A Madwoman's Feelings Are the Truest

While chaos reigned in the front hall, Zongzheng Heng had quietly made his way to the west courtyard.

The accounting office of the Prince of Jin'an's Manor was on the west side. Farther ahead was the pharmacy, and a few dozen paces beyond that was the back gate.

He walked openly into the pharmacy, using "the young lady sent me for medicine" as his reason.

As the medicine boy eagerly fetched it for him, he said casually:

"Qingyan, I can wait here for the medicine. Go to the front hall and see how the young lady is doing."

Qingyan nodded in agreement.

The young lady had only told her to fetch medicine for Young Master Zhigui. She had not told her to stay with him the whole time, nor had she ordered her to watch him.

With that thought, Qingyan left.

As soon as she was gone, Zongzheng Heng stepped out of the pharmacy.

The accounting office was right next door.

He went around to the back window and gave it a gentle push-the window was unlatched.

He vaulted inside and landed without a sound.

An elderly gentleman was bent over a desk in the accounting office, writing swiftly.

Zongzheng Heng held his breath and hid behind a shelving unit. When the man finished a page and rose to look for something, he darted around to the other side, keeping the shelves between them.

His gaze swept over row upon row of account books.

Hundreds, even thousands of volumes, sorted by category and stacked neatly.

He examined them shelf by shelf.

This shelf held the manor's daily expenses.

This one held the income from its various estates.

This one held lists of annual festival gifts sent to the capital.

Then came the personal accounts of the Prince of Jin'an, his wife, Qiao Shuyi, and the concubines in the inner courtyard...

He first pulled out the Prince of Jin'an's volume and flipped it open, reading ten lines at a glance.

The expenses were perfectly normal.

Purchases, rewards, repairs, social obligations... Every entry was clear, sensible, and reasonable.

There was not the slightest trace of money spent maintaining troops.

He frowned slightly.

Qiao Nanyu was arrogant but cautious, and he had advisers to cover his tracks. Naturally, he would leave no incriminating evidence in the accounts.

He put the volume down and was about to take Liu Jinyu's when-

Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, mingled with the whispers of two maids.

Zongzheng Heng paused and listened.

"Have you heard? The princess consort was divorced, and His Highness even drove her out of the manor!"

"It was that serious? His Highness always doted on the princess consort and the second young lady. Why did he get so furious this time?"

"I heard the princess consort and another man... did that, and His Highness caught them in the act! If the second young lady hadn't suddenly arrived, His Highness nearly had the princess consort drowned in a pond!"

"Ah?! How could the princess consort... do such a thing?"

"Who knows? But if you ask me, this most likely has something to do with Concubine Song. Didn't you see how she looked in the side room today? With the princess consort gone from the manor, I'm afraid the sky is about to change in the prince's inner courtyard."

"What about the second young lady? She's always thrown her weight around in the manor, relying on the princess consort's doting and His Highness's affection. Now that the princess consort has been divorced, she..."

"Her? Without her mother to back her up, what can she do? Just wait and see. I'm afraid her good days are coming to an end."

The footsteps receded, and the voices gradually faded away.

Zongzheng Heng stood between the shelves, his brows slightly furrowed.

Liu Jinyu was divorced?

Wasn't it precisely Liu Jinyu's doting and the Prince of Jin'an's indulgence that allowed Qiao Shuyi to be so arrogant in the manor?

Now that Liu Jinyu had been swept out the door, could this "second young lady" still summon the wind and call the rain as she had before?

He suddenly felt a little curious.

What expression would that madwoman be wearing right now?

Bewilderment? Panic? Or...

He could not imagine it.

He had never met anyone like her.

As he was thinking, footsteps sounded again.

This time, the accountant had returned.

Zongzheng Heng hesitated no longer and gently put the account book back where it belonged.

There was no hurry. It would be impossible to find what he wanted in only one or two tries.

Using the shelves as cover, Zongzheng Heng moved to the window.

He slipped out through it, but instead of returning to Jinglan Garden, he followed the base of the wall westward.

After a few dozen paces, the view suddenly opened up-the back gate.

Beyond it was a secluded alley.

He hid in the shadows, raised a hand, pinched his lower lip, and blew an extremely soft whistle.

A moment later, a dark figure silently vaulted over the wall and landed before him.

The man was dressed in black, his face hidden beneath a hood, leaving only a pair of calm eyes visible.

He dropped to one knee. "Master."

Zongzheng Heng lowered his gaze to him, his voice indifferent:

"I have been poisoned with Power-Dissolving Powder. Bring me the antidote as quickly as possible."

A flicker of surprise crossed the hidden guard's eyes, but he asked no questions and answered in a low voice:

"Yes, Master."

No one knew how many hidden guards were concealed, openly or in secret, within the Prince of Jin'an's Manor.

Zongzheng Heng could only summon his own men in outlying areas like this. If they ventured farther in, they would surely be discovered.

Wearing the guise of "Qiao Shuyi's male favorite," however, he could move about the manor without arousing suspicion.

A moment later, a dense, sinister chill clouded Zongzheng Heng's eyes as he ordered:

"Lu Wenzhou of the Lu Family-kill him."

"Zhao Hengyuan of the Zhao Family, Qian Mingyu of the Qian Family, Sun Zhao'an of the Sun Family, and Li Chongwen of the Li Family."

"They love watching a show so much, so take all their eyes."

The hidden guard did not know what they had done to anger his master. He simply said, "Yes, Master."

"Go."

The hidden guard's figure flashed, and he vanished beyond the wall.

Dusk closed in.

The thick darkness of night was swallowing the last streak of sunset on the horizon, little by little.

Zongzheng Heng stood where he was, his gaze deep as ink.

Just as he turned to return to Jinglan Garden, he suddenly caught sight of a figure out of the corner of his eye-

Not far away, beneath an old scholar tree, Qiao Shuyi was watching him quietly.

She stood there, and there was no telling how long she had been there.

Zongzheng Heng's steps faltered slightly.

Had she seen anything?

No, impossible.

Qiao Shuyi had never practiced martial arts. If she had been standing there all along, his Cold Owl Guard could not have failed to notice her.

He composed his expression and put on his usual obedient look.

"Shushu," he said, stopping in front of her, "what are you doing here?"

"I'd like to ask the same thing-what are you doing here?"

"I came to get medicine. The scenery is nice here, so I stopped to have a look."

"Oh?" Her voice gave no indication whether she believed him. "I see."

"I was seeing my mother off at the back gate."

Zongzheng Heng was slightly taken aback.

"The princess consort... what happened?"

Qiao Shuyi was calm enough to make one's heart tremble.

"My father divorced her and sent her to an estate outside the city overnight."

Zongzheng Heng's heart sank a little.

He had thought that this madwoman, who had been spoiled since childhood, would show at least some vulnerability after losing her mother's protection.

Yet she was so calm.

So calm... it was abnormal.

But on second thought, when had she ever been normal?

"Then, Shushu... aren't you sad?"

"Sad?"

"Some people want me to be sad. But I refuse to let them have their way. I'll make them pay. I'll make them-even sadder."

For some reason, Zongzheng Heng shivered.

This madwoman is going to go mad again.

This time, is she going to turn her madness on Qiao Shuqin and her mother?

He suddenly felt a little curious.

What methods would she use against the people who had hurt her mother?

Zongzheng Heng lowered his eyes, concealing the flash of interest in them.

When he looked up again, only obedience and concern remained in his eyes.

"I believe in you."

The moment the words left his mouth, a warm, soft body flung itself into his arms.

"Zhigui... you have to believe in me for the rest of your life, understand? No, not just believe in me. You have to stand by my side without looking back. You can't be like my father. He doesn't love my mother at all..."

"Zhigui, do you know what you are to me?"

"Ever since I was little, I've had countless people around me. Maids and servants, young masters from prominent families, people currying favor with the powerful, people flattering and fawning over me-but they were either servants, outsiders, or there for my status."

"Only you."

"You're the one I personally snatched back."

"The one I personally chose."

"The one I personally decided on-family not related to me by blood, my future husband."

Zongzheng Heng froze.

Family not related to her by blood?

Her future husband?

But wasn't he only her male favorite?

Zongzheng Heng lowered his eyes, his misty eyes full of sincerity.

Yes, she's a madwoman.

A madwoman's feelings are the truest, because she disdains pretense.

Did she really like him that much?

What a pity. He would never like a madwoman.

After a long while, Zongzheng Heng raised his hand and gently placed it on her back, comforting her as he would a child.

Qiao Shuyi sobbed in his arms.

"Zhigui, you mustn't leave me, and you mustn't betray me. Do you understand?"

Zongzheng Heng's eyes flickered. "Mm."

Betrayal?

If he had never been loyal, how could he betray her?

He had come to Jinzhou to take her father's life and destroy her family.

Once the Prince of Jin'an's Manor was reduced to ruins, he and she would be separated by life and death.

Naturally, that would not count as leaving her, either.

He gazed at some point in the empty air, his eyes devoid of warmth.