While Madam Ji and Young Master Sheng talked in the hall, Ji Yingying was crouched beneath the north window.

The sudden appearance of constables had frightened her. Though she wouldn’t cause trouble, she couldn’t resist eavesdropping. After sending Maid Ji away, she quietly crept along the wall to crouch beneath the window.

The conversation between her mother and Young Master Sheng tore at her heart. She covered her mouth, letting tears stream down her face. It was her fault—she had fallen so easily into his trap, even treating him as a benefactor. She naively thought she could repay the debt through her skills and her brother’s diligence. How foolish! What her mother saw through instantly, how had she missed it? Indeed, how convenient—when the family urgently needed ginseng, Young Master Sheng just happened to have some, and even let Uncle Ji Gui see it.

She recalled Young Master Sheng’s words that night. He had hidden outside the window, clearly hearing her conversation with Zhao Xiuyuan. He wasn’t interested in her jewelry or silver—he wanted her. He set the trap just to make her willingly serve him.

Hearing Young Master Sheng open the door to leave, Ji Yingying could no longer contain her fury. Fearing her mother would discover her eavesdropping, she ran out through the back door.

By the time she ran around the back alley to the front, Young Master Sheng had already walked out the main gate and was turning to untie his horse from the hitching post.

Ji Yingying gripped a cobblestone she’d picked up from the road, crouched, and approached him from behind, raising the stone to strike.

A-Sheng seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, easily turning to grab her wrist with one hand while the other gripped her throat, pinning her against the wall.

Unable to withstand his strength, she involuntarily released her grip. The cobblestone fell, landing squarely on her foot. Ji Yingying’s eyes watered from the pain.

Seeing it was her, A-Sheng loosened his grip slightly. Finding the situation amusing, he lowered his head to her ear and said: “Dropping stones on your own feet, hmm?”

Ji Yingying was so angry she opened her mouth to curse, but her throat tightened, making her face flush red.

He pressed closer, using his horse and wide sleeves to conceal her in his shadow. His hand gradually tightened around her throat, watching her futile struggles: “Break my skull, and the Ji family won’t have to repay Jucai Chamber and the Zhao family? Or would your uncle withdraw his complaint and spare your mother? You seem clever—why so stupid? Anger me, and aren’t you afraid your family will be destroyed?”

His handsome face was filled with arrogant bloodlust. He neither crushed her throat nor let her breathe easily, just watching her gasp like a fish on land.

Despite her distress, Ji Yingying glared at him fiercely, her expression saying “even if you strangle me, I’ll still hit you.”

Deciding he’d warned her enough, A-Sheng slowly released his grip: “You’re still useful. I… don’t want to treat you this way. Remember, don’t offend me again.”

As fresh air rushed in, Ji Yingying instantly revived. She hated him so much that she kicked him upward with all her strength.

“Agh!” A-Sheng’s face changed dramatically from the pain. He released her, doubling over like a cooked shrimp.

Ji Yingying darted around him to stand ten feet away, spitting at him viciously. If she hadn’t feared being heard by people in the residence, she would have cursed him aloud.

A-Sheng hadn’t expected such ferocity from her and was in enough pain to want to kill her.

The main street wasn’t far from the alley entrance, with people coming and going. Ji Yingying cleverly stood outside the Ji family gate, feeling somewhat better after venting her anger. But she couldn’t bear to miss seeing his pathetic state by fleeing inside, figuring if he dared try to grab her again, she’d scream for help.

Damned girl, he wanted to kill her entire family! Finally enduring the intense pain, seeing Ji Yingying still standing at the steps watching his discomfort, anger surged within him and he strode toward her.

Ji Yingying screamed and turned to jump through the family gate. But she tripped on the threshold, falling flat on her face.

A-Sheng stared in disbelief, his anger instantly dissolving into loud laughter.

He grabbed his horse’s reins and mounted in one leap. Sitting astride, he watched Ji Yingying grimacing as she got up, pointing his riding crop at her: “Remember this—next time we meet, you’ll be groveling and begging for mercy!”

“Pah! Just because I owe you one ginseng root? Your grand-aunt will climb Mount Emei tomorrow and dig up a basketful to repay you if I can’t afford it! Looking as black as a Kunlun slave—who wants to see you again? What bad luck! You scheme so viciously against my family, I curse you to die horribly! Get lost!”

Ji Yingying could no longer contain herself and slammed the main gate shut.

After closing it, she wondered: “Where’s Uncle Tian? I made such a commotion at the gate, why didn’t he appear?”

As she pondered this, Tian Yu walked out from the second gate. Seeing Ji Yingying at the main gate, he was startled: “Young Miss, why are you here? Brother Ji Fu was pushed down by the constables and twisted his back. I just took him to see a physician, and hearing Madam had fainted, just sent the physician to her.”

Mother must have fainted from Young Master Sheng’s provocations. Ji Yingying ran back to the rear courtyard.

News that constables had come to the Ji family, involving them in a murder and sunken ship case, spread quickly through Sandao Yan.

It was the day of Niuwu Niang’s third-day return home. On the road back to Yizhou City with her, Zhao Xiuyuan encountered the chief constable heading to arrest people at the Ji residence. He calmly accompanied Niuwu Niang onward, though he desperately wanted to turn his horse around and gallop back to Sandao Yan. His grandfather’s words rang in his ears again: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The Zhao family must be the oriole that ultimately gets the food. If this mysterious person had such power to connect Madam Ji to a murder case, what if he turned against the Zhao family? The hair on Zhao Xiuyuan’s neck stood on end. He quietly instructed Zhao An to go back and investigate, while being even more courteous to Niuwu Niang.

The first to know about the Ji family case was Sang Shisi.

Yichuan Manor sent a steward directly to the prefect’s mansion with a message. With connections in the capital plus generous gifts, the prefect issued an arrest warrant that same day to imprison Madam Ji. The case involved the Chang’an Baron’s mansion and the imperial clan, plus sisterly revenge—people always paid more attention to nobles’ affairs. Chief Secretary Sang told his wife about it when he returned home.

Sang Shisi recalled his impression of Madam Ji from that day, showing the expression of a storyteller revealing the mystery: “So that’s it!”

Speaking of motives, the sisters’ switched marriages twenty years ago was the strongest. How could Madam Ji not hate the sister who stole her marriage? Though Sang Shisi didn’t believe the dignified Madam Ji capable of hiring assassins.

He keenly caught his father’s final musing: “Right after the baron’s mansion steward left the courthouse, another man dressed as a legal advisor sought to meet the prefect. Don’t know his background, but the prefect urgently issued another warrant instructing the constables in Sandao Yan. Tomorrow after court opens, they’ll summon Madam Ji to answer charges. Strangely, that advisor didn’t speak in Madam Ji’s favor. The prefect will certainly side with the baron’s mansion.”

Despite Tang dynasty law, the prefect had the final say in how cases were decided. The Ji family was in trouble—this was Sang Shisi’s conclusion.

“Third Brother, I fear you’ll return to find everything changed,” Sang Shisi sighed, unable to remain uninvolved in the Ji family’s affairs. The court would open tomorrow to try the case—how could he help Madam Ji? He paced anxiously around the courtyard until, slapping his forehead, he had an idea.