Chapter 135 The Leader of the Five Thieves

Despite the smiling young girl, Granny Su felt nervous.

Will this girl disfigure her?

It wasn't that she was overthinking it, but if even the maid dared to scratch her face, how could the mistress possibly do it?

Even if this girl is punished later, with her face ruined, she can forget about serving the First Madam; her future is over.

She had served the First Madam with great authority for so many years, and had never seen such a mad little maid.

Fang Rui was very dissatisfied with Su Mama's reaction.

What's wrong with Granny Su? She seems a little timid.

"Does Granny Su's face still hurt?" Fang Rui asked calmly.

These words of concern made Granny Su's heart tighten, and she suppressed her unease: "It still hurts terribly."

"Please trouble Miss Qiu to quickly apply medicine to Granny Su. Granny Su is my mother's most trusted servant, but now that her face is injured and she can't work, my mother is very worried."

"Alright. Don't move, Granny Su. I'm not good with my hands." Qiu Heng seemed oblivious to Fang Rui's sarcasm and the mocking glances of the noble ladies. She picked out some ointment and gently applied it to Granny Su's wound.

Cheng Susu stared for a moment, then chuckled: "Sixth Miss Qiu is too modest. Your technique is quite skillful. Could it be that you often allow your maids to hurt people and have gained experience?"

"Alright." Qiu Heng put down the medicine bottle and took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands.

"Qiu Liu, are you deaf?" Cheng Susu was furious when she received no response.

Qiu Heng walked over, looking completely innocent: "I was focused on applying medicine to Granny Su and didn't hear what Miss Cheng said."

"I said your technique is quite skilled. Is it because you often let your slaves hurt people that you have this experience?" Cheng Susu said, covering her mouth and laughing.

The others chuckled softly.

Qiu Heng pursed her lips and walked out without saying a word.

Cheng Susu was unwilling to let such an opportunity slip by, and chuckled, "Like master, like servant. Qiu Liu, do your Lord Xue, Chief Lin, and Young Master Cui know how arrogant you are?"

A noblewoman covered her mouth with a round fan and chuckled: "Even Miss Qiu Liu came to Sister Fang's house to apply medicine to Granny Su. I'm sure the whole capital knows about it."

Qiu Heng stopped in her tracks, looking at Fang Rui in disbelief and asking, "I only arrived at your residence today, and the whole capital already knows?"

This reaction made Fang Rui feel relieved, and she said calmly, "As the saying goes, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. When Miss Qiu Liu let her servants hurt people, shouldn't she have foreseen this outcome?"

"Someone did something shameful and expects people to keep it a secret?" Cheng Susu felt extremely pleased. "I don't know what tricks you used to make so many men fight over you."

"You, you humiliated me!" Qiu Heng stomped her feet, covered her face, and ran past Cheng Susu.

She ran so fast that she disappeared in the blink of an eye, like a gust of wind lifting Cheng Susu's hair.

The group stared in disbelief, and after a long while, Cheng Susu finally exclaimed in shock, "She...she just ran away like that? Rui'er, isn't this the Prime Minister's residence?!"

Qiu Heng's sudden departure shocked Fang Rui even more than the others.

Yes, this is the Prime Minister's residence, her home. How dare Qiu Liu just run away like that?

And where did she go?!

Thinking of Fangzhou, who had rushed over and beaten up Granny Su without a word, Fang Rui was startled. Her first thought was that Qiu Heng might have gone and hit her mother.

"Go find them quickly!" Fang Rui strode out, not forgetting to instruct the maids and servants, "Don't let this reach the elders' ears!"

Qiu Liu may be shameless, but she is. If word gets out that Qiu Liu was driven away by their words, people will laugh at Qiu Liu for acting impulsively, and she will also lose face.

While Fang Rui and the others were starting to lose their composure after failing to find the person, Qiu Heng had already explored almost half of the Prime Minister's residence.

The mansion may not look particularly impressive from the outside, but inside it is a scene of exquisite luxury, with every step revealing a new vista.

Qiu Heng hid behind the artificial hill, her mind retracing the steps she had taken in the Prime Minister's residence.

The five traitors who were later identified as contributing to the downfall of the Great Xia Dynasty included Han Wu, the commander of the palace guards, who neglected training and whose imperial guards were no match for the Qi army's siege, leading to the fall of the capital.

Yuan Chenghai used the pretext of collecting rare flowers and stones to amass wealth, causing widespread suffering and numerous uprisings. This severely damaged the population and economy of the southeast and greatly weakened the country's strength.

The eunuch Xue Quan, relying on Emperor Jingping's favor, wielded considerable influence over the court. In this chaotic period, he would not normally have been able to infiltrate the ranks of the Five Traitors. However, he presented Emperor Jingping with a "miracle drug" that took his life, forcing the young prince to hastily ascend the throne and prompting Northern Qi to resolve to launch a vigorous attack on Great Xia.

Prime Minister Fang Yuanzhi, who was listed as the head of the Five Traitors, was the person Qiu Heng despised the most.

Forming cliques and controlling the government is nothing compared to this prime minister who took the spirit of peace to its extreme. He was a talent who could make concessions to the Northern Qi even after the soldiers of the Great Xia had won a battle.

People condemned Fang Yuanzhi for being cowardly and spineless, but it was later discovered that his "greed" was not just about being cowardly, but also about being greedy for money!

His incomprehensible attempts to seek peace were partly for the sake of stability, and partly to gain benefits from the Qi people.

The prime minister of the Great Xia Dynasty accepted bribes even from the Northern Qi Dynasty, which is more ironic than being a spy.

How was Fang Yuanzhi's shocking corruption discovered?

That's where the irony gets even more.

It was revealed by a Northern Qi general himself during the siege of the capital by the Qi army, which was a blow to the Xia emperor, his ministers, and his soldiers.

The enraged soldiers of the Great Xia trampled the Prime Minister's residence and uncovered the letters and accounts between Fang Yuanzhi and the Northern Qi.

Qiu Heng used the opportunity of applying medicine to Granny Su to familiarize herself with the Prime Minister's residence, her purpose being to obtain those letters.

If evidence of Fang Xiang's dealings with the people of Qi is found, the Fang family will not escape punishment, and they will pay the price for their evil deeds of trampling on the people.

Are there any innocent victims?

Qiu Heng pursed her lips as she watched the elegantly dressed girl rushing towards her through the gap in the artificial hill.

What kind of innocence qualifies as innocent?

She raised her hand and tapped on the artificial rockery wall, her eyes filled with coldness.

In her eyes, even the artificial hill in the Fang family mansion was not innocent.

"There she is! Qiu Liu is there!" Cheng Susu, with her sharp eyes, spotted Qiu Heng hiding in the artificial hill.

Several noble ladies, led by Fang Rui, walked over quickly.

"Miss Qiu, this is the Prime Minister's residence, not your home. You just run away like that? Don't you have any sense of responsibility as a guest?"

How can there be such a capricious person who doesn't care about the consequences?

The girl, who had been sitting with her knees drawn up and head bowed, slowly raised her head, her eyes red-rimmed: "I'm sorry, it's one thing to say other things about me, but Miss Cheng said I used tricks to incite men to fight over me. I really can't bear such humiliation..."

She suddenly stood up, the hairpin in her hand pressed against her neck.

Fang Rui's expression changed drastically: "What, what are you going to do?"

"I searched for a long time and finally found this suitable place. I didn't expect you to find it."

Fang Rui was stunned.

Not only did he run away without warning, but he also wanted to die in her house?

This is hardly the lady of a noble family; she's clearly a country bumpkin!

Wait a minute, Qiu Liu really is from the countryside, so she really dares to say she'll die.

Realizing this, Fang Rui unconsciously softened her voice: "Put down the hairpin, and I'll have Su Su apologize to you!"

(End of this chapter)