“Tell me your purpose, and this silver will be yours.” Qiao Zhao lightly tapped the table.

After yesterday’s hypnosis, she could confirm that A’Zhu’s sister-in-law was someone who loved money like her life.

“All of it is mine?” A’Zhu’s sister-in-law’s eyes suddenly brightened as she looked greedily at the box full of silver.

“If you lie, not only will there be no silver, but I’ll also hand you over to Grandmother and have her send you to the authorities.”

Upon hearing that the silver would be gone and she’d be sent to the authorities, A’Zhu’s sister-in-law was immediately terrified and said repeatedly: “I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”

Qiao Zhao picked up the teacup A’Zhu handed her, took a sip, and looked at A’Zhu’s sister-in-law without saying a word.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law lowered her head, her eyes evasive: “I… someone asked me to come find a book—”

A cold laugh rang out.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law couldn’t help but look up at the young lady sitting properly.

Qiao Zhao asked calmly: “Are you sure you came to find a book, and not—”

She paused here, slowing her speech and enunciating each word: “And not a string of prayer beads?”

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law’s face suddenly turned pale as she exclaimed: “You, you already know?”

Binglu kicked her and said angrily, “What’s with this ‘you’ and ‘me’ talk? How dare you speak to Miss like that?”

Miss is so strange. Since she already found out yesterday, why does she want A’Zhu’s sister-in-law to say it again today?

Of course, Miss must have her reasons for doing this!

“Binglu, tie her up and take her to Old Madam.” Qiao Zhao said coldly as she picked up her teacup.

“Let’s go!” Binglu took out a rope and swung it.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law kowtowed repeatedly: “I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Please, Third Miss, don’t hand me over to Old Madam…”

After listening to A’Zhu’s sister-in-law’s account, Qiao Zhao lowered her eyes and remained silent.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law felt anxious, secretly glancing at Qiao Zhao and casting pleading looks toward A’Zhu.

A’Zhu turned her face away.

Time passed bit by bit. The room was silent, and A’Zhu’s sister-in-law swallowed nervously and shifted her body uneasily.

Just as she couldn’t help but speak up, Qiao Zhao finally gently placed her teacup on the side table and said lightly, “Since that’s the case, then do as that person instructed.”

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law was startled: “Third Miss, you mean—”

“You can go to the tofu stall at the entrance of Copper Coin Alley in the eastern part of the city to buy tofu today.”

“No, no! If I deceive that person, he’ll kill me!” A’Zhu’s sister-in-law shook her head in fear.

“Kill you?”

“Yes! Third Miss, you don’t know how terrifying that person is. He warned me that if I revealed even a single word of what he told me to do, he’d cut out my tongue and then kill me!”

Qiao Zhao looked coldly at A’Zhu’s sister-in-law, suddenly pulled out a dagger from her sleeve, and slapped it down in front of her, smiling slightly: “Sister A’Xiang, you might not know this, but I’ve also killed people before, and I don’t mind killing one more.”

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law hadn’t expected such shocking behavior from a noble lady. She was stunned with her mouth agape for quite a while before stammering: “Third, Third Miss, you can’t kill me. You’ll have trouble if you kill me—”

Qiao Zhao sneered: “What trouble? You’re just a servant who came to work at my house, without even an indenture contract. You stole from my family and ran away—we’d be too busy looking for you! Sister A’Xiang, if I kill you and bury you in the back garden, who would remember to look for you? A’Zhu?”

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law instinctively shook her head.

“Or your husband?”

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law quickly nodded.

Qiao Zhao chuckled softly and pushed the box of silver toward A’Zhu’s sister-in-law: “What if I have A’Zhu give this box of silver to her brother? Do you think her brother would search the world for you, or take the silver and marry a new wife?”

“You, you—” A’Zhu’s sister-in-law stared at Qiao Zhao with wide eyes as if she’d seen a ghost.

How could there be such a noble lady? Had her understanding been wrong all along?

Qiao Zhao smiled sweetly: “Or I could choose not to kill you. After all, killing is unladylike behavior. I’ll just hand you over to Old Madam instead. When my grandmother sends you to the official prison, I’ll still have A’Zhu give this box of silver to her brother. Do you think her brother would hope for your early release, or consider you dead and marry someone new?”

Following Qiao Zhao’s line of reasoning, A’Zhu’s sister-in-law felt completely defeated.

That damned man would prefer fresh, innocent young girls. If she went to prison, forget hoping for her early release—it would be good enough if he didn’t secretly bribe the jailers to kill her.

No, she couldn’t go to prison, and she definitely couldn’t die!

Seeing the change in A’Zhu’s sister-in-law’s expression, Qiao Zhao’s tone remained calm: “Alright, you can go with Binglu now. After all, I haven’t lost anything, so I haven’t suffered any loss.”

“No, Third Miss, don’t send me away! I’ll go buy tofu!” A’Zhu’s sister-in-law blurted out in desperation.

Qiao Zhao smiled: “Buying tofu costs a box of silver—it seems Sister A’Xiang knows what’s profitable after all.”

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law gave a dry laugh.

After buying the tofu, she’d immediately take the money and leave, hiding far away where that person would never find her!

“Of course, just buying tofu isn’t enough to earn this box of silver. Tomorrow you’ll also need to make a trip to the Zhang Family Noodle Shop.”

“Third Miss, I—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll send someone to protect you.” Qiao Zhao smiled lightly as she explained, “The person protecting you is an expert under Marquis Guanjun who has followed the Marquis on battlefields and killed countless Tartars. Dealing with that person will be more than sufficient, so you can rest assured about your safety.”

Seeing A’Zhu’s sister-in-law still looking hesitant, Qiao Zhao’s expression darkened slightly as she said coolly: “Sister A’Xiang, don’t tell me you think that if you give the prayer beads to that person, he’ll give you silver instead of killing you to silence you?”

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law trembled all over and finally resigned herself to nodding: “I’ll follow all of Third Miss’s arrangements, as long as Third Miss doesn’t let that person come after my family.”

“Don’t worry. Even if I don’t care about your life or death, there’s still A’Zhu’s brother and children to consider.” Seeing that A’Zhu’s sister-in-law had completely submitted, Qiao Zhao nodded to A’Zhu. “A’Zhu, accompany your sister-in-law out.”

After sending A’Zhu’s sister-in-law away, Qiao Zhao had Binglu fetch Chen Guang.

“What? Third Miss, you want to meet that person who tried to steal your prayer beads tomorrow?”

“Yes, this matter is not simple. I suspect the bloodshed at Sparse Shadow Convent and Master Wumei’s abduction are both related to this.”

She had long harbored doubts about Master Wumei giving her this precious string of agarwood prayer beads, but she could never figure out the reason. Now she could guess part of it.

This string of agarwood prayer beads must have some secret!

The fifth year of Mingkang brought the mystery of Shao Mingyuan’s background, so what secrets did Master Wumei, who had also come down from the mountain in the fifth year of Mingkang, hold?

The person instructing A’Zhu’s sister-in-law to steal the prayer beads should be a thread in this tangled mess. She wanted to question him thoroughly.

“Third Miss, since this matter involves so much, you shouldn’t take such risks. Let me go to that Zhang Family Noodle Shop tomorrow and bring the person back for you.”