Compared to Concubine Fang's expression of shock and disbelief, Ren Yaoqi's face remained calm. She stopped walking when she was about five steps away from Concubine Fang.
Even at this moment, Concubine Fang's veil remained in place, and her hair and clothing were meticulously arranged, as if she did not want anyone to see her in a disheveled state.
"Was all of this arranged by you?" Concubine Fang stared intently at Ren Yaoqi. "Did you collude with them to capture me?"
Ren Yaoqi ignored the accusation in her words and replied calmly, "Is there anything else you wish to say?"
Upon hearing this, a look of frenzied resentment flashed in Concubine Fang's eyes. She gritted her teeth and said word by word, "I never expected I had misjudged you. It turns out the one who truly bites is—"
Before Concubine Fang could finish her insult, she suddenly bent over, clutching her mouth. Crimson blood seeped through her veil. She coughed a few times, pulled off her veil, and spat two front teeth and a peanut kernel mixed with blood-stained saliva into her palm.
Ren Yaoqi glanced back. The door was still open, but there was no one in sight.
Concubine Fang groaned a few times, then looked up in terror toward the doorway. Someone had just used a peanut kernel to knock out two of her front teeth.
Ren Yaoqi turned back, her mind racing as she tried to guess who had just taken action.
With her veil now removed, Concubine Fang's blood-stained mouth and the crisscrossing scars on her face made her look utterly wretched and pitiful.
Concubine Fang glared at Ren Yaoqi with a mixture of anger and fear, no longer daring to utter another insult.
After a long pause, she let out a bitter laugh. "Good! Very good! I underestimated you! I was no match for you!"
With two front teeth missing, Concubine Fang's speech was slightly slurred, which might have seemed comical, but Ren Yaoqi did not laugh. She simply looked at the disheveled Concubine Fang, her emotions complex.
Concubine Fang looked up at Ren Yaoqi again. "When did you start planning this? I didn't notice anything at all! Or were you pretending to trust me all along, just putting on an act? Are you like Ren Yaohua, harboring such hatred for me that you wish me dead?"
Ren Yaoqi remained silent for a long time before speaking softly. "When my mother and sister were sent to the manor by you, I fell ill. During that time, I had a dream—a very long dream."
Concubine Fang looked at Ren Yaoqi with mockery.
Ignoring her, Ren Yaoqi continued in a calm tone. "That dream showed me too many tragedies that could have been avoided. So, when I woke up one day, I reflected on myself and realized how many mistakes I had unknowingly made."
Concubine Fang had swallowed several mouthfuls of blood earlier, and her throat felt uncomfortable. She coughed a few times before saying, "It seems your fate in that dream wasn't good."
Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment, then smiled slightly and shook her head. "Whether it was good or not depends on what one seeks. My fate may not have been bad, but yours may not have been good either."Ren Yaoqi had thought about it later—in truth, her own ending in her previous life wasn’t all that bad. After escaping from Eunuch Lu, Mr. Pei had treated her very well. Although she was nominally his concubine, he had treated her as a student under his tutelage from start to finish, personally teaching her all kinds of knowledge, and never once overstepping propriety.
As for Concubine Fang, even though she had sought refuge with her own brother in the end as someone who had rendered meritorious service to the court, she had lost her husband’s family, and Ren Yaoying and Ren Yihong had lost their paternal clan. In the Fang family, they were merely guests. Ren Yaoqi didn’t believe she could have fared much better than herself.
The reason Ren Yaoqi hated Concubine Fang wasn’t because of how she had harmed her in her previous life, but because of the fate that befell her parents and sisters.
But Ren Yaoqi had no intention of discussing these matters in detail with Concubine Fang.
Concubine Fang stared at Ren Yaoqi with a cold sneer. The thought that her current predicament was the result of Ren Yaoqi playing the fool while secretly laying traps made her wish she could tear Ren Yaoqi’s flesh from her bones. She touched the dagger she had kept hidden close to her body—if possible, she would have loved to slash Ren Yaoqi’s face a dozen or twenty times.
But the single peanut that had knocked out two of her front teeth earlier told her that someone was still watching them from the shadows. If she dared to act, the hidden observer would undoubtedly end her without hesitation. So, even though Concubine Fang had a weapon in hand and felt confident she could subdue a young girl, she didn’t dare act rashly.
Her mouth was numb with pain. She thought to herself, It seems these people value Ren Yaoqi quite highly. If I were to take her hostage with the dagger, what would my chances of escaping be?
If this really was Wanfu Lane, then as long as she could escape through the door and call for help, these people surely wouldn’t dare chase her openly.
Seeing the flicker in Concubine Fang’s eyes, Ren Yaoqi knew she was up to no good. Yet, for some reason, she felt no fear. Perhaps it was the sense of security brought by the peanut that had knocked out Concubine Fang’s teeth, or perhaps it was because she knew who stood behind her.
Since Xiao Jingxi had allowed her to enter alone to meet Concubine Fang, he must have made arrangements.
Unaware of Ren Yaoqi’s thoughts, Concubine Fang assumed Ren Yaoqi had come to flaunt her victory. While scheming in her mind, she said, “Since I’m already in your hands, let me die with clarity. Who exactly is behind you? What have you been doing all these years?”
Ren Yaoqi looked at Concubine Fang without speaking. There was no need for her to be led by Concubine Fang’s questions.
Concubine Fang, observing Ren Yaoqi’s expression, suddenly recalled something. Suspiciously, she said, “Could it be that the conflicts between me and Madam Lin were also your doing in secret?”
Concubine Fang said this merely to provoke Ren Yaoqi into speaking, hoping to find a weakness. She didn’t truly believe Ren Yaoqi was capable of such things. But seeing Ren Yaoqi’s calm and unreadable expression, an inexplicable fear rose within her.
If all these events had been step-by-step designs by Ren Yaoqi, ultimately leading to her and Madam Lin destroying each other, then her scheming was far too profound.Concubine Fang's gaze towards Ren Yaoqi shifted from suspicion to a ghostly pallor: "It was really you? How is that possible?"
Back then, her feud with Madam Lin began because Madam Lin and her daughter had pushed Ren Yaoying into the latrine, causing her great humiliation. The reason Madam Lin and her daughter targeted Ren Yaoyu was because the witchcraft incident caused Ren Yaoyu to lose favor with Old Madam Ren. But originally, she had intended to frame Ren Yaohua. In the end, Ren Yaohua remained completely unscathed. She had thought it was because Ren Yaohua or Madam Li had become more cunning.
"Was it you who helped Ren Yaohua back then, and then made Madam Lin and her daughter feud with me? Was it also you who orchestrated the exposure of Granny Gui last time?" As Concubine Fang spoke, she staggered to her feet and then, unexpectedly, lunged fiercely towards Ren Yaoqi.
Concubine Fang had calculated well. She had positioned herself so that Ren Yaoqi's body blocked her from view, and her lunge was swift. Even if someone outside was watching them, they couldn't harm her without going through Ren Yaoqi first. Ren Yaoqi became her human shield.
After her conversation with Min Wenqing, Concubine Fang had realized that the other party wouldn't truly let her go. Ren Yaoqi hated her so much; she would surely be secretly killed by them. So she decided to risk everything, take Ren Yaoqi hostage, and see if she could escape.
If she couldn't escape, dragging Ren Yaoqi down with her wouldn't be a bad outcome either.
Ren Yaoqi had been on guard against Concubine Fang all along. When Concubine Fang lunged at her, she reacted swiftly, retreating rapidly backward.
Just as Concubine Fang moved and Ren Yaoqi retreated, someone moved even faster than both of them. Before Concubine Fang could even touch Ren Yaoqi, her body was flung sideways at a strange angle. With a heavy thud, her temple struck the corner of the square table, and she slid down along the table leg, collapsing onto the floor.
Concubine Fang was in so much pain that her vision darkened, yet she couldn't faint. Blood from her head flowed down the corner of her eye, staining her vision crimson and blurry. She felt excruciating pain but couldn't tell where exactly she was injured.
She sensed a man walking in from outside, heading straight for Ren Yaoqi. Then, an unfamiliar yet pleasant voice echoed in the room: "Did she hurt you?"
Concubine Fang couldn't hear Ren Yaoqi's response clearly. She blinked hard, trying to see who this man was. She had a premonition that the person who could truly decide her fate had appeared.
The man didn't even glance at her. Instead, he issued an order to someone unseen: "Take her away first. Don't dirty the place."
Someone entered from outside the door, bowed, and replied, "Yes, Young Master!"
As the person approached, took out Concubine Fang's dagger, and grabbed her arm to drag her away, she finally realized who this so-called "Young Master" was.
"Xiao... Are you Second Young Master Xiao?" Concubine Fang struggled and murmured.
Xiao Jingxi didn't look at her. He was examining Ren Yaoqi closely, checking if she had been injured anywhere.Concubine Fang's eyes suddenly lit up, as if a person who had seemed fatally wounded just moments ago had suddenly come back to life. Struggling violently, she cried out toward Xiao Jingxi, "Second Young Master Xiao, save me, save me! I can help you! My brother Fang Yacun has already gained the trust of the Empress Dowager's people. I can beg him to serve you."
It must be said that Concubine Fang possessed some quick wit, at least knowing at this moment what method to use to move Xiao Jingxi and protect herself.
Xiao Jingxi waved his hand, and Tong He, who had been about to drag Concubine Fang out, stopped in his tracks, holding her firmly in place.
Without turning around, Xiao Jingxi merely lowered his head and spoke gently to Ren Yaoqi, "Why don't you go outside and wait for me first? Leave this matter to me."
OpenNovel