Chapter 60

“What proof?” Qin Jinxiu was puzzled, biting her lip. Nervousness dampened her temples; she looked slightly wilted, unsure of his meaning.
“Something that later leaves you no way to deny it.”
Wei Buxun’s eyes landed on the longevity jade pendant around her neck. The translucent jade gleamed brilliantly, it was fine quality. Worn so close to her body, it must carry weight.
“Take off your longevity lock.”
“No! This is mine, ”
Qin Jinxiu had been willing to give him anything, but she froze at his sudden demand for her pendant. It had been worn since her childhood.
Sensing her hesitation, Wei Buxun whispered,
“What? Is it more important than your life?”
He wondered if some paramour had given it to her. She’d chased handsome men for years; maybe someone foolishly admired her.
If her eyes weren’t covered, he would have seen her resentful, defiant glare. Even if he had, he would surely have just sneered.
“Of course not. If you want it, take it.”
Qin Jinxiu snorted coldly. After a while, perhaps she thought he had left. Gasping, she rose, yanking the sash from her eyes. Five steps away from the couch, the window stood wide open. The piercing wind blew, swaying her figure, as if to tell how brazen the man had been moments before.
“Someone! Come here!”
Her lips quivered, pale and bloodless with anger.
After confronting the rogue, the sky brightened outside. Dawn approached. She had been roused from sleep in the dead of night, suffered a great loss, and wanted to explode, summoning all the maids, servants, and guards in the courtyard.
Normally, activity began after the hour of the hare. Today, before that hour, the courtyard buzzed with people.
The maids, peeking at the iron-faced Second Miss seated at the head, fell silent. They all wondered what could have happened to rouse her so early.
Work had to continue during the day, and those not alert would be scolded or have wages docked.
“Who was on night watch last night?”
“Second Miss, it was Qin Five and Qin Six.”
“A thief entered the house last night, and you didn’t hear anything? Are you being kept here to eat for free?”
Because she hadn’t slept all night, Qin Jinxiu wore powder to conceal dark circles and her pale complexion, presenting a fragile beauty to maintain her authority.
The guards looked startled, still unsure of what happened. The steward stepped forward, asking,
“Second Miss, did you lose something? What was taken? The house was quiet last night, it seemed nothing was amiss.”
Lost something? Her longevity lock! And she had almost been assaulted, her life nearly taken! Qin Jinxiu cursed inwardly at these useless people. They couldn’t guard the courtyard but had the nerve to ask what was missing. Was it her fault as the mistress?
Originally, she intended to reveal the loss of her longevity lock, but realizing it was personal, she feared gossip and scandal. Words on the tip of her tongue, she reconsidered:
“It’s a trivial trinket. But you fools, if you’re careless and a thief enters again, dock three months’ wages. Next time, it won’t just be wages.”
“And all the night-watch maids and servants, punish them! Next time, sell them if you have to! Are you refusing to work?”
She spoke sharply, her temper flaring. The steward had yet to grasp the situation, but this wasn’t the first time the Second Miss had erupted in rage. Three days without a hairpin, a ruined skirt, she would stir up the household, even chop down the loquat tree in the eldest young master’s courtyard.
How did two clever parents produce such a rebellious child?
“Second Miss… did you see the thief?”
The steward, Yang Tai, had served Prefect Qin for many years. He wasn’t afraid like the others; he had watched her grow up, knew her heart wasn’t bad, only spoiled. She had stirred up all the servants, beating and punishing them. Without reason, complaints would have erupted.
Although a servant must obey the master’s orders, loyalty couldn’t be guaranteed solely by a contract.
Qin Jinxiu glanced subtly, “I caught only a shadow.”
“What did he look like?”
Here, she became animated. What did he look like? A short, vile, ugly man, stinking all over, with small eyes, a scarred face, and a scraggly beard…
She cursed nonstop for half a quarter-hour. The servants below were dumbfounded, unable to piece together the thief’s appearance from her description.
Yang Tai read the signs, if a thief had entered, he likely went into the Second Miss’s chamber. Her startled demeanor, restrained by reputation, hinted as much.
The household’s guards had been lax. Yang Tai’s sharp eyes glinted with suspicion, scanning the guards, wondering if it had been an inside job, coordinated from within.
After venting her anger, Qin Jinxiu allowed the servants to return to their duties. With her mother away, they were now obedient. Only her steward had caused such a blunder, she suspected the servants were rebelling.
In the following nights, Wei Buxun, awake, heard Qin Jinxiu recount the thief and found it amusing.
At the hour of the hare, she raged in the main courtyard. Returning to her chamber, she felt tired. Frail as she was, she needed rest and to avoid stirring her temper.
In the days that followed, she secretly sent people to catch the intruder, capturing nothing. Yang Tai, following her instructions, apprehended some servants. She inspected them roughly, frowning, leaving it to him to handle, the sight spoiled her appetite.
With her mother away, Qin Jinxiu slept late every day. One morning, another personal maid, Hong Xiao, stood behind the screen. Chuntao, careless in her duties, had been spared severe punishment, but as a personal maid, Qin Jinxiu used both her mother’s maids to instill discipline properly.
“Second Miss…”
While fixing her hair, Qin Jinxiu was deciding which hairpin to wear, what style of bun to make, when she heard Hong Xiao stammering. She propped her chin on her hand, tilting her head to look at her, eyes narrowing slightly, why was this maid so flustered today?
“Second Miss, the two peony pots by the gate, ”
“What? My Qinglong Wolong and Yulouchun, what happened?”
“You should go see for yourself.” Hong Xiao lowered her head as she replied.
Qin Jinxiu’s two beloved peonies! Pulling her hair back, bun undone, she hurried out, only to see her treasured plants, once lush with green leaves, now devastated. The delicate buds had been destroyed, looking as if pelted by hail, completely ruined.
“Who did this?!” Qin Jinxiu’s fury flared as she immediately demanded an explanation from the servant tending the peonies.
A row of maids stood by the pots, and the culprit responsible for the destruction, a pale-skinned, finely featured young man, stood among them. He wore a wide-sleeved indigo robe, and those phoenix-like eyes seemed vaguely familiar.
Qin Jinxiu’s heart sank in confusion. Who was he? Perhaps the maids and servants outside had been negligent again… but why was an outsider male allowed in? Though, admittedly, he was handsome…
Before the striking young man, Qin Jinxiu coughed lightly, temper cooled, adjusted her hair, and forced a smile.
“And this is?”
“This is the young master cousin. Second Miss must have forgotten, you saw him the other day at the South Gate…”
Seeing her habitual hair-twisting and slight kneel, Hong Xiao’s eyelids twitched. Here it comes again. Later, Second Miss would probably discover him herself, trouble ahead.
Young master cousin? With that, Qin Jinxiu remembered, wasn’t he that idiot? Her face turned pale and ashen; what a waste of such a fine face.
“What is my cousin doing here? Hurry back to your own courtyard and stay there. Don’t wander around causing trouble.”
Her impatience was palpable, but fortunately, the servants of the Hidden Pear Garden had worked there for years and were used to such outbursts.
“Cousin, the flowers… beautiful… for you.”
Qin Jinxiu was about to wave him off. This cousin, though cleaned up and handsome, was foolish. His household wasn’t terrible, but with a stepmother in charge, the good things rarely reached him, so now he came to their house to mooch.
Her future husband needed not only handsome looks but immense wealth, power, and status. Only then would he be worthy of her.
Wei Buxun was a complete idiot by day. After taking that medicine, his moods were erratic. Today, he was intrigued by his cousin and had intended to play with her. Seeing the two budding peonies at the gate, he immediately picked them, offering them as a gift to Qin Jinxiu, eyes shining.
Qin Jinxiu was nearly furious. He handed her two buds, some petals already fallen.
Snatching them, she examined the pots and buds, disaster! Her birthday banquet, her Young Master Xu!
“Ah, so you come to mooch and ruin my marriage prospects! Go back to Jinling, you idiot! You… you… you, today I’m going to punish you!”
She threw the ruined peonies at Wei Buxun’s face and lunged at him.