Just as Yin Jiuniang was about to find the switch to the secret passage, she heard Tan Ge's voice coming from outside.
“Miss, I know you are confined to your home and feeling bored, but this is His Majesty’s order, so please bear with it.”
It gets very cool in that waterside pavilion at night; how could you secretly go there to enjoy the cool breeze?
"Luckily, I noticed. Please put on your cloak quickly; you'll feel terrible if you catch a cold."
Then came the sound of the door being kicked open forcefully.
The maid on night watch was kicked and fell to the ground. Before she could react, Tan Ge kicked her in the stomach.
"Useless slut, I made you stand guard over the young lady at night, and you didn't even know that the young lady had gone out and there was no one in bed. You just drooped your eyelids and fell asleep."
"If Miss catches a cold and isn't feeling well tomorrow, I'll skin you alive! Now get down there and fetch hot water for Miss!"
The maid was scolded by her before she realized that her mistress was not in her room, and that she had not noticed at all.
Realizing that the bed curtains had been lowered before he took his night watch, and that he hadn't lifted them to check, he broke out in a cold sweat and quickly got up to fetch hot water.
Tan Ge helped Ye Wantang, who was wrapped up tightly in a cloak, to the bedside.
She lifted the bed curtains and helped the woman to lie down on the bedside. "Miss, please warm yourself up in the blankets first. When the hot water comes, I will help you soak your feet to get rid of the cold."
Yin Jiuniang watched from the shadows, a hint of doubt in her eyes.
Ye Wantang didn't utter a single word. When did she become so obedient?
Then, considering that she had just been covered up so that her face was not even visible, and then she was directly stuffed onto the bed, Yin Jiuniang suspected that the person who was helped into the room by Tan Ge was not the real Ye Wantang.
Just as the suspicion began to rise, Ye Wantang's impatient voice came from inside the bed curtains, "Are you ever going to stop?"
Am I the prostitute or are you the prostitute? All you do all day is sleep, sleep, sleep. My bones are aching from sleeping so much, where do I get so much sleepiness?
His Majesty only forbids me from leaving the residence, not from leaving the courtyard. You, a mere servant, are meddling in things more than His Majesty himself.
Feeling wronged after being scolded, Tan Ge quickly retreated from the bed curtains and knelt down. "Miss, please don't get upset. I wasn't trying to control you; I was just worried about you. You've misunderstood..."
A black cloak was thrown out of the bed curtains and hit Tan Ge. "Alright, alright, I know you're doing this for my own good. I'm tired of hearing you nagging me."
"You're really worried? Have someone bring more hot water; I'll just take a hot bath, is that alright?"
Then Yin Jiuniang saw Tan Ge wiping away tears as she went to call for hot water, and then helped Ye Wantang out of the bed curtains and into the adjacent washroom.
That face was indeed Ye Wantang's.
Yin Jiuniang was worried that something was amiss in bed, so she took advantage of the two people's absence to lift the bed curtains and check. Apart from the messy bedding, there was no one else in bed.
He searched around the bed again but found no traps or anything like that, so he assumed he was just overthinking it and quietly left.
After she left, Tan Ge nodded slightly to Ye Wantang.
Ye Wantang finally let out a long sigh of relief and coldly ordered, "The secret passage must not be revealed. Dispose of the person."
Tan Ge received the order and left the room. She went into a rockery in the courtyard, opened a secret passage through the rockery, went to the underground location under Ye Wantang's bed, and pulled out a maid who had been acupunctured.
This maid was just helped by her to impersonate Ye Wantang.
When Ye Wantang returned to bed from the tunnel, the maid was thrown down into the secret passage, which is why Yin Jiuniang did not notice anything amiss.
The maidservant, her mouth stuffed with cloth, stared at her in terror.
Tan Ge curled her lips into a cold smile, "What can I do? Miss doesn't want you to live."
After saying this, she grabbed the maid's head and twisted it forcefully. The maid died with her eyes wide open, her life cut short.
She carried the corpse through the secret passage to the dry well in the backyard, threw the body in, clapped her hands, and returned to Ye Wantang's side.
Ye Wantang leaned comfortably against the bathtub, pointing to an expensive set of jewelry.
"This is a reward for you. Luckily you were quick-witted and reminded me in advance to change the entrance to the secret passage. You were also able to spot her coming over tonight and notify me in time. Otherwise, I'm afraid she would have become suspicious."
After expressing her gratitude, Tan Ge flattered, "It's also because Miss is clever that she changed the bed board so that it can only be opened from the inside and not from the outside."
Even if Yin Jiuniang suspected something and searched the entire room, she wouldn't find the switch to open the secret passage.
The mechanism to open the secret passage has now been moved behind the artificial hill and is no longer in the room.
Once inside the secret passage, one can open the bed board to return to the room. Those inside the room who want to enter the secret passage can only do so through the artificial hill.
It was impossible for Yin Jiuniang to search the entire mansion one by one.
Moreover.
"She didn't find anything at first, so she shouldn't suspect you anymore."
However, Miss, this person will always be a threat in the household; we must find a way to get rid of him.
Ye Wantang certainly wanted to kill Yin Jiuniang, "but all those who tried to assassinate Shegu failed, so killing Yin Jiuniang is no easy task."
She had heard about what was happening outside: the Grand Princess, Kang Le, and the Dongwu spies had all failed, so she couldn't try it rashly.
Tan Ge tentatively asked, "Miss, could we ask that person for help?"
She only recently learned that her mistress's room had a secret passage, through which her mistress often met men in secret.
The young woman did not reveal who the man was.
She glanced down at the red marks on Ye Wantang's body. A man who could make his mistress serve him so willingly must be no ordinary person.
If she knew more of the young lady's secrets, the young lady would value her even more, and when the young lady needed someone to help win over the male master, she would definitely think of her.
Tan Ge always felt that, as someone born into slavery, the only way for her to rise above others was to become a male master's concubine.
She was very happy to learn that Ye Wantang had a man in private.
Ye Wantang understood Tan Ge's thoughts very well. "Now is not the time. Let's wait a bit longer."
The men he sent to assassinate She Gu last time were all wiped out. She just asked him for help to find Shi Yan again.
If he were to kill Yin Jiuniang again, he feared he would become annoyed with her.
Nobody likes someone who makes endless demands; she has to take it one step at a time.
She didn't intend to let Tan Ge get close to that person. Tan Ge's ambition was too great. If it weren't for the fact that the maid knew about her true relationship with Wang Shi, and she was worried that the maid would leak the secret, she would have secretly dealt with the maid.
Now that there's no one to cover for her in the secret passage, she won't let Tan Ge know its secret.
But for now, she still needed Tan Ge's loyalty, so Ye Wantang coaxed, "Tan Ge, we won't be stuck like this for long. Before long, I'll make you a superior person by following me."
Once she finds her father and her glory surpasses even her former self, she won't keep a servant like Tan Ge, who only thinks about climbing into her future master's bed, for even a moment longer.
No, there's no need to wait to find her father. That man has already promised to help her. As long as she gets out of her current predicament, she will get rid of Tan Ge.
Unaware that Ye Wantang intended to kill her, Tan Ge probed, "Miss, do you mean that person can help you lift your confinement, or help you deal with Ye Zhen? Who is he?"
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