Falling out

Dongfang Minghui got up unusually early, only to hear hurried footsteps. Presumably, someone had discovered what had happened to her fourth sister.

“Miss, something terrible has happened in the West Wing Courtyard!” Cui'er announced loudly as she brought in water.

"Do you know what happened?" Dongfang Minghui washed her face without the slightest hurry, as though last night's events had nothing whatsoever to do with her.

Cui'er recounted everything she had just learned. "Apparently, the second young master had arranged to go out with Young Master Lai. Then the second young master rashly pushed open the door and found him and the fourth young miss..."

The rest was difficult to say aloud. After all, a young master had discovered his good friend lying naked in bed with his own unmarried younger sister. Anyone would have been struck speechless.

Unfortunately, the fourth young miss woke up just then, and her screams drew the others over.

One person told ten, and ten told a hundred. Before long, the scandal had spread throughout the entire Dongfang Family.

"Let's go take a look, too." Dongfang Minghui reckoned her father must be exploding with rage by now. Anyone would find it unbearable to have such a scandal break the day after their birthday celebration.

"Yes, Miss."

By the time Dongfang Minghui arrived with Cui'er, things were almost over. Everyone had dispersed, and her father had instructed her second brother to take Young Master Lai into a side hall. What they discussed there, she had no way of knowing.

As for her dear fourth sister, she had naturally been taken back to her room in tears. The first madam had sent an elderly nanny from her own attendants to watch over her, seemingly afraid she might do something desperate.

Her fourth sister had originally had a fiancé whose standing was an excellent match for hers. After this incident, their father would surely send someone to break off the engagement, or perhaps choose another of the sisters to carry on with the marriage.

Given Dongfang Lizhu's intelligence, she would probably soon realize that Dongfang Minghui was the source of all her troubles.

Just as Dongfang Minghui expected, her fourth sister came to her courtyard that very day under the pretext of "having a heart-to-heart with Ninth Sister." Fury covered her delicate, beautiful face, twisting her expression into something hideous.

"Fourth Sister, what brings you here?" Dongfang Minghui welcomed her with a smile, still holding an encyclopedia of plants.

Dongfang Lizhu strode up to her and knocked the book out of her hands with a smack. "Ninth Sister, you actually dared to set me up!"

Looking hurt, Dongfang Minghui glanced at the fallen book, then back at Dongfang Lizhu, her face full of grievance. "Fourth Sister, what are you talking about? Why would I set you up? Besides, I've been meaning to ask you-where did you go yesterday?"

Dongfang Lizhu gave a derisive laugh, grabbed Dongfang Minghui by the front of her clothes, and yanked hard. "Stop playing dumb! The handwriting on this note is yours, isn't it? And it was your maid who took me to the West Wing Courtyard. If you didn't set me up, who did?"

A note?

Dongfang Minghui smiled. She had counted on her fourth sister not daring to produce it and confront her. After all, it said, "The plan has changed." If she brought out the note, she would have no way to explain those words.

Dongfang Minghui explained innocently, "Yes, I wrote the note. It was because our cousin didn't drink the medicinal wine I prepared for him yesterday, so the plan couldn't proceed smoothly. In my haste, I wrote a note and gave it to Cui'er, hoping to discuss a strategy with you. I did tell Cui'er to take you to the West Wing Courtyard. At the time, I was trying to keep Dongfang Wanyu occupied, and I even asked you to wait in the room for a little while. But when Cui'er brought me there, you weren't in the room at all. I waited ages for you. If you don't believe me, ask Cui'er."

Ask Cui'er? Wasn't that obvious?

Only now did Dongfang Lizhu realize she had fallen into a trap. She had thought she held someone else in the palm of her hand, only to be outmaneuvered herself. But that was fine. There was still plenty of time, and who would have the last laugh remained to be seen. She chuckled twice. "Ninth Sister, well done. I truly misjudged you."

Dongfang Minghui widened her eyes, looking wounded. "Fourth Sister, you still don't believe me?"

Dongfang Lizhu closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. She could not bear to stay here another moment. "Ninth Sister, I'm feeling unwell. I'll go back and rest."

"In that case, get some proper rest, Fourth Sister." Dongfang Minghui quietly instructed Cui'er, "Cui'er, see Fourth Sister out for me."

Their father soon decided how to handle Dongfang Lizhu's situation: she would marry Young Master Lai as his concubine, with the wedding to take place within a month. He must have been furious. Even when the third madam went to plead with him in person after the decision was announced, he refused to budge. And so the marriage was settled.

Lately, Dongfang Minghui had been poring over books about plants. This damned world was one where strength reigned supreme, set against a fantasy backdrop. Once people reached a certain age, their Lineage required them to have their spiritual power assessed. This body's original owner had been a prodigy whose spiritual power awakened early, at just eight years old. Yet while one foot had stepped into the ranks of geniuses, the other had been firmly caught outside the door. That was because Dongfang Minghui possessed useless spiritual power. She had only a faint affinity for flowers and grasses, with no combat ability whatsoever, making her something of a half-useless good-for-nothing.

This was also one reason she had repeatedly courted death by antagonizing the heroine. Seeing the supposedly useless heroine was like a constant reminder that she herself was useless, too.

Of course, those had been the former Dongfang Minghui's thoughts.

Having read countless fantasy romance novels, she naturally knew that plant-type spiritual practitioners were support specialists who could assist their teammates against enemies in battle. See? She was actually very useful. It was simply that no one with a discerning eye had discovered her yet.

If she wanted to stay alive, she not only had to cling tightly to the heroine's thigh and never let go, but also make herself more useful. This was Dongfang Minghui's latest conclusion after being repeatedly spurned by the heroine.

"Miss, these are flowers from the garden." Cui'er set three pots on the table, one after another: a jasmine, a Chinese rose, and a peony.

After sending her away, Dongfang Minghui examined the three pots. She could tell that the Chinese rose was listless, as though unhappy. The peony was brimming with vitality, but desperately wanted to bask in the sun outside. The last pot, the jasmine, had somewhat shriveled petals, giving the impression of an oil lamp running dry.

"Cui'er," Dongfang Minghui called.

Cui'er pushed open the door and entered at her call.

"Put the peony outside to get some sun." Dongfang Minghui pointed at the pot that had been in such high spirits, then indicated another. "When you brought this one over, wasn't there another pot of flowers beside it? Bring that one here, too."

Cui'er did everything she asked, though she did not understand why.

Dongfang Minghui also went outside to observe the sunbathing peony. Its flowers bloomed even more beautifully in the sunlight. Sensing that its spiritual power seemed ready to spill out, she quietly struck a bargain with it. "Give me the stamens from one of your flowers, and I'll let you bask in the sun outside every day."

The sunbathing plant immediately shook its branches, agreeing.

Dongfang Minghui shaped her meager spiritual power into a pair of scissors and snipped off the peony's stamens, then stored them in a glass bottle.

Held back by years of inferiority and resistance, Dongfang Minghui's spiritual power had remained at level one. Now, at last, she intended to break through.

When Cui'er returned carrying a pot of roses, the Chinese rose beside it immediately perked up. Evidently, flowers feared loneliness, too.

Dongfang Minghui did not know whether to laugh or cry. So I'd be dealing with all these flowers and grasses from now on?

She needed to prepare a few things to advance, such as a Foundation-Stabilizing Pill, one of the most commonly used pills. It was sold everywhere on the streets and was nothing rare or expensive. She also needed plant essence. The stamens she had requested from the peony earlier were its essence, which would cost a great deal of money elsewhere. Scarcity made things precious: everyone needed plant essence to achieve breakthroughs in spiritual power, yet some higher-grade plants had developed intelligence. When they saw humans coming to slaughter them, they fled in terror. As a result, many people had to hire mercenaries to hunt them down before they could obtain any.

Once both items were ready, Dongfang Minghui locked her bedroom door and told Cui'er to stand guard outside without leaving for even a moment, lest some reckless fool barge in and interrupt her advancement.

Perhaps the peony essence had worked, or perhaps Dongfang Minghui's spiritual power was already on the verge of a breakthrough after so many years of suppression. In just an hour, she rose from level one to level two.

Reaching level two as a Spirit Practitioner made her aura more appealing to plants, though only to relatively low-level ones.

When Dongfang Minghui emerged from her room, Cui'er first congratulated her on her breakthrough, then reported, "Miss, the seventh young miss seems to have left the estate."

Dongfang Minghui immediately summoned two guards and hurried out after her. She only dared to follow from a distance, not approach.

Then she reconsidered. If she made too much of a show of it, she would look guilty. She might as well appear openly before her.

Dongfang Minghui held out a hand to the two guards behind her. "Give me some silver. I want to buy something."

Dongfang Wanyu was short one dose of plant essence and had decided to look in a workshop. To her surprise, she found what she needed, only to encounter an unreasonable young lady. The two were now vying for the same portion of plant essence.

Although Dongfang Wanyu was the seventh young miss, her standing in the estate was lower than a maid's. Naturally, she could not produce enough silver to compete with this willful young lady.

But even if she lacked the money, how could Dongfang Minghui pass up such a splendid opportunity to cling to her thigh?

"I'll take this fragrant-ear herb." Dongfang Minghui slapped a pouch of silver down in front of the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper looked at it, caught in a dilemma. Just a moment ago, only two young women had been competing for it. Now there were three. Since when had fragrant-ear herb become so sought after?

"No need to keep looking. I'm paying for my seventh sister. Is it enough?" Dongfang Minghui stood right beside Dongfang Wanyu, making her intentions clear.

Understanding dawned on the shopkeeper's face, and he immediately said, "That's enough silver. Miss, this fragrant-ear herb is yours."

Dongfang Minghui immediately took the glass bottle and placed it in Dongfang Wanyu's hand. "Seventh Sister, let's go."

The young woman who had spent so long arguing with Dongfang Wanyu was deeply displeased. She slammed a hand onto the table. "Shopkeeper, what is the meaning of this? Do you think I don't have enough silver to pay you?"

The shopkeeper explained, "Miss, there is actually another fragrant-ear herb, but we'll need to wait for it to be transferred from another workshop. Why don't you come back tomorrow? I'll be sure to set it aside for you."

"No! I want this one."

Dongfang Minghui could not have cared less. She had paid the silver and received the goods. Taking Dongfang Wanyu by the hand, she headed outside-only for a whip to lash viciously toward the side of her face.

With the heroine right beside her, Dongfang Minghui could not even dodge. She could only watch helplessly as the whip came hurtling toward her.