She wanted to say she only meant to give Qin Shuying a fright, but was that truly all she intended? The so-called “fright” was actually meant to ruin someone’s chastity.

“Crack!”

Qin Yongtao delivered a resounding slap to Qin Yunyun’s face. The force sent her spinning on the ground before she was flung against the wall.

A burning, heart-piercing pain!

Qin Yunyun was so frightened she couldn’t utter a word, staring at Qin Yongtao in terror. This was her father, her birth father. Yet his gaze now was no better than an enemy’s.

If looks could kill, Qin Yunyun would have been executed a thousand times over!

Seeing his beloved daughter’s already disheveled face now bearing fresh marks from his slap, Qin Yongtao’s heart also contracted. But thinking of how his carefully planned schemes were about to succeed when Qin Yunyun’s foolishness created complications, thinking of how that position was about to slip away from him, Qin Yongtao wished he had never fathered such a stupid daughter.

“Speak! What exactly did you do? Tell me everything, leave nothing out!”

In moments, Qin Yongtao had made his decision. He would learn the complete truth from Qin Yunyun to see if there was any hope of salvaging the situation.

“I, I, I…”

Qin Yunyun’s mind was in chaos, not knowing where to begin.

“You wanted to harm Seventh Girl, yet were countered by her at every turn! When trouble arose, you had no contingency plans. I ask you one question and you can’t even speak—with such little wit and courage, you thought you could outmaneuver Seventh Girl? Fool, fool!”

Seventh Girl?

Qin Yunyun was stunned.

As if finding an outlet for her emotions, realizing that this person was her father after all while Qin Shuying was an outsider, Qin Yunyun hardened her heart and cried, “Father, why does she have such good fortune? Your daughter refuses to accept it, refuses!”

“You refuse to accept it? You’re blaming me, your father, for being useless! For being unable to arrange a good marriage for you!”

“No, no… it’s not like that, it’s not…”

“It’s not? You wouldn’t dare! A talent like Liu Junqing comes along only once in many years! Do you know that the examination results were just announced, and Liu Junqing placed third! As expected, he’ll be the youngest Third-Place Scholar in our Great Zhou dynasty’s history! If Third Brother hadn’t been engaged early, Liu Junqing marrying a princess would be effortless. Do you think he’s someone just anyone can covet?”

“What… what…”

Qin Yunyun sat there with tears streaming down her face, completely stunned.

He was that outstanding, and now that she had lost her chastity, she had forever lost any chance with him.

News of the examination results spread instantly throughout the capital.

Liu Junqing placed third in the metropolitan examination, Xu Zhiyang placed 260th, and Lu Changsong failed.

Learning of this morning’s events, Nanny Fu wanted to devour Qin Yunyun’s flesh and drink Xu Shi’s blood. When she told Qin Shuying this news, she carried some satisfaction, “Now that Young Master Liu achieved such a ranking, with his outstanding appearance, everyone’s saying he’s certain to be Third-Place Scholar. Let Xu Shi see—is Miss someone she can touch? That Old Lady Lu looked down on others so much, and Lu Changsong failed too. Let’s see if she still has face to boast! The Xu family is the one benefiting from this!”

Qin Shuying slowly swirled the tea in her cup, her expression calm without any joy.

Nanny Fu remembered Qin Shuying previously mentioning that the Liu family was unwilling to proceed with the marriage, and asked, “Miss, this morning when I learned the news, I prepared congratulatory gifts and waited for you to return to decide—should we send them?”

“Since their family doesn’t mention it, I’ll pretend not to know and send them according to custom.”

Nanny Fu sighed. She truly didn’t want the engagement broken and genuinely hoped Miss could marry Young Master Liu.

Nanny Fu’s expression was all visible to Qin Shuying. If not for the fact that she was the original’s wet nurse, Qin Shuying would already be annoyed by this matter alone.

“Nanny, regarding the Liu family engagement, you should abandon such thoughts early.”

Nanny Fu was startled. Miss had spoken very clearly before, but she still couldn’t believe the Liu family would act so. Although Miss had encountered several incidents since, no trace of Liu family involvement could be found, so Nanny Fu kept trying to convince herself that the Liu family’s unwillingness was just Miss overthinking.

Being called out so directly by Qin Shuying, Nanny Fu felt somewhat awkward, “Miss, this… the Liu family…”

Before she could finish, Qin Shuying said, “Nanny, do you think that this time, without the Liu family secretly fanning the flames, those three—Madam Mao, Xu Peiwei, and Qin Yunyun—could have found such suitable people?”

Thinking it over, few people knew about this matter. These three should be the masterminds. Others, like Xu Minyi, Qin Yongtao, even First Madam Xu, probably didn’t know.

Why would Madam Mao do this?

Easy to understand.

Qin Shuying had long stationed people to watch Xu Shi and knew some things about the Xu family. Madam Mao’s natal family recently seemed to have encountered major trouble—financial matters that cost them half their family fortune.

The Mao family needed money, large amounts of silver.

Madam Mao had always looked down on and despised Qin Shuying. She probably thought that by sending out some people with her daughter and Qin Yunyun’s help, Qin Shuying would obediently fall into the trap.

Nanny Fu was stunned. Speaking of it, how could they have found such suitable people?

If Qin Shuying hadn’t cleverly escaped later, if they had caught Qin Shuying at the Zhao house, those neighbors probably wouldn’t have doubted that Qin Shuying was the concubine.

It was so coincidental—the Zhao family’s child bride had disappeared three years ago and resembled Qin Shuying somewhat. Otherwise, they couldn’t have fooled so many neighbors.

Even if authorities investigated afterward, Mama Zhao and Zhao Erlang could insist they mistook her identity. With so many neighbors as witnesses, who could prosecute them?

By then, Qin Shuying would have lost her chastity. The Zhao family would at most sit in prison for two days. Upon release, they’d receive silver they could never earn in a lifetime and flee far away.

But Qin Shuying would pay with her entire life, living worse than death.

Nanny Fu pondered, “Miss means that perhaps the Liu family…”

“I currently have no evidence, so I can’t be certain. I also suspected Lu Changxuan, but he lacks the ability to find such suitable people in such a short time. So it can only be the Liu family—they were searching long ago. When they happened upon Xu Peiwei and Qin Yunyun needing a plan, they handed the matter to Qin Yunyun while keeping themselves completely clean. I’ve already sent people to investigate this matter privately. Madam Liu might not be this capable—it’s probably Liu Gongshan who orchestrated everything. As for Liu Junqing… this person has deep schemes that I can’t yet fathom.”

Though Qin Shuying said she couldn’t be certain, Nanny Fu had witnessed the secrets of palaces and great households and gleaned some understanding. She drew a sharp breath, thought for a moment, then said, “Miss, this old servant was bewitched to believe the Liu family. Miss, rest assured—from now on, I will never trust the Liu family again.”