Morning sunlight pierced the silk canopy in the Grand Madam's magnificent chamber. On the soft bed, Qingyan—her head wrapped in clean gauze—suddenly opened her eyes. The wound on her head was real, caused by hitting the table when she fainted the previous night, but her mind was now perfectly clear.
"Dying stupidly won't get me back to the real world, and meekly accepting my fate will only get me bullied," Qingyan whispered to herself. "The only way to survive in this trashy novel is... to play along with the drama and take control!"
She glanced at A-Man, who was nodding off beside the bed. Qingyan patted her servant's shoulder, making A-Man jolt in surprise.
"A-Man, listen to me," Qingyan whispered, her eyes gleaming slyly. "Starting this morning, we have to work together. Whenever someone comes—especially Grandma—you must follow all my signals and act as though I'm the most miserable, tortured person in the world. Understand?"
A-Man blinked in confusion, but when he saw the confidence in his mistress's eyes, he immediately nodded firmly. "Yes, Miss! Whatever you order, A-Man will do!"
Before long, A-Man sneaked over to peek outside the door. His eyes widened when he saw the Grand Madam approaching with several guards.
"Miss! Red alert! The Grand Madam is here!" A-Man whispered urgently.
Qingyan instantly changed her position. She lay back down, closed her eyes in seeming resignation, and let her breathing become rapid and ragged.
The chamber door slowly opened. Grand Madam Lin stepped inside with a worried expression. When she saw her grandmother approaching, Qingyan acted as though she were struggling desperately to sit up, clutching her head and wincing in pain.
"G-Grandma..." Qingyan whispered in an extremely hoarse voice.
"Don't get up! Just lie down, my child," the Grand Madam said gently but firmly, wrapping an arm around Qingyan's shoulders and easing her back down. The Grand Madam stroked the gauze on Qingyan's head, her eyes glistening with tears. "How are you feeling, Qingyan? What hurts?"
A-Man immediately stepped forward to play his part. With a pitiful expression and trembling voice, he bowed deeply. "Reporting to Your Ladyship... The physician treated Miss's head wound last night. But according to him, the poison in Miss's body has been building up for far too long, and combined with last night's injury... Miss's condition is truly dire."
"Outrageous!" The Grand Madam slammed her cane against the floor with a sharp crack. "How could the Prime Minister's own daughter be left to die like this?!"
Hearing her grandmother's fury, Qingyan immediately brought out her strongest weapon: tears. She sobbed softly, clutching the Grand Madam's fingers tightly.
"Grandma... Qingyan is scared..." Qingyan sobbed, her pleading tone heartrending. "Ever since Mother died, no one has loved Qingyan anymore. Father has always hated Qingyan and only taken Consort Yan's side... Qingyan is always bullied, fed poisoned food, and backed into a corner... Is it... is Qingyan really not allowed to live in this household, Grandma?"
"No, my child! Don't say that!" The Grand Madam embraced Qingyan's head, overwhelmed with guilt and affection. "As long as I'm still breathing in this household, no one will dare lay a hand on you again!"
Qingyan hid a faint smile behind her grandmother's shoulder, then resumed acting as though her body were trembling violently with fear.
"But Grandma... Qingyan is still scared," she whispered, her manufactured trauma fully on display. "Please... let Qingyan temporarily move to the retreat outside the city to recover. Qingyan only wants to live in peace..."
The Grand Madam frowned and immediately refused. "No! You must stay here so Grandma can protect you!"
Qingyan shot A-Man a sharp glance, signaling with her eyes: Now!
Ever alert, A-Man immediately threw himself to his knees beside the bed and began sobbing hysterically. "Your Ladyship! Please, have mercy on First Miss! If Miss stays in the main residence, who knows what other schemes and poisons Consort Yan will prepare! Please let Miss save her life outside the city, Your Ladyship!"
Seeing her granddaughter trembling in terror and her servant kneeling in desperate supplication, the Grand Madam's defenses finally crumbled. She appeared to think hard, then slowly nodded.
"Very well... if it's for your safety, Grandma will allow you to go outside the city to recover," the Grand Madam said. But her eyes suddenly turned icy and razor-sharp. "Before you leave, however, the people who bullied you must pay the price!"
The Grand Madam turned to her senior guard outside the door. "Call the Prime Minister and Consort Yan before me RIGHT NOW!"
It took only a short while for Prime Minister Lin and Consort Yan to arrive at the chamber. Consort Yan was wearing clothing that covered her from head to toe, hiding the scratches and bruises on her face from Qingyan's rampage the night before.
The moment they stepped across the threshold, the Grand Madam hurled a teacup at their feet. It shattered into countless pieces.
CRASH!
"You ungrateful son!" the Grand Madam snapped, pointing at Prime Minister Lin. "You call yourself a prime minister, yet you're blind! You always defend your consort and let your legitimate daughter be poisoned until she nearly dies in the storeroom!"
"Mother! Please hear my explanation first—" Prime Minister Lin tried to defend himself, his face pale.
"Silence!" the Grand Madam cut him off, her voice leaving no room for argument. She turned her gaze to Consort Yan, who was trembling in fear. "And you, Consort Yan! How dare you be so cruel to the late First Madam's daughter! Kneel and apologize to Qingyan right now!"
Consort Yan stared in disbelief. Her pride as the woman who held power within the household felt as though it had been trampled beneath someone's feet. "Your Ladyship... I did nothing wrong! Miss Qingyan was the one who attacked me last night—"
"I said APOLOGIZE!" the Grand Madam thundered.
Consort Yan looked at her husband, hoping he would defend her. Prime Minister Lin initially shook his head, signaling her not to do it, but when he saw the fury in his mother's eyes—eyes that could strip the family of all its inheritance rights—he finally swallowed and whispered to Consort Yan.
"Just apologize... Do as Mother says," Prime Minister Lin whispered.
With her face burning from humiliation and seething resentment raging in her heart, Consort Yan was forced to bow before Qingyan's bed. "First Miss... I... I apologize for this misunderstanding."
Lying on the bed, Qingyan formed the faintest victorious smile—one only Consort Yan could see.
"Very well, I'll forgive you," Qingyan said in an artificially sweet tone. "As long as... you hand over the key to the storage vault containing my late mother's inheritance."
Consort Yan immediately jerked her head up in shock. "What?! I can't! That property... Let me manage it for the sake of keeping the residence orderly!"
"Keeping the residence orderly, or planning to eat it all yourself?" Qingyan scoffed without hesitation, looking from her father to her grandmother. "Besides, Grandma has already allowed me to temporarily move to the retreat outside the city to recover. I need capital from my own mother's inheritance."
At the words 'move outside the city,' Consort Yan's eyes instantly lit up with delight. That wretched girl is finally leaving the capital?! This is the perfect opportunity!