Ling Qiang fell so badly that she could hardly stand up.
The others were also stunned by the sudden scene; for a moment, none of them reacted. They simply stared in shock, and no one even thought to help Ling Qiang up.
Wang Chan quickly walked to Qi Yuan and called softly, her voice trembling, “Yuan Jie’er.”
Qi Yuan kept a cold face and stepped forward two paces, looking down at Ling Qiang from above. “I thought some gossiping shrew had mixed into this circle of such noble young ladies.”
She glanced around at the people present, her gaze sweeping across them one by one. “After all, everyone here claims to be refined daughters of prestigious families, how could they be so low-class, thinking all day about who did what in whose household?”
What sharp words!
Impossible to parry!
Ling Qiang was so angry that her vision darkened. Her hands clenched tightly, wishing she could devour Qi Yuan alive.
That b*tch!
Madam Xiang immediately reacted. As the host, both by etiquette and reason, she had to mediate between the two sides and ensure the banquet ended peacefully.
She hurried forward to support Ling Qiang, who was nearly fainting from anger, and quickly said, “Oh my, it’s just children joking around. Ah Qiang was joking, Yuan Jie’er was joking too. Don’t let it harm the harmony.”
She could only tell such obvious lies; otherwise, even she didn’t know how to respond.
At the same time, she gave Qi Yuan a look. “Yuan Jie’er, don’t you like horseback riding and hunting the most? Go change your clothes quickly. Later, hunt a few more sika deer and bring honor to us ladies!”
The other noble ladies had already come back to their senses. Some of them had originally been indignant, disliking Qi Yuan’s reckless behavior, daring to act in public.
But when they wanted to criticize her, they subconsciously stopped, looking at Ling Qiang, how miserable she looked.
Qi Yuan was a rolling knife, completely different from Wang Chan.
She wasn’t afraid of losing face, nor did she care about her reputation.
After thinking it over, no one spoke.
This was the advantage of acting crazy.
Qi Yuan glanced at Wang Chan. “Did you see?”
Wang Chan immediately understood and nodded firmly. “I saw! I know what to do from now on.”
Qi Yuan said no more and directly followed Xiang Rong to change clothes.
Only after exhausting herself did Madam Xiang finally calm Ling Qiang down.
Turning back, she couldn’t help looking at Second Madam Qi with lingering fear. “Your Yuan Jie’er truly is…”
“She’s lucky.” Second Madam Qi coughed lightly. “She didn’t lose anything, just took a fall. That’s already not bad.”
This was also what she truly thought. After all, among the previous people, few had ended up intact.
Now that Ling Qiang was still intact, what was there to be dissatisfied about?
Ling Qiang was certainly dissatisfied!
A large bump had formed on her forehead. At that moment, a maid was holding an egg to apply to it, but Ling Qiang suddenly slapped the maid across the face.
The maid immediately knelt and repeatedly begged for mercy.
Ling Qiang was furious to the point of madness.
She simply couldn’t understand, why was Qi Yuan so arrogant?!
She was just someone who had been found and brought back halfway, what did she count as?!
After changing clothes and fixing her hair, she sat before the mirror, gnashing her teeth at the table in front of her.
Then she turned her head darkly and looked at the kneeling maid. “Is everything ready?”
The maid was frightened out of her wits, mostly because of Ling Qiang herself.
She knew her mistress’s temper all too well. Ever since childhood, Ling Qiang had been spoiled by Duchess Cheng and had never suffered such a humiliating setback.
Being splashed with tea by Qi Yuan and then tripped and sent sprawling in front of everyone was, to Ling Qiang, an unbearable disgrace.
If she didn’t get revenge for this, the servants under her would have no idea how they were supposed to survive the days ahead.
Heart pounding, the maid hurriedly nodded.
“Miss, it’s… it’s already been prepared.”
A vicious expression crossed Ling Qiang’s face.
Good.
As long as everything was ready.
She would see how much longer that bitch could remain so arrogant!
***
At that moment, Wen Mingfeng was examining his bow.
He and Xiang Jie both studied at the Imperial Academy, so for this year’s Whole Deer Banquet, he and Xie Ying had naturally been included among the invited guests as Xiang Jie’s close classmates.
Xie Ying laughed and said to him, “You look like a refined scholar, but I didn’t expect your archery skills to be so good.”
Wen Mingfeng modestly exchanged a few pleasantries and was just about to reply when a young maid came running over and whispered a few words in his ear.
After listening, he cupped his hands toward Xie Ying.
“Brother Xie, I have a small matter to attend to. Please excuse me for a while.”
Xie Ying thought nothing of it and turned back to testing his bow.
Wen Mingfeng continued walking for some distance before asking, seemingly puzzled,
“Why would Brother Xiang summon me to the inner quarters? That doesn’t seem proper.”
The maid didn’t even dare raise her head.
“Young Master Wen, I’m only a servant. I merely carry out our young master’s instructions.”
Wen Mingfeng gave an “oh” and appeared not to find anything suspicious.
“Very well. Continue leading the way.”
The maid had been so nervous she could barely breathe. Hearing this, she felt as if she had come back to life and quickly hurried ahead, walking at a brisk pace.
***
By this time, Qi Yuan had already changed her clothes.
Xiang Rong was being urged away to inspect the grounds, so she could only lower her voice and say, “I’ll go ahead and take a look. Come over by yourself in a little while.”
As soon as she left, the door slammed shut with a bang.
Sitting leisurely on a stool, Qi Yuan let out a soft chuckle.
Then she opened the incense burner and stared coldly at the wisps of smoke curling upward.
She clicked her tongue lightly.
An aphrodisiac incense, combined with lilies.
How thoughtful.
To pull this off, Ling Qiang had clearly put in considerable effort. At the very least, she must have bribed servants of the Xiang household.
Otherwise, she couldn’t have arranged things to this extent.
Interesting.
Just as she was thinking this, she heard a man’s voice outside.
“Brother Xiang wants me to go in?”
A woman’s voice answered: “Yes. Our young master said he wanted you to sample his deer-blood wine and judge whether it’s suitable to serve to the guests.”
Qi Yuan slowly raised an eyebrow.
***
Meanwhile, Wen Mingfeng pushed open the door.
He had known all along what was about to happen.
The schemes used by women in the inner quarters were always the same few tricks.
Ling Qiang’s plan to frame Qi Yuan was nothing more than drugging her with an aphrodisiac.
If he entered at this moment, it would conveniently make it appear that he too had been set up, allowing him to play the hero rescuing a beauty.
Of course, he would merely pretend to be resisting with great strength of will.
After all, Qi Yuan had already been drugged.
He would still have his reason; she would not.
When the matter was investigated afterward, all the evidence would point to Ling Qiang.
As for him, he would be nothing more than another unfortunate victim caught in the scheme.
That was the ideal outcome.
In that case, Qi Yuan wouldn’t even have a reason to hate him.
Just thinking about it made him feel immensely satisfied.
After all, having an enemy unwittingly help bring about your good fortune—
Now that was a truly delightful feeling.
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