"How did you end up here?"
Having confirmed that Lu Zhuo was not allied with the two assassins and showed no intention of harming her, Wei Rao brushed the dust off her skirt and stood up.
Her appearance at the moment was somewhat disheveled—after all, she had climbed mountains and played in the water. Her hair had been pressed under a hat for a long time, and she had only casually tidied it while sitting by the shore before noticing the danger.
Yet, with her luminous, porcelain-like complexion, arched eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and lips as red as if freshly painted, she remained strikingly beautiful.
Though dressed in men’s attire, her brocade robe was exquisite, and her slender waist swayed gracefully, like a charming peony standing out vibrantly amidst wild grass—alluring and peerless.
Lu Zhuo thought to himself, this Fourth Young Lady truly deserved the praise Qi Zhongkai had given her as the "Number One Beauty of the Capital," though she was far too unruly.
"Is this how you treat your savior?"
His tall, upright figure stood on higher ground than Wei Rao, and his cool, refined features carried an air of authority.
Savior?
Wei Rao lowered her gaze. The two assassins lay face down in the grass, each with a strange red blood mark on the back of their necks.
It seemed Lu Zhuo had indeed intended to save her.
The question was, when had Lu Zhuo arrived? How long had he been watching? And why had he chosen to act only at her most critical moment?
"You still haven’t answered my question," Wei Rao lifted her head, her eyes filled only with vigilance, not a trace of gratitude.
Lu Zhuo detected her suspicion, and a faint, cold smile touched his handsome face. "I was admiring the plum blossoms in the mountains when I happened to notice these two acting suspiciously. I followed them here. What, Miss Wei suspects I’m in league with them?"
"Not at all," Wei Rao replied. "It’s just that these two must have been lying in ambush here for some time. I’m curious—what were you doing during that period, Young Master Lu?"
Lu Zhuo turned slightly and pointed to his hiding spot. "Before understanding their intentions, I couldn’t act rashly. But rest assured, Miss Wei, I averted my eyes where I shouldn’t have looked."
He had only glanced at the situation in the pond before looking away, confident he hadn’t seen any details.
"Yet Young Master Lu did nothing to stop these two from their improper actions," Wei Rao retorted sarcastically.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful for Lu Zhuo’s help—even if she hadn’t needed it—but his motives weren’t entirely pure, and his condescending attitude was irritating.
She hadn’t asked him to be a gentleman, but he shouldn’t pride himself on being one either. A true gentleman wouldn’t have stood by and watched two scoundrels take liberties with a few young girls.
Wei Rao and her two cousins weren’t overly concerned with propriety and didn’t mind much that two dead men had glimpsed their ankles. Others might have been driven to tears by such an incident.
"If one rigidly adheres to 'do not look where you shouldn’t,' how can there be others' 'do not act where you shouldn’t'?" Lu Zhuo retorted lightly.
Had it been any other young lady today, Lu Zhuo would never have allowed the assassins a chance to peek. But these girls, especially Wei Rao, truly needed a lesson.
Hearing this, Wei Rao finally understood Lu Zhuo’s meaning.
His help was genuine, but so was his intent to teach her a lesson.
"Thank you for your thoughtful guidance, Young Master Lu. I’ve taken the lesson to heart. After today, we won’t venture into the mountains alone again. However, the other young ladies in my family are delicate and frail. If you ever come across them being targeted by villains in the future, I hope you will assist them promptly. I and my family would be deeply grateful. But if it’s only me in danger, Young Master Lu, you may feel free to stand aside."
Lu Zhuo frowned. What did she mean by that?Wei Rao had no desire to elaborate further. Pointing at the two corpses on the ground, she said, "I'm heading back. I'll trouble you to handle these, Young Master Lu."
With that, Wei Rao walked out of the depression and strode past Lu Zhuo without so much as a glance in his direction.
Lu Zhuo stood with his back to her, his furrowed brow not easing even after Wei Rao had departed.
She was the one who acted recklessly, and now she can’t even show a little gratitude? What’s with the sarcastic tone?
"Sister Rao, why did you go so far ahead?"
"I saw two black snakes."
"Ah, there are snakes here?"
"Yes, let's take these fish back to eat. Those two snakes were unusual and might attract others."
The young girls hurriedly gathered their belongings and, under Wei Rao’s lead, departed.
Lu Zhuo, hidden among the trees, watched them leave and felt somewhat relieved. At least she’s aware of the danger and isn’t completely stubborn.
As for Wei Rao’s veiled words, Lu Zhuo glanced at the two corpses on the ground, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.
When he first noticed the two men, Lu Zhuo had sensed they were no ordinary ruffians or mountain bandits. Their cautious movements suggested they were well-trained assassins.
Only the wealthy or powerful could afford to keep assassins.
Their target was clear: Wei Rao alone, sparing the other girls.
Was it for her beauty or her life?
Lu Zhuo’s gaze turned cold. Though he disapproved of Wei Rao’s behavior, she was merely a young girl spoiled by her elders. Who would be so vicious as to harm her?
He bent down, turned the corpses over, and searched their clothing for clues. After inspecting their pockets, he reached to remove the black cloth covering their faces when his eyes suddenly fixed on a small crimson dot in the center of one assassin’s forehead, like a vivid red mole.
He checked the other—sure enough, an identical mark in the same spot.
A memory surfaced: Wei Rao rolling halfway on the ground when the two men lunged at her, her subsequent movements obscured from view. A chill ran down Lu Zhuo’s spine.
Did that girl actually dare to kill?
"If I were the only one in danger, Young Master Lu could have simply ignored it."
Now, Lu Zhuo finally understood.
A half-roll, two lives extinguished. With skills like that, even two more assassins might not be her match.
At the foot of Cloud Mist Mountain, Wei Rao listened to Zhou Huizhu and Huo Lin with a smile on her face, but her heart had turned to ice.
After four years, someone was trying to kill her again.
The Cheng'an Marquis estate had no enemies. As for her and her grandmother’s side, after careful consideration, the only ones they had offended were in the palace—either the Empress Dowager, who envied her grandmother’s respect from Emperor Yuanjia, or the other consorts who resented her mother’s unparalleled favor in the past. Yet her mother had been confined to the West Mountain Imperial Palace for over two years, with Emperor Yuanjia paying no heed. The consorts had no reason to suddenly go mad. The only recent event that might have drawn attention was her grandmother’s birthday, for which Emperor Yuanjia had sent gifts.
So, was it the Empress Dowager again?
Sending assassins but not targeting all the sisters, only striking when she was alone—was it meant to look like a simple case of assault?
Ruthless and vicious, truly worthy of the victor who eliminated all of the late emperor’s consorts.
Wei Rao tightened her grip on the reins, unaware of the rough rope chafing her palm.
The sisters urged their horses along the path and soon returned to the Secluded Manor.
Shou An Jun was tending to her vegetable garden.The Secluded Manor was so beautiful that Shou An Jun couldn't bear to spoil its meticulously arranged scenery, so she cultivated a small vegetable patch outside the estate. This tiny plot satisfied her interest in tending the land herself while being easy to manage without overtaxing her.
Gonggong Li accompanied Shou An Jun, the master and servant each holding a rake. From a distance, they resembled an elderly farming couple.
Wei Rao asked Zhou Huizhu and Huo Lin to enter the manor first. After dismounting, she didn't even bring Bitao along and ran straight to the vegetable patch.
"Why are you back so soon?" Shou An Jun asked in surprise. Her granddaughter usually spent half a day in the mountains whenever she went.
Since Gonggong Li was her grandmother's confidant, Wei Rao saw no need for concealment. Sitting cross-legged at the edge of the field, she said bitterly, "I encountered two assassins."
Both Shou An Jun and Gonggong Li froze.
After a long pause, Shou An Jun handed Wei Rao the large porcelain bowl containing vegetable seeds. The grandmother-granddaughter pair began working the land together—one tilling, the other sowing—as they spoke in hushed tones.
"Were you hurt?"
"I'm fine. They targeted me specifically. Huizhu and the others didn't even notice. I dealt with them discreetly, but Young Lord Lu Zhuo from the Duke of Yingguo's Manor happened to witness it."
Shou An Jun was startled again. "Lu Zhuo?"
Wei Rao nodded and explained the entire incident.
After some thought, Shou An Jun said, "He didn't know you could protect yourself. Delaying his intervention came from good intentions—don't hold it against him."
"I understand," Wei Rao replied. "I thanked him."
If not for herself, then for the sake of her sisters—what if they truly needed Lu Zhuo's help someday?
Though the young man carried himself with arrogance, his heart was in the right place, willing to aid complete strangers in distress.
Shou An Jun knew this granddaughter of hers was always reasonable.
As for the assassins, Shou An Jun could guess who sent them. The problem was, their family held no power or influence to confront that person.
"Endure it. There's no other way," Shou An Jun sighed deeply, looking at Wei Rao. "The assassins specifically waited until you entered the mountains to strike, which means they still have some reservations. Let this be a lesson—don't go into the mountains alone from now on. If you really want to go, bring more guards and take the main road openly."
Wei Rao clenched the seeds in her palm, unwilling to accept this. "Going less often isn't the issue—it's the injustice of it all."
She had nearly died in an ice cavern years ago, yet the true culprit faced no consequences. Now it was happening again.
Shou An Jun glanced toward the capital and smiled, patting Wei Rao's head. "Don't dwell on the injustice. There's no need. Others scheme against us because they envy us. As long as we remain cautious and avoid their traps, their plans will fail. Their frustration will only grow, harming their health in the process—they won't last long."
That person in the palace was the same age as her, yet in much poorer health—not even matching Old Mrs. Wei with her chronic leg pain.
From what Shou An Jun knew, when the Empress Dowager framed her daughter and granddaughter years ago, half her illness was feigned, but the other half was real. These past two years, she'd been relying on elixirs to sustain herself. All medicine carries some toxicity—occasional doses might be tolerable, but consuming it daily like meals amounted to fighting poison with poison, far from a recipe for longevity.
"Think about it—if she were living comfortably, would she still resent a mere wet nurse like me?" Shou An Jun gave Wei Rao a meaningful look that needed no explanation.
Wei Rao laughed at her grandmother's resilient optimism.
"People only want others to suffer along with them when they're miserable themselves," Shou An Jun continued hoeing the soil, her expression having returned to its usual contentment.In her view, the Empress Dowager was far too fond of competing for favor. While the late emperor was alive, she battled his harem of women, drawing pleasure from her victories in these struggles. After the late emperor passed, the Empress Dowager became the ultimate victor of the inner court, with no one left to challenge her. Yet, instead of finding peace, she grew restless from the lack of rivalry. Turning her attention elsewhere, she noticed that her son, the emperor, showed more warmth toward his wet nurse than toward her, and immediately she began vying for his filial devotion.
This didn’t resemble a mother’s relationship with her son—it was more like a wife’s possessiveness toward her husband.
"I’ve already driven that wretched woman out of the palace, and you still make a grand show of sending her gifts, making me the laughingstock of the entire capital? How can this be allowed?"
Imagining the jealousy and resentment simmering within the Empress Dowager, Shou An Jun shuddered involuntarily.
With a mother like that, Emperor Yuanjia certainly had it tough.
"Be good, Rao Rao. From now on, just stay with me at the estate. If we can’t handle the trouble, we can always steer clear of it," Shou An Jun reminded her once more.
Wei Rao looked around her grandmother’s vast estate—beautiful scenery, serene waters—and felt there was truly nothing to regret.
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