The night air was cool, the moon hidden and stars faint. A gentle breeze blew, muffling their light footsteps.
Suddenly, Xiao Muchen grabbed Mingxi and pressed her against the wall. The two stood close together. Mingxi felt a bit uncomfortable and shifted slightly away.
Then they heard footsteps approaching. Mingxi turned her head slightly to glance at Xiao Muchen.
He had sensed it before she did.
But the footsteps soon receded—they weren’t heading in this direction.
“That person’s footsteps are steady and firm. Likely a trained fighter,” Xiao Muchen said quietly.
“I noticed that too,” Mingxi replied. “Could be a guard with that cousin of theirs?”
“Possibly.”
“Should we follow?”
“Alright.”
They trailed behind the sound at a distance, careful not to get too close and alert the target.
The paths in the manor twisted and turned, and after quite a while, the person still hadn’t stopped. Mingxi mentally recalled the layout she had memorized earlier and began to compare it with their current route.
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she tugged at Xiao Muchen.
He turned to look at her.
Mingxi leaned closer and whispered in his ear, “The route’s wrong. I think that person is walking in circles.”
Her breath brushed his ear, making it itch slightly. Xiao Muchen’s expression turned serious. “How do you know?”
“This afternoon I memorized most of the layout of this manor from halfway up the mountain. The path may look normal, but he’s already walked around the outer edge in a full circle.”
Xiao Muchen frowned. “Did he notice us?”
“Doesn’t seem like it,” Mingxi shook her head. “Let’s hide somewhere and figure out what’s going on.”
“Alright.” Xiao Muchen scanned the area, then led her up to a beam in the covered corridor—a perfect hiding spot.
The beam was narrow, so they had to stay close together to keep from falling.
Mingxi gripped a wooden bump sticking out from the wall with one hand and held onto Xiao Muchen with the other. “Let’s see if he does another round.”
“You think he’s patrolling?”
Mingxi gave a slight nod.
“Doing a night patrol at this hour—could it be someone is coming?”
“I don’t know,” Mingxi replied softly as she looked at Xiao Muchen. “Do you think it has something to do with that cousin who came this afternoon?”
“Shh!” Xiao Muchen motioned for silence.
Mingxi immediately shut her mouth.
The two were pressed close together. Duan Mingxi’s hand was tightly held by Xiao Muchen’s, making her feel uncomfortable. Her whole body was tense, eyes fixed on the darkness ahead, not daring to move a muscle.
Footsteps sounded in the distance, followed by low voices echoing in the night.
The voice was familiar—it was Gao Zhan.
Before Mingxi herself noticed, her expression had already grown cold. Subconsciously, she tightened her grip on Xiao Muchen’s hand.
Xiao Muchen glanced sideways at her. Though he couldn’t see clearly in the dark, he could make out the faint coldness that had settled over Mingxi’s features.
“I don’t know how long this matter will drag on,” Gao Zhan’s voice came again. “His Highness means to keep the person here for now.”
“This place is too close to Duan Mingxi’s manor,” Gao Zhan added. “If she catches wind of it, that wouldn’t be good.”
“It’s hidden in plain sight. She would never expect it here. Or maybe she wouldn’t think we’d be dumb enough to hide someone this close.”
This voice was unfamiliar, but from the content, it was clear this person was delivering orders from the Crown Prince. He must be someone from the Eastern Palace.
“You’re all overthinking it,” Gao Zhan sneered. “You think Duan Mingxi’s really that capable? That she’d find out Qiao Wan has a younger brother in our hands?”
He spoke with contempt, clearly underestimating her.
Back then, he’d suffered a major loss at Duan Mingxi’s hands, leaving him with mixed, mostly bitter, feelings toward her. Even though they hadn’t crossed paths in a long time, just thinking about what happened made him feel humiliated all over again.
“Gao Shizi,” the other man said coldly, “we both know Duan Mingxi is no fool. If she were truly useless, how could Qiao Wan have fallen into her hands?”
Mingxi suddenly felt a light scratch in her palm. She turned her head to look at Xiao Muchen and saw him smiling at her.
What are you smiling about?
What’s so funny?
She was that capable!
In her previous life, she had endured the Duke’s manor and Gao Zhan because she wanted to be a refined noblewoman, to gain society’s approval. She had taken off her armor and tried to learn everything from scratch.
But in the end, she had been wrong.
Some people wouldn’t treat you better just because you changed for them.
This life, no matter who she faced, she would be true to herself. Dying once had taught her that compromising for others only meant they would continue to overlook you.
But if you were strong enough, even those who didn’t like you would have to show respect to your face.
Take Gao Zhan for example—no matter how much he despised her or badmouthed her behind her back, in front of her, he wouldn’t dare speak those words aloud.
Because she no longer feared him.
“Eunuch Zeng,” Gao Zhan continued, “Qiao Wan was stupid and too impatient. That’s the only reason Duan Mingxi found out. If she’d just waited a bit and moved slowly, she wouldn’t be in this situation.”
So the other person was Zeng Tuo.
Mingxi knew him by name from her past life. He often visited the Duke’s manor, delivering the Crown Prince’s messages to Gao Zhan. But Mingxi had never seen him in person—Gao Zhan would never allow her to get involved in Eastern Palace affairs.
So this was Zeng Tuo.
She hadn’t expected him and Gao Zhan to be at odds now, when in her past life they’d grown quite close. There was clearly tension between them, maybe even rivalry.
“No matter what, Qiao Wan is in Duan Mingxi’s hands now,” Zeng Tuo said. “His Highness said she must not be allowed to speak a single word that could harm the Eastern Palace. If she disappears, it’ll be even harder to silence her. Right now, our only leverage is Qiao Yu. Holding him is the only way to control Qiao Wan.”
Their voices grew closer. Duan Mingxi even held her breath to avoid making noise.
“I understand,” Gao Zhan said heavily. “Tell His Highness not to worry. I’ll make sure the boy is well guarded.”
Then Zeng Tuo added with a sharper tone, “I hear your wife has been trying to meet with the Crown Princess several times recently. The Crown Princess is focused on her pregnancy and not seeing anyone for now. You might want to rein her in.”
Gao Zhan sneered, “I can’t control her anymore. After all, she has someone backing her now.”
“What do you mean by that, Gao Shizi?” Zeng Tuo asked coldly.
Gao Zhan didn’t reply. His footsteps grew heavier as he walked to a nearby door, opened it, and said, “Eunuch Zeng, the person’s in here. Go in. I’ll wait outside.”
Zeng Tuo swept in with a flick of his sleeve, and Gao Zhan shut the door behind him, turning to sit on the steps.
Duan Mingxi and Xiao Muchen looked at each other. They never expected that the person they were looking for was right here, under their noses.
The moon broke through the clouds, casting silver light across the ground. Mingxi peeked through the beam and saw Gao Zhan gazing up at the stars, the fire of anger still burning faintly in his eyes.
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