Ancestral Hall.
Whoosh—!
The whip cut through the air with a piercing sound, lashing viciously toward Meng Xizhou’s legs!
With full force, if it had landed squarely, her skin would have split open and flesh torn instantly!
Yet, at the critical moment, Meng Xizhou twisted her waist and sidestepped nimbly.
The whip grazed past the edge of her sleeve before striking the ground heavily, kicking up a faint cloud of dust.
Infuriated by the missed strike, Xiulan gritted her teeth and closed in, lashing out at Meng Xizhou again. With a swift spin, Meng Xizhou narrowly evaded once more.
“Stop! Stand still!” Xiulan screamed in frustration, gripping the whip handle tightly as she swung it wildly, again and again. The relentless cracking sounds in the air were enough to set anyone’s teeth on edge!
Yet Meng Xizhou moved like a phantom, her face devoid of any fear, as if she were delightedly toying with a rabid dog that barked and snapped helplessly!
After several rounds, Xiulan’s temples were drenched in sweat, her breathing heavy, her eyes blazing with the fury of being mocked.
Just then, Meng Xizhou’s gaze sharpened abruptly, as if a cold star had flashed within. She subtly shifted direction, seemingly forced into retreat, yet she was guiding the confrontation, step by step, until she reached the incense table densely arrayed with ancestral tablets!
Seeing her cornered with no escape, Xiulan’s eyes gleamed with manic delight, as if she had finally driven a cunning prey into a dead end!
“Nowhere to run!” she shrieked, putting all her strength into a fierce lash aimed at Meng Xizhou!
But to her surprise, Meng Xizhou sidestepped immediately, and the whip swept like a gust of wind across the incense table!
In an instant, dozens of ancestral tablets enshrined atop it cascaded down like falling leaves, clattering and crashing!
Sandalwood splintered, incense burners rolled over… the floor was instantly littered with chaos!
In that moment, Ji Shi felt as if an invisible iron hand had seized her by the throat! The suffocating sensation darkened her vision, nearly causing her to faint on the spot!
These were the ancestral tablets that bore the fortune of the Hou Manor for a century, tablets that required incense-burning and hand-purification even for dusting, tablets to be approached with bated breath! And now, before her very eyes… they lay shattered on the ground?!
After the shock came the immediate realization that someone must bear the blame for this grave offense!
Her eyes instantly locked onto Meng Xizhou, and she breathed a sigh of relief. This wretched girl was the perfect scapegoat, wasn’t she?
“The disobedient daughter accidentally knocked over the tablets while fleeing”—see, what a seamless, logical excuse!
Perfect. Hadn’t the previous charge alone been insufficient to bring Meng Xizhou down? What if another was added now?
Ji Shi immediately opened her mouth to accuse, intending to pin the entire incident on Meng Xizhou. But Meng Xizhou reacted faster, preempting her: “Mother may beat and scold me as you wish, but must you strike the ancestral tablets as well?”
Her brow arched slightly as her words pierced straight at Xiulan and Ji Shi. “What? Are you lacking in all five elements of virtue, and whose eight characters deserve a beating? Or are you born with a rebellious bone, specializing in such treasonous, lineage-ending deeds?”
Ji Shi was momentarily choked by this rapid-fire venom! Then she nearly let out a scornful laugh. Indeed, Meng Xizhou was still too young!
Though she had luckily crawled back alive, she stood utterly alone. In this manor, no one would stand by Meng Xizhou’s side or speak a word in her defense.
And she, Ji Shi, was the mistress of this Hou Manor!
No matter how much turmoil Meng Xizhou’s tongue could stir up, in the end, she would be nothing but a fish on Ji Shi’s chopping block, to be sliced and diced at will!
Ji Shi couldn’t be bothered to engage in verbal sparring with her. Taking a deep breath, she intended to call in servants from outside as witnesses, but just as she opened her mouth—
BANG!
The two heavy ebony doors of the Ancestral Hall were violently shoved open from the outside!
Ji Shi whirled around abruptly to see the Marquis Meng Qinrui’s face, livid with fury, resembling the King of Hell coming to claim a life!
Behind him stood the pale-faced Meng Nanyi, and…
A figure clad in plain brocade, whose presence was as imposing as a deep abyss and towering mountain!
The Princess! Why was she here?!
Ji Shi’s mind went blank with a buzzing roar!
In that moment of Ji Shi’s stunned hesitation, a cold gleam flashed like lightning in Meng Xizhou’s eyes!
She threw herself to the ground—not toward Meng Qinrui, but in the direction of the Princess!
Her eyes instantly welled up with panicked and grief-stricken tears as she raised her voice in a piercing accusation: “Mother! Have you lost your mind?! Why would you order your maid to smash the ancestral tablets? This is grave disrespect that will bring divine retribution!”
Each word seemed dipped in blood, every sentence struck at the heart!
This earth-shattering accusation pierced everyone’s ears like a poison-tipped arrow!
“You…” Meng Qinrui’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets, his gaze burning with rage instantly shifting from the shattered tablets to Ji Shi, who stood frozen in place!
Ji Shi felt all the blood rush to her head before freezing solid in an instant. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest like a dying war drum!
This was bad! The situation was rapidly spiraling out of her control!
“Your Highness! My Lord! It’s not like that! It’s this wretched girl…” Ji Shi forced herself to remain calm, attempting to deflect this fatal blow back onto Meng Xizhou.
However, she had barely begun when Meng Xizhou cut her off!
“Your subject… ‘Meng Nanyi,’ pays respects to Her Highness the Princess.”
The previously grief-stricken Meng Xizhou rose gracefully and performed a flawless curtsy toward the Princess.
She still wore the coarse hemp clothes from her return from the countryside—faded from washing, even bearing traces of her journey.
Yet her straight spine, calm deep-pool eyes, and the clear, proud aura around her reminiscent of solitary winter plum blossoms transformed the humble garment into battle armor!
The Princess’s gaze settled upon her.
Their eyes met.
Seeing the resilient light deep within Meng Xizhou’s eyes, the Princess had no doubt—
This was the true Meng Xizhou!
The Meng Xizhou who dared to scheme alone around grave robbers to rescue her from death’s door!
The Meng Xizhou whose eyes shone like sharp blades even when facing desperate situations!
After months apart, the young woman before her seemed reborn. Her former bright vivacity had been replaced by a profound, restrained wisdom—like cold steel tempered by fierce flames, sharper yet more composed.
Without a word, the Princess understood what storm had just swept through the Ancestral Hall, and how Meng Xizhou had not only emerged unscathed but delivered a fatal counterblow in dire circumstances!
The Princess’s heart ached sharply, wondering what hardships she had endured? Cast away to the countryside, returning home only to have her identity stolen…
This heartache swiftly transformed into deeper appreciation as she gave Meng Xizhou a slight nod.
Everything was understood without words.
The Princess turned slowly toward the salt-white-faced Ji Shi and remarked mildly, “Madam Ji, you certainly manage the role of Hou Manor’s mistress… in a most unconventional manner.”
A single light, drawn-out sentence fell upon Ji Shi’s ears like a thunderclap!
Her mouth agape, every defense she had meticulously woven in her heart instantly turned pale as paper before this conclusive verdict, shattering into dust!
The last trace of color drained from her face, her entire body trembling violently like a paper effigy stripped of its soul, teetering on the brink of collapse!
After several ragged, gut-wrenching gasps, the nails digging deep into her palms jolted her back to clarity.
…This was far from an insurmountable predicament!
Could the Princess protect Meng Xizhou for a moment, let alone a lifetime? Once the imperial carriage departed from the Hou Manor and the doors closed behind it, white could be dyed black, and the living… could naturally be turned into the dead!
But…
Ji Shi abruptly lifted her gaze, suspicion and fear instantly flooding her entire being.
Why had the Princess come today? Why was she siding with “Meng Nanyi,” with whom she had no prior connection?
Had she discovered something?!
The Crown Prince and the Princess had always been close, their relationship strong. If she were to tell the Crown Prince, wouldn’t Nanyi’s position as Crown Princess be…
“Marquis.”
The Princess’s voice abruptly shattered the deathly silence, startling Ji Shi to the core! Those phoenix eyes swept past her as if crushing an ant, finally settling on Meng Xizhou: “I have come today to thank your second daughter.”
“She pulled me back from the gates of the underworld—” the Princess’s words cut through the ice like cold blades, “she is my great benefactor!”
Ji Shi’s mind exploded as if filled with gunpowder! The scheme of the siblings’ elopement crumbled instantly, leaving only a haze of blood in its wake.
In the corner, Meng Nanyi jerked her head up, her lovely face contorted like a demon’s—how could she, already reduced to a lowly country maid, rise again by saving the Princess’s life? By what right?!
“The tokens of gratitude will arrive shortly. Since the Marquis is occupied with family matters, I shall take my leave.”
With these words, the Princess cast one last glance at Meng Xizhou before turning, her robes sweeping the air with the same imposing grace with which she had arrived, drifting away.
“Your Highness—”
The heavy doors of the Ancestral Hall groaned shut with a piercing screech.
“Vicious woman!” Meng Qinrui’s furious roar echoed simultaneously, “Disrespecting our ancestors? Framing the legitimate daughter? The Meng Family ancestral graves will collapse from the shock of your serpent-hearted schemes!”
Candle wax cascaded wildly, stretching Meng Xizhou’s shadow until it enveloped Ji Shi, who stood opposite Meng Qinrui, wanting to retreat but not daring to move.
Mother…
A cold, slow smile curled at the corners of Meng Xizhou’s lips.
How does it feel… to have nowhere to run when danger strikes?