Chapter 23: Strangling to the Death
After a long while, Qiao Wan'er finally returned to Yang Lan's side and said ingratiatingly, "Mother Ye, please don't be angry. I didn't think things through. Let's arrange everything according to the list you prepared. I'll go back and talk to my father again. I'm sure we'll find a solution."
Yang Lan swept a cold glance at Qiao Wan'er and replied in a detached voice, "According to the Ye family’s rules, the wedding banquet is always led by the groom’s side. If your Qiao family hadn't insisted on hosting the engagement banquet together, things wouldn't have become so awkward."
Qiao Wan'er was at a loss for words. She bit her lip and dared not say another word, only looking to Ye Zehong for help, hoping he would give her a way out.
She certainly didn’t want to offend her future mother-in-law before even marrying into the Ye family.
Ye Zehong stood up and said indifferently, "You can make the decisions. I have things to do." With long strides, he left the room.
"Ze Hong… you…" Qiao Wan'er called after him, then lowered her head in disappointment.
...
Lu Yao handed all thirty-two pearls to Qiao Wan'er without missing a single one. She expected to be given a hard time again, but unexpectedly, Qiao Wan'er seemed uninterested and didn't even spare her a glance.
It was a stroke of luck, allowing her to safely escape trouble.
Feeling quite cheerful, she hummed a tune as she went to the hall to continue folding paper flying horses.
The maid Xia Cui was very earnest in her learning and had a natural talent for it. After only two instructions, she fully mastered the art of folding the paper flying horse. The two of them worked together and completed a third of the task in half a day.
Lu Yao looked around to make sure no one else was present, then asked quietly, "Cuicui, do you know where the madman who hangs around the garden lives?"
Xia Cui paused and asked, "Madman? ...Do you mean the eldest young master?"
Lu Yao nodded.
Xia Cui shook her head. "I've been here a long time and never met the eldest young master. I don't know where he lives."
"What about rumors?"
"There are none."
Lu Yao pressed her lips together, unwilling to give up. "Think again, carefully."
Xia Cui rolled her eyes quickly, pondering for a long while before recalling something. "I've heard that behind the Bamboo Garden wall, there’s a two-story wooden house. Except for the eldest miss and the madam, everyone else is forbidden to enter."
Lu Yao mulled it over for a while, deciding to investigate further that night.
Three hours later, outside the Bamboo Garden wall.
Relying on last night’s experience, Lu Yao not only easily evaded the patrols this time, but also found a safer corner to sneak into the Bamboo Garden, avoiding another attack from poisonous mosquitoes.
She didn’t enter the main building, but instead took a side path across a bridge to approach the wooden house.
The wooden house was lit up, and she could vaguely make out a man with slightly long hair bent over a desk in the second-floor room.
Under the moonlight, she carefully made her way to the first floor of the wooden house. As if anticipating her arrival, the door stood wide open.
Lu Yao didn't dare let her guard down. She hid by the door for several minutes, observing the upstairs movements. Once she was sure it was safe, she tiptoed inside and began to search quietly.
The living room on the first floor contained only simple household items—nothing extra. She braced herself and pushed open the door to the downstairs room.
The window was open, and the faint moonlight spilled in, illuminating a hanging ink painting on the wall.
In the painting, a black carp and a red carp circled each other, head to tail. The style and brushwork were so familiar she could instantly tell it was her mother’s work.
Her thoughts stirred. She stepped forward, intending to take the painting down. Just then, a figure rushed at her. Before she could dodge, a hand clamped fiercely around her neck.
In the moonlight, she saw in the man’s eyes a murderous feroci