“Yao'er, you could have had a servant inform me. Why wait out here in the cold?”
“I feared Father might go directly to Concubine Xin’s,” Li Yaoqin said, looking up at Li Sinian.
Li Sinian froze, a subtle displeasure crossing his face. “Yao'er, these matters are not for you, as a child, to manage.”
“Yes, they are not for me to manage. However, for him to stay at Concubine Xin’s for several days consecutively is likely inappropriate.”
Li Sinian scoffed. “Is this not what Yao'er prepared for me?”
Li Yaoqin’s entire body trembled. She looked up at Li Sinian, seeing the coldness in his eyes.
“If Yao'er has nothing else, your father will take his leave.” With that, Li Sinian turned and departed.
Li Yaoqin retreated a few steps, covering her face. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Eldest Miss,” Lian Xin, who was beside her, stepped forward and supported her.
Li Yaoqin shook her head. Lian Xin asked, “Shall I call Suo Xin over later?”
“She is a concubine now. You should not call her Suo Xin anymore.”
Lian Xin paused, saying no more.
She truly had no regrets. Concubine Liu was indeed out of favor, but it seemed her father had distanced himself from her as well. Da Feng Novel Network.
Had she made a mistake?
Li Yaoqin could not hold back her anxiety. The next day, while Li Sinian was at court, she summoned Suo Xin.
Suo Xin was still as respectful as before, even kneeling, showing no hesitation.
“Stop kneeling. Father knows how to discipline me,” Li Yaoqin said calmly.
Suo Xin froze and stood up, asking cautiously, “Miss, is it that I have done something wrong? Please point it out, and I will correct it.”
Li Yaoqin responded, “Father has stayed at your place for a full ten days. Do you have no other thoughts about this?”
Suo Xin blinked, looking up at her. “Miss, what other thoughts could I have?”
Li Yaoqin looked at Suo Xin’s innocent expression, unsure if she was faking it or truly clueless.
Seeing her silence, Suo Xin quickly said, “Eldest Miss, if I have done anything wrong, you must tell me. I will correct it. Please speak up; I truly do not know.”
Suo Xin was so anxious she looked like she was about to cry.
Li Yaoqin, seeing Suo Xin’s distressed appearance, thought she wasn’t lying. She then said, “Father always sleeps in your room. Concubine Liu will have opinions. I fear she might use this to cause trouble.”
Suo Xin nodded. “I understand, Eldest Miss. Rest assured, I know what this is about.”
“You may go back,” Li Yaoqin said.
Suo Xin retreated. Li Yaoqin breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps it wasn’t as serious as Concubine Liu had implied.
Suo Xin was still listening to her.
It wasn’t until nightfall, when she had just fallen asleep, that Lian Xin woke her. “What is it? In the middle of the night.”
Lian Xin said urgently, “Suo Xin has injured the master.”
Li Yaoqin was instantly awake and asked, “What exactly happened? How did Suo Xin injure my father?”
Lian Xin shook her head. “I do not know the specific details, but I heard from people in Suo Xin’s courtyard that Suo Xin would not let the master touch her. She even picked up a knife and injured him. A doctor is currently bandaging him.”
“Hurry and help me get dressed. I need to see my father.” Li Yaoqin got out of bed. Perhaps due to haste, her footing was unstable, and she fell to the ground. The pain made her completely clear-headed.
For some reason, she felt a sense of unease.
She rushed to Suo Xin’s room and saw Li Sinian with an enraged expression. Although his left abdomen was bandaged, blood could still be seen seeping through.
Suo Xin knelt nearby, her hair disheveled, with bloodstains on her hands.
Li Yaoqin quickly stepped forward and asked, “Father, what happened?”
Li Sinian slowly raised his head to look at her. Seeing the coldness in his eyes, her heart began to beat with unease.
Li Sinian stood up and suddenly struck her. He slapped her face so hard that her head turned to the side, indicating the force.
Dazed by the sudden blow, Li Yaoqin took a while to react. She clutched her face and looked at Li Sinian. “Father, you hit me?”
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve done!” Li Sinian roared.
“What have I done?” Li Yaoqin asked, word by word.
Li Sinian stepped forward and pointed at the trembling Suo Xin. “Did you not give her to me? Since you gave her to me, everything is under my control. I have never known a daughter to dictate which woman her father chooses to favor at night.”
Li Yaoqin’s face turned pale with shock. Father actually knew everything. She glanced at Suo Xin.
Li Sinian sneered. “You don’t need to look at Suo Xin. When I asked her, she refused to say anything. But your people are not the only ones in this household.”
Li Sinian’s words made Li Yaoqin’s heart sink completely. She looked at Li Sinian, never before feeling such fear of her father.
“In the future, manage yourself well. You don’t need to concern yourself with others. Suo Xin is now my concubine, not someone you can order around. I have decided to elevate her to a noble concubine tomorrow.”
Li Yaoqin took two steps back, unable to believe Li Sinian would make such a decision.
Li Sinian stepped forward, embraced Suo Xin, and said, “From today onwards, you will live in my chambers.”
With that, he left, holding Suo Xin.
Li Yaoqin slumped to the ground. After a long while, she both cried and laughed. Had she not just shot herself in the foot?
“Isn’t this the Eldest Miss? What’s wrong? Regretting it now?” Concubine Liu stood at the doorway, making sarcastic remarks.
“Lian Xin, help me up,” Li Yaoqin said.
Lian Xin quickly stepped forward to help Li Yaoqin. Just as Li Yaoqin was about to leave, Concubine Liu spoke again. “Don’t you find it a little strange? Since Suo Xin became the master’s concubine, the master seems to favor you less than before.”
Li Yaoqin’s body trembled. She looked at Concubine Liu and asked coldly, “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Suo Xin is truly skillful. A move of ‘retreat to advance.’ In front of Eldest Miss, she is meek and extremely obedient. In front of the master, she is unyielding. Doesn’t this make others suspect that Eldest Miss taught her?”
Li Yaoqin looked at Concubine Liu and sneered. “Is that all you have to say?”
“Is that not enough? Very well, there’s more. Why did Eldest Miss choose Suo Xin? Wasn’t it because the master had taken notice of Suo Xin before? Yet, I believe her beauty is inferior to Lian Xin’s, and her gentleness cannot compare to Yan Xin’s. But the master specifically favored her. Why? Has Eldest Miss not thought carefully about this?”
As Concubine Liu’s analysis deepened, Li Yaoqin felt an increasing chill down her spine. This was because Concubine Liu’s every word struck a chord within her.
Looking at Li Yaoqin’s grave expression, Concubine Liu stepped forward and said, word by word, “Eldest Miss, the inner chambers are by no means as simple as you think. However, I am very curious, who is the master behind this Suo Xin?”
Li Yaoqin’s body trembled. She looked at Concubine Liu and asked with confusion, “What do you mean? What master behind her?”
“Has Eldest Miss never doubted it? What exactly is Suo Xin doing this for?”