There were only six people in the manor. When Kuihua and Caiyan were cooking, Madam Qin told Caiyan to eat with everyone in the dining hall.

After thanking Madam Qin, Caiyan did not follow her, but left the food in the kitchen.

She knew Jiang Jiaojiao didn't want to eat in the East Courtyard. Sunflower took away the last dish, and Caiyan didn't even glance at the leftover food before leaving the East Courtyard under the eaves.

After leaving the east courtyard, Caiyan ran all the way to the courtyard where Jiang Jiaojiao lived.

Once inside the courtyard, Caiyan went straight to her bedroom.

When she arrived at the dormitory door, Caiyan reached out and pushed it open, only to touch the cold brass lock with her hands.

Oh no! The door is locked.

Thinking that Jiang Jiaojiao might find an excuse not to stay up for the New Year in the East Courtyard, Caiyan felt extremely flustered.

what to do?

If she doesn't produce her indenture, Jiang Jiaojiao can take it to the authorities to report her to the authorities once she leaves the capital.

In Wanling Kingdom, a servant who runs away will be publicly wanted by the government.

Such examples are not uncommon; for a long time, a wall at the city gate was covered with portraits of runaway slaves.

Caiyan took two steps back, looking at the iron gate with a troubled expression.

A crescent moon hung high in the sky, its cold light illuminating her frail figure, isolated and helpless.

Caiyan looked up at the window frame. The front window was a wooden window with a meander pattern, the kind that couldn't be pushed open.

The Su family was wealthy and used high-quality materials; a woman with no strength could not break through the window with her bare hands.

Suddenly, Caiyan turned and ran towards the south side of the house.

To the south is a small, desolate garden overgrown with weeds.

The dry reeds grow in clumps, their leaves covered with fine serrations, and you can easily get scratched if you walk around them.

The ground was covered with thick weeds, and Caiyan secretly prayed that no snakes or rats would come out.

Just as she feared, a dark shadow darted past her after she had only taken a few steps.

"ah!"

Caiyan gasped and jumped up.

She quickly covered her mouth and, by the moonlight, continued walking forward, her heart pounding with fear.

The dry grass underfoot made a "crunching" sound.

Arriving at the south wall, I reached out and touched the windowsill along the eaves.

Caiyan touched the first window and pulled hard, but the window made a slight sound and didn't move at all.

Caiyan inwardly groaned, "What should I do? If I miss tonight, I don't know when I'll have another chance."

Despair welled up in her heart, but Caiyan continued to grope forward unwillingly.

With a creak, a window opened, and a warm breeze wafted in.

Thank goodness, there's always a way out; at least one window wasn't locked from the inside.

Standing at the window, one can see the charcoal brazier on the floor inside the room flickering on and off.

Caiyan lifted her skirt and tied a knot at her waist, then leaped up, landing her upper body on the windowsill.

She used both her hands and feet and climbed inside in no time.

Once inside, Caiyan went straight to the wardrobe.

The wardrobe in the room wasn't locked, and she found Jiang Jiaojiao's makeup box where she kept her important items.

Moonlight streamed through the window, and the dim light from the charcoal brazier made the room dim, but after a while, my vision gradually cleared.

She placed the makeup box on the table, then turned and quickly walked towards the bed.

She reached under the pillow, but it was empty.

Did she move the key?

Caiyan wasn't as panicked as she had been at the beginning. If she couldn't find the key, she could only take the makeup box with her. At worst, she could hide the makeup box in some bushes outside and think of another way when it was late at night.

Caiyan estimated whether she would be able to leave the house in time if she heard the sound of a lock being opened in the outer room.

The answer is—yes.

The room was simply furnished, with little space to hide things.

Caiyan had been by Jiang Jiaojiao's side for many years, so she naturally understood her lifestyle.

From the dressing table to under the bedding, she finally hugged and squeezed the pillow.

When she pinched the middle part, she felt something poking her hand, and Caiyan's eyes lit up.

She quickly took the key out of the pillow, opened the makeup box, and pulled out a piece of paper from the inner compartment without even looking at it before stuffing it into her bosom.

Just to be on the safe side, she reached into the compartment again to make sure there were no papers or other items inside before closing the lid, locking it, and putting the makeup box and key back in their original places.

Once outside and with the windows closed, Caiyan felt a great sense of relief.

Finally, they were free. As long as Jiang Jiaojiao couldn't produce her indenture, reporting it to the authorities would be useless, since the government valued evidence.

I didn't see any more rats on the way back, but I was walking too fast and my hand hurt a little.

She jogged back to the kitchen, ignoring the cut on her hand, and quickly sat down in front of the stove.

He took out a slightly crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it; there were exactly two pieces of paper inside.

She couldn't recognize all the characters, but she recognized the format of the characters.

The image above is Zhao Wu's employment contract.

With trembling hands, Caiyan unfolded her contract of servitude.

She clearly remembers the scene of pressing her fingerprint on this piece of paper.

Her father shoved her toward the slave trader, grabbed a money bag, and left without looking back.

The slave trader pinched her thumb and pressed it down onto the paper.

The scenes of the past were vivid in my mind, and tears welled up in my eyes. In the blink of an eye, tears rolled down my cheeks.

From now on, she would no longer be a slave to be beaten and scolded; she would live a happy life with Zhao Wu with dignity.

She wanted to have children with him, to be a loving and supportive wife, to earn lots and lots of money, and to live happily ever after.

Caiyan suppressed her sadness and raised her sleeve to wipe away the remaining tears on her cheeks.

She sniffed and quickly unfolded the yellowed paper, where she saw that the familiar little handprint had faded slightly.

Her former name was written on the fingerprint, a name she had almost forgotten.

As her gaze shifted, Caiyan's eyes widened in disbelief.

There was no official seal on the paper.

She was so happy she almost jumped for joy.

You should know that even if the government stamps the document with its official seal, in order to completely regain one's freedom, the master still has to go to the government with the yellow register to remove the slave status.

Caiyan was overjoyed. It was wonderful! The slave trader had secretly transferred the indenture to the Jiang family in order to avoid paying taxes.

Aunt Yang was greedy for money and was unwilling to go to the government to pay the outstanding taxes.

Caiyan was overjoyed and quickly blew on the firewood in the stove to light it. As soon as the flames rose, she hurriedly threw the two contracts into the fire.

Watching the flames instantly engulf the paper, Caiyan felt a huge weight lifted from her shoulders.

Suddenly, the kitchen door was pushed open, startling Caiyan so much that she jumped to her feet.

"Young master, you..."

Su Peng saw that Caiyan was panicked and her eyes were red, as if she had just been crying.

Upon closer inspection, the food on the kitchen table remained untouched.

"Yan'er, you've been wronged. I shouldn't have left you alone in the kitchen tonight. Come with me to the dining room for dinner." Su Peng said as he walked towards Caiyan.

Caiyan instinctively stepped back, shaking her head. "This servant doesn't feel wronged. There's a difference between master and servant. This servant should stay in the kitchen to eat."

Why is your hand bleeding?