34. A New Face

"I never imagined such a heartbreaking incident would occur. Master Chi, I have a question: what is your relationship with that man in black? Why did he leave immediately after drugging my third sister? By all logic, even if something happened to her, the culprit should have been the man in black, not you. Unless, of course, that man was acting on your behalf." Lin Yuejiao stared intensely at Chi Zixian, her gaze burning.

She had hit the nail on the head. Chi Zixian felt a pang of guilt under her scrutiny, but he naturally refused to admit it. "How should I know why he left? Perhaps he had an urgent matter to attend to. Regardless, I am innocent. As I said, I was simply enjoying the flowers in the peach grove when Lin Qingsheng came to seduce me and my guards."

"Furthermore, the so-called 'man in black' is nothing but your own fabrication," added Chi Zhuyi.

Lin Yuejiao curled her lips. "The Heir Apparent also saw the man in black who was chasing me. It was precisely because he saw the Heir Apparent that he fled in fear. If you don't believe me, ask him."

"I..." Chi Zhuyi glanced at the cold and aloof Rong Yu, stammering, not daring to press the matter further.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Mu Jieyue intervened, softening his tone. "Since the Heir Apparent witnessed it himself, there is naturally no need for doubt."

"Third Sister, the man in black was masked, so we cannot identify him, but the carriage driver is also highly suspicious; he conveniently stopped in the bamboo grove. I will report this to Grandmother. I trust she will severely punish the driver and root out the mastermind who framed you," Lin Yuejiao declared.

Lin Qingsheng’s brow twitched; that driver was one of their own.

Lin Yuejiao turned back to Chi Zixian. "Currently, there is no hard evidence that you incited the man in black. However, you are the one who benefits from this situation, so you are the most likely culprit. Beyond that, you have not only ruined my sister’s reputation but also allowed your men to partake in it. Do you have any idea what this means for an unmarried lady of good standing? If it had only been you, marriage might have been a way out, but in the current situation, are you deliberately trying to drive my sister to her death?"

Just as Chi Zixian was about to speak, Lin Yuejiao cut him off. "Thirdly, this is the sacred ground of the Goddess Temple. Even if my sister was drugged and forced to submit to your whims, how could you perform such filthy acts in a place dedicated to the Goddess? For a man of letters and a member of a prominent family, your heart is wicked, cruel, and unforgivable—you are no human!"

Her words were sharp and aggressive, scolding Chi Zixian until he was speechless. Because her arguments were reasoned and sound, Chi Zixian’s face turned a bruised purple, yet he could not find a single word to refute her.

Lin Zijin felt a sense of vindication.

"You... you sharp-tongued wench..." Chi Zixian fumed.

Lin Yuejiao curled her lips. "Chi, you have committed such beastly acts against my sister; no lady of status could bear to live after this. If she takes her own life—by hanging, cutting her throat, biting her tongue, smashing her head, or drinking poison—it will be because you drove her to it! The Lin family may not have the power of the Chi family, but you have bullied us too far, and we will not let this rest. At the very least, I will turn today’s events into a play, have storytellers perform it in every teahouse and tavern, and let all of Jiangnan see exactly what kind of man Chi Zixian is."

Upon hearing this, a strange thought occurred to many in the crowd. Lin Qingsheng hadn't originally wanted to die, but with this kind of pressure, she truly had no dignity left to live for.

Lin Qingsheng was completely stunned. Seeing the other young ladies looking at her with pity, as if she were already a dead woman, she was overcome with rage and fainted.

"Fourth Sister, Third Sister has fainted!" Lin Zijin cried out.

Lin Yuejiao didn't even blink. "See? She has been infuriated to the point of fainting by you. Next time, she might actually end her own life. Watch your back, Chi."

Chi Zixian was so enraged by her words he felt as if he might vomit blood.

Rong Yu watched the righteous-looking Lin Yuejiao, a faint smile hidden in his eyes. What a black-bellied little vixen.

By the time they returned to the Lin manor, Lin Zijin had learned the truth and felt a lingering fear for Lin Yuejiao. She no longer had a shred of sympathy for Lin Qingsheng, thinking that she had only herself to blame.

***

The events at the Goddess Temple had spread throughout Xinzhou—no, throughout all of Jiangnan—before Lin Yuejiao and her party even returned home.

Shuniang left the Lin manor, and after ensuring she was not being followed, circled around and entered an alleyway. A carriage was waiting at the entrance. She climbed inside and bowed. "Greetings, Miss. Everything you instructed has been taken care of."

"Did she grow suspicious?" A slight curve appeared on Lin Yuejiao’s lips.

Shuniang shook her head. "No. It is impossible to tell if the recipe is genuine or fake, but Lin Qingliu is so desperate to restore her appearance that she did not doubt it. This is the one hundred taels of silver she gave as a reward. Please, Miss, accept it."

"Keep it. Our shop is about to open, and we need the funds," Lin Yuejiao said dismissively.

Shuniang smiled. "Then I shall keep it. Miss, as you ordered, the shop on South Street has been renovated and organized; all that is missing is the plaque. I have heard that you are the greatest talent in Xinzhou, so I would like to request that you write the inscription, and I will have it made into a plaque to hang at the entrance."

"An inscription?" Lin Yuejiao thought of someone and said, "Wait on the plaque; I will arrange it. The matter of me helping you teach the gambling den a lesson—while no one officially knows, it is not a secret. However, our connection ends there; on the surface, I have no relation to this shop."

Running a shop seemed simple, but the profits of the "Beauty Secret" were substantial, and wealth stirs greed. In her previous life, she had relied on the Dongping Marquis manor to open her cosmetics shop. With her father still away, her status as a Lin lady was not enough to guarantee the shop's safety. She needed a backer.

"I understand, Miss," Shuniang nodded.

After Shuniang left, Tumi asked curiously, "Miss, is this method to treat disfigurement truly effective? Will Lin Qingliu really change her face?"

"I don't know if it works, but I know she will definitely try it." A sharp glint appeared in Lin Yuejiao’s eyes.

The recipe wasn't something she had invented; after she was disfigured in her past life, countless people had offered her such remedies, and this "face-swapping" was one of them. She had never used it, however, because she could not bear the thought of disfiguring someone else to restore her own beauty.

The method was said to work only between close blood relatives. If Lin Qingliu wanted to swap her face, cousins like Lin Yuejiao were candidates, though the best results would come from direct bloodlines.

"To do such a thing to her own sister? Could Lin Qingliu really be that cruel?" Tumi muttered to herself.

Lin Yuejiao pressed her lips together. "Keep an eye on Lin Qingsheng. If you discover Lin Qingliu is planning to move against her, notify Qian Yaoxian immediately. As for the outcome, let it take its course."

In her previous life, the sisters Lin Qingliu and Lin Qingsheng had been a pair—one a hypocrite who deceived her for a lifetime and caused the deaths of her mother and brother, the other an everyday bully who threw her weight around. Letting Lin Qingliu die would be far too merciful.

She wanted her to experience the taste of falling into the mud, struggling in vain, and the agony of seeing sisters turn against one another.

***

Hongxin sat in a private room at a teahouse with a woman in white, her eyes full of vigilance.

"I wonder, Miss Lin, why you asked to see me?" Hongxin asked.

Lin Yuejiao smiled faintly. "Ten years ago, when the Jinghua Palace was being built, there was a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works who was convicted of colluding with mountain bandits and committed suicide in prison. His male relatives were exiled to the frontier, and the women were sold into the music bureau. I never expected that ten years later, the daughter of that Vice Minister would become the concubine of the son of Chi Shuangxiang, the lead judge of that very 'bandit collusion case.' It seems, Miss Hongxin, that you are intent on revenge."

"You!" Hongxin’s pupils contracted; she had not expected Lin Yuejiao to expose her background so easily.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Hongxin’s expression shifted, but she did not admit it outright.

Lin Yuejiao picked up the teapot, poured a cup for her, then for herself. She didn't press the matter, instead saying, "You must know that half a month ago, Chi Zixian came to propose marriage and was refused by the Lin family. You must also have heard what happened between him and Lin Qingsheng at the Goddess Temple yesterday. I can be frank: I have no desire to marry Chi Zixian. I aspire to the Chaohuang Academy, but marriage would disqualify me. Yet the Chi family used their status to coerce my grandmother, even threatening my uncle’s position. If not for the Heir Apparent stepping in, I would have been betrothed to him."

Hongxin listened, her expression unreadable, her eyes still guarded.

"The scandal at the Goddess Temple was orchestrated by Chi Zixian and a traitor within my family to harm me. It is just that the one who suffered was Lin Qingsheng, not me. Lin Qingsheng’s current plight is exactly what I was meant to face. With his attempted forced marriage and his plot to ruin me, my hatred for him is no less than yours," Lin Yuejiao said, her voice turning icy.

Hongxin looked at her in genuine surprise.

"Chi Zixian actually wanted to harm you? But the current situation harms his own reputation as well. If he had planned it, he would never have allowed himself to become the centerpiece of such a scandal," Hongxin observed sharply.

Lin Yuejiao curled her lips. "Because he was set up. He didn't know there would be outsiders in the peach grove that day, nor did he know that his collaborator wanted nothing more than to manufacture this scandal to drive me to my death."

Hongxin nodded; that made sense.

"I do not want to see him again. But as long as the Chi family stands, he remains the arrogant young master. Therefore, the Chi family must cease to exist. Harming the people, framing the loyal, embezzling public funds—these are crimes enough to bring them down. You hold the key evidence, Miss Hongxin. If you hand it to me, I can avenge your family. I hope you will consider it."

Hongxin hesitated, still refusing to admit her identity.

Lin Yuejiao beckoned to鸢尾 (Iris). Wanqiu nodded and brought in an old woman with silver hair.

"Grandmother!" Upon seeing her, Hongxin’s face turned to shock, then she looked at Lin Yuejiao with a flicker of anger.

"My child..." The moment the old woman heard Hongxin’s voice, she grabbed her hands, tears streaming down her face. "It’s my child’s voice. It’s really you."