“Your Highness, she stole…”
Xiuyue was utterly bewildered. Clearly, her master’s money pouch was in that woman’s hands, yet her master had changed the subject to ask for directions instead.
“She didn’t steal it.”
Fu Jingyi’s mood was inexplicably good, but when he thought of how she had looked at him like a complete stranger, a hint of disappointment crept in.
Was his face not striking enough, not memorable enough?
“Your Highness, someone is following us.”
Fu Jingyi gave a barely audible “Mm,” his gaze darkening in tandem.
Several sounds of wind broke out behind them. Xiuyue’s hand gripped her sword hilt tightly, the blade slightly unsheathed.
At the corner, Fu Jingyi slowed his steps.
The figures behind them drew near at that moment, and Xiuyue turned, drawing her sword.
Before she could even make a move, the two black-clad men let out muffled groans, their bodies frozen in place as they stared blankly down at their chests.
The night was thick with darkness, and they wore black, making it impossible to see what had happened to them, or what expressions lay beneath their masked faces.
What was going on…
“Who goes there?” Xiuyue shielded Fu Jingyi, demanding coldly.
The other party gave no answer, their eyes rolling back as they crashed to the ground.
And behind them stood a young woman of radiant, luminous beauty.
Qing Ci stood with her arms crossed over her chest, smiling brightly. “Two copper coins.”
She carried no weapon on her, so she had simply fished out two copper coins and flung them, killing with a single strike.
These two copper coins, naturally, were to be repaid by the two people she had just saved.
Fu Jingyi understood, but his money pouch was in Qing Ci’s hands, and Xiuyue never carried money.
He thought for a moment, then pulled the jade pendant from his waist.
“Take this, as thanks for saving our lives.”
Qing Ci accepted it without the slightest hesitation.
Fine and translucent, excellent in color, exquisitely carved—it was a piece of exceptional jade.
She ran her fingertip lightly over the regular-script character “Feng” carved on the pendant, feeling its cool touch.
“Is this your name?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Qing Ci tucked it into the pouch at her waist, flashing a radiant smile. “Until we meet again.”
She turned and walked away, her steps carrying the wind.
Until we meet again.
Fu Jingyi couldn’t help but curl the corners of his lips.
She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, yet she walked with the bearing of a man.
Xiuyue crouched down to examine the wounds on the two black-clad men. The injuries, the size of copper coins, had struck directly at the fatal heart meridian.
Such inner force, such precision—this was definitely a top-tier expert, with at least thirty years of cultivation behind them.
But the woman looked no more than sixteen.
“Your Highness, her martial arts are extraordinarily high.”
Fu Jingyi nodded. “Naturally.”
Xiuyue thought of something, her face paling slightly. “Could she be the Moonlit Night Killer?”
Among the common folk, there were several great families who had, one after another, suffered the calamity of entire households being slaughtered on the night of the full moon.
The killer had one trait: children under ten were not killed, even if they had seen everything.
The surviving children all said the same thing—the killer wore white robes and a veil, was a young woman in the bloom of youth, and her laughter was especially clear and beautiful.
She could stand atop willow tips, always killed with a single strike, and never lingered for battle.
No one knew her name, or who her master was.
Because she appeared every time on the night of the full moon, she was known in the jianghu as the “Moonlit Night Killer.”
As for who that woman just now was, Fu Jingyi knew, but he did not wish to tell anyone else.
“Let’s go.”
Ji Yue began to fret over another matter. “Who exactly wants Your Highness’s life?”
His Highness was already frail and ailing, unfit for great responsibility, posing no threat to the Crown Prince. Could they still be intent on wiping him out completely?
Qing Ci returned to the Taishifu. In three days, the household would be celebrating a joyous occasion, and great red lanterns hung all along the corridors.
In a moonlit spot in the courtyard, she took out the jade pendant and examined it again by the moonlight.
It felt increasingly familiar, but where had she seen it before?
Someone walked toward her step by step. The footsteps were especially clear in the quiet night, and especially familiar.
Then, a pair of arms encircled her from behind, wrapping around her impossibly slender waist, his chin resting on the top of her head.
She didn’t mind in the least, unhurriedly tucking the jade pendant away.
“Where did you get that jade pendant?” he asked.
Qing Ci couldn’t be bothered to explain. She pried open his arms that clung affectionately around her waist and turned to face him.
“Someone gave it to me.”
Qin Chengze’s expression darkened, his eyes clouded with unreadable emotion. “A Ci, don’t you believe I can handle this…”
“Gongzi, it’s getting late,” Qing Ci yawned. “Go back to sleep.”
In private, she had never called him Gongzi.
But in the end, they could only ever be master and subordinate, just as the outside world knew.
Qing Ci paid no more heed to the pain and unwillingness in his eyes, walking past him with long strides.
“Qing Ci, don’t go running off today. The Commandery Princess Nanhua is to be married into the family the day after tomorrow, and there’s far too much to do in the household.”
Second Miss Qin, Qin Yu, was to marry the Crown Prince, and at the same time, First Young Master Qin, Qin Chengze, would wed the Commandery Princess Nanhua.
A double blessing for the household, with unprecedented bustle and excitement.
Qing Ci felt a surge of irritation and pulled the quilt up over her head.
Did she have three heads and six arms or what? In this vast Taishifu, could they not spare one servant girl?
“Qing Ci,” Xiao Wu sat down at the edge of her bed, speaking softly. “What’s wrong with you? Gongzi has come looking for you several times these past days and never found you. You truly can’t go running off today. Gongzi has a good temper, but he won’t indulge you forever.”
“Whether he’s used to it or not.”
Ever since his engagement to Commandery Princess Nanhua was settled, Qing Ci had deliberately avoided him.
If you can’t afford to provoke someone, you can at least avoid them.
“Qing Ci, we can all see it—you like the young master. But with your status, do you really think you could be his lawful wife? People like us aren’t entitled to such foolish hopes. Why put yourself through this?”
Xiao Wu pulled back the quilt covering her head. “It’s so hot out—don’t smother yourself. Whatever it is, it’ll pass.”
“…”
“You should act more sensible. Maybe the young master would be willing to take you as a concubine. We’re servants—we shouldn’t have our own temper.”
Qing Ci felt a bit awkward.
She sat up, looking at Xiao Wu, who genuinely cared for her, and took a deep breath.
Two years ago, she’d been assigned to share a room with Xiao Wu and Chun Xi. Both girls were kind and honest.
They knew almost nothing about Qing Ci’s affairs. They simply assumed she was like them—an ordinary maidservant bought into the household.
Only, Qing Ci was the personal maidservant of the eldest young master. He was gentle by nature and kind to his servants, which had spoiled Qing Ci into doing as she pleased, barely following any rules.
She often rose late and returned late, with no one knowing where she was.
“Yes, I do like the young master,” Qing Ci said.
There was no shame in admitting that.
But…
“I have no delusions, and I certainly don’t want to be a concubine. I just don’t want to see him these days.”
Ever since this marriage that had caught the world’s attention was settled, Qin Chengze would tell her at every meeting how he was bound by circumstances, how unwilling he was.
If you can’t control your own fate, then just accept it. What more was there to say?
Their relationship had never been meant to see the light of day.
They should have stopped this ambiguous entanglement long ago.
Let him marry his princess, and let her walk her own narrow bridge.
“Qing Ci…”
Xiao Wu had said all she could and didn’t know how else to persuade her. Just then, Chun Xi came rushing in, flustered.
“The young master knelt before the Grand Preceptor at dawn, saying he has a chronic ailment and cannot take a wife. The Grand Preceptor had him beaten twenty strokes. The physician is attending to him now.”
It should have been a household-shattering matter, but Xiao Wu burst out laughing. “What chronic ailment does the young master have that prevents him from marrying?”
“You tell me?” Chun Xi couldn’t help but laugh either.