Wan Hua House.
Lady Yan had just gone to rest when the maid knocked on her door: "Mistress, soone is here to see you."
"Get lost, don’t bother while I’m sleeping."
Wan Hua House does business at night and closes its doors to guests only after sunrise.
She was still in a daze.
The maid added, "The visitor brought white tea for you."
Lady Yan’s expression froze for a mont. She threw off the blanket and sat up: "Understood. Have him wait for in the tea room."
"Yes, Mistress."
The maid left.
Lady Yan pressed her groggy head lightly.
Delivering tea was the Lord’s secret code—each type of tea symbolized a different mission, and white tea represented the most urgent tasks.
Lady Yan went to the tea room.
A Hidden Guard from the Pri Minister’s Mansion, wearing a straw hat, sat in a chair waiting for her.
Lady Yan asked calmly, "What orders does the Lord have?"
The Hidden Guard replied, "The Lord commands you to go to the Governor Mansion. At any cost, you must see Lu Yuan. Alive, bring him. Dead, bring his corpse."
Lady Yan furrowed her brows deeply.
Half an hour later, Wan Hua House’s carriage arrived at the Governor Mansion.
The maid jumped down from the carriage and spoke to the young servant at the gate: "Please inform Madam Lu that my mistress has co to visit."
The servant replied curtly, "Madam has ordered that no visitors shall be received at the Governor Mansion today."
The maid said, "My mistress is a friend of the Grand Commander and Madam Lu."
The servant: "Not seeing anyone!"
"Whose friend?"
Liu Qingyun’s icy voice rang out from within the residence.
The servant quickly turned and bowed: "Madam, it is Lady Yan, the mistress of Wan Hua House."
The maid said to the servant, "So you do know who Madam is?"
Liu Qingyun turned to look at Lady Yan, who was still seated inside the carriage. A glint of undisguised killing intent flickered in her gaze. "So you’re the one serving that despicable traitor, Lady Yan?"
Lady Yan and Liu Qingyun were eting for the first ti. She was deeply stunned by Liu Qingyun’s captivating beauty, but now was not the ti to comnt on appearances.
"I—"
She was about to speak when Liu Qingyun raised her sword and slashed toward her.
The strike carried full intent to kill. Lady Yan quickly grabbed the coachman and darted to the side.
This evasion was followed by a resounding crash as the carriage cabin was split cleanly in two.
The coachman’s face turned ghastly pale from fear.
Lady Yan’s expression grew slightly tense: "Madam Lu, what is your aning in this?"
What had happened to Lu Yuan?
Why did his mother try to kill her on sight?
Liu Qingyun’s sword ca down one strike after another. Lady Yan didn’t want to exchange blows and focused instead on avoiding her attacks.
Dodging grew increasingly difficult.
Who would have thought Liu Qingyun was so skilled in martial arts?
When Liu Qingyun slashed once more, Lady Yan couldn’t evade in ti and shot out a silver needle.
Liu Qingyun deflected the silver needle with her sword!
"Mother!"
ng Qianqian stepped out of the mansion, descended the staircase, and blocked Liu Qingyun’s sword. "Please head back inside, I’ll handle this."
Liu Qingyun glared coldly at Lady Yan: "I don’t want to see anyone associated with the Xun Family. I’ll kill every single one I encounter!"
In the end, Liu Qingyun deferred to her daughter-in-law and turned to re-enter the mansion.
ng Qianqian walked up to Lady Yan, her gaze indifferent: "What wind has blown Mistress Yan to us today?"
Lady Yan ignored ng Qianqian’s question and instead retorted, with a hint of grievance: "When she tried to kill , you turned a blind eye, but the mont I defended myself, you showed up instantly."
ng Qianqian responded serenely, "She’s my mother-in-law. May I ask, Mistress Yan, who are you to ?"
Lady Yan’s lips moved, but no words ca out.
ng Qianqian said, "Please leave. The Governor Mansion does not welco you."
Lady Yan asked, "What has happened to Lu Yuan?"
ng Qianqian replied, her tone light and carefree, "The Pri Minister sent you, didn’t he? You must know that I can’t tell you anything about his matters."
Lady Yan looked into ng Qianqian’s eyes, which still bore traces of having cried. She sighed: "I an Lu Yuan no harm. I’ve never done anything to hurt him. If he didn’t trust , he wouldn’t have entrusted Bao Shu to before heading to the border."
A flicker of hesitation appeared in ng Qianqian’s gaze.
Lady Yan stepped forward: "If sothing truly happened to Lu Yuan, perhaps I can help."
ng Qianqian paused, her eyes sweeping past the maid and coachman behind Lady Yan: "You may enter alone. Them, I cannot trust."
Lady Yan nodded and said to the pair, "Wait here for ."
The two replied promptly, "Yes, Mistress!"
Lady Yan followed ng Qianqian into the Governor Mansion.
The last ti Lady Yan had co to the Governor Mansion was to treat ng Qianqian’s cold. Back then, Bao Shu had only recently arrived, the Jinyi Guard was present, and the dungeon held nurous "criminals," leaving bloody footprints with every step. Even the water in the pools seed blood-red.
After more than half a year, the Jinyi Guard had withdrawn, the dungeon was closed, and the garden was now full of flowers with the fragrance of ripe fruit wafting through the air. It was a stark contrast to the mory of the fearso "Asura Mansion."
"We’re here."
ng Qianqian spoke.
Lady Yan snapped back to reality and murmured an acknowledgnt, following ng Qianqian into the main courtyard.
Each servant in the courtyard had tear-streaked eyes.
Lady Yan, experienced in reading people, might not have been able to discern soone as enigmatic as Lu Yuan, but a group of ordinary servants wouldn’t be able to deceive her.
ng Qianqian pushed open the door.
Lady Yan saw Lu Yuan lying gravely injured on the wide stepping bed.
"What happened to him?"
Lady Yan frowned and asked.
ng Qianqian tucked the quilt snugly around Lu Yuan, covering the gauze exposed on his shoulder: "He was struck by a sword. The wound is severe."
Lady Yan extended her hand: "Let take a look."
"Don’t touch him!"
ng Qianqian stopped her cautiously.
Lady Yan looked at ng Qianqian with a complex expression: "I wouldn’t harm him."
ng Qianqian pushed her hand away: "Whether you would or not, I don’t know. But what I do know is that your dical skills aren’t as good as mine. I can save him; that’s enough."
Lady Yan withdrew her hand reluctantly: "Was this the doing of the Pri Minister?"
ng Qianqian blocked Lady Yan’s gaze, which kept assessing Lu Yuan: "Lady Yan, whose person are you? If you can’t answer this, please leave."
...
Pri Minister’s Mansion.
Pri Minister Xun sat in his study reading a secret letter. Xun Qi and Xun Liu were present as well.
A servant reported that Lady Yan had arrived.
Xun Qi glanced at his adoptive father.
Pri Minister Xun calmly finished replying to the letter, sealed it with wax from the candle, stamped it with his insignia, and then said to the servant, "Let her in."
Lady Yan recounted everything she had seen and experienced at the Governor Mansion, including how Liu Qingyun nearly killed her.
Xun Qi asked curiously, "So Lu Yuan isn’t dead?"
Lady Yan replied, "He was breathing. I’m sure he’s still alive."
Xun Qi muttered, "That’s strange. Could it be that Chen Long failed? How bad are his injuries?"
His last question was directed at Lady Yan.
Lady Yan said, "ng Qianqian wouldn’t let examine him, so I can’t tell how serious his wounds are."
Xun Qi said, "Wouldn’t let you examine him? Isn’t that suspicious?"
Lady Yan sighed: "She said my dical skills are inferior to hers. Most likely, she still doesn’t trust and fears I might harm Lu Yuan?"
Xun Qi sneered: "If she didn’t trust you, she wouldn’t have let you in at all."
Lady Yan looked at Xun Qi: "What are you implying?"
Xun Qi narrowed his eyes: "I suspect the Lu Yuan you saw today isn’t the real Lu Yuan! It’s the Lu Yuan ng Qianqian wanted you to see!"
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