Hua Zhi walked to the window. The damp, water-laden wind blew over her and swept away every last trace of the summer’s heat. It was quite pleasant.

A pity, then, that tonight was not going to be pleasant.

She let her gaze fall on the courtyard, and immediately let out a low cry. “Bao Xia, look — what is that over there?”

Bao Xia looked in the direction the young miss pointed. She wanted to scream. She wanted to wake every last servant and have them come protect the young miss. But the young miss had seized her hand and squeezed it hard, and she saw the young miss give her a faint shake of the head. She had no choice but to force the impulse down with all her strength. She swallowed and gave her own small cry, saying, “Your maid will go take a look.”

“It looks like something fell over there. I’ll go look too.”

“You stay, Miss. Don’t go out in the middle of the night and let the dampness get to you.”

“I’m wide awake now anyway. It’s fine.”

Bao Xia shook her head desperately. Tears flew everywhere with the motion. She planted herself in front and refused to let the young miss step out no matter what.

Hua Zhi touched her ashen face and mouthed without sound: “Trust me.”

In normal times Bao Xia trusted her — she trusted everything the young miss said. But now was different. No matter how capable the young miss was, could she really handle an assailant that even the estate guards had not been able to deal with? Those men were still lying out there, alive or dead unknown. In pure raw strength alone, the young miss was far outmatched. How could she — how could she just stand there and watch the young miss walk right under a killer’s nose?

Biting her lip, Bao Xia turned and headed for the outer door. One shout was all it would take and everyone would wake up. Anything was better than letting the young miss go into danger alone.

Hua Zhi grabbed her back. Her eyes were fierce enough to make Bao Xia hang her head and let the tears fall without stopping.

There was no time to waste. Hua Zhi could not afford to deliberate. She stepped past Bao Xia and moved toward the door. Without needing to think, she knew the assailant was watching this room. If they gave him cause for suspicion, they would all be fish on a chopping block.

Bao Xia took a few quick steps and rushed to put herself in front of the young miss again. She wiped away her tears. She straightened her back. She took several deep breaths. Then she took an umbrella, opened the door, and stepped outside. Hua Zhi, afraid Bao Xia might give things away, hurried after her.

“Miss, I’ll go look. You stay inside — the rain is still heavy.”

Hearing that Bao Xia’s voice sounded just as it always did, Hua Zhi let out a quiet breath of relief. “All right. Be careful.”

As Bao Xia walked out into the rain, Hua Zhi crossed over the threshold.

How could she not come out?

Coming out herself made it easier for the assailant to act against her. Fighting in the confined space of the room would put her at a disadvantage.

And she needed to make noise — enough noise to wake everyone up. Once there were many people moving about, there would be chaos, and slipping away in the confusion was better than being killed in one’s sleep.

She positioned herself under the eaves where she could hold out her hand and catch the rainwater, her face wearing the unguarded look that a sheltered young miss of a great household would naturally carry. Beneath that, every nerve she had was stretched taut as she listened to her surroundings. Almost immediately, she caught the smell of blood — not from the figures in the courtyard, but from directly behind her.

At the very same moment that Bao Xia’s scream rang out, Hua Zhi was seized from behind. She screamed too, though her mouth was almost immediately covered — but the effect was already sufficient.

Rooms lit up quickly. People came rushing out before they had even finished putting on their clothes.

“Miss!” Nian Qiu and Fu Dong were so frightened their souls nearly left their bodies. The three guards who had been resting for their shift looked at one another, at a loss for how to handle the situation before them.

Bao Xia threw down her umbrella and ran toward the young miss. “What do you want? Let go of my mistress!”

“Don’t move. One step closer and I’ll cut her face first!”

No one dared move.

Hua Zhi put on the look of someone who had been terrified into tears. Even Bao Xia, knowing the young miss was pretending, felt a pang in her heart — to say nothing of everyone else.

Everyone Hua Zhi had brought with her were people who had waited on her for years. The longer they had served her, the more they knew how good she was. Not one of them thought to save themselves by hiding. Instead, every one of them turned their faces into plain view. Liu Xiang, her face drained white, even pulled her collar open to show the pale curve of her collarbone, trying to draw the assailant’s attention.

The assailant was silent for a moment. Before long, Hua Zhi clearly felt him relax. Of course — there was genuinely not a single person among them who posed any threat to him.

He held Hua Zhi and began backing toward the room. The maids, frantic and nearly weeping, knew that if the young miss was truly alone with an assailant in a room, even if she came out safely afterward, her reputation would be ruined.

Fortunately, the assailant too worried about being caught like a turtle in a jar. After crossing the threshold, he went no further inside. Once he was satisfied that no one was hiding in the room and there was no risk of being attacked from behind, he relaxed a little more.

“Bring some food. And if any of you try anything clever—”

Fu Dong stumbled toward the small kitchen on trembling legs. Bao Xia dared not approach. She sank to her knees in the rain and sobbed, her voice soft as she pleaded, “Please let my mistress go. Please.”

The other maids all knelt down and wept their entreaties too.

Hua Zhi struggled to keep her voice small and fearful as she revealed her identity. “I — I am the legitimate young miss of the Hua Family. If — if you release me, the Hua Family will not let this go.”

“The Hua Family?” The man gave a cold, ill-meaning laugh. “A family whose estate has been confiscated and who have been exiled — what can you threaten me with? All of you shut your mouths. Another word and I’ll start with your young miss.”

Silence fell over the courtyard, leaving only the soft sound of falling rain.

Fu Dong came over carrying a bowl of congee — it had been left warming on the stove for the young miss in the morning. She’d deliberately only ladled out half a bowl. Forcing herself to be brave, she clenched her teeth and walked forward.

“Leave it on the threshold. Step back.”

Fu Dong’s footsteps faltered. Inside her sleeve, the hand clutching a knife almost lost its grip.

Hua Zhi’s heart lurched. Her crying suddenly grew louder, and she called out in between sobs, “Fu Dong!”

Fu Dong instinctively looked up. She saw that although the young miss was crying, there were no tears in her eyes — and there was a warning within them. Something in her settled unexpectedly. She did as she was told and set the bowl on the threshold, then backed away one step at a time.

“Truly, the Hua Family has fallen.” The assailant looked at the bowl of congee with undisguised contempt, yet hungry as he was, he bent forward to reach for it. Feeling that the bowl was still warm, a small look of pleasure crossed his face. His body desperately needed something hot right now.

That small burst of pleasure made his grip loosen slightly.

Hua Zhi was not about to let this chance pass. The silver hairpin she had been holding in her palm all along — she drove it at the man’s exposed neck with every ounce of speed and force she could manage.

That the woman he had just watched weeping would dare attack him was the last thing he had expected. By the time he reacted, it was already too late. Searing pain blazed on the left side of his neck. His instinctive counterstrike missed — and the woman had already dropped and rolled, breaking free of his hold.

“Miss!”

“Get back!” Hua Zhi snapped. Though her breathing was ragged, not a trace of the cowering helplessness from moments ago remained on her face.

Bao Xia lunged forward, only to be seized and held back by Fu Dong, who had retreated to her side. They couldn’t slow the young miss down now — but she couldn’t do nothing either. She knew the young miss had already seen through her earlier intentions. She slid the small knife she kept in her sleeve for cutting fruit across the ground toward the young miss’s feet and called out loudly, “Miss — by your feet.”

Hua Zhi heard Fu Dong’s voice and understood at once. She felt along the ground for the knife and got it in her hand, and some small measure of courage came with it.