"With Young Master's cultivation, to infiltrate the Dou household and enter this humble woman's chamber without a sound…"
Wang Yingxue's eyes twinkled as they spun cunningly. She wasted no time before flattering him, her voice coated in honeyed reverence.
"There are likely but a handful of noble estates in the capital that could block your path, are there not? Even the prestigious residence of the Marquis of Jining, perhaps…"
"Hah! You speak truth!" Wei Tingyu let out a light chuckle, clearly pleased by the praise. "It's not bragging to say this—if I wish to enter the Jining Marquisate, I come and go as I please. No one dares stop me!"
These were no empty boasts. He didn't even need to scale walls or sneak through shadows—he could stride openly through the main gate and leave with the same ease.
"Oh my! Please, Young Master, take a seat!"
Wang Yingxue's face bloomed like a flower, the fear from earlier now thoroughly swept away by the enticing scent of a potentially successful scheme.
She even walked over in person and poured a cup of wine, offering it to him with both hands, her demeanor one of utmost deference.
"What does Madam mean by this?" Wei Tingyu showed no sign of concern—poison, after all, was but dust before his formidable internal strength.
But the sudden and eager shift in Wang Yingxue's attitude piqued his curiosity. What was this venomous woman plotting?
"Young Master, you must've overheard my conversation with my nephew earlier," she said with a wily smile. "Since you can pass freely through the walls of such grand estates, surely... entering the chamber of the Marquis's wife would be no trouble either?"
"But of course," Wei Tingyu replied, and now he understood her true intent.
Ah, so that's it—this schemer wished for him to carry out her wicked plan to defile Dou Zhaozhen, her own niece-in-law.
Yet Dou Zhaozhen was his own wife! If he wished to visit her boudoir, did he not have every right to do so openly?
Still, Wei Tingyu feigned ignorance and gazed at her with playful innocence. "And what, Madam, would you have me do?"
"As long as Young Master enters the marquisate under cover of night and takes the noble lady's body as your own…"
Wang Yingxue's eyes flickered maliciously as she laid her cards on the table. "This humble woman shall offer a grand reward!"
"You mean to ask me to do what your nephew refused to?" Wei Tingyu thought to himself with dark amusement.
This woman would truly stop at nothing to pave the way for her daughter, Dou Ming.
"My nephew is but a useless fool! How could he ever be compared to a man of your caliber?"
Seeing his interest deepen, Wang Yingxue quickly sweetened the offer.
"If Young Master succeeds and brings back the lady's... undergarment as proof, I shall reward you with ten thousand taels of silver!"
Ten thousand taels?
Even Wei Tingyu raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Impressive—this venomous widow had deeper coffers than he expected.
Then again, in the original tale, she had been involved in shady money-lending affairs, so having a private stash made perfect sense.
Still, to offer such a sum outright—she was certainly generous.
For context, Pang Kunbai had only spent a mere twenty or thirty taels to hire three thugs for the kidnapping attempt on Dou Zhao.
"Is the offer too meager for Young Master's taste?"
Wang Yingxue's heart trembled when she saw his ambivalent expression.
But for the sake of her daughter's future, she was willing to burn all her wealth to lay the road before her.
With a tight breath, she raised the stakes once more.
"Then—twenty thousand! My entire fortune lies in this!"
"You think I'd sell myself for silver? That I'd stoop so low for coin?"
Wei Tingyu's voice turned cold, and his gaze pierced through her.
"..."
Wang Yingxue was stunned, staring at the man before her.
Indeed, clad in elegant robes and bearing the enigmatic jade fox mask, his noble aura was impossible to conceal.
He was no mere rogue or mercenary.
How foolish of her to think he could be swayed with money.
But then… if not for silver… what did he want?
"Is the marquis's wife… beautiful?"
Wei Tingyu's sudden question caught Wang Yingxue off-guard.
Ah—so he was a man of passion!
Of course! Why else would a man risk life and limb, scaling walls in the dead of night, if not for a woman's charms?
She cursed her own shortsightedness.
Smiling coyly, she nodded eagerly.
"Of course she is! The Lady Dou of Jining is famed far and wide for her beauty!"
"Why else would the Marquis have personally sought her hand in marriage, refusing to wed any other?"
"I swear, if I were a man, even I would fall for her at first sight!"
"To share even one night of spring with such a peerless beauty—one could die without regret!"
Though she hated Dou Zhao with every fiber of her being, Wang Yingxue had no choice but to praise her to the heavens now.
After all, she had to lure this "Jade-Faced Fox" into executing her plan.
And hearing these words, Wei Tingyu couldn't help but feel amused and a bit proud.
Spring nights with such a beauty? He had them countless times already—Dou Zhao was his rightful wife!
"Madam's words… are quite tempting," Wei Tingyu said, fighting the urge to laugh at the irony.
"Yes, yes! Once you take her, she'll be yours to command!"
Seeing his reaction, Wang Yingxue quickly pressed on.
All she wanted was to tarnish Dou Zhao's purity, so that Wei Tingyu would cast her aside—clearing the path for Dou Ming to become the new Lady Marquis.
"However…" Wei Tingyu gave a sly chuckle, narrowing his eyes.
"I don't like being used. Just knowing I'm doing this on your behalf… puts a bad taste in my mouth."
"Then… what does Young Master mean?"
Wang Yingxue's brow furrowed once more.
Money wasn't enough. Beauty didn't move him. What in heaven's name did he want?
"You, Madam…"
Wei Tingyu knew the fish had taken the bait, and now it was time to reel it in.
With a lazy wave of his folding fan, he gently lifted her chin, his gaze playful and wicked.
"You are… rather pleasing to the eye."