Chapter 14: Who Is Behind It All

“Shen Qingyun, you—you, why are you here?” The Marchioness Jiang’s eyes widened in astonishment at the sudden appearance of the young woman.

Qingyun smiled faintly. “You must be jesting, Marchioness. Why shouldn’t I be here? This is my own chamber, after all.” Curiosity flickered across her face as she added, “But Mother, weren’t you all attending the meditation? Why has it ended so soon? And why are you all gathered in my courtyard?”

At the sound of her daughter’s voice, Madam Han turned and saw Qingyun standing gracefully in the doorway. Her clothes were neat, her hair unruffled, her expression calm—clearly, nothing was amiss. Relief washed over Madam Han, and she hurried to say, “Qingyun, don’t come in.”

Recalling the Marchioness’s earlier words, she wondered if some audacious servant had truly dared to commit such indecency in her daughter’s room. She would not allow Qingyun’s eyes to be sullied.

Without further hesitation, Madam Han strode forward and swept aside the bed curtains. Beneath the covers, two figures were revealed: Jiang Lin and Hongyu.

The Marchioness shrieked and lunged forward, seizing Hongyu by the arm and dragging her from the bed, all the while cursing, “You shameless wretch! How dare you seduce my son? I’ll beat you to death!”

Hongyu was already paralyzed with fear, and as she was yanked from the bed, her naked body was exposed for all to see, the marks of passion still vivid upon her skin.

In that instant, every gaze turned to Hongyu, and by unspoken agreement, none would look at Jiang Lin still on the bed.

All Hongyu could do was weep, dodging the Marchioness’s blows, her cries and the scolding blending into a cacophony that filled the room.

Shen Qingyun stood coldly at the threshold, watching the farce unfold. She recalled the previous life, when Hongyu had flaunted her favor before her with such arrogance—how that scene now overlapped with this one, bringing a wave of satisfaction.

After calming the Marchioness, Madam Han led Qingyun out of the courtyard. “Qingyun, what happened here? How did Hongyu end up in your room with the Marquis’s son...?”

“I don’t know either, Mother,” Qingyun replied innocently, as if still shaken from what she’d witnessed. “After I parted ways with the Marquis’s son earlier, I told Hongyu to return to the room while I wandered alone for a bit and lost track of time. I only returned when I heard the commotion and saw all this.”

“Mother, what should we do now?”

Seeing her daughter’s worried demeanor, Madam Han squeezed her hand tightly. After all that had just transpired, she could only think—thank heavens, the one on that bed wasn’t Qingyun.

Once she’d regained her composure, Madam Han soothed the Marchioness, dressed Hongyu, and had her tied up. The girl, still in shock, collapsed to the floor without resistance.

The Marchioness took Jiang Lin back to her own chambers first. After such a scandal, Jiang Lin didn’t dare meet Qingyun’s gaze and fled in near panic.

Fortunately, the Marchioness wished to keep things quiet, and all the maids present were trusted confidantes, unlikely to spread word.

Madam Han, who had been holding herself together with great effort, finally slumped once everyone else had gone. Shen Qingyun took her hand. “Mother, Hongyu is my maid. Now that this has happened, I wish to question her myself.”

Seeing the complexity in her daughter’s eyes, Madam Han thought it wise to let Qingyun gain some experience and nodded her assent.

When Hongyu saw that her visitor was Shen Qingyun, hope flickered across her face. She fell to her knees, kowtowing as she pleaded, “Miss, save me! I don’t know what happened!”

That drug—its most insidious property was that it robbed a person of any memory before or after its effect.

She remembered only seeing the second young lady, then her head had spun and everything went black. She thought she’d simply had an erotic dream in which the Marquis’s son gazed at her with passion, and they joined in rapturous union. But reality shattered that illusion—she awoke naked, dragged from the bed, the subject of everyone’s scorn.

Wasn’t Shen Qingyun supposed to be the one drugged? How had it become her instead?

Did she have any hope of survival?

A maid caught in such an act of adultery could be beaten to death by her master without consequence.

“Hongyu, I’ll say this only once. I can protect you, even help you fulfill your wish and marry you to Jiang Lin. But only on one condition: tell me who orchestrated all this.”

Shen Qingyun seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

Most importantly, she suspected someone was backing Shen Sisi.

Hongyu slumped to the floor, dazed. “Second Miss, don’t lie to me. What can you do?”

“Do you have any other choice but to trust me?” Shen Qingyun twirled a lock of hair idly, her tone casual but icy. “Everyone knows how much Mother favors me. I can let you live or die as I please. For what you’ve done, you could be clubbed to death and tossed to the wild dogs in the mountains, and no one would say a word.”

Qingyun stepped closer, grasping Hongyu’s chin and studying her. “Such a pretty girl. You could choose loyalty, but in this life you’ll never be with Jiang Lin. I wonder if the beasts in the mountains would show you any mercy.”

Hongyu saw her own terrified reflection in the darkness of Qingyun’s eyes. She had never realized the second young lady could be so frightening.

The thought of her corpse discarded in the wilderness made her tremble uncontrollably.

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you—it was the eldest young lady. She always made me watch over Jianzhu Courtyard. This time she had me drug you. That’s all I know.”

“And the drug? Did she give it to you? She’s always confined to her rooms—how did she even get hold of such a thing?”

“I don’t know, Miss, I really don’t!” Hongyu’s gaze darted about in panic, and Shen Qingyun instantly sensed she was lying.

“If I knew nothing of Shen Sisi’s tricks, you wouldn’t be bound here now. But she’s just a fourteen-year-old girl, locked away in the inner chambers. How could she have accessed such a drug?”

“And how could you be sure Jiang Lin would come to my room, daring to drug me so recklessly? Tell me—who else is helping you?”

Hongyu was dumbfounded—how did the second young lady know everything?

She hung her head, frustration and hesitation etched across her face. At last, she ground her teeth and answered, “It was Sister Fu’an. She told me the Marquis’s son would come, and she gave me the drug.”

Fu’an? Impossible!

She was one of Madam Han’s second-ranked maids, usually quiet and dependable, greatly trusted by Madam Han.

Had Fu’an been bribed by Shen Sisi? No—something didn’t add up.