Xiao Tian let out a grunt and didn't want to say more. He didn't want to add any highlights to his love rival in front of Yi Qing.
Yi Qing thought to herself that she always considered herself capable, but Xiao Tian and Deng Xiao had somehow secretly reached an agreement without her knowing. Both of them were so low - key; these two men were truly remarkable.
However, her current focus was on the Lin family, so she didn't dwell on this matter.
They were at the Meng family, while Deng Xiao was keeping an eye on the Lin family. They hoped for a smooth cooperation and an early return to the capital.
It was late at night. All was quiet, and a bright moon hung high in the sky. Occasionally, the silence was broken by the chirping of an unknown bird.
Two figures were perched on the branches of a plane tree outside the Lin family's courtyard. The lush branches and leaves completely concealed their figures.
"Shall we move?" Yi Qing, held by Xue Miao'er, whispered in an extremely low voice.
They had been on the tree for over an hour, waiting for the candle in the room to go out. Yi Qing felt that her legs were about to tremble. But no matter how long they waited, there was no sign of the light being extinguished.
It seemed that for Mrs. Lin, this was also a sleepless night.
She always thought she was the winner, waiting to play her trump card. But unexpectedly, she was quickly proven wrong. The truth was that she had met a swindler and was even pregnant with his child. Now her position was in jeopardy, and soon her natal family would also find out... She was completely defeated.
Such a blow was indeed enough to keep one awake.
"No," Xue Miao'er was obviously more experienced than Yi Qing in this situation. "Not yet. We have to wait a bit longer."
Yi Qing was getting impatient. She secretly took out a scented pill and gave it to Xue Miao'er. "You go down, remove the sealing wax outside, and then throw it in through the window. Don't make too much noise and get discovered."
"What is it?"
"Knockout incense."
"If you had such a good thing, why didn't you take it out earlier? I'm almost eaten by mosquitoes." Xue Miao'er couldn't help complaining. She reached out to take the scented pill, let go of Yi Qing, and instructed, "You mustn't move. If you fall, you'll break your butt in half. I'll be back soon."
Yi Qing rolled her eyes, but no one could see it in the darkness.
Xue Miao'er was good at being a bandit and also had some talent for being a thief. She managed to throw the scented pill in without alerting anyone and then returned silently.
"Shall we go down now?" she asked Yi Qing.
"No. Wait. Do you think it's a magic pill?" Yi Qing said. "We'll go down in a quarter of an hour."
Actually, she didn't want to use such a thing. After all, there was also a maid in the room. If the maid was smart enough, it would be easy for her to notice something strange when she fell into a sudden sleep for no reason.
Finally, the quarter of an hour passed. Xue Miao'er led Yi Qing into the room.
"Ah! Why is she asleep too?" Xue Miao'er pointed at Mrs. Lin.
Yi Qing was speechless. Did she think the knockout incense could target specific people?
She took out a small white jade snuff bottle from her sleeve and held it under Mrs. Lin's nose. The latter soon woke up.
Xue Miao'er was very interested in the snuff bottle. She took it over and played with it in her hand, muttering, "I really want to see how many good things are hidden in your sleeve."
Yi Qing pulled down the black veils on her and Xue Miao'er's faces and looked at Mrs. Lin with a half - smile. "Mrs. Meng, we meet again."
"What are you and your maid doing sneaking into my room in the middle of the night!" Mrs. Lin looked extremely vigilant.
Xue Miao'er pointed at Yi Qing. "Ask her. Why would I come to you if I had nothing to do? You're even stupider than me."
She was excited for nothing. She thought Mrs. Lin was coming on strong and would be a real threat. But it turned out she was just a weakling, a really bad one.
So now she was too lazy to pay attention to Mrs. Lin.
Yi Qing said, "I'm here to show you the way out."
A sneer appeared on Mrs. Lin's face. "You're just here to laugh at me!"
"Mrs. Meng is indeed quite laughable, but the laughter will pass." Yi Qing said. "I just want to ask, do you want to know who took advantage of you and may even have swindled your money?"
"How do you know?"
Yi Qing said calmly, "Money and lust go hand in hand. It's just that you're too inexperienced, Mrs. Meng."
Mrs. Lin's face instantly flushed red. "Now that I'm down and out, anyone can come and mock me."
She then noticed that the maid was lying unconscious on the table. "What did you do to my maid?"
"Some things are not suitable for her to hear." Yi Qing said calmly. "I can do you a few favors. First, I'll help you get through this crisis and keep your position. Second, I'll ensure your fertility remains intact. Even if you have an abortion, it won't harm your body fundamentally. Third, I'll help you find out who swindled your money and your body. How about it?"
A glimmer of hope flashed in Mrs. Lin's eyes, but it soon disappeared.
She turned her head away, not wanting Yi Qing to see her expression clearly, and said coldly, "Groundless talk. Even if I'm down and out, I won't bow my head to a low - born girl like you!"
Xue Miao'er clicked her tongue. "So proud. Yi Qing, let's go. No need to have our good intentions misunderstood."
"I'm not pretending," Yi Qing said. "Without a purpose, why would I help her? It's just a matter of mutual benefit."
Xue Miao'er: "..."
Why did she always ruin her act?
But Yi Qing knew that people in this world didn't believe in good - will; they only believed in exchanges of interests.
Sure enough, Mrs. Lin said, "Tell me what you want and how you can help me!"
Yi Qing said, "My goal is to get the second young mistress divorced. She wants to leave the Meng family, and you have to help her."
This was completely made up on the spot. When she said this, she gave Xue Miao'er a warning look, indicating her to keep quiet.
Xue Miao'er indeed remained silent.
"I know a secret about the master. This matter must not be spread, or his lifetime of good reputation will be ruined. If you know it, you can use it as a safeguard."
"What secret?"
"I'm not afraid to tell you first," Yi Qing said. "Back then, when the master went to the capital for the imperial examinations, he was tempted by money and stole a golden Buddha from the family that took him in. Later, it even led to two deaths."
"How do you know such a secret thing?"
"The master told our family head when he was drunk," Yi Qing lied without hesitation. "Otherwise, do you think the family head could have arranged for the second young mistress to enter the family? Of course, the second young mistress herself didn't want to. You use this matter to threaten the master, and he will surely admit that the child in your belly is his. Of course, you also have to guard against him taking desperate measures and killing you directly. I still believe you can handle this, right?"
The ancients cared most about their private virtues and reputation. Being ungrateful and repaying kindness with enmity was like hitting a nerve for most people. So this "handle" was easy to make people believe it was useful.
Sure enough, Mrs. Lin said, "You tell me this so easily. Aren't you afraid I won't help you?"
"Do you have any other choices now, Mrs. Meng? For your own salvation, you have to do this." Yi Qing said coldly.
Xue Miao'er was completely in awe of Yi Qing.
She couldn't match Yi Qing's ability to improvise.