The Eldest Princess held a position of utmost prestige—she was the current emperor’s own Eldest Sister.
Everyone knew that the emperor visited the temple every year. One New Year’s Eve, he had even personally climbed the mountain to invite the Eldest Princess to return to the palace for a family reunion.
But even then, she had refused.
So if not even the emperor could persuade her, who would believe that a girl the Qi family had raised outside for over a decade had somehow managed to invite her?
Of course she had to come see this spectacle for herself.
Now that she had seen Qi Yuan, she raised her brows and bluntly asked, “I do want to ask, Miss Qi—how did you make it up the mountain? And how did you come to meet the Eldest Princess? Why haven’t the rest of us had such luck?”
How many noblewomen in the capital had tried their luck?
The Eldest Princess’s temple was off-limits, and Baiyun Mountain itself was closed to visitors. But all the temples nearby had nearly been trampled flat by ladies hoping to catch a glimpse of her or find some connection.
Madam Lu’s hostility was blatant. Qi Yuan calmly met her gaze and, without any panic, answered, “Replying to Madam, I often gathered firewood on the mountain, and happened to meet Mama Jiang there…”
Madam Lu gave a half-smile, half-smirk. “Oh? Miss Qi is certainly fortunate. But I wonder—when exactly is the Eldest Princess supposed to arrive?”
Madam Lu’s questioning of a child like this was unpleasant to Madam Lu* from the Madam Wang family, especially since Madam Wang wasn’t saying a word. She frowned and called out loudly, “Yuan girl, come here to your aunt!”
* this is a different spelling lu
Qi Yuan curtsied to Madam Lu and turned to join Madam Lu.
Madam Lu pulled her aside and whispered, “Don’t mind her. She’s just jealous, that’s all.”
Qi Yuan blinked at her, feigning confusion.
Madam Lu chuckled and explained quietly, “Her daughter’s about your age. Twelve years ago, when the girl was just three, she claimed her daughter was sick and needed to be raised in a temple under the Bodhisattva’s blessing, so she sent her to Baiyun Mountain—where the Eldest Princess lives…”
Now Qi Yuan understood.
No wonder Madam Lu had reacted so strongly upon hearing that she had learned etiquette from the Eldest Princess.
Qi Yuan gave a small smile and nodded.
Just then, Madam Lu was calling her daughter over. “Zhenniang!”
Lu Zhenzhen, who had been waiting at the side, stepped forward, and Madam Lu said to Qi Yuan, “Miss Qi, our Zhenniang is timid. Today, I’ll leave her in your care.”
Lu Zhenzhen gave a gentle, shy smile and greeted her politely. “Miss Qi.”
There were many guests and many children. Madam Qi glanced at Qi Yuan and said, “Take the girls to play in the garden, but be careful—don’t get too close to the water.”
Qi Yuan had already received this instruction earlier and agreed without hesitation.
Madam Lu gave additional instructions to her daughter Wang Lianyi: “You go with your cousin, and keep an eye on her.”
Wang Lianyi, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Madam Wang family, had grown up on the frontier with her elders and only recently returned to the capital for marriage arrangements. She had a lively personality.
Hearing this, she immediately stepped forward and called, “Cousin.”
Qi Yuan knew how to act properly. Since both Madam Lu and Wang Lianyi had shown kindness, she naturally responded respectfully, greeting her as “Cousin.”
So Wang Lianyi accompanied her, along with Lu Zhenzhen, to the garden.
As more young girls arrived, the household’s stewardesses would bring them to join.
Along the way, Wang Lianyi asked many questions about life in the countryside.
Unlike Han Yue’e’s overly familiar behavior, Wang Lianyi’s curiosity was sincere—she was genuinely interested in what life was like.
But when she heard that Qi Yuan hadn’t even been allowed to sleep properly without being beaten, she frowned in outrage. “What kind of parents treat a child that way? They don’t deserve to be called human!”
Qi Yuan merely smiled—because she had just spotted Lianqiao anxiously peeking in from outside the pavilion.
Lianqiao had gone to gather information. Qi Yuan’s heart stirred, and she quickly made an excuse to go change clothes, slipping out of the pavilion and asking softly, “What is it?”
As she walked toward a nearby path, where their voices wouldn’t carry into the pavilion but they could still see if anyone approached, Lianqiao’s voice trembled with fear: “Miss, the eldest young master—he sent Qingsong to…”
Seeing her so pale, Qi Yuan’s face also darkened.
She gently rested her hand on Lianqiao’s shoulder. “Take your time. Don’t panic.”
Lianqiao managed to stifle her shaking and whispered, lips tight, “Miss, the eldest young master sent Qingsong to burn the ancestral hall!”
Burn the ancestral hall?
Qi Yuan was shocked, but that shock quickly turned into realization.
Ancestral halls were of critical importance to noble families.
For many, having a separate page in the family genealogy was worth dying for.
And women weren’t even allowed inside, normally.
So if Qi Yunting was burning the ancestral hall—what else could it be for?
It had to be because of her.
Ancestral halls carried religious and spiritual connotations.
If the Qi family held a grand recognition banquet today, but the ancestral hall just happened to catch fire—what would that suggest?
It would suggest that the family’s ancestors did not acknowledge her as their descendant.
That they were defying the heavens!
And with such things, people would rather believe than not.
If the hall truly burned, no matter how much the old Marquis and Marchioness favored her, even if the Eldest Princess herself attended—it wouldn’t matter.
The Qi family would not keep her.
Just as no respectable family in the capital would ever accept someone marked as inauspicious—someone whose very presence caused the ancestral hall to go up in flames.
Qi Yuan gave a cold laugh.
Lianqiao was nearly in tears. She hadn’t been able to stop Qingsong.
And once the fire started, even if Qingsong was caught, he’d never admit to it.
Her voice trembled. “Miss, what should we do?”
Qi Yuan, however, was not flustered at all. She calmly raised her eyebrows. “Let him burn it.”
…What?
Lianqiao thought she’d misheard and stared wide-eyed. “Miss, they clearly mean harm!”
Qi Yuan knew that very well. But she was calm. She leaned close to Lianqiao’s ear and whispered, “Go do something for me.”
As she laid out the instructions bit by bit, Lianqiao’s eyes grew wider and wider. By the end, her lips were cold, and she asked with icy hands and feet, “Miss… will this really work?”
Qi Yuan smiled and pinched her cheek lightly. “Don’t you trust your young mistress?”
Thinking of everything that had happened recently, Lianqiao didn’t hesitate and nodded hard.
Of course she trusted her.
“If you trust me, then do exactly as I say. Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.” Qi Yuan patted her shoulder.
Just then, from afar, Stewardess Gao came rushing over. “Miss Qi! Miss Qi! The Eldest Princess has arrived! The Eldest Princess is here! You’re needed to receive her!”
She had come!
Xiao Yunting had come through after all.
