After changing her clothes and preparing to slip away quietly, a sudden commotion in the courtyard made the child raise an eyebrow, pausing her movements.
Knocking sounds came from the door, and Huan'er called out in a hushed voice from outside, "Xing'er, I have good news!"
Opening the door, Huan'er rushed in excitedly and said with a smile, "Xing'er, there's good news! Do you want to hear it?"
The child, small in stature, looked somewhat comical sitting in the chair. She poured a cup of tea and took a dignified sip before saying, "Go on."
"Xing'er!" The little maid pouted unhappily. "Do you even want to hear it? You don't look excited at all."
The child smiled faintly. "If you want to tell me, go ahead. Even if I said I didn't want to hear it, you'd still say it."
"Hmph, I won't argue with you. But this time, it really is good news." Huan'er laughed. "Zhu Shun, the steward of the outer residence, was caught by Seventh Madam having an affair with a newly favored songstress from the inner residence. Even Third Madam and the eldest young master were alerted. The songstress has already been thrown into the well, and Zhu Shun was given thirty lashes. Isn't that good news?"
The hand holding the teacup stilled. The child sat in the chair, her expression as calm as an ancient well, unruffled. Her dark, ink-like eyes narrowed slowly, concealing all emotion and sharpness. She nodded and said in a low voice, "It is indeed good news."
The little maid said indignantly, "Exactly! Zhu Shun always relies on his master's influence to bully others. Which of us servants hasn't suffered at his hands? Take your Jing family children, for example—their being sent to the old master's place is partly his fault. Today, he got a good beating—it's like the heavens have opened their eyes and vented our anger for us."
The child's expression remained unchanged, her voice calm and deliberately restrained. "Committing adultery with a songstress from the inner residence—such a crime, and he only got thirty lashes? That seems far too lenient."
"Exactly!" Huan'er said. "Seventh Madam was so angry she went to find the fourth young master to reason with him. Unfortunately, our young master has never been one to meddle in such matters. With the first madam and the master away from the residence, everything is decided by the eldest young master. And Zhu Shun is the eldest young master's man. What a pity."
Chu Qiao nodded slowly and said, "Alright, I understand. Thank you for telling me, Huan'er."
Noticing the child's unusual expression, Huan'er softened her tone, feeling somewhat uneasy. "Xing'er, are you feeling unwell? Should I fetch a physician for you?"
"No need," Chu Qiao replied with a faint smile, reassuring her. "I'll be fine after some rest."
"Oh," Huan'er nodded and left the room. As soon as the door closed, the child's expression darkened immediately.
Even this couldn't bring him down?
Then, it seems I'll have to take matters into my own hands. Chu Qiao slowly bit her lip as she sat in the chair. It appeared that all her plans needed to be rearranged.
The gate to the courtyard of Zhu Shun, the steward of the outer residence, was tightly shut, but from a distance, one could still occasionally hear the man's pig-like screams. The passing servants kept their eyes downcast, not daring to glance around recklessly, yet their gleeful expressions were unmistakable—happier than if they had received their New Year's wages.Zhu Shun lay face down on the bed, completely naked, howling like a wounded animal while cursing the two servants applying medicine to his wounds as if they were the ones who had beaten him.
"Damn your grandmother! Are you trying to kill me with pain?"
One of the servants, sweating profusely, cautiously replied while trying to be careful, "Steward Zhu, you must endure it. The flesh has stuck to your trousers, and we have to tear them off."
The room faced east toward the water, with a few sparse shrubs outside. A sharp dagger slid silently along the window, using the cover of the man's agonized cries to unlatch it quietly. A child rose slowly, holding a homemade folding crossbow, aiming directly at the man's head.
This type of crossbow originated in South Africa, passed down from a jungle tribe. It was exquisitely designed, capable of being disassembled and folded, accurate at close range, and nearly silent. Back when Chu Qiao was on an undercover mission abroad, she had used such a crossbow to infiltrate a heavily guarded private party and ultimately assassinate her target. Not only was this crossbow easy to carry, but it also possessed immense lethality. A skilled hunter could rely on it to kill a full-grown tiger, a testament to its astonishing power. In the era of cold weapons, it was practically tailor-made for assassins. Zhu Shun was fortunate—he was about to become the first person to die under this trans-era, cross-regional superweapon.
Just then, a man rushed in frantically, shouting, "Steward Zhu! Steward Zhu!"
"What's all the yelling for?" Zhu Shun roared in fury. "Planning my funeral? I'm not dead yet!"
The servant quickly explained, "Steward Zhu, someone from the other courtyard has come. The Old Master is asking why the little slave girl promised to him hasn't been delivered yet."
Zhu Shun froze, then leaped up abruptly. But before he could utter a word, he collapsed to the ground with a thud, howling in pain. Amid his cries, he managed to say, "That girl probably won't make it. The Fourth Young Master won't release her. I've prepared ten newly purchased young slaves at Xile Courtyard. Take your men and fetch them."
"Yes, understood," the man replied and hurried out.
Zhu Shun yelled after him, "Remember to tell the Old Master I'm gravely ill. I'll pay my respects once I've recovered."
Outside the window, the crossbow was gradually lowered. The child's eyes shifted thoughtfully as another idea formed in their mind.
Perhaps there was another way to eliminate these two—without staining their hands, clean and efficient.
As soon as the dungeon in Xile Courtyard was opened, a foul stench of filth assaulted them. The steward from the other courtyard wrinkled his nose in disgust and pinched it, saying, "What kind of trash is this? How can such goods be presented to the Old Master?"
The servant who had come earlier quickly bowed and scraped, "Slaves are hard to come by these days. The moment they hear it's for the Zhuge residence, they jack up the prices like crazy. These few were all Steward Zhu managed to scrape together with great effort. Don't worry, once they're cleaned up, each one will be a little beauty. The Old Master will be overjoyed when he sees them."
"Enough, stop blabbering. Just pull them out. I don't have time to waste here with you."The children inside hadn't seen sunlight for a long time. Since being purchased, they had been locked away, all disheveled and terrified, covering their eyes and huddling tightly together like a pack of small animals.
The steward of the branch courtyard glanced at them and frowned, saying, "Weren't there supposed to be only ten? Why are there eleven?"
"Really?" The servant quickly counted and replied, "Perhaps Steward Zhu miscounted. I'll go back and ask."
"Forget it, don't bother. I don't have time for that. Take them away!"
Several burly men stepped forward, shoving one of the children and shouting angrily, "All of you, follow us!"
Frightened, some of the children began to whimper softly.
"Anyone who dares to cry again will be cut down! How dare you defy us!"
The servants, emboldened by their master's authority, yelled while grabbing one of the slightly cleaner children. At that moment, the child suddenly turned around and bit down hard on the man's wrist. The man screamed and let go, and the child immediately darted away like a rabbit.
"Ah! One escaped! Chase him, catch him!"
When the Zhuge residence servants saw the direction the child was running, they panicked and grabbed the branch courtyard steward, exclaiming, "Steward Zhu, that's the direction of the Fourth Young Master's Green Mountain Courtyard. We can't go there!"
"It's just catching a slave. What's the problem?" Steward Zhu roared angrily, shoving the servant's hand away and dashing off in the direction the child had fled.
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