cold clothes

When Leng Yi woke up, she noticed the morning light even before opening her eyes. She then slowly opened her eyes and found herself back in her and Xiao Lian's room.

"You're awake, Miss Ningbi. Let's eat first, and I'll explain what happened last night to you slowly." Xiaolian saw that Lengyi had woken up and quickly helped her get dressed and wash up, then brought breakfast to her in front of her. Her actions were smooth and efficient.

Leng Yi accepted her arrangements somewhat blankly, her mind completely blank, belatedly realizing how pleasant it was to have everything done for her.

"Um, just so you know, you can't tell Zhao Yin about what happened last night, or I'll deal with you all badly." Leng Yi tried to make her threat more impactful.

Xiaolian immediately shook her head and then nodded: "Absolutely, we've already discussed it."

"Oh?" She was a little surprised that Zhao Yin's subordinates would keep it from him. But it was only human nature; assassins were still human, and they couldn't be treated as mere tools.

Xiaolian briefly recounted what Lengyi didn't know last night: Hong'e had been knocked unconscious by Yunqiu and hadn't been seen since. Wang Yuqing had secretly sent people to look for the two of them and couldn't sleep all night. Therefore, Lengyi first had to deal with Wang Yuqing's possible questions.

"Miss Ningbi, you can just say you know nothing!"

"Ha, is this really going to work?" Is this the agreed-upon result?

"Anyway, nothing has really happened, revealing any clues might arouse Miss Yuqing's suspicion."

"Well, that makes sense."

And so it was settled. In addition, Leng Yi said, "Hong E seems to be quite powerful. The poison she uses is very potent, even more potent than Aunt Fang's." Leng Yi still felt lingering fear when she thought of the excruciating feeling she had last night. "So, you help me get rid of her. If we really have to live under the same roof as her in the future, it will be like hanging on a hot oil pan, our lives hanging by a thread."

"Wow, Miss Ningbi is so domineering," Xiaolian blushed inexplicably when she heard Lengyi say "take care of her," "She has the demeanor of a young master."

"...Don't suddenly bring up Zhao Yin." Leng Yi's expression immediately showed slight impatience.

Xiaolian pursed her lips guiltily, then said in a coquettish tone, "Don't worry about Miss Hong'e Ningbi, we will definitely catch her."

Leng Yi still had faith in the abilities of Zhao Yin's men.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Prince's mansion was filled with joy and celebration. Wang Yuqing, as the legitimate daughter, was very busy presiding over the gathering of the young ladies. To be honest, the title of "legitimate daughter" was not really necessary. Apart from the eldest legitimate son, all the others in the Great Qi were born of concubines, since the word "legitimate" symbolized the right of inheritance.

Of course, as the daughter of the principal wife and the future princess consort of the third prince, Wang Yuqing's status was equal to, or even higher than, that of the legitimate son, even without the right of succession.

Wang Yuqing spent the whole day playing with her sisters, aunts, and cousins. It wasn't until the afternoon, when everyone was tired, that the banquet ended and she finally had some free time.

However, she couldn't truly be idle yet; she needed to figure out the truth of what happened last night. Therefore, she went to the maid's quarters alone in the afternoon.

Red calyxes, deep blue... What exactly happened last night?

Wang Yuqing calmed herself and pushed open the wooden door in front of her.

Leng Yi was wiping her soft sword when she heard the door open. She immediately wrapped the sword around her waist again. As soon as Wang Yuqing entered, she saw a flash of golden light, followed by Leng Yi adjusting her belt.

Ningbi's belt seems unusual... or rather, it's rare for a woman to wear a belt.

Wang Yuqing muttered to herself.

"Miss Yuqing, you've arrived." Leng Yi stood up respectfully to greet Wang Yuqing.

Wang Yuqing slightly extended her hand and said, "No need for formalities, this... there are only the two of us here."

"Hmm?" Leng Yi noticed that she seemed to have something to say.

Wang Yuqing, however, did not intend to say anything more. Even if they were alone together, they might not be able to have intimate contact, although she secretly longed for it.

A brief silence fell over the room. Wang Yuqing remained silent, and Ningbi didn't dare to speak first, as she was playing the role of a well-behaved and honest person.

After a short while, Wang Yuqing spoke up: "Miss Ningbi, I sent people to look for you last night but they couldn't find you, and Miss Hong'e was also nowhere to be found. What happened?"

"Does Miss Yuqing believe what I'm saying?" Leng Yi asked without answering first.

Wang Yuqing said earnestly, "Of course I believe you."

Wow, so certain. Leng Yi sighed inwardly and said, "Last night, before the fireworks, Hong E tricked me into going to Cui Zhu Zhai and gave me an aphrodisiac. Hong E even threatened to find a man to ruin my reputation."

"Hong'e really did it." Wang Yuqing's face showed a hint of anger, then she immediately looked at Leng Yi with concern and asked, "Are you alright? You shouldn't have let Hong'e succeed, right?"

"Did Miss Yuqing already know that Hong'e would attack me?" Leng Yi was slightly surprised.

Wang Yuqing was speechless for a moment, then nodded slightly in frustration and said, "Hong'e confessed her plan to me. I pretended to agree, but I didn't do what she said at all. I thought that Hong'e couldn't carry out the plan without my help, but I didn't expect her to be so stubborn."

"Then why don't you do as she says?" Leng Yi said indifferently. "I am a thorn in your and Hong'e's side, aren't I? Wouldn't it be better to get rid of me now and then?"

"I never thought of that before!" Wang Yuqing stood up excitedly.

After standing up, Wang Yuqing realized that she had lost her composure, and her face turned red with embarrassment.

Leng Yi had intended to probe Wang Yuqing's intentions, but she hadn't expected Wang Yuqing to be so agitated. Moreover, Wang Yuqing had been going along with her words from the beginning until now. It couldn't be that Wang Yuqing was naive and innocent, which meant that Wang Yuqing had absolutely no ill intentions towards her.

"Why?" Leng Yi pressed on. Wang Yuqing's fondness for her was quite inexplicable.

Wang Yuqing calmed down slightly, sat down again, and said in a somewhat melancholy tone, "Why would I want to kill you? Is it because you have won the favor of the Third Prince? Jealousy is a major taboo for women, and as the principal wife, I absolutely cannot commit this. Of course, you can take this as just polite talk, but I have no reason to be jealous of you. The Third Prince's favor towards you does not threaten my position as the principal wife. Moreover, I do not like the Third Prince at all."

She had spoken out… Wang Yuqing’s heart suddenly raced; she had revealed her true feelings to outsiders.

She grew up in the inner quarters with her mother, witnessing her mother's cruel suppression of her father's concubines. She believed she hadn't overused the words, but her mother's methods were indeed ruthless. Not only that, her mother also demanded that she become like that.

why?

Was she afraid that concubines would threaten her mother's position? How could those poor women be qualified? Was she resentful that her father wasn't close to her? Yet her mother and father were a perfect couple, with impeccable manners. Wang Yuqing couldn't understand how her father could turn a blind eye to his mother's gradual descent into madness and death by taking concubines into the family, and then continue to take young and beautiful women as concubines. Wang Yuqing had witnessed this series of events for over a decade and found it utterly absurd.