Little sister, don't act like that.

Chapter Title: 043 Sister, Don’t Act Like That

Her voice was laced with seductive charm, yet her expression was utterly devoid of warmth.

Hmm, another cunning woman who shamelessly adapts to every breeze. Fang Rulai once again objectively applauded—who says only men of great courage can bend and stretch themselves? In truth, those who truly master the art are always the women with hearts tangled in a thousand knots.

“Well, I’ve called you. Now it’s your turn to speak without reservation. Tell me, how did you know my surname is Lin? When did you learn it? And by what means?”

Obediently following along, Lin Wan’er immediately presented three pointed questions. In this special private room, no one but herself and the monk before her could ever truly approach. Since that was the case, why bother with the pretense any longer?

With her false fairy demeanor cast aside, Lin Wan’er’s oppressive aura was fully unleashed. If there were outsiders present, anyone could see the threat behind her posture: “You’d better confess to everything, or you won’t walk out of here unharmed.”

Unfortunately, her opponent was Fang Rulai, immune to both softness and intimidation.

Fang Rulai was first stunned by her seamless switch from coquettish to domineering; then he burst into wild laughter, slapping the table as he laughed. “Widow sister, your alternating brilliance and foolishness—does your handler know about it?”

Lin Wan’er’s face darkened immediately. She didn’t understand what “foolishness” or “handler” meant, but judging by the monk’s laughter with tears in his eyes, it couldn’t be anything good.

“Venerable monk, are you toying with me?”

“Oh? You just figured it out?” Fang Rulai wiped away tears of laughter with his index finger. “I openly asked if you wanted to be teased, and you said yes, didn’t you?”

He spread his hands, his face full of arrogance. “So, as you wished, I teased you.”

Right after his words, Fang Rulai saw Lin Wan’er’s face twitch three times. Just when he thought she would finally explode, Lin Wan’er took a deep breath and smiled.

She smiled, and Fang Rulai immediately straightened up.

Anyone who, pressed to such a degree, responds not with anger but with a smile is absolutely someone worth extra caution. Yes, she’d find another chance to add fuel to the fire.

“Fang! Rulai!” Lin Wan’er enunciated each syllable, her brows brimming with murderous intent. “Do you know what kind of presence I am in Ping City? You dare to toy with me? Be careful, you might not live to enjoy the consequences!”

Fang Rulai grinned without warmth, poking at the mapo tofu before him with chopsticks. “Not live to enjoy the consequences? What am I doing right now? Hmm?”

Had she touched even a single piece of tofu just now, she really wouldn’t have lived to see the result. But she hadn’t touched it, had she? She was still sitting here safe and sound. Wasn’t that enough to slap her in the face?

Fang Rulai glanced up at Lin Wan’er from under his lashes. Still not exploding?

With a sweep of her arms, Lin Wan’er overturned the tofu feast laid out on the table.

Fang Rulai leaned back quickly to avoid the soup poisoned with various toxins, then stopped, a dagger suddenly pressed against his neck.

Lin Wan’er bared her teeth in a sinister smile.

“That’s because I haven’t given you the consequences yet.”

“Consequences? Widow sister, your brother-in-law just left, and you’re already seeking ‘consequences’ from me? That’s not very proper…”

Smack! Lin Wan’er kept the dagger steady, raised her other hand, and slapped Fang Rulai hard across the face. “Excellent, keep teasing! If you dare to speak, I’ll dare to hit!”

“…right?” Fang Rulai licked his tongue, tasting the bitter tang of blood. This was the first time he’d been struck since arriving in this world—worth commemorating.

“Why aren’t you teasing now?” Lin Wan’er sneered, mocking the blood-licking Fang Rulai. “I thought someone who keeps provoking me would have a lot more backbone!”

Fang Rulai spat blood onto the floor, turned his head, and smiled. “I do have backbone—just not the fortune to ‘enjoy consequences’ with a violent, domineering woman!”

“You wish you did!” Lin Wan’er leaned forward, dagger pressing closer. “Tell me, how many of you came to Ping City? What are your names? Where are you hiding now?”

Lin Wan’er believed that Fang Rulai had been able to learn so much under her nose only because someone was feeding him information. Since she’d promised her godfather to handle matters thoroughly, she had to eliminate every last one of them.

Fang Rulai looked at her as if she were an idiot. “You don’t honestly think I’ll tell you everything, do you?”

“Wrong, it’s not what I think,” Lin Wan’er pulled out a strand of her own hair and let it fall onto the dagger, “it’s what you must do.”

With a faint, crisp sound, the hair was sliced cleanly in two.

“Nice dagger!”

“It’ll work even better on your neck!”

“Widow sister, don’t act like that. I don’t like manly women.”

“It’s fine. Once your blood spurts out, you’ll start liking it.”

“Well, compared to manly women, I’d rather not see my own blood spurting out,” Fang Rulai sighed, feigning compromise. “Come closer, I’ll tell you.”

Lin Wan’er shot him a warning glance—“Don’t try any tricks”—then leaned closer to his face.

Fang Rulai glanced at the funereal garb draped over Lin Wan’er, then whispered, “There are four of us who came to Ping City: myself, Zhu Xishi, Mu Zhijin, and Banxia.”

Lin Wan’er’s eyes sharpened—just as she expected. She’d met the monk, Zhu Xishi was the widow, Mu Zhijin the legendary courtesan. How these three managed to deal with the group of guards along the way remained a mystery. Now, it seemed the elusive Banxia was behind it.

So, is Banxia nearby as well?

“Of course. Why else do you think I could anticipate your poisoned dishes and know you were hiding in the secret passage?”

“Make him come out!” Lin Wan’er tensed immediately. First, she needed to confirm this person’s existence; second, she now had a hostage, and using a hostage to control the enemy was always a sure bet.

“He can’t come out!” Fang Rulai replied without hesitation.

Lin Wan’er’s brows arched, and she pressed the dagger forward. Fang Rulai hurriedly pleaded, “Widow sister, have mercy! It’s not that I won’t let him come out, but I simply don’t have the authority to command him.”

“What do you mean?”

Fang Rulai’s face turned bitter, “We’re all just serving someone else. Widow sister, you should understand this, right? In public, we might seem powerful, making others tremble with a single word, but you and I both know we’re merely puppets for the real manipulators lurking in the shadows.”

Lin Wan’er fell silent; his words made sense. Soon, though, suspicion crept in. “Why are you telling me this? If Banxia outranks you, aren’t you afraid he’ll silence you first?”

Fang Rulai glanced at the dagger still hovering at his throat. “Since death is inevitable, why shouldn’t I choose to die a bit later?”

“Is that so? Do you think I’ll let you die later?”

“At least not until I’ve revealed everything.”

Lin Wan’er stared deeply at Fang Rulai. “Those who betray easily are never to be trusted.”

“If you don’t trust me, just kill me.”

Fang Rulai thrust his neck forward, a posture of utter indifference: “Life and death is yours to decide.”

Lin Wan’er watched for a moment, then withdrew her hand, putting the dagger away.

“What else did he tell you about us?” Lin Wan’er asked, referring to Banxia.

“You received the order from County Magistrate Sun Chi to execute those from Shengjing.”

Correct.

“Sun Chi promised that if you handled this beautifully, he’d open the ancestral hall, invite the clan chief, and formally record you in his family lineage as his adopted daughter.”

Correct.

“To avoid loose ends, Sun Chi secretly assigned two highly skilled confidants to help you, without your knowledge.”

Incorrect! Lin Wan’er scanned the room; Sun Chi had never sent anyone to assist her.

“The two confidants are named Green Bud and Green Bamboo,” Fang Rulai added without hesitation.

Lin Wan’er was stunned. “Impossible! Those two sisters have followed me since childhood…”

“Not followed—tracked.” Fang Rulai’s voice was mesmerizing. “And it all started when your father, Lin Dahai, saved Sun Chi’s life deep in the mountains while gathering ingredients.”

At those words, the color drained from Lin Wan’er’s face. Everyone knew Lin Dahai had saved Sun Chi’s life over a decade ago, but few knew that he’d rescued a pair of sisters alongside him. Her father had once mentioned the oddity of the sisters appearing in remote mountains, but at the time she’d been yearning for playmates and begged him to keep them, naming them Green Bud and Green Bamboo. They’d been with her for over ten years.

Now, she was being told they were spies planted by someone else?

To believe it felt utterly impossible.

Not to believe it—well, only Sun Chi, Lin Dahai, and herself knew the details. Not even her mother knew. How could the monk know? Her father had always kept this matter secret for her reputation. The only possible leak was Sun Chi.

Why? He treated her, his goddaughter, even better than his own daughter! Had he always intended to use her from the start?

“The eldest son of the Zhao family was coveted by the Wang family, the rice shop owners. The second son was taken by the Xu family, who raise silkworms. If Sun Chi wanted to secure the Zhao family, he could only go after the third son. But that third son was already promised to a distant cousin running a restaurant—your family.”

Fang Rulai leaned forward, locking onto Lin Wan’er’s eyes. “First, he set a trap for your father to save him. Then, out of gratitude, he took you as his adopted daughter. Ultimately, using you to seize the Zhao family was his real goal. And once that goal was accomplished, what good would the ancestral record do? With a single accusation—‘You murdered the benefactor escorting your late husband home’—your name would only be found carved on a cold grave stone, no matter how hard you worked for that family record.”

“Are you willing to be played like this?” Fang Rulai asked enticingly.

“No!” Lin Wan’er replied coldly. “So what should I do?”

“Do this!”

With that, Fang Rulai raised his hand and slapped Lin Wan’er twice across the face. “No need to thank me. Amitabha.”

Thanks to dear Fengyun191, &! Manman!^_$ and Chao Jin Lu Kui for their encouragement!

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