"Absolutely impossible!"
Cao Wei's heart raced with panic.
"I... I clearly canceled it..."
"So you're admitting to hiring a killer," Ye Xi sneered.
"I... I..."
Cao Wei's face instantly turned as pale as paper. Glancing at the people around who were pointing and whispering, she was too flustered to say a word.
"What's wrong?" Ye Xi pressed on relentlessly.
"You were so bold when you hired the killer. Did you never think your crime would be exposed? I warned you that day. If you dared to get the Suiyu Department involved, you wouldn't be able to get away clean!"
"The Suiyu Department!?"
Cao Wei's eyes widened in shock. Suddenly, she burst into uncontrollable laughter.
"Ha... Hahaha... The Suiyu Department..."
"Ye Xi, you tricked me... You tricked me!"
Ye Xi's heart skipped a beat. For a moment, she felt flustered because she had indeed been bluffing Cao Wei.
Among the four departments under the Zaishuang Sect, each one was efficient and left no traces. How could one find the mastermind behind the hired killer through them? If she hadn't heard Cao Wei's inner thoughts by the Fangsheng Lake that day and confirmed that she was the one who hired the killer, she wouldn't have been so hasty to come and provoke Cao Wei.
How did Cao Wei spot the flaw and realize that she was being tricked?
While Ye Xi was still trying to figure out where she went wrong, Cao Wei suddenly shook off Ye Xi's hand that was holding her wrist.
Ye Xi was taken aback. Before she could touch Cao Wei again to hear her inner thoughts, Cao Wei had already grabbed Ye Xi's shoulders and leaned in close, whispering softly,
"You definitely have no evidence."
With that, she let go, folded her hands arrogantly, and said defiantly,
"Come on, take me away. Since you have both a witness and evidence, let's go and see the official. Let's go..."
Cao Wei let go very quickly, but Ye Xi still heard her inner thought—
[I didn't hire the Suiyu Department at all, you fool.]
If it wasn't Cao Wei who hired the killer, then who was it?
Looking at the arrogant Cao Wei in front of her, Ye Xi narrowed her almond-shaped eyes slightly and grabbed Cao Wei's folded hands.
"Which organization did you hire the killer from?"
"Huai..."
Cao Wei was too cocky and almost blurted out her inner thought.
But she didn't know that the three words [Huaixu Department] that she hadn't spoken out loud had already fallen into Ye Xi's ears.
"You're still trying to deceive me," Cao Wei quickly changed her words.
"If you really had a witness and evidence, why are you still wasting your breath with me? Just arrest me directly."
"Humph—Miss Xi, framing and slandering the children of officials is a crime!"
But Ye Xi didn't even listen to what she was saying.
Cao Wei's inner thought couldn't be false. Then who was the one who hired the Suiyu Department?
Who else had a grudge against her and wanted her dead?
Could it be someone from the Ye family?
But at that time, the Ye family hadn't completely fallen out with her yet. They had many ways to deal with her and wouldn't suddenly hire a killer to take her life.
Then... who else?
Suddenly, a charming and bright face popped up in her mind.
Could it be... Qiao Yan?
Cao Wei couldn't see Ye Xi's expression through the veil hat. She only knew that Ye Xi suddenly stopped talking.
Thinking that Ye Xi was intimidated by her, Cao Wei sneered smugly. Suddenly, she reached out her hand to lift Ye Xi's veil hat, wanting to expose her ugly appearance that she was afraid to show in public and embarrass her.
However, Ling Yan was faster.
As soon as Cao Wei's hand reached out, Ling Yan's long sword was already at her throat. Then, with a gentle flick, Cao Wei was forced to take several steps back uncontrollably and fell backward.
Ling Yan didn't know what was on Cao Wei's mind. She only knew that this arrogant young lady from the Cao family not only secretly hired a killer, which implicated Jiang Ning and Hunyuan, but also dared to make a move in front of her and have ill intentions towards her young lady.
How could Ling Yan tolerate this?
That seemingly casual flick actually used a lot of skill, making Cao Wei lose control of her body and fall in the direction Ling Yan had set.
And that place was the flowerbed.
Because it had rained last night, the mud below was mixed with the fertilizer the gardener had applied the day before, smelling extremely stinky.
If Cao Wei fell, she would surely be covered in dirt from head to toe.
What Ling Yan didn't notice was that there was a sharp stone hidden in the dirty mud.
But Ye Xi noticed it with her sharp eyes.
However, it was already too late. Cao Wei had already fallen uncontrollably.
In full view of everyone, if something happened... Ye Xi unconsciously clenched her hands. Her eyes followed Cao Wei's figure closely, and she even held her breath.
In the blink of an eye, a red whip suddenly shot out like a snake's tongue from the side. It wrapped around Cao Wei's waist precisely and pulled her away from her original position. She rolled on the ground where the rain was almost dry, causing exclamations from the people around.
Ye Xi let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, no one noticed through the veil.
Having made such a fool of herself in public, Cao Wei was covered in dirt and looked extremely embarrassed. Her face was flushed with anger. Without even having time to say thank you, she pushed away the maids and young ladies who came to help her and pointed at Ling Yan forcefully, looking as if she wanted to stab her to death.
"You... You dared to hurt me! You're just a lowly servant. You..."
"Miss Cao," Ye Xi's eyes turned cold, and she said coldly,
"I thought the first thing you should do when you're helped is to thank your benefactor. And you were the one who made the first move. My maid had no choice but to block you to protect me. We were just acting in self-defense. There are so many eyes watching. Do you still want to distort the truth?"
Cao Wei was speechless. Only then did she have time to look at Qiao Yan, who was putting away the whip.
Standing up with the help of the maid, Cao Wei said with an ugly expression,
"Thank you, Miss Qiao, for your help."
"You're welcome," Qiao Yan waved her hand.
She didn't like Cao Wei either. When she was close to Ye Jueyao before, Cao Wei had often bullied her. Who knew if Cao Wei had something to do with Cao Sheng and Ye Jueyao's affair. She had just acted instinctively and didn't deliberately want to help Cao Wei.
Nodding at Ye Xi, Qiao Yan said,
"I'm here to find her."
What a coincidence!
Ye Xi stood there calmly, looking at Qiao Yan. She also wanted to find Qiao Yan.
"I wonder what Miss Qiao wants from me?" Ye Xi said calmly.
"I saw your name in the registration list for the women's competition of the Qingyun Tournament," Qiao Yan walked a few steps closer casually. "I'm here to challenge you."
With just a few casual words, the young ladies around started whispering to each other.
Even Cao Wei, who had seen Qiao Yan ignoring her and was about to go change her clothes, stopped in her tracks.
As the saying goes, the enemy of one's enemy is one's friend.
Although she and Qiao Yan didn't like each other, her hatred for Ye Xi was much stronger. Since her elder brother had an accident, these noble ladies from the aristocratic families had kept their distance from her. If she could stand on the same side as Qiao Yan, with the reputation of the Changming Marquis Mansion, her marriage and the news she had received a few days ago... everything would go smoothly, right?
Cao Wei sat back down. Then she heard Ye Xi let out a soft laugh and say,
"A challenge? There's no need. We'll be opponents in the Qingyun Tournament anyway."
"That's different," Qiao Yan crossed her arms.
"The competition in the Qingyun Tournament is one thing, and the competition between us two is another."
"Let's choose events that we're both good at or not good at. The loser has to undergo the 'Heart Inquiry'. Miss Xi, since you have a clear conscience, I'm sure you're not afraid of accepting the challenge, right?"