Chapter 27 — Has She Been Serving Him in Vain?

Wanru’s voice was low and firm.
“The abandoned meditation room is near the ravine. Go set a fire in the grass behind it—make sure the flames rise high.”

Suyue nodded at once.
“Yes!”

She rushed off to act, while Wanru hurried out to the front of the meditation room. A group of young servants were gambling with dice on the grass.

She had only glanced once when Qing’an spotted her. He quickly jogged over.
“Cousin, do you have orders for me?”

Since Xie Xianyu had entered the palace, Qing’an naturally couldn’t follow. Xie Xianyu had told him to stay behind and look after his cousin. He hadn’t needed to come along today, but since she was here, he had followed anyway.

Wanru looked a little anxious.
“I need your help with something.”

Without hesitation, Qing’an said,
“Miss only needs to command me!”

Suyue worked quickly. Soon a fire was blazing on the eastern slope of the back mountain. People who had wanted to join the spectacle of the rumored tryst now saw the sudden blaze and hesitated, afraid to go in, whispering from outside instead.

“How did a fire start just like that? Weren’t they saying someone was sneaking around in there?”

“With flames that big, it’s not a tryst, it’s a suicide pact!”

“Is this rumor even true? Feels more like someone lured us here to burn us alive.”

“No way?”

“Then you go in and see?”

“Crazy! Who knows if we’d ever come back out?”

Just then, Qing’an came charging out with two guards and two old servant women carrying buckets.
“Clear the way! Clear the way!”

The crowd quickly parted to let them through.

Wanru stood outside, her expression taut with worry.

“Fortunately, they were quick,” Suyue whispered, trying to comfort her. “The fire kept people back, but behind the meditation rooms there’s a stream. It’ll be easy to fetch water.”

Wanru wasn’t worried about the fire—only about whether Xiulin was truly inside.

After a long, tense wait, the rescuers returned. The two servant women were carrying out someone who had fainted from the smoke. The face was blackened with soot, the clothes a boy servant’s uniform.

Nobody suspected anything—everyone thought it was just a weak servant overcome by the smoke.

But Wanru recognized her at once.
Xie Xiulin.

“Take her back quietly, don’t alarm anyone,” Wanru instructed. The women hurriedly carried her away.

A moment later, Qing’an emerged again, supporting a man.

The crowd groaned in disappointment.
“What? Just two men? And here we were told a noble lady was having a secret affair?”

“Hmph, just rumors! Made me waste my time.”

“As if a respectable lady from a great house would do such a thing.”

Wanru glanced at the man Qing’an had dragged out—wasn’t it none other than the Young Marquis Zheng?

Qing’an dumped him carelessly on the ground before hurrying over to Wanru.

“Miss, when I went in, I truly saw Seventh Miss…”

He hesitated, then whispered,
“Her clothes were disheveled, and she was clinging to that Young Marquis Zheng. Following your orders, I knocked them both out. The servant women changed Seventh Miss into clean clothes before carrying her out.”

“Thank you.”

“What’s there to thank? I’m strong—this kind of thing is nothing for me. Miss can command me anytime!”

“Please don’t speak of this matter again.”

“Of course! Don’t worry, Miss. These men all serve the Eldest Young Master. Their mouths are sealed—they wouldn’t dare gossip.”

He paused, then gave a sheepish grin.
“But the Eldest Young Master will have to be told.”

Wanru pressed her lips together. She wasn’t surprised—Qing’an belonged to him after all. There was no way he could be kept in the dark.

But better Xie Xianyu know than the whole world. She had no one else in the Xie household she could rely on—at a time like this, she could only turn to him.

When Wanru returned to the meditation quarters, Xiulin had already regained consciousness. Seeing Wanru, she clutched her hand in fear.
“Wanru-jie, I, I…”

But she couldn’t form a single excuse.

Wanru’s tone was stern.
“How could you be so foolish? To dare conduct an affair in a temple! Do you realize that if this had been exposed, your entire life would have been ruined?”

Xiulin burst into tears.
“I didn’t—I wasn’t! He—he pitied me when I told him my sad past. He comforted me, and I was crying so hard… I didn’t know…”

She and Zheng had agreed beforehand to meet at the temple. He had been tender and gentle, and she poured out her years of grievances to him. Half coaxing, half deceiving, he had led her into the meditation room.

“Wanru-jie, please, please don’t tell anyone, or Third Madam will kill me…”

“Only now you realize you should be afraid? Do you know how I found out about you? A crowd was already gathered outside the abandoned meditation room, gossiping about a noble young lady meeting a man there. Such a hidden thing—and yet the rumor spread so quickly? Do you think that happened by chance?”

Xiulin froze, her face rigid in disbelief.

“Whether it was deliberate or not, if this scandal had spread, the shame would not only be yours—it would stain every woman in the Xie family. Then it wouldn’t be just Third Madam dealing with you, but the First Madam herself!”

Xiulin trembled with fear. She had never imagined the matter could become so grave.

Zheng had promised her that if she bore his child, his family would accept her. Even if she could not be his wife, she could still give birth to his first son, outranking the legal wife.

In her fevered infatuation, she had agreed—never considering the consequences.

Xiulin gripped Wanru’s hand desperately.
“Wanru-jie, I beg you, don’t let this spread!”

“If I truly wanted to expose you, why would I have saved you?”

“The servants who saw—”

“I’ll take care of them.”

Wanru shook her head.
“Xiulin, wake up. Zheng’s intentions are rotten. He will destroy you sooner or later. I can save you this time, but not the next.”

Xiulin covered her face and sobbed.
“I was wrong—I truly was wrong…”

---

Half an hour later, the Xie family finally departed for home.

The Old Madam asked briefly about the fire, and Second Madam explained it away as a neglected meditation room that had caught fire accidentally. Since it seemed nothing serious, the matter was dropped.

When Wanru returned to her small courtyard, Cuizhu was already waiting.
“The Young Master is back. He asks for you.”

Wanru knew she couldn’t escape questioning, so she followed.

Xie Xianyu had just returned. He hadn’t even changed out of his crimson court robes, which only emphasized his upright and austere appearance.

But when he lifted his gaze, those black eyes pierced like blades, fathomless and cold.

“You’ve made trouble for me again?” His tone was calm, almost indifferent.

Wanru blinked. Again?

But guilty as she felt, she answered obediently,
“It was an urgent situation today, so I asked Qing’an for a little help.”

He glanced at her, while she looked back honestly.

His knuckles tapped the table twice.
“Setting a fire in the mountains, barging into a burning building to drag people out, beating the Young Marquis Zheng—and you call that a little matter?”

Wanru whispered,
“I won’t dare again.”

“Oh? You seemed quite daring to me.”

She couldn’t help but defend herself.
“If it had blown up, it would have been a disgrace to the Xie family. I only acted to preserve its reputation. Besides, the Duke Zheng’s household is already implicated in the salt-tax case. The Young Marquis must have schemed this to bind himself to the Xie family—forcing you to shield them.”

His brows lifted slightly.
“So by that logic, you’ve rendered me a great service.”

Wanru searched his face. He didn’t sound as if he meant it. She wisely kept her silence.

“Zheng’s family embezzled a full two hundred thousand taels in the salt-tax case. The evidence is already solid—they cannot escape. You guessed right. The Young Marquis’s plan was to spread rumors of a tryst with a Xie daughter, then use marriage or concubinage to tie our families together. That way, I’d have to cover up their crime.”

His lips curled into a cold, mocking smile.
“The Zhengs are desperate dogs—at death’s door, they’ll stoop to anything.”

Wanru asked softly,
“If today’s scandal had truly broken out, and the world knew of Xiulin and the Young Marquis—would you have shielded them?”

His face was impassive, his tone flat as steel.
“I would have ordered her to take her own life.”

Wanru stiffened, a chill running through her heart.

She had guessed as much, but hearing him say it so calmly still made her tremble. He was more ruthless than anyone.

“You do have a warm heart—meddling in a mess like this. One misstep, and you’d be dragged down with them.”

Wanru pressed her lips together.
“Xiulin was my first friend since I came here. She’s looked after me for a year. She lost her head and made a grave mistake—I couldn’t just stand by.”

“And I’ve looked after you no less than she. Yet I don’t see you showing me such gratitude.”

Wanru frowned. So all her service this past year was for nothing?

Still, she nodded meekly.
“I won’t dare next time.”

His eyes narrowed, sensing her words didn’t match her heart. Dissatisfied, he pinched her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

“Let’s settle today’s account first. I’ll treat it as if nothing happened. Now… how will you thank me?”