Chapter 4: Breaking the Conspiracy

Su Jin curled her lips and smiled.

It truly was good stuff!

If she continued to make excuses, Peony would undoubtedly nag her with endless nonsense. Not wanting to deal with the hassle, Su Jin picked it up and drank. Seeing the Fourth Young Lady drink it, the panic in Peony's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by ferocity.

After leaving the room, she couldn't help but laugh.

She scurried off to the First Madam's quarters to report.

Su Jin watched Peony leave, then rose quickly. *Pfft!* She spat out everything she hadn't yet swallowed. Looking at the remaining hot soup, she sneered.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Mother Zhang, who served the First Madam, arrived at the courtyard.

She took out a jade bracelet wrapped in layers of silk and, in a manner that was half-persuading and half-forcing, slid it onto Su Jin's wrist. "The Madam said you must have a few expensive pieces of jewelry to match your status as the daughter of the Prime Minister's residence. This was a gift from the Palace; it is priceless and was specially sent to you."

Su Jin smiled faintly. "Thank you."

Having said that, she chatted with Mother Zhang for a while.

When night fell, she was preparing to sleep. Just as the lamps were extinguished, she heard someone knocking on the door. "Cousin, are you in your room?" The voice was impatient, knocking incessantly.

Su Jin curled her lips; the show was beginning.

She left the bed, opened the door, and saw that the outer room was dark. The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Aside from a stranger with a lecherous expression, there was no one else—likely the so-called cousin. She smiled faintly. "Is something the matter? Why don't you come in and talk?"

The man responded.

In the blink of an eye, he strode inside and quickly shut the door.

Looking at Su Jin, he began to salivate. His lustful gaze wandered from her chest to her slender waist, lingering indecisively. *Tsk, tsk... just as the First Madam said, she is a peerless beauty. Tonight, he has struck gold.*

He began to greedily strip Su Jin's clothes. Before his hands could even touch her, Su Jin moved aside composedly and brought out the soup Peony had delivered this morning. "Cousin, why don't you drink some nourishing soup first?"

The man froze.

He hadn't expected Su Jin to be so considerate.

But he didn't need it. That soup clearly looked like it had been cold for a long time. What kind of person drinks soup in the middle of the night? He then chuckled inwardly; he had thought Su Jin was a virtuous woman, but he hadn't expected her to be so receptive. However, it didn't matter if she refused; once the aphrodisiac took effect...

Unfortunately, once he was done with her, she would have to die.

He truly felt a sense of reluctance.

Just as he was drowning in his own fantasies, Su Jin's expression changed abruptly, no longer gentle as water. Her fingers curled into claws, gripping the Young Master's throat, forcing his mouth open, and swiftly pouring the entire contents of the soup down his throat.

The man tried to struggle.

To no avail!

Su Jin subsequently knocked him unconscious. She went out to fetch the sleeping Peony, gave the room to them, and locked the door from the outside. As for herself, she leaped lightly and stood upon the roof, lifting a tile to watch the entire process.

It was a display of effortless grace that was almost too much to bear.

A few scattered stars hung in the sky. Inside the room, the heated scene continued to unfold. Su Jin's eyes narrowed as a dark shadow rapidly slipped into the courtyard of the Left Prime Minister. She was slightly startled, then lazily stretched her waist; it had nothing to do with her, so there was no need to care.

Two quarters of an hour later, the dark shadow floated in mid-air.

It looked as though he had stolen something from the Left Prime Minister's study.

Su Jin thought that once he finished his business, he would leave. To her surprise, the fellow turned around and headed toward her. As he drew near, he unleashed a palm strike. "What are you doing skulking around here?"

Su Jin: "..."

She really wanted to spit a mouthful of salty soda to kill him.

Dodging the strike, she looked at the masked man and pointed downward. "Let's make a deal. Don't disturb me while I'm watching the scenery. Anything in the Left Prime Minister's manor, if you happen to fancy it, take it as you please. I will never stop you."

Hearing this, the man froze.

The air went still. The sounds from inside the room pierced through their eardrums. After a moment of hesitation, he stopped his hand and leaned over to look. In the next second, he was immediately embarrassed. "You..." He then said through gritted teeth, "Deal!"

This woman was clearly just here for the spectacle.

There was no need to kill the innocent.

Looking at the man's expression, Su Jin found it particularly amusing. "Why don't you join me in watching?"

She liked people who were sensible like this. Just now, she was truly afraid he would insist on fighting, which would cause a commotion and ruin her plans.

The man raised his eyes coldly. "Filthy."

Su Jin: "..."

*You're so noble, yet you're running into the Left Prime Minister's manor to steal things like a thief. And then you have the nerve to lecture me.*

If it weren't for the fact that it wasn't appropriate to fight now and disturb the others in the manor, she really wanted to have a go at him. While she was complaining inwardly, the man looked at her, his voice icy. "What is your name?"

Su Jin habitually lied. "Su Moqing."

The man looked as if he had been struck by lightning.

After repeating the name once, his gaze changed instantly. He looked as if he wanted to devour Su Jin whole, every word squeezed through his teeth. "You liar! You still have the face to show up?"

Su Jin could guarantee she had never been looked at with such a ferocious gaze!

Hatred, fury.

It seemed as if he might extend wolf-like claws and consume her raw in the next moment.

Her only fear was that if he lost control of his emotions, her martial arts skills would be exposed in the Prime Minister's manor. She gave a fresh smile. "We are strangers; you must have mistaken me for someone else."

The man's gaze grew even more fierce.

Su Jin reached out to cover her lips and made a "shh" sound. "Well, you go ahead and reminisce slowly. I'm going to watch the scenery." Having said that, she lowered her head and watched with extreme scrutiny, even counting exactly how many moles were on Peony's body.

The man reached out and crudely covered her eyes.

Su Jin was utterly speechless.

What on earth was this?

He roughly grabbed her hand and placed it against his palm, which was covered in calluses, tracing something with his fingertip. Since Su Jin couldn't see, she could only sense it. He seemed to be writing: *Yun Potian*. Was this a name?

Huh?

Yun Potian!

After their parting outside the mass grave years ago, she thought she would never meet this jinx again. Who would have thought...

Damn monkey dung!

The little boy from six years ago had grown up, and his temperament was even more difficult than before. Just as Su Jin was worrying about whether he would forcibly drag her away to be his servant, a sudden burst of fire erupted in the direction of the Imperial Palace.

In the next second, Su Jin's vision cleared.

And the man drifted toward the Imperial Palace with ghostly speed.

The next morning, just as dawn broke, the First Madam rushed to find the Left Prime Minister. As soon as she entered, her expression was somewhat panicked. "Master, something bad has happened... A servant just reported that the Fourth Daughter..."

Her voice trailed off.

The Left Prime Minister had just returned from court and hadn't even had time to change out of his official robes. He frowned. "What exactly happened? Say it all at once. What kind of manner is this, speaking in fragments?"

The First Madam nodded. "She... she is having an illicit affair with the Young Master Cousin."

The Left Prime Minister froze. Then, with a face turning ashen, he picked up a teacup nearby and smashed it violently against the ground. The shards hitting the floor made a piercing sound that nearly pierced through the eardrums. "You wretched thing! How dare you do such a shameless thing and stain the reputation of our Su Manor!"

Disgraceful!

Too disgraceful!

The First Madam was overjoyed in her heart, but her face showed grief. "Sigh, it is also my fault. She had just returned yesterday, and I heard she was alone in a room with the Young Master Cousin. I thought a daughter of our Su family would surely be sensible, but who knew she would commit such a foolish act? What should we do?"

The Left Prime Minister snapped, "She is not a daughter of the Su family."

She wasn't!

The Su family would never have such a disgraceful thing. If such a filthy matter were to spread, how could he face anyone? How could he hold his head high before the civil and military officials? Once he saw her, he would have to cast her out to eliminate the future trouble.