Chapter 20 : A Major Incident
20: A Major Incident
Huo Ning stared at Qin Wan, his face flushed red.
Didn’t she like him? How dare she be so insolent!
He was ignorant? He was foolish? He had only his looks and his status as the Prefect’s son?
Huo Ning’s fists clenched tight. He had never suffered such humiliation before. And when this humiliation came from a woman, moreover a woman who had once looked up to and admired him, the shame and anger in his heart reached its peak!
Huo Ning glared at Qin Wan with rage-filled eyes, but before he could erupt, Qin Shuang, recovering from her shock, stepped forward and swung her hand at Qin Wan. "You little wretch! How dare you be so rude to Brother Huo!"
Before the word "rude" could leave her mouth, Qin Shuang’s hand was caught in a firm grip by Qin Wan.
Qin Wan held Qin Shuang’s wrist steadily, making Qin Shuang’s eyes redden with pain. Qin Shuang struggled with all her might, but for some reason, she couldn’t budge an inch under Qin Wan’s control, despite Qin Wan’s seemingly delicate appearance.
Instantly, Qin Shuang remembered the fierce strength with which Qin Wan had pulled her into the lake. Fear flashed in her eyes, and she immediately regretted her action.
"You… what are you going to do…"
Qin Wan didn’t speak, only looked at Qin Shuang with a deep, dark gaze.
Her clear, spring-like eyes momentarily turned as dark as an abyss. Qin Shuang felt a chill run down her spine under that look. Fear accumulated bit by bit in her heart, quickly overwhelming her plump body. "I… I didn’t mean to… I…"
As Qin Shuang spoke, she struggled. Qin Wan suddenly released her.
Caught off guard and off-balance, Qin Shuang stumbled back two steps and fell to the ground. The corners of her eyes moistened; tears immediately rolled down. Yet she dared not cry loudly, her appearance both pathetic and ridiculous.
Qin Wan smoothed her sleeves, walked around Huo Ning, and headed toward the western gate. "Young Master Huo need not listen to those laughable rumors. I, on the contrary, think Young Master Huo and my Sixth Sister are a perfect match in both talent and character."
As she spoke, she looked back at the bewildered Fuling. "Fuling, don’t you think so?"
Fuling was startled, then suddenly burst out laughing. "Yes, yes, yes! Young Master Huo and Sixth Young Miss are far too well-matched!"
Huo Ning’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. He turned abruptly, watching Qin Wan’s retreating back, trembling with anger.
Looking down again, he saw Qin Shuang gazing at him with tear-filled eyes, brimming with affection. He gritted his teeth, feeling that this talk of being "well-matched" was even more insulting than being told he only had his looks and his status as the Prefect’s son!
By the flower wall in the distance, Yan Chi smiled silently. He narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, watching Qin Wan’s figure disappear.
"Bai Feng, is this Miss Qin the Qin from the Loyal and Valiant Marquis’s household in Jinzhou?"
At Yan Chi’s question, a figure appeared silently from the darkness behind him. Bai Feng bowed his head. "She is the orphaned daughter of the Marquis’s Second Household. Her parents died in an accident seven years ago. After staying at the Loyal and Valiant Marquis’s estate in the capital for three years, she was sent to Jinzhou."
After a slight pause, Bai Feng continued, "She fell into a lake and died half a month ago, rumored to be because of the Prefect’s son. Yet she revived after being dead for a day and a night, and even saved her own maid who had hanged herself. This matter caused quite a stir within the Qin household but was suppressed by them. Three days ago, she saved the Grand Princess who was on the brink of death by the roadside. Today, she was treated as an honored guest by the Grand Princess."
Yan Chi’s eyes narrowed further, the shimmering depths gradually replaced by a layer of profound intensity.
"Qin Wan…" Yan Chi murmured.
A flicker of surprise passed through Bai Feng’s eyes. His master never showed interest in women. Yet now, he was interested in this Miss Qin, whom he had just met for the first time?
"Master, what about this Miss Qin?"
Yan Chi didn’t answer. He slowly shifted his gaze to Huo Ning, who was still standing there dumbfounded.
The smile on his lips faded slightly, his gaze growing even more somber. "Go investigate why Miss Qin fell into the lake."
Bai Feng was taken aback. "Wasn’t it because of Huo…"
"Based on him?" Yan Chi cut off Bai Feng’s words with a faint, derisive snort. He withdrew his gaze and strode toward the estate gates.
By the time Qin Wan reached the western gate, Qin Shuang, red-eyed, had caught up from behind. Jiang-shi had already boarded her carriage and was now looking out from the window. "Shuang’er, what’s wrong?"
Qin Wan was just getting into her own carriage. Hearing this, she turned her gaze toward Qin Shuang.
Qin Shuang, under her glance, instinctively trembled and hastily shook her head. "Nothing, nothing." With that, she scrambled into her own carriage as if fleeing. Qin Wan withdrew her gaze and entered her carriage unhurriedly.
As the wheels began to roll, the image of the Song family’s young lady surfaced again in Qin Wan’s mind. Her servants and attendants hadn’t noticed anything amiss. So how was she killed inside that small wedding sedan?
And how did the murderer silently sever her head and take it away?
With this thought, Qin Wan suddenly came to her senses. This wasn’t the past. She could barely secure her footing in the Qin household. The chief investigator of this case wasn’t her father. What was she thinking about all this for?
"Young Miss, how did you dare speak to Young Master Huo like that just now?" Despite saying this, Fuling looked at Qin Wan with admiration in her eyes. "In the past, you wouldn’t even dare speak loudly in front of Young Master Huo."
Qin Wan tilted her head, looking at Fuling. "Did I truly like Young Master Huo before?"
Fuling frowned, nodding hesitantly. "The first time Young Miss saw Young Master Huo, you stared at him for a long time. Young Miss said privately that you admired Young Master Huo’s spirited, proud demeanor."
Qin Wan sighed helplessly. "Perhaps I had seen too little of the world before. Now my feelings have changed."
Fuling nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes! Young Miss hadn’t seen many young gentlemen before. Not to mention others, just the Prince Rui heir who arrived today, his bearing and demeanor are something Young Master Huo could never hope to match. This servant has never seen such a war god-like figure before!"
Qin Wan narrowed her eyes. The scene of her first glimpse of Yan Chi tonight reappeared before her eyes.
Yan Chi had joined the army young, fought on battlefields, achieved illustrious military merits. His nobility and pride transcended his status as an heir itself; it was the unyielding fortitude forged in defending home and country, amidst beacon fires and wolf-smoke; it was the heroic courage tempered in seizing cities and lands, wading through seas of blood and mountains of corpses.
And Huo Ning? While Yan Chi was bathing in blood and slaughter on the battlefield, he was probably still studying the Four Books and Five Classics under a nanny’s care.
How could he compare to Yan Chi?
"Young Miss, but Young Master Huo is, after all, the Prefect’s son. Acting like this…"
Fuling was somewhat worried. After all, in Jinzhou, Prefect Huo, as the local magistrate, held an extremely high position.
Qin Wan lifted her chin slightly, speaking seriously. "I did this for his own good. If he isn’t shaken awake, he’ll truly think himself a dragon among men, peerless in the world."
Hearing this, Fuling found it both laughable and exasperating. "Young Miss, the way you speak really doesn’t sound like a young lady."
Qin Wan smiled but didn’t reply. Since childhood, she had moved around with her father on his official postings, inherently more worldly than her peers. Added to that, having lived two lives, her state of mind was indeed weathered now. What she had experienced was something ordinary people probably couldn’t even imagine.
The night was as dark as thick ink. Thinking of the past, Qin Wan’s heart ached again. The carriage slowly traversed Jinzhou City’s splendid main street, traveling for nearly half an hour before finally stopping at the Qin household’s western gate.
The carriage had just come to a halt when a Qin household servant, who had been waiting for some time, rushed forward.
"Old Madam! A terrible thing has happened!"