26 Profiting from the Chaos

"What is happening?" Lin Qingliu stared in shock at the sudden burst of flames outside the door.

"It seems to be a fire," Lin Yuejiao replied.

Chaos erupted outside, but no one could break in. Ji Yu had smeared the exterior with oil and piled it with dry wood; the fire was burning from the outside in. The entire Willow Garden was now engulfed in a sea of flames.

"A fire?" Lin Qingliu could not believe it. She could not fathom how the Willow Garden, perfectly fine moments ago, had suddenly caught fire.

"Help! Someone, put out the fire! Come quickly!" Lin Qingliu stood frozen for a moment before finally reacting, screaming for help.

"Big Sister, it’s useless. You already dismissed the guards of Willow Garden, and those maids outside cannot get in." Lin Yuejiao looked at the Lin Qingliu across from her with a calm tone. Facing the inferno, her expression was so steady that not a hint of panic could be seen.

Lin Qingliu tried to stand up and run, but she found herself feeling drowsy and completely devoid of strength.

"Yuejiao, my limbs are weak. You—you must help me escape. Although the fire is fierce outside, the exit is not far. If we rush out together, it will be easier than waiting for them to break in. We can definitely make it out. Please, take me with you," Lin Qingliu said, barely suppressing her panic as she feigned sisterly affection.

Lin Yuejiao pursed her lips into a smile. "Big Sister is right; we could certainly run out. But why would I take you with me?"

This sentence instantly cleared Lin Qingliu’s mind, which had been clouded by the sedative incense. She stared at Lin Yuejiao with a look of shock and disbelief. "What did you say? Lin Yuejiao, you—I understand now! It was you! You set this fire!"

At this moment, Lin Qingliu finally realized something was wrong.

"You were the one who dismissed the guards; you were the one who prepared the incense. Without your cover, no one could have smuggled such oil into Willow Garden, and that Ji Yu who lit the fire is your own confidant. Cousin, this entire affair was orchestrated by you from start to finish. What does it have to do with me?" A bright smile curled on Lin Yuejiao’s lips, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness.

Amidst the roaring flames, the memories of her past and present lives converged. This fire had taken away the woman who loved her most in this world—her mother. This fire had cost her the most important bargaining chip a woman could possess: her face.

"Lin Yuejiao, you are so vicious. You actually want to burn me to death!" Lin Qingliu’s mind was in turmoil.

Lin Yuejiao smiled faintly. "When it comes to being vicious, I am no match for you, Cousin."

"Lin Yuejiao, truly, this fire has nothing to do with me. I only dismissed the guards to renovate your Youran Garden. I know nothing of the incense you speak of. As for the oil or this Ji Yu, I have never even heard of them." Lin Qingliu grabbed Lin Yuejiao’s wrist, her beautiful eyes filled with a sincerity that seemed flawless. "You grew up in our main household since childhood. Third Uncle joined the army, and Third Aunt was away treating Ye Hong’s illness. You were helpless and alone, and I was the closest to you. With a decade of sisterly bonds, how could you suspect I wanted to burn you to death? You must have some misunderstanding about me. Yuejiao, you must have been deceived by villains. I have always treated you like a real sister; how could I possibly harm you?"

It was so earnest and sincere that if it were the Lin Yuejiao of her past life who trusted her, she would have truly believed this was all a misunderstanding.

"Yuejiao, this is a misunderstanding. Do you intend to die here with me? Let’s go outside and talk. I will certainly give you a satisfactory explanation." Lin Qingliu tried to persuade her with kind words on the surface, but inwardly, she was growing desperate.

Lin Yuejiao watched her with composure, her lips curving upward.

Lin Qingliu’s heart sank to the bottom. Seeing that soft and hard tactics were failing, she finally dropped her facade in the face of death and threatened, "Lin Yuejiao, you forced my hand. You want me dead? Dream on! If I die, you die with me. If I happen to survive today, I will make sure you suffer a fate worse than death!"

Saying this, she grabbed Lin Yuejiao’s arm, determined to drag her down if she were to perish.

Lin Yuejiao clicked her tongue. "Cousin, you are about to fall asleep, and yet you still want to drag me down with you? I should thank you for your incense; you are reaping what you sowed. Enjoy everything you prepared yourself; I won't be keeping you company."

Lin Qingliu clutched at Lin Yuejiao’s sleeve with intense unwillingness, but with a mere flick of Lin Yuejiao’s hand, she lost her grip, her palms limp. She could only watch helplessly as Lin Yuejiao rose from her seat.

"I am not reconciled..." Lin Qingliu looked at Lin Yuejiao’s retreating figure with hatred, but her vision blurred, and she could no longer resist the onslaught of sleep, drifting off.

Lin Yuejiao picked up a half-burnt piece of wood from the floor and measured it against her own arm and elbow, preparing to smash it down. Suddenly, a gust of wind struck, knocking the wood from her hand.

Lin Yuejiao looked up and saw a man in black, wearing a hideous ghost mask, walking toward her through the flames.

The blazing fire, the rolling black smoke, and the burning courtyard all served as his backdrop.

***

"Why are you so desperate to die?" The disguised, raspy voice, coupled with that cold ghost mask, would have terrified an ordinary woman into fainting, but upon hearing this familiar voice, Lin Yuejiao felt no fear.

This ghost-masked man, who had held a blade to her throat the first time they met—she knew nothing about him, yet he made her feel as though he held no malice.

"Why have you come to our Lin estate again? Is there something you want hidden inside?" Lin Yuejiao raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on her lips. "As you can see, Lin Qingliu is unconscious, but I am fine. If I don’t act convincingly enough, how will the Old Matriarch believe me?"

"If you had struck with that wood just now, your arm would have been fractured for at least half a month. I couldn't tell you were so soft, yet so ruthless to yourself." The ghost-masked man’s gaze rested on her, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Because of Lin Yuejiao, the Lin estate had been under his surveillance. Every move in the Willow Garden—the Old Matriarch might not have known, but his scouts had reported everything. Ji Yu’s contact with Lin Qingliu, the hidden oil, Lin Yuejiao’s deliberate indulgence—a grand drama was about to unfold in the Willow Garden, and he had seen it all.

"I thought you were going to say that a woman who can commit such a lethal act against her own cousin is truly vicious," Lin Yuejiao curled her lips.

In front of this masked man, she did not need to maintain the demeanor of a refined young lady; her clean, small face remained cold, devoid of warmth.

The masked man did not even glance at the unconscious Lin Qingliu. "Whether she lives or dies is none of my concern."

Lin Yuejiao said "oh," picked up the wood from the floor, and was about to continue when the masked man frowned. His figure flashed before her, batting away the wood. "Stop!"

"What?" Lin Yuejiao looked up, bewildered.

"Robbery."

Lin Yuejiao’s face stiffened. She suspected she had misheard and blinked her thick lashes at him. "What did you say?"

It was not the first time she had been held captive by him; she had become somewhat accustomed to it, and surprisingly, she no longer found the sensation of a blade against her throat terrifying.

"Didn't you ask why I came to the Lin estate? I’m short on silver. This is a robbery," the masked man stated.

Lin Yuejiao did not believe him, of course.

The masked man offered no further explanation. After saying this, he scooped her up and began to walk out.

As they passed the unconscious Lin Qingliu, the masked man paused and turned to Lin Yuejiao, who was held immobile in his arms. "If you want her dead, go ahead and strike her now. Your Old Matriarch has issued a kill order, and many people have already entered. For the sake of being an old acquaintance, I’ll give you a chance to strike."

Lin Yuejiao had not yet grasped what kind of "robbery" he was playing at when she heard this.

"A kill order? It seems that if Lin Qingliu dies, many people in the Lin estate tonight will suffer," Lin Yuejiao muttered to herself.

"Yes, just some guards to be buried with her," the masked man said nonchalantly.

Lin Yuejiao’s gaze lingered on Lin Qingliu. She was not a soft-hearted person, but she was the mastermind behind this fire. She wanted revenge, but she could not be indifferent to the lives of others.

Just then, the ceiling collapsed further, and a burning pillar crashed down, landing directly on Lin Qingliu’s face.

Seeing this, Lin Yuejiao decided not to do it herself. "Without this face, she will suffer more in life than in death. No need to strike again."

Who said that death was the only form of revenge? To die while unconscious would be far too easy for Lin Qingliu. When she woke up to find a hideous face, it would be far more painful than death.

From the burning Willow Garden, a man in black with a hideous ghost mask emerged, holding a young woman in a white dress.

"Kidnapping! Hand over one thousand taels of silver, or I will kill her," the masked man said coldly.

As soon as the Old Matriarch saw Lin Yuejiao emerge, her expression was a mix of shock and joy. "Yuejiao, Yuejiao, is that you? Are you alright?"

After looking her up and down carefully, she saw that although Lin Yuejiao looked disheveled—covered in soot and her hair in disarray—she was at least uninjured, her clothes intact. A stroke of luck.

Lin Yuejiao looked at the Old Matriarch and immediately cried out, "Grandmother, Yuejiao is fine. Please don't worry. I don't know how the fire started; Big Sister fainted and is still inside, and I was taken hostage..."

In her heart, she silently wondered: he was holding her hostage—could he really just be after one thousand taels of silver?

"Who are you? You burned my Lin estate and took a hostage. What deep grudge do you have against our Lin family?" The Old Matriarch stared at the masked man, asking coldly.

The masked man sneered. "Do you think you are worthy of having a grudge with me? The fire has nothing to do with me; I was just passing by and decided to rob the place while it burned. I heard this young lady is the most precious daughter of the Lin family. Old Matriarch Lin, do you still want such a precious granddaughter? I’ll give you the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. If you can’t produce one thousand taels of silver, I will kill her right now."

He acted exactly like a roving bandit.

"One thousand taels..." Yi Hanbing’s expression changed, and she cursed, "You really have the nerve to ask. Do you think our Lin family mints silver? We don't have it."

The Old Matriarch, prioritizing the bigger picture, knew that one thousand taels could not compare to Lin Yuejiao. She shot a stern glance at Yi Hanbing. "Go and prepare the silver immediately. Exchange it for Yuejiao first."

"Old Matriarch, this... very well, I will go make arrangements." Yi Hanbing was reluctant; one thousand taels was enough to cover their expenses for a year—this was a massive sum.

Lin Yuejiao offered no resistance as she was held, silently gauging the masked man’s intentions.

In a voice so low that only the two of them could hear, Lin Yuejiao said, "Hey, how about we collaborate?"

"What?" The masked man looked at the woman he was holding, momentarily thinking he had misheard.

"Collaborate. I’ll help you set the price, and you give me a cut," Lin Yuejiao whispered. "One thousand is too little. Let me tell you, I’m worth more than that. You can ask for more."

The masked man looked at the woman he was holding, and the corners of his mouth beneath the mask twitched involuntarily. He had known Lin Yuejiao was different from ordinary ladies, but what kind of young lady, while being kidnapped, negotiates with the kidnapper to squeeze out more ransom and split the profit?

"Hey, are you short on money lately? Let me tell you, kidnapping is a skill. For instance, your ask of one thousand is way too low; you’re losing out big time. But if you ask for too much, the Old Matriarch might take risks and try to snatch me back, so setting the right price is a technical job. You can only get one thousand right now, but if you listen to me, I guarantee you can get double. You just need to give me a third."

Lin Yuejiao bargained with him in a whisper. She really needed money, and there was no way to get it faster than this. Besides, this was an opportunity not to be missed.

The masked man couldn't help but find it amusing. "How much?" he asked.

Lin Yuejiao’s eyes lit up, and she spoke in a small, clear, and precise voice: "Three thousand."

Just as they were communicating, Yi Hanbing ran over clutching a heavy box. "Old Matriarch, this is one thousand taels of silver."

"You are too slow. The price has gone up; three thousand taels," the masked man announced. "No silver, only banknotes. Banknotes that can be exchanged at any bank. Don't try any tricks with me."

The Old Matriarch’s expression shifted. "How can you go back on your word? You said one thousand just a moment ago; now it’s three thousand?"

The masked man thought to himself: *Of course, it’s because of your granddaughter.*

"I decide how much it costs," the masked man said coldly. "I don't even know if the woman inside the fire can be saved, and now she’s the only one left. If you don't pay up, I’ll throw her in, and you won't get any of them back."