Concubine Song felt that Jin Chao was being presumptuous. She simply couldn’t figure out what Jin Chao was up to.

Why would she suddenly bring a screen, and then insist on putting it in the west wing rooms?

Her voice involuntarily turned cold: “If the Young Miss wants to put it in the west wing rooms, then go ahead!” But she showed no intention of asking the matrons to help, remaining seated on the kang bed drinking apricot tea without moving.

Jin Chao didn’t care at all. She led Qing Pu to direct the servants to carry the screen to the west wing rooms, then opened all the doors herself. She examined the rooms one by one, calling out loudly: “Concubine shouldn’t mind, I need to find the freshest room!”

Concubine Song had never seen Jin Chao behave so shamelessly and was so angry that her temples throbbed. Wasn’t she usually very proper? What was she doing causing such a scene here? If she didn’t know Jin Chao was plotting against her, she would have thought Jin Chao was still that unruly girl from before!

Jin Chao’s search proved fruitless—Xiu Qu wasn’t here. Qing Pu shook her head slightly at her; she hadn’t found any clues either, not even bloodstains. If someone had been beaten to death here, Concubine Song would have prevented them from coming when they arrived!

So Xiu Qu wasn’t in the Linyan Pavilion.

Jin Chao casually pointed to one of the wing rooms: “Put it here!”

The servants immediately moved the screen inside, stirring up a cloud of dust. Jin Chao dusted off her hands, seeing that Concubine Song was already standing at the door staring at her. She smiled gently and said: “The screen is in place, and I must be going now. The concubine should rest well. Have another bowl of sweet and sour plum soup to cool down!” With that, she left Linyan Pavilion with Qing Pu and a few servants.

Qiao Wei looked at the wide-open doors of the west wing rooms, then at the carelessly placed screen inside. Then she looked at Concubine Song, whose face had turned almost green. She couldn’t help whispering: “Concubine, don’t be upset with the Young Miss. That’s just her nature!”

Concubine Song almost gritted her teeth: “…She’s simply being unreasonable!”

She had the matrons close the doors of the west wing rooms. That screen should be taken out and burned—who knew what Jin Chao intended by leaving the screen there?

After returning to Qingtong Court, Jin Chao took a sip of tea. Yu Zhu quickly approached, blinking her eyes as she looked at her. Jin Chao shook her head: “She’s not at Concubine Song’s. Let’s wait for Guard Xue to return. If she’s not in the secluded courtyards, we can only look… outside.”

If she couldn’t be found in the secluded courtyards, Xiu Qu was probably already dead, and they might only find her body at Luanfeng Ridge.

Yu Zhu was disappointed but knew the Young Miss had already done a lot to help. She also knew that if Xiu Qu couldn’t be found in the secluded courtyards, there would be no saving her. Yu Zhu was just a little maid after all, and her eyes reddened as she said: “If Xiu Qu’s body is found at Luanfeng Ridge, could Miss please bring it back to seek justice for her, to let others know how cruel Concubine Song is…”

Jin Chao shook her head and said: “Concubine Song will only say that she released the person from the mansion, and the body was found outside. It could have been a robbery, or she might have encountered hooligans—how could it be blamed on her? She would turn around and accuse us of slandering her.”

Hearing Jin Chao’s words, Yu Zhu couldn’t help but cry.

She was afraid that Xiu Qu would die because of her!

Madam Tong comforted her: “Stop crying, there’s still hope. You didn’t know Concubine Song would be so heartless…”

Just then, Yu Tong came in and said: “Young Miss, Guard Xue has arrived.”

As night had fallen, it wasn’t appropriate for Jin Chao to meet him in the flower pavilion, so she invited him to the east side room. Xue Shiliu had returned from his night patrol, still wearing his black official uniform, and didn’t sit on the embroidered stool. He clasped his hands and reported to Jin Chao: “This humble servant has inspected the six abandoned courtyards in the back of the mansion and found nothing unusual.”

Jin Chao’s brows furrowed slightly. She had been seventy percent certain that Xiu Qu would be in one of the secluded courtyards! After all, Xiu Qu had only been missing for two days. To kill someone and move them out of the mansion without anyone noticing so quickly would be quite remarkable. Concubine Song, unlike her mother, didn’t have a team of skilled guards; the most she could command were a few sturdy matrons in the mansion and some servants from various parts of the estate.

Jin Chao said: “Please tell me about these six courtyards…”

Xue Shiliu frowned. His main duty was patrolling, and he had already done enough by helping the Young Miss at the madam’s request. He was ordered by the Ji family to protect their safety, not to look for some maid who had run away in a fit of temper! He had wasted an entire evening checking abandoned courtyards; if he stayed any longer at the Young Miss’s place, how would he manage tomorrow’s patrol?

“Young Miss, you don’t need to look for this maid. She has merely run away! After starving for a few days, she’ll come out on her own. Why bother searching? This humble servant has patrol duties tomorrow. If you wish to continue searching, may I find a few servants to help you instead?”

Hearing this, Jin Chao felt both angry and amused, but she didn’t blame Xue Shiliu. Although his attitude toward her was respectful, he couldn’t hide a certain disdain—a preconceived notion that she couldn’t change! She sighed helplessly: “That maid didn’t run away in a temper. She accidentally revealed something Concubine Song said to me, and Concubine Song wants to silence her permanently. I’m searching everywhere for her now simply to save her life!”

Xue Shiliu was astonished. What was the Young Miss saying? Concubine Song wanted to kill a maid to silence her.

Jin Chao continued: “Do you know what happened on the day of the Second Miss’s coming of age?”

Xue Shiliu thought for a moment and said: “This servant has heard some rumors that you happened to discover the Second Miss in a private conversation with Madam Li…”

This matter had spread everywhere outside. Because Concubine Song controlled the Gu household, the servants had never dared to speak of it. Only when the rumors came from outside did all the servants in the Gu family finally learn about it.

Jin Chao smiled and continued: “You are loyal to my mother, so I’m willing to tell you the truth. That day, I didn’t happen upon their secret conversation—I had received information in advance and brought Madam Wen to eavesdrop.” She lowered her voice and said softly, “That information was revealed to me by that maid. Now I’m asking Guard Xue to save her if possible. We can’t let her die because of me.”

Xue Shiliu’s face showed complete surprise. His impression of the Young Miss was still that of an arrogant, willful girl who had been schemed against! He didn’t realize that the Young Miss had become so strategically minded. Because of this incident, Concubine Song was no longer summoned by the Master, and the Second Miss could only be confined to her room practicing calligraphy. All the guards had secretly rejoiced for the madam, and now he learned it was all deliberately orchestrated by the Young Miss!

Xue Shiliu felt ashamed. He had thought the Young Miss was merely ordering them around for no reason, but she was trying to save a maid who had helped them! He clasped his fists and said: “It was my fault for misunderstanding the Young Miss’s intentions. Please forgive this servant. Among the six courtyards, one is adjacent to Linyan Pavilion. I went in to check and found no one inside. Five are located farther away. I entered four of them, but one had its tong wood door locked with an iron lock, so I didn’t enter.”

Jin Chao couldn’t help standing up and asked: “Why didn’t you enter the locked one?”

Xue Shiliu didn’t understand why the Young Miss suddenly became so serious and explained: “At the time, I simply thought, since the outside door was locked, naturally no one could enter… so I didn’t…”

Jin Chao sighed: “That’s exactly how to deceive people! Doesn’t this courtyard have a back door?”

Xue Shiliu thought for a moment and his expression changed dramatically. He immediately knelt before Jin Chao: “This servant nearly ruined the Young Miss’s important matter. Please punish me!”

Jin Chao quickly helped him up: “There’s no use talking about this now. You should hurry and see if she’s inside.” Thinking that it would be inconvenient for Xue Shiliu to bring back a female because of gender propriety, she told Qing Pu to go with Xue Shiliu to the secluded courtyard.

Xue Shiliu dared not delay further and led Qing Pu to that courtyard.

Jin Chao thought for a moment, then asked Bai Yun to quickly go to the small kitchen to boil water, while she went to her room to fetch hemostatic medicine and cotton cloth.

Within a quarter of an hour, Xue Shiliu and Qing Pu returned. Jin Chao stood under the covered corridor, and in the dim night, she could see that Qing Pu was carrying something human-shaped wrapped in a cloak, and knew they had indeed brought Xiu Qu back, likely severely injured! Yu Zhu bounded out like a rabbit, wanting to see how Xiu Qu was, but fortunately, Madam Tong held her back: “Don’t go up now, it’s a matter of life and death!”

Qing Pu walked ahead of Xue Shiliu, almost running to the corridor. After entering the west side room, Jin Chao quickly had her place the maid on the kang bed. Qing Pu explained as she unwrapped the cloak: “We slipped in through the back door. This maid was in the side room of Bitao Pavilion, covered in wounds. Fortunately, her internal organs weren’t damaged. But she’s weak and has lost too much blood, she passed out long ago…”

When the cloak was removed, Jin Chao saw that Xiu Qu’s third-tier maid uniform was in tatters. Just as Qing Pu had said, whip marks and knife wounds overlapped each other, her body covered in blood. Her face was pale, her breathing faint, as if she might die at any moment.

Except for Qing Pu and Cai Fu who remained calm, the other maids were so frightened that their hands trembled at the sight.

Jin Chao steadied herself and said solemnly: “Cai Fu, first clean the blood from her body with warm water. Qing Pu, immediately applied medicine to stop the bleeding, then bandaged her with a cotton cloth. If the wounds are too deep, don’t try to stop the bleeding or bandage them yet… Madam Tong, go and fetch Doctor Liu immediately.”

Madam Tong acknowledged the order, then said: “Young Miss, leaving the mansion in the middle of the night—Concubine Song will surely find out. Should we conceal this from them?”

Jin Chao laughed coldly: “No need! She won’t do anything even if she knows.”

Madam Tong hurried to carry out her orders. Jin Chao, seeing that Xiu Qu seemed to be shivering from the cold, asked Yu Zhu to go to the storeroom to find a brazier and light it. Summer had already begun, and the braziers had long been put away. Seeing that Qing Pu was overwhelmed, she began applying medicine to Xiu Qu.

After their busy efforts, Xiu Qu’s body was cleaned and bandaged. Bai Yun brought a bowl of sweet pear water to feed her. Although half unconscious, she managed to swallow it. Yu Zhu moved the brazier next to her and covered her with a thin brocade quilt. Soon, Xiu Qu’s breathing finally became clear and steady.

Xue Shiliu was still waiting outside the door.