Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Naturally, I was the one who did it.

To avoid alerting the enemy, I had instructed Qi Feng to set that fire before I left.

Yuchi Wei asked urgently, “How is the fire? Was anything found?”

“The area was deserted. By the time it was discovered, it had mostly burned down. They are… currently trying to extinguish it.”

Mostly burned down.

In other words, if Xu Nianci were still in the bridal sedan, she would be a corpse by now.

He stared fixedly at Luo Qian. “Was it you?”

Luo Qian’s face turned pale.

“I… I don’t know…” Meeting Yuchi Wei’s scrutinizing gaze, she kept backing away. “It really wasn’t me.” Terrified of his suspicion, she randomly pointed at me. “It was her! It must have been her!”

I remained unhurried, preparing to head out the door.

“We’ll know who did it once it’s investigated. After all, neither the Crown Prince nor Prince Qi ever left their seats.”

Luo Qian ran over to block my path, her expression frantic. “General, you can’t let her leave…”

She thought there was still a body in the sedan, which was why she was panicking and losing her composure.

Yuchi Wei would surely conclude that she was the one who set the fire.

Sure enough, his expression shifted. He dragged Luo Qian in front of him and hissed through gritted teeth, “Xu Nianci had no grievance with you. Why did you insist on killing her?”

Luo Qian shook her head, biting her lower lip as tears fell.

“But it’s already done… Are you really going to send me to my death for her sake?”

Yuchi Wei merely tilted his head back and let out a long sigh. Suddenly growing calm, he instructed the guards, “There is no need to put out the fire. Do not alarm anyone. Just clean up the remains of the bridal sedan.”

I could hardly believe my ears.

“Yuchi Wei, that was a human life!”

“Fu Yao, the dead cannot be brought back. As long as you let Qian Qian go tonight, I am willing to grant you one request.”

I sneered. “And what could you possibly grant me?”

He stared at me for a moment before coldly turning his head away.

“I know you are a woman disguised as a man. Your refusal to let go of Qian Qian is nothing more than…” He paused, as if the words were difficult to say, “…nothing more than for my sake!”

He seemed to reach a decision.

“I am willing to agree to marry you after this is over.”

For a moment, there was a sudden, sharp silence.

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“What are you laughing at?” His face darkened abruptly.

“I’m laughing because-you might not even survive the night, yet you’re actually thinking about the possibility of marrying me.”

Before the words had fully left my lips, the sound of breaking tiles suddenly came from outside the window.

Yuchi Wei immediately rushed out the door, catching only a glimpse of a figure flickering across the roof.

“Who’s there?”

I followed him out and recognized the figure at a glance-it was Qi Feng.

He must have accidentally stepped on a tile after suddenly hearing that I was a woman.

Yuchi Wei signaled his guards to follow and investigate.

As he was returning to the room, he suddenly stopped and turned his head, staring at the person standing by the door.

“You… are you from the Xu Mansion?”

Xu Nianci’s entire body tensed. She buried her head even lower and gave a slight nod.

Yuchi Wei remained rooted to the spot, his gaze heavy as he watched her.

“Look. Up.”

Xu Nianci slowly raised her head, revealing a deathly pale face and eyes filled with hatred.

“It is me. I am still alive.”

The moment Yuchi Wei saw her clearly, his entire body froze. “You… how are you here?” He almost instantly thought of me. “It’s you. You’re the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.”

I stepped behind Xu Nianci. “Of course it’s me. If not for me, she would be dead already. You should be thanking me.”

Xu Nianci raised her hand high and delivered a sharp slap to his face.

“Yuchi Wei, our marriage was bestowed by the Emperor’s golden words, yet you used it to harbor a fugitive. I will certainly tell my father and bring this before the imperial court. Let’s see how you intend to answer for this!”

After spitting out every word, she turned and ran out of the courtyard.

Yuchi Wei didn’t spare me another glance and immediately gave chase. However, he had only taken a few steps when a silver flash streaked past him, catching up to Xu Nianci as she reached the bridge.

It was a flying dagger. It struck her square in the back.

Her figure froze on the bridge before she toppled headfirst into the water.

But at that exact moment, Qi Feng arrived in a hurry with the Crown Prince and the rest of the guests, happening upon the scene just as Xu Nianci was struck and fell into the water.

“Nian’er-!”

Even though she was dressed as a maid, Vice Minister Xu still recognized his own daughter.

The Crown Prince, leading the group, dove into the water to pull her out while calling for a physician.

Yuchi Wei had already stopped in his tracks. He looked back at Luo Qian, his gaze filled with shock.

She was leaning weakly against the doorframe, looking fragile and delicate, bearing no resemblance to the person who had just attacked someone.

“I had no choice… I had to kill her to keep her silent.”

Yuchi Wei seemed dazed.

The Crown Prince and Vice Minister Xu were now marching toward the bridal chamber in a rage. The Crown Prince’s armed guards flooded in, completely surrounding the front and back of the courtyard.

“Yuchi Wei, she is a fugitive. She dared commit a violent act in front of everyone-you can’t protect her anymore.”