How wonderful that he was dead—with him dead, no one would know about today’s events.

She and Chun Fang had disguised themselves as men and snuck into Bichun Tavern, and no one knew their identities!

These thoughts spun frantically in Li Jiǎo’s mind. After leaving the vicinity of Bichun Tavern, she hired a horse carriage, paid generously, and desperately rushed toward the Li residence. When she reached the teahouse near the West Residence, she hastily jumped down from the carriage and hid in a concealed spot to wait.

By her estimation, in Chun Fang’s panicked state, she wouldn’t think to hire a carriage and would only run home desperately. This way, she wouldn’t be able to keep going for long before losing strength, and would most likely fall behind her.

The West Residence still looked as quiet and peaceful as usual, which made Li Jiǎo even more convinced of this.

Sure enough, as expected, after waiting about a quarter of an hour, Chun Fang finally came running over, gasping for breath.

Her steps were unsteady, her expression panicked, and she looked quite disheveled. Li Jiǎo reached out and pulled her into a corner.

“Mmm mmm mmm—” Having her mouth suddenly covered, Chun Fang struggled desperately.

“It’s me!” Li Jiǎo released her hand.

Chun Fang was stunned for a moment, then grabbed Li Jiǎo with tears streaming down her face. “Miss, Miss, are you alright?”

“This isn’t the time for crying. We’ll talk after we get into the residence!”

“Yes.” Chun Fang wiped away her tears and supported Li Jiǎo as they walked forward.

However, Li Jiǎo didn’t move, pointing in another direction. “We’ll go through the side gate in that alley.”

Chun Fang was somewhat surprised.

The alley the Miss was pointing to was usually where the night soil collectors walked—it was truly filthy and disgusting.

“What are you standing there for? We can’t let anyone see us returning in this state!” Li Jiǎo urged.

When they had left that morning, they had used a different side gate, taking advantage of the gatekeeper dozing off to slip out quietly. If they went back the same way now, they might not have such good luck.

This side gate, used specifically for emptying night soil, was different—usually no one guarded it, it was simply locked.

The master and servant squeezed into the narrow alley. Being midsummer, the overwhelming stench drilled straight into their nostrils, making them nauseous.

Because few people walked here, the alley had a dirt path with yellowish-white substances scattered intermittently. Chun Fang accidentally stepped on some and immediately vomited.

Perhaps because she had killed someone, under such intense stimulation, this kind of scene had become numb to Li Jiǎo. She coldly scolded in a low voice, “What are you vomiting for? If we delay any longer, we’ll lose our lives. What’s this compared to that?”

“Yes…” Chun Fang replied with a pale face.

The two covered their noses and struggled forward, finally reaching the side gate.

“Miss, how do we get in?”

“Over there!” Li Jiǎo pointed to a spot not far from the side gate, then walked over and used her foot to push aside the thick grass, revealing a dog hole.

Chun Fang was immediately dumbfounded.

How did the Miss know there was a dog hole here?

Li Jiǎo naturally understood Chun Fang’s confusion, but had no time to explain. She lifted her hem to cover her face and crawled through the dog hole.

Seeing that even the Miss was doing this, Chun Fang didn’t dare hesitate any longer. She followed suit and crawled through, her palms touching sticky, slimy substances that made her stomach churn with nausea, though she had nothing left to vomit.

This corner was rarely visited anyway. The master and servant crawled through the dog hole into the residence, dodging and hiding until they finally returned to their room.

“Quick, quick, I need to bathe!” Having successfully returned to her place meant she had finally escaped from that nightmare. Li Jiǎo’s heart relaxed, and she immediately found the stench on her body unbearable, leaning against the wall and dry-heaving.

Li Jiǎo used three full buckets of water before changing into clean clothes. She ordered another head maid, Qiu Lu, to burn all the clothes she and Chun Fang had worn when going out, doing so right in front of her. Only then did she call the two into the inner room and instruct them, “Qiu Lu, today Chun Fang and I never left this courtyard even for a step. Do you remember that?”

“This servant remembers.”

Li Jiǎo was still reassured about these two maids who had grown up with her since childhood. She warned again, “Good that you remember. If you let something slip, don’t blame me for not considering our childhood bond!”

“This servant will remember!”

“Fine then. You go down first. Chun Fang stays.”

After Qiu Lu left, Li Jiǎo’s eyes fell on Chun Fang’s face without saying a word.

“Miss, Miss—” Chun Fang didn’t understand what was happening, only feeling that the Miss’s gaze was particularly terrifying at this moment. Her knees went weak, and she knelt.

“Get up, sit here.” Li Jiǎo pointed to a small stool.

Chun Fang sat down, trembling.

Li Jiǎo’s expression was ice-cold. “I know what you want to ask, but don’t ask anything. Chun Fang, I want you to completely forget where we went today. If not, whether it’s me or you, we’ll both die horrible deaths!”

Chun Fang’s whole body shook, and she lowered her head. “This servant understands, this servant understands.”

“Good, that you understand.” Li Jiǎo breathed a small sigh of relief. “Don’t be so trembling either, or people will notice something’s wrong. If we’re lucky, everything should be calm and peaceful, with nothing happening. If we’re unlucky and someone comes to our residence to make trouble, you just need to remember one thing—we never leave this doorway!”

“Yes.” Chun Fang nodded desperately, then asked with some worry, “Someone making trouble? Could that lecher chase us to our residence?”

How exactly had the Miss escaped? She couldn’t figure it out at all.

Li Jiǎo suddenly looked deeply at Chun Fang and pressed her lips together. “I killed him!”

With a thud, Chun Fang fell directly off the small stool.

“Killed, killed, killed…” Chun Fang couldn’t even speak properly.

Li Jiǎo had a kind of fearlessness that came from burning bridges. “So you should understand—we absolutely cannot let anything slip, right?”

Chun Fang was different from Qiu Lu—she had experienced that nightmare together with her. Without a harsh warning, if she revealed any clues, Li Jiǎo would truly be beyond redemption.

After Chun Fang finally calmed her emotions and left, only Li Jiǎo remained in the room. She collapsed onto the bed, staring at the hollow silver-gilt incense pouch hanging from the top of the gauze canopy. Smelling the familiar, comforting fragrance, the fear began to surge from her heart bit by bit, drowning her.

In the hot weather, Li Jiǎo pulled a thin quilt over herself, her whole body feeling cold.

At the Earl of Changchun’s residence, the wailing of women in the room continued incessantly. Maids holding soft cloths, hot water, and other items streamed endlessly in and out through the doorway.

“Stop crying!” the Earl of Changchun shouted coldly.

The crying in the room stopped for a moment, then resumed even louder.

“My son is already in this condition, and I can’t even cry? Waa waa waa, if something happens to Shu’er, I won’t live either—”

“Wait for the doctor to come out and hear what he says. As for the Old Madam, keep it from her for now!”

Soon, excited shouts came from the inner room: “Fourth Young Master is awake!”

The Earl of Changchun and others hurriedly crowded in.

“Imperial Physician, how is my son?” the Earl of Changchun asked.

However, the Earl’s wife rushed directly to the bedside and grabbed Jia Shu’s hand. “Shu’er, Shu’er, how are you?”

Jia Shu, having just regained consciousness, was shaken and dizzy by his mother and managed to say with difficulty, “Xingzi Alley, Li residence, third, third miss—”

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes rolled back and he fainted again.