“You’re quite resourceful!” Yin Wen exclaimed, his hand shielding his injured face, his gaze fixed firmly on Liao Qiuniang.
Liao Qiuniang had made her way to the door, attempting to open it, but she soon realized that it was locked from the outside. Through the door’s crack, she spotted two guards stationed nearby, preventing her escape.
With a sense of dread, Liao Qiuniang turned back and saw Yin Wen, half of his face stained with blood, approaching her once more.
Her heart raced at an alarming speed. In her panic, Liao Qiuniang scanned the kitchen and then darted in a particular direction.
Yin Wen, underestimating her ability to evade his grasp, pursued her with a leisurely pace.
Liao Qiuniang, breathing heavily, shouted, “Don’t come any closer!”
Liao Qiuniang sprinted to the wine storage area, seized a wine jar, and hurled it at Yin Wen!
The wine jar soared halfway and then crashed to the ground, shattering and dousing the floor in wine.
Yin Wen simply chuckled, his bloody visage taking on a menacing aura.
Liao Qiuniang grabbed another jar, removed the lid, but instead of targeting Yin Wen, she flung it toward the pile of firewood in the northwest corner of the kitchen.
Yin Wen’s expression transformed drastically, and in realization, he rushed toward Liao Qiuniang.
Liao Qiuniang, feigning panic, ignited a fire pocket. She appeared to be fleeing, but she cleverly seized the opportunity to conceal herself, and she tossed the fire pocket onto the firewood pile.
As Yin Wen grappled with Liao Qiuniang and threw her down, there was a deafening explosion, and the pile of firewood burst into flames.
“Damn you!” Yin Wen vehemently slapped Liao Qiuniang.
Liao Qiuniang’s mouth bled, and her ears rang. When she regained her senses, Yin Wen slapped her again.
Finally, Liao Qiuniang’s gaze grew vacant, and she lay there, appearing lost and dazed.
Water was available in the kitchen, and Yin Wen attempted to extinguish the fire, but the intense summer heat only fueled the flames. Witnessing the fire spreading to the spilled wine on the ground, another fire leaped into the air. Yin Wen delivered a vicious kick to Liao Qiuniang, then turned and fled.
The two guards, sensing that something was amiss, promptly opened the door.
“Go inside and clean up,” Yin Wen ordered angrily. “We’ll pretend that they were clumsy and accidentally fell into the water.”
The two guards rushed inside.
Yin Wen then instructed the round-faced servant girl, “We’ll exit through the back door. Inform your young master to pin the blame on Liao Qiuniang and explain that she won’t be held accountable due to her connection with the third wife of King Yan’s Mansion. Keep this low-profile.”
As he spoke, Yin Wen led the way to the back door for their escape.
Although Wang Yunshi was only ten years old, he was actually very good and cooperated with him to coax the old lady of the Wang family to complete that day’s plan. The old lady Wang only knew about the buns and didn’t know that he had already sneaked in. So if he subsidized Wang Yunshi with a sum of money, the matter would be over. Liao Qiuniang kept her innocence, and for the sake of her reputation, she must not dare to speak out.
The round-faced servant girl nodded repeatedly.
Two guards dragged Liao Qiuniang and Lihua to the kitchen door.
Yin Wen glanced at Liao Qiuniang’s exposed legs, asked the round-faced maid to help her get dressed, and led her away with a sullen face.
The round-faced servant girl stepped in and saw that Liao Qiuniang was sober, but she had no desire to survive. While helping her tidy up her clothes, she sighed and said, “This time, Young Master Yin ate it (had sx). What a shame, he will definitely not think of you in the future, so just pretend nothing happened and forget about it.”
Liao Qiuniang gave her a dull look.
Thick smoke billowed from the kitchen, and servants from the Wang family and the surrounding neighbors rushed over with water.
The old lady of the Wang family who was waiting to eat steamed buns stomped her feet angrily, pointing at Liao Qiuniang who was rescued by the maids and scolded non-stop, “I took care of your business with good intentions, but you actually burned down my kitchen, you, aren’t you an idiot?”
At that moment, the fainted Lihua was finally awakened by the sound of chaotic footsteps. She sat up, looked at Liao Qiuniang with disheveled hair, and then looked at the kitchen, with a confused look on her face.
“Storekeeper, what’s going on here?”
After asking, Lihua stood up, and it was only then that she could clearly see Liao Qiuniang’s red and swollen face concealed by her long hair.
Facing Lihua’s distressed and angry eyes, Liao Qiuniang gave a wry smile and shed tears.
Lihua hugged her and said with red eyes, “Don’t cry, no matter what wrongs you suffer, the third lady will make the decision for you!’
The old lady of the Wang family stood aside, and said angrily, “Make the decision for you? You burned my house. I have to report it to the Yamen!”
The ten-year-old young master Wang Yunshi hurriedly hugged her arm and persuaded, “Grandma, grandma! Don’t worry, don’t look at the monk’s face to see the Buddha’s face. Her father works in the Yin family, and she belongs to the third lady. Anyway, the fire has been brought under control, so don’t report it to the officials. What if the two families get into trouble?”
After hearing this, the old lady of the Wang family went to see Liao Qiuniang again. Seeing that Liao Qiuniang was so regretful that she slapped her face and it became swollen, the old lady snorted heavily, acquiescing to her grandson’s words.
Amidst the complaints from the neighbors, Liao Qiuniang walked out of Osmanthus Alley supported by Lihua.
“Storekeeper, tell me what happened, was there something wrong with the tea I drank?” Turning into a remote alley, Lihua asked anxiously.
Liao Qiuniang took a deep breath and told her the truth.
She needed Lihua’s assistance to keep her parents from finding out about the situation. To avoid exposing what happened, they had to coordinate their actions in advance.
Lihua clenched her teeth and said, “Let’s go, let’s find the third lady!”
However, Liao Qiuniang shook her head and replied, “Let’s not trouble the third lady. When the master returns, I’ll go directly to him.”
The master had saved her father’s life, and the third lady had also helped them. As a result, she didn’t want to involve the authorities, and she didn’t want to tarnish the reputation of the entire Yin family. But Yin Wen had never anticipated that she would suppress her anger in this way.