room with light.
Qi Jin leapt to her feet in terror, staring at the newcomers.
In the torchlight, she clearly saw the face of the man at the front—and her expression froze in shock and disbelief. “Your Highness?!”
Qi Jin had been in and out of the palace often—she recognized the man immediately: it was Qi Wang.
Her eyes lit up with desperate hope.
Qi Wang had always been kind and courteous to her, helping her out of tight spots in the palace.
She’d heard even the Madam Wang family mention once or twice that Qi Wang likely intended to take her as his Wangfei.
Wangfei!
Those words alone had once filled her with infinite joy and longing.
That was why she had so ruthlessly tried to keep Qi Yuan from returning.
Because all of this—should have been hers!
The noble status, the blissful marriage, the life above others—it all belonged to her, Qi Jin!
Her throat tightened. With a thud, she knelt. “Your servant greets Your Highness!”
Qi Wang’s smile was gentle. Though it was bitterly cold, he still carried a folding fan in his hand.
With a light motion of the fan, he gestured to help her up. “Second Miss Qi, do rise. What’s happened to you?”
All her grievances surged to the surface. Seeing his warm manner, she burst into tears.
Qi Wang listened to her tearful complaints with a calm and patient air.
Then, in the flickering torchlight, his smile seemed dazzlingly bright. He asked casually, “How strange… didn’t Hua Momo go ahead to alert Li Xiuniang and Butcher Xu? Didn’t they already make arrangements? Weren’t they supposed to have Chengyong defile Qi Yuan’s innocence?”
…
Qi Jin’s eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost.
She understood every single word he said.
And it was exactly because she understood that her skin crawled and every hair on her body stood on end.
How did he know so much?
Why did he know?
Seeing her stunned, Qi Wang glanced her over and slowly curved his lips. “You were raised in the marquisate for over ten years, and you could wrap Qi Yunting around your finger… so how did you still lose to a ‘true daughter’ who popped out of nowhere?”
Qi Jin couldn’t utter a word. A thousand terrifying thoughts spun in her head, each one worse than the last.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
She hadn’t accidentally run into Qi Wang.
