Chapter 024: Taking Advantage of the Chaos, Advancing Further

That slap, fueled by Madam Meng’s furious rage, landed with astonishing force.

“Aaah!” Wu Qingqiong screamed, tumbling forward and striking her forehead against the round table at the center of the room with a loud thud.

Dazzling specks of light danced before her eyes, and the pain was so intense she nearly lost consciousness.

“Third Miss!” Not only her own two maids, but even Shu Rong, who had accompanied Madam Meng, rushed over in alarm. Several pairs of hands scrambled to lift Wu Qingqiong up.

A purplish bruise was already spreading across her temple.

Her limbs went weak; like a puppet, she had to be supported by the maids. As she regained her senses and looked up at Madam Meng, a tidal wave of grievance flooded her heart, and she burst into wailing sobs.

But this outcry only made her realize her mouth had been split as well—her lips and teeth were filled with the nauseating taste of blood.

Though Madam Meng often nagged her, she had never so much as laid a finger on her before. Experiencing this for the first time, Wu Qingqiong’s wailing halted abruptly, cut short by terror.

For in front of her, Madam Meng was still fixating on her with a gaze as fierce as a wild beast’s.

“Mother…” Wu Qingqiong’s eyes brimmed with tears, but she was so frightened she dared not even cry. Clutching her face, she could only mumble a timid address, then collapsed to her knees, her legs giving way.

Madam Meng truly seemed driven mad with rage! Even if Wu Qingqiong had committed murder or arson, she might not have cared so much—yet this, of all things, was what she could not accept!

If not for the fact that Wu Qingqiong was her own flesh and blood, she might have wished to beat her to death then and there to vent her fury.

At last, after struggling to contain herself, Madam Meng could only slump onto the beauty couch, pointing at Wu Qingqiong. “The morning your father left the capital, was it you who snuck into my room to change Wu Tan’s birth registry?”

At that time, Wu Qingqiong had been punished to kneel in the ancestral hall, her two maids forbidden to accompany her. Earlier, during the carriage ride home, Old Madam was present, and Shu Rong had been seated in a separate carriage at the back—she knew nothing of what had transpired.

The maids exchanged uneasy glances.

Wu Qingqiong’s eyes darted evasively. She wanted nothing more than to deny everything, but seeing Madam Meng’s expression, she dared not. Forcing herself, she confessed, “I only heard she was to marry the Crown Prince. I… I didn’t want to see her so pleased with herself!”

Though Madam Meng had already guessed as much, hearing her daughter admit it outright made her blood boil, nearly causing her to faint from rage.

Clutching her chest, she struggled to steady her breath, her eyes still dark with fury as she pressed on, her voice harsh. “Heard? Who told you?”

Wu Qingqiong bowed her head, afraid to meet her mother’s eyes. “Didn’t I tell you before, Mother? I overheard Steward Qin…”

Her words were cut short by Madam Meng’s cold laugh. “And was it Steward Qin who gave you the altered birth date and time as well?”

It was barely plausible to say she’d overheard Steward Qin, but to claim that he had provided her with a birth date incompatible with Xiao Yun’s, and even told her outright? Not even Wu Qingqiong believed such a lie.

And when Madam Meng wasn’t smiling, she was terrifying enough—her rare, cold smile was even more so.

Wu Qingqiong trembled inside, tears threatening to fall anew.

Madam Meng had no patience left. She rose at once. “Fine! If you won’t tell me, so be it. This is a crime of deceiving the emperor and dooming our family. None of us will escape—we’ll die together!”

With that, she turned to leave.

Her words chilled not just Wu Qingqiong, but the three maids as well, their faces blanching, almost unable to stand.

“How could…” Only now did Wu Qingqiong begin to understand why Madam Meng was so enraged, why she’d struck her. Seeing her mother about to leave, she scrambled forward, clutching her leg, tears and snot streaming down her face as she begged, “Mother, don’t go! I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you everything!”

Madam Meng halted, taking several deep breaths with her eyes shut, fighting to keep her temper in check and not kick her daughter away.

She stood motionless.

Wu Qingqiong, seeing the opportunity, began spilling everything in a rush. “The night before Father left, Steward Qin was called away to prepare the luggage. I was alone, kneeling in the ancestral hall. In the dead of night, a maid snuck in and slipped me a note.”

She wiped her tears and hurried into her room, rummaging through her jewelry box until she produced an empty rouge case. From a hidden compartment, she retrieved a half-sized slip of paper and handed it to Madam Meng.

Madam Meng unfolded the note. The message was concise: it announced Wu Tan would soon be appointed Crown Princess, and included a birth date and time said to ruin her prospects.

There was no signature, no mark.

But Madam Meng knew her daughter was telling the truth. She understood the girl’s nature; such a note was enough to incite her to such folly.

She scrutinized the paper. It was of ordinary quality, unsuitable for a marquis’s household but common in the streets. There was no way to trace it from the paper alone.

“The maid who brought you the note—do you remember her face?” Madam Meng asked, after a pause.

Their Dingyuan Marquisate was a military household, never short of capable guards, and especially vigilant within the inner quarters. Madam Meng was certain the maid was not an outsider.

But—

As expected, Wu Qingqiong shook her head without hesitation, sobbing, “I was hungry and tired. I didn’t even notice when she came in. She slipped me the note and ran. I only saw her back, and she was wearing our household’s maid uniform.”

Clearly, the other party had planned everything meticulously, taking precautions against any later investigation.

The thought that someone could scheme their way into the Wu family’s inner quarters made Madam Meng burn with anger and frustration.

Yet now, what was done could not be undone. All she could do was try to contain the fallout.

Wu Qingqiong, emboldened, crept closer, lowering her head and whispering, “Mother, is it… truly that serious? Will we… really die?”

Death was not imminent, but Madam Meng decided to use this as a lesson her daughter would never forget. Her face remained cold. “I have no solution. It all depends on whether your grandmother will keep this matter secret and pacify Wu Tan to protect you…”

But since outsiders had orchestrated this, who could say if the aim was only to sabotage Wu Tan’s marriage, or if the target was the entire Wu family?

If the goal was merely to ruin the marriage, that was one thing. But if they meant to frame the Wu family, then Old Madam—who must have realized the birth date was a fake but kept silent—had already fallen into their trap…

The more she thought about it, the more a chill ran through Madam Meng.

And as events would prove, her fears were not unfounded. For though Huo Yunhua had initially intended only to exploit the strife between Wu Qingqiong and Wu Tan for personal gain, upon learning that her plan was proceeding smoothly, she was struck with inspiration—just as Madam Meng now feared—and began plotting to take further advantage of the situation…

—End of Chapter—

Author: [Satisfied] Yes, our supporting female character truly is a champion among scoundrels… Her self-destructive antics know no bounds~

Heroine: [Side-eye] Heh, the one who suggested this rotten idea in the first place seems to be a certain idiot, doesn’t it…

At midnight, someone, deep in sleep, sneezed awake with a start: “Damn! Who’s cursing me?!”

This book is published first here. Please do not reprint.