Lu Jinxiu was startled. Using the lantern light to look at the woman who had fallen, she immediately knocked the lantern from the servant’s hand.

“What Young Madam? This is clearly a little thief. Just bind her and send her to the authorities.”

The lantern rolled on the ground and the candle flame inside went out. In the sudden darkness, with Lu Jinxiu speaking so definitively, no one dared to go confirm.

Nanyi fell flat on her face, her whole body numb. As she struggled to get up from the ground, hearing Lu Jinxiu’s long-absent voice, she thought it might be better to play dead – she still didn’t know what to say when she got up.

Admit she was the long-missing Young Madam? As long as Lu Jinxiu denied it, the servants wouldn’t dare make a sound. Even if she forced Lu Jinxiu to acknowledge her, how could she explain her sudden appearance? She was supposedly someone who had fallen seriously ill and been sent to the estate, barely clinging to life… But if she was really bound and sent away, she probably wouldn’t reach the authorities before being caught by the Qi pursuers, and the consequences would be even more unthinkable.

Nanyi suddenly reached out and grabbed Lu Jinxiu’s ankle, saying in an extremely resentful voice: “Concubine Lu… don’t you recognize me… have you forgotten… what you’ve done to me…”

In this pitch-black garden, Nanyi’s voice floated in the air, causing Lu Jinxiu to scream repeatedly, jumping around trying to shake off Nanyi’s hand.

Nanyi crawled forward like a female corpse, dark and sinister. When Lu Jinxiu shook off her right hand, her left hand grabbed on, still dragging a trail of blood beneath her.

Lu Jinxiu was terrified out of her wits, screaming continuously. After finally shaking off the “ghost hand,” she stumbled away but crashed into Xie Queshan who had come following the sound.

Torchlight blazed up like a swimming dragon.

“What happened?” Xie Queshan frowned and asked.

“Ghost, there’s a ghost…” Lu Jinxiu tremblingly pointed toward the shadows in the garden.

Nanyi hid behind the artificial mountain, thinking this was bad. She had only wanted to frighten Concubine Lu a little to make her leave quickly so she could escape, but how had she attracted this great deity Xie Queshan? He wasn’t someone easy to fool.

She knew her current appearance was very suspicious. She was afraid he would ask: Where did you come from, what are you doing? But she didn’t want to face him. She knew her clumsy lies couldn’t escape Xie Queshan’s eyes.

And deep in her heart, what she least wanted was to stand clearly in opposition to him. She was a Bingzhu Division spy resisting the Qi, while he served the Qi people. Meeting him while dressed like this made them enemies.

Her heart was in chaos, and she could hear vigorous footsteps already approaching the artificial mountain. Nanyi had nowhere left to hide.

He held a torch and looked over. Shadow and light fell on her simultaneously. She knelt on the ground, dragging an injured leg, looking at him as if prepared to die. The surprise in Xie Queshan’s eyes flashed by. He looked up at the high wall and that direction, already having a rough guess in his mind.

He calmly turned back and said: “There’s nothing here.”

“Just now there was clearly—” Lu Jinxiu began screaming.

Xie Queshan cut off her words: “Since the house is haunted, tomorrow we’ll invite a Taoist priest to perform rituals. Concubine Lu was frightened and is talking nonsense. Take her back. Don’t go out tonight, and don’t mention what you saw to anyone.”

Lu Jinxiu was somewhat unconvinced and wanted to crane her neck to look, but the people around her didn’t dare disobey Xie Queshan’s intentions and forcibly helped her away.

But Nanyi didn’t dare relax – he had sent everyone away… what did he want to do?

Finally, everyone had left cleanly. Only Xie Queshan and Nanyi remained in the garden.

Xie Queshan restrained the pity in his heart. Her return… dangerous yet tempting. Day after day walking through Wangxue Hollow’s pavilions and towers, he often missed the days when her figure moved among them. He even couldn’t help thinking – if she had always stayed by his side… He didn’t dare think further, afraid of developing excessive selfishness. He had already built the dam to hold back the surging tide and couldn’t let all efforts be wasted.

But tonight she had returned unexpectedly, throwing herself into his web. He could use some methods to keep her, but… a thread of reason still warned him that she wouldn’t be willing to be this false Young Madam again. She had to leave quickly before the pursuers came.

“Why aren’t you getting lost already.” Xie Queshan looked down, his tone ice-cold.

“Thank you.”

Nanyi felt relieved – he was showing mercy after all. She didn’t dare say more and was about to leave dragging her injured leg, but unexpectedly ran into Madam Gantang who was hurrying over.

Madam Gantang glanced at Nanyi, who had disappeared for many days and reappeared in such attire, and at Xie Queshan standing coldly there, somewhat surprised.

Nanyi was thinking about how to explain when somehow Madam Gantang suddenly rushed over, embraced Nanyi, and began crying emotionally.

“Heaven have mercy, how did you return from the estate by yourself? Did you suffer some grievance, or receive some shock?” Madam Gantang touched Nanyi’s face, then looked toward Xie Queshan and continued, “I said she had soul-separation syndrome – sending her alone to that place definitely wouldn’t work. Queshan, why don’t you take this opportunity to move back in? These times aren’t peaceful, and there’s nothing to avoid. The Xie family is so large – can’t it support one person?”

Saying this, Madam Gantang took off her outer robe and draped it over Nanyi.

Half of Nanyi’s head was buried in Madam Gantang’s warm embrace, the woman’s faint incense scent entering her nose – with the situation taking such twists and turns, she was a bit dazed.

Xie Queshan was speechless. He also didn’t understand what play his second sister was performing. He had gone through so much effort to send Nanyi away from Wangxue Hollow, and now with one act of “kindness,” she had kept the person again.

Just then, noise came over – a squad of Qi soldiers had burst in, led by the tearful Lu Jinxiu.

“Where’s the disturbance?”

“Right there! There was a ghost just now – scared me to death!”

Xie Queshan immediately understood and said: “I can’t manage the back courtyard affairs – I’ll leave them to Second Sister to handle.”

With that, he strode toward the Qi soldiers.

Nanyi also understood. It must be that Madam Gantang, seeing Qi soldiers coming to search and guessing something had happened in the back courtyard, had come to check and thought of this quick solution.

She felt Madam Gantang’s embrace was reassuring – she truly had an orchid-like heart and magnolia-like nature, wise and generous. She couldn’t help wanting to nestle in her arms a bit longer.

But Xie Queshan… he had actually accepted this explanation?

The string in Nanyi’s heart remained taut.

As soon as Xie Queshan left, Madam Gantang’s expression immediately became efficient, instructing Tang Rong who had followed her.

“Tang Rong, clean up the bloodstains here. I’ll take the Young Madam back first.”

Madam Gantang helped Nanyi up, showing her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t be afraid. Come with me.”

Nanyi looked back to see Xie Queshan blocking the Qi soldiers who wanted to break through.

“There’s no ghost there – it’s my widowed sister-in-law who’s mentally unstable, having a midnight episode. If you want to pursue the assassin, I did vaguely see a figure heading that way.”

Nanyi completely relaxed. When the Xie family wanted to protect someone, even the King of Hell had to step aside.

…

Faint incense burned in the room as Madam Gantang carefully treated the wound on Nanyi’s leg.

Fortunately, the crossbow arrow that had hit her seemed dulled, creating a wound that wasn’t deep. Perhaps the enemy had mistakenly used a damaged arrow, letting her escape death once more.

Nanyi felt the tension she’d maintained for several days finally relaxing. At the crucial moment, the goddess of fortune had finally stood on her side.

Taking advantage of Madam Gantang bending over to apply medicine, she lowered her voice and whispered in her ear: “Madam Gantang, the Princess is safe.”

Madam Gantang looked up at Nanyi in surprise, hardly believing it.

Nanyi nodded with certainty.

Madam Gantang gripped Nanyi’s hand with emotion and gratitude, tears in her eyes. She wanted to ask something but hesitated.

This girl must have an extraordinary identity. She had vaguely suspected before – on Lantern Festival night, she had suddenly been moved out of the mansion by Xie Xiaoliu, and immediately afterward several major incidents occurred in Li Du Mansion. Later when she wanted to visit the estate to investigate, she found it guarded impenetrably. Seeing Nanyi again this time, injured and wearing black night clothes, combined with the Qi soldiers who came searching immediately after, she somewhat understood what was happening.

But she ultimately didn’t ask. What they were doing was secret work after all – telling one more person meant one more risk of exposure. After a long silence, Madam Gantang repeatedly said: “That’s good… that’s good. Thank you.”

Nanyi also showed a relieved smile. Compared to her confused and powerless self when first meeting Princess Lingfu, she now felt extremely grounded. She helped others and had others protect her without hesitation.

That night, she finally slept deeply and well.

The next day, Nanyi was awakened by commotion. She drowsily squinted at the sunlight slanting through the window. She had actually slept until noon and didn’t know what the noise outside was about.

Nanyi felt lazy and didn’t want to get up, curled in bed. Someone hurriedly pushed the door open – it was a servant from Madam Gantang’s room, looking somewhat shocked and panicked.

“Young Madam, Madam Gantang requests you come to Xuanying Hall. She says… there’s a guest… who has important business with you.”

A guest?

Nanyi was also puzzled, but still got up and let the servants dress her properly. She had only been away from Wangxue Hollow for about a month, but that time had been rough with wind and rain. This refined and particular lifestyle seemed like a dream from before. Now returning to the dream, with pearl flowers in her hair and brocade on her body, she felt somewhat restricted.

But looking at the radiant woman in the mirror, Nanyi smugly thought she looked quite good – this was truly “natural beauty hard to abandon”!

The major matter was settled; everything else was fleeting clouds, small matters. What guest could there be that she couldn’t handle? Nanyi was a bit carried away, her mood rarely relaxed.

Before entering Xuanying Hall, she already sensed something unusual. The courtyard was filled with exquisite lacquered wooden boxes that looked valuable just from appearance, all covered with red cloth – what was this for? Was someone bribing Xie Queshan?

But why call her over?

Entering the hall, Nanyi found both Xie Queshan and Madam Gantang there. Looking toward the guest seats – wasn’t this Zhang Yuehui?

Zhang Yuehui smiled brilliantly at Nanyi, a smile that made her skin crawl with the intuition that nothing good was coming. She saw him stand beside her, cup his hands toward Xie Queshan and Madam Gantang, and say: “What I wish to marry is your mansion’s Young Madam, Nanyi.”

???

Big brother, what play is this? Don’t mess with me.