In the second half of the night, perhaps due to the dryness of the snowy weather, a fire broke out in the attic where the Eighth Concubine lived—the one who had just given birth to the Marshal’s youngest son.
The three-year-old young master lived with his concubine mother, and the terror of the flames made him cry loudly, waking up most of the household in the inner residence.
The commotion of the firefighting also woke Liu Xiyin. She opened her eyes, feeling dazed, and only then did she notice that the extra quilt on the bed was gone, and Yan Changye was nowhere to be found.
Ha.
The great villain was actually unwilling to share a bed with her.
Was he staying pure for his aide-de-camp brother?
[It seems that before the Ninth Concubine appears, he’s a closeted gay man; only the Ninth Concubine will be able to “straighten” him out.]
[Hahaha, heaven helps me.]
Yan Changye had woken up the moment the unrest began. He had gone out to investigate, and upon returning, he heard his little bride mentally ranking him.
What is a “closeted gay man”? What does “straighten out” mean?
Yan Changye didn’t understand the terms, but he was certain they weren’t compliments.
“A building caught fire. It’s already out. Go back to sleep.”
Liu Xiyin, however, couldn’t fall back asleep. She blinked her large eyes and stared at him. “Young Marshal, if you don’t want to sleep with me, could I move to the side building after we return to the mansion?”
The mansion where the warlords lived included one main building and two side buildings—east and west. The west side building could serve as an office area, and the east side building could house the female family members. There were large gardens separating them, meaning one could go for days without ever hearing a peep from the other.
Liu Xiyin had toured similar mansions in the modern era, so even though she hadn’t had the chance to walk around the Yan Mansion yet, she could guess the general layout.
If she lived in the east side building, she could live out her days without ever crossing paths with Yan Changye, doing whatever she pleased.
Liu Xiyin’s anticipation was practically overflowing from her eyes.
Yan Changye looked at her coldly. “Your fall yesterday was highly suspicious. Until I confirm that you are not a spy, I will not sleep in the same bed as you, and don’t even think about hiding from my sight. Otherwise, I will suspect you have ulterior motives.”
“…”
The light in Liu Xiyin’s eyes flickered out with a soft pop. “Oh.”
[Why is this great villain like this? Can’t I just have slipped on a snowy day? He suspects me even for that? Luckily, I didn’t remind him about the explosives on Hepingnan Street.]
[Go to hell, just go to hell. Neither he nor the male lead is a good person.]
After her outburst of frustration, she realized something else: [Wait, the great villain is a democrat; if he dies, he has to take the restorationists down with him.]
Yan Changye was just about to close the door and leave, but he paused upon hearing this.
His little bride hated the “restorationists,” which meant the future emperor would not succeed in restoring the monarchy?
Then what was this about an Empress and Imperial Concubines?
Yan Changye returned to the side room and wrote down the keywords he had heard from his little bride’s mind into a notebook. Afterward, he tore that page out and kept it hidden close to his body.
During the meeting that day, his father hadn’t sent anyone to the Huateng Mansion to capture the so-called “male lead”; he had only ordered the arrest of every merchant on those three streets. It seemed he really hadn’t heard anything.
But Yan Changye was not entirely reassured.
His little bride’s inner voice was special. If his father could hear it and yet not act, he surely had other motives.
He had to be extremely careful.
After being woken up, Liu Xiyin didn’t fall back asleep. When dawn arrived, she washed up and picked an outfit from the cabinet to change into.
Although Yan Changye had ordered all her belongings moved to the Yan Mansion, he had likely anticipated that she might return to the old family home occasionally and had left a few outfits behind for her.
Today was the day of the return visit to the bride’s parents’ home. In the original book, this was a spectacular plot point for the Liu family.
She wondered if it would still happen now that she had replaced the original character.
Liu Xiyin was looking forward to it.
At breakfast, someone mentioned the fire from the night before. The Eighth Concubine and the three-year-old young master had been moved to the Tingxue Pavilion overnight. The little master had been frightened, developed a fever that morning, and the Eighth Concubine was keeping watch by his bedside, so she hadn’t come to the dining room for breakfast.
Qin Wan had sent food over to her.
Song Mei’er said with a look of concern, “These days were supposed to be a grand celebration, yet there have been constant mishaps. I wonder if someone has offended the heavens. Madam, before the end of the year, why don’t you take us all to the temple to pray?”
Liu Xiyin looked at her nose and then at her heart, sipping her porridge in silence.
[No way, no way? Is she subtly implying that there is someone unlucky in the mansion? Me? Or the great villain?]
[Hmm, neither of us can escape. I’m the new arrival, and Yan Changye just returned. She specifically mentioned ‘grand celebration,’ so it’s definitely us two.]
[Hmph, does she think she can fool someone who has read as many books as I have? This kind of house-fighting tactic—pinning blame on others—is mentioned in every book.]
[She better just come out and say it’s me; it would be better if she drove me away.]
Liu Xiyin’s eyes curved in a smile, as if she were enjoying her porridge immensely.
[A materialistic warrior knows no fear!]
Song Mei’er didn’t say it directly, and even if the others could hear the implication, no one pointed it out. Qin Wan only said, “If you have the heart for it, just fast with me in the residence for a few days. Something major just happened outside, so let’s not go out and add to the chaos.”
Pfft.
In one sentence, she had blocked the Second Concubine’s mouth. Qin Wan was truly worthy of having been the Marshal’s wife for so many years.
Song Mei’er wasn’t angry at being blocked; she remained smiling. “I would be happy to have you lead me, Madam.”
She looked toward Liu Xiyin. “Since the eldest young mistress is returning to her family home today, you should bring more guards, and especially be sure to have the undercarriage of the car checked. If the Young Marshal hadn’t ‘discovered’ the bomb under the car beforehand yesterday, none of us in this mansion would be able to sit here eating in peace today.”
[Ooh~ this means she suspects Yan Changye of staging it himself, trying to shift the blame for the incompetence of the military government and the police department onto him.]
Liu Xiyin was eating porridge with her mouth, but eating “gossip” with her mind, silently adding bullet-point analysis to Song Mei’er’s words.
After finishing her analysis, she raised her clear eyes to look at the Second Concubine, feigning horror. “Second Concubine, today’s car is in the Marshal’s carriage house. Are you saying there might still be bombs under the car? Does that mean there is a spy in the Marshal’s mansion? Do you know who it is?”
Song Mei’er’s face stiffened, and she gritted her teeth. “How would I know?”
This damn village girl! What does she mean ‘it’s my implication that there’s a spy in the Marshal’s mansion’? And she’s asking if I know who it is?
If she admitted to knowing, wouldn’t she be admitting to planting spies in the mansion herself?
This village girl is trying to kill me!
Song Mei’er looked stiffly toward Yan Ting.
Liu Xiyin shrank back, huddling closer to Yan Changye, and tilted her head to look at him with wide, watery eyes. “Young Marshal, if there are no spies, could there be ghosts? The Second Concubine said the mansion isn’t clean.”
Song Mei’er: “…”
Was that what she meant? How did it all become her words again? Is this village girl really doing this on purpose, or does she really not understand how to listen?
Yan Changye placed a slice of ham in Liu Xiyin’s bowl, comforting her. “With Father here, no ghost can stir up any trouble.”
Liu Xiyin seemed comforted and stole an admiring glance at Yan Ting. “Yes, the Second Concubine must be too worried about her cousin and forgot that Father is even more formidable than any god or Buddha.”
Song Mei’er: “…”
Isn’t that just scolding her for having a guilty conscience?