Chapter 12: Defection

The golden hairpin was sharp; with this strike, the warm, translucent pink jade petals at the end of the pin trembled slightly.

Wen Ping knew very well that any random item belonging to the Second Miss was of immense value, so she could naturally produce ten thousand taels. What surprised him even more, however, were her subsequent words.

He stared intently at Wen Hao, waiting for her to continue.

Wen Hao did not play coy. In a light, casual tone, she said, "A great deal of the good things my father has stored away have been emptied out by you, haven't they?"

As soon as these words were uttered, Wen Ping felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His entire body froze, and it took a long moment before he could think of a rebuttal: "Se... Second Miss, you wrong this old servant! How could I possibly do such a thing?"

Wen Hao was in no hurry. "Whether I am wronging you or not is easy to settle. I can simply go home, make up some random excuse, and ask my father to inspect the storehouses. It's just that, by then, Manager Wen might not have the leisure to look after your son."

Wen Ping held the keys to Wen Rugui's private treasury. In her past life, Wen Hao had used her special abilities to discover his embezzlement.

However, to the Wen Hao who had a cold relationship with her father, what did this have to do with her? As long as his greedy hands didn't reach for her mother, she didn't care.

But now, she could use this very point to turn Wen Ping to her side.

Wen Hao's words fell like a heavy hammer, striking Wen Ping's heart.

His mental defenses finally collapsed completely. His legs went weak, and he knelt down. "Second Miss, have mercy!"

Wen Hao leaned back slightly, her tone still unhurried. "Manager Wen, you are mistaken. I am clearly saving lives. Saving your life, and saving your son's life."

"Yes, yes, yes, the Second Miss is right," Wen Ping said, lifting his sleeve to incessantly wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

Wen Hao smiled faintly. "Manager Wen, don't kneel."

Wen Ping hurriedly stood up.

Wen Hao pushed a cup of tea toward him. "Sit, Manager Wen. It's easier to talk."

Wen Ping sat down as instructed, secretly terrified.

He had to admit that he had been completely suppressed by the Second Miss just now.

Among the four masters of the Wen Estate, the Master was deep and calculating; the Madam was fierce but lacked wit; the Eldest Miss was gentle and steady; and the Second Miss, because she was born mute, was regarded by the servants as a somewhat strange and reclusive young girl.

He never imagined that after the Second Miss regained her speech, she would be such a formidable person.

No, no, no—"formidable" was too simple a word. She was a monster.

How did she know these secrets?

Wen Ping's rationality returned, and the more he thought, the more he worried.

His return to sanity did not make him regret his recent decision; rather, it was precisely because he had made the decision first that he had jumped from a dead end into a predicament, allowing him to think somewhat calmly.

"Does Manager Wen have many questions?" Wen Hao asked with a smile, taking in his constantly shifting expressions.

Wen Ping immediately focused his mind. "This old servant does have some questions—"

"Then hold them in."

Wen Ping choked, once again experiencing the unpredictable whims of the young girl.

"Yes... I wonder, what does the Second Miss want this old servant to do?"

"It's simple. In the future, if the time comes to lay everything on the table and question you, you only need to tell the truth."

The question "How does the Second Miss know?" nearly escaped Wen Ping's lips, but under the girl's cold gaze, he forced it back down.

"One thousand taels of silver in exchange for a single truthful answer. It's quite a good deal, isn't it?"

Wen Ping smiled bitterly while clutching the banknote. "This old servant is just worried that when the time comes, the Master—"

"Worried that my father will deal with you?" Wen Hao glanced at him nonchalantly.

Wen Ping nodded with a sheepish smile.

The corners of Wen Hao's lips curled slightly, a flash of mockery passing through her eyes.

He was asking her for a way out.

How dreamy!

"Manager Wen, have you heard a certain saying?"

"Please, Second Miss, say it."

"Sugarcane is not sweet at both ends," Wen Hao said, word by word.

As she spoke, she casually picked up the peach blossom hairpin and twirled it. "One is the fatal crisis at hand, and the other is a small difficulty in the future. If Manager Wen does not know how to choose, then I shall be somewhat disappointed."

Wen Ping gave a strained smile.

A small difficulty? What he had to bear was the consequence of betraying his master.

But the Second Miss was right. If he didn't follow her, he and his son would be finished right now.

"This old servant will obey the Second Miss," Wen Ping said, lowering his head.

Wen Hao raised her lips and called out, "Baozhu—"

Baozhu pushed the door open and entered.

"See Manager Wen out for me."

Wen Ping hurriedly said, "I wouldn't dare trouble Baozhu."

Once Wen Ping had left, Baozhu couldn't help but ask, "Miss, you just gave him a thousand taels like that. Aren't you worried he'll go back on his word?"

"His deficit is far more than a thousand taels; he has long since passed the point of no return," Wen Hao said indifferently, her gaze drifting casually out the window.

Once his embezzlement was discovered by her father, his end would be even more miserable than his son's fate at the hands of those thugs.

The items he had stolen and sold were all uncommon treasures, and he had been living on luck, thinking his father wouldn't notice.

But she had found out.

"Baozhu, let's go home."

Now that Wen Ping was handled, the next was her father's clan brother.

It was laughable. Wen Ping aided the villain for the sake of his son; her father's clan brother aided the villain also for the sake of his son.

Oh, even her father had driven her mother into a corner largely for the sake of his son.

Wen Hao returned to the Wen Estate for lunch. After a short nap, Wen Chan arrived.

"Eldest Sister, you've returned so early."

"Those kinds of banquets happen a dozen or so times a year; they're quite boring." Wen Chan held up a paper-wrapped package. "The buttered bao luo from Wanji Shop—I remember Second Sister loves theirs the most..."

Her vermilion lips curled slightly, mirroring the arc of Wen Hao's faint smile, and her pure black, clear eyes were full of affection.

Wen Hao stared unblinkingly at her elder sister, and tears fell.

Her sister and she... they looked so much alike.

The man whom Lian Xiang said had behaved inappropriately toward her sister... was it also the Crown Prince?

This suspicion made Wen Hao's heart ache as if pierced by knives.

"What's wrong, Second Sister?" Wen Chan was bewildered by Wen Hao's reaction.

"Are you thinking about the mistress Father keeps? Don't be afraid, Grandmother will stand up for us—"

"Eldest Sister." Wen Hao hugged Wen Chan, her hot tears staining her sister's clothes. "I wasn't thinking about that. I just feel that you are too good to me. I couldn't say it before, but now I can finally say thank you to you."

What she actually wanted to say was *I'm sorry*, to say it many, many times.

Although she knew clearly that she wasn't the one at fault, but rather those beasts who had lost their conscience, she couldn't help but feel guilty thinking that if she hadn't gone to see that street performer in the street on this day in her past life, perhaps her sister wouldn't have met with such an accident.

Wen Chan gently patted Wen Hao's back, feeling both heartache and sorrow. "Don't talk such nonsense. I am your sister; isn't it only natural that I treat you well?"

She opened the paper wrap, took a piece of buttered bao luo, and handed it to Wen Hao.

"Eldest Sister will eat too."

After the two sisters finished the snacks, Wen Chan said, "Second Sister, let's tell Grandmother tomorrow."

"Let's wait until the day after. Mother said she's taking us back to Grandmother's house tomorrow."

Wen Chan nodded. "Then we'll slip over there the day after tomorrow."

Their mother was deeply in love with their father and had a quick temper; it would be more secure to inform Grandmother first.

And besides that, Wen Hao had another consideration.

Tonight, it was also time to show her face before that paternal uncle.

(End of Chapter)