Quanzhou had seven city gates, and the choice to exit through Tongjin Gate was made after careful consideration.
After Jiafu’s father passed away, external affairs of the Zhen family were entirely handled by Zhang Da. Steady and capable, he was a smooth operator who had skillfully managed relations with the Quanzhou officials, earning himself enough respect to be addressed as "Master Zhang." His rapport with Shi Quanyou had always been good, and most importantly, Shi Quanyou was not familiar with Zhen Yaoting and had no regular dealings with him. It was precisely for these reasons that Zhang Da decided to take this gate, and in the end, they passed through without incident.
The interior of the carriage was plain and open, with no possible hiding spots. How could Shi Quanyou have guessed that the man sitting boldly inside was not the young master of the Zhen family but a stranger desperate to leave the city? Even less could he have imagined that the woman accompanying him was Jiafu, the daughter of the Zhen family.
Having spent years by Xiao Yintang’s side, Jiafu knew he was a shrewd schemer who stopped at nothing to achieve his goals, his nature imbued with a gambler’s ruthless arrogance and self-assurance.
Just before their departure, he had insisted she ride with him as cover. Old Mrs. Hu initially refused, offering instead to arrange for a clever and trusted maid to accompany him. But he was adamant about having Jiafu. With her grandson under his control, Old Mrs. Hu had no choice but to relent, demanding he swear an oath to the heavens not to harm Jiafu and to release her immediately after they left the city.
Xiao Yintang agreed.
As the carriage neared the city gate, he had tousled her hair, loosened her collar, and gripped her waist tightly with one hand, pressing his face against her shoulder to feign intimacy.
The moment the carriage door was opened, Jiafu felt his grip tighten abruptly, the force so great it seemed he might snap her waist in two. His entire body tensed suddenly, like a fully drawn bow.
It was a sign of extreme tension, his body reacting with heightened excitement.
Jiafu kept her eyes closed and remained motionless. The moment they passed the gate, she pushed away Xiao Yintang, who was still holding her, and tried to rise from his lap. But as soon as she stood, his hands suddenly settled on her shoulders. Jiafu felt a weight press down, her knees buckling as he forced her back onto his lap.
Xiao Yintang lowered his gaze slightly, his eyes tracing over Jiafu’s delicate, flawless face—starting from her brows, slowly drifting down past her nose, and finally lingering on her lips. After a pause, he leaned in slightly, his nose brushing against her temple as he inhaled the faint fragrance of her hair. His Adam’s apple moved almost imperceptibly before he raised a hand, as if to tilt her chin up.
Jiafu swiftly turned her face away, evading his touch, and rapped her knuckles sharply against the carriage wall twice. From outside the window came Zhang Da’s tense voice: "What does the young master require?"
They had only just left the gate and were still very close. Xiao Yintang’s hand hovered in the air for a brief moment before he withdrew it, his eyes fixed on Jiafu.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiafu broke free and moved to the corner near the carriage door, her back to him. She straightened her slightly disheveled clothes and tied up her loosened hair, never looking back.The carriage sped up as soon as it passed through the city gates. Zhang Da followed closely beside it, covering over ten li in one breath until they finally reached the entrance of the estate. After stopping, he dismissed the coachman and everyone nearby, then approached and lowered his voice, saying, "Young master, we've arrived." With that, he pushed open the carriage door and peered inside. His eyes fell on Jiafu sitting to the side, while the man reclined against the back seat, his gaze fixed on her back. Seeing nothing else amiss, Zhang Da let out a sigh of relief. Noticing the man still hadn't moved, he added, "Young master, we're here. It's safe now. The horse was fed before departure and has excellent stamina—it can easily cover hundreds of li today. To the west, there's a side road leading out of Quanzhou, rarely traveled even during the day. Please leave quickly."
Xiao Yintang curled the corner of his lips before finally withdrawing his gaze. He tied up his own hair, straightened his collar, and rose to pass by Jiafu, bending down to step out of the carriage.
Zhang Da hurriedly presented the horse he had ridden out of the city. Watching the man mount, he saw him glance back one last time at the now-closed carriage door before finally galloping away in the direction Zhang Da had indicated. As the figure gradually disappeared down the road, Zhang Da exhaled deeply, wiped his sweat, and ran back to the carriage, whispering reassuringly, "Young mistress, you've suffered just now. Thankfully, that villain is gone, and no one knows..."
"Uncle Zhang, I'm fine. There's no need to worry about me."
A soft, composed voice came from behind the carriage door.
Jiafu did not return to the city that night, instead staying at the estate. She immersed herself in a tub filled with hot water, submerging her entire body and scrubbing her skin over and over until it turned red and raw. The areas she had touched began to sting faintly from the heat, finally suppressing the bone-deep chill that had plagued her.
Though Xiao Yintang had left, his attendant Liu Yi remained secretly stationed at the Zhen family, holding Zhen Yaoting captive. Old Mrs. Hu kept the matter tightly under wraps—aside from Meng Shi, Jiafu, and Zhang Da, no one else in the household knew. It wasn't until half a month later, when the authorities concluded their fruitless citywide search and lifted the gate blockade, that Liu Yi finally slipped away in the dead of night. Throughout those two weeks, Zhen Yaoting had been bound inside the workshop. When Jiafu rushed in the next morning to see her brother, she barely recognized him. His cheeks were sunken, his appearance haggard, and his body reeked. Upon hearing Jiafu call out to him as her brother, he broke down in tears, kneeling on the ground and slapping himself repeatedly. The next day, he fell ill, and it wasn't until the third month that he gradually recovered.
After his severe illness, Zhen Yaoting seemed like a changed man. He never again mentioned joining the ships to sail abroad, nor did he continue mingling with the idle youths of Quanzhou. Instead, he followed Zhang Da diligently, leaving early and returning late each day, busying himself as if he had grown into an adult overnight.At the beginning of the year, although the Zhen family had suffered such an inexplicable misfortune, fortunately, the crisis was eventually overcome. Zhen Yaoting underwent a significant change in temperament after this unexpected lesson, much to the relief of Old Mrs. Hu and Madam Meng. By the time of the Mazu Festival on the twenty-third day of the third month, the entire city of Quanzhou turned out in full force. The streets were packed from end to end as people sang operas, set off firecrackers, and flocked to Mazu Temple to offer prayers and blessings. In previous years, the festival had always been led by the Zhen family and a few other prominent households in the city, and this year was no exception. The Old Madam brought Madam Meng and the siblings Zhen Yaoting and Jiafu to Mazu Temple.
The temple was teeming with people. After the grand ceremony, the Old Madam personally took Zhen Yaoting to meet with the local officials who had also attended. Meanwhile, Madam Meng led Jiafu to a quiet room reserved for noblewomen behind the temple, accompanied by a few servants. As the mother and daughter emerged from the front hall, Madam Meng encountered a minor official’s wife with whom she was on good terms. The woman pulled her aside, chatting amiably while casting frequent, smiling glances at Jiafu. Sensing the woman’s likely intention to act as a matchmaker, Jiafu felt displeased and turned away slightly, waiting for her mother to dismiss the woman. Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the distance. Looking up, Jiafu saw thick smoke billowing into the sky—likely from a ship docked at the harbor catching fire. Then, someone shouted that the Golden-Masked Dragon Lord had come ashore to rob, kill, and set fires, and was charging toward them, urging everyone to flee.
Although many of Quanzhou’s seafaring vessels relied on the Golden-Masked Dragon Lord’s protection while at sea, this was not something openly acknowledged. After all, he was a pirate, and in official government documents, the Golden-Masked Dragon Lord was portrayed as a heinous demon of the sea, with wanted posters prominently displayed at every city gate. The sudden news of him coming ashore to rob and kill sent waves of terror through the crowd, and people turned to flee in panic.
In truth, anyone with a bit of sense would realize this was impossible. Mazu was revered as a protective deity in the South Seas, and though the Golden-Masked Dragon Lord was a pirate, he too depended on the sea for his livelihood. Even if he truly intended to raid the shore, he would hardly choose this day of all days.
But such is the nature of panic—once someone starts running, fear spreads like wildfire, and no one stops to question its validity.
Chaos erupted in front of Mazu Temple as people turned and fled in all directions. Madam Meng was jostled by a passerby and nearly lost her balance, but fortunately, the family servant, Liu Ma, steadied her. Hearing her mother’s frantic calls, Jiafu responded and tried to make her way over to leave with her. But in an instant, the surging crowd separated them. Her ankle caught on something, causing her to stumble. Before she could regain her footing, a hand clamped over her mouth and nose from behind, and a sickly sweet scent filled her nostrils. She tried to cry out, but no sound came. Soon, she lost consciousness.
…
When Jiafu awoke, she found herself bound hand and foot, gagged, and lying in a tightly enclosed carriage. The dim light filtering through the shuttered windows revealed the vehicle was moving at great speed, jolting violently along the way.
Her head throbbed dully, and her limbs felt weak and heavy. She lay there, unable to muster the strength to move.
After the incident at the start of the year, Jiafu had once again fallen into the grip of nightmares for a long time. Every time she closed her eyes, she dreamed of fragments from her past life, waking in terror. She had even grown afraid to leave the house alone.She had a feeling that Xiao Yintang's departure that day was not the end.
Perhaps that moment marked the beginning of a lifelong nightmare.
Tormented by this thought, her heart was filled with hesitation and fear. She wanted to escape it but couldn’t, and there was no one she could confide in—not even her mother, who loved her most.
Finally, more than two months later, her hidden fears were confirmed, arriving so abruptly.
Xiao Yintang. He was the only person she could think of who would do such a thing to her.
It could only be him!
The carriage jolted forward. Jiafu suppressed the dizzying nausea, forcing herself to stay calm. With all her strength, she dug her nails deep into her palms, using the pain to sharpen her awareness.
The fear and anxiety that had plagued her for months suddenly dissipated.
Since the worst had already happened—since it was unavoidable—what was there left to fear now?
All she had to do was find a way to face it head-on.
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