No one had ever mentioned that Xie Xiaonan would also attend the birthday banquet of the He Family’s Old Matriarch!
After Wen Lisheng lifted her skirt and strode away from the opera garden, she wished she could immediately send a carrier pigeon to Wen Puchang to lodge a thorough complaint.
How could such a dangerous task be entrusted to her!
Yu Gui was still holding an umbrella, following closely behind Wen Lisheng, carefully watching to ensure she wasn’t exposed to the sun.
The He residence was vast, and she hadn’t visited many times. After walking for only a short while, she found the surroundings unfamiliar and realized she was lost. Eventually, she ended up in an unknown area, surrounded by houses with blue tiles and white walls, adorned with clusters of flowers, creating a uniquely picturesque scene.
“Well, well, when did this little god of wealth descend to earth? How did you end up lost here?” a teasing voice came from the side.
Wen Lisheng looked up and saw a young man sitting on top of a wall, looking at her with amusement.
She asked, “What are you doing here?”
“This is my home. Why shouldn’t I be here?” the young man chuckled. “If you go any further, you’ll reach the inner residence. The people there don’t know you, so be careful they don’t mistake you for a thief and chase you out.”
“A thief?” Wen Lisheng glanced at the dazzling gold jewelry adorning her. “Could stealing most of the He Family’s houses even match the value of the jade and gold ornaments I’m wearing?”
“That’s true,” the young man admitted with a nod.
The He Family wasn’t particularly wealthy, far less prosperous than the Mei Family, who dealt in the liquor business, let alone the Wen Family.
“He Zhuyuan, come down and show me the way,” Wen Lisheng casually pulled out a gold hairpin and waved it. “This is your reward.”
He Zhuyuan was also a student at the Eternal Peace Academy. Because of his excellent martial arts skills, he was often dragged by Shen Jiaqing to serve as a sparring partner. Over time, Wen Lisheng became familiar with him too. However, as he was merely a concubine-born son of the He Family and not particularly prominent among his siblings, his life wasn’t affluent, and he was quite fixated on money.
To him, a gold hairpin that Wen Lisheng could casually give away was like a heavenly blessing. He immediately jumped down from the wall, landing in front of Wen Lisheng, and reached out to take the hairpin.
But Wen Lisheng raised her hand, arching an eyebrow slightly. “You want it before you’ve even shown me the way?”
He Zhuyuan put on an ingratiating smile. “Little God of Wealth, where would you like to go?”
She glanced ahead, faintly seeing a massive gate at the end. “Can I take a look inside there?”
He Zhuyuan followed her gaze and shook his head. “No, the inner residence is filled with many traps. Outsiders who enter without knowing the way will meet a swift end.”
“You install traps in your own home? Aren’t you afraid of harming your own family?” Wen Lisheng exclaimed in surprise, unable to comprehend the He Family’s behavior.
“The people in the inner residence are trained to know the locations of the traps and how to disarm them, so they rarely trigger them,” He Zhuyuan turned around. “Come on, I’ll take you to see the other side. There’s a large garden over there, and this season is perfect for blooming flowers. It’s quite a sight.”
Wen Lisheng had no interest in looking at flowers. She gestured with her chin. “Take me inside to have a look.”
He Zhuyuan shook his head. “No, it’s against the rules.”
Wen Lisheng pulled out another jade hairpin adorned with gold threads from her hair. “I’ll add this one too.”
He Zhuyuan’s eyes widened, but after a moment’s hesitation, he still shook his head. “Wealthy Miss Wen, don’t make things difficult for me.”
Wen Lisheng then took off a pair of black-gold carved bracelets from her wrist. “Selling these bracelets would feed you for half a year.”He Zhuyuan hurriedly cupped his hands to receive them: “God of Wealth, just tell me where you want to go, and I’ll take you even through mountains of blades and seas of fire.”
As he spoke, he tucked the gold hairpin and jade bracelet safely into his robes, then led Wen Lisheng toward the inner residence. At the end of the path, they arrived before a heavy, imposing door. Wen Lisheng examined it closely and noticed an incredibly intricate mechanism lock installed on its surface.
He Zhuyuan harbored no suspicion toward Wen Lisheng. Deep down, he believed that Wen Lisheng’s personal wealth alone could rival the entire He Family’s fortune, so he didn’t think there was any treasure within the He Family’s inner residence that could tempt her. Thus, right in front of her, he operated the mechanism lock. The sound of gears turning echoed from within the door, followed by a series of clicks, and the door swung open.
He bent slightly and gestured with his hand: “God of Wealth, please enter.”
Wen Lisheng glanced around and noticed there were no guards inside the door, only a very broad pathway. Following He Zhuyuan’s lead, she entered the inner residence and took a stroll around.
As he guided her, He Zhuyuan explained that there was nothing particularly special about the inner residence—it was simply where the women and children of the He Family lived. Since the He Family’s ancestors specialized in mechanisms, they had installed many such devices throughout the residence, purely as a way to put their craftsmanship to use. There was also no issue of propriety, as Wen Lisheng walked through without hindrance. The maids they passed only occasionally found themselves dazzled by her opulence, but no one stopped her.
The inner residence truly wasn’t much different from the outer quarters; in fact, the scenery was even less impressive than outside. After learning about the mechanisms, Wen Lisheng grew bored. She glanced up at the setting sun and asked He Zhuyuan to lead her out of the inner residence.
The Second Madam of the He Family, who had earlier received her, seemed to have been looking for her for some time. Upon seeing Wen Lisheng, she hurried over and, after casting a glance at He Zhuyuan, her expression immediately turned cold. “What are you doing following behind Miss Wen?”
He Zhuyuan shrugged, offered no reply, and turned to leave.
Wen Lisheng had already known that He Zhuyuan was a concubine-born son and not favored in the family, but she hadn’t expected him to be treated so dismissively. She thought to herself that if the entire family treated him this way, it must be quite difficult for him.
Wen Lisheng didn’t involve herself in others’ affairs. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the Second Madam, she was led to a small courtyard and told this was where she would stay for the night.
The Old Matriarch’s birthday celebration was set to begin at mao hour tomorrow morning. It was said that the Old Matriarch was born during mao hour and stubbornly insisted on holding the banquet at that exact time. As a result, those who lived far from the He Family had to arrive a day early to present their gifts.
As Wen Lisheng chewed on her dinner in the room, she grew increasingly annoyed. This old woman, half her body already in the coffin, still knew how to make things difficult for people.
The bed here was narrow and hard, uncomfortable even to sit on, let alone sleep in. She had never slept on such a hard bed since the day she was born.
Frustrated, she thumped the hard bed twice, tossed the bedding into disarray in a fit of anger, and then stepped outside.
Outside, the sky had completely darkened. Bright lanterns lined the paths, illuminating them clearly. Guards patrolled back and forth at regular intervals, and guests strolled about, enjoying the cool evening air.
Nestled near the mountains, the night breeze carried with it the rustling sounds of the forest, making it much cooler than in the city. Standing in the gentle wind, Wen Lisheng sighed contentedly, thinking to herself that living near the mountains did have its advantages.
She wandered back to the opera garden and found it brightly lit. The performers on stage were still singing, and quite a few people remained seated in the audience below.She stood at the edge, carefully observing the crowd, looking back and forth several times. Only after confirming that Xie Xiaonan was not among them did she walk forward and choose a seat. Listening to the opera singer’s melodious tune, though she couldn’t understand it, she still enjoyed joining in the lively atmosphere.
Most of the seated guests were chatting with their heads lowered, hardly anyone truly listening to the opera. Only Wen Lisheng, with her round, dark eyes wide open, stared intently at the performer on stage, her expression full of curiosity.
Perhaps her gaze was too focused, as the dan role currently singing on stage noticed her. With a few graceful sweeps of her long sleeves, she moved with delicate steps to the edge of the stage. The melody shifted, and her voice became somewhat muffled, as if she were singing directly to Wen Lisheng.
Wen Lisheng couldn’t understand the lyrics to begin with, and with the singer suddenly slurring her words, she gave up after several repetitions. Turning around, she asked Yu Gui, “Can you understand what she’s singing?”
Yu Gui had grown up in an opera troupe, surviving on scraps before being taken in.
But Yu Gui’s expression turned grave as she bent down and leaned close to Wen Lisheng’s ear, whispering, “She’s saying, ‘The rooms are unsafe at night; those who sleep deeply will meet their end.'”
Wen Lisheng was startled and stammered, “Is… is this part of the opera?”
Yu Gui shook her head. “Earlier, she was singing a birthday celebration. She only changed the lyrics when she came closer.”
A chill ran down Wen Lisheng’s spine. When she looked back, the performer had already returned to the center of the stage, continuing her solo as if nothing had happened.
There was something off about the He residence.
After that, she had little interest in listening to the opera. Instead, she took Yu Gui back to her room, arranging for hot water to be brought early so she could bathe and sleep.
Wen Lisheng removed all her gold hairpins and jade hair ornaments, along with the crystal bracelets on her wrists, but she didn’t change out of her clothes before lying down on the bed.
The bed was far too hard, making it uncomfortable to sleep on. Combined with the fact that she had slept for a long time in the carriage during the day, she tossed and turned for a long time without falling asleep. Outside, it grew increasingly quiet. The occasional sounds of laughter and chatter gradually faded, leaving only the wind. Clearly, the entire He residence had fallen into slumber.
No lamps were lit in the room, so when she opened her eyes, everything was pitch black, and she could see nothing.
After lying there for a long time, feeling as though every bone in her body ached, she slowly got up and made her way to the table in the dark, intending to pour herself a cup of water.
But just as her hand touched the cup, she suddenly heard a soft sound—someone was slowly pushing open the window. Moonlight gradually spilled into the room, and Wen Lisheng’s heart leaped into her throat. She held her breath, not daring to move.
A moment later, a person propped themselves on the windowsill and slipped into the room, landing without a sound.
The moonlight provided only limited illumination, and Wen Lisheng was pressed against a pillar in the darkness. The intruder didn’t notice her at all, heading straight for the bed. Drawing a blade, they raised it high and struck the bed fiercely, hacking twice before realizing no one was there.
The person whirled around, intending to search the room. Wen Lisheng, terrified out of her wits, could no longer hide and cried out, “Yu Gui—!”
Yu Gui hadn’t been asleep at all. Hidden in the shadows by the door, she had been watching the intruder closely. Hearing Wen Lisheng’s cry, she sprang from the darkness, moving with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, she was in front of the intruder. With a flick of her right hand, several sharp blades appeared between her fingers, slicing through the air.
The intruder couldn’t dodge in time. While avoiding a fatal strike to the neck, their shoulder was slashed with three deep, bloody gashes.”Miss, run quickly!” Yu Gui shouted.
Blood splattered onto Wen Lisheng’s face. She wiped it away haphazardly, shouting with righteous fervor for Yu Gui to stay safe, then without daring to linger a moment longer, she took two steps and leaped straight out the window. Yu Gui was utterly dumbfounded: “…The door is open.”
Jumping out the window sent her tumbling head over heels. Wen Lisheng scrambled to her feet, flinging her sleeves as she ran, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Help! There’s an assassin! They’re trying to kill someone!”
Yet the surroundings were eerily quiet, and the guards from earlier were nowhere to be seen. After shouting a couple of times, she suddenly sensed something was off. Just then, two figures leaped down from the rooftop, exchanged a glance, and simultaneously drew their blades, charging toward her.
Wen Lisheng took one look and bolted, not caring where she was headed, just dashing forward wherever she saw a path.
Still, she was someone who had once outrun a four-legged black dog. In this desperate sprint for her life, she actually managed to keep the two pursuers at bay.
But such high-speed running quickly drained her stamina. She knew all too well she couldn’t keep this up for long—she had to find a way to shake them off as soon as possible.
She ducked into a row of connected buildings that looked like storage rooms. Doors faced each other on either side, each hung with a single lantern, casting an extremely dim light.
She rushed toward one of the doors, only to find it secured with a palm-sized lock—impossible to enter. Squinting, she saw that several nearby rooms were similarly locked. Her gaze swept to the end of the row, checking each one in despair, until she finally noticed that the door at the far end seemed to be open.
Whether it was an optical illusion or not, she had no other options left. She raced toward that room, and as she drew closer, she realized it wasn’t an illusion—the door was indeed slightly ajar.
But just as she was about to reach it, the door began to close, as if someone inside was pushing it shut.
Wen Lisheng nearly broke down, wanting to scream, “Don’t close the door!” But her lungs burned with pain from the intense exertion, and aside from ragged gasps for air, she couldn’t make a sound. She could only stretch out her hand desperately, trying to get closer, just a little closer, to stop that door from shutting.
Just as she thought she would hear the sound of the door closing, a pale hand reached out and grasped the edge of the door, halting its movement.
In that split second, Wen Lisheng’s hand landed on the back of that pale hand, and she pushed the door open, stumbling into the room. The door closed behind her, plunging the room into complete darkness.
Exhausted and drained, she collapsed to her knees, unable to suppress her heavy panting, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
“You’re breathing too loudly,” a low voice came from beside her.
Wen Lisheng caught her breath, and the tightness in her chest gradually eased. The voice sounded familiar, so she pulled out a fire starter from her robe, blew on it a couple of times, and a small flame flickered to life, casting a faint glow in the pitch-black room.
She saw a figure dressed in a deep black robe, hair tied in a high ponytail, with red silk wrapped around the sleeves. On the back of his pale hand was a smear of crimson—a stark contrast left by her earlier touch. He stood by the door, half-turned, eyes lowered as if listening intently to the sounds outside.
Noticing the light, he glanced over, his expression cool and composed. “Put out the fire.”Almost instinctively, Wen Lisheng blew out the flame, holding her breath as much as possible, her voice coming in broken whispers:
“We meet again… little pickpocket.”