Chapter 13: ◎If You’re Scared, Don’t Look.◎

Meng Yiran had no idea how long she had been out cold. The moment she woke, she bolted from the room. Peering through a corridor window, she saw the sun hanging high overhead.

Noon already. By all rights, the Coming-of-Age Banquet should have begun.

Ignoring the lingering ache in her body, she took off on all fours, darting down a shortcut toward the golden vase on the third floor.

The third floor was deathly quiet. She hadn’t run into a soul along the way, and the unnatural silence set her on edge.

No Jenny shadowing her this time. Meng Yiran knocked the vase over with ease, fishing the black-cloth-wrapped item from the shattered porcelain. She’d figured this would take serious effort, but to her astonishment, her strength had grown by leaps and bounds. A gentle nudge sent the vase crashing down, and hoisting the thing—which was more than twice the size of her head—cost her nothing.

She slipped into a secluded spot, peeled back the black cloth, and confirmed it was the missing Tong Family Medal. Satisfied, she rewrapped it securely, clamped it in her jaws, and set off to deliver it to Tong Yuwu.

She stuck to back routes the whole way—partly to dodge any servants who might scoop her up again, and partly to keep Tong Rencheng’s goons from spotting the prize and swiping it. But just as she reached a hidden stairwell corner between the third and second floors, she overheard something incriminating.

“Where the hell are they?” Tong Rencheng’s voice was hushed but seething with fury.

The male servant—the one Meng Yiran had caught stashing the item in the golden vase—faced him, looking frantic. “I’ve told you, I don’t know!”

“You don’t know?” Tong Rencheng let out a cold laugh, pacing in agitation. “I never should’ve trusted you bloodsucking pests in the first place! All that money we paid you wasn’t enough—you had to pull this stunt behind my back?

“I’m warning you: kidnapping her won’t get you anywhere! I won’t cough up another copper coin!”

“How many times do I have to spell it out?” The male servant yanked irritably at his bow tie. “I’ve lost contact with those three! You’re accusing us of shaking you down, but I’m starting to wonder if this whole mess is your trap!”

Tong Rencheng’s face turned beet red with rage, though he forced himself to hold it in. “I’m the one who wants her dead more than anyone—why the hell would I sabotage myself?”

The male servant clamped his lips shut, fuming silently.

Tong Rencheng drew a couple of deep breaths to steady himself. “What about the item? Where’s the medal?”

The male servant flashed a smug grin. “Like we agreed: you get it once we’re all clear of this place.”

Tong Rencheng gnashed his teeth. “Like we agreed: her body’s supposed to be found by now, and you lot slip out in the chaos.

“But she’s vanished, the castle guards are everywhere—not even a fly could sneak out. How am I supposed to spring you?”

“Not my problem.” The male servant narrowed his eyes. “Honorable noble lord, that’s the deal we made.

“If we can’t get out, neither will you get that medal.”

Tong Rencheng seized him by the collar, fist cocked back—until the sound of footsteps echoed from outside, tap-tap-tap. He instantly schooled his features, smoothed his clothes, and stormed off.

The male servant spat at his retreating back, then vented a savage kick at the nearest wall. He straightened his collar and vanished moments later.

Only when silence returned did Meng Yiran creep out from her hiding place.

She was still sifting through the bombshells in their exchange when a pair of hands scooped her up from behind.

Little White Cat had her mouth full and couldn’t cry out, but she thrashed instinctively. Then a familiar voice sounded from behind her.

“Didn’t I send you to Meili?” Tong Yuwu hoisted her up to eye level. “What are you doing running around out here?”

In that moment, it all clicked for Meng Yiran. Like why she’d overheard the steward reporting to Tong Yuwu in the master bedroom—only for Jenny to be chatting her up instead. Or how a lowly maid like Jenny had the guts to lock her away on her own say-so.

But anger would have to wait. A faint metallic tang of blood stung her nose. She followed the scent downward, and there it was: a massive bloodstain blooming across Tong Yuwu’s chest.

Meng Yiran’s white fur exploded in a puff. The entire cat shook with rage.

Tong Yuwu pressed her head gently to her shoulder. “If you’re scared, don’t look.”

Meng Yiran mewled pitifully—”meow-meow”—her cries like choked sobs. The black-cloth-wrapped medal tumbled from her jaws to the floor, but neither girl nor cat spared it a glance.

Just now, the implication in Tong Rencheng’s words had been clear: Tong Yuwu had been kidnapped and vanished. Although Meng Yiran had no idea how Tong Yuwu had escaped from those villains, the bloodstains on her clothes and the mottled mud prints along the hem of her skirt offered a glimpse of the hardships this frail Noble Miss had endured on her journey.

The thought made Meng Yiran’s heart ache unbearably. She extended her pink tongue and licked Tong Yuwu’s neck in grateful relief.

The licking tickled Tong Yuwu, who tilted her head to dodge the touch, but Meng Yiran stretched her neck insistently, determined to continue her “comforting.” In the end, Tong Yuwu relented. The pitiful Noble Miss still had bloodstains on her chest that hadn’t fully dried, and now a damp patch of kitten saliva glistened on the side of her neck. Yet the Little White Cat—the true culprit—looked even more aggrieved than she did, sniffling softly even as she licked.

Tong Yuwu reached out and poked her little belly, whispering, “Can’t you bear to leave me even for a moment?”

Meng Yiran looked up and let out a couple of “meows,” though she had no idea what she even wanted to say.

One person and one cat composed themselves—mostly with Tong Yuwu patiently waiting for Meng Yiran to calm down—before she scooped her up and slowly made her way toward the First-Floor Banquet Hall.

Along the path, they ran into servants frantically searching for Tong Yuwu. When Jenny arrived, her eyes were swollen from crying like walnuts. The sight of the bloodstain on Tong Yuwu’s chest nearly brought fresh tears in front of everyone.

The Steward suggested canceling the Coming-of-Age Banquet so Tong Yuwu could rest properly, but she refused outright. She didn’t even take the time to go back and change, merely instructing the maids to fetch her wheelchair and a dress. Moments later, the opulent Golden Palace Dress was draped over her plain white underskirt, concealing the bloodstains. Tong Yuwu settled back into the wheelchair and was wheeled toward the Banquet Hall.

Everyone invited to the Tong Family Head’s Coming-of-Age Banquet hailed from prominent families in the area. Even if the heads themselves hadn’t come, they’d sent weighty representatives from collateral branches or trusted retainers. These were no lowly guests, yet they’d been left inexplicably waiting, and murmurs of discontent had already begun to ripple through the crowd.

Tong Yuwu’s appearance quelled the suspicious whispers.

Tong Rencheng swiftly masked the surprise on his face and hurried over in three quick strides. “Yuwu,” he said, adopting an expression of profound relief as he lowered his voice. “Thank goodness you’re back safe! You have no idea how worried Uncle was after you disappeared!”

“How worried?” Tong Yuwu asked, stroking Meng Yiran in her arms as she looked up.

Tong Rencheng’s voice faltered. After a beat, he stammered, “Worried sick—didn’t know what to do.” He pivoted quickly. “How did you vanish from the bedroom, anyway? Where are the kidnappers? Did they catch them?”

Tong Yuwu pressed down on the Little White Cat straining to leap out.

Meng Yiran couldn’t keep her cool. The bloodstain on Tong Yuwu’s chest might be hidden now, but that faint metallic tang lingered in the air, a constant reminder of her injury. In the face of Tong Rencheng’s sanctimonious facade, Meng Yiran’s heart pounded relentlessly as she calculated the best angle to launch herself and rake bloody gashes across that hypocritical mug.

“No one was caught,” Tong Yuwu replied. Then she countered, “Why did you assume I’d been kidnapped?”

Tong Rencheng paled sharply and forced an awkward laugh. “You’re joking, right? Your guards and maids were all knocked out. If it wasn’t a kidnapping, were you just taking a casual stroll?”

Tong Yuwu nodded. “That’s right.”

Meng Yiran chomped down on her sleeve in frustration, irked that Tong Yuwu would joke about something so grave. But Tong Rencheng’s crestfallen expression lifted her spirits a touch.

She whipped her head around and meowed insistently at Tong Yuwu—”meow, meow!”—urging her to haul this scumbag who’d hired killers to justice without delay.

Yet Tong Yuwu took her time. She even circled around Tong Rencheng to exchange polite pleasantries with the other guests.