Chapter 63

 Bao Ning looked up to see Qiu Lingyan standing next to Liu Mama. She still had that shy demeanor, but Bao Ning no longer felt any pity, only a sense of strangeness.

"Sister." Qiu Lingyan noticed her lack of the usual smile and panicked for a moment, calling out to her.

"Come in." Bao Ning patted the little lamb’s rump to send it off to play, removed the white fur from the brush, and stood up to head inside.

Liu Mama was unaware and remembered that Bao Ning used to like the Seventh Miss a lot. She wondered why Bao Ning was so cold today. Thinking Bao Ning might be in a bad mood, she warned Qiu Lingyan to be cautious and not upset her. Qiu Lingyan, distracted, responded absentmindedly and followed Bao Ning with her head down.

Bao Ning sat by the table, trying not to sound harsh. "Yan, sister wants to ask you something."

"You, you can ask."

"Have you ever taken anything from this table?" Bao Ning pointed at the tabletop.

"I!" Qiu Lingyan looked up as if her tail had been stepped on, her eyes evasive. She hadn’t completely gone bad and felt guilty about her wrongdoing, not knowing how to hide it.

Bao Ning understood everything, a deep disappointment crossing her eyes.

That day at the Crown Prince’s mansion, the man named Yuan Ge had a jade button belonging to Peiyuan. Bao Ning had always wondered how that button ended up in someone else's hands. She suddenly figured it out this morning. The only suspicious person was Qiu Lingyan. But suspecting was one thing; having it confirmed now still made Bao Ning sad.

She had treated her sincerely, so how did it come to this?

"Sister..." Qiu Lingyan’s fingers clutched the table edge, her eyes gradually reddening. Suddenly, she broke away from her seat, kneeling at Bao Ning’s feet, crying out loud. "I’m sorry. My Sixth Sister made me do it. I didn’t dare disobey her, really didn’t. She would beat me... I didn’t know what she wanted to do. She only asked me to take something from the Fourth Prince, so I thought it didn’t matter and took it."

"Enough, you don't need to explain." Bao Ning pursed her lips and looked away. "I don't want to hear it."

Qiu Lingyan knelt on the ground, looking up at her in panic. "I swear, every word I say is true. If there's any lie, I..."

"Whether you're telling the truth or not, I don't want to hear it." Bao Ning stood up, turned her back to her, and spoke coldly. "You know whether what you did was right or wrong. I don't need to teach you. You're young and easily influenced, and you have your reasons. I understand but don't forgive you. I can't bring myself to punish you, so let's consider it a mistake of misplaced trust. You don't need to plead with me anymore. From now on, let's stay out of each other’s way. Don't come to see me again. You can leave."

"Sister..." Qiu Lingyan cried, covering her face. "Sister, I really have my reasons."

She rolled up her sleeve and stood up, running to Bao Ning to show her. "My Sixth Sister really scolds me. If I don't listen to her, she hits me..."

Bao Ning glanced down. Qiu Lingyan’s fair arms were indeed covered with bruises and pinch marks, some already turned purple, looking especially horrifying.

Bao Ning steeled her heart and looked away. "So you should stay even farther away from me. Otherwise, if your Sixth Sister asks you to do something else to me, will you do it or not?"

Bao Ning said, "Get out of here!"

With that, she shoved Qiu Lingyan on the back, pushing her out, and then called Liu Mama to take her away. She turned and went back inside, closing the door.

Qiu Lingyan, eyes full of hurt and disbelief, finally squatted down and began to cry loudly.

Bao Ning felt bad too. She took a deep breath, turned, and walked inside, no longer paying attention to what was happening outside.

Liu Mama, feeling at a loss, helped Qiu Lingyan up with a pained expression. Not knowing how to comfort her, she quickly wiped her tears and sent her away.

Walking along the path in the backyard, Qiu Lingyan cried all the way. She knew she had wronged Bao Ning, but she really had no choice. She wanted to find out something useful from Qiu Lingjun and secretly tell Bao Ning, but Qiu Lingjun refused to tell her anything, only ordering her around. If she didn't do well, she would be beaten.

Half a month ago, she was told to take the Fourth Prince's jade button and find out about a man named Meng Fan.

A few days ago, before the Crown Prince married his concubine, her sixth sister instructed her again to lead Bao Ning to the south corner gate today at the hour of Wei.

That time was now.

But Bao Ning no longer believed her and refused to come.

Her sixth sister hadn't returned, nor had her two chief maids, Song Lan and Shao Lan. Qiu Lingyan didn't know what they were doing, only that it was very important to lead Bao Ning there. If she failed, Qiu Lingjun would surely beat her to death when she returned!

Qiu Lingyan, both guilty and anxious, circled around the south corner gate many times. Her gaze fell on the lotus pond not far away, and with a determined bite of her lip, she made a decision.

...

Bao Ning was napping in her room when she heard urgent voices outside in her half-awake state.

Then, Liu Mama cried out and clapped her thigh several times, rushing to the door and knocking urgently. "Madam, madam, something terrible has happened! The seventh young lady has fallen into the water!"

Bao Ning frowned, not hearing at first. After Liu Mama called a few more times, she suddenly came to her senses, threw on her clothes, and ran outside.

Bao Ning asked in shock, "How did the seventh young lady fall into the water?"

"I don't know. A maid who came to find help said she saw the seventh young lady walking by the lake in a depressed mood and must have lost her footing and fell in. She can't swim, so she quickly came to find help. Our place is the closest to the south corner gate's lakeshore, so she came here first for help. I said no one was here, and then the maid rushed off to find someone else."

Hearing this explanation, Bao Ning felt a deep sense of guilt.

She started to wonder if she had spoken too harshly, telling a nine-year-old child to get out, and if she had hurt her feelings.

Bao Ning couldn't convince herself to ignore the situation. She sighed, quickly got dressed, and said to Liu Mama, "Let's go check the south corner gate."

Liu Mama responded, and the two hurried over, but the closer they got, the more they felt something was wrong. The maid who went to find help should have found someone by now, but the path they took was empty and silent. Bao Ning felt suspicious, but considering it was a matter of life and death, she suppressed her doubts and continued walking.

The lakeside was quiet, and the lake itself was still.

Bao Ning's heart skipped a beat. Could that maid have been lying to her? Or was Qiu Lingyan playing some trick?

Liu Mama was also bewildered. "What's going on here?"

"Circle the lake and take another look. If there's still no sign, we'll go back," Bao Ning said, her face turning stern.

Liu Mama responded and quickly jogged off to check.

Bao Ning stood still, feeling a mix of emotions.

Suddenly, there was a noise behind her. Bao Ning turned and saw a figure flicker behind a tall acacia tree near the south corner gate. The figure wasn't very tall and looked a lot like Qiu Lingyan.

Narrowing her eyes, Bao Ning walked over and called out, "Seventh Miss?"

No one responded. Bao Ning took a few more steps and, seeing the gate nearby, called again, "Seventh Miss, are you there?"

Suddenly, the side gate creaked open. Bao Ning turned to see Meng Fan's face. An old servant beside him pushed the door open and smiled, "Young Master Meng, this is the place."

Bao Ning and Meng Fan looked at each other, both surprised.

Bao Ning asked, "Young Master Meng, what brings you here?"

Meng Fan replied, "I was invited. A young lady from the general's residence sent a note, asking me to help make a new set of jewelry. She couldn't come to the shop due to her leg injury, so I came here personally. The agreed meeting place was the south corner gate."

How could it be such a coincidence?

Bao Ning stood in a daze for a moment before realizing something was wrong. She turned to leave, only to see Pei Yuan standing a few steps away, fists clenched at his sides, glaring at her in anger.

...

Wei Meng had suddenly sought him out because Gongsun Zhu had taken advantage of a moment's inattention to commit suicide by hitting a pillar. Pei Yuan rushed over to handle the situation and then hurried back.

But when he entered the room, it was completely silent, not a soul in sight. Immediately recalling the note hidden in the hairpin, his heart surged with anxiety, and he hurried to the place mentioned in the letter.

There, he saw Bao Ning standing with that man named Meng Fan, both looking sincere and engaged in conversation.

At that moment, Pei Yuan felt his heart twist in knots. His ears buzzed as Bao Ning rushed over to explain something, but he couldn't hear a word she said.

He was beyond furious.

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