Su Jing Fei felt her heart tremble at those words. Feng Eu Mei couldn’t possibly mean…!? “This one does not seem to understand Hou Furen’s words.” Su Jing Fei replied calmly, but her posture stiffened slightly. She looked at Feng Eu Mei with eyes cold and dark.

Feng Eu Mei felt Su Jing Fei’s imposing aura and the hardness in her words, and the young woman knew she had struck a sore spot. “It seems Su xiaojie is not as clever as one would think.”

There was no doubt about it now. Feng Eu Mei was clearly talking about Da Chun, making threats towards her sister. However, the matters were serious now. If Feng Eu Mei had the bravery to make such threats towards Su Jing Fei, then the Feng family must be planning to use Da Chun in their revenge! “It seems that Hou Furen is quite confident today,” Su Jing Fei spoke in a calm tone, rising from her seat. “But one must remember the results of yesterday’s efforts.” Meaning Feng Eu Mei should be careful with her words and threats; if she tries to scheme against Su Jing Fei, she might end up in a worse situation. Before Feng Eu Mei could say anything else, Su Jing Fei bowed politely and excused herself.

“You’ll regret what you did to me, Su Jing Fei!” were Feng Eu Mei’s last words as Su Jing Fei left.

But instead of causing hesitation, the threat urged Su Jing Fei to move even quicker. Her steps were light and fast as she made her way out of the courtyard and headed towards the entrance to the Hou residence. Even though the celebrations were still underway, Su Jing Fei could not stand to stay any longer. Something about Feng Eu Mei’s confidence caused Su Jing Fei’s heart to feel uneasy, and she needed to get home as fast as she could. She had to make sure that Da Chun was safe.

“Da xiaojie is everything alright?” Yize spoke hastily as she scurried alongside Su Jing Fei. “What happened?”

“We must get home,” Su Jing Fei spoke in a low voice. Her breathing quickened with her steps. “Quickly!”

Si Qiang came by with the carriage as Su Jing Fei waited impatiently. She didn’t even bother to have Si Qiang help her up into the carriage, and instead, pulled open the door and got in herself. She pulled Yize in without much effort, slamming the door behind them. “We must depart quickly to Mudan-Yu!” Si Qiang heard the sharpness and urgent tone in Su Jing Fei’s voice, so he rode forward more quickly than normal.

“Da xiaojie, what did they say to you?” Yize asked worriedly, checking over Su Jing Fei’s body to make sure her xiaojie was physically uninjured. She had never seen her xiaojie so unsettled before. But Su Jing Fei merely shook her head, furrowing her brows as a million scenarios played through her mind. Please, please let Da Chun be alright. Let her be unharmed.

As soon as Si Qiang pulled up to Mudan-Yu, Su Jing Fei flung open the door and jumped out. No one greeted her at the entrance, but the guards stepped aside as she pushed her way inside the front gates to Mudan-Yu. She headed straight for Da Chun’s courtyard. The servants bowed and greeted her as she passed, but she paid no mind to them. Finally reaching Da Chun’s courtyard, Su Jing Fei flung open the doors and stormed her way into Da Chun’s room. There was no one there. A dark feeling sunk into Su Jing Fei’s stomach.

“Da xiaojie?” came Xiao Chen’s voice from behind her. “This lowly one welcomes you home. However, is xiaojie feeling alright? Yize came running to me because she is worried for you.”

“Where is Da Chun?” Su Jing Fei demanded, turning to look at Xiao Chen with an unexpected harshness in her tone and expression.

Xiao Chen was surprised at her xiaojie’s sudden change in demeanor. “T-They went out shopping.” stuttered Xiao Chen, taking an unconscious step back from her xiaojie.

Before Su Jing Fei could inquire more, there were loud voices coming from outside. One of them sounded like Mu Tan’s voice! Rushing outside, Su Jing Fei ran to take a look at the commotion and found a shocking scene in front of Da Chun’s courtyard. Mu Tan’s heavily injured body was being supported by Yize and Dongfan; blood trickled down a cut on her face, and she was covered in dirt and wounds.

Su Jing Fei felt her fingers grow cold and numb. “What happened, Mu Tan?”

The older woman looked at Su Jing Fei with a pained expression, pushing forward and away from the support of the other two yatou as she fell to her knees before her da xiaojie. “This lowly one could not protect Da Chun! This lowly one deserves death!” Her cries struck Su Jing Fei like cold water. She knew her worst fears had come true.

“All of you, take Mu Tan to go rest. Call a doctor if you must.” Su Jing Fei turned to leave, walking with heavy yet quick steps as she went to find the one person who could give her answers. The servants were shocked to see their xiaojie’s terrible expression; a mask of rage and despair that Su Jing Fei could not keep off her face as she searched through Mudan-Yu. It was finally in a distant courtyard where she finally found him.

“Da xiaojie, you’ve returned home!” spoke Zihuan in a surprised voice as he pulled his clothes back together. An unfamiliar servant girl blushed and composed herself before Su Jing Fei, but the latter had no time to deal with her.

“Leave us,” commanded Su Jing Fei to the servant girl. The young woman scurried away with a fearful expression, only glancing back once at the two before she disappeared from their sight. Su Jing Fei’s eyes narrowed, and she tried to recompose herself but her fists could not unclench. “Where is Da Chun?”

Zihuan gave a look of surprise, as though he was genuinely shocked that Su Jing Fei would question him. “T-This lowly one doesn’t know what da xiaojie is speaking of…”
“Wrong answer,” Su Jing Fei’s eyes flashed with anger. She pulled out one of the pins in her hair, revealing the small dart knife that had been concealed as a hair ornament. With a flick of her wrist, she threw the dart in Zihuan’s direction, piercing the wood just right beside his head. She had no martial arts skills, but her modern life had taught her a few worthwhile skills. Playing darts and knife throwing were valuable entertainment displays that always impressed the foreigners who visited her inn with the idea of a mystical fantastical Chinese world. In the actual ancient Chinese world, the implications were a little more severe. “If you don’t answer quickly, my hand might slip and the knife will end up somewhere else.”

“Please have mercy!” Zihuan cried as he fell to his knees before Su Jing Fei. “This lowly one was threatened! They have my family in their grasps! If I did not do as they said, they promised to murder my entire family!”

His pleas fell on deaf ears however; Su Jing Fei did not need to hear his excuses. “So the Feng family paid you to spy on me?”

“Y-Yes.” Zihuan admitted readily, but his voice trembled in fear.

Su Jing Fei had guessed as much, but she had not anticipated that Zihuan would be so bold as to keep communications with the Feng family after she had the other yatou watching over him and stealing his secret messages. He had been watching her from the very moment she had entered Mudan-Yu, and it was her fault for not getting rid of him from the very beginning. She had thought that she could use Zihuan to gain information on the Feng family, but she had not anticipated that they would find out about Da Chun and act so quickly. “You’re going to accompany me. We’re going to pay the Feng family a visit.”

Hazy memories played through Su Jing Fei’s mind like a movie. Her modern life seemed so distant now… She saw herself working, living, and surviving in the modern world, but it seemed that happiness always eluded her. All she wanted was someone to care for, someone to love; a family. Flashes of an unhappy childhood appeared, showcasing a younger version of herself being passed from relative to relative until she ended up in the orphanage instead. It was there that she finally developed a small little family with the other children. But eventually, everyone left. And then it was her turn to leave.

A deep sadness filled Su Jing Fei’s heart, and it was the coldness of her own tears that awoke her. She found herself in a dark windowless room. Her eyes took awhile to adjust to the lack of light, but her ears could detect a bit of noise outside of the room. She tried to move but found herself restricted by ropes, tying her down to the chair she was seated in. There was no doubt about it; she’d been kidnapped. Of course, there was only one family that would want to see her suffer like this; the Feng family!

The door opened as a single figure walked in, carrying a small candlelight to illuminate her sharp features. Su Jing Fei recognized that face. It was none other than Zhao shi, Feng Ruo Qian’s wife. The woman set the candle down at a table in front of Su Jing Fei, settling into a chair. Her dark eyes were sharp and cold as they looked down upon Su Jing Fei. “When I first met Su xiaojie, it was hard to tell what kind of person you were. But now, I know that you’re nothing but a despicable little girl thinking she can do whatever she wants just because of her family status.”

Su Jing Fei’s eyes had long dried from the earlier tears, and her heart had turned cold at the sight of Zhao shi. “When this one first met Zhao shi, I knew exactly what kind of person you were. A mother who will do anything to use her children to further her own status, ignoring the evil acts committed by her husband. It is surprising that Zhao shi is still able to tolerate going to sleep next to such a man.”

Zhao shi’s eyes flickered slightly with the candlelight. “I love my children, and I would do anything for them.”

“The love of a mother… unfortunately, it is a concept I am unfamiliar with,” mused Su Jing Fei. Zhao shi was clearly here to intimidate her, but Su Jing Fei would not be so vulnerable. Although there was fear and worry in her heart, it also burned with anger. “Of course, Zhao shi must be familiar with this, since the Feng family were the ones who killed my mother after all.”

The words didn’t seem to bother Zhao shi too much, but it was Su Jing Fei’s nonchalant attitude that threw the older woman off. How could a young girl be so intimidating, even in a lower position than herself? Her cold attitude and prideful face… Zhao shi was sick of it!

Pa!

Zhao shi’s hands struck Su Jing Fei’s face, but the young woman never made a sound. Su Jing Fei tasted blood in her mouth, but she gritted her teeth against the pain that stung her cheek. Her eyes remained on Zhao shi’s twisted expression of anger. The physical pain was nothing compared to the emotions swirling inside Su Jing Fei at the thought of Da Chun being in the hands of the Feng family. Of course, she realized that she had acted irrationally and recklessly, but… the thought of Feng Ruo Qian getting his hands on her little sister made her skin crawl. There must be something she could do to escape and find Da Chun!

Meanwhile, somewhere else in Fuo Lan, an unexpected person paid the imperial prince a visit. In the dead of night, Li Wei Sheng sat in his study, carefully studying reports that he’d been reviewing for awhile until Shan Yu entered the room.

“Your highness,” greeted Shan Yu as he kneeled respectfully before Li Wei Sheng. “We’ve detained an individual who tried to break into the residence. They demanded an audience with your imperial highness.”

Li Wei Sheng set down his notes carefully. He knew that Shan Yu would not bother him unless it was something that truly needed his attention. “Who is it?” The young man asked in a curious voice.

“It is Mu Tan, the yatou of Su Jing Fei.” Shan Yu answered.

Li Wei Sheng lifted an eyebrow, slightly surprised at Shan Yu’s answer. “And why exactly is Su Jing Fei’s yatou here paying me a visit in the dead of night?” He stood up before Shan Yu could answer though, suddenly remembering that Su Jing Fei was absent for the rest of Feng Eu Mei’s wedding. He furrowed his brows. Initially, he had assumed that Su Jing Fei had just left early after showing her face, but… what exactly had transpired in Su Jing Fei’s conversation with the Hou Furen, who Li Wei Sheng had guessed to actually be Feng Eu Mei… “Quickly, take me to Mu Tan.”

Shan Yu bowed his head and nodded. “Yes, your highness!”

From the darkness of her room, Su Jing Fei was unable to discern the passing of time. She wasn’t sure of how many hours or days had passed, but it seemed long and endless. A bittersweet smell lingered in the air from the candles burning in the room. Su Jing Fei guessed that they were some sort of special candles because as long as they burned, Su Jing Fei felt her mind hazy as though constantly intoxicated. She rarely had any visitors, but Zhao shi came by a few times to taunt and ridicule Su Jing Fei. However, an unexpected figure visited Su Jing Fei.

“This one has heard many things about Su xiaojie,” spoke Feng Ruo Zhang as he seated himself comfortably in a chair. “It seems that many of them are true. You are as interesting as they say.” The full-bellied man gave her a leering look as a smirk twisted his lips. “However, you’re not half as beautiful as your mother was. It is too bad that Feng Ruo Qian did not have any patience and killed her so quickly.”

Despite the fog that clouded Su Jing Fei’s mind, her eyes flashed with anger at Feng Ruo Zhang’s remark. It was unbearable, hearing the disgusting man speak about her mother so carelessly. She wanted to tear his eyes out and shove them down his throat. “Why…” Su Jing Fei’s throat was hoarse and dry. “Why is the Feng family doing this? What do you want?”

Feng Ruo Zhang looked amused at Su Jing Fei’s words. “You truly do not know, do you?”

Su Jing Fei had thought long and hard about the Feng family’s antagonism towards her own family, and she could not understand their actions. Did they hate her because of her affiliation to the Right Prime Minister’s family? Or was it because the Feng family hated the Qiu family who were a strong military family in Chu? She had guessed that the Feng family had ties to Xinyi possibly, but she wasn’t sure whether this had ties to anything relevant to her at all. Honestly, she had no clue. There were too many unknowns and too many secrets.

“You seem like a smart girl,” Feng Ruo Zhang mused, looking pleased at Su Jing Fei’s suffering. “Maybe one day, you’ll figure it out eventually. But for now, Su xiaojie must be a good girl and disappear for awhile. We’ll wait a few more days after the wedding and have you die peacefully at Mudan-Yu, just like your mother.”

“My sister…” Su Jing Fei mustered enough strength to speak the words clearly.

Feng Ruo Zhang smiled. “Alive, for now. You’ll be reunited with her soon enough.” And then he turned and left Su Jing Fei alone once again.