The western side room of Haitang Residence’s main building had been arranged as a study, with simple and tidy furnishings.
It was still early, and thin sunlight filtered through the window lattice, outlining the slender and soft figure of the young lady sitting by the window.
This was the beautiful scene that greeted Qing’er as she entered. Yet the delicate and exquisite young lady before her eyes was like snow on a high mountain or ice on a lake – beautiful, but inexplicably chilling to her heart.
Qing’er was brought before Jiang Si. A’Man called out, “Miss, the person is here.”
Jiang Si nodded slightly, gesturing for A’Man to withdraw. A’Man retreated to stand by the door.
Feeling an inexplicable pressure, Qing’er bowed to Jiang Si: “This servant greets the young miss.”
Jiang Si rested her chin on her hand, examining Qing’er. They did look alike.
People always said she resembled the Holy Maiden A’Sang, but Jiang Si had never seen A’Sang, only the portrait hidden in Yu Qi’s study. So that sentiment was far less intense than what she felt now.
Qing’er and Yu’er truly seemed cut from the same mold. Perhaps the only difference was their demeanor.
Jiang Si thought of Yu’er in the civilian house – though dressed plainly, she still unconsciously exuded a bit of allure when she walked. The Qing’er before her, however, carried herself exactly like an ordinary little maid.
Jiang Si remained silent, and Qing’er didn’t dare move. Soon her legs began to feel weak, and her nose broke out in sweat.
A charcoal fire burned in the study, separating it from the cold outside by a wall and a window, creating two different worlds.
In this silence, Jiang Si finally spoke: “Should I call you Qing’er, or Yu’er?”
Qing’er, who had been nervous but still composed, suddenly looked up in shock at Jiang Si.
Jiang Si smiled faintly. “Let’s call you Qing’er. It seems people can be swapped back and forth, but there’s no need to swap names, don’t you think?”
The color drained from Qing’er’s face almost instantly, and her whole body began to tremble.
Jiang Si leaned back lazily in her chair. Her hand resting on the table was as white as jade, tapping rhythmically on the surface, producing a regular thumping sound.
With each thump, Qing’er’s heart tightened a little more.
“Tell me, what did Zhu Ziyu plan to do to my eldest sister when he found you sisters?” After applying enough pressure, Jiang Si asked seemingly casually.
Qing’er instinctively stepped back half a pace, shaking her head repeatedly in denial: “This servant doesn’t know what the young miss is talking about…”
Jiang Si laughed.
The young lady’s laugh was soft and clean as if washed by spring water – but it was icy spring water.
And the young lady’s eyes were colder than her laugh, like a frozen pond with thick ice. Just that gaze could freeze a person stiff.
“Come here,” Jiang Si beckoned to the retreating Qing’er.
Her hand was soft, like waving water weeds, inspiring fear yet leaving nowhere to hide, only to be tightly entangled.
Qing’er approached Jiang Si, trembling.
Jiang Si smiled: “Qing’er, since I could call out Yu’er’s name, you don’t think I don’t know where she is, do you?”
Qing’er stared straight at Jiang Si, a mix of shock, terror, and other emotions flashing through her eyes.
Jiang Si gazed at Qing’er, a cold smile on her lips: “I will kill her!”
Qing’er suddenly shuddered violently.
That smile blossomed into a dazzling, enchanting flower: “After all, you sisters originally planned to share one identity in public. I’ll just make that happen for you. If your answer doesn’t satisfy me, I promise you, I will kill her.”
At this point, that soft, cold voice paused briefly, becoming even more chilling: “I’ll even cut off her head and let you see what a face identical to yours looks like with its eyes closed—”
“Stop!” Qing’er finally broke down, covering her ears and screaming.
A’Man, guarding the door, glanced inside and curled her lip. Scared already? How useless.
Come to think of it, she was a much more capable maid. She never said a word when watching her mistress commit violence. She only regretted that the young miss rarely took her along lately!
Jiang Si fell silent, quietly observing Qing’er’s reaction.
After a while, Qing’er lowered her hands. Her face, as pale as snow, still showed traces of fear, but her eyes were now dull, bearing a look of resignation.
“I’ll talk…” As soon as she opened her mouth, tears fell.
Jiang Si tapped the table, saying impatiently: “If crying worked, why would I need to kill anyone?”
Qing’er’s sobs halted. She lowered her head and said: “Yu’er is my twin sister. On our way to the capital, our parents passed away one after another, leaving only our brothers and sisters to rely on each other. To survive, our brother sold my sister to a brothel. But soon after, he became addicted to gambling, not only losing all of his sister’s sale money but also accruing a lot of debt…”
The story that followed was like that of all gambling addicts – having lost all his money and owing debts, Qing’er’s brother set his sights on his sisters.
First, he frequently went to Yan Chun Troupe to demand money from Yu’er. After squeezing her dry, he prepared to sell Qing’er to pay off his gambling debts.
“I ran to the streets, unwilling to be sold to a brothel. That’s when Young Master Zhu appeared. He gave my brother some silver and told him not to sell me, then left. I knew my brother too well – once he gambled away the silver Young Master Zhu gave him, he would surely come after me again. I was planning to find a chance to secretly escape, but my brother threatened to kill my sister if I dared to run away. I had no choice but to resign myself to ending up in a brothel like my sister one day. But who knew…”
Qing’er glanced timidly at Jiang Si before continuing: “Young Master Zhu secretly found me again, asking me to play this role. He promised that after the plan succeeded, not only would I be able to live a stable life, but he would also redeem my sister…”
Indeed, this was a great temptation.
Jiang Si curved her lips slightly, then asked: “So how did he want you to harm my eldest sister?”
Qing’er bit her lip, knowing she couldn’t deceive under the other’s clear gaze. She honestly confessed: “Young Master Zhu wanted me to work hard to gain the First Madam’s trust. When the time was right, he would have my sister secretly enter the mansion disguised as me. Using the excuse of relaying a message for Young Master Zhu, she would lure the First Madam out. At that time, there would be another man waiting for the First Madam—”
A sharp sound interrupted Qing’er’s words – it was Jiang Si breaking the brush in her hand.
“Continue,” Jiang Si said, tossing aside the broken brush and taking a new one from the brush holder.
“At that time, I would go to the main kitchen or any crowded place where people could prove my presence. After my sister led the First Madam away, she would leave the Zhu mansion. When the First Madam’s ‘affair’ with the man Young Master Zhu arranged was discovered, the First Madam would surely say she was called out by my sister, but everyone would believe she was lying…”
Jiang Si waved her hand, indicating Qing’er need not continue.
Qing’er fell silent, anxiously watching Jiang Si.
She didn’t know how this terrifying Miss Jiang would deal with her.
Jiang Si tapped the paper spread on the desk: “Come, put your mark here.”