Jin Chao waited until she saw that Xiu Qu’s breathing had stabilized before walking outside. When Xue Shiliu saw her come out, he immediately knelt in the corridor, full of self-reproach: “Young Miss, this was my failure. She performed a great service for you and Madam, yet I caused her such suffering. If I had gone earlier, perhaps she wouldn’t have had to endure this torment…”
Jin Chao quickly helped him up. These martial artists could be extremely stubborn when they set their minds to it. She consoled him: “How could this be your fault? Concubine Song intended to kill her from the beginning. Even if you had gone earlier, it wouldn’t have made things any better. Besides, if not for you, this girl might not have survived at all.”
Xue Shiliu shook his head repeatedly, denying any credit. His features were proper and upright, giving him an appearance of great integrity. His gaze toward Jin Chao now held respect: “Her survival is all thanks to the Young Miss.” He recalled what he had heard from outside the door—how the Young Miss had calmly directed the maids and servants to help wash, bandage, and feed sugar water to the injured girl. Most young ladies from noble households would have been scared witless at such a gruesome sight, yet she remained perfectly composed.
The Young Miss had shown such care merely for a servant. Truthfully, if this maid had died in the side courtyard, it would have had little consequence for Gu Jin Chao. Her desire to save this girl stemmed purely from a sense of compassion.
Xue Shiliu felt a newfound admiration for Gu Jin Chao.
Jin Chao said: “I dare not take credit. But let’s not dwell on this. I wanted to ask, did you see anything else there?”
Xue Shiliu was inevitably confused: “The side rooms of Bi Tao Pavilion are filled with moldy furniture. May I ask what the Young Miss is looking for?”
If there had been anything of note there, Qing Pu would surely have discovered it. Jin Chao sighed: “If we want to hold Concubine Song accountable, she certainly won’t admit to anything. If there were some items they left behind in Bi Tao Pavilion, we might have something to say.” Upon further reflection, she felt she was overthinking. Even if they could prove it was Concubine Song’s doing, what difference would it make? Xiu Qu was merely a servant; at most, Concubine Song would gain a reputation for cruelty among the servants.
It was just like when she had driven Liu Xiang out of the manor after she went mad—people might gossip behind her back, but no one would truly come forward to condemn her.
Xue Shiliu hesitantly asked: “…Should I go back to Bi Tao Pavilion to investigate further?”
Jin Chao shook her head: “That won’t be necessary. You’ve been busy so late tonight and must be tired. Please go back and rest.”
It was already the third quarter of the Zi hour (around 1 AM).
Xue Shiliu, feeling indebted to Jin Chao, clasped his fist in salute and withdrew without further words.
The next day, two quarters past the Mao hour (around 6 AM), Concubine Song was already up. Qiao Wei opened the latticed windows; outside, the sky still had a deep blue hue, and the faint chirping of insects could be heard. She helped Song Miao Hua comb her hair, then brought out a pair of white jade ruyi earrings and a pair of blue gemstone earrings, asking Concubine Song which she preferred to wear.
Concubine Song recalled that when she had gone to pay respects to Gu De Zhao at Ju Liu Pavilion the day before yesterday, Concubine Luo standing beside him had worn a pair of white jade ruyi earrings. She was young, with skin as delicate and white as snow, and those white jade earrings made her appear even more gentle and graceful. Any man would be drawn to such a flower-like beauty…
She looked at herself in the bronze mirror. She was approaching thirty. Although still beautiful, she was no longer young. If she didn’t find a way to keep Gu De Zhao by her side, as time passed, her hopes for bearing a child would diminish further.
Concubine Song took the blue gemstone earrings.
Outside the door, a servant woman wearing a blue cotton hemp garment with her hair tied in a small bun entered. Before she could speak, she fell to her knees with a thud beside the screen. Her voice betrayed extreme anxiety: “Concubine, Xiu Qu is missing…”
Concubine Song turned her head slightly to look at this stout woman. The dim light of the blue gemstone earrings reflected on her profile, appearing particularly cold.
She asked slowly: “What happened? Wasn’t she supposed to be beaten to death and thrown out?”
The servant woman suddenly became tense: “This… according to usual practice, we don’t kill them outright. Generally, they’re beaten until covered in blood, then left in a room to die on their own. It’s a way to humiliate maids who have made mistakes… I did the same, taking advantage of the darkness with Old Chen to put Xiu Qu in a sack, throw her in Bi Tao Pavilion, and beat her thoroughly. We planned to dispose of her in a few days when she would have died. But… but when I went to check this morning, Xiu Qu was gone!”
Concubine Song stood up, glaring coldly at the servant: “I said beat her to death and throw her out. Who told you to drag it out for days!”
She paced in circles, then asked: “Did you leave anything behind at Bi Tao Pavilion?”
The servant quickly replied: “We were very careful and left nothing behind. However, Xiu Qu was severely injured and couldn’t possibly move on her own. Someone must have rescued her!”
Concubine Song’s gaze turned icy. She remembered that early this morning when she had just gotten up, a young maid had come to inform her that Boudoir Mother Tong from Qing Tong Courtyard had left the Gu household overnight, saying she was going to fetch Doctor Liu. Gu Jin Chao had been summoning Doctor Liu frequently these days, which she hadn’t paid much attention to.
Thinking about it now, going to fetch someone in the middle of the night was indeed suspicious!
But why would Gu Jin Chao want to save Xiu Qu? She didn’t believe Gu Jin Chao was kindhearted enough to care about a little maid’s life or death! Even if she did want to save that maid, how would she know the person was in Bi Tao Pavilion…
Concubine Song’s fingers tapped on the black lacquered table, her gaze suddenly falling on the marble-painted screen in the inner chamber.
Yesterday, Gu Jin Chao brought her a screen as a gift. She insisted it shouldn’t be placed in the side room and made a fuss about opening all the unoccupied west wing rooms before finally putting the screen inside. Perhaps she had suspected someone was hidden here and devised a way to check.
She was clever!
Concubine Song let out a cold snort.
The reporting servant cautiously asked: “Concubine, what should we do about this? Should we try to get Xiu Qu back?”
Concubine Song gave her a look. These servants had only brawn, not brains!
“Has anyone asked about Xiu Qu’s whereabouts these past few days?”
The servant thought for a moment before saying: “Only a small maid named Yu Zhu from Qing Tong Courtyard has asked. Following your instructions, I said Xiu Qu had gone home to visit relatives. Xiu Qu doesn’t have any other close friends among the maids, not even Qiu Hua who shared her room has inquired…”
Concubine Song breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that no one had asked. She continued: “Everyone knows that we are at daggers drawn with Gu Jin Chao and that our relationship is poor. If maids from her courtyard speak ill of us, we can directly respond that it’s malicious slander. From now on, if anyone asks about Xiu Qu, say the maid has disappeared and no one has seen her. Keep Lin Yan Pavilion completely clear of this matter, understand?”
The servant nodded quickly. Concubine Song also punished her and Old Chen by docking three months of their allowance as punishment, and that was the end of it.
Although Xiu Qu belonged to her household and had disappeared from there, who could criticize her? If Gu Jin Chao thought she could use a maid to deal with her, that was laughable.
Concubine Song sat back at her dressing table. Qiao Wei helped her pin up her hair with a gold-plated plum blossom hairpin.
Concubine Song glanced at the hairpin and asked Qiao Wei: “How is that matter progressing?”
Qiao Wei respectfully answered: “Rest assured, I have arranged everything perfectly, without any mistakes.”
Concubine Song said calmly: “When dealing with the Young Miss, one must be cautious. Her mother is like a sealed gourd—she neither likes to speak nor to argue. Though she handles matters with skill, she is not to be feared. The Young Miss, however, can be ruthless and is quite clever… she is truly difficult to deal with…”
Qiao Wei said: “No matter how difficult, haven’t you managed to deal with her so far?”
Meanwhile, in Qing Tong Courtyard, Jin Chao hadn’t closed her eyes all night. With human life at stake, Doctor Liu had come without hesitation after hearing the situation, packing his medical chest and following Boudoir Mother Tong. They had arrived at the Gu household by the Chou hour (1-3 AM). After bandaging Xiu Qu’s wounds and brewing medicine for her to drink, Xiu Qu’s complexion had finally regained some color.
Boudoir Mother Tong had also been running all night and was extremely tired, given her advanced age. Jin Chao told her to go back and rest, personally escorting Doctor Liu to the outer gate and giving him one hundred taels of silver. Doctor Liu repeatedly refused: “Those jars of Autumn Dew White you gave me are worth several hundred taels…”
Jin Chao didn’t insist further but instructed the kitchen manager to send some fat geese and roasted chickens to Doctor Liu’s place.
Jin Chao had Cai Fu specifically clear out a side room for Xiu Qu, and Qing Pu carried her inside. Several maids kept watch throughout the night, and Xiu Qu finally woke up around the Chen hour (7-9 AM).
When she awoke, she first saw Yu Zhu, stared blankly for a moment, then burst into tears. Nearby, Qing Pu had prepared white porridge to feed her. Having not eaten for several days and nights, having only drunk pear sugar water earlier, Xiu Qu ate ravenously. Jin Chao watched with relief; with such a good appetite, there likely wasn’t any serious internal damage.
After finishing the porridge, Xiu Qu seemed to finally notice how many people were around her and nervously clutched the corner of her blanket.
Yu Zhu held her hand and told her: “Don’t worry, this is the Young Miss’s Qing Tong Courtyard; no one dares to harm you here! Our Auntie Qing Pu rescued you from the Bi Tao Pavilion last night. You were severely injured then—how are you feeling now?”
Xiu Qu was dazed. She saw the Young Miss and her maid and whispered: “…Did the Young Miss save me?”
Yu Zhu became distressed again: “Yes, the Young Miss saved you. This is also my fault. If not for me… you wouldn’t have been beaten by Concubine Song…”
Xiu Qu still had difficulty speaking but began crying again, sobbing as she said: “They put me in a sack, threw me to the ground, kicked me, and whipped me. I… I kept crying out in pain, so they stuffed my mouth with socks. They even stabbed me with scissors… I don’t know what I did wrong. I begged for mercy, begged the Concubine to forgive me, but the Concubine… she… never appeared…”
“I was so scared and in so much pain. I thought I would die there…” Xiu Qu’s eyes were filled with the terror of one who had narrowly escaped death.
Yu Zhu quickly said: “It’s all right now. No one will beat you again! They wouldn’t dare come to the Young Miss’s place to harm you!”
Xiu Qu wiped her tears: “Yu Zhu, can you help me up? I want to kowtow to the Young Miss.”
Jin Chao stepped forward to support her, speaking softly: “Saving you was the right thing to do; there’s no need to kowtow to me. Your injuries are severe now; we can discuss other matters after you’ve recovered…” She then instructed Yu Zhu and Yu Tong to watch over her carefully.
Xiu Qu had been implicated in her affairs, and since she could save Xiu Qu, there was no reason not to. Once Xiu Qu recovered, whether she wanted to leave the manor or take up some other position, she would not force her either way.