Chapter 63: Playing Along with the Act

After Lin Wanqing got married, most of her original clothes were left behind. After all, once a woman is married, it is no longer appropriate for her to wear the attire of her maiden days; she must dress as a matron.

When she returned home for a visit last time, her clothes were still properly kept, but now they were completely gone.

She certainly did not believe that Madam Qin had ordered anyone to store her clothes away.

Having lived through two lifetimes, if she still could not figure out what that mother and daughter were plotting, she would have lived in vain.

Lin Wanqing sneered and stopped Banxia, who was about to go and help her look for clothes: "Stop looking. There won't be any clothes."

Banxia was startled: "Miss, what do you mean?"

Lin Wanqing said, "The maid who bumped into me, the deserted backyard, and the clothes that vanished into thin air. If you all go to help me look for clothes and I am left here alone, what if someone breaks in..."

Banxia's expression changed instantly: "Miss, do you mean someone is trying to harm you?"

Lin Wanqing nodded: "Take a careful look around this room and see if there are any suspicious things."

Banxia and Zisu immediately began searching the room, and soon, Zisu found several sachet bags hidden in a corner: "Miss, these things look completely unfamiliar; they don't belong to our courtyard."

Lin Wanqing took them, examined them, and after giving them a sniff, quickly tossed them aside: "Throw these filthy things out!"

Zisu immediately kicked the sachet bags out of the room, and Banxia hurried to open the windows to air out the scent.

"No, search again. There definitely aren't just these few."

The sachets were filled with aphrodisiac drugs. Since there were no longer any servants tending to Lin Wanqing's courtyard, lighting incense would look suspicious immediately. Using sachets was far more covert. However, using sachets had one drawback: the fragrance evaporated slowly and the medicinal effect was weaker, so to achieve the desired result, a sufficient number of them had to be placed.

Thus, Banxia and Zisu searched again and indeed found several more under the bed in the bedroom.

Banxia was so angry that she gnashed her teeth: "How vicious! How dare they! Miss, let's leave quickly. It's too dangerous here."

Lin Wanqing, however, said, "Leave? What a spineless thought. Since they have arranged such a fine show, we shall play it through to the end!"

Banxia was somewhat worried: "What if something goes wrong? Miss, if this blows up, it will have a huge impact on you."

Zisu shared the same concern.

Lin Wanqing smiled calmly, "Don't worry, nothing will go wrong. Come here, I will tell you what to do."

The two hurried closer.

Lin Wanqing whispered instructions to them, and the worry on their faces was replaced by excitement.

A moment later, Banxia hurried out of the courtyard and headed toward Lin Xianyun's courtyard.

Not long after Banxia left, the courtyard door was knocked. Zisu went to open it and saw a maid standing outside. Zisu recognized her as Xiaotao, a menial maid from Madam Qin's courtyard.

Xiaotao said with an anxious expression, "Elder Sister Zisu, please go and take a look. For some reason, Elder Sister Banxia took a bad fall near the rockery. It looks quite serious, and she might have injured a bone. The household is so busy today with the Second Young Miss's wedding that we truly cannot spare anyone to look after her, so she sent me to find you and the Eldest Young Miss."

Zisu's face also shifted to one of anxiety: "What? Banxia broke a bone? Wait here a moment, I'll go inform the Eldest Young Miss."

Just as Zisu turned around, she saw Lin Wanqing standing at the doorway in her underclothes, saying, "Banxia is injured? Go and check on her quickly; there's no rush here."

"Yes, Miss. Please go back inside. You've taken off your outer garment, so don't let anyone run into you."

Lin Wanqing fanned herself with her sleeve and said, "I don't know what's wrong with me, why is it suddenly so hot? Go quickly and check on Banxia, and by the way, tell whoever brings me my clothes to also bring a fan. It is simply too hot."

Zisu acknowledged the order and hurried Xiaotao to lead the way.

Before leaving, Xiaotao glanced back at Lin Wanqing, only to see her standing in the doorway not daring to come out, while continuously tugging at her collar, evidently feeling unbearably hot.

The courtyard gate closed once more. Lin Wanqing sneered and turned her back.

Before long, the courtyard gate was knocked again. This time, it was a somewhat strange, altered female voice: "Is the Eldest Young Miss in? I'm here to deliver your clothes."

At first hearing, that voice belonged to a man deliberately pinching his throat to imitate a woman's speech.

Lin Wanqing said, "I'm in. Bring the clothes right in. Did you bring the fan?"

"Got it, got it."

The man pushed the door open and entered the courtyard, only to see Lin Wanqing standing with her back to the door, dressed only in her undergarments.

He quickly took a few steps forward, suppressing his excitement as he said, "Eldest Young Miss, let me help you change."

With that, he reached out toward Lin Wanqing. But the moment his hand brushed against Lin Wanqing's shoulder, his vision blurred, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.

Lin Wanqing glanced down at the man and sneered. This man was Madam Qin's nephew, Qin Tianci.

Qin Tianci was twenty-five years old and indulged in all vices—drinking, gambling, and whoring. Back when Madam Qin was usurping her mother's dowry, Qin Tianci had helped Madam Qin manage a shop. Later, when she demanded back all her dowry, Qin Tianci lost his livelihood as well. Today, taking advantage of Lin Xianyun's wedding while the Qin family came to add to the bride's dowry, he desperately wanted to find Madam Qin and sweet-talk her into arranging another job for him.

Never did he expect that Madam Qin, planning to frame Lin Wanqing and unable to find a suitable person on short notice, would drag Qin Tianci into it.

Qin Tianci was blinded by lust. Regardless of Lin Wanqing's current status, the moment he heard he could have the Eldest Young Miss of the Lin family and receive a good job and money upon success, he agreed immediately, completely ignoring the consequences.

The reason Madam Qin dragged Qin Tianci into this was also because she was utterly sick of this nephew.

Earlier, when she had him help manage the shop, his greed knew no bounds. Every day he took silver and goods from the shop until a perfectly good establishment became his personal bank. Whenever she complained, her maternal family would make a fuss. Now that he was clinging to her because of Lin Xianyun's wedding, Madam Qin simply decided to use him as her pawn.

If the General's Mansion pursued the matter afterward, she would just push this idiot out as a scapegoat. That way, she would eliminate Lin Wanqing and get rid of this blood-sucking parasite at the same time—killing two birds with one stone.

Lin Wanqing thought to herself that Madam Qin certainly knew how to calculate.

Making sure Qin Tianci was thoroughly unconscious, Lin Wanqing picked up the scissors she had brought from the room and swiftly cut his clothes to pieces.

Once that was done, Lin Wanqing pulled a porcelain bottle from her person, poured out a pill, and shoved it into Qin Tianci's mouth.

*Knock, knock, knock*

The courtyard gate was struck three times and quickly pushed open. Zisu flashed inside swiftly.

Lin Wanqing said, "Alright, dump him in Lin Xianyun's courtyard. Make sure no one sees you."

Zisu hoisted Qin Tianci over her shoulder and leaped over the courtyard wall.

Lin Wanqing picked up the fan from the ground and fanned herself.

About a quarter of an hour later, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed toward her courtyard.