The male lead

Dongfang Minghui squeezed her eyes shut in terror, unable to bear the thought of her face being disfigured. She was so tense that she never noticed The Female Lead's hand hovering at her waist, ready to steady her.

"Miss, that's rather vicious of you." A sexy, magnetic voice suddenly sounded beside her ear. Dongfang Minghui cautiously opened one eye, then the other, and found a tall man in blue standing before her.

"What's it to you?" The young woman lashed out again without another word.

The man in blue showed no mercy either. They traded blows in the cramped space, and wherever the whip swept, the shop's wares suffered along with it.

Dongfang Minghui and Dongfang Wanyu quietly backed out of the shop. Dongfang Minghui still wanted a clear look at the man's face, but Dongfang Wanyu caught her arm. "Don't go gawking. I think we can leave now."

Dongfang Minghui was a little dumbfounded. Leaving without so much as a word seemed rather rude. After all, the man in blue had stepped in to help them.

Wait. A man in blue, holding a Dashing Fan, handsome and effortlessly elegant—wasn't that the very description of Li Yunan, one of the male leads?

The more she thought about it, the worse it seemed. Oh, no. This was supposed to be where Li Yunan rescued the heroine and made her acquaintance. Later, they would meet again on their training journeys, and adversity would deepen their feelings. Instead, she had ruined their chance. How had his rescue of the heroine turned into a rescue of her?

"What, have you taken a fancy to that young man in blue?" Dongfang Wanyu folded her arms and asked coldly.

She remembered that it was her constant, suicidal attempts to steal The Female Lead's men that had earned her such a miserable death. Given another chance, she naturally wanted nothing to do with any of them. Running into even one was practically a death warrant.

Dongfang Minghui hurriedly shook her head, grabbed Dongfang Wanyu's hand, and said, "Seventh Sister, let's go."

Only after they returned to the Dongfang Residence did Dongfang Minghui pat her chest, still looking badly shaken. "Finally dodged that," she murmured.

"What were you dodging?"

Dongfang Wanyu was standing right behind her and suddenly posed the question.

Dongfang Minghui nearly jumped out of her skin. Why did The Female Lead keep appearing out of nowhere? "Nothing. Seventh Sister, why did you come back?"

Dongfang Wanyu tossed a small porcelain bottle into her hands. "Marrow-Cleansing Pills. This settles what happened today."

She opened the little bottle and found three pills inside. Their fresh, sweet fragrance wafted into her face, and their quality seemed quite good. The Female Lead was doing this because she did not want to owe her a favor.

Drawing such a clear line between them was hardly a good sign.

Dongfang Minghui knew little about pills and had no idea how precious Marrow-Cleansing Pills were to other people. She casually tossed the little bottle into her room.

That night, Dongfang Minghui slept soundly, smacking her lips as though she were dreaming of delicious food, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.

"Catch the assassin! Catch the assassin!"

"Guards! Catch the assassin!"

"..."

The night had been utterly silent, and the cries startled most people awake.

Cui'er slept in the outer room. At the noise, she immediately pushed open the door and roused Dongfang Minghui. "Miss, Miss, wake up! Something terrible has happened!"

Dongfang Minghui scrambled up, still bleary-eyed. "What happened?"

Cui'er pointed outside. "Listen, Miss. It sounds like an assassin has entered the residence."

An assassin?

Dongfang Minghui was instantly wide awake. She carefully leaned toward the crack in the door and peered out. The grounds were brightly lit, with figures hurrying back and forth. Something serious really did seem to have happened.

"Miss, don't go outside. It's dangerous."

"I'm going to take a look." Dongfang Minghui dressed and slipped out.

Cui'er naturally followed her. "Miss, they haven't caught the assassin yet. Where are you going? Shouldn't we have guards escort us?"

Dongfang Minghui shook her head. An assassin appearing in the residence was most likely another incident involving The Female Lead. Wouldn't openly leading guards there to search be asking for death?

"One more word, and you can go back first."

Cui'er immediately clamped her mouth shut. She followed along and soon realized they had reached a small courtyard in a remote corner of the residence. It had been neglected for years, overgrown with weeds until there was barely anywhere to set foot, yet no one had ever thought to repair it.

The rotten branches beneath Dongfang Minghui's feet cracked noisily, sounding especially frightening in the dead of night. "Cui'er, stay outside and keep watch," she instructed.

"Yes, Miss."

They actually made The Female Lead live in a dump like this. No wonder she showed the Dongfang Family no mercy in the end, despite their past ties.

Dongfang Minghui wondered whether she should ask The Female Lead to move out tomorrow. Leaving her here was far too unfair.

"Seventh Sister, are you there?"

It was pitch-black, and she had no idea which shabby room The Female Lead lived in, so she simply stood in the courtyard and shouted.

Inside a room, Dongfang Wanyu and a black-clad intruder were locked in a standoff. Dongfang Wanyu held a blade against the woman's neck, while the woman's hand gripped a vital point on hers. Neither had the upper hand, and neither would yield. If Dongfang Minghui had not called out, they might have remained that way.

"Do you want to live or die?" Dongfang Wanyu sneered. "If I shout, the people outside will hear me. Escaping won't be so easy then."

"You're one of the Dongfang Family. Would you really let me go so easily?" The black-clad woman sounded doubtful, but her distinctly feminine voice rang clearly in Dongfang Wanyu's ears.

"You have no choice but to trust me. I'll count to three. If you don't let go, I'll shout. Then you won't escape even if you sprout wings."

Having said that, Dongfang Wanyu really began to count. "One, two—"

"Seventh Sister, are you asleep?" After waiting so long without a reply, Dongfang Minghui simply began searching room by room.

The black-clad woman weighed the situation, then released Dongfang Wanyu first.

"What's all this noise? Even if I'd been asleep, you would have woken me." Dongfang Wanyu straightened herself up, opened the door, and spoke with obvious displeasure.

"Seventh Sister, nothing happened here, did it? An assassin entered the residence tonight, and Father is searching everywhere." Dongfang Minghui's large eyes swept over Dongfang Wanyu.

Although the courtyard was dark, the moonlight let her make out The Female Lead's clothes. They were the very same ones she had worn out that day.

Dongfang Wanyu gave her a complicated look. "Enough. In this wretched place, I doubt anything but rats would visit. You've had your look. You can stop worrying now."

"Seventh Sister, it's too dangerous for you to live alone. Why don't you stay in my courtyard tonight? Tomorrow, I'll have someone come tidy this place up," Dongfang Minghui kindly suggested.

"I want to rest. You should leave." Dongfang Wanyu did not appreciate her kindness at all and bluntly ordered her out.

"Then how about this? I'll stay and sleep with you tonight, Seventh Sister. If anything happens, we can look after each other." Pretending not to understand, Dongfang Minghui made another suggestion.

Dongfang Wanyu narrowed her eyes and studied her. "My humble little place can't accommodate someone as grand as the Ninth Miss. If rumors spread tomorrow, how could I bear the responsibility? Leave now, or—I won't be polite."

The moment The Female Lead turned fierce, Dongfang Minghui's calves began trembling uncontrollably.

She left with her head hanging. Her plan to interfere had failed.

The assassin was a close friend of The Female Lead's mother. She had come to find The Female Lead and tell her the truth about her origins.

The Female Lead was not a member of the Dongfang Family. She had merely been fostered here and raised by her maternal aunt, Qian Beiying, the Dongfang Family's fourth madam. Since the fourth madam had no children of her own, she had publicly claimed to be the Seventh Miss's mother.

Once The Female Lead learned that she was not a member of the Dongfang Family, she would soon find a way to leave. When she returned, it would probably be to deal with the family—and first in line would be Dongfang Minghui, the cannon fodder who had offended her.

Dongfang Minghui returned to her room, asked Cui'er to bring a pot of tea, and quietly considered what path to take next.

Staying comfortably at home would certainly be pleasant, with a maid to serve her and a mother to dote on her. But once The Female Lead turned her attention back to dealing with her, she would have no way out but death.

If she wanted to live, she had to accompany The Female Lead on her training journey and earn more of her goodwill, so The Female Lead might be magnanimous enough to overlook her past stupidity.

But a support-type spirit practitioner like her had no fighting ability and was barely any different from a helpless person. Going out to train would probably mean a slim chance of surviving.

"This is so hard."

Dongfang Minghui could not help sighing. Why was staying alive so difficult?

Would her chances of survival be a little higher if she followed The Female Lead?

Once she made up her mind, Dongfang Minghui was quite decisive. She immediately began preparing everything she would need for a training journey. Money was essential, of course. She gathered a large pile of bottles and jars and packed some of her jewelry as well, just in case.

Now she only had to wait for The Female Lead to leave the Dongfang Residence, and she would go along.

Dongfang Minghui watched and waited for several days before The Female Lead finally went to see the fourth madam, Qian Beiying, and Father Dongfang.

She secretly followed, then hid by the doorway and brazenly eavesdropped.

"Yu'er, you're still young. It isn't suitable for you to go out on a training journey. Don't take everything other people say seriously. Besides, you—you know perfectly well how mediocre your aptitude is." The fourth madam was somewhat irritated. No matter what she said, the girl seemed unwilling to listen. The infant once wrapped in swaddling clothes had grown into a graceful young woman, and that face, almost identical to that person's, was particularly grating.

Qian Beiying took a deep breath before concealing the malice in her eyes and once again assuming the air of a loving mother.

Father Dongfang glanced at his wife, clearly disagreeing. "Beiying, Yu'er isn't that young anymore. If she wants to, what harm is there in letting her try? If she fails, she can always come back."

Qian Beiying usually paid little attention to Dongfang Wanyu. Now that The Female Lead wanted to attend the Royal Academy and gain experience along the way, even Father Dongfang had agreed, yet she kept trying to stop her. Clearly, something was amiss.

"Father, Fourth Mother." Dongfang Minghui suddenly walked in from outside, bowed to them both, and said, "Since Seventh Sister wants to try for the Royal Academy, why not agree, Fourth Mother? If you're truly worried about her safety, couldn't Father send a couple more experts to escort her?"

Father Dongfang burst into hearty laughter at the sight of Dongfang Minghui. Hearing her suggestion, he said, "My little Ninth is clever indeed, finding a solution so quickly."

"All right, Beiying. We'll do as Ninth suggests. Yu'er's matter is settled."

Father Dongfang had the final say. As Dongfang Wanyu left the hall, she cast Dongfang Minghui a cool, indifferent glance.