"No... no, I'm fine!"
Yu Ping shook her head in panic, her arm shielding herself more tightly behind her back.
Seeing this, Feng Yin Wan's brow furrowed.
This did not look like she was fine.
Her gaze lingered on Yu Ping's forearm for a moment. Her expression turned grim, and she took a step towards her.
"Miss..."
The cool breeze from outside blew in, making the candlelight flicker restlessly.
As Feng Yin Wan approached, Yu Ping seemed to be terrified, her lips pressed tightly together, her body shrinking back.
This reaction pierced Feng Yin Wan's heart, and the darkness in her eyes intensified.
She stopped her steps in front of Yu Ping and spoke in a calm yet unyielding tone.
"Let me see it. Stretch it out."
Yu Ping shook her head forcefully. "Miss, your servant truly..."
Before she could finish her explanation, her arm was roughly grabbed by Feng Yin Wan. Sensing her intention, Yu Ping's heart tightened, and she immediately tried to stop her.
"Miss!"
Feng Yin Wan acted faster.
As her sleeve was lifted, a patch of dark purple was suddenly revealed.
Fine lines of varying lengths crisscrossed on the fair skin, appearing ferocious and glaring.
And the dense, numerous scars!
Feng Yin Wan's breath hitched, and almost instantly, a smear of dark red spread across her eyes. She spoke, her voice almost a growl.
"Who did this?"
Who dared to injure Yu Ping to such an extent!
Her hand on Yu Ping's wrist tightened with a tremor. Looking up, she saw the overwhelming rage in Yu Ping's eyes. Yu Ping shook her head in panic, her eyes already red-rimmed.
"Miss, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt."
Feng Yin Wan's face turned cold, and she gripped Yu Ping's hand tighter. "Who."
The moon hid behind dark clouds, and a fierce wind suddenly rose, rustling the treetops, sounding particularly terrifying in the quiet night sky.
Mice and ants roamed freely in the firewood shed. In the pitch darkness, Qin Ru Lian huddled miserably on the ground, her curled-up body trembling incessantly.
"Thud—"
Two sounds suddenly came from outside. The movements were very light, but enough to make her nerves tauten again.
As she cowered, the door was pushed open. Sparse moonlight seeped in, and a dark figure, radiating a murderous aura, emerged from the gloom.
Qin Ru Lian was shaken by the chill, her body stiffening. The next moment, however, she keenly detected the scent of golden orchid ink on the person. Her eyes instantly burst with immense joy.
"Aunt sent you to fetch me, didn't she?!"
The surroundings were pitch black, and the person was masked, so she could only get a rough outline of their figure.
Though her face was invisible, she recognized the scent. It was undoubtedly from the Empress's palace!
Fear made her disregard everything else. She lunged forward and grabbed the person's clothes. "Quick...! Take me back to the palace! I don't want to stay in this wretched place for another moment!"
She truly never expected Ye Ting Lan to be so heartless!
He ordered her to be locked up here, yet he didn't care if she lived or died. It had been two days, no food, no water, and she wasn't even allowed to sleep properly. If she stayed any longer, she would go mad!
Clutching the person's clothes, she urged them on, but to her surprise, the person did not move. Their eyes, filled with murderous intent, looked at her coldly. There was no intention of taking her away.
Under that chilling gaze, Qin Ru Lian's face turned ashen. The hand holding the clothes let go sheepishly.
"No... it's not that I'm unwilling to try my best, but that woman is cunning and powerful. She has strong martial arts skills, and I had no opportunity to strike!"
On the wedding day, the woman clearly ate the food sent by the guards. But somehow, when Qin Ru Lian sneaked in, the woman not only wasn't affected but seemed to have anticipated it and attacked her.
How could she have known the woman possessed such abilities? If she had known beforehand, she would have reported it to the Empress before acting, and she wouldn't have ended up in this situation!
The scene from that day flashed before her eyes. The thought of Ye Ting Lan mistaking her for that woman, lowering his stance, and acting with caution, made her insides churn with envy, like being pickled with two pounds of sour cucumbers.
Gritting her teeth, she added, "Although the plan failed, it wasn't without discoveries. I will explain this matter to Aunt personally. Take me back to the palace now. I have important information to report to Aunt!"
She had realized that not only did that woman know martial arts, but her relationship with Ye Ting Lan was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface!
And she had also given her a mute pill. With martial arts, medicine, and a sudden appearance in the capital...
She seriously suspected this woman's identity was related to someone Aunt feared!
With such crucial information, as long as she revealed it, the Empress could never blame her for failing to do her job!
Thinking this, she felt very confident. To her surprise, after a moment of silence, the person only said,
"Where is it?"
The voice was hoarse and unclear.
Qin Ru Lian paused for a moment but had no intention of thinking further. She turned around, fumbled for a while, and took out a folded paper packet from inside her bodice.
"Here."
She handed over the paper packet, her eyes secretly glancing outside. She quickly smoothed her clothes and urged in a low voice.
"Can you take me back to the palace now?"
Although the guards outside had been knocked out, she was afraid of being discovered by the patrolling guards after such a long delay.
Frowning, she looked. The fingers holding the medicine packet were slender and delicate, clearly a woman's hand.
"You..."
Suddenly realizing something was wrong, Qin Ru Lian's face showed surprise. However, before she could cry out, a hand knife struck the back of her neck with fierce force, knocking her out instantly.
With a "thud," Qin Ru Lian fell to the ground. The person in front of her then lifted their mask and slowly brought the paper packet to their nose.
After a few breaths, the person's eyes closed slightly, and a cold, mocking smile merged into the night.
"It really is this."
...
Lan Qing Yuan.
The flower bed in the corner of the wall trembled, and a figure landed in the courtyard.
Yu Ping stood guard at the door. Upon seeing the figure, she immediately rushed forward.
"Miss!"
The wounds on her arm had already healed. Because they were a bit deep, they had left scars.
She hadn't wanted to tell her lady about these things. After all, her lady had returned to the capital for more important matters, and she didn't want to burden her lady with this.
However, she had still been seen through...
After Feng Yin Wan had asked her name, she had left directly. Her anger was so intense that Yu Ping couldn't stop her, fearing that something might go wrong.
Seeing her return now, her heart finally settled.
Her breathing slowed. She placed her hands on Feng Yin Wan's forearms and asked hesitantly, "Miss, where did you go just now? Did you arouse any suspicion?"
After all, this was a prince's mansion, and the prince was suspicious of her lady's identity. A single mistake could expose them.
Feng Yin Wan's anger had subsided. Hearing this, she lightly pressed on Yu Ping's hand and replied in a gentle and comforting tone.
"It's alright, I wouldn't be so careless."
A dark glint flashed in her eyes, and she added, "Go back to sleep. We'll talk about this tomorrow."