In the middle of the night, Hong Gu quietly came over and told Xu Zhi that several men in black had come from outside and went straight to Mr. Chu's room. Because Mr. Chu's men had been guarding the area around the room, there was no sound of fighting. The guards just watched from a distance without making a fuss.

Those men in black are still in Mr. Chu's room. Hong Gu came over to ask Xu Zhi whether they should arrest them once they come out of Mr. Chu's room.

Xu Zhi, wrapped in a quilt, sat blankly on the kang for a long time, then quietly asked Hong Gu, "Hong Gu, do you think Jia San and the others will be discovered if they try to follow them?"

Hong Gu thought for a moment and said, "Probably not."

Xu Zhi nodded and said to Hong Gu, "Hong Gu, go and tell Jia San that after the men in black come out, don't disturb them. Just follow them and see where they go. Our enemy has already reached our doorstep. We need to know who this enemy is, right?"

Hong Gu agreed and hurried outside to give instructions. Xu Zhi looked at Shi Liu sitting upright in the chair in her room, sighed, and said, "Shi Liu, don't stay here watching over me anymore. Why don't you go lie down on the kang in the outer room? How can you recover if you keep staying like this?"

Shi Liu smiled and said, "Ninth Miss, I'm fine. The longest I've ever gone without sleep is five days and five nights. What's a little bit of tiredness?"

Xu Zhi said, "I'm not in any danger right now. If you keep pushing yourself like this, what if you ruin your health and your fighting ability drops when danger comes? Listen to me, go outside and lie down on the kang with Hong Gu for a nap. We have so many people on night watch outside. We can get up if there's any noise."

Hong Gu had already spoken to Jia San outside. When she returned to the room, she overheard Xu Zhi's words. She took Shi Liu's hand and said, "Come and sleep with me right away. How can a person get by without sleeping? Listening to the young lady is always the right thing to do."

Nothing happened that night. Just after breakfast, Jia San came over and said that he had followed those men in black to a manor nearby the night before, but he didn't know whose manor it was. Xu Zhi found out the location, wrote a letter to Xu Di, and arranged for someone to send it to the capital as soon as possible.

After breakfast, seeing that the sky was clear, Xu Zhi wanted to go see Wu Muyue and Chen Yuyuan. Shen Mingwan had a cold and had to stay behind. Only Xu Zhi, along with Hong Gu and a few others, went there. Before leaving, Xu Zhi repeatedly instructed the two Jia-class guards who stayed with Shen Mingwan, as well as Qinglian and Honglian who were close to Shen Mingwan, to be careful and wary of Mr. Chu. In case of any unexpected events, they should not worry about anything else, but just take Shen Mingwan and leave. They should not give Mr. Chu any chance to get close to Shen Mingwan. Xu Zhi's biggest fear now was that Mr. Chu would use some unexpected situation to perform a hero's rescue for Shen Mingwan, in order to prepare for him to get closer to her.

Xu Zhi knew very well that what she originally wanted to do to prove her existence had now become a hot commodity in the eyes of many people who had heard the news, because she had gotten involved with Emperor Liang Cheng. As long as they got involved with Xu Zhi or Shen Mingwan, or took over the things that Xu Zhi and Shen Mingwan were handling, or participated in this matter, it seemed like a sure thing.

This is what Xu Zhi is most worried about. Shen Mingwan once told Xu Zhi that she felt Mr. Chu's actions were somewhat deliberate. Last night, several men in black came to meet Mr. Chu in the dead of night. If there were no follow-up actions, would it be worth keeping it a secret from everyone?

Xu Zhi also offered to go elsewhere in order to give the Chu family a chance to make a move. In this village, only Shen Mingwan was left. If something really happened, according to general reasoning, the Chu family would have to step forward to complete his "hero saves the beauty" script, right?

As Xu Zhi sat in the carriage, she pondered these things. Thinking about them, she felt that the people surnamed Chu were truly hateful. In order to achieve their grand ambitions, they had to harm girls to achieve their goals. If they were so capable, why would they need to use innocent people as stepping stones?

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Seeing that Hong Gu and Shi Liu were quietly sitting with her in the carriage, Xu Zhi asked Hong Gu in a low voice, "Hong Gu, do you think that if someone tries to cause trouble at the manor while we're not here, can Qing Lian and Hong Lian, along with the others, stop them?"

Hong Gu looked at Shi Liu, who frowned and said, "I think it's fine."

Xu Zhi sighed when she thought of Qinglian and Honglian's abilities, and said, "Sister Honglian and Sister Qinglian still lack training. If they encounter someone like Master Jia San, even ten of them wouldn't be enough to defeat one of them."

Hong Gu smiled and said, "But there aren't many like Lord Jia San, girl. Don't worry, you gave me detailed instructions before you left."

Xu Zhi picked up a cushion, hugged it to her chest, bent down slightly, and said, "Hong Gu, this is what they call 'You shouldn't have the heart to harm others, but you can't be without the heart to guard against others.' That guy surnamed Chu went to Sister Mingwan's manor after he was injured, and Sister Mingwan took him in. If there is any danger, and he asks Sister Mingwan for help, can Sister Mingwan say no? We don't know anything about this guy surnamed Chu, so we really shouldn't have taken them in back then."

Seeing Xu Zhi muttering to herself, Hong Gu smiled and said, "Ninth Miss, it's rare to see you so concerned about others. If you're still worried, why don't you send Master Jia back to keep an eye on things?"

Xu Zhi was intrigued and said to Shi Liu, "Go and tell Lord Jia San to hurry back to the manor and keep a close eye on Miss Shen. If anything unexpected happens, don't fight with them. Just carry Miss Shen back to our side."

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