Chapter 449: If You Don’t Snatch, How Will Fugui Come?

Chapter 449: Chapter 449: If You Don’t Snatch, How Will Fugui Come?

The smile in Qi Xiuwei’s eyes faltered.

"Lord Pei, are you looking for the Princess? She is accompanying the Crown Prince today and didn’t come to the National Academy."

’So that’s how it is...’

Pei Yin’s expression remained impassive, leaving Qi Xiuwei unable to guess his thoughts.

He just gave a slight nod. "I see. Thank you."

Pei Yin turned and left, as cold and distant as ever.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned back and found Qi Xiuwei still standing there, watching him with longing eyes.

Qi Xiuwei hadn’t expected him to turn back at all. She quickly pressed her lips together, hiding the disappointment on her face.

"Goodbye, Lord Pei." She waved with a gentle smile.

’Even though he wasn’t looking for me this time... he was probably looking for Ningning on official business, right?’

’In any case, the fact that we’ve been secretly exchanging letters can’t be known by too many people.’

So that’s why Pei Yin was so discreet. Qi Xiuwei decided to maintain their silent understanding and not bring it up in public.

Pei Yin had turned back for another reason. His deep gaze fell upon a wound on Qi Xiuwei’s hand.

On her fair palm, near the web of her thumb, was a distinct scab.

Pei Yin slowly furrowed his long brows.

’Miss Qi’s hand is also injured? What a coincidence.’

Just as Qi Xiuwei blinked, realizing that Pei Yin was staring at her without a word...

Pei Yin suddenly walked toward her.

"This is golden sore medicine from the palace. It works wonders on external injuries. It’s for you."

Qi Xiuwei was both shocked and flattered, her gentle, almond-shaped eyes widening in surprise.

The tips of her ears turned red. "I... I... It’s really for me?"

Pei Yin nodded. His eyes were deep and calm, yet to the lovestruck Qi Xiuwei, they seemed to hold a hint of warmth and gentleness.

"It’s a large bottle. If you can’t use it all, you can share it with a friend," he added cryptically.

Pei Yin had just remembered that Shen Ningning, being with the Crown Prince, would have access to all the golden sore medicine she could ever need.

If he were to give it to her so openly, he wasn’t sure if it would be too forward or offensive.

Besides, Qi Xiuwei’s scab looked quite alarming; the wound on the web of her thumb would surely split open and bleed again if she so much as opened her palm slightly.

So, he gave it to her instead. Qi Xiuwei and Shen Ningning were good friends, so they would surely share it.

After saying his piece, Pei Yin left, and this time he truly didn’t look back.

Qi Xiuwei clutched the bottle of golden sore medicine with both hands as if she were holding her own warm, beating heart.

Ye Shangyi came out of the National Academy and saw her standing there alone, grinning foolishly.

"Huh? Why haven’t you left yet? And why are you beaming like that?"

Qi Xiuwei was naturally reserved and shy. At her friend’s words, her face turned as red as a boiled cherry.

She shot Ye Shangyi a mock glare.

"Oh, stop it, Changyi. Don’t tease me. I’m going home." With that, Qi Xiuwei left with a wide smile.

Ye Shangyi was surprised by her expression—her happiness was practically radiating.

Back home, Qi Xiuwei carefully put away the golden sore medicine, lest her grandmother discover it.

However, she had just returned when a maid led her to Mrs. Qi Sr.’s chambers.

Her mother, Mrs. Yu, was kneeling on the floor, her hair in disarray, crying and covering her face. She had clearly just been beaten.

In contrast, Mrs. Qi Sr. sat on a high-backed chair holding a teacup, her expression severe and cold.

Seeing her mother had been hit, Qi Xiuwei’s good mood vanished completely.

"Mother!" She rushed over and wrapped her small frame around her sobbing mother.

Then, Qi Xiuwei looked up angrily. "Grandmother, what right do you have to hit my mother again? After marrying my father, she became the mistress of this house! You’ve made things difficult for her time and time again, but recently you’ve gone too far, even resorting to hitting her. If anyone saw this, what would they say about you!"

The wound on the web of Qi Xiuwei’s thumb was no accident.

The last time, Mrs. Qi Sr. had somehow learned of the Crown Prince’s whereabouts. Finding out he would be passing an old road, she insisted that Qi Xiuwei go there, pretend her carriage had broken down, and force an "accidental" encounter.

Qi Xiuwei had resisted fiercely. Mrs. Qi Sr. couldn’t beat her, afraid of leaving marks that people at the National Academy would see.

So, she had her old maidservants hold down her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Yu, to threaten Qi Xiuwei.

In the midst of the mother and daughter’s struggling and crying, Qi Xiuwei had smashed a teacup, grabbed a sharp porcelain shard, and held it to her own throat.

With red-rimmed eyes, she had threatened viciously, "If you force me again, Grandmother, I’ll kill myself! Aunt already ignores you. Once I’m dead, you’ll have no one left to control."

Only then did Mrs. Qi Sr. back down.

Qi Xiuwei had thought her grandmother wouldn’t trouble them anymore. She never expected to come home to such a scene again.

Mrs. Yu wept while covering her face, but Mrs. Qi Sr. was unmoved by Qi Xiuwei’s accusations.

Instead, she said coldly, "Your mother is thoroughly unpresentable. No wonder she’s raised you to be so ignorant. This time, I’ve had your father arrange an opportunity for you to accompany the Crown Prince to Pingyuan Village to help the poor villagers."

"Princess Funing will be there too. You must remember, you are not going to this village to help anyone. You are going to make an excellent impression on the Crown Prince. I was just discussing it with your mother, and she had the audacity to defy and contradict me. Tell me, did she not deserve a beating?"

Qi Xiuwei stood stunned, the disgust in her eyes undisguised.

"I won’t go! Ningning and the Crown Prince have already left. What would I even do there?"

"You’re going to seize the opportunity, of course! You fool! If you don’t fight for it, how will wealth and status ever come to you? If you don’t fight for it, how do you expect to become one of the Crown Prince’s women with just your meager looks?"

Qi Xiuwei had truly had enough.

Ever since her aunt, Princess Consort Qi, had cut off contact with the family, her grandmother had become obsessed with using her to curry favor with the powerful.

In that moment, all her grievances and suppressed feelings erupted.

Qi Xiuwei shrieked and sobbed at Mrs. Qi Sr., "If you want someone to go so badly, then go yourself! You’ve still got your looks. Go seduce the Emperor, or the King of Shu for all I care!"

"No wonder you drove Ningning’s mother away back then, and no wonder Aunt cut ties with us! You treat all the daughters of the Qi Mansion as bargaining chips. You are the height of selfishness!"

Mrs. Qi Sr. was thoroughly enraged. "You! How insolent! This is utter rebellion!"

Mrs. Qi Sr. trembled with rage.

"Without my scheming, without my selfishness, how would the Qi Mansion have its current glory? Where do you think the fine clothes and delicacies you enjoy every day come from?"

That was how the family rose to prominence in Mr. Qi Sr.’s generation.

After marrying Mrs. Qi Sr., who came from a rather powerful family, Mr. Qi Sr.’s official career became smoother and smoother.

Later, when they had a daughter, they raised her to be a concubine and sent her into the palace.

Mrs. Qi Sr. was, of course, ambitious. She schemed step-by-step, believing that if the Qi Family continued on this path, one day, a daughter of their family would enter the Central Palace and become the Empress.

She had never imagined that the girls she had groomed would rebel against her, one after another.

Shen Siyi was the first to defy her authority.

Mrs. Qi Sr. had originally seen her exceptional beauty and witty conversation and agreed to take her in as an adopted daughter of the Qi Family, providing her with the best food and drink.

But as it turned out, Shen Siyi had no desire to enter the palace as a concubine. Later, she did something as absurd as eloping with Xie Suzhi.

In comparison, Mrs. Qi Sr.’s own daughter, Princess Consort Qi, Qi Jingchun, had been much more obedient. Although she had resisted for a while, hadn’t she ended up listening to her in the end?

She was now the highest-ranking concubine in the palace. It was just a pity that after Qi Jingchun was sent to the Cold Palace, Mrs. Qi Sr. thought she was useless and abandoned that chess piece.

Unexpectedly, Qi Jingchun had now regained favor and completely cut ties with the Qi Family, treating them like strangers.

The only one Mrs. Qi Sr. had left to groom was Qi Xiuwei.

Unfortunately, Qi Xiuwei was even more disobedient than the previous two!

Mrs. Qi Sr. now only regretted not allowing Mr. Qi Sr. to take concubines back then. At least if he had fathered a few daughters by them, she wouldn’t be left with no one to use.

She looked at Qi Xiuwei’s fragile face, which was full of stubbornness.

That look in her eyes reminded Mrs. Qi Sr. of the defiant Shen Siyi, and of a young Qi Jingchun threatening to leave home.

She was filled with utter hatred.

Her wrinkled face twisted as she ordered the old maidservants, "Seize this unfilial girl for me! Slap her face hard a few times and see if she still dares to be so audacious!"