Liang Chen Mei Jin

Chapter 58: Rescue

Concubine Song felt that Gu Jinzhao was overstepping her bounds. She simply couldn't fathom what Jinzhao was scheming.

Why would she suddenly send a screen over and insist on placing it in the western wing?

Her voice turned noticeably colder. "Since Eldest Miss wishes to place it in the western wing, then so be it!" Yet she made no move to have the servants assist, remaining seated on the heated kang, sipping apricot tea without budging.

Jinzhao paid no mind. With Qingpu in tow, she directed the servants to carry the screen to the outside of the western wing. She flung open all the doors to the rooms there, inspecting each one by one, then called out loudly, "Concubine Song, don’t take offense—I must find the most suitable room!"

Concubine Song had never seen Jinzhao act so shamelessly before. Her temples throbbed with anger. Wasn’t Jinzhao usually so proper and restrained? What was she causing such a stir for? If she didn’t know Jinzhao was deliberately provoking her, she might have thought the girl had reverted to her old unruly self!

After searching fruitlessly, Jinzhao found no trace of Xiuqu. Qingpu gave her a subtle shake of the head—she hadn’t found any clues either, not even a drop of blood. If someone had been beaten to death here, Concubine Song would surely have stopped them from entering.

That meant Xiuqu truly wasn’t in the Waterside Pavilion.

Jinzhao casually pointed to one of the rooms. "Put it here!"

The servants immediately carried the screen inside, stirring up a cloud of dust. Jinzhao brushed the dust from her hands and noticed Concubine Song standing outside the door, glaring at her. She smiled gently and said, "The screen is in place, so I’ll take my leave now. Concubine Song, you should rest—perhaps drink another bowl of cooling plum syrup to soothe your temper!" With that, she left the Waterside Pavilion with Qingpu and the servants in tow.

Qiaowei glanced at the wide-open doors of the western wing and the haphazardly placed screen inside. Then she looked at Concubine Song, whose face had turned ashen. She whispered cautiously, "Concubine, don’t take Eldest Miss’s behavior to heart. That’s just how she is!"

Concubine Song gritted her teeth. "...She’s utterly unreasonable!"

She ordered the servants to close the doors of the western wing. That screen had to be taken out and burned—who knew what Jinzhao was plotting by placing it there?

Once Jinzhao returned to Paulownia Courtyard, she took a sip of tea. The young maid Yuzhu quickly approached, blinking up at her expectantly. Jinzhao shook her head. "She’s not in Concubine Song’s quarters. We’ll have to wait for Guard Xue to return. If she’s not in the side courtyard either, then we’ll have to... search outside..."

If Xiuqu wasn’t in the side courtyard, she was likely already dead. They might find her body at the Hill of Disturbed Winds.

Yuzhu’s face fell. She knew Eldest Miss had already done her best. She also understood that if Xiuqu wasn’t in the side courtyard, there was no hope left. Still just a child, Yuzhu’s eyes reddened as she said, "If we find Xiuqu’s body at the Hill of Disturbed Winds, could you bring her back and demand justice for her? Let everyone know how cruel Concubine Song really is..."

Jinzhao shook her head. "Concubine Song will just say she released Xiuqu from the household. If the body is found outside, it could have been a robbery, or she might have run into ruffians—how could we pin it on Concubine Song? She’d turn it around and accuse us of slander."

Hearing this, Yuzhu couldn’t hold back her tears.

She was terrified that Xiuqu had died because of her!

Mama Tong comforted her. "Don’t cry yet—there’s still hope. You couldn’t have known Concubine Song would be so ruthless..."As they were speaking, Yutong came in and said, "Eldest Miss, Xue the guard has arrived."

It was already late at night, so Jinchao found it inconvenient to meet him in the flower hall. She invited him to sit in the East Side Room instead. Xue Sixteen had just returned from his night patrol, still dressed in his black uniform, and thus did not sit on the embroidered stool. He clasped his hands and reported to Jinchao, "This humble officer has inspected all six abandoned courtyards in the rear compound and found nothing unusual."

Jinchao frowned slightly. She had been seventy percent certain that Xiuqu should be in one of the side courtyards! After all, Xiuqu had only been missing for two days. To kill her and smuggle her out of the estate so quickly without anyone noticing was no simple feat. Song Yiniang didn't have a team of skilled guards like her mother did—the most she could command were a few burly maidservants from her own quarters and some servants scattered throughout the estate.

Jinchao continued, "Could you tell me more about these six courtyards..."

Xue Sixteen furrowed his brows. His primary duty was patrolling, and helping the young miss this time was already going above and beyond. He had been assigned by the Ji family to protect their safety, not to search for some maid who had thrown a tantrum and run away! Spending an entire evening inspecting abandoned courtyards was bad enough. If he lingered any longer with the Eldest Miss, how would he manage his patrol duties tomorrow?

"Eldest Miss, you really don't need to look for this maid. She's just run off! After a few days without food, she'll come crawling back on her own. Why bother searching? This humble officer has patrol duties tomorrow. If you insist on continuing the search, perhaps I could arrange for a few servants to assist you instead?"

Jinchao found his words both irritating and amusing, though she didn't blame him. Despite Xue Sixteen's respectful tone, she could sense his underlying disdain—a preconceived notion she couldn't change. She sighed helplessly, "That maid didn't run away because of a tantrum. She accidentally revealed Song Yiniang's words to me, and now Song Yiniang wants to silence her. I'm searching everywhere because I want to save her!"

Xue Sixteen was stunned. What was the Eldest Miss saying? Song Yiniang wanted to kill a maid to silence her?

Jinchao pressed on, "Do you know what happened on the day of Second Miss's coming-of-age ceremony?"

Xue Sixteen thought for a moment. "This humble officer has heard a little. It's said you accidentally discovered Second Miss in a secret conversation with Li Furen..."

The incident had spread far and wide. Because the Gu household was under Song Yiniang's control, the servants had initially kept quiet. But once rumors began circulating outside, the entire household eventually learned of it.

Jinchao smiled faintly and continued, "Since you're loyal to my mother, I'm willing to share this with you. That day wasn't a coincidence—I had prior knowledge of their meeting and brought Wen Furen along to eavesdrop." Lowering her voice, she added, "That information came from the maid. Now, I beg you, Guard Xue, to save her if you can. I can't let her die because of me."

Xue Sixteen's face was a picture of astonishment. His impression of the Eldest Miss had always been that of a spoiled, willful young lady who was easily manipulated. He never imagined she had become so strategically adept! Because of this incident, Song Yiniang had lost the master's favor, and Second Miss was confined to her room practicing calligraphy. The guards had secretly rejoiced for Madam Li—little did they know it was all the Eldest Miss's deliberate doing!Xue Sixteen felt a pang of guilt in his heart. He had thought the Eldest Miss was merely toying with them for amusement, but it turned out she was trying to save a maid who had once shown them kindness! He clasped his fists and said, "This humble officer was mistaken to misinterpret the Eldest Miss's intentions. I beg for your forgiveness. Among the six courtyards, one is adjacent to the Waterside Pavilion. I entered and checked but found no one inside. Five others are located farther away. I entered four of them, but the fifth had a wooden gate secured with an iron lock, so I did not proceed further."

Jinchao couldn't help but stand up and ask him, "Why didn’t you enter the one that was locked?"

Xue Sixteen, puzzled by the sudden seriousness in the Eldest Miss's tone, explained, "At the time, this humble officer thought that since the gate was locked from the outside, naturally, one couldn’t enter... So I didn’t..."

Jinchao sighed and said, "That’s precisely how they conceal things! Doesn’t the courtyard have a back gate?"

Xue Sixteen thought for a moment, then his face paled. He immediately knelt before Jinchao. "This humble officer nearly ruined the Eldest Miss's important task! I beg for your punishment!"

Jinchao quickly helped him up. "There’s no use dwelling on that now. You must hurry and see if she’s inside." Realizing that if Xiuqu was indeed there, Xue Sixteen might face difficulties bringing her back due to propriety between men and women, she instructed Qingpu to accompany him to the side courtyard.

Xue Sixteen dared not delay any longer and led Qingpu toward the secluded courtyard.

After a moment’s thought, Jinchao also instructed Baiyun to quickly boil water in the small kitchen while she herself fetched hemostatic medicine and cotton bandages from her room.

Within half an hour, Xue Sixteen and Qingpu returned. Standing under the corridor in the dim light of night, Jinchao saw Qingpu carrying what appeared to be a person wrapped in a cloak and knew they had indeed brought Xiuqu back—likely severely injured! The young maid Yuzhu darted out like a startled rabbit, eager to see Xiuqu’s condition, but thankfully Mama Tong stopped her first. "Don’t go near her now—this is a matter of life and death!"

Qingpu, walking ahead of Xue Sixteen, nearly ran to the corridor. Once inside the western chamber, Jinchao urged her to lay the maid on the large heated bed. As Qingpu unwrapped the cloak, she explained, "We slipped in through the back gate. The maid was in the side room of the Bitao Pavilion, beaten black and blue all over. Fortunately, her internal organs were unharmed. But she’s weak and has lost too much blood—she fainted long ago..."

When the cloak was removed, Jinchao saw that Xiuqu’s third-rank maid uniform was torn to shreds. Just as Qingpu had described, whip marks and knife wounds crisscrossed her body, covered in blood. Her face was deathly pale, her breath faint as if she might stop breathing at any moment.

Apart from Qingpu and Caifu, who remained relatively composed, the other maids were trembling in fright.

Steadying herself, Jinchao said firmly, "Caifu, first clean her wounds with warm water. Qingpu, apply the medicine to stop the bleeding, then bandage her with cotton. If the wounds are too deep, don’t stop the bleeding or bandage them yet... Mama Tong, go immediately and fetch Liu Daifu."

Mama Tong acknowledged the order but hesitated. "Eldest Miss, leaving the manor in the middle of the night will surely alert Concubine Song. Should we conceal this from them?"

Jinchao scoffed. "No need! Even if she finds out, she won’t do anything."

Mama Tong hurried off to carry out her task. Seeing Xiuqu shivering as if from cold, Jinchao instructed Yuzhu to retrieve a brazier from the storeroom and light it. Though it was already early summer, the braziers had long been stored away. Noticing Qingpu was overwhelmed, Jinchao personally stepped in to apply medicine to Xiuqu’s wounds.After a flurry of activity, Xiuqu was cleaned up and properly wrapped. Baiyun then brought a bowl of pear syrup water to feed her. Though half-conscious, Xiuqu still managed to swallow the sweet liquid. Yuzhu moved the stove closer to her and draped a thin brocade quilt over her. Soon enough, Xiuqu's breathing finally became steady and even.

Xue Sixteen still waited outside the door.

P.S.:

Thanks to Meiyan Kongkong for the little bunny, as well as to Moon Hui, Good Mood :), and Frequent Traveler for the pink tickets. Thank you all~~ There will be another update at noon!

Also recommending a great work by a friend: Jiulixi's The Supporting Female Character's Rise in the Apocalypse .