Concubine Liu said, “There are only two young ladies in the Ye household. Once she is removed, won’t her Shadow Guard naturally become yours?”
“You want me to kill someone?” Ye Xiangxiang was terrified.
“You don’t need to do it yourself. Just follow my instructions, and I guarantee she will vanish from this world.”
“No,” Ye Xiangxiang shook her head in fear. “She is my elder sister. How could I harm her…”
“Wasn’t it your idea for her to become a nun in the first place? You clearly wanted her gone too! You thought that once she left, that Shadow Guard would belong to you, but then she came back!”
Concubine Liu hit the nail on the head. “Since you have a goal, stop pretending to be a good person!”
Ye Xiangxiang lowered her head.
After a long silence, she finally whispered, “What do you plan to do?”
Concubine Liu said, “Tomorrow, invite her to visit Taiping Lake. I will handle the rest.”
Ye Xiangxiang asked, “Visit the lake?”
Concubine Liu replied, “Yes. The eldest young lady cannot swim. She nearly drowned once when she fell into the lotus pond in the estate. But you lived in the countryside as a child and are an excellent swimmer… Just invite her for a boat ride. When you reach the center of the lake, the boat will spring a leak and sink. All you have to do is jump into the water and swim to safety.”
“This…”
Ye Xiangxiang hesitated upon hearing this.
Concubine Liu urged, “Don’t hesitate! You are the only one who can do this! If someone else invited her, she would definitely bring Fox Shadow along. But you are different. She is afraid you will steal Fox Shadow away, so she will leave him at home… Only then will I have a chance to act!”
At the mention of Fox Shadow, Ye Xiangxiang’s expression changed.
After a long while, she finally bit her lip and nodded slightly.
…
That night, thunder roared and lightning flashed as the Great Li imperial capital was struck by a torrential downpour unseen in a century.
The heavy rain poured all night, swelling rivers and filling ditches to the brim. Many low-lying areas of the imperial capital were flooded.
Chonghua Palace.
Liang Yun hurriedly reported, “Your Highness, the Malice Azure Dragon is gone!”
“Oh?” Di Xiulan frowned.
Liang Yun said, “The rain was too heavy last night, and water seeped into the Underground Palace. This morning, when I went to check, I found the prison cell intact, but the Malice Azure Dragon had vanished into thin air! After searching carefully with my men, we only found this!”
As he spoke, Liang Yun presented the item.
Di Xiulan took it—a black scale the size of a fingernail.
Liang Yun said, “Judging by the size of this scale, it shouldn’t belong to the Azure Dragon. Dragon scales are much larger.”
“It is its scale.”
Di Xiulan sneered.
The scale between his fingers turned to dust and scattered.
“What?” Liang Yun was puzzled. “This is clearly a fish scale!”
“The Malice Azure Dragon’s original form was a carp.”
Di Xiulan closed his eyes and said, “To escape my confinement, it willingly damaged its primordial power and regressed into a fish form, using the flood to flee.”
Liang Yun suddenly understood.
No wonder the giant dragon had vanished into thin air—it had transformed into a fish and swum away with the water!
“I will take my men to search for it immediately!” Liang Yun said at once.
“A fish—where do you plan to look?”
“Although it will be difficult, almost impossible to find, I will do my best!”
“No need.”
Di Xiulan leaned back in his soft seat, lazily closing his eyes.
“Let it taste the hardships of being a fish for now. When it recovers its power and transforms back into a dragon, I will deal with it then.”
“What if someone catches it and makes it into soup?”
“That would be its good fortune.”
“…”
Liang Yun couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Indeed, for the Calamity Heart Azure Dragon, being bound by a contract and serving its master in constant fear was far less comfortable than being stewed into fish soup…
…
Fallen Blossoms Courtyard.
After noon, Ye Xiangxiang arrived.
Ye Piaoling was somewhat surprised. After yesterday’s events, she had assumed Ye Xiangxiang would be heartbroken and brooding over it.
She hadn’t expected Ye Xiangxiang to come looking for her again today.
“Sister, I was too impulsive yesterday,” Ye Xiangxiang said softly, hanging her head. “You won’t laugh at me, will you?”
“Of course not!” Ye Piaoling patted her. “It’s good that you’ve moved on. There are plenty of fish in the sea!”
Ye Xiangxiang nodded, exchanged a few more casual words, and then said, “Sister, I heard that after last night’s heavy rain, Taiping Lake has expanded significantly… Are you free today? Shall we go for an outing together?”
“Boating on the lake?”
Ye Piaoling raised an eyebrow, looking at her.
Ye Xiangxiang felt her heart tighten under the gaze.
She quickly added, “I heard Taiping Lake is bustling today! The river water flowing in brought many rare fish and shrimp. Lots of people are fishing by the lake, and they’ve returned with full loads just this morning!”
Ye Piaoling: “Alright then, let’s go together!”
Only then did Ye Xiangxiang’s heart settle.
Ye Piaoling changed into lighter, more comfortable clothes and had Fox Shadow fetch a fish basket.
She had heard that Taiping Lake was always rich in aquatic products—perhaps she could catch some big crabs or crayfish…
Fox Shadow said, “Young Miss, I must accompany you! Taiping Lake is not like other places—the water is deep, and the crowd is mixed. It’s easy to run into danger if you go alone! My duty is to protect you, and I absolutely cannot let any mishap befall you. If I don’t go with you, I really won’t feel at ease…”
Ye Piaoling: “No need, you can take the day off at home.”
Fox Shadow: “Ah, splendid!”
Ye Piaoling: “…” You really are straightforward and unpretentious.
Ye Piaoling’s reasoning was simple: since it was Ye Xiangxiang’s invitation, seeing Fox Shadow again would surely be awkward. It was better to let Fox Shadow stay home.
Ye Piaoling and Ye Xiangxiang took a carriage to Taiping Lake.
After the heavy rain, the lake had swelled, its waters vast and misty.
Various fishing boats and pleasure boats floated in the distance on the water’s surface.
Ye Piaoling looked around with keen interest.
Ye Xiangxiang, however, was distracted, nervously twisting her handkerchief in her fingers.
Her heart pounded like a drum. Following the plan, she gradually led Ye Piaoling to a shallow shore where boats were available for hire.
A painted boat was already waiting for passengers at the shore. The boatman called out as soon as he saw them, “Young ladies, care for a boat ride?”
Ye Xiangxiang’s gaze fell on the colorful gourd hanging beneath the boat’s canopy—this was the signal agreed upon with Concubine Liu.
As long as she could trick Ye Piaoling onto this boat, she would never be able to disembark again!
After hesitating for a long while, Ye Xiangxiang cautiously spoke up, “Sister, shall we go for a boat ride?”