All eyes converged upon her, the scent of alcohol in the air thickening into a tangible haze. The surrounding gazes gleamed like eerie green wolf eyes—faceless, countless—fixated on her without blinking, as if a single misstep would send them lunging to tear her apart.
Dai Li felt goosebumps rise along her back.
She remained motionless for a long moment until the man at the head of the table called out again, "My lady..."
"It seems you’ve grown deaf tonight, Qin Changgeng. Very well, have it your way." With those words, Dai Li turned and strode away under the stunned gazes of the crowd.
Even Yun Rong, who was well-acquainted with her willful nature, couldn’t help but pale.
This wasn’t some private quarrel behind closed doors—they were guests at a banquet! Throwing a tantrum like this was nothing short of trampling Marquis Qin’s dignity underfoot. Yun Rong imagined the roles reversed and concluded that if she had dared such behavior, she’d likely be handed a letter of divorce.
"My lord, this..." Jiang Chonghai was equally taken aback.
Qin Shaozong, however, showed no anger. He merely sighed with a faint smile. "I provoked her first. I’ll make amends later."
A glint of something unreadable flashed in Jiang Chonghai’s eyes. For a man of his stature to openly admit he’d apologize to a mere concubine—clearly, the drink had gone to his head.
Elsewhere.
Dai Li returned to her chambers. After her maidservants attended to her washing, she dismissed them under the pretense of retiring for the night.
Closing the door, extinguishing the lamp, and slipping into bed—she moved in one fluid motion.
Lying beneath the covers, her heart raced wildly.
She and Yun Rong had left the estate at noon, then excused themselves midway through the evening banquet. There was too much to explain about what had transpired in between, and she couldn’t rule out the possibility of him coming to her quarters afterward.
She had to fall asleep quickly. Hopefully, the sight of a darkened room would deter him, and whatever needed saying could wait till morning.
A man dead drunk was harmless—incapable of rising in every sense. But one merely tipsy or halfway there? That was far more dangerous.
Dai Li usually slept soundly, but whether it was the night’s tension or something else, she tossed and turned, unable to drift off. Each time she shifted, it felt as though the sword of Damocles hung precariously above her.
The banquet in the main hall was already winding down when Dai Li left. Shortly after her departure, it disbanded entirely.
Most guests were thoroughly drunk, Jiang Chonghai among them—so much so that he needed two servants to support him as he staggered back to his quarters after bidding farewell to Qin Shaozong.
Yun Rong had long since instructed the maids to prepare hangover-relieving kudzu root soup. As soon as he sat, she brought him a bowl. "Husband, drink this quickly, or you’ll suffer tomorrow."
Jiang Chonghai had spent the entire evening drinking, and the mere sight of liquid now turned his stomach. What rotten luck, he thought.
Tonight’s banquet had been held in Qin Shaozong’s honor. They’d started drinking long before the wives returned, and though he’d eaten beforehand to cushion his stomach, everyone else had pretended to drink on an empty stomach, keeping up the charade throughout the feast.
Yet despite drinking nonstop, they’d failed to reduce Qin Shaozong to a drunken mess. The man’s tolerance was inhuman—how infuriating.
"Leave us," Jiang Chonghai dismissed the servants. Once the door shut, he turned to Yun Rong. "Where did you and Lady Dai go when you left the estate at noon? What did she say? And why did you both leave the banquet early? Tell me everything—no detail is too small."
Yun Rong began with their noon excursion—first the silk shop, then Dai Li’s sudden detour to a ruined temple outside the city. She emphasized how Dai Li had lost her identity pass and sought her help to discreetly replace it, as well as the revelation during the banquet that Marquis Qin planned to take her to see the peach groves.
Jiang Chonghai’s expression shifted repeatedly. "You’re certain she said ‘endless peach groves’?"
Yun Rong huffed. "Husband, you’ve stressed this matter’s importance a thousand times. How could I dare be careless? Every word is exact—that’s precisely what she said."
A cold laugh escaped Jiang Chonghai. "Well played, Qin Shaozong. You dared deceive me."
After the women left, he’d seized the drunken moment to press Qin Shaozong about his plans to suppress Li Zan—asking about routes, tactics, and whether he could assist.
Qin Shaozong had paused briefly before launching into an elaborate explanation: a divided-force strategy, two units advancing via central and lower routes to simultaneously capture Ying Province.
A lie!
Had he not planted ears near Dai Li, he’d have been thoroughly fooled.
Clearly, Qin Shaozong’s tolerance wasn’t his only formidable trait. Perhaps he’d been slightly drunk, but not enough to forget his priorities. Of course—a man who’d held power for years might dote on Dai Li, but he’d never reveal his hand entirely to the Governor of Nankang Province, a man he barely knew. Such caution was only natural.
"...Husband, should we arrange those two replacement passes for Lady Dai?" Yun Rong asked.
"Why would she need two? Isn’t one enough?" Jiang Chonghai frowned.
Yun Rong scoffed. "She’s hopelessly scatterbrained—why else would she have lost four passes before this? And now, after just one trip to the eastern city, she’s misplaced another. Wanting two this time is probably just her way of keeping a spare without having to confess to Marquis Qin. So, do we help her or not?"
"Two passes are nothing. Of course we’ll arrange them! She’ll be useful later—we can’t afford to alienate her now. Tell me everything you remember from the pass you saw." Jiang Chonghai, bloated from years of indulgence, slumped deeper into his seat, unwilling to move. "Later, summon my brother. I have urgent matters to discuss with him. You’ll sleep in the adjacent room tonight."
After Yun Rong finished recounting the pass details, she reminded him, "Don’t forget the kudzu soup, husband. I’ll take my leave."
Jiang Chonghai closed his eyes, offering no reply.
Roughly half an hour later, Jiang Chongjiang pushed the door open.
"Brother, what’s so urgent?" he grumbled. "Dawn’s a few hours away. Couldn’t this wait till morning? One night won’t change anything."
He’d also attended the banquet and drunk heavily; all he wanted now was to collapse into bed.
"If I called you, it’s urgent. Shut the door properly." Jiang Chonghai held the soup bowl. "Go to Old Zhuo’s place yourself. Tell him to work through the night forging two passes. They must be delivered to my estate by noon tomorrow. If he’s late, he’ll never eat another bite from me."
Jiang Chongjiang froze, his expression gradually hardening. "Brother, what’s the rush?"
Since his brother needed to relay the pass details personally, Jiang Chonghai saw no point in hiding it. "Lady Dai lost her pass and doesn’t want Qin Shaozong to know, so she asked your sister-in-law to arrange two new ones."
Jiang Chongjiang shrugged. "It’s just a pass. Why hide it from Qin Shaozong? The man spoils her rotten—he didn’t even react when she humiliated him publicly tonight. Ten passes wouldn’t faze him."
Jiang Chonghai couldn’t be bothered to explain the intricacies. "Never mind her reasons. Just get it done. Lady Dai’s value is immense—that’s why I’m sending you out in the dead of night."
The curfew was now in effect, and ordinary citizens were forbidden from going out. Anyone caught wandering outside would face imprisonment at best or be beaten to death at worst. His younger brother’s face served as a pass, ensuring smooth passage, and even the cunning Zhuo Bing would recognize the gravity of the situation and not dare to delay.
Jiang Chongjiang knew the banquet was a trap, but since he was already there, he decided to ask outright, "Elder brother, do you think Qin Shaozong’s proposed military route is credible? Should we send word to Ying County?"
Jiang Chonghai slowly closed his eyes, his mind replaying his wife’s earlier words, before finally uttering four words: "Not entirely trustworthy."
Compared to when he had first returned to his chambers, Jiang Chonghai was now much calmer. Qin Shaozong had suggested advancing troops through the central and lower routes, but that couldn’t be trusted—after all, the man hadn’t seemed drunk enough to speak recklessly.
But what about Dai Li? Could she be entirely trusted? Was it possible that she was part of a trap set by Qin Shaozong, waiting for him to walk right into it?
The ever-suspicious Jiang Chonghai couldn’t stop turning it over in his mind.
"Elder brother, what about Ying County…?" Jiang Chongjiang hesitated.
Jiang Chonghai opened his eyes. "Tonight, I will send a letter to Brother Li Zan, informing him of the general situation and asking him to await my second message."
Dark clouds obscured the full moon, and under the cover of the pitch-black night, a side gate of the governor’s mansion silently opened, allowing two figures to slip out.
In the dead of night, neither rode a horse. One headed south toward the city, while the other went east. The former knocked on the door of a residence in the southern district and, ignoring the occupant’s stunned expression, strode confidently inside. Soon, the house was brightly lit. The latter continued eastward, using a token to open the city gate and mounting a fast horse provided by the guards. With the rhythmic clatter of hooves, the lone rider vanished into the vast darkness along the eastern highway.
Meanwhile, beside the road leading to Ying County, long after the sound of hoofbeats had faded, the dense grass rustled suddenly. A figure emerged, brushing off stray blades as they stood.
"Two days of waiting, and finally this bastard passes by. At last, I can report back to Marquis Qin."
Time flowed slowly. Dai Li tossed and turned, unable to sleep no matter how many times she shifted.
Just as she turned once more, she suddenly heard footsteps and voices outside her room. Her breath hitched, and she instinctively pulled the blanket up to cover the lower half of her face, leaving only her eyes exposed.
"My lord, shall I have someone fetch you a bowl of kudzu root soup from the kitchen?"
"No need. All of you, retire for the night."
Perhaps it was the silence of the night, or perhaps it was her imagination, but Dai Li felt the footsteps grow louder, as if someone was approaching her room.
A few moments later, her door gave a soft thud—not loud, but unmistakably the sound of someone trying to push it open, only to find it locked.
"Madam, open the door."
Dai Li’s heart sank.
He had actually come for her!
Just then, movement came from the small adjoining chamber. The maidservant, whose very bones were steeped in servitude, hurriedly rose and slipped through the connecting door into the main bedroom before swiftly unlocking the door for the man outside.
Before Dai Li could react, she heard the creak of the door opening.
"No need for any of you to attend to me tonight. Leave." The man’s voice was deep and commanding, like the roaring waves of a storm-tossed sea, carrying an undeniable authority.
