Rebirth (Bing Hu Chong Sheng)

【First Update of the Day】

In the second-floor hall, the Zhan family members sat in a circle. Even the fifth young lady, Zhan Ziming, who had casually captured her and Liang Shaoqing, made an exception to attend. She wore a snow-white veil that concealed her peerless jade-like features, dressed in a cyan-green silk gown that accentuated her full bosom and slender waist, exuding an aura of serene elegance.

The three sons-in-law of the Zhan family sat beside their respective wives at the head of the table. The husband of the eldest young lady, Zhan Zifang, Gu Gongen, was relatively handsome with a straight nose, thin lips, and slightly upturned eyes that radiated charm. However, perhaps due to a poor first impression, though not exactly detestable, he was hard to like. In comparison, the other two sons-in-law appeared rather ordinary, especially the third son-in-law, Xue Qian, who seemed gentle and timid. Dressed in a light blue satin robe, he sat behind the third young lady, Zhan Ziqing, his face pale. When he noticed Chu Qiao looking at him, he actually blushed, smiled awkwardly, and quickly turned away, as if he were unaccustomed to interacting with strangers.

"Speak up, what exactly happened?" Gu Gongen said sternly, his cold gaze fixed on Chu Qiao, his expression severe.

Chu Qiao smiled indifferently and replied, "It's simple. They provoked me, so I beat them up. That's all there is to it."

"You're talking nonsense!" Chen Shuang shouted, "Eldest Son-in-Law, she was the one who provoked us! Early in the morning, before we even got up, how could we have provoked her?"

As soon as he finished speaking, several other troublemakers chimed in unison. Chu Qiao raised an eyebrow and slowly turned her head, her gaze as cold as ice. The others felt a chill run down their spines and immediately fell silent, too afraid to speak further.

Gu Gongen turned to her and said gravely, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"What more can I say?" Chu Qiao raised an eyebrow slightly. "Rumors are fearsome; three people spreading a lie can make it sound true. Since the Eldest Son-in-Law is determined to shield his subordinates, I have nothing more to say."

"What a sharp tongue!" Zhan Zifang said coldly. "Never mind that you've been causing trouble ever since you arrived in the mansion. Just your disrespectful attitude alone deserves a severe beating!"

The second young lady, Zhan Zikui, seized the opportunity to add, "I must admit, I've lived a sheltered life. This is the first time I've ever seen such an arrogant and domineering servant."

Gu Gongen said, "Since you have nothing to say, I'll take it as an admission of guilt. This time, you won't get off so easily."

Chu Qiao was about to retort—she didn't care if she offended these nobles and was even prepared to be expelled from the mansion. But before she could speak, the sixth young lady, Zhan Ziyun, who stood beside Zhan Ziyu, suddenly cried out, "How can you convict someone so arbitrarily? And you, why aren't you defending yourself?"

Chu Qiao was taken aback and turned to see the sixth young lady of the Zhan family, her face flushed with anxiety, tightly clutching her handkerchief as if she were wringing water from it. Upon hearing this, the second young lady raised an eyebrow, curled her lip, and sneered coldly, "Sixth Sister is truly compassionate, caring so much for a lowly servant. No wonder Lady Wanru ran off with a musician back then—like mother, like daughter."

The sixth young lady's eyes instantly reddened, and she pointed a trembling finger at Zhan Zikui, stammering with rage, "You... you're slandering me!""Sixth Miss, you mustn't be fooled by this pretty boy," Chen Shuang's face was bruised and swollen, yet he remained unrepentant. "This pretty boy attacked with sinister viciousness, taking advantage of us being asleep to launch a sneak attack. His methods are utterly despicable!"

Eldest Miss Zhan Zifang frowned deeply and sternly rebuked Zhan Zijun: "Zijun, be quiet! A young lady from a respectable family, exchanging flirtatious glances with a servant—have you no shame?"

"If Eldest Miss is so protective and biased like this, doesn't that count as exchanging flirtatious glances with a servant too?"

"What did you say?"

Chu Qiao sneered coldly. Seeing the Sixth Miss with tears shimmering in her eyes, gazing at her with a pleading look, she perversely felt a surge of righteousness. Stepping forward boldly, she said with a faint smile, "What I said, Eldest Miss naturally wouldn't understand. Even if you did, you'd pretend not to."

"I'm just a lowly servant, and there are many matters I shouldn't speak up about. But someone keeps provoking me repeatedly. Eldest Son-in-Law, do you know why I fought with Chen Shuang?"

Gu Gongen frowned slightly and asked, "Why?"

Chu Qiao mysteriously stepped closer, deliberately lowering her voice: "Because I know who killed Steward Qing."

These words shocked everyone present.

Gu Gongen said sternly, "Weren't you just saying on the deck earlier that you'd seen wrong and were talking nonsense?"

"How would I dare talk nonsense about something that could cost me my head?" Chu Qiao put on a sincere expression and slowly explained, "Steward Qing had blood at the corners of his eyes, dark bruises around his sockets, a ferocious expression, and clear bruise marks on his wrists. With such obvious injuries, how can you all still claim the old man died of natural causes? Ah, after working his whole life for the Zhan family, to meet such a miserable end—it's truly lamentable."

The crowd grew angry at her words. Gu Gongen barely contained his fury and sharply retorted, "Then why didn't you say this during the day? Now that Steward Qing has been cremated, you can slander and accuse however you want!"

"Whether it's slander or not, the murderer knows in their heart. I didn't speak up then because I planned to extort some silver from the killer afterward. Otherwise, why would I—having already left the estate with so many roads to choose from—be encountered by Fifth Miss?"

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone was stunned. Liang Shaoqing stared blankly, his face instantly flushing bright red. The other servants began whispering among themselves, shocked that she would brazenly admit to such deeds.

Chu Qiao shook her head and said, "That night, I went out to find something to eat. The kitchen brother can vouch for me on that."

Gu Gongen asked for the man's name and sent someone to fetch the servant who had saved food for Chu Qiao and Liang Shaoqing to the inner cabin. The honest, simple-minded man stammered as he confirmed: "That night, this young brother did come out. I personally gave him the food."

"On my way back, I heard noises from Steward Qing's room. Curious, I went over to check. But before I reached the door, Chen Shuang came out from inside. He seemed panicked when he saw me. When I asked what he was doing there so late, he lied and said Steward Qing had summoned him. I didn't suspect anything at the time. It wasn't until the next day that I realized he hadn't been called by Steward Qing at all—he was the very culprit who killed Steward Qing!"

Chu Qiao's voice suddenly turned sharp and accusing as she pointed at Chen Shuang and sternly declared.Chen Shuang was instantly horrified and quickly defended himself, "You're slandering me! Young master, eldest miss, second miss, esteemed sir, I wouldn't dare harm Uncle Qing even if I had the audacity of the heavens! This boy is spouting nonsense, please judge fairly for me!"

Gu Gongen's face darkened as he said in a low voice, "You claim Chen Shuang killed Uncle Qing—do you have evidence?"

Chu Qiao innocently spread his hands, "There was originally, but unfortunately it's gone now."

"So is there evidence or not?"

"Because I'm certain Chen Shuang killed Uncle Qing, I paid extra attention and noticed large patches of bloody skin under Uncle Qing's fingernails. This proves that Uncle Qing must have scratched the killer while struggling before his death. If Chen Shuang takes off his upper garment and we check for wounds, we'll know if he's the murderer."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuang panicked and tore open his sleeve, revealing bloody marks on his arm that were still bleeding. The man cried out in panic, "This wound was made by you just now! It's still bleeding—it's a fresh injury! Don't frame me!"

"Oh!" Chu Qiao exclaimed as if suddenly understanding, "So that was your plan! No wonder when I asked you for money, you told me to come to the lower hold to find you all this morning."

"When did I ever ask you for money?"

"You still deny it? Last night I met you on the deck and said if you'd give me a sum of money, I'd leave the Zhan residence in three days and take this matter to my grave. You agreed immediately and told me to come to the lower hold for the money the next morning. Brother Chen, you're still young—your memory can't be that bad already."

Chen Shuang immediately snorted coldly and angrily said, "You're talking nonsense! I had Qiu Tao summon you to the lower hold to ambush you and teach you a lesson—it had nothing to do with any money! If the young master doesn't believe me, he can ask Qiu Tao!"

As these words left his mouth, a collective gasp echoed through the hall. Gu Gongen's eyes darkened almost to the point of dripping ink. Chu Qiao grinned slyly and said lightly, "Brother Chen, didn't you say I went to the lower hold by myself and attacked you all before you woke up? What, have you told so many lies that you've already forgotten your own story?"

Chen Shuang looked around blankly. Seeing that Gu Gongen wouldn't even glance at him anymore, he felt utterly desperate. He turned fiercely to glare at Chu Qiao and shouted, "You little bastard! You tricked me! I'll kill you!"

But before he could take two steps, he was seized by the burly guards nearby.

"Take him away. When the ship docks in three days, expel him directly."

Zhan Ziyu's voice was very calm. Leaning back in his wheelchair, he took a warm towel from a young attendant behind him, wiped his hands, then looked up and said in a light tone, "All servants involved in the fighting will be fined two months' wages. The slaves will receive twenty lashes. Let this matter be settled."

"Then he should be punished too," Zhan Zifang suddenly stood up and pointed at Chu Qiao, loudly saying, "He was also a slave involved in the fight!"

"Elder sister, I've heard of punishing thieves who steal, but I've never heard of punishing the victims who were robbed. Over thirty people ganging up on one person, setting an ambush, waiting to attack by surprise, yet everyone ended up injured—isn't that shameful enough already?"A gentle voice suddenly sounded as Fifth Miss Zhan Ziming slowly rose to her feet, her sleeves flowing like water, elegant and transcendent, speaking softly.

Zhan Zifang dared to argue even with Zhan Ziyu, but facing this soft-spoken Fifth Miss, she immediately fell silent, awkwardly saying nothing more.

"Enough of this morning's commotion." Zhan Ziyu waved his hand slightly, and the young attendant behind him pushed his wheelchair forward. "The Zhan family originates from Biantang. Even with servants, we never kill indiscriminately. But now that we are about to enter Tang Capital, if anyone dares to cause trouble again, don't blame me for being merciless."

The door slowly closed, and a breeze drifted into the room. Everyone stood facing each other, and for a moment, no one broke the silence.

"You, come with me."

Sixth Miss pointed at Chu Qiao, her face flushed, calling out softly.

Chu Qiao had no desire to remain surrounded by hostile gazes and naturally complied, nodding in agreement before turning to leave. She even remembered to pull along the dazed Liang Shaoqing, who was still standing frozen in place.

The midday sun was brilliant. At the bow of the ship, sailors were vigorously hoisting the sails. Green mountains lined both banks, the sky was clear blue, white waves churned, and waterbirds cried overhead—a scene of splendid beauty. Chu Qiao stood at the bow, dressed in servant's attire but with striking features and spirited eyes. Though she appeared petite next to figures like Yan Xun and Zhuge Yue, she stood half a head taller than girls her age. The Zhan family's Sixth Miss only reached her ears when standing beside her.

Zhan Ziwen looked up at her, a slight blush on her cheeks, and said softly, "Thank you for earlier."

Chu Qiao bowed respectfully in response. "You flatter me, Miss. I am merely a servant and do not deserve your thanks. Moreover, you were defending me—it is I who should thank you."

"I've never thought of you as a slave," Sixth Miss quickly waved her hand, shaking her head adorably. "From the first time I saw you, I felt you were different from the others. You must have suffered some great misfortune to end up in this situation."

Chu Qiao smiled faintly, surprised by the noble young lady's pure-hearted nature. Just then, a waterbird flew overhead. One of the sailors drew his bow to shoot, startling the bird into flapping its wings and darting away. The arrow grazed its wing, and a few white feathers drifted down, landing precisely in Zhan Ziwen's hair. Chu Qiao naturally reached out to pluck the feather, waving it gently before the girl's eyes as she said with a smile, "With your kind heart and outstanding grace, this must be what they call 'beauty that makes fish sink and geese fall.'"

Tossing the feather aside, Chu Qiao bowed to Zhan Ziwen and said with a smile, "I have matters to attend to and must return now. The wind is strong here—please don't stay out too long, Miss."

With that, she took two steps back before turning and walking away.

Zhan Ziwen had just turned fifteen, her face as delicate as a lotus flower emerging from water. She stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the spot where Chu Qiao had disappeared into the cabin, unable to collect her thoughts for a long while.

A cool breeze swept past, lifting the hem of her dress. She slowly crouched down and, seeing no one around, quickly scooped up the feather and tucked it into her bosom. Then she hurriedly stood up, her face flushed crimson as if she had committed a theft.The rice paddies on both banks were already lush and green. A gentle breeze swept through, creating layers of emerald waves. Farmers, with their trousers rolled up, bent over busily working in the fields. Spotting several large ships approaching from afar, they stood up one after another, gazing into the distance, gesturing and laughing cheerfully.

Chu Qiao stood by the rear cabin door, watching the ordinary people, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Her eyes curved like crescent moons, sparkling brightly.

She leaned against the mast, slowly raising her head. The cool wind lifted the strands of hair at her temples, and the playful locks brushed against her cheeks, tingling slightly.

Suddenly, she found herself growing fond of such a simple life.