Accompanying Hua Zhi back were Yu Mu, Jia Yang, and the eight others who had followed her from the capital.
Gu Yanxi, dressed in an extremely ordinary guard uniform, handed over a warm hand warmer, saying, "It's time to go."
There was wind today. After stepping outside, Gu Yanxi adjusted her hood and helped her into the carriage. Shaoyao, who had already boarded earlier, reached out to pull her up, smugly winking at Yan Ge—she could accompany Hua Hua, but Yan Ge couldn't. Envious? Jealous? Too bad, hahaha!
Gu Yanxi simply pretended not to see her and mounted his horse.
Lifting the curtain for one last look at the still unfamiliar residence, Hua Zhi turned to the man riding alongside the carriage and asked, "Is it alright?"
"It's fine," Gu Yanxi replied softly, glancing around. He usually wore a mask when going out, and now he had covered his scars as well, making his face unrecognizable.
Hua Zhi said no more, as she too wished to spend a little more time with Yanxi.
Leaning against the window, she watched the man bathed in sunlight, his figure softened by the glow. She felt an urge to reach out and touch him, but the carriage had already entered the main street, so she suppressed the thought.
"Do you have any message for Little Six?"
"With you here, I'm at ease." Gu Yanxi looked down at her, his smile visible only to her. "Don't be too protective of him. Some things he must experience himself to grow. As long as it's not life-threatening, a little bloodshed or injury doesn't matter. A docile creature raised at home is a dog, but he is a wolf—he needs some ferocity and skill to become the alpha."
Hua Zhi muttered, "I feel like you're implying that a doting mother ruins the child."
Gu Yanxi suppressed a laugh—that was exactly what he meant. A Zhi was excellent in every way, except she tended to spoil the child. Though she could be stern, she absolutely wouldn't tolerate her own child being bullied. Little Six had a weak foundation, so being bullied or suffering losses was inevitable. Only by fighting back himself could he truly grow. When children fight, adults shouldn't intervene lightly—once they do, the nature of the conflict changes, and the child may become reliant on external support, developing laziness. In the long run, this would harm both Little Six and A Zhi.
Little Six was not Berlin; A Zhi needed to distinguish between them.
"Even if Little Six is extraordinary, he's still just an eleven-year-old child. We can let him venture out, but we can't completely let go. A child needs a backer—with support, he gains the confidence to stand up to others. If we make him bear everything alone, what use are we adults?"
You're only of marriageable age, still wearing a maiden's hairstyle—how are you an adult? Gu Yanxi thought to himself, but outwardly he agreed, "You're right, but we still need to maintain balance."
"I know." Seeing Wang Hai riding over, Hua Zhi dropped the somewhat odd topic.
Wang Hai whispered something into Gu Yanxi's ear. After a few instructions from Gu Yanxi, Wang Hai hurriedly bowed to Hua Zhi and rode off.
Gu Yanxi looked down. "A major conflict broke out at the silver mine. Seven people have already died."
Hua Zhi was stunned. How could that be...
"A Zhi, I need to go over."
They exchanged a glance, and Hua Zhi nodded slightly.
"Hua Hua, are we still leaving?" Shaoyao asked, watching the pensive Hua Hua.
Hua Zhi smiled. "If we can still leave."
Shaoyao raised an eyebrow and began rummaging through her satchel, pulling out various bottles and jars to tinker with.
Patting her head, Hua Zhi quietly watched her work until the carriage came to a stop."Miss, someone delivered this." Yu Mu knocked on the carriage compartment and placed a brush holder by the entrance.
Hua Zhi's pupils contracted sharply. She picked up the brush holder and twisted open the bottom as Yu Weiwei had instructed, revealing a slip of paper inside. Unfolding it, she saw a large handwritten character: "Invitation."
"Where is the person who delivered this?"
"It was a beggar. I didn't detain him."
Hua Zhi slowly twisted the bottom back into place. "To the Yu residence."
"Miss..."
"If I don't go, no one in the Yu family will survive." Yu Weiwei was saving herself, but she was also helping her. Without the messages Yu Weiwei had repeatedly sent, they wouldn't have traced the silver's whereabouts so quickly. If she abandoned Yu Weiwei and left, not only would Zeng Xianglin certainly have backup plans waiting ahead, but she'd also carry this guilt for the rest of her life. That was too terrible to contemplate.
Yu Mu said no more and turned the carriage toward the Yu residence.
Shaoyao sprinkled some medicinal powder over Hua Hua, then drew the dagger strapped to her leg. She coated the blade with some unknown substance and waited for it to dry before sheathing it again.
After completing these preparations, she lifted the window curtain to check outside. Taking out a small bottle, she poured out a round pill and fed it to Hua Hua, then handed the bottle to Jia Yang. "Everyone take one."
"Yes."
The main gate of the Yu residence stood wide open. Hua Zhi paused at the foot of the steps to glance at the name plaque before ascending.
Passing through the main gate and skirting the screen wall, they found the courtyard completely empty.
Hua Zhi proceeded directly toward the inner quarters. Even when she reached the third courtyard where Yu Weiwei lived, she didn't encounter a single servant—whether they had been killed or imprisoned remained unknown.
Without breaking stride, the group arrived at Yu Weiwei's tightly sealed courtyard.
Shaoyao stepped forward to push the door open, sniffing her hand but detecting no unusual odor.
In the center of the courtyard, Yu Weiwei and her parents were bound. Master Yu and his wife hung their heads motionless while Yu Weiwei had a cloth gag in her mouth. Her eyes burned with alarming intensity when she saw Hua Zhi, nodding and shaking her head frantically.
Hua Zhi approached and removed the gag. Yu Weiwei immediately shrieked, "Zeng Xianglin set this up deliberately! It's all his scheme to lure you out! Leave quickly, go now!"
"If this is a trap, why would he let me leave easily?" Hua Zhi untied her bonds while Shaoyao and Yu Mu freed Master Yu and his wife. Shaoyao casually checked their pulses—they had merely been drugged with sleeping draught and would be fine.
"Miss Hua is indeed as clever and capable as rumors suggest." An unfamiliar male voice emerged from the main hall. The sunlight outside was so brilliant that the interior appeared dim in contrast.
Hua Zhi watched as a scholarly, handsome man strolled out leisurely. He wore a smile that seemed genuinely friendly, his eyes radiating sincerity—he looked every bit the good man.
But he wasn't.
"It appears Young Master Zeng is very well-informed."
"With Miss Hua's renowned reputation, even the farthest corners of the north and south must have heard about the capable young lady of the Hua family by now."
So he truly knew her identity. Suddenly everything became clear to Hua Zhi: he had verified her identity from the beginning. Her connection with the head of the Seven Constellation Bureau was no secret in the capital. Combined with whatever other channels he might have used to learn that Yan Xi had come to Jin Yang, he had been setting this trap all along—a trap specifically designed for her and Yan Xi.Yet she still couldn't fathom Zeng Xianglin's motives. Why would he go so far as to expose his connection with the Chao Li Tribe just to set this trap? What could he possibly gain from it? Even if she and Yan Xi were to die here, aside from incurring the emperor's overwhelming wrath, what benefit could he obtain?
PS: I've decided—my next book will be a fluffy romance. This one is way too mind-bending.
OpenNovel