“You don’t know how disgusting you are? I’d rather fall to my death than let you touch me. Stay away from me. And stop showing up in front of me. Just seeing you makes me lose my appetite!”
There had once been a time when she nearly fell. Qin Ye had merely reached out to steady her, and she had responded with such vicious words. Damn this mouth of mine. What a sin.
Yun Si forced a smile and decided to pretend she had forgotten it. “Um… the food’s getting cold. Let’s eat first.”
Seeing the guilt written all over her face, Qin Ye let out a cold laugh. Though he said nothing further, the suspicion in his eyes did not lessen in the slightest. And he could hardly be blamed.
The change in her was simply too great. To Qin Ye, it was as if she had become an entirely different person. Perhaps he would like the person she was now. But he dared not believe her so easily, afraid that this sudden change was merely an act or that she had some hidden agenda. After all, from the very first day they met, she had disliked him.
Yun Si and Qin Ye first met in Jinzhou, Jiangnan.
Qin Ye was a royal descendant left among commoners when the current Emperor once traveled incognito. He grew up relying solely on his mother, living in the roughest, most chaotic district of Jinzhou.
Raised amid a crowd of all sorts, Qin Ye inevitably carried a touch of roguishness and untamed wildness.
Three years ago, when Yun Si was fifteen, she went back to her maternal grandparents’ home in Jinzhou with her mother for a family visit. There, in a peach blossom grove west of the city, she first encountered Qin Ye.
At the time, several local hoodlums surrounded him. Yet one against three, he beat them until they were crying for mercy.
Blood stained the corner of the young man’s lips. His eyes were dark and bright. Casually breaking off a peach blossom branch, he tucked it behind his ear and flashed a grin at Yun Si, who was peeking from behind a tree. “Seen enough?”
That insolent, carefree manner instantly displeased Yun Si, who had been raised as a sheltered noble young lady. Frowning, she turned and left without a word. Later, severe flooding struck the south, and refugees began pouring into Jinzhou. Her maternal family opened their granaries and set up a soup kitchen outside the city, distributing food for an entire month.
Yun Si and her mother helped as well. During that time, she often saw Qin Ye around, but every time she deliberately avoided him. She wanted nothing to do with him. Then came the incident when she was trapped in a mountain cave during a torrential storm. After that, for reasons she never understood, Qin Ye twice came looking for her at her grandparents’ residence. The first time, he brought a wild mountain ginseng still damp with dew, saying it would help her recover her health. The second time, he brought a carved peachwood hairpin, saying it was a gift for her coming-of-age ceremony.
Right in front of him, Yun Si snapped the hairpin in half. Even now, she clearly remembered how cruel her words had been.
“Are we even close? What gives you the right to bring me gifts?”
“You’re nothing more than a common street rat. Know your place. Trying to climb into the ranks of noble families? Do you really think you’re worthy?”
“Even the maids by my side wouldn’t spare this worthless hairpin a second glance, and you think it’s fit to be a gift? What a joke!”
“Don’t go dreaming of a toad wanting to eat swan meat. Even if I, Yun Si, were crippled or ruined, it still wouldn’t be your turn to court my favor!”
“Get lost! If you dare appear before me again, I’ll have your legs broken!”
She had cursed him so viciously. Yet Qin Ye merely bent down, picked up the broken hairpin from the ground, and turned away in silence. After that, until she returned to the capital, she never saw him again. She thought their paths would never cross again.
Who could have imagined that two years later, this so-called “street rat” would undergo a complete transformation and become the esteemed Fourth Prince of the imperial family? And that he would bind her to his side in such a manner.
In her previous life, he had forced his way into her world, but he had also given her a lifetime of unwavering devotion. In this life, if possible, she wanted to repay that devotion.
“I know you don’t believe me right now. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t believe me either. But that’s okay. One day, you’ll trust me.” Yun Si reached out and tugged lightly at his sleeve. Her eyes carried a pitiful, vulnerable look. “For now… can we eat first?”
Qin Ye met her gaze and turned his head away expressionlessly. A moment later, however, he rose and walked toward the dining table.
Seeing Qin Ye take a seat, Yun Si’s rosy lips curved into a faint smile. She had been back at the manor for seven or eight days now, and only tonight had their relationship shown even the slightest improvement. It really hadn’t been easy.
“Your Highness, try this tofu soup and see if it suits your taste.” Yun Si served him dishes and ladled a bowl of tofu soup.
Qin Ye ignored her and silently finished every last spoonful of the soup she served.
A subtle heaviness settled over the atmosphere.
“Your Highness.” Casually searching for something to talk about, Yun Si asked, “Do you know who damaged my jade pendant?”
Qin Ye paused mid-bite. After a moment, he answered coolly, “I don’t know.”
“Oh.” Yun Si studied his face carefully but detected nothing unusual.
Their gazes met. Qin Ye calmly added, “Do you need me to have someone investigate it for you?”
“No need.” Yun Si shook her head, sounding unconcerned. “It wasn’t anything particularly important.”
At those words, Qin Ye’s eyes darkened. His expression remained unreadable, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
After dinner, Yun Si was in a good mood.
Tonight was a good start. The world lay silent beneath the deepening night.
Everyone in Qiwu Courtyard had already fallen asleep.
Yun Si changed into black night robes and draped a hooded black cloak over them. Avoiding the manor’s patrolling guards, she quietly slipped out through a side gate at the rear courtyard. Once outside Prince Xiao’s Manor, she followed the route she remembered and headed straight for the Marquis Yongyi Manor. She proceeded with utmost caution. The streets were pitch-black, not a soul in sight.
Prince Xiao’s Manor was not far from the Marquis Yongyi Manor, only two streets away. Yun Si adjusted her breathing, conserving as much strength as possible. Half an hour later, she arrived without incident.
A government seal had been pasted across the main gates.
Yun Si glanced at it only briefly. She had no time to indulge in grief. Turning around, she headed toward the side entrance instead.
“You’re certain the information is accurate?”
After taking only a few steps, she suddenly heard voices nearby. Reacting instantly, Yun Si quickly hid behind one of the stone lions flanking the gate, holding her breath. She recognized the voice immediately.
Shen Qian! Why was he here in the middle of the night?
“Absolutely certain.” Another voice replied. It belonged to Shen Qian’s personal guard.
“That old bastard had been guarding against you all those years, my lord. Whatever it is, it absolutely cannot fall into anyone else’s hands. Otherwise, all the plans you’ve laid over the years will come to nothing.”
“What could be so important that it serves as evidence? It may not necessarily be hidden in the Marquis Manor. Let’s go inside and take a look first.”
What were they searching for? Yun Si waited until the two men entered before stepping out from behind the stone lion. She followed them through the side gate, then took a shortcut and slipped into the study of Marquis Yong Yi, Yun Yi, ahead of them.
Fortunately, Shen Qian excelled at deception and schemes, but he knew no martial arts. As long as Yun Si stayed out of the guards’ sight and avoided being discovered, her presence would remain hidden. At this moment, she was concealed inside a secret compartment behind a bookshelf, patiently waiting for the two men to enter. If they were truly looking for something, they would certainly come to her father’s study.
As expected. Before long, footsteps sounded outside the study door. The two men seemed to have come straight here.
Once again, Yun Si held her breath. Only after they began rummaging through the room, creating enough noise to cover her movements, did she peer through a narrow gap in the bookshelf. Her gaze dropped to the boots on the floor, accurately pinpointing Shen Qian’s position.
Southwest… A little farther south…
That’s right. Keep going.
In the darkness, Yun Si slowly raised a hand and placed it on the hidden mechanism inside the compartment.
Rumble! With a loud crash, the floor beneath Shen Qian suddenly split open. Caught completely off guard, he plunged into the secret chamber below.
The guard’s expression changed dramatically. Just as he rushed forward to save Shen Qian, a faint sound came from behind the bookshelf. “Who’s there?!”
In the brief instant that he turned his attention away, the cracked floor had already returned to its original state.
Drawing his blade with a metallic ring, the guard advanced toward the bookshelf. “Who’s hiding in there? Come out!”
The sword’s cold gleam was only inches away. There was no way to remain hidden any longer.
“It’s me.” A soft, timid voice drifted out.
Like a startled fawn, Yun Si slowly emerged from behind the bookshelf.
The guard had served at Shen Qian’s side for years and knew Yun Si well. The moment he heard her voice, he recognized her before even seeing her face. “Miss Yun, why are you here?”
A trace of killing intent lurked in the guard’s eyes. Even after confirming her identity, he did not lower his guard.
“I…” Lowering her head in the darkness, Yun Si spoke sorrowfully. “I missed home too much. I missed my parents, so I came back in secret. I just didn’t expect anyone else to be here. Oh, right, was the person who fell into the secret chamber just now Ah Qian?”
Hearing her explanation, the guard’s suspicions immediately eased by half. By the time she reached her last question, he had already sheathed his blade.
A sickly noble young lady with no strength to truss a chicken was hardly a threat. Even if she had other intentions, she could never pull anything off in front of him. Besides, he knew this eldest miss well. Her heart was filled entirely with his master. She was foolish and naïve, not worth taking seriously.
“That’s right. It was my lord. Miss Yun, please take a look. How can we get him out?”
“Oh, all right. I know where the mechanism is.” Yun Si nodded and began feeling her way through the darkness, searching for it.
The guard watched her every move. Then, a sharp click sounded.
Suddenly, Yun Si cried out, “Watch out!”
At the same instant, a sleeve-arrow shot out from a wall mural opposite them.
The guard reacted instantly. He turned, raised his saber, and easily deflected the hidden projectile. A sneer rose in his heart. Did she really think he needed her warning to avoid such a crude trap? Yet in the moment he turned around, he exposed his back completely to Yun Si.
A cold light flashed in her eyes. She pulled a silver hairpin from her hair and deftly spun it between her fingers. Then, with all the strength she could muster, she drove it viciously into the guard’s neck. A bolt of agony exploded through his body. His pupils dilated. A choking, gurgling sound escaped his throat as the saber slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. He staggered around and caught sight of Yun Si’s pale face. The weak, gentle eyes he remembered were now colder than ice.
“Y-you…” The guard stumbled backward, trying to speak. The moment he opened his mouth, blood surged from his throat. His eyes filled with shock and terror. Until the moment of his death, he could not believe that the delicate young lady of the Marquis Manor, who would become breathless merely from walking too quickly, could strike with such ruthless decisiveness.
Yun Si watched him collapse in silence before speaking softly. “You should count yourself fortunate that you’re only a guard. That’s why your death was so swift.”
As for Shen Qian… He would not be nearly so lucky.
His family. His prestige. Everything he cherished. She would destroy it all.
Once the guard was completely dead, Yun Si dragged his corpse to the entrance of the secret chamber and activated the mechanism again. As the body tumbled into the chamber below, she heard Shen Qian shouting anxiously from beneath. “Who’s up there? Let me out immediately! Otherwise—”
The floor closed rapidly, cutting off all sound.
A cold, sinister smile appeared on Yun Si’s lips. At that moment, she was more grateful than ever that she had never told Shen Qian about the hidden mechanism and secret chamber in her father’s study. She rested in a hard wooden chair for quite some time before finally recovering her strength. Then she searched the entire study from top to bottom. Yet she found nothing unusual.
What exactly had Shen Qian been looking for? In her previous life, when she had stayed by Qin Ye’s side, Qin Ye had visited the Marquis Manor several times as well. He, too, seemed to be searching for something. But he had never found it.
She thought carefully. If her father had hidden something truly important, where would he have put it? The Marquis Manor was neither especially large nor especially small. Finding a hidden object there would not be easy.
Time was running short. She could not remain here for long. Before dawn, she had to return to Prince Xiao’s Manor.
Leaving the study, Yun Si headed toward the chamber that had once been her own. She had barely taken a few steps when she suddenly sensed a dark shadow flash behind her. Her heart skipped a beat.
Had someone else also sneaked into the Marquis Manor?