Han Yue’e was about to go mad with rage!
Today felt cursed—none of her plans had gone as expected.
The commotion Qingsong stirred up by setting the fire was loud enough, but in the end he turned right around and confessed, firmly insisting she had ordered him to do it!
And now, Qi Zhen had even sent people to search her room.
Those letters…
She grabbed one of the sheets and glanced at it—her eyes flew wide in disbelief as she cried out, “No! I didn’t write this! I didn’t write any of this!”
She began picking them up one by one, her face drained of all color in fright.
How could this be?
She had destroyed all these letters—she was sure of it!
So how had Liu Zhong found them during the search?
Where had he gotten them?
Besides, these matters… only she and His Highness knew about them!
Even if someone was trying to frame her, they shouldn’t know the details so clearly.
No, no, no!
The Old Marquis quietly read through a few of the letters, then stared straight at Han Yue’e: “Our whole family treated you like one of our own! We never regarded you as an outsider. You ate, dressed, and lived no differently than the young masters and ladies of this household! Who would’ve thought—we raised a treacherous wolf in our midst!”
His eyes bore into her as he questioned sternly: “Who were you secretly colluding with? Who have you been passing information to?”
Han Yue’e’s hands and feet went cold.
Though the sun blazed overhead, so bright it made one squint, she still felt a chill all over.
How could things have ended up like this?
This was not how today was supposed to go. According to her plan, Qi Yuan was to be cast out of the family and thoroughly humiliated.
So how had she ended up being the one caught, with even her affair with Wangye dragged into the open?
Right—Wangye…
She couldn’t let Wangye get implicated!
Snapping back to her senses, Han Yue’e tried to explain herself—only for a pair of pale, slender hands to appear in front of her, gently picking up a letter beside her.
She looked up, following those hands, and saw Qi Yuan’s calm, distant expression.
Qi Yuan stared at the letter and said in a low voice: “This seal… seems to belong to someone from the royal family, doesn’t it?”
In a single sentence, all attention turned toward her.
Han Yue’e’s heart clenched in overwhelming fear. Her lips went cold as she trembled and looked at Qi Yuan—only to find Qi Yuan looking calmly back at her.
Their eyes met. Her terror stood in stark contrast to Qi Yuan’s composed poise.
Qi Yuan didn’t even show a flicker of curiosity.
No—wait!
Suddenly, Han Yue’e realized—it was Qi Yuan!
But the Old Marquis had already taken the letter from her hand. “What did you say?” he asked.
Qi Yuan answered softly, “Granddaughter once saw the Eldest Princess use this exact style of seal. The dragon-shaped emblem beneath the signature—it’s not something ordinary people would have.”
That’s right. Qi Yuan had been taught by the Eldest Princess herself.
The Old Marquis examined the letter carefully, then looked at Han Yue’e with narrowed eyes: “This is Qi Wang’s signature! You and Qi Wang have been corresponding in secret?”
Gasps broke out among the gathered guests, their expressions a mix of surprise, suspicion, and unease.
Even Lu Shangshu stroked his beard and let out a “tsk.” This Wangye really had no shame.
If he was truly in love with this girl, he should’ve submitted a formal request to the emperor to choose her as a consort.
Not sneak around passing letters in secret.
But someone else raised a sharp question: “What do these letters have to do with her ordering someone to burn down the ancestral hall?”
Han Yue’e could no longer keep up. Everything that happened today had already slipped out of her control.
And now, she began to realize it—everything was spiraling into chaos.
Qingsong burst into tears, wailing: “Miss Han said if we burned the ancestral hall, it would cause a big commotion. Then she could rush in to ‘save’ the ancestral tablets and everyone in the family would start to respect her! The eldest lady would be branded bad luck, and the family would have no choice but to marry her off to Qi Wang!”
Lu Shangshu’s face twisted into something unreadable.
The crowd’s expressions toward Han Yue’e were shifting—now more complex, more scrutinizing.
A grain of rice becomes a debt, a sack becomes a grudge. They had given her a good life, raised her well—and she repaid them with betrayal.
Just so she could marry Qi Wang, she actually tried to burn down the ancestral hall?
Unbelievable!
With the evidence undeniable and beyond dispute, the Old Marquis trembled with fury: “Guards! Guards! Since she and Qi Wang have already exchanged letters of affection, we dare not keep her here any longer!”
He gave a bitter laugh, staring at Han Yue’e: “A grown daughter is like water that must be poured out—hold onto her too long, and you raise a grudge instead of a child! We only wanted to honor your parents by raising you well, to marry you off with dignity. But it seems… we were standing in the way of your grand ambitions. That was our mistake!”
Qi Zhen’s face was full of disgust.
No one likes being betrayed—let alone by someone they had raised as a daughter.
Han Yue’e ordering someone to burn down the ancestral hall—this was madness, beyond outrageous.
But… was this plan really hers alone?
Did Qi Wang truly care for Han Yue’e?
Or did he care more about the Qi family?
If not, then why did the letters contain so many questions about the Qi family?
Why did they pry so deeply?
Was there more to this than met the eye?
Or… did Han Yue’e act on her own?
Or did Qi Wang order her to?
Thinking of all the subtle signs that Qi Wang had once taken a liking to Qi Jin, Qi Zhen suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
What exactly was Qi Wang planning?
Qi Yuan glanced at Qi Zhen and could tell from his expression that his mind had already raced far ahead.
Naturally—their kind were born to think ten steps ahead.
When something like this happened, they would only grow more suspicious and cautious.
Qi Wang…
She smiled faintly. That Wangye had tried to destroy her recognition ceremony by having Han Yue’e burn the ancestral hall—all to sow doubt and ensure she wouldn’t be fully accepted or protected by the Qi family.
But now… it seemed Qi Wang himself was in trouble.
At that very moment, Qi Wang was leisurely admiring his calligraphy and paintings in his manor. After a brief glance, he tossed them aside and took the tea offered by Eunuch Xu.
He asked lazily, “Well? Is the Qi household lively today?”
Eunuch Xu smiled subtly: “Your Highness, it’s still early. But I heard both the city guards and patrol bureau have been dispatched—it’s bound to be quite the show.”
Qi Wang gave a dismissive snort of laughter.
Indeed. It would be lively.
He was waiting for Qi Yuan to be cast out of the family—then he could retrieve her and interrogate her.
How much did she know? How was this life different from the previous one?
That woman—used well—could be a perfect chess piece.
He was deep in thought when suddenly, a voice from outside—his eunuch Xu’s adopted son, Jinbao—called out in alarm:
“Your Highness! Something’s happened at the manor gate—people from the Qi family… they’ve brought Miss Han! She’s crying at our gate right now!”
