"Spill it! Did you do this?!" After Qianqian stood up, she turned around and screamed at Bai Luochu.

Bai Luochu's brows arched upwards and her guess was right. Her cousin had indeed arranged this for her. I guess my counterplay was brilliant after all...

Of course, Bai Luochu definitely wouldn't admit that she used the silver to attack Qianqian. She quickly denied, "What is the meaning of this? Don't try to find fault with me just because you are unhappy after falling into a bucket full of swill."

"You used the piece of silver to hit my ankle! I fell because of you! How dare you try to deny it?!"

"Do you have any evidence that the silver on the ground belongs to me? It won't respond to me even if I call out to it. Furthermore, even if I accidentally threw out a piece of silver to make you trip, why will the bucket of swill be there? Should I ask the manservant about the identity of the person who instructed him to carry a bucket of swill over to my courtyard?" Bai Luochu felt that it was hilarious when she looked at her cousin whose scheme had completely failed. She even fell into the pit she dug for Bai Luochu. Right now she was even trying to push the blame away.

Qianqian lost her imposing manner as she was the one who instructed the manservant to prepare this bucket of swill. She originally wanted to speak with Bai Luochu before getting her to walk to the door. According to her plan, she would then trip Bai Luochu who would fall face first into the bucket of swill. She even instructed the servant to pour more trash in order to catch Bai Luochu off guard. No matter the case, she never expected herself to fall when leaving the room.

This cheap lass, why did she become so shrewd after coming back? How is she able to see through my plans and make me walk into them myself?

Qianqian stood at the entrance for a long time without saying a word. After a long moment, she flung her sleeve with anguish and didn't forget to leave behind a vicious threat before she left. "Luo Chu, you better remember this! I will make you pay for this one day!"

Bai Luochu didn't feel that Qianqian was worth her time. She simply asked someone to clean up the entrance before closing the door. She went back to cultivating as though nothing had happened.

"Mistress, it is time to eat lunch."

When Bai Luochu opened her eyes again, Cai Ling was calling for her to eat lunch. The sun was already high up in the sky and Bai Luochu personally opened the door for Cai Ling.

"Mistress, why is there a strange smell at the entrance?" Cai Ling entered and asked.

"Nothing much. Someone wanted to scheme against me and ended up covering herself with swill. Light up some incense later and fumigate the entrance. If some idiots were to smell the stench, they might think that your mistress likes to eat swill..."

When Cai Ling heard the explanation, she knew that Qianqian was here to cause trouble. But when she heard what Bai Luochu said, she couldn't help but giggle.

After laughing, Cai Ling thought about the matters that Commander Ying instructed her to do when she visited the Remote Paddy Inn earlier in the day. She then said, "Mistress, Commander Ying said that after you finish your lunch and have a rest, you should go to that courtyard at around 5 pm and wait."

Bai Luochu frowned slightly at the news and asked, "Is the tunnel completed?"

"This servant isn't very clear either as Commander Ying hasn't said anything about it. I am afraid that we can only wait at the courtyard for him to appear."

Bai Luochu smiled and shook her head. " Ying Lan even dares to keep me in suspense right now."

Bai Luochu might be saying this, but she wasn't planning to reprimand him.

In the blink of the eye, it was 5 pm and Bai Luochu brought Cai Ling to the secluded courtyard.

After entering the courtyard, they immediately went to the master room. There was no one in the room and there were no signs of activity. Bai Luochu was rather patient and simply waited quietly.

After the time it took for one stick of incense to burn, Bai Luochu detected subtle traces of movements under her feet. When she listened closely, it seemed to be sounds of footsteps and voices.

Bai Luochu released her spiritual energy, but due to the layers of the soil underneath her feet, she wasn't able to hear them clearly.

After a short while, Bai Luochu felt that the floor tile under her feet was loosening up. Since she didn't know what was happening, she didn't move.

Mistress, can I trouble you to please lift your feet?" Ying Lan's helpless voice echoed from underneath the floor tile.

Bai Luochu managed to hear him and quickly walked over to Cai Ling's side. The moment she left her spot, the floor tile popped up. A face poked out from the ground and who else would appear other than Ying Lan?

As soon as Ying Lan extended his head out, he complained, "Mistress, you sure know how to look for a spot. You stood at the exit of this subordinate's tunnel! I even thought that I dug to the wrong courtyard!"

Bai Luochu heard the complaints and laughed, "Hahaha, what a coincidence... Anyway, I should be the one asking you the questions. Is the tunnel complete?"

"It is already done. In order to conceal the exit, I left enough space for one adult male to pass through. Right now, we just lack the mechanisms. After Mistress sets up the mechanisms, the tunnel will be fully completed."

Bai Luochu recalled that Ying Lan was the one who kept her in the dark and she started to make fun of him. "Hey, you completed this tunnel so quickly... Will it collapse after we use it a few times?"

When Ying Lan heard Bai Luochu's comment, he became anxious. "Mistress, what are you talking about?! I personally supervised the digging of the tunnel, how can it possibly collapse?!"

"Fine, fine fine, it won't collapse. I was just teasing you and you took it so seriously. Here, these are the mechanisms that I designed during the past few days. Take a look and see if anything needs to be modified." Bai Luochu spoke and passed him the blueprints.

Ying Lan took the blueprints and took a closer look. He then pointed out some of the overly complicated areas and said, "Mistress, these parts are too complicated. The tunnel is so cramped and it is normally used for secret communications or to escape when encountering danger. If it is too complicated, it might even harm the people on our side. Why not make these areas a little simpler and fix up switches at both ends. When no one is in the tunnel, the mechanisms will be activated. What do you think about it?"

When Bai Luochu listened to Ying Lan's comments, she looked at the blueprints. She felt that his feedback was reasonable and she gave him another piece of instruction. "Let's do it your way. After you return today, prepare everything and look for me when you are free. We will set up the mechanisms in the tunnel."

"Yes, this subordinate understands. Mistress' efforts will not be wasted. If these complicated mechanisms are used in the secret room, it will be extremely brilliant. However, where are we going to construct the secret room?"

"Follow me, I have something to show the two of you." Bai Luochu responded and led the duo towards the inner room.