From the moment Zhou Lin revealed that the last person “Ming Niansheng” met before entering the capital was Luo Xinci, Ming Yuhe was certain of the true identity of the so‑called younger sister in the household.
To pull off such a substitution, at least three people had to cooperate: Ming Niansheng, Luo Xinci, and Lianxing.
Everyone has their own motives—whether for wealth, power, or fame. Ming Yuhe could understand why Luo Xinci and Lianxing would do this. What he wanted to know now was whether Ming Niansheng herself had been coerced, or if she had willingly joined in the scheme. All these years, he had never made things difficult for this half‑sister. Princess Shao’an had even shown kindness to her and her mother. But if Ming Niansheng had willingly taken part, then in Ming Yuhe’s eyes she was no different from a traitor within the household.
And traitors must die.
When he could not yet grasp the whole situation, Ming Yuhe never acted rashly. Even Zhou Lin, summoned back to the capital for questioning, remained completely in the dark—unaware that he had inadvertently exposed the secret between Luo Xinci and Ming Niansheng.
Ming Yuhe sent men to Linzhou to investigate Luo Xinci’s background and Ming Niansheng’s whereabouts. That would take time. For now, everything he knew about Luo Xinci came from Zhou Lin.
Her father had died young, leaving mother and daughter dependent on her uncle. Their only tie to the capital was Zhou Yi, her betrothed. It was easy enough to guess: most likely the story of a devoted girl and a heartless fiancé. So when he heard that Luo Xinci had left the residence with attendants and, upon meeting Zhou Yi, had been overcome with emotion, Ming Yuhe was not surprised at all.
A guard asked, “Since you know it’s Lord Zhou’s fiancée making trouble, why not seize her for interrogation?”
“No hurry,” Ming Yuhe replied. He disliked being used, and he was far from merciful. Everyone entangled in this affair—he would spare none. Yet there were still unanswered questions.
Zhou Yi’s betrothal was no secret. From an outsider’s perspective, he appeared steadfastly loyal to his fiancée back home.
That meant Luo Xinci’s impersonation of the marquis’s daughter to enter the capital likely had another purpose.
Ming Yuhe had plenty of time to wear her down. But until the truth came to light, he would not let her live comfortably.
The next morning, a maid delivered a message: Ming Yuhe wished to see Luo Xinci.
Every meeting with him brought some absurd, unforeseen twist that left her reeling.
Having learned from past encounters, this time Luo Xinci carefully reviewed their previous conversations in her mind before going to him, reassuring herself that she had not provoked him again—and that nothing should happen to shake her this time.
Luo Xinci went over, uneasy and apprehensive—only to have Ming Yuhe’s very first words make her scalp prickle.
“Yesterday, were you pretending not to know Zhou Yi?”
He knew about yesterday! Her vision went dark; she nearly fainted. But thanks to the trials of their last two encounters, she managed to steady herself more quickly this time. The haze lifted, leaving only a taut nervousness.
Being frightened again and again did have its uses— she consoled herself in her confusion. A few more rounds of this, and when she returned to Linzhou, her uncle and mother would surely think she had been reborn.
“You drift off in front of me while I’m speaking?” Ming Yuhe’s tone stretched long, laced with threat. “Niansheng, do you think your elder brother is too easy to deal with?”
Luo Xinci hurried to answer, “No, no! I was just thinking, thinking…”
Why pretend not to know Zhou Yi? Because Ming Niansheng truly didn’t know him! If only she had told the maid yesterday that she had glimpsed him from afar a few times in Linzhou. Now, if she changed her story, what if Ming Yuhe summoned Zhou Yi directly to meet her?
Her mind raced for a way out, thoughts tangling in panic. At last, under Ming Yuhe’s piercing gaze, she blurted out something completely unrelated: “You’ve set someone to watch me!”
They were in the octagonal pavilion, a place meant for admiring blossoms in spring. Outside, flowers bloomed in profusion; one branch of crabapple leaned into the pavilion, just behind Ming Yuhe.
As her accusation left her lips, Luo Xinci’s eyes darted past his ear, fastening instead on the trembling drop of dew clinging to a flawless petal. She had dared to question Ming Yuhe? Her heart felt just as precarious—except what hung over it was not a dewdrop, but a heavy stone.
“A brother’s concern for his sister—what’s wrong with that?” Ming Yuhe replied lazily, then pressed on: “So why pretend not to know Zhou Yi?”
He wasn’t angry.
Luo Xinci felt both relieved and anxious, stammering, “Yesterday there were so many people… I feared loose tongues might damage my reputation…”
“That’s true enough. You and Zhou Yi both came from Linzhou. Meeting openly in the street could easily stir gossip.”
She had just begun to relax when he added, “In that case, give me the letter. I’ll deliver it to him for you.”
This time she was truly bewildered. “What letter?”
Ming Yuhe said, “Zhou Lin told me you met a friend surnamed Luo outside Linzhou, and promised to pass along her letter to her fiancé, Zhou Yi.”
Her heart lurched wildly, then steadied with effort. Yes—outside Linzhou, Ming Niansheng had used the excuse of delivering a letter. That was when the two of them switched identities in the boat cabin. So there was nothing to fear.
“The letter is in my room,” Luo Xinci said. Rising, she added, “I’ll fetch it at once!”
There was no letter—but she could write one immediately. A single cup of tea’s time would suffice. Just a few lines of simple greetings, and even if Ming Yuhe opened it, she would have nothing to fear.
But Ming Yuhe rose with her. “I’ll go with you, Niansheng.”
Her steps faltered; she froze in place.
Seeing her panic, Ming Yuhe smiled inwardly. “Niansheng is afraid?”
“…”
When she gave no reply, he mused aloud, “Helping a friend deliver a letter is perfectly normal. Yet you fear me knowing… Niansheng, I recall saying—I do not like being deceived.”
As Ming Yuhe spoke, a breeze stirred, shaking the crabapple blossoms behind him. Droplets of dew fell one by one from the petals, splashing tiny bursts of water onto the stone floor.
The heavy boulder suspended in Luo Xinci’s heart crashed down with a resounding *thud*, sending up towering waves that battered her into disarray. “There is no letter!” she cried out in collapse.
Ming Yuhe frowned, then narrowed his eyes. “First you said the letter was in your room, now you claim there is none. Niansheng, are you lying—or did Zhou Lin fabricate this so‑called letter? If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll summon him back to the capital for strict interrogation.”
If Zhou Lin returned and the two were confronted, Luo Xinci would be finished. She had to give a plausible explanation immediately. Steeling herself, she declared loudly: “I burned it! I didn’t want to deliver her letter. After we parted, I destroyed it!”
Liar. Ming Yuhe sneered inwardly, pressing harder. “You agreed so readily, yet turned around and burned your friend’s private letter? That’s hardly what a close confidante would do.”
Luo Xinci shut her eyes. “Because I don’t want Zhou Yi to remember her!”
“Destroying another’s betrothal? Why?”
Why indeed… why sabotage her friend’s engagement in secret? Zhou Yi was innocent. To slander his character would damage his career. And Ming Niansheng, still in Linzhou, could not afford to have trouble drawn to her…
“Why don’t you answer?” Ming Yuhe pressed. “Niansheng, what scheme are you plotting?”
A scheme? “Because I’ve fallen for him!” Luo Xinci blurted out in panic.
The words tumbled into more: “Because I’ve fallen for Zhou Yi! I want him to forget Luo Xinci—I want to take him for myself!”
All the guilt, all the malice—she claimed them as her own. It was her wicked desire, her intent to destroy her friend’s betrothal.
Luo Xinci kept her eyes shut, thinking bitterly: Well, that’s it. First the plot to kill my father, now the desire to steal my friend’s fiancé—I’ve truly become the wicked woman I claimed to be. She wondered what Ming Niansheng would think if she ever found out.