Ji Shi was forcibly escorted back to Youlan Courtyard in silence.
Once the doors were closed, the two matrons who had been escorting her immediately knelt with a thud: “Please forgive us, Madam! We deserve death!”
Ji Shi walked directly to the rosewood armchair at the head of the room and sat down, allowing her personal maid to gently wipe the dust from her face.
“Rise,” she said, her voice hoarse yet remarkably steady.
The matrons trembled as they stood up and retreated to a corner.
Ji Shi curled her lips slightly, her mind already calm again.
Meng Qinrui’s fury was partly genuine anger at her audacity that nearly implicated the Hou Manor, and partly an act put on for the Princess.
He wouldn’t truly harm her as the mistress of the household, at least… not until the matter of the Crown Princess was settled.
But… that little wretch had actually climbed onto the Princess’s coattails!
This was the truly troublesome variable!
Ji Shi tapped the armrest with her knuckles, producing dull thuds that echoed like beats against her own heart.
The scandal of elopement that should have stripped Meng Xizhou of a layer of skin even if it didn’t kill her was instantly washed away by this sudden act of grace!
Meng Xizhou’s luck was truly remarkable, truly proving that the wicked live a thousand years!
Not only had Meng Xizhou escaped and returned from the abduction Ji Shi had plotted for years, but she had also, as claimed, accomplished a great deed for the court.
The Princess, being a general, saving her life—wasn’t that precisely a great service to the court?
Ji Shi narrowed her eyes, her gaze as deep and dark as an ancient well.
But… so what if she was triumphant? In the end, she was forced to survive in the manor under the name “Meng Nanyi”! Nothing but a ground mole afraid of the light!
Her Nan Nan, the true Meng Nanyi, would in six months become the rightful, glorious Crown Princess! By then, what would a mere beneficiary of the Princess’s favor amount to before the future mother of the nation?
Which way the scales of power would tilt, even a blind man could see!
“Just these six months…” Ji Shi murmured softly, like a venomous snake hissing.
As long as she held firm for these six months, preventing Meng Xizhou from causing any more waves, once Nan Nan entered the Eastern Palace, it would be time for Meng Xizhou… to be utterly crushed into the dust, beyond redemption!
Suddenly, she recalled the instructions of Master Xuanqing, who had performed the fate exchange for Meng Nanyi.
“Whether the fate exchange succeeds depends entirely on whether you, Madam Meng, can completely destroy Meng Xizhou’s fortune,” Master Xuanqing had stroked his beard. “The more wretched her life, the more it favors the completion of the ritual.”
Ji Shi’s heart jolted violently! Cold sweat instantly drenched her back.
If Meng Xizhou had returned so quickly, could it mean the fate exchange hadn’t succeeded after all?!
Would all her efforts over the years then vanish like bubbles, all for nothing?!
Ji Shi clenched her teeth tightly, and in her agitation, the taste of blood already filled her mouth!
She couldn’t wait another moment. She rose and began writing a letter to seek confirmation from Master Xuanqing.
After steadily placing the final stick of incense into the burner, Meng Xizhou stood up, feeling little joy in her victory.
In this round, she had forced her father to publicly punish Ji Shi and had used the Princess’s influence to partially clear her name.
But it was far from enough.
Although Ji Shi had lost, she emerged unscathed. House arrest? Merely a temporary retreat.
As Meng Xizhou had anticipated, her father would ultimately weigh the pros and cons. Fortunately, her move this time was merely reactive—a warning shot—so the loss wasn’t too great.
She picked up the lantern from the corner, casting a small pool of light in the darkness.
The real battle had only just begun.
The heaviest shackle upon her now was the accusation of “eloping” with her half-brother Meng Jingming—this stain must be thoroughly cleansed!
She saw her father Meng Qinrui’s stance clearly.
Even if he sensed something amiss in this matter, and even though Meng Xizhou had already proven she spoke truthfully about working for the imperial court, as long as the disgrace of “elopement” remained, every time he saw her, he would be reminded of his beloved but mysteriously missing illegitimate son, Meng Jingming!
This resentment and misplaced blame would linger like an invisible thorn between father and daughter, preventing Meng Qinrui from ever truly trusting her.
To secure her footing in the Meng residence and to bring down Ji Shi, clearing this disgrace was of utmost importance!
Holding a lantern, Meng Xizhou stepped out of the Ancestral Hall. The night wind, carrying a chill, lifted the hem of her robe.
Instead of returning to Meng Nanyi’s former residence, Qionghua Residence, she headed with her lantern toward the remote and desolate Xijin Courtyard.
That was the dwelling of Liu Yiniang, Meng Jingming’s birth mother.
Since Meng Jingming’s disappearance, this once-favored concubine had completely collapsed, locking herself in the courtyard all day, unwilling to see outsiders.
Doctors summoned by the main wife, Ji Shi, came and went in waves, yet Liu Yiniang only grew more confused.
Meng Xizhou was somewhat grateful that Ji Shi, mindful of her reputation, had not yet eliminated the root of the trouble, allowing her this chance to seek the truth within these walls.
Silently, she approached outside Liu Yiniang’s room and peered through the window to see the interior lit only by a single oil lamp.
Her gaze shifted, locking onto the only standing figure inside—a petite maidservant.
Lifting her hand to knock, the moment the door cracked open, she swiftly closed in! Her left hand covered the maidservant’s mouth and nose, while her right hand, fingers pressed together like a blade, struck the side of the maid’s neck!
“Ugh…” The maidservant went limp and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
After dragging the maid to a corner, Meng Xizhou straightened up.
The air was thick with the scent of medicinal herbs. On the bed, Liu Yiniang was wrapped in a quilt, her hair disheveled. Even in her troubled sleep, her brows were tightly furrowed, and she occasionally let out delirious moans.
Meng Xizhou walked to the bedside and pressed her fingertips to Liu Yiniang’s wrist. She couldn’t help but mock herself inwardly—resorting to her half-baked medical skills again.
Still, compared to those physicians bribed by Ji Shi to deliberately drive Liu Yiniang mad, she could almost call herself a miracle healer.
Liu Yiniang’s pulse was as faint as a dying candle in the wind. Meng Xizhou took out the silver needles she had used on the Village Chief’s son, focused her mind, and inserted a few needles. Soon, Liu Yiniang’s chest heaved violently, and before long, her eyes fluttered open.
Those eyes, still clouded with fear, gradually focused on Meng Xizhou’s face by the bed.
Liu Yiniang shrank back slightly, her voice trembling, “Eldest Miss?… Second Miss?”
The twins were far too alike, and the haze in her eyes had not fully cleared, making it impossible to distinguish them.
Instead of answering, Meng Xizhou asked, “Liu Yiniang, what do you truly know about the disappearance of Second Brother Meng Jingming?”
“Jingming?!” Those two words struck Liu Yiniang like a red-hot brand!
She bolted upright from the bed, her eyes wide with terror, then let out a piercing scream: “I don’t know! I truly know nothing! Why won’t you believe me?! Why won’t you just let me be?!”
“I only wanted to live… just to cling to life in some corner of this residence! Back then, I knelt on the ground and begged her! I said if Madam liked Ming’er, she could take him to raise as her own! I would not have uttered a word of objection!”
She suddenly pointed at the void as if Ji Shi were standing there, her face a mixture of fear and humble pleading: “It was she who smiled and said something about raising him by my side, fearing I’d be lonely! How sweet her words sounded…”
“But now Ming’er is gone! No trace of him alive or dead—isn’t this outcome satisfying enough for her? Why must she press on step by step… Why won’t she spare my life?”
Liu Yiniang’s fear and desire for self-preservation had long overwhelmed her maternal affection.
After several more rounds of questioning, Meng Xizhou reluctantly confirmed that Liu Yiniang had truly been tamed by Ji Shi into a caged bird, blind and deaf to the outside world. Meng Jingming’s disappearance had been executed flawlessly by Ji Shi, and Liu Yiniang genuinely knew nothing.
The lead was severed.
Before disappointment could take root in her heart, Meng Xizhou calmly crushed it.
“You’re tired, Yiniang. Rest now.” Meng Xizhou’s voice was soothing as she administered a few more acupuncture needles. Liu Yiniang’s eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted back to sleep.
Meng Xizhou would do her utmost to keep her alive. Even if she couldn’t provide clues, it would still be worthwhile to unsettle Ji Shi.
A moment later, she tidied her acupuncture pouch and prepared to leave.
“Creak—”
An extremely faint sound of a door being pushed open echoed!
Meng Xizhou’s scalp instantly prickled with alarm!
The sound didn’t come from the direction of the maid she had knocked unconscious! Instead… it came from the main door!