Once You Shuyao's fever subsided, she quickly regained consciousness.

She opened her eyes and realized she was back in this cage. Overwhelmed with emotion, she could only remain silent.

Looking down, she saw that she had been washed clean, but she didn't notice the new clothes she had been dressed in. The material was so light and soft, the kind of fine fabric that only the concubines in the palace could wear. Instead, what she noticed first were the four unfamiliar faces of the maids in front of her.

The four maids were named Chunlu, Xiahong, Qiuyue, and Dongxue. Chunlu was the leader. When she saw that she had woken up, she led the other three forward to pay their respects and made it clear that the four of them would be her personal maids from now on. Mingxia, who had originally served her, had been sold, and Minghui had been transferred to another courtyard.

Although these four maids were servants, You Shuyao observed that their demeanor and behavior possessed a depth and composure unlike that of ordinary maids. Especially when Chunlu handed her the water cup, she noticed that each of Chunlu's fingertips had thick calluses, the result of long-term handling of weapons.

It seems that these four maids, like the ones Huo Jingsha had previously assigned to her, are all skilled in martial arts. They are not as easily fooled as Mingxia and Minghui. With them under her watchful eye every day, it will be even harder for her to escape the Huo mansion.

Thinking about her current predicament, You Shuyao felt extremely frustrated.

"Aunt Yao, let me do your makeup and comb your hair!" Xia Hong said with a smile.

You Shuyao was absent-minded and simply nodded slightly upon hearing this.

During the time she was bedridden to recover from her injuries, Huo Jingsha always strictly controlled how often she got out of bed. Now that her injuries have mostly healed, before going out, she always has to tidy up her long hair that is loose down her back and apply a light layer of powder so that she looks dignified before going out to meet people.

Winter Snow helped her up, Autumn Moon helped her put on her shoes, and Spring Green went to smooth out the bedding. You Shuyao slowly sat down in front of the bronze mirror, letting Summer Red dress her up.

Being a concubine is exhausting. She's not even a proper wife in the Huo family, and there are so many rules to follow. It's nothing like the freedom she had as a maid. But… when she looked up and inadvertently caught a glimpse of herself in the bronze mirror, she was stunned.

What are those little red marks on her neck? Shu Yao touched them with her fingers. When did she get them? How come she didn't notice them at all?

Looking at Xia Hong with a puzzled expression, she asked, "What's wrong with me?"

The four maids all blushed, but their smiles were somewhat... ambiguous!

You Shuyao was even more puzzled. In this life, although she was still a virgin, she had experienced matters between men and women in her previous lives and understood to some extent the meaning of these red marks.

Considering their shyness in speaking out, You Shuyao suddenly realized that these were hickeys!

She flinched and pulled her clothes open a little more, only to be even more stunned. Good heavens! It wasn't just the few marks on her neck; the red marks extended all the way down to her bodice. She lifted it up a bit more to take a look... Damn! Even her two full breasts were covered in red marks!

Even though she knew what they were, she still feigned ignorance and asked, "What are these red dots? Does anyone know? Don't play guessing games!"

She wanted to confirm her guess, even though she was 80% right, she was still afraid that the remaining 20% ​​might be a misunderstanding... Well! Actually, she still had a tiny bit of wishful thinking.

The maids covered their mouths and giggled, their faces turning red. Finally, Dongxue spoke up, saying that when she had a fever and fell into a coma, the master personally took care of her, applied medicine, fed her medicine, and even wiped her body at night. He wished he could stay by her side at all times, and would only leave his bedroom when he went to court.

You Shuyao's heart sank. Damn it, that 20% is gone too!

Everything else is one thing, but to personally feed her medicine? She's unconscious, isn't she? How is he supposed to feed her? He probably... he'll feed her with his mouth, right? And then there's applying medicine... doesn't that mean he has to strip her naked? When he's applying the medicine, with her naked, he can look at her however he wants, touch her however he wants, kiss her however he wants! No wonder... no wonder she looks so "miserable!"

Just thinking about that scene made You Shuyao so angry she wanted to kill someone. To launch a sneak attack when someone wasn't looking—despicable! Shameless! She angrily straightened her clothes.

Xia Hong styled her hair into a woman's bun, revealing her slender and graceful neck, making her look much more energetic and adding a touch of mature femininity, making her even more charming.

Chunlu wanted to draw her eyebrows and apply lip rouge, but she stopped her.

"No need, just a touch of makeup will suffice."

She had no one worthy of the saying "a woman dresses up for her lover," so she had no intention of dressing up at all.

At this moment, Qiuyue took the medicine from the old woman in the kitchen and brought it into the bedroom.

"Aunt Yao, it's time to take your medicine."

Previously, You Shuyao hoped her wound would heal quickly, and no matter how bitter the thick, black medicine smelled or how bitter it would taste, she gritted her teeth and drank it down in one gulp. But today, as she picked up the bowl of medicine, she suddenly hesitated and asked a question…

"Does this medicine contain any sedative or sleep-inducing ingredients?"

"Yes, Aunt Yao."

You Shuyao finally understood. No wonder she fell asleep so quickly and soundly, completely unaware of Huo Jingsha's repeated offenses against her.

The thought of being forced to drink this bowl of medicine and then sleeping soundly without even knowing what he might do next filled her with dread, but she couldn't let the four maids notice.

"Let's leave it for now. I finally have some energy today, and I don't want to fall asleep again."

"But... the master repeatedly instructed that in order for you to recover as soon as possible, we servants must serve you and administer your medicine on time," Qiuyue said with difficulty.

"I said I'd leave it for now. It's not like I'm not going to drink it, it's just a little later." Her face tightened slightly, and her voice turned cold.

Now she is the master, and they are the slaves! She refuses to believe that if she doesn't want to drink, they can pry open her mouth and force it down her throat.

Seeing that her complexion was not right, the maids stopped insisting and put the medicine bowl in a porcelain cup to keep it warm.

After everything was arranged, You Shuyao stood up. "Help me back to Biyue Residence." She didn't want to stay in the main courtyard, otherwise that lecherous man would always have the opportunity to take advantage of her.

This time, the four maids did not stop her, because the master had not specifically instructed that Aunt Yao could not go back. So the maids respectfully helped her out of the main courtyard and had a sedan chair prepared to carry her back to Biyue Residence.

When You Shuyao returned, she discovered that not only had the maids and servants around her been replaced, but all the servants in Biyue Residence had also been completely replaced.

They walked silently and rarely smiled; their every move exuded the air of martial arts practitioners. Now, it seemed every single person around them was a hidden martial arts master. Upon seeing their master return, they gathered together to greet her. You Shuyao roughly counted them—a total of twenty-seven people, an increase rather than a decrease compared to before.

It seemed there was no escape! The more You Shuyao understood her situation, the heavier her heart became, but this wasn't what frustrated her the most. What was even more infuriating was that immediately after she woke up, someone went to the Embroidered Uniform Guard Command to report to Huo Jingsha that she hadn't taken her medicine on time. And the news that she had returned to Biyue Residence in a sedan chair also reached Huo Jingsha's ears.