After all, Zhu Shun had stayed in the Zhuge manor for more than ten years. He was getting on in years and hadn’t lived his entire life as a dog.

Even though he had already concluded in his heart that Jin Si had done this to implicate him to compete with Jin Zhu for favor, he was afraid that Zhuge Yue wouldn’t truly believe it. Instead, he might be misunderstood for trying to shirk responsibility by deliberately framing Jin Si. So he kept his wits about him and didn’t let the Disciplinary Court beat her to death, intending to report to the Young Master when he had time tomorrow.

At night, the Disciplinary Court was deathly quiet. In the pitch-black woodshed, Jin Si’s entire body was covered in raised welts and whip marks, clearly having been subjected to severe punishment. Chu Qiao stood before her, scooped up a ladle of water, and splashed it on her face with a swooshing sound.

Jin Si let out a muffled groan and slowly awakened. Upon seeing Chu Qiao, she immediately flew into a rage and snarled viciously, “Little slut! You still dare to come see me!”

Chu Qiao stood before her with a calm expression, silently listening to the woman’s loud curses. After a long while, she finally said with a faint smile, “If you truly wish to die, you can continue shouting.”

Jin Si’s clothes were stained with blood, her face pale, her chest heaving violently, and her eyes full of hatred.

Chu Qiao shook her head and slowly said, “People may not intend to harm tigers, but tigers always mean to harm people. I warned you long ago, yet you repeatedly opposed me. If you hadn’t followed me today, how would you have ended up like this? Everything is of your own making. Who can you blame?”

“Vicious little slut, I won’t let you go even if I become a ghost!”

Chu Qiao sighed lightly and said, “Do you want to die that badly?”

Jin Si was taken aback. Chu Qiao continued, “I originally had no intention of harming you. Everything today was merely meant to teach you a lesson. Unfortunately, the Fourth Young Master refuses to save you, so it seems you’ll have to join Jin Zhu in the lake.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Jin Si’s face instantly paled several more shades. She looked at Chu Qiao, her eyes suddenly showing a glimmer of desire to live. She stared intently at Chu Qiao and said urgently, “Xing’er, you and I have no past grievances or recent grudges. Lin Xi’s death was Jin Zhu’s idea, I only chimed in with a few words. You were able to come here silently, so you must be able to help me escape. Please, save me, I don’t want to die yet!”

Towards the end, she couldn’t help but tremble and burst into tears. Chu Qiao sighed softly, put down the bundle on her back, and said solemnly, “Stop crying. Do you think I came here tonight just to reminisce with you? Your crime doesn’t warrant death. Since I’m the one who got you into this situation, I certainly won’t abandon you. Put on these clothes, and I’ll get you out immediately.”

As she spoke, she stepped forward to untie the ropes binding Jin Si.

Jin Si was overjoyed and quickly asked, “Can we escape? The manor guards are so strict.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve bribed the guards at the back gate. The master is about to return to the manor. You’re just a small maid, no one will make a big fuss. As long as you escape the manor, you can save your life.”

Jin Si followed behind Chu Qiao, and the two climbed out through the window. As they passed through the lake pavilion and fake mountain of Red Mountain Courtyard, they suddenly heard footsteps in the distance—it was the household guards coming to patrol. The two were startled and crouched on the ground, not daring to continue. Chu Qiao turned back and handed a small bundle to Jin Si, saying in a low voice, “I’ll go lure those people away. You hurry to the west corner gate of the back courtyard. I’ve already arranged with the gatekeepers there. When you arrive, just mention my name, and they’ll let you leave. Here are some travel expenses and clothes that used to belong to Sister Zhi Xiang. I don’t know if they’ll fit you. I don’t have much money, so this is all I could give. Take care of yourself from now on.”

With that, she turned and left from the other side, deliberately making noise. The patrolling guards heard it and immediately followed.

Jin Si opened the bundle and saw only a few copper coins inside, not even enough to buy a roast goose. She couldn’t help but frown. She also noticed that the clothes were either torn or dirty, terribly ugly, and gave off a strange smell, which made her even more resentful. She thought to herself that she should have remained a good maid instead of running away to become a fugitive. If she were caught, she would lose her life. It was all this Jing Xing’er’s fault. Now she was pretending to be kind in front of her, which was simply shameless.

She took out the few copper coins and threw the bundle on the ground, not caring at all about the trouble these things might cause for Chu Qiao if they were discovered after her escape.

The cold wind blew, rustling the corners of the clothes. The cold moon was like frost, spilling clear radiance over the ground.

At this moment, in Zhu Shun’s room, the heavy breathing of a man and the moans of a woman could be heard continuously, their lewd words offending the ears.

The winter night was cold, and the guards on duty had already lazily found a warm place to doze off. The child’s small body silently crept up to Zhu Shun’s door, making no sound at all.

After making some preparations, Chu Qiao crouched beside Zhu Shun’s door. In the pitch-black night, her eyes were like black jewels, flashing with wisdom and coolness. Suddenly, the man’s satisfied grunt sounded, followed by the rustling of clothes. Chu Qiao gripped a stone and threw it at the door.

With a crisp bang, though not loud, it was enough for the people inside to hear clearly. Zhu Shun called out, “Who’s outside?”

Chu Qiao didn’t answer but picked up another stone and threw it at the door with another bang.

“Coming, coming!” the man said irritably. “Who is it in the middle of the night?”

The door was pulled open, but no one was visible. Zhu Shun frowned in confusion and stuck his head out to walk outside, but as soon as he lifted his foot, a rope tripped him, and he fell to the ground with a crash.

“Ouch!”

Zhu Shun cried out in pain, but before his next curse could leave his mouth, a black bag was thrown over his head, and everything before him went dark. The man was greatly alarmed, finally realizing something was wrong, and shouted, reaching out to grab wildly.

The night was deep, the cold air piercing. Chu Qiao held a sharp dagger, her gaze sharp, her lips cold, and she swung it down instantly at his fat hand!

A scream like that of a slaughtered pig immediately rose to the sky. Zhu Shun clutched his severed wrist and rolled on the ground. Chu Qiao didn’t linger, quickly retreating towards the western flower bed.

Behind her came the chaotic footsteps of the household guards and a woman’s shrill cry.

“What happened? Ah! Manager Zhu, who did this?”

The woman, disheveled and panic-stricken, cried out, “I couldn’t see clearly who it was, only that they weren’t tall, it seemed, it seemed to be a child.”

“Which way did they go?”

“Westward.”

“After them!”

More than ten pairs of feet passed in front of her one by one. Chu Qiao tried to make herself as small as possible, crouching in the withered grass. As the voices gradually receded, the surroundings also gradually quieted down. The child patted the dust off herself, stood up, and leisurely left the scene of trouble, her figure showing unusual composure.

Passing by the lake pavilion in Red Mountain Courtyard, she indeed saw her small bundle thrown messily on the ground. The child gave a cold laugh, picked up the bundle, and walked toward Green Mountain Courtyard. She carefully climbed in through the back window and changed into a soft white cotton nightgown. Since she had begun serving in Zhuge Yue’s quarters, she had moved out of the servants’ rear courtyard and into the servants’ quarters in Green Mountain Courtyard. The sounds outside grew louder and louder, the torches flashing like a long dragon, illuminating half the sky.

Chu Qiao loosened her hair, rubbed her eyes, and opened the door with a sleepy appearance, just in time to meet several young maids who had just left their rooms.

“What’s happening over there?”

The young maids were all thirteen or fourteen years old, but their rank was not as high as Chu Qiao’s. They all shook their heads in confusion. At this moment, there was the sound of a door opening from the main hall, and they all hurried over.

Zhuge Yue’s face was gloomy. He glanced at Chu Qiao and the others who had just arrived with disheveled hair, then said to a guard who had run over from outside, “What happened? Why is it so noisy?”

“Young Master, there was an assassin in the outer manor. Manager Zhu had his hand cut off, and the guards caught Miss Jin Si who was about to escape at the west corner gate. She has already been taken back to the Disciplinary Court.”

Zhuge Yue was stunned, but then surprisingly curved his lips into a slight smile and said, “As the saying goes, a desperate dog will jump over a wall. I didn’t expect Jin Si’s temperament to be so unyielding.”

The guard glanced carefully at Chu Qiao and said, “When Miss Jin Si was caught, she was shouting that it was, it was Xing’er who had harmed her, that it wasn’t her doing.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s gaze immediately focused on Chu Qiao. Her small face immediately wrinkled, her large watery eyes blinking pitifully, almost on the verge of tears. She turned to look at Zhuge Yue with a pitiful expression and said sadly, “Fourth Young Master, Xing’er, Xing’er has been sleeping in the room. I, I didn’t…”

“Young Master, Xing’er has been in the room the whole time and hasn’t gone out. We all saw it,” a third-class maid suddenly stepped forward and said.

As soon as she finished speaking, the other maids also unanimously testified for Chu Qiao.

Zhuge Yue nodded and said to the servant, “Tell the Disciplinary Court, if that woman speaks nonsense again, there’s no need to interrogate her, just throw her directly into the lake. How old is Xing’er? This is getting more and more ridiculous.”

The servant nodded hurriedly and withdrew.

Zhuge Yue glanced at the young maids and said, “You all go back to sleep too.” Then he turned and entered the hall.

Chu Qiao still stood in place with a wronged expression. Several young maids approached her ingratiatingly, took her hand, and said, “Xing’er, don’t be afraid. We’ll all testify for you. It’s useless even if she tries to frame you.”

Chu Qiao nodded and said tearfully, “Thank you, sisters.”

It was approaching the third watch of the night, and the wind was howling. Today was the seventh day since the death of the Jing family children. The person who had killed them finally paid the price in blood on this night.

However, this amount of blood was still far from enough.