Chen Wanqing pushed aside the two maidservants, struggling to stand upright.
Her grandmother favored male descendants because she was a woman—this did not surprise her, for she had her own mother and father to love her.
Her third aunt was not related by blood, so she felt no sorrow over that.
But to be regarded in such a way by her own blood-related cousin—it struck her like a thunderbolt, leaving her heart cold and despondent for a long while.
If her mother and father knew, would they look at her the same way?
Would they consider chastity more important than the heavens, more precious than her very life?
Unbidden, the scene of her mother and father, brows furrowed in anger, sternly rebuking her flashed before her eyes. Chen Wanqing’s heart felt as if it had been viciously twisted, the pain so intense she could barely stand.
“Miss…” Seeing Chen Wanqing’s pale face and sorrowful expression, the two maidservants couldn’t help but worry deeply.
Chen Wanqing took a deep breath, raised her eyes to gaze at the righteous and imposing Chen Hanying, and asked coldly, “Since you say so, then may I ask, cousin, why did your wife, eight months pregnant, suffer a miscarriage and die in difficult labor? And why did the concubine Wen, whom you brought into the household, give birth less than seven months after entering your home?”
“You!” Chen Hanying choked.
These few short sentences instantly turned his face ashen, leaving him utterly ashamed.
“It’s late. Please leave, cousin!” Chen Wanqing gently touched her slightly swollen cheek, her expression icy as frost. “Out of respect for you as my elder brother, I will let this slap go for now. If there is a next time, we sever ties!”
Chen Hanying suppressed his anger with difficulty. “Your place here is burned down. I’ll have someone arrange another courtyard for you!”
“No need!” Chen Wanqing refused firmly. “There’s no need for you to trouble yourself!”
Chen Hanying stared at Chen Wanqing for a moment, then said stiffly, “With your father and mother away, if Grandmother or Third Aunt trouble you again, send someone to find me!”
Chen Wanqing lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Receiving no response, Chen Hanying had no choice but to turn and leave the courtyard.
Lü’e, tears welling in her eyes, examined Chen Wanqing’s face, both heartbroken and resentful. “Your face is swollen. That eldest young master is truly detestable. It would have been better if he hadn’t come at all!”
Yudie worriedly suggested, “Miss, perhaps we should seek refuge at your aunt’s place for now!”
Chen Wanqing shook her head. “Aunt hasn’t returned to the capital yet. With only Uncle at home, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to go.”
“But…” Yudie wanted to say more, but Chen Wanqing turned and entered the hall. She carefully picked up a blue-and-white covered plum-blossom vase, half-blackened by fire, depicting the scene of Guiguzi descending the mountain, and solemnly handed it to Yudie. “Hold this carefully. Go out first thing tomorrow morning and find a physician to examine it. Find out what medicine this is!”
“Remember, bring enough silver, visit several places, and get a clear prescription!”
Yudie and Lü’e were dumbfounded. They looked at the ground, then at the vase, stammering, “M-Miss… medicine…”
“Didn’t the eldest young master…”
Chen Wanqing nodded slightly, her eyes filled with coldness. “My cousin and I have always been distant. How could I hand over something so crucial to him without any reservations?”
“Naturally, I had to keep a backup plan!”
Yudie came to her senses and asked hesitantly, “Is the eldest young master also untrustworthy?”
Chen Wanqing stepped outside. “Don’t forget why Grandmother wanted to kill me!”
“Father has been wholeheartedly planning for me, which is why he delayed deciding on an heir. That’s what stirred murderous intentions in others!”
“He is also a male descendant of the Chen family. If his father hadn’t passed away early, allowing him to inherit his father’s official position, he would likely have contended for it as well!”
Lü’e and Yudie both paled. “Then doesn’t that mean Miss is completely isolated and helpless?”
Chen Wanqing fell silent. Isolated and helpless?
Then let’s fight our way out!
Lü’e tightly hugged the statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, Yudie firmly held the plum vase, and Chen Wanqing led her two maids toward the outer courtyard study.
After ordering the guards to open the outer courtyard study, Chen Wanqing entered the side room in the study courtyard and settled there temporarily.
After the mistress and her maids washed up and changed clothes, Lü’e bowed repeatedly before the properly placed statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, murmuring incessantly: “Greatly compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva, please protect our young lady from misfortune and bring her good fortune…”
Yudie tightly closed the doors and windows, leaving only one candle lit, then lowered the bed curtains and stood guard closely beside Chen Wanqing with Lü’e.
Seeing the two of them as if facing a formidable enemy, Chen Wanqing found it somewhat amusing. She tapped Lü’e’s nose and pulled them both over. The mistress and her two maids huddled together: “Rest easy and sleep!”
Both Lü’e and Yudie wore expressions of excitement. “Young lady, what was that fire all about?”
“Was it truly the Bodhisattva manifesting divine power, burning only Madam Song and her people?”
Chen Wanqing’s smile faded slightly. “How could it be the Bodhisattva’s divine power?”
“It was merely a little trick I used!”
In her previous life, there was a man named Zhang Qin who possessed extraordinary and ingenious skills. In order to join a noble household and showcase his talents, he publicly demonstrated a trick of being engulfed in flames yet remaining unscathed, even boasting: He had no less than a hundred such skills!
Unexpectedly, his flamboyance failed to attract the noble he wished to serve. Instead, he was captured as a demon, imprisoned, and died miserably in jail.
Chen Wanqing had coincidentally seen his case file, which left a deep impression on her. That was why she borrowed his trick to deal with Madam Song.
Yudie pondered thoughtfully, “Young lady, when you asked for water and strong liquor, was it in preparation for this fire?”
Chen Wanqing nodded gently.
Lü’e, with her round, grape-like eyes, looked horrified: “Young lady, what if the fire got out of control and burned you?”
Chen Wanqing smiled faintly. “Lü’e, weren’t you standing guard outside?”
“If the fire grew too large, you would surely call for help, wouldn’t you?”
“And Yudie, after going to the ancestral hall, would return quickly!”
Lü’e nodded vigorously, “This servant will definitely watch for the right moment and never let young lady get hurt!”
Yudie, visibly moved, said, “I won’t let young lady get hurt either!”
Chen Wanqing’s eyes grew warm as she grasped Lü’e and Yudie’s hands: “Tonight, it was all thanks to you two!”
Lü’e sighed regretfully, “Young lady, why didn’t you expose Madam Song publicly?”
“If you had exposed her, she would surely have met a bad end!”
Chen Wanqing’s expression turned grave. She remained silent, pulling the two of them down to sleep: “Hurry and sleep now. Rest well, for tomorrow we have very difficult matters to handle!”
“What matters?” Lü’e asked.
Yudie said, “Madam Song suffered a loss today and will certainly not let it go easily. And there’s the old madam…”
“We also have to guard against the Liang family coming to propose marriage…”
“The Liang family is not a good family…” Lü’e muttered softly, and Yudie echoed in agreement.
The two maids looked eagerly at Chen Wanqing. Lü’e hesitantly spoke up: “Young lady… don’t believe what the young cousin lady says. Last time, it was she who harmed you!”
Yudie also said, “That Liang Tingjian is not a good man. The Duke kindly saved their Liang family, yet he wants to marry into the Chen family. The Duke clearly said he did not wish to humiliate the descendant of an old friend by making him a live-in son-in-law, but he conspired with the young cousin lady to scheme against you!”
Seeing the concern in their eyes, Chen Wanqing couldn’t help but smile. “I know. I won’t be fooled by her again!”
Lü’e had many more words of persuasion ready, but seeing Chen Wanqing agree so readily, she was quite taken aback.
Ever since that cousin had entered the manor, she had completely charmed her young mistress, causing her to drift apart from even her closest friends. Lü’e feared her mistress would suffer at Zhou Ranfang’s hands, especially after the last incident, when she had led the young mistress away, leaving their maids behind…
Beside her, the breathing of the two maids gradually grew steady and deep as they fell into a sound sleep.
Under the hazy moonlight filtering through the window, Chen Wanqing tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and finally rose from her bed.
Walking to the window, she gazed at the waning moon in the west. From beneath her collar, she pulled out a Jade Jue tied with a faded, half-worn multicolored silk cord.
The Jade Jue was shaped like a dragon, its head and tail connected in a curved loop. Its upper snout curled upward while the lower one swept back, its mouth wide open and eyes glaring fiercely as if roaring. The mane behind its neck flowed backward, capturing both spirit and form with vivid, soaring grace—clearly no ordinary piece.
On the day of the Flower Morning Festival, Zhou Ranfang had invited her out for a stroll. Who could have guessed she would scheme to ruin her virtue!