The Buddhist prayer beads in Wei Yiniang’s hand spun faster and faster.
Lately, she had become increasingly uneasy. Every day she felt restless and anxious.
Even spending entire days copying Buddhist scriptures did nothing to ease her unease. Instead, it only grew stronger with each passing day.
Living like this was truly nerve-racking.
She couldn’t help asking quietly, “Keyan, do you think we’ll really be able to wait until Ah Feng comes back for us?”
Keyan had far more confidence in Wen Mingfeng. In a low voice, she replied, “He definitely will, Madam. Have you forgotten? Ever since he was young, Young Master Ah Feng was smarter and more capable than all the young masters in the manor. If he says he can do it, then he definitely can!”
Wei Yiniang felt slightly reassured. She gave a bitter smile and said anxiously, “I just don’t know how he’s doing now.”
As she spoke, the door suddenly burst open with a loud bang.
A young girl appeared in the doorway.
Keyan immediately frowned. “Who are you?! How dare you barge into someone else’s home like this?!”
Qi Yuan ignored her completely. Instead, she looked calmly at the alarmed and uncertain Wei Yiniang and said in a deep voice: “He won’t be coming back. He’s dead.”
The words struck like a massive stone crashing into still water.
Immediately, Keyan exploded in rage. “You little b*tch! How dare you curse our young master for no reason?! You’re the one who’s dead! Even if you die, our young master will still be alive and well!”
The prayer beads slipped from Wei Yiniang’s hand and fell to the floor. Her lips became dry and cracked, and her eyes turned vacant.
Seeing this, Keyan grabbed a broom and rushed forward to drive Qi Yuan out.
Before Qi Yuan could even move, Xie Ying had already stepped in and pinned Keyan down so thoroughly that she couldn’t move.
Keyan had never expected these two to be so formidable. She shouted, “Who are you people?! What do you want?! When our young master comes back and learns about this, he definitely won’t let you off!”
Qi Yuan remained expressionless. She walked forward a few steps and sat down opposite Wei Yiniang. “Wei Yiniang, surely you know what your son was thinking all along, don’t you?”
Wei Yiniang’s face was deathly pale. Her lips moved, but no words came out.
“You’re a pitiful woman. You never had any control over your own fate. You were given to Duke Cheng as a gift, yet he discarded you and refused to acknowledge you.” Qi Yuan sighed softly. “The Wen family originally intended to kill you, but they discovered you were pregnant. So, following the Crown Prince’s orders, they spared both you and the child in your womb, planning to use you later to force Duke Cheng to do their bidding.”
Wei Yiniang began trembling uncontrollably.
She stared at Qi Yuan, unable to understand how this young girl knew everything so clearly.
Qi Yuan continued calmly: “Then you gave birth to Wen Mingfeng. But the Wen family treated him worse than livestock. At first, you kept advising him to endure and accept his fate.”
Thinking back on those old memories, Wei Yiniang closed her eyes. Her face was filled with pain.
Yes. Back then, she had always told Wen Mingfeng to give way and endure.
Because he was never truly a member of the Wen family.
But the Wen family’s young masters became increasingly cruel.
They treated Wen Mingfeng like a pig, a dog, a beast. Anything but a human being.
Finally, one day, Wen Mingfeng snapped. He pushed the Wen family’s eldest young master off a rockery.
The Wen family had originally intended to kill him.
But they were stopped by people sent by the Crown Prince.
One of the Crown Prince’s men even patted Wen Mingfeng and said meaningfully: “This child will surely accomplish great things in the future.”
The Wen family dared not kill Wen Mingfeng after that. But they humiliated and tormented him in secret.
Wen Mingfeng endured it all.
He even persuaded his mother to deliberately make mistakes so she would be sent away to a temple.
At the time, he had personally told her: “Mother, not a single person in the Wen family will escape. I want every one of them dead! Don’t stay in the Wen family.”
Some time ago, she had heard that the Wen family had been slaughtered by bandits.
Deep down, she knew perfectly well that Wen Mingfeng had done it.
He had wanted to do that for a very long time.
Her voice became hoarse. “How did my son die?”
Was it because his involvement with the bandits and the massacre of the Wen family had been discovered?
Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow. “He was killed by the Crown Prince.”
Wei Yiniang and Keyan both widened their eyes.
Especially Keyan. Moments ago she had been struggling and cursing furiously. Yet upon hearing those words, she froze instantly.
Qi Yuan looked at Wei Yiniang. “The Crown Prince only ever regarded Wen Mingfeng as a pawn to threaten Duke Cheng. Unfortunately, the Duke didn’t care about this illegitimate son at all, so Wen Mingfeng lived a difficult life and desperately wanted to earn merit. Eventually, he found an opportunity. He obtained evidence that Duke Chen was colluding with the Oirat people. Then, following the Crown Prince’s instructions, he arranged for Duke Cheng to frame the Lu family for the crime…”
Much of this was beyond Wei Yiniang’s understanding.
But she understood one thing: Her son had been involved in something extremely dangerous.
Watching their expressions carefully, Qi Yuan continued: “Afterward, the matter came to light. The entire Duke Cheng’s household was exterminated. The Crown Prince feared that Wen Mingfeng still possessed evidence. Therefore, he silenced him as well.”
Keyan let out a heartbroken wail. “No! No! My poor young master! My poor young master!”
At the same time, Wei Yiniang snapped the second string of prayer beads in her hand.
The beads scattered across the floor.
Leaning back against her chair, Qi Yuan said: “Wei Yiniang, you should know very well why Wen Mingfeng hid you away. He feared you would be implicated or targeted for revenge. But does hiding truly make you safe?”
She smiled faintly. “Look. We wanted to find you, and we found you.”
Wei Yiniang lifted her head. “Who are you?”
Qi Yuan answered without hesitation: “I’m the Crown Prince’s mortal enemy. When the Crown Prince suffers, I’m happy.”
Xie Ying swallowed hard.
He couldn’t get a single word in.
Qi Yuan had said absolutely everything.
So all he could do was watch Wei Yiniang.
The woman lowered her head, lost in thought.
Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow. “If I could find you before anyone else, then that proves I possess influence worth using. In that case, why not use us to avenge your son?”
Wei Yiniang stared at her in disbelief. “That’s the Crown Prince you’re talking about!”
“The Crown Prince is still a person.” Qi Yuan’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “If the Crown Prince commits crimes, he should be punished too. Since ancient times, there has been a saying: When the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he should be punished the same as commoners.“
Wei Yiniang fell silent for a moment. “Then why come to me?”
Qi Yuan answered directly: “After all the twists and turns, the people Wen Mingfeng trusted most were still you and Keyan. If the secret letter isn’t in your possession, then it’s in Keyan’s. I came here for that secret letter. And then I’ll use it to bring down the Crown Prince.”
She looked at them calmly. “Whether you believe me, and whether you want to help avenge Wen Mingfeng, is entirely up to you.”
She appeared perfectly composed, as if she were in no hurry at all.
Xie Ying, however, was sweating nervously.
He genuinely felt like kneeling before Qi Yuan.
How on earth could Miss Qi say so many treasonous, family-destroying statements with such a straight face?
Every single sentence she spoke was practically an act of rebellion against the throne!
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