The alley behind was eerily quiet. Xiao Cao could only see a few figures turning the corner with Wei Shizi being carried on someone’s shoulder.

She quickened her pace, but as the weather had cooled down in the past two days, the layers of clothing she was wearing began to feel cumbersome. Without a second thought, she started pulling at her clothes, tearing what needed to be torn and tucking in what needed to be tucked, without an ounce of hesitation. She even grabbed the accessories off her hair, wrapped them in the scraps of fabric, and tied them around her waist. Her hair, now held up by just a headband, was quickly twisted into a bun and tightly wrapped with cloth.

In moments, she had completely transformed. Moreover, she even rolled twice on the ground, dirtied her hands, and smeared the dust onto her face, neck, and hair — even her elegant embroidered shoes didn’t escape her makeshift disguise. Just like that, an elegant and dignified young lady, in a matter of minutes, had turned into a dust-covered, nondescript figure. Anyone approaching would have instinctively moved away from her.

The people who had taken Wei Tingyu didn’t notice Xiao Cao, but Jin Wenjie, who had been hiding in the dark all along, saw everything clearly. From the moment Xiao Cao flipped her maid to the ground, to the entire “disguise” process, he watched in stunned silence. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed that the person before and the person after were the same. Unless investigated meticulously, no one would think they were the same individual.

Good heavens! Wei Tingyu’s wife was truly something else. That speed and skill in transforming her appearance, even some of the “professionals” in their line of work couldn’t compare. And not just her agility— even her speed on foot— how many men could keep up with that, let alone weaklings like Wei Tingyu? A normal person would easily be left in the dust.

But this girl—yes, girl, because she technically had nothing to do with Wei Tingyu anymore, at least not officially—was incredibly ruthless to herself. Those beautiful clothes and that pretty face—how could she bear to ruin them so easily? Give the same situation to another noble lady—or no, even a regular woman, or even most men—ask them to alter their appearance so drastically, and they’d be a thousand times unwilling to do it.

And that knocking-out powder she used—definitely a great tool for assassins or bandits, no doubt.

Jin Wenjie scratched his chin. This girl was seriously something special. Maybe he should just ignore Wei Tingyu’s opinions? After all, if the guy died, he could always just bring her back to his own manor. But thinking about it more, that probably wouldn’t work either. Take a look at Wen Renyang’s overprotective attitude when it came to his little sister—dare to show up at their door, and the Wen family would definitely beat him to a pulp. Not to mention, if Wei Tingyu became a ghost, he’d probably haunt him forever.

So, sometimes—being a man with multiple wives isn’t always a blessing, right?
Still, this girl—seeing someone in trouble—instead of avoiding the situation or calling for help, she directly got herself involved. Was she just a bleeding heart, recklessly brave, or had Wei Tingyu already given himself away, and she had caught onto something?

Nevertheless, regardless of the reason, even if she had some solid backing, Jin Wenjie still couldn’t agree with Xiao Cao’s decision. A woman’s reputation was of utmost importance, and if something went wrong, the consequences would be disastrous.

Jin Wenjie snapped out of his thoughts—oh no, she was already nowhere in sight! He quickly hurried to catch up. If he lost track of her, or worse, lost Wei Tingyu, he really might end up being torn apart and eaten alive afterward.
Jin Wenjie vaulted over the wall and quickly followed.

The person ahead wasn’t moving particularly fast; in fact, they eventually carried Wei Shizi on their back. It was easy for Xiao Cao to keep up, without even needing to run. One couldn’t help but wonder if her nerves were truly that steady. While the other person occasionally glanced around, seemingly guilty or acting like a thief, Xiao Cao remained calm and composed.
They wove through four or five alleyways. After all, this was a bustling area, and although not a main street, many people lived nearby. Apart from the initial alley behind a teahouse, there were occasional pedestrians. The few that saw Xiao Cao only shot her looks of disdain, but overall, there was no conflict between them.

Finally, they stopped at the entrance of a courtyard. After the group entered, they shut the door behind them.

How could she get inside? There was indeed an old pagoda tree at the courtyard next door, but the position wasn’t quite right. One of its branches barely reached the wall of the courtyard, but it certainly wouldn’t support the weight of a person.

While Xiao Cao was contemplating how to sneak in, she suddenly jerked her head around. She saw nothing. Frowning, she walked to the mouth of the alley. There, she saw three to five people standing some distance away. Was it just her imagination? Xiao Cao retraced her steps.

Jin Wenjie had already climbed over the courtyard wall and landed on the other side. He patted his chest to ease his startled heart. “Wow, this girl’s level of alertness is pretty high!” he muttered. “Well, that’s a good thing. Still, I can’t help but wonder how she grew up like this.” Sighing, he reflected, “What a shame. Even after talking my mouth dry, Wei Tingyu still won’t speak a word about his past. And as for the people around him? They keep their lips sealed like oysters.”

Xiao Cao thought quietly for a moment. Worried that, if she delayed too long, the Wei Shizi would come to harm, she decided to go straight to the door and knock.

She knocked three times, neither too fast nor too slow.

“Who is it?” A voice came from inside the courtyard, sounding tense and uneasy.

Xiao Cao didn’t reply and knocked again, this time quicker and more urgently.
She heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door—clearly more than one person.

Inside the house, Wei Tingyu had fallen to the ground after his wooden wheelchair had been taken from him. His entire body was drenched—clearly, he’d been doused with water to wake him. And from the stench rising off him, the water hadn’t been clean. His hair had come loose, his crown knocked off, leaving him looking extremely disheveled.

Even so, his gaze remained calm and unperturbed. Though he was looking up at Wei Jincheng, it somehow felt as if he was the one looking down, giving off a sense of superiority that could drive anyone mad with frustration.
Wei Jincheng planted a foot on Wei Tingyu’s injured leg and grabbed him by the throat, leaning closer. “Ah, my dear elder brother, the look in your eyes really rubs me the wrong way. How about toning it down a bit?” He even slapped Wei Tingyu’s face a few times as he spoke.

Wei Tingyu didn’t flinch—whether it was from the pain of his injuries or from his younger half-brother’s humiliating treatment, it seemed as though he didn’t feel it at all.

Wei Jincheng really wished he could just kill him.

Once upon a time, he didn’t even put this older brother in his eyes. So what if his mother held the title of the Marchioness of Pingyang? Their father never truly cared about that woman. In their father’s heart and eyes, it had always been just him and his mother, even though she didn’t have an official status. But they still enjoyed the real benefits.

Even so, there was still an unquenchable bitterness in his heart.
In fact, if it hadn’t been for that woman’s powerful family, who took advantage of the marquisate’s difficulties to leverage the situation, his own mother should have been the rightful Marchioness, and he should have been the legitimate son.

This elder brother of his was supposed to be younger than him, but he was born prematurely and ended up taking the title of eldest son.

He had stolen his status as the legitimate son, stolen his place as the firstborn—how could that not make one seethe with anger? But a premature birth, well, it’s normal to be weak and sickly, isn’t it? Being alive already counts as lucky, doesn’t it?

In the early years, they couldn’t overtly do anything to Wei Tingyu. After all, his maternal family was still influential. But fortunes change. When the current emperor ascended the throne, it was his time—his aunt had entered the emperor’s harem before his ascension and bore him a son. When the emperor became sovereign, she was elevated to a consort, giving him a prince as a cousin.

Even though that woman had been crafty enough to retreat early with Wei Tingyu and later sent him away to live in the countryside, how much did it really matter? At most, it bought them a few extra years of survival before everything collapsed.

As his cousin grew up, married, and was titled Duke Dun, and his aunt was elevated to a higher rank as a consort, Wei Tingyu’s last real support—his maternal grandfather—passed away. His uncles were incompetent and couldn’t hold up the family. With no backing to rely on, what power did he, as an eldest legitimate son, truly have? It would all fall into his hands, Wei Jincheng’s hands!

He had assumed that Wei Tingyu, clinging to life like that, would surely be cowardly and useless. But, to his surprise, that wasn’t the case at all. Not only had he been fooled by Wei Tingyu’s act, but their father had also started to admire him.

In that moment, all the festering resentment from the past surged within him. If Wei Tingyu were dead, it would all be over once and for all.
But it turned out Wei Tingyu was hard to kill; he only ended up crippled. Not bad, not bad at all. As a cripple, there was no way he could compete with him anymore. He could play with him as long as he liked. As for their father, he was getting old, getting soft, so what?

“I told you, I don’t like the way you’re looking at me.” As he spoke, he punched him, satisfaction coming when he heard the muffled grunt. Then he yanked Wei Tingyu back forcefully. “Look at you, brother. Like a rat hiding in a stinking, damp gutter, no way to crawl out. And yet here you are, being tricked out by me after all. Still thinking about that good little cousin of yours, aren’t you? Tsk, just a gold-digger. All I had to do was crook my finger, and she stripped down and climbed into my bed. You thought she was sweet and innocent, treating her like a treasure, but in reality, she’s just as low and vile as your mother. Just like that woman, all it took was a single sentence from me, and she turned you over to me.”

For the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed Wei Tingyu’s eyes. But it vanished as quickly as it appeared, returning to cold calm.

“Angry? Hate me? Go ahead, hate me.” Wei Jincheng pulled out a small knife and grinned. “There’s still worse to come. Old man’s suddenly turned sentimental and wants to play the doting father. Said something about not taking your life. But what do you think? If I were to thoroughly cripple you, or even kill you outright, do you think Dad would really get mad at me? No, of course not. Among his sons, who else but me can stand up, huh? Sure, only a legitimate son can inherit the marquisate. But with Consort Shun and Prince Dun backing me, would getting the title of Marquis of Pingyang even be difficult? Worst case, Dad will yell at me lightly; then, he’ll help cover it all up. Without any proof, it doesn’t matter if you suffer or die. You’ll just have to endure it.”

At this moment, someone rushed into the house hurriedly from outside. “Second Young Master, someone’s here.”

Wei Jincheng’s face changed instantly, and he shoved Wei Tingyu aside. “How could someone be onto us? Who are they?”

“I’m not sure. They’re knocking on the door right now.”

Wei Jincheng’s expression turned vicious as he glared at Wei Tingyu. For a brief moment, he was tempted to drive the knife in his hand into the other man’s throat. But covert actions were one thing; getting caught in the act was something else altogether. If someone caught him red-handed, there’d be no way for him to escape. A bastard son harming the legitimate heir? Even with Concubine Shun and Duke Dun in his corner, the emperor would never let him off. As for the title of Marquis of Pingyang? He might as well forget about it forever.

Furious, Wei Jincheng gave Wei Tingyu a hard kick and hurriedly left, intending to sneak out through the small door at the back.

Wei Tingyu’s eyes flickered briefly with something unreadable—how had Jin Wenjie arrived so quickly?

Meanwhile, the knocking outside became more urgent, and there were even sounds of someone banging on the door. Don’t underestimate Xiao Cao’s strength.

Inside, the noise had quieted down. It was obvious that those servants, realizing their master had left, had plans to escape along with him.

Xiao Cao, now really mad, gave the door a hard kick. The latch broke, and the door swung open. The few servants who hadn’t gone far looked back only to see a woman standing there, and not just that but a woman all by herself. No matter how strong she might be, could she possibly handle all of them, a few grown men? With that confident thought, they immediately changed their minds and turned back. However, before they could get too close, Xiao Cao made a gesture and pressed several points in quick succession. Despite being just inches away from her, none of the men had the strength to advance any further, and they all collapsed to the ground.

Jin Wenjie, who was following behind, gaped in amazement. The effect was astonishing! These were four or five burly men, and yet he hadn’t even caught a glimpse of anything like powder being used.

Xiao Cao, in her hurry to confirm the situation of the Marquis’s heir, paid no attention to what was happening behind her.

At this point, Jin Wenjie wasn’t even in a hurry anymore. As for whether Wei Tingyu’s plan had been ruined, what did that have to do with him? It wasn’t even him who had caused the problem—it was his own wife. And would Wei Tingyu spill the beans in front of his wife? Jin Wenjie suddenly found himself more interested in watching the drama unfold.

The sound of light footsteps drew closer and closer. Wei Tingyu’s eyes contracted suddenly. He could recognize those footsteps anywhere, even if he lived a lifetime. How could Xuan’er be here? What had happened to Jin Wenjie?

Wei Tingyu couldn’t care less about his plans anymore. Instinctively, he let his hair fall over his face to obscure his features, his heart pounding like a drum. Knowing Xuan’er’s temperament, there was no way she would just stand by if she saw him in this condition. That made being found out inevitable. What should he do when that happened?

His eyes swept around the room. There was no place for him to hide, and even if there were, his injured body couldn’t move fast enough to evade Xuan’er. For the first time, Wei Tingyu was gripped by a panic like never before. Danger to his life, numerous crises—none of that ever made him so much as furrow his brow. And yet now, his heart was practically leaping out of his throat.

Just as Xiao Cao stepped one foot through the door, Wei Tingyu completely froze. Even though she looked like a muddy, disheveled figure, practically indistinguishable from a beggar, he recognized her at a glance. There was no time to think about how she had gone from being a glamorous noblewoman to looking like this. The only thought echoing in his mind was: “What do I do?”

Xiao Cao only spared him a brief glance before stepping back and looking outside again. Wei Jincheng had returned, and three men were following behind him. As for why Wei Jincheng had come back, it could only be said that he suddenly felt something was amiss just as he was about to leave. Someone had broken in, but the commotion was too small. He couldn’t let go of the suspicion and decided to take the gamble, determined to see for himself how things stood.

And upon seeing that it was only a beggar woman, he nearly lost control in his rage. They had almost been made fools of! His face twisted with fury.

“Catch her! I’ll skin the b*tch alive today!”

“Xuan… hack, hack cough… cough…” Wei Tingyu, caught between his concern for Xiao Cao’s safety and trying to maintain his secrecy, couldn’t hold back any longer. But before he could get the words out, he was seized by a violent coughing fit, collapsing, his body too weak to support itself.