Chapter Thirty-Three: The Malicious Ginger Soup

“Grandmother is sleeping now,” Qin Wanru replied coolly, recognizing the maid as Meiya, Di’s chief attendant.

“But… she’s sleeping at this hour? What should we do?” Meiya fretted, wringing her hands in panic.

“What’s so urgent?” Qin Wanru arched her slender brows.

“Someone from Magistrate Liu’s residence just came to ask about Miss Qi, but with what’s happened to her… what should we do?” Meiya’s face was tight with anxiety, completely at a loss. “Madam said only the Old Madam can handle this. Miss Qi only listens to her.”

Grandmother was coughing so terribly—how could she possibly make Qi Rongzhi obey?

“Second Miss, allow me to inform the Old Madam and let her decide, will you?” Meiya pleaded after pacing in distress.

“Grandmother is already asleep. Don’t disturb her. I’ll go see to it,” Qin Wanru said, looking up at Meiya.

“If Second Miss will go, then I’ll report back to Madam!” Meiya’s eyes lit up, and she left in haste, bowing to Qin Wanru as if her earlier panic had never happened.

“Miss…” Qingyue said worriedly, “If you go now, she’ll surely try to drag you down with her.”

Qi Rongzhi was known for her ruthless temper and was always quick to make wild accusations. Miss had suffered much at her hands before; Qingyue could not help but worry.

Qin Wanru smiled faintly, her eyes cold. “Since Madam insists I go, then I shall. Don’t worry—she can do nothing to me!”

Yet even as she said this, a thought stirred in her heart. How could she not see through Di’s intent? She was being offered up to Qi Rongzhi like prey. But if Di wanted to use Qi Rongzhi, so could she. Whatever humiliation Qi Rongzhi intended, this lifetime, Qin Wanru would never let it happen again.

There was one thing, however, that surprised her: Grandmother had been well enough just moments ago, but began coughing violently upon returning. How did Di know? How could she know Grandmother would be so weak she couldn’t even speak, forcing Qin Wanru to go herself and spare Grandmother further disturbance?

Had she missed something?

But this was not the time to dwell on it. She buried the doubt in her heart and, taking Qingyue with her, made her way to the courtyard where Qi Rongjia had changed her clothes.

As she reached the courtyard gate, she saw two maids hurriedly dragging out another, her head smeared with blood. At the sight of the wound, Qin Wanru knew Qi Rongzhi had struck her.

In the General’s Manor, Qi Rongzhi never regarded herself as an outsider. She abused her maids and servants at will, never holding back.

This was yet another maid who had borne the brunt of her anger.

Noticing Qin Wanru’s approach, one of Qi Rongzhi’s maids scurried inside to report. Soon after, the maid reemerged, holding up the curtain with an indifferent tone. “Second Miss Qin, please—our young mistress is waiting for you.”

She stepped aside, clearly expecting Qin Wanru to enter.

Qin Wanru approached the curtain, and as the maid lifted it, she leaned in slightly—then abruptly withdrew, shifting to the side.

A porcelain bowl smashed precisely where her head would have been, scalding ginger soup splattering everywhere, rich with its pungent aroma.

The hot liquid splashed on the startled maid, making her yelp and dance about in pain.

The soup was indeed scalding hot…

Qin Wanru looked down at the shattered porcelain, a glint of cold fury in her gaze. That bowl had been meant for her head.

Qi Rongzhi had been here changing clothes for a while—if the soup were intended for her, she would have drunk it long ago. For it to remain so hot at this hour, it could only have been prepared for Qin Wanru.

Even if the bowl did not shatter her skull, the boiling soup would have ruined her face, perhaps even blinded her.

Qi Rongzhi was as vicious as ever—and the one who had contrived to have Qin Wanru sent here was just as malicious, intending to destroy her using Qi Rongzhi’s hand.

Stepping inside once more, Qin Wanru’s gaze fell coolly on Qi Rongzhi, sitting directly opposite the doorway.

“Wretched girl! After humiliating me so, you still dare show your face?” Qi Rongzhi slammed her hand on the table, glaring furiously at Qin Wanru. That wretched girl was quick—she’d dodged just in time, wasting a perfectly good bowl of ginger soup.

“I don’t understand your words, Miss Qi. Why wouldn’t I come to a courtyard in my own manor?” Qin Wanru arched a brow, unruffled. “This is our General’s Manor, is it not? Are you mistaken?”

“How dare you speak to me like this!” Qi Rongzhi’s face flushed with anger.

“And why shouldn’t I? Is it because my father’s rank is lower than Magistrate Qi’s, or because Magistrate Qi holds something over my father, that I can’t speak plainly before you?” Qin Wanru strode in boldly, her tone steady and sharp as she regarded Qi Rongzhi.

In the past, she had endured in silence only to appease Di. In truth, a military general’s household wielded authority above that of a civil magistrate.

“You…” Qi Rongzhi hadn’t expected such a sharp retort and was momentarily lost for words.

“Miss Qi, I am here on my grandmother’s behalf to check on you. She is unwell and cannot come herself. Would you please explain how you ended up in the lake? We must be able to give Magistrate Qi’s household a proper account.”

Qin Wanru ignored Qi Rongzhi’s furious glare and sat down calmly across from her, all business.

“Was it not you who lured me there?” Qi Rongjia gritted her teeth, longing to tear at Qin Wanru’s face.

“Why would I lure you? What would I gain?” Qin Wanru asked coldly. “I’m not the one who broke off the engagement with your brother, nor do I fear trouble from your household. Why would I go out of my way to cause such a scene? I heard there was even a servant boy about to jump in after you. Besides, I was on my way to see Grandmother at the time, not at the pavilion.”

Qin Wanru had gauged her temperament well and spoke slowly.

If Qin Yuru and Di could fabricate stories, so could she. Qi Rongzhi, stubborn and overbearing, was never one for reason.

“A servant boy was going to rescue me?” Qi Rongzhi’s face went ashen.

In those circumstances, had a servant boy saved her, soaked to the skin, her reputation would have been utterly destroyed.

“Fortunately, there was a woman by the lake who could swim. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting here now, hurling ginger soup at me. After what happened to Eldest Sister, another scandal in Jiangzhou would have been inevitable,” Qin Wanru said coolly.

“Qin Wanru, don’t you dare spout nonsense! If I find out you’re lying, I’ll tear your mouth apart and break your legs, and let’s see if you ever dare speak again!” Qi Rongzhi jabbed a finger at Qin Wanru, shouting abuse.

She was not one to make idle threats. Having suffered such a setback, she would never let it go.

“Believe what you will. If you doubt me, search Eldest Sister’s rooms—you might find a clue.” Qin Wanru rose, her face growing even colder. “One more thing, Miss Qi: I am the second miss of the General’s Manor, with no ties to your household. If you harm me, don’t expect to leave here unscathed.”

With that warning to the ever-domineering Qi Rongzhi, Qin Wanru turned and left the room without so much as a backward glance at Qi Rongzhi’s livid face.

She’d always been the one to threaten and torment Qin Wanru—when had the tables ever turned? Yet she knew Qin Wanru spoke the truth.

Qin Wanru, with no connection to her, wasn’t someone she could beat or curse at will. But Qin Yuru? Qin Yuru owed her family. If she had truly plotted to ruin Qi Rongzhi’s reputation to cover her own disgrace, then Qi Rongzhi had every reason to retaliate.

“Come, let’s go see Miss Qin!” Qi Rongzhi, frustrated and stifled, slammed her hand on the table and stood.

“Miss, wait—if you confront her now, it would be improper,” her personal maid Chunyi, who had come with her to the General’s Manor, held her back.

“What’s improper about it? If Qin Yuru really tried to ruin me, I won’t let her off!” Qi Rongzhi seethed. The more she thought of Qin Wanru’s ambiguous words, the more she believed Qin Yuru had harmed her, and she could not bear it.

“Miss, Young Master sent you to question her calmly. If you stir up trouble again, he’ll be displeased!” Chunyi, knowing Qi Rongzhi always listened to Qi Tianyu, hurried to invoke his name.

“So what should I do now?” At the mention of Qi Tianyu, Qi Rongzhi forced down her anger, though her resentment toward both Qin Yuru and Qin Wanru only deepened.

“When you visit Miss Qin, don’t lose your temper. Say you want to discuss how to deal with Second Miss. Try to find out if Miss Qin really meant to harm you, if she arranged for a servant boy to save you and ruin your reputation. If you confirm it, then act—there’s no rush!” Chunyi, ever attuned to Qi Rongzhi’s thoughts, offered her counsel. “Better yet, have Second Miss present as well. If anything happens, you can blame her—kill two birds with one stone. After all, you don’t like her anyway, so why not have someone else take the fall for you?”