Volume 1 Chapter 7: The Older Sister and the Young Boy

  Time went back to before Tai Shi Lan was pushed down the wall by a strange gust of wind.

  In the distance, spring breeze on high buildings, green jade railings, on the building, elegant and slender as a Chu knife pointing to the southern sky.

  When the knife flashed on Taishi Xian's face, Taishi Xian had waved his hand in annoyance.

  At such a distance, with just a casual wave of the hand, even if one was standing under the wall at that moment, it would be hard to notice. However, upstairs, Rong Chu's knife suddenly paused in her hand.

  With a slight movement of her fingertips, the small knife slipped into her sleeve, and a curved light flashed, like the glance of a beautiful woman passing by.

  He sprang up immediately.

  His wide cloak unfolded in mid-air for a moment, and by the time the cloud was blown away by the wind, he had already landed on the rooftop.

  Towering high and standing alone, the long wind is whistling, clothes fluttering and flying, rolling up the starlight across the sky.

  His eyes shone like stars, and in the palm of his hand, a jade-colored flower was gently swaying. Chuyu looked towards Taishi Lan's direction, and her fingertips brushed against the flower, making it turn slightly.

  It was as if it had sensed the fragrance that lingered in the wind for thousands of miles, and the bud began to slowly bloom.

  This is the "unheard" flower, "unheard only recognizes a thousand miles of fragrance", on anyone's body, as long as it is stained with a little bit of the fragrance of "a thousand miles", it will cause the "unheard" flower to bloom profusely. The stronger the fragrance of a thousand miles, the more the flowers bloom.

  She smiled slightly.

  The flower in hand suddenly fell down.

  Down below, the sound of clothes and sleeves rustling in the wind suddenly arose. A figure flashed by, leapt up to catch a flower, then immediately flipped over the high wall, landing on a fine horse waiting behind it. There, a row of black-clad knights stood majestically at attention, their eyes shining brightly and clearly in the darkness.

  With a whistle from the flower girl, the knights spurred their horses and galloped away like the wind, disappearing around the street corner in an instant.

  From the rooftop to the wall below, Chu Zong's bodyguard received orders and left in an instant.

  A swift horse gallops down the long street, its flying mane cutting through the night air. The first rider's figure is as strong as iron, holding a pale jade-colored flower in his hand.

  The flower shone in the moonlight, gradually blooming, and fully opened under the back wall of the Tai family's large courtyard near the kitchen.

  At this moment, Tai Shi Lan is sprinkling medicine powder into Yi Shi Lan's wound!

  Powder sprinkled into the wound on Yu Shilan's neck, a faint pink smoke immediately burst out, with a pungent smell, followed by a hissing sound from the wound. Almost instantly, the wound collapsed, expanded, softened and disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye...

  That pungent smell was highly penetrating, wafting over the wall, and the knight's hand holding a flower on the other side of the wall suddenly wilted.

  The knight lowered his head and saw the flowers fall, his face changed, and he turned his horse away.

  Tai Shi Lan was unaware of the incident outside the wall and did not know that she almost got caught because of a flower, her hand stiffened in mid-air, her face pale.

  Got cheated!

  It's actually a necrotic drug!

  What's wrong with Shilan, why would she want to destroy herself and leave no whole body behind?

  And how did she see her own face?

  Tai Shi Lan touched her face and only then realized that she had unintentionally wiped it with her sleeve when she was wiping her hands earlier. It was fortunate that Yu Shilan had already discovered this but didn't make a sound, proving to be a person of great composure as well.

  So...

  Tai Shi thought of a certain possibility and stood up and left.

  She couldn't help but let out a low hum as her ankle throbbed with pain, apparently sprained from the fall off the wall just now.

  Her injured foot made it difficult for her to move, so she had to go find medicine first. In just a short while, Yi Shilan's corpse had already dissolved by more than half. This medicine was indeed formidable.

  Just as Taishi Lan sat down to apply the medicine, a loud voice was heard outside, and a young boy rushed in, shouting: "Sister! Sister! Are you okay?"

  Tai Shi Lan suddenly lifted his head, looked around in all directions, and initially thought of avoiding it. However, he discovered that the door of this house was facing outward, and going out would inevitably lead to a collision with the approaching person. Unable to escape, he had to first hide Tai Shi Lan's corpse, otherwise, if someone saw it, they might not be able to avoid a lawsuit.

  However, there was no place to hide the body in the house. The boy's voice got closer and closer, and before he pushed open the door, Tai Shi Lan suddenly dragged over the bed board and placed it on top of Ti Shilan's corpse, sitting on the bed board himself.

  "Sister!" Just as she sat down, the door was pushed open with a bang. A young man wearing only a single layer of clothing and casually throwing on an outer robe rushed in. He caught sight of her sitting on the floor and froze for a moment.

  Tai Shi Lan was as still as a mountain, her face calm and cold.

  She suddenly understood Yu Shilan's intention.

  These treacherous women, they said they didn't want her to take revenge, but actually, before she died, she set a trap for her. She probably guessed that someone would come soon, so she tricked her into taking medicine to disguise her own corpse.

  Tai Shi Lan became a suspect after Yu Shi Lan's disappearance. To get out of this predicament, Tai Shi Lan must first use her face, which resembles Yu Shi Lan's, to get through this ordeal.

  As long as Tai Shi Lan temporarily becomes Yi Shilan, those sisters will not let her go. At that time, Tai Shi Lan will inevitably become their enemy, which is equivalent to indirectly helping Yi Shilan avenge herself.

  Although he was furious at the moment, Tai Shi Lan couldn't help but secretly praise Yi Shilan's cleverness. At the brink of death, she could think of such a move, and even sacrifice her own life to achieve it, which was ruthless and absolute.

  It's just hard to understand how such a clever person could end up in this situation.

  "Sister..." The young man standing in front of the door stared blankly at Taishi Ran, whose face was dirty and had short hair tied up, wanting to acknowledge her but not daring to, "Your face..."

  "They smeared her with mud."

  "Hair..."

  "They were burned."

  "How can you sit on the ground..."

  "My foot is twisted."

  "Your voice..."

  Chili water.

  The young man looked at her with a suspicious gaze, always feeling that something was off, but who else could it be except for his sister Shi Lan, appearing here at this moment?

  "Sister, as long as you're fine." He put his mind at ease and smiled happily, coming over to squat in front of Tai Shi Lan. "I heard that the Sheng Zhu sisters were heading this way, saying they wanted...wanted..." He suddenly stuttered, pausing for a moment before continuing, "I was worried, so I came to take a look, but was held back by the nanny. Luckily you're fine..." He let out a long sigh of relief.

  Tai Shi Lan stared into his eyes, the young face had a few similarities with Tai Shi Lan, clear and bright gaze, elegant eyebrows and eyes, although still with a hint of childishness, but fortunately born with a clear and refined temperament, that bit of childishness was like a delicate silk painting with a light and warm color tone, shining brightly.

  What a handsome young man! In two more years, with just this face alone, who knows how many girls will be ruined.

  Tai Shi Lan's eyes were slightly gentle, and she nodded: "I'm fine."

  "Sister, are you hurt?" The young man saw the medicinal oil on the ground and immediately picked it up. He half-knelt down to apply the medicine to Tai Shi Lan's foot. His movements were not skilled, but he was very serious. Finally, he bowed his head and blew gently, smiling and saying, "It won't hurt now."

  Tai Shi Lan looked down, the boy's lowered head had two whorls on his crown, his black hair was thick and dense. Suddenly, she thought of her little white dog Xiao Ji, who also liked to squat in front of her, lying on her shoes and being coquettish.

  Tai Shi suddenly stretched out his hand and pinched the back of his neck, only to realize afterwards that this wasn't a chick, which couldn't be lifted up.

  The young man rubbed the back of his neck and smiled, looking like a good-natured kid. Tai Shi Lan chatted with him for a bit and found out that this young man was Wei Shi Tao, the younger brother of Wei Shi Lan, who had been raised by their mother since childhood. After the death of Madame Wei, Wei Shi Lan's mother, Wei Shi Lan entered the palace and eventually returned as an unfavored concubine of the emperor. Wei Shi Tao had tried to see his sister several times but was blocked by various people in the household. Today, he happened to hear that someone was going to harm Wei Shi Lan, so he rushed over without hesitation.

  Yi Shi Tao saw that his sister was fine, and he put down his heart, laughing exceptionally happily. Tai Shi Lan glanced at him, thinking that it's no wonder Xibei couldn't recognize him even when they met face to face, as it had been a long time since they last saw each other. He just didn't expect that Yi Shi Lan would have such a brother with deep feelings in this cold and ruthless big family.

  Wei Shi Tao sat for a while, suddenly looked puzzled and sniffed, "What smell?"

  The strange smell of the corpse was also smelled by him.

  "Did you have leeks for dinner?" Tai Shi Lan looked at him expressionlessly, "Strong-tasting foods will make you sweat with a strange smell."

  Wei Shitao was so embarrassed by someone's vicious words that he went to rinse his mouth with water, and in his embarrassment, he even forgot the smell of the corpse-liquefying drug, which had nothing to do with leeks...

  Tai Shi Lan calmly kicked back the hand that had been sticking out from under the bed board...

  But Wei Shi Tao quickly ran back, his face pale with fear, "Sister... it's bad..."

  Tai Shi Lan raised her eyes and looked at him.

  Wei Shi Tao met her cold gaze, which was almost disdainful, and he was taken aback. Suddenly, he felt that the person in front of him was a stranger. After composing himself, he anxiously said, "Second sister... second sister has come to find me!" He hastily turned around in circles on the spot, "This place is close to my sisters' residence, I shouldn't have come here... I told Xiao Huan not to say anything, how did second sister and the others know..."

  He turned around, and his sleeves rustled loudly. Tai Shi Lan suddenly said: "Your sleeve?"

  Yu Shitao was taken aback, felt his sleeve, and pulled out a crystal glass eight-treasure golden step shake.

  The young man stared at the expensive ornament with an incredulous expression, "Where...where did this come from?"

  Tai Shi Lan sneered.

  I knew it!

  Wei Shi Tao lives in the front house, separated by such a distance, how can he know so coincidentally that someone is going to harm Wei Shi Lan?

  He came all the way here, and from the front house to the back house in the middle of the night, no one noticed? He arrived here, and immediately someone came?

  It seems that Yi Shi Zhu and those people not only want to get rid of Yi Shi Lan, but also want to drive out her only good brother along with her.

  The charges... theft? Breaking into the backyard at night?

  I'm afraid it's not just that?

  If it wasn't for her bursting in, Yu Shilan would now be lying on the ground with her clothes disheveled, and the whole room would be filled with the stench of debauchery between men and women. Add to that a similarly disheveled young man, and the sudden appearance of Jin Buyao... it's a perfect family tragedy - a brother stealing a woman's jewelry to curry favor with his sister, accidentally killing her in the heat of passion.

  So what will be waiting for the siblings of the Yu family?

  Bury the dead in secret and drive the living out of doors.

  It's a good plan that is not high-minded but absolutely poisonous and full of women's sinister style.

  Outside, it's getting noisier and the lights are on. There are more people now, including the long-absent guards. A large group of people has arrived, led by an old man with a face as solemn as a winter melon. His facial features are tightly packed together, making his nose almost touch his eyes. At this moment, he's in a bad mood, scowling and making his nose seem even more pinched.

  Behind him were people like Yi Shi Zhu, who had already changed into casual clothes and followed with a pleased expression.

  Tui Shi Zhu couldn't help but feel pleased with herself, this clever plan that killed two birds with one stone was perfectly timed, and not just anyone could pull it off. She had put in a lot of effort to make it happen, and even spent a small amount of money, but compared to the benefits she gained from getting rid of Tui Shi's siblings, this little expense was nothing.

  She and Cuī Shìlán were both the legitimate daughters of Cuī Bó, the governor of ānzhōu. However, Cuī Shìlán's mother was a noble-born wife, while her own mother was only a concubine who had been promoted to the status of wife, with an unknown difference in social standing. Although Cuī Shìtāo was born out of wedlock, she had been raised from childhood by the first wife and already recognized as a legitimate child. In terms of social standing, she and her younger brothers were inferior to Cuī Shìlán and her siblings.

  It's obvious that as long as the Wei siblings are around, no matter what their status or family background is in the future, they will never be able to compare with these two people. Now she has not only removed the thorn in her eye, Wei Shilan, but also eliminated the root of the disaster, Wei Shitao. With the siblings gone, this Wei family will be hers in the future.

  Yi Shizhu's joy grew as he thought about it - after the death of his first wife, the huge dowry she left behind was all in Yi Shilan's name. Now that she was dead, this wealth would fall back into his hands. With money, how could he not rise to a higher position? Not to mention the distant future, but right now, there was Duke Jin of Anzhou who was hosting a banquet tonight and would surely say a few good words for him, which would lead to his promotion in no time!

  She immediately thought of Yi Shilan's death, and the corner of her mouth involuntarily curled up with a smile of pleasure - let that cheap woman, even after she died, be humiliated once again in front of everyone!

  She laughed more and more happily, her footsteps quickening as she walked forward.

  In the room, Tai Shi Lan stood up.