Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Her feet stepped on the grass as the wind blew the surrounding leaves, but Yun Qingge clearly sensed danger.
Someone was following her!
She didn’t need to guess to know that Can Wang had sent someone to trail her. He probably didn’t trust her, or perhaps he deliberately let her go just to see who she really was.
She halted her steps.
The guard following behind also quickly stopped.
Yun Qingge suddenly crouched down, a slight curve forming on her red lips.
The guard hiding in the shadows quickly poked his head out to look, curious and puzzled as he watched Yun Qingge suddenly crouch down. He stared for a long while, when suddenly—
The person who had been crouching in the distance vanished without a trace.
He immediately stepped forward to check, but found no hole, xue, secret passage, or anything of the sort on the ground. How could the person have disappeared into thin air?
…
Half an hour later.
“Vanished into thin air?” In the room, Ye Feimo propped his chin on his hand, staring coldly and fiercely at the trembling subordinate kneeling on the ground.
The subordinate nodded. “This humble one saw it with his own eyes—she disappeared into thin air, leaving no trace on the ground. This…”
Could she be some kind of demon?
However, the subordinate didn’t dare say those words out loud.
Qingxuan frowned and said, “Nonsense. How could anyone vanish into thin air? Have you lost your mind?”
“No, this humble one truly saw it with his own eyes!” The subordinate continued trying to defend himself, but unless someone had witnessed it personally, no one would believe him.
…
When Yun Qingge returned to Beiyuan, the moment she entered the room she immediately destroyed the servant boy’s clothes she was wearing.
Having been followed by the guard earlier, she had deliberately hidden inside her Kongjian. Only after the guard noticed nothing unusual and left did she step out of the space. Her Yuzhuo Kongjian had an invisibility function—once separated from its owner, it had a self-protection mechanism that would change color according to the surrounding environment to remain hidden.
That was close.
It seemed that from now on, she couldn’t casually reveal her true face.
Didn’t the book say that Can Wang had a severe phobia of women? Although there were female servants in the Wangfu, they were absolutely forbidden from entering Dongyuan. Anyone who did would be executed on the spot.
And yet, this man might have guessed she was the female thief from last night, but he showed no aversion at all.
After tidying herself up, she entered the space.
Inside the space, besides the medicinal fields, there was also a Lianyaoshi used for refining various medicines. Additionally, she had discovered materials in the space that could be used to make human skin masks. She had specifically studied and trained in the technique of making human skin masks in the modern world.
Rolling up her sleeves, she decided to make several human skin masks to prepare for future operations.
The next day.
The Wangfu remained shrouded in a suffocating atmosphere.
Qingxuan hurried into the study, cupped his hands in a salute toward the man at the desk, and said, “Master, all the women in the Wangfu have been summoned to the front courtyard, awaiting your personal inspection.”
“Is the female thief among them?” Ye Feimo held a chess piece, not lifting his head, asking with an air of indifference.
Qingxuan lowered his eyes, hesitated for a moment, then said, “This subordinate has checked all the women and servant boys, and that person is not among them.”
Besides, last night’s servant boy had been covered in soot from the stove—there was no way to know what he looked like. How could they possibly find him?
The man held a black piece between his long, slender fingers, hesitating to place it down.
“However, according to another steward, Manager Zhang, who handles recruitment, there have been no newly hired servant boys in the Wangfu recently…”
Ye Feimo curled the corner of his lips in a smile that wasn’t quite a smile and asked, “So this time, everyone has been checked?”
At his reminder, a strange expression flickered across Qingxuan’s face.
“What is it?” Ye Feimo’s tone gradually turned cold.
“This time, Beiyuan still hasn’t been checked.”
At these words, a glint of light flickered in Ye Feimo’s eyes, and he immediately said, “Go check it.”
Beiyuan had always been a desolate courtyard. Ever since Yun Qingge married into the Wangfu, that piece of land with terrible feng shui had been given to her as her residence. There wasn’t even a single servant in the courtyard, and the entire Beiyuan was never cleaned by anyone.
Then…
Qingxuan said in a low voice, “It can’t possibly be the Wangfei, right?”
He was startled by his own thought the moment he finished speaking.
That ugly, useless Wangfei—there had never been any mention of her knowing medicine or anything like that. He would never believe it was Yun Qingge. Besides, Yun Qingge was an ugly woman with scars on her face.
…
Yun Qingge was shaken awake by Jixiang.
She had stayed up late organizing things in the space, so she had slept rather late. Moreover, Beiyuan was so quiet that even though the Wangfu was making a big commotion that morning investigating the suspicious servant boy from last night, it didn’t disturb her Beiyuan at all.
“Is the Wangfei awake?” Qingxuan’s voice came from the doorway.
Hearing Qingxuan’s voice, Yun Qingge immediately realized why they had come.
In the book, the scars on the supporting character Yun Qingge’s face were not something she had put on herself—they had been taught by Yun Wanyue.
So no one would ever think that Yun Qingge knew medicine or Yirongshu.
And she absolutely could not arouse any suspicion.
She flipped over and sat up, clearing her throat, and let out a somewhat hoarse voice: “Cough, cough—I’m up.”
“Jixiang, quickly help the Wangfei change and wash up.” Qingxuan called out from outside the door again.
Yun Qingge pressed her lips together and looked at Jixiang.
Qingxuan added, “Your Highness, the Prince requests your presence. There are matters he wishes to ask you about.”
Yun Qingge sighed inwardly, knowing she couldn’t escape this time.
After Jixiang had helped her get ready, Yun Qingge stepped out of Qingwu and looked at Qingxuan waiting by the door. She feigned confusion and asked, “Lord Qingxuan, do you know why the Prince wishes to see me?”
Though she knew full well why they had come, she had to pretend otherwise.
Qingxuan replied in a businesslike tone, “Yesterday, a female thief disguised as a servant boy broke into the Wangfu. There is suspicion that someone within the household is responsible.”
“A female thief?” Yun Qingge feigned surprise, lowering her head while her lips twitched inwardly.
Damn it—all this trouble because of a book.
Qingxuan continued, “Today, we have already inspected all the women in the East, South, and West courtyards. Only your Beiyuan, Your Highness, has yet to be searched.”
“You… you suspect me?” Yun Qingge pretended to be shocked, her voice timid and fearful.
Her expression wasn’t overly exaggerated, but combined with the large scar on her face, it looked especially unsightly.
Qingxuan glanced at her ugly expression, suppressing the urge to gag, and said, “Your Highness, please come this way.”
…
The study.
Yun Qingge followed Qingxuan into the study, keeping her head lowered and twisting the cuffs of her sleeves with both hands, adopting the posture of a timid young woman.
To outsiders, she appeared both frightened and bashful.
Ahead, by the tea table, the man sat upright in his wheelchair, leisurely lifting the teacup from the table and taking a light sip.
He clearly knew Yun Qingge was present, yet deliberately made no sound and didn’t look at her.
After an eerie silence, Yun Qingge used her eyes to question Qingxuan beside her.
Qingxuan returned her a cold, indifferent glance before saying, “Master, the Princess has been brought here…”
“Does the Princess know anything of last night’s events?” Finally, the man set down his teacup, as if only then remembering that Yun Qingge existed.
He raised his head, fixing her with a piercing gaze, his eyes sharp as blades.
Despite such an oppressive stare, Yun Qingge remained calm inside, though she deliberately wore a pitiful, aggrieved expression on her face.
“My Lord, I went to bed very early last night and know nothing of what happened. However… I just heard Lord Qingxuan mention a female thief. Has she been found?”
Ye Feimo’s thin lips curled into a sinister smirk. “I too would like to know where this female thief is.”