Chapter 257: Deal

That mournful wail startled everyone outside the Orchid Garden.

"What's wrong? Where did that sound come from?"

"It seems... it seems to be from the Orchid Garden."

The crowd exchanged glances, hesitating whether to go in and look.

At that moment, Jiang Wan Yue, who had remained silent, gave a subtle signal to the maid beside her.

Just as the maid was about to step forward, the wail sounded again.

The cry was so loud it even alarmed the madams in the Plum Blossom Grove.

Soon after, the Jiang Clan led a group of madams over.

"What happened?"

"We're not sure either, it seems... it seems there are two people here..."

After all, she is a maiden who hasn't left the pavilion yet, so some words are truly hard to speak.

All the madams are experienced; how could they not understand?

"How outrageous, committing such base acts in broad daylight—shameless."

"More than shameless? To be so bold even in the Left Minister's Residence shows they never even consider the Left Minister at all."

The Jiang Clan furrowed its brows; the recent wail sounded all too familiar, like... Qinghe.

She scanned the crowd but truly saw no sign of her daughter.

A weight settled in her heart, and beads of sweat seeped from her palm.

"Madam Meng, why aren't you grabbing those indecent scoundrels here at once?"

"Bring them out quickly, let us see which family's children they are."

Chi Nan Yi watched the Jiang Clan's shifting expressions, a faint smile curling her lips.

It seemed she had already guessed who the madams referred to as the indecent maiden.

At this moment, in the room, Mo Junheng stared in terror at Meng Qinghe's face, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"You... you... your face!"

The searing pain nearly made Meng Qinghe faint.

Stumbling to the bronze mirror, she gazed at the bloodied fissure spreading across her face and collapsed onto the floor.

"My face... my face!" In panic, her fingers brushed the wound, and she screamed again.

Mo Junheng donned his outer robe, looking at her face now covered with snarling blood sores, his eyes filled with disgust and dread.

"How did your face become like this?" His voice trembled, not with concern but with horror.

Meng Qinghe's face, like a painted skin, cracked open, scarred all over; she collapsed on the ground, trembling, covering her face with her hands, trying in vain to stop the wound from widening.

Fresh blood streamed down her fingertips: "My face... my face is ruined. Who harmed me? Who!"

The blood‑soaked visage and her frantic look gave Mo Junheng a sudden chill.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Meng Qinghe's eyes filled with panic.

Ignoring the pain, she quickly donned her inner garment, turned to Mo Junheng, and whispered, "Your Highness, now that things have come to this, the two of us..."

"You're dreaming!" Before she could finish, Mo Junheng cut her off: "You have no sense of shame, scheming to lure me; now you look like this and still expect me to take you? You're dreaming! I and you, nothing has happened."

Meng Qinghe heard this, a flash of venomous resentment in her eyes, her crimson gaze cold as she stared at Mo Junheng, the terrifying wound on her face like a female ghost as she stepped toward him: "If Your Highness does not comply, I will expose your secrets to the world."

Her words made Mo Junheng's pupils contract sharply.

"What do you mean? What secrets do I have?"

"Heh, I only just learned it myself; Your Highness cannot be humane."

Her voice was low, yet to Mo Junheng it sounded like a thunderclap.

He clutched Meng Qinghe's throat with one hand, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, veins bulging; as he increased his pressure, blood poured faster from her face, dripping onto his hand and staining his sleeve red.

"If Your Highness... if you kill me, how will you... how... explain it later?"

Mo Junheng furrowed his brows, knowing he couldn't kill her now, yet with the leverage in someone else's hands, he could not willingly let her go.

He jerked his grip on her throat, sending Meng Qinghe sprawling; Mo Junheng disdainfully wiped the blood from his hand, his eyes suppressing a raging fury.

Meng Qinghe endured the excruciating pain, a grimace lifting her lips, blood streaming down her face, looking like a demon that had crawled out of hell.

She knew that this time, she had won the gamble.

"Crown Prince, as long as you welcome me into the residence, your secret will rot in my belly forever," she said with a faint smile. "Don't think of eliminating me; if I die, your secret will be made public, and all of Daqi, all the world will know that the Crown Prince of Daqi cannot be humane, has no heir. Do you think the throne will remain secure?"

She knew this was Mo Junheng's Achilles' heel.

Mo Junheng pondered briefly, his expression shifting, veins bulging on his forehead, wishing he could crush her bones to dust.

"What do you want?"

"I wish to be yours, to become the Crown Prince's proper wife."

"Don't even think about it; the secondary consort already elevated you," Mo Junheng's gaze swept her throat, his voice laced with poison: "If you don't submit, I wouldn't mind killing you right now. Do you think the Left Minister could do anything to me if I twist your neck?"

Meng Qinghe's eyes flickered; seeing Mo Junheng's murderous intent intensify, she realized she couldn't press him too hard.

"Fine, secondary consort shall remain secondary consort."

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Who's inside? Come out quickly!"

Mo Junheng's expression turned icy; he gave Meng Qinghe a cold glance and turned toward the doorway.

The person outside, hearing no sound from within, a madam said coldly: "Shameless creature, committing such base acts and still fearing to be seen? Get out quickly!"

"Exactly, and we have no idea whose miss this is, so indecent—truly a revelation for us."

Qin Yue xi stood beside Chi Nan Yi, a gossiping look on her face, and laughed: "Sister Chi, do you know who's inside?"

"What do you think?"

Seeing the mischievous look in her eyes, Qin Yue xi shook her arm and coquettishly said, "Good sister, just tell me!"

"What are we doing here?"

"We're here to watch the excitement!"

Chi Nan Yi shook her head helplessly: "I mean the original purpose of coming here."

Qin Yue xi realized: "We're looking for Meng—" Before she could finish, she hurriedly covered her mouth.

She glanced around and suddenly saw that the young ladies who had come with her all wore the look of spectators, some even whispering among themselves.

"Could the person in this room be Miss Meng?"

"What need to ask? Who else could it be?" A young lady covered her mouth and laughed lightly: "She came alone, hasn't returned in a while, didn't she say she was coming to the Orchid Pavilion to pluck plum blossoms? Where is she? We've been here so long, have we seen her shadow? Not here, not in the Plum Grove—then she must be... in the room."