Xia Chun’s face instantly turned deathly pale as she hastily kowtowed. “Spare me, Young Miss! This servant… this servant didn’t mean to! But the Young Master’s status is so noble, I truly didn’t dare stop him… I beg for Young Miss’s mercy, please forgive me this once!”
Xia Chun admitted she had been somewhat reckless, but she wasn’t foolish enough to fail recognizing the situation now. Even the Master and Madam could do nothing against the Young Miss—how could they possibly protect a mere servant like her?
“From this day forward, this servant’s life belongs to Young Miss! I will protect Young Miss with my dying breath!”
She kowtowed until her forehead turned red, yet Shen Qingwu merely watched coldly without uttering a word.
Only when Xia Chun was nearly despairing did Shen Qingwu slowly speak, her voice soft yet carrying an intangible pressure. “Then what happened to the Young Master in Shi Fang Courtyard today…”
“I saw nothing! Heard nothing!” Xia Chun immediately rushed to declare, her voice trembling with fear.
“Good.” Shen Qingwu gave a slight nod, then casually added, “If I hear a fourth person knows about today’s events… I’ll tell the Young Master it was you who informed.”
Xia Chun felt her vision darken—this meant not only must she remain silent, but she also had to anxiously hope the little ancestor wouldn’t slip up himself! Yet she could only repeatedly agree: “Yes! Yes! This servant understands!”
Only then did Shen Qingwu lean forward slightly, placing both hands on Xia Chun’s trembling shoulders to help her up. Her movements could almost be described as gentle, her tone softening. “Since that’s the case, let this be a light punishment for a grave warning. You’ll forfeit three months’ allowance.”
Xia Chun was momentarily stunned. She had found the Young Miss terrifying just moments ago, so why did she now seem easily bullied?
But she quickly suppressed this absurd thought, lowering her head submissively. “Thank you for your mercy, Young Miss!”
By nightfall, her second uncle and aunt still hadn’t come to cause trouble. According to Xia Chun, her aunt had been frantic with anger upon seeing the Young Master covered in injuries, but the Young Master stubbornly insisted he had fallen. When pressed further, he would only cry and throw tantrums, forcing the matter to be dropped.
As night deepened, the lanterns throughout the Marquis Estate gradually extinguished, leaving only night watchmen carrying lanterns as they slowly patrolled the alleyways.
A pair of eyes suddenly opened in the darkness, followed by a slender black shadow ghosting out from Shi Fang Courtyard, lightly vaulting over the high wall toward the western wing of the Marquis Estate.
The estate guards’ cultivation peaked at the Qi Realm, allowing Shen Qingwu of the Spirit Realm to move as if through unguarded territory, finally landing before a study door.
Though nearly thirteen years had passed, she still remembered the estate’s layout. And she remembered even more clearly the location where her second uncle and aunt had shattered her bones in her dream.
It was the secret room within this study.
The formation from her dream and her second uncle’s words troubled her, creating unease that drove her to investigate.
Seizing the moment when no one was around, Shen Qingwu slipped into the study, groping in the darkness until she found the secret room’s entrance—only to discover the door was open.
After a moment’s consideration, she entered.
Shen Qingwu moved soundlessly, deliberately holding her breath, becoming one with the darkness in the night.
But candles burned in the secret room, forcing her to move slowly while remaining vigilant against her shadow betraying her presence.
Soon, she heard voices.
“The fifth formation eye must be completed before the Zhongyuan Festival, otherwise we’ll have to wait until next year. We can’t afford further delays.”
“Don’t worry, Master. The most difficult formation eyes are already finished. What can this sickly creature possibly do to escape?”
“Hmph, if she hadn’t schemed to climb up to the Grand Princess, why would it be so troublesome?”
“No matter, nearly four months is enough to create the illusion of her dying from illness.”
It was Second Uncle and Second Aunt’s voices. Shen Qingwu frowned, her hands suddenly clenching… No wonder they wanted not just to kill her but torment her so cruelly, despite having no enmity between them. It turned out she was not only blocking their path to inheriting the peerage but also the so-called fifth formation eye.
It seemed that dream was also a prophetic one, but unlike other dreams, this one was too vague and unmemorable.
But… what kind of evil formation was it exactly? What was its purpose?
While pondering this, Shen Qingwu suddenly heard the sound of footsteps moving and hurriedly pressed against the stone wall, taking several steps back before turning to quickly leave the secret chamber.
Thinking they could take her life in four months?
Wishful thinking.
A dark shadow flitted silently above the Marquis Estate, the moonlight occasionally illuminating that face.
If anyone were to see Shen Qingwu’s countenance at this moment, they would surely be astonished.
Because now her complexion was rosy, her eyes clear and sharp, her breathing steady and strong—there wasn’t the slightest trace of sickness or weakness about her.
Soon, she landed like a night owl on the roof of Shi Fang Courtyard but didn’t descend immediately. Instead, she crouched low, concealing herself in the shadows of the roof tiles.
Her clear eyes watched as a furtive figure arrived at her doorway, untied a squirming sack and threw it into her room, then turned and fled.
Only when the figure had completely disappeared did Shen Qingwu drift down before the door as silently as a falling leaf. She gently pushed open the door—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two brightly colored venomous snakes shot toward her face like arrows from a bow, their bloody mouths gaping and sharp fangs bared!
The next day, news that Shi Fang Courtyard had been sealed from within and that Xia Chun had gone out to find a physician spread as if on wings, immediately reaching Shen Qingxi, who was still confined in the ancestral hall.
“It worked! It really worked!” Shen Qingxi was nearly jumping for joy and immediately commanded her two trusted maids, “Quick! You, intercept Xia Chun halfway and delay her no matter what! You, go quickly and fetch my mother! Hurry!”
“Yes, Second Young Miss!” The two maids accepted their orders and hurried off to carry them out.
It wasn’t long before Shen Wushi arrived in haste. As soon as she entered, she frowned and asked, “Xi’er, what’s happened? Why the urgency?”
“Mother!” Shen Qingxi grabbed Shen Wushi’s arm, her voice trembling with excitement, “Shen Qingwu is doomed! Who told her to ruin my wedding, hit me, punish me, and even steal my courtyard!”
“This is the consequence of crossing me!”
Shen Wushi’s face changed abruptly, a bad premonition surging in her heart. She gripped her daughter’s wrist and pressed, “What exactly have you done?”
Shen Qingxi lifted her chin, immensely proud, “I told Xia Zao to throw venomous snakes into Shen Qingwu’s room. This morning, Shi Fang Courtyard was sealed, and Xia Chun was sent to find a physician.”
As she spoke, her tone shifted to dissatisfaction, “But Mother, isn’t Xia Chun your person? Why didn’t she report to you first before acting? Such a disloyal creature is nothing but trouble!”
“What did you say?!” Shen Wushi’s voice suddenly rose sharply, her grip on Shen Qingxi’s wrist tightening, “If she’s bitten to death by venomous snakes, how will we explain it to the Grand Princess? How will we account for it to the world?”