The arrival of Xia Lian and his men swiftly turned the perilous situation around—of the seven intruders who had broken into Yizhi Hall, two were dead and the rest were captured alive.
Yan Chaoqing’s face was cold enough to freeze.
After confirming Dou Zhao was unharmed, he immediately asked to borrow the woodshed: “This is a strange occurrence. We must act quickly to prevent further complications. Please allow me to interrogate the criminals at once, Madam.”
Dou Zhao agreed that swift action was best. She instructed Lu Yi’s wife to guide Mr. Yan and Xia Lian’s group to the woodshed, while she directed the maids to clean up the courtyard.
A few agonized screams came from the woodshed, then silence fell as if something had muffled the sounds.
Lu Yi’s wife emerged from the corner leading to the small kitchen, her face pale and filled with terror.
Dou Zhao felt a secret chill. She whispered to Suxin, “If this results in deaths, who will dare to work in the kitchen in the future?”
Suxin replied, “Then I’ll go remind Mr. Yan to be careful.”
Dou Zhao nodded.
A young maid entered and reported, “Madam, Manager Lü has arrived.”
The people at Duke Ying’s manor had also seen the fire at Yizhi Hall, but for them, the blaze in the outer courtyard was far more pressing. So when Lü Zheng, who was in charge of Duke Ying’s affairs in the absence of Tao Qizhong, saw Yizhi Hall’s guards abandon the half-demolished wing to rush towards Yizhi Hall, he considered the situation and decided to come check on things and offer condolences.
Dou Zhao was keen to know if Duke Ying’s manor was involved in this incident.
She received Lü Zheng in the main hall.
Accompanied by only two servants, Lü Zheng had first seen two unfamiliar corpses on the path leading to Yizhi Hall, then a pile of charred and water-soaked firewood in the main courtyard. Lü Zheng was a shrewd man—otherwise, he wouldn’t have become Song Yichun’s confidant. He quickly realized that someone had taken advantage of the chaos to attack Yizhi Hall, forcing Dou Zhao and her people to defend themselves while setting fires to signal for help.
He wondered whose idea that had been. Not only clever, but quick-witted too.
However, where had these criminals come from? How had they broken into Yizhi Hall? Was there an inside collaborator working with them? Had Yizhi Hall captured all of them? If only some were caught, where were the others now?
These thoughts sent a chill down Lü Zheng’s spine.
With such a major incident at home, the young master would surely return soon.
If the young master suspected Duke Ying was involved and flew into a rage, who would dare or be able to stop him in the Duke’s absence?
Lü Zheng’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot.
But having already entered Yizhi Hall, he had to feign ignorance. Steeling himself, he asked Dou Zhao with forced surprise, “Madam, what exactly has happened here?”
I should be the one asking you that, yet you turn it around on me!
While inwardly fuming, Dou Zhao related the events to Lü Zheng, glossing over details like who had the idea to signal with fire or scald the intruders with boiling water.
Lü Zheng listened, sweating profusely. He fell to his knees before Dou Zhao with a thud, urgently saying, “Madam, we never imagined such chaos would occur. It’s entirely our fault! We were so focused on fighting the fire that we let criminals slip in. Has Mr. Yan learned anything from interrogating those criminals? Did they reveal how many there were in total? I fear some may still be hiding, waiting to strike when our guard is down…”
These criminals had entered through Duke Ying’s manor. With Tao Qizhong absent, the responsibility fell temporarily on him as the manager.
Seeing a flash of terror in his eyes despite his surprised expression, Dou Zhao grew more suspicious. Her tone softened: “We’ve had no news from Mr. Yan yet. The manor’s affairs will have to trouble Mr. Tao and Manager Lü for now.”
Since Lü Zheng had spoken this way, whether or not Song Yichun was involved, let them worry about matters outside Yizhi Hall.
As they were talking, Tao Qizhong returned after borrowing manpower from the Five Wards Commandery to help extinguish the fire. Hearing that Yizhi Hall had inexplicably caught fire, that Mr. Yan and others had all rushed there, and that the eastern servant quarters had also ignited—with servants sneaking back to secure their children and valuables rather than fighting the fire, leaving Duke Ying’s manor in chaos—his face changed dramatically. He hurriedly gave some instructions to the Vice Commander who had come to help, then headed to Yizhi Hall with his attendants.
Everyone knew the Duke and the young master were at odds. With the young master away, if anything happened to his wife, people would suspect the Duke’s involvement. Though the Duke disliked his son, he wouldn’t do something so obviously controversial. They’d be in an impossible situation then, caught between a rock and a hard place.
On the way, loyal servants had already informed Tao Qizhong about the situation at Yizhi Hall.
Tao Qizhong inwardly groaned.
Arriving at Yizhi Hall, he ran into Yan Chaoqing, who was also coming to see Dou Zhao. Grabbing him like a lifeline, Tao Qizhong asked, “Brother Yan, what on earth is going on here?”
Without breaking stride towards the main house, Yan Chaoqing replied, “I was just going to report to Madam. Come along and listen too.”
Tao Qizhong’s heart sank, his face turning slightly ashen as he followed Yan Chaoqing into the hall.
“Madam, it was a group of bandits from Cangzhou. Unable to stay there any longer, they came to the capital to lie low,” Yan Chaoqing explained, the situation having developed beyond his expectations. “They saw the box of banknotes in your dowry during the wedding procession and set their sights on it. They colluded with some local gangs and hired two wandering knights, planning both the jailbreak and the stable fire…”
Dou Zhao was dumbfounded.
Lü Zheng, however, breathed a sigh of relief.
Since it was the young mistress’s dowry that had attracted trouble, surely this had nothing to do with them now?
But his relief was short-lived as Yan Chaoqing continued: “According to their confession, twenty-six people snuck in altogether. We’ve only found seven so far. The whereabouts of the others are unknown. Mr. Tao, we’ll need your input on how to handle this.”
Tao Qizhong was filled with regret.
If he had known this would happen, he should have listened to Yan Chaoqing earlier and sacrificed a pawn to save the king by demolishing two rooms of the eastern servants’ quarters to stop the fire’s spread. The stable could have burned—they could always rebuild it. But now criminals had broken in, and the responsibility fell squarely on his shoulders! Not to mention nineteen people were still unaccounted for…
He felt like an ant on a hot pan.
“Fortunately, the Five Wards Commandery sent a full unit from the East City Commandery,” he said, his face dark enough to drip water. “I’ll go arrange men to catch the criminals.” Thinking of the skilled and meticulous guards at Yizhi Hall, he added, “We can’t let those East City Commandery men wander around freely. Mr. Yan, please lend me a few men to accompany them.”
“Not!” Yan Chaoqing flatly refused. “Until we find those criminals, all of Yizhi Hall’s guards must remain here to protect Madam’s safety.”
Tao Qizhong opened his mouth but said nothing in the end. He left with Lü Zheng, both looking dejected.
Yan Chaoqing knew this incident could be used to their advantage.
Recalling Dou Zhao’s ruthlessness when she held Song Mo hostage and her composure in the face of danger earlier, he explained to her tactfully: “Madam’s safety is paramount. Duke Ying’s manor is too large. If I withheld information and criminals were hiding in the inner courtyard, it would be far too dangerous!”
Yan Chaoqing’s words sparked an idea in Dou Zhao. She smiled and said, “Before, when those criminals killed Duke Ying’s manor’s guards, no one believed it. They insisted it was the young master who did it. Now criminals have attacked Yizhi Hall again… What a coincidence!”
Her words made Yan Chaoqing’s eyes light up. He said, “I’ll go take care of this matter right away!”
Dou Zhao smiled and said, “Thank you for your efforts, sir.”
Yan Chaoqing bowed respectfully and withdrew.
Xia Lian, who had been waiting outside, hurriedly asked, “What did Madam say?”
Looking at the two criminals whose faces had nearly been scalded raw and who they had captured so easily, he felt Dou Zhao was a true heroine like those in plays and admired her greatly.
When Yan Chaoqing explained Dou Zhao’s intentions, Xia Lian couldn’t help but give a thumbs up, exclaiming, “The young master marrying Madam is truly like a tiger growing wings!”
Yan Chaoqing nodded in agreement, smiling.
The two stood under the eaves, discussing Yizhi Hall’s defenses for the next few days.
Song Han entered with two servants.
“I heard there was a fire at my sister-in-law’s place. Is she alright?” he asked, his expression worried. “I came as soon as I heard the news.”
Yan Chaoqing and Xia Lian hurriedly bowed to Song Han, while a maid went to inform Dou Zhao.
Dou Zhao came out to meet him, saying, “Second Young Master, why have you come at this hour?” She scolded Song Han’s servant: “Don’t you know criminals have broken into the manor? Nineteen are still unaccounted for. If anything happens to the Second Young Master, I’ll have your hide!”
The servant turned pale with fright, kneeling and trembling.
Song Han was also startled by Dou Zhao’s words. He tugged at Xia Lian’s sleeve: “Guard Xia, is this true?”
Xia Lian quickly replied, “It is. Some people are still missing.” His voice was very gentle. “Second Young Master shouldn’t have come to Yizhi Hall at this time.”
Song Han was at a loss.
Dou Zhao hurriedly instructed Xia Lian: “Escort the Second Young Master back to the upper courtyard.”
Xia Lian respectfully complied, accompanying Song Han out of Yizhi Hall.
Dou Zhao watched Song Han’s retreating figure until he disappeared from view. Only then did she return to her inner chamber and call for Ganlu: “With such a big fire, I doubt anyone in the manor is sleeping. Go invite the First Madam and First Young Madam over. Tell them I have something to say.” She also gave Suxin a few quiet instructions.
Ganlu went to invite the First Madam and Madam Tan.
Seeing Yizhi Hall under heavy guard, both women breathed sighs of relief. The First Madam’s face crumpled as she lamented, “Where did these ruffians come from? Don’t they know what kind of place this is? They must be mad with greed for money…”
Dou Zhao calmly sipped tea from her cup, letting the First Madam vent her outwardly fierce but inwardly fearful temper.
Her composed expression inexplicably alarmed Madam Tan. She tugged at the First Madam’s sleeve, reminding her that Dou Zhao wasn’t interested and to say less.