Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 8: “Miss An, Please Be Very Careful.”　

　　Lin Qingyan heard footsteps and turned her head. “Miss An? Weren't you behind us?” 

　　“I wanted to take a look ahead. This secret passage is quite safe; there's no danger,” 

　　An Jiu said nonchalantly, running to the front to look around. 

　　In the short time they'd spent together, Lin Qingyan had already sensed that Miss An was spoiled and willful, making it difficult to develop any fondness for her. Seeing this, she didn't say anything more, only observing coldly. 

　　He Ziqing, however, didn't have so many reservations. He kindly reminded her, “Miss An, please stay behind us. This secret passage is almost over, and there might be a mechanism at the end.”

　　An Jiu quickly walked back, gratefully saying, “Okay, thank you, Brother He.” 

　　He Ziqing scratched his head and chuckled. 

　　Lin Qingyan frowned slightly to the side. 

　　He Ziqing was the quintessential clueless, straightforward man. He didn't understand women's psychology; for the first three-quarters of the original story, he remained completely oblivious, causing the female lead and several female supporting characters to compete for his attention, vying openly and secretly. Only in the later stages, after a series of events, did he awaken and discover his true love for the female lead, devoting himself to her wholeheartedly from then on. 

　　An Jiu had never paid any attention to this kind of dense man before.

　　This experience of being in a book has made her reconsider; she's found that even a simple, straightforward man has his merits.

　　At least he's guileless and easy to read. 

　　Unfortunately, she chose this villainous character herself, so she has to conquer him, even if it means grovelling. 

　　An Jiu: I hate myself.jpg 

　　After that, An Jiu continued on with He Ziqing and Lin Qingyan. He Ziqing carried the flower thief; to prevent his escape, He Ziqing had broken the flower thief's hands and feet. As a result, the flower thief was forced to explain the origin of the secret passage. 

　　It turned out that the secret passage had been built many years ago. Young women had been disappearing from Jiufang City for a long time, and many of the disappearances weren't his doing. The blame was simply placed on him; he was a scapegoat pushed forward by someone else. 

　　The end of the secret passage led to an underground den of iniquity. The flower thief didn't know who owned the den; the owner always wore a mask whenever they appeared.

　　That den of iniquity contained countless beautifully trained women and a wide variety of entertainment venues—fighting pits, gambling dens, theaters—all available. It also handled various shady dealings, essentially a hub of vice. 

　　According to the flower thief, the existence of the den was an open secret among Jiufang City's upper class, as most of its patrons were high-ranking officials. 

　　Officials generally avoided places like brothels and gambling dens; after all, they were public servants who valued their reputation and image. Getting caught and reported to the Emperor would be disastrous. So, an underground establishment like this den was necessary, allowing them to indulge themselves in their free time. 

　　For many years, nothing untoward had happened. However, this time, He Ziqing arrived. Unaware of this tacit agreement among the city's elite, he took on a bounty for catching a flower thief, ultimately uncovering this massive conspiracy.

　　The flower thief considered himself unlucky. Previously, he always took the girls he abducted to the den of iniquity. This time, however, captivated by An Jiu's beauty, he acted rashly, leading to his capture. 

　　He'd lived a rather carefree life for years, protected by those in power. As long as he didn't cause a major incident, no one usually investigated. 

　　After all, he was a flower thief, and the girls he abducted were all victims of assault. Even if a family lost a daughter, they were too embarrassed to make a big fuss about it. 

　　He was also clever, never targeting daughters from wealthy families, choosing only pretty girls from modest backgrounds. That's how he'd managed to avoid trouble for so many years.

　　Furthermore, the superiors chose him as a scapegoat because he excels at qinggong and is considered a first-class martial artist. His speed makes him virtually untraceable, so they entrusted him with this ‘important task.’ 

　　“Catching me won't do you any good. The Dark Village is protected by powerful people. You're just martial artists; you can't touch the Dark Village,” the flower thief said smugly. 

　　‘Dark Village’ was another name for the den of iniquity, so called because every guest had to wear a mask and conceal themselves in the darkness. 

　　Despite having his limbs broken, the flower thief remained unafraid.

　　He was an old hand at this game, instantly recognizing them as inexperienced youngsters, unfamiliar with the harsh realities of the world. 

　　So what if they caught him? 

　　At most, they'd throw him in jail, and he'd be out one day. 

　　At his words, He Ziqing and Lin Qingyan's expressions darkened. 

　　The flower thief wasn't entirely wrong; they were only martial artists, unable to interfere with court affairs. 

　　Since ancient times, there's been an uneasy truce between the martial arts world and the imperial court. Martial artists couldn't defy the Emperor's authority. They could cause trouble within their own circles, but interfering with Court matters was forbidden. 

　　Lin Qingyan, hailing from the Zhùjiàn Villa, was acutely aware of these unspoken rules. She frowned and asked coldly, “You really don't know who's behind the Dark Village?”

　　The flower thief chuckled, acting as if he had nothing to lose. “I'm just a pawn. Besides abducting pretty women, how could I possibly have contact with those high-ranking officials?” 

　　He Ziqing, displeased with his attitude, pulled his arm roughly. “Behave yourself!” 

　　“Spare me, young master! If you kill me, you'll never save those other women.” 

　　Although the flower thief became somewhat more subdued and stopped laughing, his lecherous gaze still lingered on the strikingly beautiful girl in red, his expression revealing his regret. 

　　What a shame he hadn't managed to abduct such a rare beauty. A great loss indeed. 

　　“What are you looking at?!” 

　　An Jiu was highly sensitive to others' attention. The moment that lascivious gaze fell upon her, her expression changed, and she immediately kicked him. 

　　She didn't hold back, striking the broken leg bone with full force. The flower thief immediately cried out in pain, his head drooping as if he were a dead dog, unable to move except to be dragged forward. 

　　He Ziqing and Lin Qingyan felt no sympathy for the flower thief and said nothing. 

　　This man had harmed so many innocent girls. If it weren't for the need to continue their investigation, they might have already dealt with him.

　　An Jiu, still seething, added, “Do you know who I am? I'm the daughter of Minister An. Have you heard of Minister An?” 

　　The flower thief raised his head, his tone filled with astonishment. “The Emperor's tutor, An Yushan, Minister An?” 

　　An Jiu snorted coldly, a triumphant smirk playing on her lips. “That's right. You've offended me. Once I tell my father, this Dark Village, or any other establishment like it, won't last a day longer!” 

　　Her face radiated pride and confidence, her voice brimming with arrogance as she spoke of her father, the Minister. 

　　The flower thief's face paled, whether from pain or fear. “N-no, it's impossible. Minister An's daughter wouldn't be in Jiufang City. You must be lying!”

　　Jiufang City was a small southern town, thousands of miles from the northern capital. Why would the esteemed daughter of a minister be here? 

　　The flower thief couldn't, and dared not, believe it! 

　　An Jiu, hands on her hips, watched the fear and disbelief on the flower thief's face. She felt incredibly satisfied, smugly saying, “Just you wait and see.” 

　　The girl's eyes and eyebrows were alight with a radiant smile, like a cat that had won a fight. Her bright eyes were happily narrowed, and her rosy lips were upturned. 

　　Women of this era were expected to be demure and gentle, never showing their teeth when they smiled. Yet, she was vibrant and radiant, her smile captivating. 

　　An Jiu's eyes flickered, noticing He Ziqing and Lin Qingyan staring at her. Their eyes were wide with surprise. 

　　An Jiu: “Why are you all looking at me like that?” 

　　Lin Qingyan asked, “Miss An... you're the Minister's daughter?”

　　He Ziqing and his master had secluded themselves to practice martial arts, knowing little about court affairs, and thus were unfamiliar with Minister An's name.  

　　Lin Qingyan, however, had heard of him. 

　　An Jiu nodded. “That's right.” 

　　Lin Qingyan curiously asked, “Why are you in Jiufang City, Miss An?” 

　　An Jiu hesitated for a moment, vaguely replying, “I came to Jiufang City to visit relatives.” 

　　Lin Qingyan was perceptive and saw through An Jiu's lie, but she didn't press further, assuming there was a reason for her deception. 

　　Before, she had considered An Jiu a hindrance. Now, she realized that An Jiu's presence might actually lead to a better outcome. 

　　With the title of the Minister's daughter, even those behind the Dark Village wouldn't dare offend her.

　　If An Jiu could hear Lin Qingyan's thoughts, she'd definitely give her a thumbs-up. It was precisely because of her identity that she'd insisted on coming along! 

　　In the book, An Jiu also came to the Dark Village, but she didn't dare reveal her identity. 

　　She was afraid of being found by her father and forced into a marriage, so she never told anyone she was the Minister's daughter. 

　　The Dark Village incident was seemingly resolved easily through the male lead's martial prowess and the female lead's intelligence. The male lead used his sword to defeat all attackers, and the female lead rescued the trapped girls, bringing the case to a close. 

　　But as the flower thief said, as long as those in power remained, the Dark Village would never truly disappear.

　　The destruction of one Dark Village wouldn't stop another from emerging. 

　　The male and female leads had only addressed the surface issue; they couldn't solve the root problem. 

　　However, An Jiu could. 

　　Despite being reincarnated as a villainous supporting character, An Jiu was quite pleased with her identity. 

　　An Yushan, the renowned Minister and the Emperor's tutor, a celebrated scholar of great renown. As his daughter, she could accomplish much more. 

　　Now, she wanted to indulge herself a little and get revenge on the Dark Village that had almost ‘humiliated’ her. 

　　It seemed perfectly reasonable, didn't it? 

　　As the secret passage neared its end, the group decided to proceed cautiously, first scouting the situation before taking action to avoid alarming anyone. 

　　Rounding a corner, they came to a large stone chamber. Several secret passages branched off from the chamber, their destinations unknown. Faint sounds of voices could be heard from deeper within the chamber.

　　“We should be there.” 

　　“What do we do with him?” He Ziqing asked, holding the flower thief. 

　　Lin Qingyan said, “Leave him here. We'll find some masks and go in to investigate.” 

　　They hadn't brought masks, but questioning the flower thief revealed that masks were sold at the entrance to the Dark Village. They decided to proceed that way. 

　　Pei Ji, in his wheelchair, was too conspicuous. During the planning, he volunteered to stay outside and wait for them. 

　　Before they left, the young man in white took several small pouches from his sleeve and gave them to the three.

　　An Jiu took a pouch and opened it, revealing three small porcelain bottles, each about the size of her thumb. 

　　“These contain potions I've prepared. There are three types: the Huagong Powder weakens internal energy for about fifteen minutes. The Soul-Bewitching Powder renders a person unconscious for a night. And the Softening Tendons Powder will make someone's limbs weak and unable to resist.” 

　　Pei Ji spoke calmly, but his gaze lingered on An Jiu, making it clear who the potions were intended for. 

　　The man's eyes, long and narrow at the corners, held a gentle smile. His voice was soft, his dark eyes seemingly filled with concern. “Miss An, please be careful. Do be cautious.” 

　　The young lady still didn't look pleased, muttering a terse, “Thank you.” 

　　Watching the three disappear into the depths of the cave, Pei Ji's gently swaying fan slowly came to a stop.

　　The smile faded from his jade-like face, replaced by an icy indifference. 

　　“Ah Qi, keep an eye on him. Make sure he knows what he should and shouldn't say.” 

　　His gentle voice became flat and emotionless. The young man in white rose slowly from his wheelchair, tall and elegant, his white clothes trailing on the ground. 

　　Ah Qi bowed his head. “Yes, young master.”

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