Wang Qingyao started her incessant chatter again, and Steward Ji frowned, his head aching.
"Do you think I'm joking with you?" he asked, showing his impatience.
Wang Qingyao knew when to stop. "I know you're serious. Ask away." Not another word of nonsense.
"Good, you're sensible."
Wang Qingyao let out two "heh heh" sounds and didn't reply.
Steward Ji then asked, "Where did you hear the stories in your storybooks?"
No matter how Wang Qingyao explained, he was convinced she had heard them. For the sake of her own life and innocence, she had no choice but to go along with his assumption and fabricate a story. "You know my parents died young, right? Actually, I was raised in the Wang family's rural estate for seven or eight years when I was very young. Later, the Wang family, fearing gossip, brought me back. I heard this story from someone when I was living at the estate."
"Which estate?"
"Peach Blossom Village. It's famous for its peaches. In spring, it's filled with peach blossoms everywhere," Wang Qingyao invented a place name.
Steward Ji's brow furrowed again. He didn't seem to have heard of this place.
"There's a half-mad old woman in Peach Blossom Village. She's a recluse, living alone, her mind sometimes clear, sometimes muddled. The villagers pity her and often help her out. I used to bring her things too. When she was mad, she liked to grab people and tell stories. I was young and had nothing to do, so I often listened to her for half the day and wrote it down."
She frowned slightly, looking very serious, as if truly immersed in her memories.
Steward Ji asked, "What did that old woman look like?"
"Hmm..." Wang Qingyao tried to "recall." "About this tall," she gestured with her hand, "around fifty or sixty years old, with a square face, two wrinkles on her cheeks. She was quite kind, even when she was mad. She never hurt anyone."
"Is she still in Peach Blossom Village?"
Wang Qingyao shrugged. "I don't know. After the Wang family brought me back, I stayed in Duanjing."
"How many people heard stories from that mad old woman?"
"Only I listened attentively. Her pronunciation wasn't very clear, and others were busy with their work, lacking the patience and time to listen to her ramblings. I was the one with nothing to do, bored out of my mind, so I kept her company. She only told this one story, over and over. I listened for many years. Because of the accent, I didn't understand it at first, but gradually I did."
The more details she added to her lie, the more believable it became. Steward Ji was now completely convinced by her fabricated tale, truly believing that such a mad old woman existed.
"How much have you adapted in your storybooks? What was the original story the mad old woman told? Tell me everything, from beginning to end."
Wang Qingyao swallowed and nodded very cooperatively. "I haven't adapted much. It's pretty much the same. I only changed the names and place names. When the mad old woman told it, it wasn't as specific. She only said that a long time ago, in the imperial palace, this and that happened. She didn't mention names; those were all given by me later for creative purposes. As for official positions, ranks, and so on, it was so long ago, and I was so young then, I didn't remember clearly. I just fitted them in when I was writing."
She still talked a lot, but because she was recounting past events, Steward Ji didn't find it to be nonsense anymore.
He frowned, his hands behind his back, deep in thought for a long time. He then asked, "What else do you know about that mad old woman? Did she mention herself when she told you stories? Or did she inadvertently reveal her identity?"
Wang Qingyao also frowned, seemingly trying to recall. After a while, she shook her head and said, "I don't think so. I don't remember her saying anything. It's possible she did, but I really don't remember."
"What about the other villagers? Did they ever mention this mad old woman? Did they ever talk about her identity?"
"I do remember something about that," Wang Qingyao's eyes lit up, as if delighted by her discovery. "The wet nurse who took care of me usually mingled well with the people of Peach Blossom when she went out to buy groceries or daily necessities. I heard her say that the mad old woman seemed to have come from the palace, that she was a palace maid or something before."
Steward Ji's expression tightened. "What about your wet nurse?"
"She's dead."
"..." Steward Ji's gaze turned cold.
"Really, I'm not lying. She was my wet nurse, and she treated me very well. She was in poor health and died when I was fifteen."
This was true. She added, "Everyone in the Wang family knows this. You can ask anyone, and they'll tell you."
When she spoke of this wet nurse, she even put on a suitable expression of sadness and remembrance.
Half-true and half-false, Steward Ji pondered for a moment and believed her again.
"How do you get to Peach Blossom Village? What town does it belong to?"
"I don't know that. I was so young when I was sent there, how would I know these things?"
It was normal for her not to know. Steward Ji didn't pay much attention. With the name of the village, it would be easy to find. At worst, he could inquire at the Wang family and find out.
At this point, Steward Ji felt he couldn't get any more information from Wang Qingyao. He looked her up and down, his gaze unfriendly, like a wolf sizing up its prey, contemplating where to strike.
A chill ran down Wang Qingyao's spine. She hugged herself and took a step back. "You promised you wouldn't touch me if I cooperated fully."
Steward Ji rolled his eyes, pushed open the back door, and gestured for Wang Qingyao to go in.
Wang Qingyao walked out and discovered that the door led to the backyard. The backyard seemed to have been neglected for a long time, with dead leaves covering the ground, forming a stark contrast with the lush trees in the mountains. Hidden in this desolation was a well. Under the eerie moonlight, Wang Qingyao thought of Sadako from the Japanese horror movies.
Fear rose from the depths of her heart.
She swallowed and turned to look at Steward Ji. "You, you, you... what do you want to do?"
Steward Ji said coldly, "I keep my word. Since you've been so cooperative, I'll let you die comfortably. Tell me, are you going to jump in yourself, or should I throw you in?"
Wang Qingyao couldn't believe it. "You want me to jump into a well?"
She would be drowned or crippled.
"Or should I knock you out and throw you in?"
Wang Qingyao "hummed" and waved her hands helplessly. "Thank you, no. I'll jump myself."
As she walked towards the well, she cautiously observed the terrain out of the corner of her eye.
The wall wasn't very high, but it was over a person tall and covered with ivy. She had no martial arts skills and couldn't climb over it instantly. Running from the backyard to the front gate was obviously even more impossible; Steward Ji wouldn't just watch her escape.
Wait, was that a dog hole? Wang Qingyao squinted and saw a small dog hole hidden beneath the green foliage, just large enough for her to pass through.
Her eyes darted, and she suddenly shouted into the air, "Jintiao!"
She didn't know if Jintiao had returned, but she was trying to distract Steward Ji. As expected, at her shout, Steward Ji instinctively looked in the direction she was pointing. She seized the opportunity, ran to the dog hole, and roughly pulled away the ivy covering it.
She heard sounds of fighting behind her. She stole a glance back and saw Jintiao and Steward Ji engaged in a fierce battle.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and her movements slowed down.
Xiao Yun had said that Jintiao was a hidden guard and highly skilled in martial arts.
As soon as she thought this, she saw Steward Ji strike Jintiao in the chest with a palm. Jintiao was sent flying to the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fainted.
"..."
Wang Qingyao quickly tried to squeeze into the dog hole, but suddenly felt a tightening around her body.
Damn it, she was stuck.