Chapter Sixty-Two: Our Young Lady Is Your True Employer

Upon hearing that something had happened to Shui Ruolan, Qin Yuru only paused for a moment before deciding not to wait for Qin Wanru any longer. She would deal with Shui Ruolan’s matter first. She hurriedly followed the others to the woods on the back hill—a place ideal for such dealings.

Qin Yuru had originally arranged for someone to lure Shui Ruolan out with her scented sachet and abduct her here. However, the messenger reported that when they were about to make their move, Qionghua, who accompanied Shui Ruolan, sensed something was wrong and fled. If Qionghua truly escaped, it would be catastrophic.

Unable to sit still, Qin Yuru rushed over to help search for Qionghua. In her anxiety, she failed to notice anything amiss and simply followed the man in front. But Meixue, at her side, grew increasingly uneasy, and finally tugged gently at her sleeve.

Dusk had fallen, and the woods were growing ever more shadowy and eerily silent.

“Miss… it’s too quiet… Could Qionghua have already escaped?” Meixue whispered anxiously to Qin Yuru.

Qin Yuru stopped and surveyed the surroundings. Not a sound was heard; apart from herself and Meixue, only the man dressed as a farmhand stood nearby. Others believed him to be a genuine laborer, but Qin Yuru knew he was a ruffian hired by Qi Tianyu. Her expression shifted subtly.

“Miss… I think we should go back now. We can figure out what to do about Qionghua later. She’s only a maid; whatever she says, you’ll be able to handle it…” Meixue was truly frightened, as she saw the supposed farmhand turn and give her a strange, unsettling smile.

Qin Yuru, with her back to the ruffian, did not see this.

“…All right!” Although she hadn’t seen it, Qin Yuru felt a growing unease; the silence was unnerving, and her heart fluttered anxiously. Charging into the woods in her earlier haste now seemed reckless.

She turned, clutching her handkerchief, about to inform the ruffian that they would leave, when she felt a heavy blow to the back of her head. Pain and darkness overwhelmed her sight, and the last thing she saw was Meixue’s terrified face.

“Miss! Miss!” Meixue rushed forward to support Qin Yuru, crying out in panic.

“Shut up! Do you expect someone to come save you now?” the ruffian sneered, raising the brick he had used to knock out Qin Yuru.

“You… you can’t do this! This is our young lady! Are you not afraid for your lives?” Meixue forced herself to speak boldly, despite her terror.

“It’s your young lady’s own fault for offending the wrong people. Someone wants you both taken away and sold. We’ll get paid and disappear for good. No matter how powerful the Ningyuan General’s Mansion is, what does it matter?” The voice came from behind. Meixue, supporting Qin Yuru, turned and saw another ruffian.

There were two ruffians, as Qin Yuru had requested—one for the lady, one for the maid. Two men against two women; it would be easy enough. The arrangement was made to prevent one escaping, but now, instead of Shui Ruolan, it was Qin Yuru who faced them.

“You… you’ve made a mistake! This is our young lady. She told you to target Miss Shui, not herself!” Meixue sensed something was wrong and shouted, “You won’t get paid this way. Our young lady is your employer—you’ve got the wrong person!”

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Her words made the two ruffians glance at each other, confused.

“It’s true, you’ve made a mistake. Our young lady hired you to abduct Miss Shui, promised you a safe escape and plenty of silver once it was done. She even gave you a scented sachet from Miss Shui, remember?” Meixue, desperate, recounted the facts.

The ruffians hesitated; only their employer could know such details, so how could this be a mistake?

“The servant said we’d get a sachet, but later said it wasn’t needed, just a word would lure the person out. So, did you learn something and say this on purpose?” the ruffian doubted.

“Enough talking. Just take them away. Even if we don’t get the money, these pretty faces will fetch a good price. Once sold, we’ll disappear and no one will care how it happened,” the other ruffian said impatiently, glancing at the darkening sky.

Ruffians like them cared little for rights and wrongs; whatever happened, it was Qin Yuru’s misfortune.

“She’s pretty, indeed!” The first ruffian turned, leered at Qin Yuru, and brushed her face, then pinched Meixue’s cheek. “You’re nice too. Now, will you let me knock you out, or will you walk on your own?”

Meixue’s face turned pale, nearly collapsing in fright.

“You… you really are mistaken!” She retreated a few steps, pressing herself against a tree.

“What does it matter? We’re to abduct a lady and a maid—two decent catches. Let’s go!” the other ruffian said, patting her shoulder smugly.

“I… I…” Meixue’s eyes glazed over. Suddenly, she shoved Qin Yuru forward, slipped to the side, and bolted.

The two ruffians were stunned, then furious. “Catch her!”

They ignored Qin Yuru, who was sprawled on the ground, and chased after Meixue. If a maid escaped, it would be disastrous.

Meixue ran for her life, knowing nothing good awaited her if caught. But she was only a young woman, pampered and delicate, and could not get far. After only a short distance, she was caught, slapped twice, and dragged back, cursing.

Qin Wanru had actually arrived early. As Meixue argued loudly, she stood behind a tree, watching a pageboy nearby.

He’d been standing there a while. Qin Wanru had followed Meixue’s voice, then spotted the pageboy, sneaking along behind, and trailed him quietly.

No matter what happened ahead, the servant remained hidden, watching the scene unfold.

When Meixue fled and the ruffians chased her, the pageboy hurried out, ran to the fallen Qin Yuru, pulled something from his pocket, tossed it onto her, and quickly retreated to hide again.

It all happened swiftly—the ruffians focused only on their task, never noticing what happened behind them.

Only Qin Wanru and Qingyue saw it clearly.

Because she was alert, Qin Wanru noticed the item thrown—a scented sachet, the very one she had given to Shui Ruolan. If it truly belonged to Shui Ruolan, Qin Yuru’s misfortune would inevitably implicate Shui Ruolan.

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A clever scheme, two birds with one stone.

Qin Yuru brought it upon herself, but Shui Ruolan would bear the blame. The pageboy was surely Qi Tianyu’s, but behind him was not Qi Tianyu, but Qi Rongzhi.

Qin Yuru was the mantis stalking the cicada, while Qi Rongzhi was the oriole behind, shifting the blame onto Shui Ruolan.

The ruffians had already returned with Meixue. Seeing the timing was right, Qin Wanru crouched, picked up a large stone, aimed carefully at the spying pageboy, and hurled it.

The General’s Mansion had not raised her as strictly as other noble families. When she was young, Di, her stepmother, paid her little heed, and the old lady was often ill. Qin Wanru had sneaked out many times with Qi Baiyu, hunting birds and climbing walls.

Though she hadn’t thrown stones in years, her aim was still sharp.

A cry rang out from the right, startling the ruffians. They exchanged glances, then one rushed over and dragged the pageboy from behind the tree.

“It’s you!” The ruffian saw the pageboy who had arranged the job and relaxed. “Here to pay us? See, we’ve got both the lady and the maid for you!”

“Qi Hai, hurry—tell your master to save our young lady!” Meixue, dazed from the blows, saw hope and cried out. She recognized Qi Tianyu’s pageboy.

“I…” Qi Hai panicked, unsure what to do. He served the young master, and was supposed to help Qin Yuru, but now he followed the orders of the young lady.

“What’s wrong? Trying to deny it?” the ruffian sneered.

“No…” The pageboy shook his head, flustered.

“Hand over the money. We’ve done the job, caught both lady and maid, and will sell them for you. Money shouldn’t be an issue,” the other ruffian said coldly, moving in.

The two ruffians sensed something was wrong and just wanted their payment.

“I… I…” The pageboy retreated, but he had no silver. The arrangement was for Qin Yuru to pay after the job, but she hadn’t intended to pay.

“What, not going to pay? If you dare refuse, we’ll tell everyone your master ordered us to abduct the lady of the Ningyuan General’s Mansion!” The ruffian blocked his escape.

“Qi Hai… You… You and Master Qi set up our young lady? Why would you do this?” Meixue, regaining her senses, shrieked at the unfolding scene.

Qin Wanru watched quietly, as voices began to rise in the distance…