As Jinzhi retreated, Qin Yunuan turned around slowly and said to Imperial Concubine Yun, “Your Royal Highness, I don’t know who the person was that told you the gossip, saying that I looked down up you and even faked Queen Mother’s order. Now, you are acting on the empress’s behalf and taking charge of the imperial harem. Everyone all admired your decisiveness very much, and so do I. I will never speak ill of you.” She cast a glance at Sun Baozhen when she finished these words, and Imperial Concubine Yun also looked at her doubtingly.
However, Sun Baozhen was good at acting. With her tearful eyes and skillful words, she removed all doubts and looked innocent again in other people’s eyes.
But since it was almost the time for the Yellow Flower Maze, Imperial Concubine Yun did not want to waste time on those trivial things anymore. Besides, if Queen Mother learned about this thing, she could get more kicks than halfpence.
“Will you take part in the competition, Third Young Madam?” Ting Xue asked Qin Yunuan while tidying the cape for her.
Qin Yunuan saw that Sun Baozhen, who was in the distance, picked the most delicate silk flower with joyous enthusiasm from the tray just like a maiden. To her surprise, she thought that Sun Baozhen would be another Princess Ning — tender on the surface and evil in the dark, but that was not the case. Sun Baozhen was good at playing the innocent to gain others’ sympathy. She would stab you from the back again and again that you could hardly guard yourself against her.
Qin Yunuan did not want to participate in this activity at first. But when she saw Sun Baozhen walking towards the team, she also picked out a silk flower from the tray, “Of course. Remember to let Leng Shuang follow me in the dark.”
“Are you afraid that…”, Ting Xue said worryingly.
Qin Yunuan pinned the flower onto her bun with one hand, “Just in case.”
The new Yellow Flower Maze was built in the southeast corner of the Plum Garden. The wall was a head higher than normal women, and it was made of blue bricks that were warm in winter and cool in summer from the regions south of the River. There was only one exit in the maze. To lower the level of difficulty, Imperial Concubine had asked people to plant plums in the dead corners so that people would know they should find another way.
The Grand Prince Sima Ruo followed Imperial Concubine Yun’s instruction to go to the pavilion in the center of the Yellow Flower Maze in advance. At the same time, Imperial Concubine Yun was sitting on a higher platform at the other side, which enabled her to take a clearer look at the game and avoided the troubles of finding the way in the maze.
As women with yellow flowers on their head were itching for a try at the entrance, Imperial Concubine Yun spoke up again, “This year, I built a new maze for the Yellow Flower Festival, so there should be a new rule at the same time. It was boring that we just competed for the first one to get out of the maze before. Now that you all have flowers, I suggest that during the game, the one whose silk flower dropped to the ground would be disqualified. So besides getting out of the maze, you can also get down your rivals’ flowers to clear your way. What do you think?”
That was quite a strange rule. Qin Yunuan took a look at Imperial Concubine Yun who was laughing happily. She just intended to intensify the competition between those women. Women bear grudges. Even though this was just a game, they would hold a grudge against those who offended them in the process. It was quite true in the harem that a little leak would sink a great ship. So this scheme of Imperial Concubine Yun was very clever.
People became more excited about this proposal. Those who were at odds with other people were eager to have a try.
When the game began, all the noblewomen at the head of the team rushed to the entrance like a swarm of bees. Only Qin Yunuan walked relaxedly at the end.
“So you are not in a hurry, too, Third Young Madam.” Someone said behind Qin Yunuan. Turning back, Qin Yunuan saw that it was Sun Baozhen.
“So are you, Your Grace.” Qin Yunuan turned back and stared at Sun Baozhen who looked much better now, “It seems that you have a special fever for Yellow Flower Maze since you insisted on attending the game when you are not feeling well.”
Sun Baozhen also said calmly, “I feel much better now.” They had just reached a fork at this time. Sun Baozhen turned to Qin Yunuan and smiled, “Third Young Madam, which way do you choose?”
Qin Yunuan glanced at her, “I’ll let you go first and choose the other way.”
Sun Baozhen gave a beaming smile and walked towards a corner in the left without saying any words. So Qin Yunuan went to the left path naturally. She had no interest in the Yellow Flower Maze, but she had memorized the roadmap in her mind when she went up to the higher platform for sightseeing with Imperial Concubine Yun. Her photographic memory still worked very well. She was very clear that there were seven routes that led to the pavilion in the center.
But Qin Yunuan did not intend to be busy running about for rewards. She chose a way that could be close to Sun Baozhen according to her memory. Sun Baozhen would not expect that they were separated only by a wall the whole time.
Qin Yunuan did not believe that Sun Baozhen would take part in the Yellow Flower Maze just for fun. For those women who came out of their family with such heavy tasks, everything that they did should have deeper purposes.
With the signs from Leng Shuang who was in the dark, Qin Yunuan was quite clear about where Sun Baozhen was going. Every step of her was very purposeful. It seems that she was not finding the way. Instead, she seemed to know where she was going and was heading towards a certain direction.
Suddenly, Leng Shuang made a gesture that warned danger. Qin Yunuan was surprised, and then she saw two young ladies wrestling together. One of them was familiar to Qin Yunuan. It was Shang Chunxiu, the daughter of Shang Xianhua, who had some links with her.
Right now, Shang Chunxiu was trying to grab the silk flower on the head of a petite noble girl. From the method of her punches and strikes, it could tell clearly that Shang Chunxiu was a good Kung Fu practitioner of the martial bearing. She had proved herself to be the daughter of General Shang. The weak girl was no match for Shang Chunxiu, and her silk flower was taken by her in no time.
“Weak as a kitten,” Shang Chunxiu flashed the silk flower in her hand proudly. If not mistaken, Shang Chunxiu already had three flowers. It meant that within 15 minutes after the competition started, she had grabbed the opportunity of three ladies by force.
“Go away.” Apparently, the girl whose silk flower was snatched Shang Chunxiu had a weaker family background. She did not dare to cry out after she was bullied and just walked away in tears with a handkerchief covering her face.
Shang Chunxiu clapped her hand swiftly to dust off. The way she looked right now was vastly different from that day when she kowtowed to Imperial Concubine Yun the obediently during the feast. Looking back, she saw Qin Yunuan, who had been watching the fight in the corner.
The fierceness in her eyes did not disappear. She walked towards Qin Yunuan slowly and cast a glance at the silk flower on her head. Seeing that she still had the flower, she relented a little, but what she said was still aggressive, “It’s you. Are you the one who had forced to plant your maid into my family?”
Qin Yunuan looked at her and then smiled, “You are good at acting, Ms. Shang. Pretending to be delicate while being exceptionally skillful in martial arts.”
“That’s none of your business,” Shang Chunxiu was irritated, “I was doing it for my father. My family was relying on the Meng Family at that time, so I was willing to kowtow to Imperial Concubine Yun. But I despise you, who force other people to work for you with your plotting and scheme.”
“Isn’t Imperial Concubine Yun the same?” Qin Yunuan mocked, “Before, your family was relying on the Meng Family; but now, it is Leng Family that you are relying on. You could be servile to Imperial Concubine Yun, so I suggest you show some respect to me.”
“That’s different,” Shang Chunxiu said firmly, “General Leng regards highly of my father, and he would surely do great things. But you are just a femme fatale that stands in the way of General Leng. You should be removed so that General Leng could be promoted.”
Women knew women. Qin Yunuan approached her slowly until they were just several inches away, and then she laughed, “I know what you are thinking. You like Changxi.”
Shang Chunxiu looked embarrassed. She turned around and then answered, “I just think you are not good enough for him.”
Suddenly, Qin Yunuan took down her silk flower and flashed it before Shang Chunxiu’s eyes. She loosened her grip to let the flower fall down, but then, she caught it steadily before it reached the ground. “Do you know what that means?”
Surprised, Shang Chunxiu did not answer.
“The rule announced by Imperial Concubine Yun means that as long as the silk flower does not reach the ground, I will not be disqualified. Similarly, as long as I am still Third Young Madam in Prince Ning’s Mansion, you should save those illusions. Whether Changxi succeeds or is fails in the future, I will always be the one and the only one by his side. Ms. Shang, I know you are the one who spread the news that Young Master Li was hanging many portraits of me in the gallery. You are still young, so I hope that this will be the last time. Because the next time, I don’t know whether I will show mercy to you or not.”
Shang Chunxiu froze. She always thought that what she did was very secret, but Qin Yunuan had already seen through her tricks. Turning back, she said a few words, “I don’t need your mercy. Anyhow, you are a cruel person in nature.” Then she walked away without looking back.
Qin Yunuan took a deep breath. She was wondering why Leng Shuang would make such a signal to her. It was just a fight between two ladies, and Shang Chunxiu was not too much a threat to her. Leng Shuang was not a thoughtless person.
Qin Yunuan looked at the place where Leng Shuang was hiding, only to find that she had disappeared. In a daze, a blue shadow was heading to Qin Yunuan at a fast speed. And a gleaming thing flashed before her eyes at the same time. It was a sharp knife!
Qin Yunuan happened to be in a blind spot that could not be seen from the higher platform or the pavilion. She quickly dodged the first attack, but then, a sunflower-shaped hidden weapon was already shooting at her face.
