The butler didn’t even bat an eye, merely withdrawing a new stack of sheet music from his sleeve and placing it on the table.
“We’ve printed a thousand copies of the score. We’ll begin practice whenever Second Young Miss finishes tearing them up.”
Lou Qiyun’s breath hitched.
This household was full of lunatics.
“Get out!”
“I must hear you play the piece through completely before I can leave. This is the task assigned by the master—I cannot return empty-handed.”
Lou Qiyun’s eyes instantly turned cold.
An hour later, she picked up the jade flute with evident disgust.
After just one performance, the butler waved for everyone to withdraw.
“Second Young Miss is truly talented. The master will be delighted when he finds out.”
“Get out!”
“Very well. Dinner will be served shortly. We wish you a pleasant meal.”
Slam.
Qicheng, Hengyu Villa.
Before the nearly two-hundred-square-meter curved floor-to-ceiling window, Lu Lingchuan stood with a dark expression.
Nan Yi and over a dozen bodyguards all kept their heads lowered, not daring to make a sound.
Who would have thought?
They had actually stumbled in a small place like Qicheng.
“Could it be that she’s not a local? Maybe just passing through on business?”
Nan Yi finally couldn’t resist speaking up.
Lu Lingchuan shot him a cold glance. “Her accent is local.”
Nan Yi scratched his head, his brow furrowed tightly.
“That can’t be right. In such a small place, if she’s local, where could she possibly hide?”
“President Lu, it’s fixed.”
With a swift motion, the man stood up abruptly.
His movements were crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
The screen flickered, and a previously nonexistent surveillance footage appeared.
Lu Lingchuan stared at the face, his gaze suddenly deepening.
No matter how many times he saw them, those eyes still shook him to the core.
“That’s her.”
Nan Yi immediately screenshotted and uploaded it to the system.
The next second, his expression turned peculiar.
Growing impatient, Lu Lingchuan commanded, “Speak.”
He didn’t raise his voice, yet the words sent a chill down Nan Yi’s spine.
The air seemed to have been sucked out, leaving the room so quiet that the hum of equipment could be heard.
Nan Yi opened his mouth, his throat dry, his voice catching midway.
“Boss… the system shows she’s a convict, imprisoned in Qicheng Penitentiary…”
The air instantly froze.
Lu Lingchuan sneered, “Preposterous. If she’s really in prison, then who was with me that night?”
Nan Yi opened his mouth but couldn’t answer.
He knew better than anyone how sharp Lu Lingchuan’s memory was.
The Lu Family’s intelligence database was built over five generations, a multi-billion-dollar global system unparalleled in secrecy. From underground archives to satellite tracking, financial records to biometric data, it had never made an error in twenty years.
“Go to the police station and investigate thoroughly.”
Lu Lingchuan extended a finger, pointing at the three characters on the screen.
“While you’re at it, dig into the Lou Family as well.”
Three days later.
On the day the Lou Family held their banquet.
Cheng Yunying, who had been missing for several days, finally made an appearance on the morning of the event.
Draped in a gleaming white fox fur coat with a fluffy collar framing her neck, and carrying a pearl-white handbag, she instantly resumed her role as the exquisitely dressed noblewoman.
Without a word, Cheng Yunying viciously thrust a hairpin into Lou Qiyun’s chignon.
“I told you, once I returned, you wouldn’t have a peaceful life.”
Lou Qiyun looked at her through the mirror. “Why not stab downward? You should be quite skilled at that sort of thing, shouldn’t you?”
“Shut your mouth!” Cheng Yunying abruptly stepped back just as Lou Tinglan approached.
The moment she laid eyes on Lou Qiyun, she was wearing an exquisite cross-collared Hanfu.
Standing at the doorway with hands on her hips, she demanded, “Why dress her up so beautifully? All she ever does is steal my spotlight!”
Cheng Yunying sneered, “What do you know? If she’s not presentable, how can we fetch a good price? In ancient times, only opera singers and courtesans dressed like this.”
Lou Tinglan turned to glare at Lou Qiyun, “Hear that? Mom says you’re just a painted entertainer!”
Lou Qiyun chuckled lightly, “Don’t celebrate too soon—you’re next in line. Or perhaps… you’ve accepted your fate knowing you’re too plain to sell at all?”
Lou Tinglan stomped furiously, “Lou Qiyun! Why don’t you just die!”
“Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll gladly follow once all of you are gone.”
Amid the quarrel, Lou Tingwen arrived.
“What’s all this noise?”
Lou Tingwen remained silent, but the grip in his hands tightened relentlessly.
Tilting her head, Lou Qiyun studied his twisted, suppressed expression and smiled even wider.
“Oh dear, the banquet is about to begin. You can’t keep hitting me now. But you look so furious—should we just call it off?”
Lou Tingwen’s gaze turned icy.
“After the banquet, meet me in basement level two!”
Worthless.
Lou Family’s backyard.
Lu Lingchuan sat in a corner surrounded by bamboo groves, where a small stage in ancient style had been erected, draped with sheer curtains and wind chimes.
As the breeze stirred, the gauzy curtains fluttered and the chimes tinkled softly.
Anyone who had ever visited a nightclub recognized this setup—it was meant for performance.
The Lou Family had always prized their reputation, yet here they were, staging such a scene in their own backyard.
As soon as the banquet commenced, whispers filled the air.
“Isn’t the one performing the Lou Family’s second daughter? The one who was switched at birth—the fake heiress?”
“No wonder she can’t compare to the real one. The Lou Family is using her as bait—which big fish are they trying to hook?”
“Didn’t you notice? Everyone here tonight is connected to the artificial intelligence project.”
“Who else could it be? Lou Tingwen has been cozying up to Wu Haifeng from the Wu Family lately, obsessed with AI. The rest of us are just here to make up the numbers.”
“Not a total waste—I heard Lou Qiyun… is quite the stunner?”
Nan Yi broke into a cold sweat, stealing glances at Lu Lingchuan’s expression.
“Boss, don’t be angry. This second daughter of the Lou Family might not be the person you’re looking for.”
Lu Lingchuan shot him a bland look, “Do I look angry to you?”
Nan Yi, “…”
Good heavens, his own two eyes saw it clearly.
Dispensing with pleasantries, the meal was served at individual tables where guests poured their own drinks, choosing between tea and wine as they pleased.
Just as the atmosphere grew lively, Lou Qiyun made her entrance.
She had changed into a moon-white sheer gown with layered skirts, holding a jade flute. At Lou Tingwen’s introduction, she began playing a soft, mellifluous Jiangnan melody.
She was beautiful—utterly different from the woman he had encountered that night.
Yet Lu Lingchuan found it utterly dull.
He had actually wasted days on a woman willing to parade herself in public.
He must have been out of his mind!
“Let’s go.”
But at that moment.
The gentle melody abruptly shifted!
A fierce, explosive rendition of “Night Parade of a Hundred Demons” erupted.
Lou Qiyun tore off her outer gown, revealing head-to-toe black attire beneath!
Fragments of white gauze fluttered to the ground as the black robe billowed in the wind, making her complexion appear even paler.
Standing center stage, jade flute in hand, her eyes were as cold as a frozen pond.
“My god, what is the Lou Family’s second daughter doing?”
Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, black-clad funeral procession.
She intends to—
Turn celebration into mourning, banquet into funeral!
Her performance level is absolutely unparalleled!
It doesn’t lose to those veteran experts from proper conservatories.
This woman is quite intriguing!
The scene immediately descended into chaos, with screams rising one after another.