Let go?

She hadn’t served her mistress for very long, but she understood her temper well enough by now—if she let go now, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Hongyi refused, holding on tight, nearly in tears with worry. “My lady, please listen to me just this once—whatever the issue is, let’s talk it through properly!”

“Let go!” Ziqing’s bloodshot eyes bore straight into Situ Xin’er, as though the rest of the world had ceased to exist—only her enemy remained.

“Miss Situ was wrong, but it was an honest mistake, my lady. Let’s not stoop to her level—let this one go, just this once.” Hongyi pleaded earnestly, shooting frantic glances at the terrified Situ Xin’er, but Situ Xin’er was too thoroughly frightened to notice, her mind blank with fear, bracing for another slap at any moment.

Hongyi turned to look at Jun Beiyue as well, only to find his face cold and unreadable, saying nothing at all.

Meanwhile, Ziqing was still straining against her grip.

Finally, Hongyi’s voice broke with emotion. “My lady, please, just listen to this servant, just this once—I’m begging you, please don’t let your anger hurt yourself. Please, calm down…”

Before she could even finish, her voice had already broken into sobs. Ziqing turned to look at her, startled—and in that same moment, Situ Xin’er wrenched herself free of Ziqing’s grip at last, scrambling in a panic to hide behind Jun Beiyao, gasping for breath, clutching her chest in shock.

This woman was terrifying!

Ziqing paid her no more mind, gently touching Hongyi’s swollen, red cheek, her voice still carrying its usual flat calm. “Does it still hurt?”

The moment these words left her mouth, the tears Hongyi had been holding back finally spilled over, hot and heavy. In all her years, had anyone ever stood up for her like this? Had anyone ever cared for her so fiercely?

“It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt at all!” Hongyi shook her head quickly, rubbing at her own chest to steady herself for Ziqing’s sake. “My lady, don’t be angry anymore. We’ve done nothing wrong—we have nothing to fear. Let’s just wait for Yingzi to come back.”

“All right.” Ziqing answered flatly, glancing back once at Jun Beiyue before finally growing calm.

Seeing this, Situ Xin’er’s racing heart gradually began to slow. Everyone fell silent, waiting for Yingzi’s return. A complicated look flickered in Jun Beiyao’s eyes—he understood as well as anyone present that if Jun Beiyue’s shadow guards were sent to capture someone, only a truly formidable master could possibly escape them.

The whole area fell silent, save for the faint rustle of wind through the underbrush. Situ Xin’er kept her eyes fixed on Jun Beiyue, and seeing his face remain cold and impassive throughout, she didn’t dare speak up again.

“Miss Situ, something struck my sword just now—did you happen to notice?” Jun Beiyao asked quietly.

Situ Xin’er answered at once, “I did! I saw it fall to the ground!”

“Can you find it?” Jun Beiyao asked again.

“Yes, I’ll look!” Situ Xin’er said, growing excited again, immediately standing up to search.

But Jun Beiyue and Ziqing both shot her a sharp look at the exact same moment, and she froze in place at once.

“What are you doing?” Jun Beiyue asked coldly.

“Looking for something!” Situ Xin’er answered with full confidence. She’d admit to being wrong for insulting Han Ziqing—fine, she could accept that. But this business with the assassins, she wasn’t about to let go for anyone, and she meant to get to the bottom of it.

Jun Beiyue said nothing further, and Situ Xin’er began searching the ground with her head bowed, and before long, she really did find a dart!

“Beiyue-gege, look, this is what struck the Seventh Prince’s sword—if it weren’t for this, we wouldn’t have lost to those assassins!”

Situ Xin’er said, holding it out toward Jun Beiyue—a dark-hued dart resting quietly in her pale palm, unmistakably conspicuous.

The moment Hongyi saw the dart, she fell silent at once—it really was one of her mistress’s own!

Jun Beiyue’s gaze fell on the dart as well, glancing briefly at Ziqing before falling silent again.

Ziqing didn’t even look at it, perfectly composed, showing no trace of guilt whatsoever.

“Beiyue-gege, I can wait for Yingzi to come back, but some things might as well be asked right now,” Situ Xin’er said earnestly.

“Go ahead,” Jun Beiyue said flatly, reaching out to take the dart, but Situ Xin’er quickly closed her hand around it.

“Beiyue-gege, why did you come here?” Situ Xin’er asked.

“Looking for Ziqing,” Jun Beiyue answered honestly. Once Hongyi had reported the situation, he’d turned back from the government office at once to find her.

“Then why was she here?” Situ Xin’er pressed further.

The moment these words left her mouth, everyone’s gaze turned immediately toward Ziqing.

Indeed—why had she been here, and moreover, why had she stepped in just now?

Situ Xin’er didn’t even wait for an answer, pressing further, “And what about that kick she landed on me? What was that about?”

If the true owner of the dart remained uncertain, then Ziqing’s kick, hard enough to make Situ Xin’er cough up blood, was something everyone present had witnessed with their own eyes.

Finally, Jun Beiyue turned a cold gaze toward Ziqing.

But Ziqing remained silent still.

“Beiyue-gege, this is physical evidence, and everyone here is a witness—with both evidence and witnesses present, the real culprit behind all this is her!”

Situ Xin’er pointed straight at Ziqing, declaring it with absolute certainty, her tone overpowering.

She was someone who never let go of an advantage once she had it, and given her existing prejudice against Ziqing besides, there was no way this matter would be settled so easily.

And it was exactly then that Ziqing finally turned to look directly at Situ Xin’er—and that single look alone sent Situ Xin’er scrambling back to hide behind Jun Beiyao at once.

“Do you have anything else to say for yourself?”

“I’m not the culprit,” Ziqing said flatly—not as a defense or an excuse, but simply stating a fact.

Situ Xin’er scoffed coldly at once. “You’re not?”

She turned to Jun Beiyue and continued, “Beiyue-gege, those assassins said it themselves—they came on orders, to eliminate the unnecessary woman at your side! Beiyue-gege, she’s the real culprit—she called me the unnecessary woman at your side! She wants to kill me!”

Arguing further with someone like this would accomplish nothing. Ziqing simply looked away, waiting quietly for Yingzi’s return.

And Jun Beiyue offered Situ Xin’er no direct answer either. He had, in fact, clearly seen this woman intervene just now—but exactly what had really happened here could only be settled once the assassins were brought back for questioning.

Seeing both of them ignore her, Situ Xin’er stamped her foot in fury. “Fine, I’ll wait—let’s see what you have to say for yourself then!”

Jun Beiyao watched Ziqing’s silence, a flicker of resentment hidden behind his eyes. This woman had ruined his plans yet again—abducting Situ Xin’er had been at their father’s secret orders; with such a valuable hostage in hand, how could Jun Beiyue possibly refuse to compromise?

He’d taken it upon himself to frame Han Ziqing in the process, never expecting this woman would actually follow them here.

To everyone’s dismay, after waiting and waiting, bad news finally arrived instead. “My lord, that whole group of assassins killed themselves. Aside from their long swords, we found nothing at all.”

“Can the swords be traced back to their origin?” Jun Beiyue asked, brow furrowed.

“No luck there. Whoever’s behind this was extremely careful—not a single trace was left behind,” Yingzi reported quietly.

The moment he finished speaking, Situ Xin’er immediately issued a command of her own, her voice sharp. “Search her! She’s bound to have more of these darts on her!”

“Don’t even think about it!” Ziqing scoffed coldly.

“Then answer me this—why did you kick me? You’re clearly in league with those people! You knew someone might die, and you weren’t afraid at all—you were just waiting for it!” Situ Xin’er sneered.

Just as the two of them seemed about to erupt into another argument, Jun Beiyao, seeing Jun Beiyue still showing no intention of investigating further, spoke up. “Fourth Brother, say something. I’d like to know too—how did Fourth Sister-in-law even end up here, and why did she suddenly…”

At last, Jun Beiyue raised his eyes and spoke flatly, “Hongyi. Search her…”