Chapter 52: Concubine Tan Has Been Ruined, Linglong Frightened Them to Wet Themselves An Extra Chapter for Dear Readers Like Xiaofang and Crystal~

Qin Daofei's expression was grim. He furrowed his brow in silence, staring coldly at Tan Xiyin.

Tan Xiyin’s heart was shrouded in gloom. Qin Daofei had not responded to her words—did that mean her eldest brother’s favor was no longer of any use?

Everything had happened too abruptly. By the time the Second Prince arrived, the situation was already out of control.

He could only drag King Xiang up and hastily leave the Xiaoyao Manor.

Three physicians bustled in and out, applying medicine and staunching the bleeding. Countless maidservants carried out basin after basin of bloodied water, yet within the room, Tan Xiyin remained as lifeless as the dead.

Qin Daofei stood at the doorway, his eyes cold and forbidding.

Since things had reached this point, he could not be blamed for resorting to ruthless measures.

After night fell, Tan Xiyin finally emerged from danger. Qin Daofei, exhausted, returned to the underground chamber.

Linglong had already awakened. Hearing movement, she gripped the dagger tightly in her hand, glaring icily toward the entrance.

She had not expected Qin Daofei to enter, his clothes drenched in blood.

Seeing Linglong awake, Qin Daofei did not approach her; instead, he stood at a distance, the two of them regarding each other in silence.

Though they were so close, both felt as if they could never reach the heart of their beloved. How tragic!

Linglong flung the dagger to the ground, her gaze frosty as ice, uttering a single word: “Leave!”

“King Xiang was here just now. I nearly lost control and killed him.” Qin Daofei didn’t leave. Instead, he stepped closer, seized Linglong’s hand, and said tightly, “Tan Xiyin shielded me from two of King Xiang’s blows.”

“So now you can’t bear to let her suffer in prison, is that it?” Linglong’s tone was frigid.

Qin Daofei clenched his jaw, forcing himself to calm before speaking. “No. I’m merely telling you what happened.”

Linglong sneered, her voice laced with venom. “Ah, the beloved concubine of the Manor Master is injured, and now his heart aches for her. A woman who could kill her own parents and kin, you treasure her. A woman who killed your own child, you treasure her. Oh, I suppose I forgot—you love her. So even if she’s as venomous as a serpent, you still see her as the best, for you are the same—your heart is as cold and venomous as hers.” She spoke each word with deadly precision, every sentence a poisoned arrow piercing Qin Daofei’s soul.

Qin Daofei let out a bitter laugh. “Linglong, am I too foolish, or have I not done enough, that you think I don’t love you?”

“What use are these words to me now?” Linglong’s voice trembled.

She felt as though she had waited a lifetime to hear him say that, yet for him to speak now—how could she bear it?

“Linglong, think carefully. Have you never considered that there’s an unseen hand manipulating Cheng Xiang and Tan Xiyin from behind? You can believe I don’t love you, for I did indeed make mistakes back then. However you misunderstand me now, I deserve it. But you’re a clever woman—you must realize, perhaps you can also sense, that those two could never have orchestrated such a flawless scheme on their own.”

With those words, Qin Daofei pressed a gentle kiss to Linglong’s brow and murmured softly, “I’m tired, and I know you are too. But please, think it over. If you finally decide that you still want me and Tan Xiyin to atone for your past suffering, I’ll be waiting for you outside. Be it blades, poison, or whatever you once endured, I’m willing to face it all again.”

With that, Qin Daofei left.

For more than two months imprisoned in that sunless underground cell, this was the first time Linglong spent the long night alone.

She curled up on her bed, endlessly replaying the past in her mind. At length, she took up a brush and white paper, laying out every detail and deducing the truth, point by point. In the end, she had no choice but to concede—Qin Daofei was right. There had to be someone behind it all, stoking the flames; otherwise, those two fools could never have accomplished so much.

Thinking of her lost child, of all the suffering she had endured, Linglong’s lips curved into a bloodthirsty smile.

“If you could make me suffer once, I will repay you double!” Linglong threw the brush onto the paper. The spreading ink mirrored her heart—dark, cold, swelling ever outward.

At dawn the next day, Tan Xiyin opened her eyes.

The first thing she did was search for any sign of Qin Daofei, but the room was empty, save for herself.

Tan Xiyin tried to move her legs, then, sorrowfully, tried again.

A scream, piercing and shrill, shattered the hard-won calm of Xiaoyao Manor.

“What’s going on?” Qin Daofei, who had not slept all night, pressed his brow and asked Tang Li.

Tang Li cupped his hands. “It’s from Miaoyin Pavilion. Gale will bring word shortly.”

Even as he finished speaking, Gale arrived, bowing. “Master, Tan Xiyin’s tendons were severed by King Xiang’s dagger. She’s likely paralyzed. She can’t accept it and is making a scene.”

“Let her make a scene, then. Tell her if she doesn’t want to die, she’d best quiet down.” Qin Daofei looked indifferently toward the door.

Gale was silent.

Tang Li nudged Gale, who was about to leave, when suddenly the mural-door was pushed open from within.

“Close the door!” Qin Daofei sprang to his feet, instructing Tang Li to shut it. “Draw the curtains!”

When Qin Daofei cried out to close the door, everyone assumed he feared Linglong might escape. But when he called for the curtains, Linglong felt a sharp pain in her heart.

It was as if he had laid a trap for her, drawing her deeper and deeper without her noticing.

Yet Linglong willingly became that kind of person, constantly reminding herself, wrestling inwardly.

“I’ll handle matters with Concubine Tan myself,” Linglong said, her hair elegantly arranged, dressed in a golden trailing gown, exuding a noble grace, her demeanor calm, even tinged with languor.

Just as she had appeared in the city of Shuye—bearing the unique air of one who had walked through hell.

Qin Daofei knew that although Linglong had come out, she had never truly forgiven him. He could not bear to tear his eyes from her.

Linglong, however, did not look at him. She went to the curtains, gently drawing them open. The faint light instantly seared her eyes.

She instinctively closed her eyes and said to Tang Li, “Have Hua’er prepare a bamboo hat for me. I want to see Concubine Tan myself.”

Tang Li looked to Qin Daofei, who nodded.

Only then did Tang Li go to Hua’er.

When Hua’er heard Linglong was going to settle accounts with Concubine Tan, all her pent-up anger ignited. She took the hat and headed straight to the study.

Fang Qing worried that Linglong’s eyes, unused to light, would suffer, so she brought a silk veil and followed.

“My lady!” Hua’er called tentatively.

Linglong squinted with a smile. “What’s wrong? Have I grown old or ugly, that you hesitate to call me?”

“You’ve grown so thin,” Hua’er mumbled.

Linglong pretended not to hear, snatched the hat from Hua’er, and said gently, “I’ll keep my eyes closed. Support me well.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let go!” Hua’er held Linglong firmly, her resolve clear.

Fang Qing draped the silk veil over Linglong’s hat, speaking softly: “Even with your eyes closed, the light outside is too harsh—you won’t be able to bear it.”

“Thank you,” Linglong said with a smile, extending her hand to Fang Qing.

Fang Qing and Hua’er supported Linglong, one on each side, as they walked toward Miaoyin Pavilion. After a few steps, Linglong turned and said, “Master Qin, I’m off to deal with your precious concubine. Does your heart ache?”

Qin Daofei wished to say that it was only for her that his heart ached!

But when he opened his mouth, not a single word came out.

Miaoyin Pavilion.

As Linglong prepared to go upstairs, Hua’er hurried ahead to draw all the curtains, shielding Linglong’s eyes from the light.

The maids and older women looked at Hua’er’s actions in confusion, but none dared speak.

“All of you, leave,” Hua’er ordered.

They filed out one by one.

Tan Xiyin, leaning against the headboard, sneered. “You’ve come to avenge Feng Linglong, have you?”

“Hmm, seems you haven’t become so cheap as to be stupid,” Linglong replied, entering with Fang Qing’s support.

At the sound of her voice, Tan Xiyin’s pupils contracted sharply, her body going rigid. Only as Linglong approached did she remember to breathe.

“So you’re not dead after all!” Those were Tan Xiyin’s first words.

Linglong smiled. “If you’re still alive, how could I bear to die?”

Tan Xiyin’s expression shifted, but she said nothing more.

Linglong removed her hat. After so long in the darkness, her skin was almost translucent, but she had applied rouge and powder before coming, and looked healthier than Tan Xiyin.

She opened her eyes, still bright and lively.

Her brows and eyes were softer than before, as gentle as moonlight, as warm as white jade.

“Concubine Tan, it’s been a while,” Linglong said with a tilt of her head, smiling.

Tan Xiyin didn’t know how to respond, staring awkwardly at Linglong before mumbling, “What happened in the past, I was framed by Xiao Cui. I only wanted to kill you. I didn’t know you were pregnant, nor did I know about my parents…”

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!

Linglong slapped Tan Xiyin across the face four times.

Blood instantly welled at the corner of Tan Xiyin’s mouth.

“Tan Xiyin, it’s pointless to be false with me—I will never love you!” Linglong, as if nothing had happened, smiled at Tan Xiyin and rubbed her own tingling palm.

She had struck so hard that her own hand went numb.

Tan Xiyin shrank back, suddenly afraid. Feng Linglong had come for vengeance—if she insisted on killing her, would Qin Daofei intervene?

Tan Xiyin had no answer.

“I wronged you in the past. What must I do for you to let me go? Tell me, and I’ll do it!” In the end, it was all for survival.

Linglong smiled, plucked a hairpin from her hair, withdrew a dagger from it, and lightly pressed the cold blade to Tan Xiyin’s cheek.

Tan Xiyin trembled before her.

Linglong tossed the dagger onto the bed and said coolly, “You want to live, don’t you?”

“Yes!” Tan Xiyin answered at once.

Linglong’s voice turned cold. “Then ruin your own face—I can’t stand that false countenance. And sever one of your own fingers, in repayment for your parents’ kindness in raising you.”