The night was as dark as ink.
Lan Tao was wrapped in a loose black robe, his hood pulled down very low, almost completely concealing his face.
He wound his way through the alleyways of the eastern city, avoiding the night watchmen, and came to a stop before a set of black-lacquered gates.
A plaque hung above the lintel.
On it were written the words “Fang Estate” in vigorous, powerful strokes. Two white lanterns hung before the entrance, swaying gently in the wind.
After scanning his surroundings, he raised his hand and knocked.
Three long knocks and two short.
Soon, hurried footsteps echoed from inside. The bolt was slid back, and the gate opened a crack, revealing an elderly face.
It was Uncle Fu, the butler of the Fang Estate.
Uncle Fu stood inside, sizing Lan Tao up. His gaze lingered for a brief moment on the hood of the black robe.
“Are there instructions from above?”
“Blind Granny sent me.”
Lan Tao lowered his voice. “Take me to see Yi'er.”
Given his status, he normally wouldn't need to show respect to an old butler. However, Uncle Fu was not only the butler of the Fang Estate but also one of Blind Granny's people, someone he could not afford to offend.
Uncle Fu pondered for a moment, then stepped aside.
Lan Tao slipped inside.
The gates closed silently behind him.
Without another word, Uncle Fu led the way with a small lantern, guiding Lan Tao into the backyard.
The backyard was even quieter than the front, with barely any insects chirping.
The shadows of the trees and flowers clawed at the air under the moonlight.
Uncle Fu stopped before the courtyard gate, gestured to Lan Tao, and bowed as he withdrew.
Lan Tao did not bother knocking; he pushed the door open and stepped right inside.
Inside the room, Lan Yi was sitting under the lamp, embroidering a handkerchief. She snapped her head up at the sound.
Seeing a figure in a black robe with his face hidden by a hood, she gasped in surprise. Then, as if realizing something, the shock on her face slowly drained into a pale dread.
She set down her handkerchief and stood up.
“Father, what are you doing here?”
Lan Tao pushed his hood back, sat down by the table, and poured himself a cup of cold tea from the teapot. He took a slow sip before finally looking up at his daughter.
“What do you think?”
His accusatory tone made Lan Yi's already bloodless face turn even paler.
“I don't know what you mean, Father.”
She lowered her eyelashes.
Lan Tao slammed his teacup onto the table.
Hearing the clatter of the teacup, Lan Yi's shoulders trembled slightly in a reflex of fear.
“I told you to keep a close eye on Fang Shuo at the Fang Estate. How on earth did you handle it? You actually let him go to Yecheng?” His voice was not loud, but it carried an oppressive weight. “Do you realize that if Uncle Fu hadn't acted decisively and strangled Governor Fang to death, using his demise to lure Fang Shuo back to Chaoyang City...”
“...we would be the ones dead right now!”
He stared into his daughter's eyes. “I shouldn't have to remind you of how ruthless Blind Granny's methods are, should I?”
“Father, it was my... it was my failure.”
Lan Yi's knees hit the floor hard. She pressed her forehead against the ground, not daring to look up at all.
Her hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms as she desperately suppressed the raging hatred in her heart.
She knew Blind Granny's methods all too well.
When she was twelve, she had seen Lan Tao lead a young girl into a gloomy, bizarre room.
By the time the girl was brought out, she was no longer recognizable as human, yet she had still recognized her. That was her younger sister.
That incident had made her deeply realize that in Lan Tao's eyes, nothing was more important than his future and power.
To climb the ranks and gain supreme power, Lan Tao would sacrifice anything, including his own children.
Since then, she had learned to be obedient.
Probably because she was obedient enough, possessed a fine appearance, and had utility, Lan Tao did not send her to Blind Granny. She survived in the Lan family, becoming their glamorous but puppet eldest young lady.
Whatever the Lan family ordered her to do, she had to do.
Lan Tao looked down coldly at the kneeling Lan Yi, his voice devoid of any warmth.
“The mistakes you've made aren't limited to just this once.”
“You are the eldest young lady of our Lan family. A'han is merely a lowly hidden guard. How could he possibly be worthy of you?”
“Yet you remained obstinate, pledging yourself to him in secret, and even defied me behind my back by conceiving his bastard child.”
“Later, I gave you a chance to kill him to eliminate future trouble, but you soft-heartedly let him escape.”
“I originally thought you were the child who resembled me the most, but I never expected your head to be filled with nothing but romance!”
“Yi'er, you have truly disappointed me.”
Lan Yi instinctively touched her lower abdomen. She kowtowed against the floor repeatedly, completely lacking the composure she had displayed during the daytime interrogation by Fang Shuo and the others.
Terror filled her eyes. “Father, please give me one more chance. I promise I won't disappoint you again...”
“Yi'er, there will be no third time,” Lan Tao said. “If there is a next time, there will be no need to give birth to this bastard child. It would be perfect to send it to Blind Granny to refine into a wealth-seeking child spirit.”
Lan Yi felt a chill run down her spine, and her entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Father... Yi... Yi'er knows her mistake.”
She had never actually believed she was in the wrong.
Making a deal with Governor Fang, intentionally letting Fang Shuo escape to seize control of the Fang family—none of that was a mistake.
Wanting to hold power in her own hands, to no longer be controlled by others, and to carve out a bright, glorious future for herself was not a mistake.
Loving A'han was even less of a mistake.
But to keep herself and A'han alive, and for the sake of her unborn child, she had to admit to her “mistakes.”
“Since you acknowledge your mistake, I will give you one final opportunity to redeem yourself.” Lan Tao stroked his beard in satisfaction and pulled a strange object from his black robe.
Lan Yi stared at the object.
Suddenly, a terrible premonition gripped her heart.
“What is this?”
“Water,” Lan Tao said. “This water is colorless and tasteless. It is the ultimate poison in the world; a single drop can claim a life.”
He handed the Nongfu Spring bottle to Lan Yi.
With trembling hands, Lan Yi took it. “Father, do you mean for me to poison Fang Shuo with this?”
“No.”
“Fang Shuo must be kept alive. Blind Granny wants him breathing.” A sinister gleam flashed in Lan Tao's eyes. “The three hundred students from Yecheng Academy are currently staying at the Fang Estate. It should be child's play for you to tamper with their food.”
“What?” Lan Yi gasped, her face draining of color.
“Father, those Yecheng students are all believers of the Divine Lady. You want me to poison them?”
Setting aside whether the Divine Lady would unleash her wrath, she simply could not bring herself to murder three hundred people.
Who could bear the weight of such a massive sin?
Lan Tao assured her confidently, “Just do as you are told. Even if something goes wrong, Blind Granny can protect you.”
“I...”
Seeing Lan Yi's hesitation, Lan Tao's expression darkened, his words laced with threat. “Yi'er, if you don't do it, Uncle Fu will. You had better think carefully about whether their lives are more important, or your own.”
Lan Yi remained kneeling on the floor with the poisoned water in hand. Even long after Lan Tao had left the room, she did not stand up.
“Eldest Young Lady, the floor is cold.”
As a gentle male voice reached her ears, she was lifted by her waist and carefully placed onto the bed.
As her back sank into the soft bedding, Lan Yi stared blankly at the man in black standing by the bedside.
His face was pale, and there was a wound on his chest, with fresh blood seeping through the bandages.
That day, A'han had stubbornly insisted she go confess her guilt. In a fit of rage, she had stabbed him with a dagger.
Rate on N.U.
