The magistrate of Zhenyang County was surnamed Chen, given name Chen Jiangying, and had always maintained a close relationship with the Zheng Family.

Upon learning that Zheng Bei had suffered a loss, he personally rushed over with his men. Along the way he encountered the two elders of the Zheng Family, and together they made straight for the docks.

No matter how much one hears, nothing compares to seeing it with one’s own eyes. The sight of blood covering the ground so frightened Chen Jiangying that his legs gave out beneath him — had the people beside him not caught him quickly, he would have sat right down on the ground. The Zheng couple, however, composed themselves after the initial shock and looked around, searching for where their son was.

They knew their son had come here to apprehend a woman, so when they saw Shao Yao approaching, they assumed she was the woman he had come to capture. The old woman immediately screeched in a shrill voice, “Where have you taken my son!”

Her answer came in the form of a heavy crack and a cry of pain — Shao Yao sent her long whip flying, coiling it around Chen Jiangying and slamming him down hard. She used just the right amount of force, enough to cause considerable pain without breaking bone.

After doing this three times in succession, Shao Yao finally retracted her whip and looked toward the old couple. Even through their veiled hats, the two of them could feel her hostility and immediately retreated together, pulling their servants to the front as a shield.

Shao Yao let out a cold laugh. It was hardly surprising that a shameless son would have a pair of shameless parents.

The yamen runners had already helped Chen Jiangying to his feet. He was in such pain that his features twisted, but once the runners had formed a protective circle around him, he found the nerve to shout, “How dare you lay hands on an official of the court! You have an enormous amount of nerve — quickly, quickly, seize her!”

Shao Yao’s whip snaked through the crowd like a serpent, coiling around him again and hurling him hard to the ground. She then swung it backward, and Yu Tao, standing not far behind, caught the man. “Tie him up. We’ll take him along tomorrow.”

She cast a contemptuous glance at the yamen runners who dared not move, and at the two elderly figures, then turned and walked away.

But just because she disdained to bother with them did not mean everyone was willing to simply let her leave. The old woman suddenly lunged at Shao Yao. “You vicious woman — give me back my son!”

Shao Yao sidestepped, letting the old woman stumble forward, then flicked her whip to coil around her and sent her flying back to land beside Old Man Zheng. At that moment the yamen runners on the other side also moved — however frightened they were, they could not stand by and watch their superior be taken away right before their eyes, for then they too would have no way out.

Shao Yao gave a cold laugh, wielding her whip with consummate skill, and in moments laid the entire useless lot of them flat.

With no one left to bolster their courage, the two Zheng elders watched this walking calamity with wariness and retreated step by step. “You… what do you want? I… I’m telling you, my daughter is the wife of the Regional Administrator. You… ah…!”

The whip cracked in the air before them with a thunderous snap, and the sound alone made both of them cry out in fright. Shao Yao could not be bothered to spare them another word and turned to leave.

This time, the old woman did not dare lunge again.

Yu Tao dragged Chen Jiangying inside. When Xia Donglai saw clearly who it was, he leapt to his feet in alarm, looking back and forth between Hua Zhi and Chen Jiangying, at a complete loss as to what to do.

“Miss Shao Yao says we’ll take them all tomorrow.”

“Tie him up with Zheng Bei.” Hua Zhi made no attempt to intervene. This matter was no longer merely a private affair — even if Shao Yao were to pierce the heavens, the Seven Lodges Division would cover for her. Given Shao Yao’s position and Yanxi’s abilities, even if she had genuinely wronged someone, those people would still have had to accept it, let alone when Shao Yao was entirely in the right.

Shao Yao came in from outside, her entire being radiating killing intent. “Huahua, we can go now.”

Hua Zhi nodded, letting Bao Xia help her to her feet. “Yu Tao, Wang Cheng, Chen Shi — I’ll trouble the three of you to stay and keep watch over these people. If anyone comes to take them, make sure every last one of them stays.”

“Yes.”

Jiang Huanran, like an eager errand boy, ran off to fetch the magistrate’s carriage. The movement pulled at his wounds and the pain had him grimacing, yet the smile never left his face. His heart held only one word right now: worth it. This trip had been absolutely worth it!

“Miss, where are we going?” The word “we” — how pleasant it sounded, how pleasant to say. Jiang Huanran grinned so wide he looked a little foolish.

“Back to that inn from before. It’s nearby.”

“Right away.” With that, Jiang Huanran climbed up to the driver’s seat, his manner suggesting he intended to drive the carriage himself. Xu Ying would not dare entrust his young mistress’s safety to someone else’s hands. Half-politely, half not, he nudged the man aside. “Young Master Jiang, please sit. I’ll take the reins.”

Jiang Huanran truly did not know how to drive a carriage, and he did not try to prove otherwise. He shifted over to make room.

Hua Zhi lifted the curtain. “Master Xia, please head back. I hope our cooperation proves fruitful.”

Xia Donglai and Xia Kan cupped their hands in unison. “It certainly will.”

Hua Zhi gave the two men a nod and let the curtain fall. She had no interest in whatever shifts might occur in Zhenyang’s balance of power, and would not involve herself. If Xia Donglai was clever, he would not swallow the Zheng Family’s piece of the pie all by himself. As long as the Xia Family did not gain a monopoly, cooperation for the next few years should go smoothly enough.

The innkeeper, even without knowing that these arrivals were the same group who had been targeted by Zheng Bei at the docks, took one look at the bloodstains on them and guessed as much. He wanted to turn them away, but did not dare. He hid behind the counter, incessantly shooting glances at the attendant beside him.

The attendant was just as frightened and did not dare approach, standing at a distance, trembling as he asked, “G-g-g-guests, are you ch-ch-checking in or j-j-just eating?”

Xu Ying stepped forward. “Checking in. Five upper rooms. Please send plenty of hot water to each.”

The innkeeper set five keys on the counter, and the attendant snatched them up and trotted ahead. “G-guests, please f-follow me.”

The rooms were the same ones they had vacated that morning. Once inside, after the others had dispersed, Hua Zhi slumped over the table, her body trembling slightly. She had truly reached her limit — she was in pain, and she was exhausted.

“I’ll go fetch water.” Bao Xia left with reddened eyes. After the Hua Family’s fall, how comfortable the young mistress had allowed everyone else to be was precisely how much hardship she herself had endured. She had borne everything on her own shoulders, taken every blow in silence. Because she was capable, it was as though everyone had forgotten that she was only sixteen — that in all the years before this, all she had ever wanted was to read books and experiment with food.

Shao Yao helped Huahua walk to the bed and lean against the headboard, then stripped away her outer clothes. Across her pale skin, wounds lay raw and livid — some raised and swollen, others with flesh peeling away — a sight that struck the eye with visceral force. Shao Yao had seen death in every form and tended injuries far more grievous, yet in this moment an ache settled deep in her chest.

Her Huahua was the most composed and dignified person she had ever known. She should have been staying peacefully in that courtyard — with flowers and greenery and books and good food — offering guidance and counsel. This kind of life-and-death fighting was never meant to be hers. And yet this was already the second time, and as long as Huahua continued to move through the world beyond those walls, there was no guarantee it would be the last.

“Why do you look like you’re about to cry?” Hua Zhi teased, wanting to raise her hand to pat Shao Yao’s head, only to find she could not move a single finger. It was true — the moment one let down one’s guard, one became useless.

Shao Yao carefully avoided her wounds and held her gently. “I thought that as long as I stayed by your side, you wouldn’t get hurt.”

“Who could have anticipated that they would have the audacity to use garrison troops for their own ends?”

“But you clearly could have stayed in the back and let us deal with them first before stepping forward. You wouldn’t have been hurt if you had.”