Qingxuan hesitated for a moment before speaking: “But Master… tomorrow the Princess Consort is to accompany you into the palace to offer tea to the Empress and His Majesty the Emperor… I’m worried…”
Locking the Princess Consort in the woodshed was nothing, but if this woman caused trouble during tomorrow’s tea ceremony, it could ruin things.
Recently, the Emperor was preparing to appoint a Crown Prince, and the princes were all locked in fierce struggles.
Especially between Ye Tianjue and their master…
That incident five months ago had already led Ye Tianjue to attempt persuading the Emperor to reclaim the military authority from their master’s hands. At the time, it was only through the earnest counsel of the military officials that the Emperor refrained.
After all, the military officers at court all stood by their master’s side.
Over these five months, Ye Tianjue had never given up trying to persuade the Emperor to take back the military authority, but each time his attempts were struck down. This marriage business… would become yet another perfect excuse for Ye Tianjue to seize military power from their master, wouldn’t it?
Hah!
Ye Feimo cast him a deep, piercing glance, pressing his lips together before saying: “Get her out at the third watch.”
…
The night grew deeper and deeper.
Yun Qingge leaned against the pile of firewood, her head bobbing drowsily.
The sleeping position was extremely uncomfortable, so she eventually gave up all pretense and simply lay down on the ground to sleep.
She dreamed many fragmented dreams.
One moment she dreamed of the female lead in the book trying to kill her, saying coldly: “Yun Qingge, you want to tell Brother Jue that he mistook you for someone else? Dream on! Don’t ever think about it!”
The next moment she dreamed of returning to the real world and cheering with joy, when suddenly—BANG!—a dull thud sounded as someone kicked the door open, startling Yun Qingge awake.
She sat up and saw an old woman with a somewhat plump figure stepping into the woodshed.
Based on her recollection of the original novel, this should be the cannon fodder female supporting character’s wet nurse. The cannon fodder supporting character had been cared for by this wet nurse since childhood, so she had always trusted her deeply, never knowing that the wet nurse had long been bought off and was secretly doing things behind her back.
And in the book, the cannon fodder supporting character was killed by this very wet nurse, who then framed the crime on Can Wang.
“Fourth Miss, you’ve suffered so much.” The wet nurse entered the room and, noticing she was staring at her, quickly feigned a sigh.
She held a bundle in both hands, a gentle smile plastered on her face as she walked in and shoved the bundle into Yun Qingge’s hands.
“Fourth Miss, you haven’t eaten anything yet, have you? You must be starving?”
Wrapped inside was a steaming hot bun.
Yun Qingge unwrapped the cloth covering the bun and gave a fake smile. “Wet nurse, you’re the one who treats me best.”
The wet nurse smiled, all her wrinkles bunching together, making her look somewhat sinister.
Yun Qingge tore the bun in half and offered one half to the wet nurse.
“Wet nurse, you have some too.”
Seeing the bun offered to her, the wet nurse’s expression shifted slightly, and she quickly said: “No, no, that’s for Fourth Miss. This old servant isn’t hungry.”
Yun Qingge watched her slightly flustered expression and sneered inwardly.
Of course she wouldn’t dare eat it—this bun was laced with deadly poison. One bite and you’d drop dead on the spot!
Then Yun Qingge let out a melancholic sigh, feigning sentimentality, and placed the bun back in the bundle. “Alas, I have no appetite.”
The wet nurse kept her eyes fixed on every move she made. Seeing her put the bun back into the bundle, her heart rose and fell with anxiety.
“Fourth Miss…”
“Ah, I’m so sleepy. You should go now—don’t let anyone see you came.” Yun Qingge pushed her away.
The wet nurse’s face gradually darkened.
She glanced back at the night outside—pitch black, not a finger visible. No one seemed to be keeping watch.
Turning her gaze back, the wet nurse’s eyes turned sharp and murderous.
“Fourth Miss, forgive me!”
With that, she suddenly lunged at Yun Qingge.
The old woman was already somewhat stout, and having done manual labor for years, her strength was terrifying. The moment she pounced, she pinned Yun Qingge to the ground, both hands clamping tightly around her throat.
“Fourth Miss, don’t blame this old servant for being ruthless—it’s all by order of Prince Jue. Blame yourself for being a toad lusting after swan meat! Ugly as you are, you still dared to dream! Why don’t you look in the mirror and see yourself!”
The “Prince” she spoke of was definitely “Ye Tianjue,” the one not yet appointed Crown Prince—the male lead of this book!
If the wet nurse said this, it must be at Yun Wanyue’s instigation, to make the original owner know that the man she deeply loved wanted to kill her, to drive her to despair!
How ruthless!
Yun Qingge frowned, her breathing growing heavier and heavier, the feeling of suffocation becoming more pronounced.
There was no time to think. The only survival instinct in her body was strong. She mustered all her strength and kicked the old woman hard, sending her tumbling to the ground.
“Ah—” The old woman was knocked flat on her back, landing with all four limbs in the air.
Yun Qingge struggled to her feet, rubbed her neck, and glared fiercely at the old woman.
“You little wretch! Just because you married Can Wang, you think you’re really a Princess Consort? If you die in this courtyard now, no one would even care!” The wet nurse cursed as she scrambled to her feet, once again making to lunge at Yun Qingge.
Yun Qingge was quick-eyed and quick-handed. She grabbed a brick used to hold down the firewood and smashed it hard against the wet nurse’s head.
Bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang!
One hit wasn’t enough to knock her out. She lost control of her strength and struck countless times until the woman was dead.
The wet nurse’s eyes bulged wide as blood gushed forth, staining her ferocious face crimson. Her head split open, and she collapsed.
Yun Qingge gasped for breath, tossing aside the brick in her hand and touching her neck, which still throbbed with a dull ache.
How should she dispose of this corpse?
She crept to the door of the woodshed and peered out, scanning her surroundings. To her surprise, no one was guarding her, and a flicker of relief rose in her heart.
Perhaps in the eyes of that Can Wang, she wasn’t worth a second thought.
In truth, given Can Wang’s temperament, after the cannon-fodder supporting female character attempted to assassinate him, he could have easily taken her life.
But…
The book had mentioned that these few days were the critical period when the Emperor was preparing to appoint the Crown Prince. To avoid giving Ye Tianjue any advantage, Can Wang couldn’t afford to kill the Fourth Miss of the Yun family—such an unexpected complication would only invite more trouble.
She quickly stored the wet nurse and the blood-stained brick into her Kongjian, then tore off the scar patch on her face and scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground, smearing it across her features.
Compared to the death of a princess consort, the death of a servant wouldn’t cause much of a stir!
But it was still a problem—she needed to dispose of the wet nurse’s body without drawing any attention.
She crouched down and hastily stripped the clothes off the wet nurse’s body. She needed to change out of this bridal gown.
…
Yun Qingge left the woodshed and found a courtyard some distance away, tossing the corpse into a well to create the illusion that the wet nurse had accidentally fallen in.
Jing Wang Fu was so vast that she had no idea which direction led to Jingwang’s residence, nor did she bother to investigate what this courtyard was.
After finishing all this, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.
She was about to retrace her steps back to the woodshed when she heard the sounds of a fight coming from ahead.
The clash grew closer, the crisp ring of blades colliding relentlessly assaulting her eardrums.