Chapter 12 A Guilty Conscience: I have a clear conscience about everything I have done...

On the third day after the Shen family mansion was confiscated, even the air seemed to freeze.

Intermittent noises and weeping could still be heard from the neighboring courtyard where the families of convicted officials were being held.

Some people cried foul, saying they had never been involved in the matter and demanded a thorough investigation from higher authorities.

Some people begged for mercy, saying they knew new evidence and asked if they could be given a lighter sentence if they confessed to everything.

The two side courtyards where the maids and servants were imprisoned were eerily quiet.

They never had any contact with their masters, and were sent around like cattle and horses. They never got to enjoy the wealth and honor of their masters, but when their masters fell on hard times, they suffered the consequences along with them.

At this point, even crying seems superfluous.

As night fell, Lin Lan and the other maids who were confined to a side courtyard in the back of the mansion squeezed onto the floor.

She faced the wall, closed her eyes, and listened to the suppressed whispers of the person next to her.

Some of the maids still clung to a sliver of hope: "My mother has received the news and will come to redeem me."

“My older sister is in the city, she won’t abandon me…”

Tomorrow is the day the government will officially sell the property.

Where will she be sold?

Will they continue to be slaves in a secluded mansion in the same city, or will they be sold to a strange place thousands of miles away, never to return to their hometown in this lifetime?

Lin Lan didn't know.

She huddled in the corner of the bed, her face still calm, but her mind in turmoil.

As night deepened, the other maids, though filled with fear, gradually drifted off to sleep.

Lin Lan opened her eyes and stared at the sliver of moonlight streaming through the window, wide awake.

She finally got up quietly, moved to the doorway, pushed open a crack in the door, squeezed out, and sat on the cool steps under the eaves.

The moonlight spilled its gentle glow across the ground.

She looked up and sighed softly.

The road ahead is uncertain, and freedom is like the moon in the sky—visible but unattainable.

"Squeak—"

The door hinges behind me clicked softly.

Lin Lan subconsciously turned around and, by the dim moonlight, saw an unfamiliar face dressed in coarse maid's clothes also come out.

They're probably people who can't sleep either.

Lin Lan didn't pay attention and turned back.

The unfamiliar maidservant quietly approached her, and a whispered voice reached her ears: "A-Lan."

Just those two words made Lin Lan freeze.

She turned her head sharply and stared incredulously at the unfamiliar face.

She had been here for three years and knew almost all the maids in the manor, so this person was indeed a stranger.

But that voice, that gentle trailing tone when calling her name…

“Miss…?” Lin Lan’s eyes widened immediately, staring intently into the other person’s eyes.

Those unfamiliar eyes immediately welled up with tears, and she nodded vigorously.

“It’s me, A-Lan.” Shen Huaiyu held her hand and led her into the shadows of a corner, his eyes churning with countless emotions. “I didn’t die; I faked my death to escape.”

Lin Lan's mind went blank. She was both surprised and delighted, and tears almost fell. She quickly covered her mouth.

"That's great, that's great..." she stammered, not knowing what to say.

Finally, she asked softly, "Miss, what exactly happened back then?"

Upon learning of the young lady's death, she nearly despaired, yet she also felt that with her intelligence, she wouldn't have died so easily.

“My wet nurse found me a breath-holding drug,” Shen Huaiyu said quickly. “On my wedding night, I pretended to commit suicide by taking poison and pretended to be dead. The Liang family thought it was bad luck, so they quickly examined me and concluded that I was dead. They were in a hurry to carry me out and bury me.”

Her voice choked: "It was my mother... She stopped those people, crying and saying that her daughter was unfortunate, and that it was against the rules to wear a bright red wedding dress on her way. She insisted on changing me into a plain dress herself."

"Just as she was helping me change my clothes... she discovered what I had sewn into the lining of my wedding dress."

Lin Lan held her breath.

That was my last chance.

Shen Huaiyu's voice lowered even further.

"That day, I intended to show my newly written poems and essays to my father, but unexpectedly, I overheard him outside the study conspiring with his confidants to embezzle disaster relief funds and divide the spoils with the Liang family!"

"I forced myself to write it down despite my fear, and when I got back, I secretly wrote down the key names, amounts of money, and places where things were hidden."

Lin Lan suddenly realized: "So, what you hid were those pieces of evidence..."

Shen Huaiyu nodded: "I originally wanted to find an opportunity to expose them, but later... I was completely locked up, like a piece of merchandise being polished according to the Liang family's preferences. I wasn't even allowed to leave the courtyard, and I was only surrounded by the old women who guarded me. No one else could get close to me. I could only wait, wait for an almost impossible opportunity."

Shen Huaiyu closed his eyes briefly: "Fortunately, my mother did not disappoint me."

“After my mother discovered those things, she didn’t make a sound. She suppressed her grief and, following the clues I wrote down, secretly obtained irrefutable evidence. Then, she immediately divorced my father, reverted to her original surname, and, with the evidence, filed a lawsuit with the Imperial Inspector!”

The lady has such courage.

Lin Lan remembered hearing others gossip that the lady was a renowned talented woman before she got married, but she gave up everything to manage the household.

Because she had no sons, the master gradually distanced himself from his wife, often staying at the concubines' houses and not seeing her for ten days or half a month at a time.

The lady is like a precious sword, which has not been drawn for many years, yet its edge remains sharp.

Shen Huaiyu's eyes held a lingering sense of relief, as if she had survived a disaster: "When both households were thrown into chaos by this major case, my wet nurse took the opportunity to take me away from the coffin. Later, all that was burned to ashes were my wedding dress and an empty coffin."

I see.

"Miss!" Lin Lan grabbed her hand tightly, feeling happy for a moment for her escape from death, but then she was puzzled. "But since you got away, why did you come back? It's too dangerous here."

She couldn't understand why her mistress, who had risked her life for freedom, would want to step back into this den of dragons and tigers.

Shen Huaiyu looked at her, her eyes instantly filling with tears: "Because, A-Lan, you haven't come out yet."

"I thought that since the Shen and Liang families had committed such heinous crimes and their property was confiscated, these innocent servants in the mansion would at least be released... I never expected that they would be so ruthless as to sell all the servants in the mansion into slavery!"

She gripped Lin Lan's hand tightly: "Lan, the Shen family has fallen, my mother is safe, and I have a clear conscience about everything I've done. The only thing that's affected you is that you've ended up in this situation..."

"I can't rest easy. I have to get you out of here no matter what!"

"Save me?" Lin Lan's heart sank, and despair surged up again. "How can I save you?"

She had no money on her, and presumably the young lady didn't either.

Shen Huaiyu's scheme was too desperate; now she's considered a "dead woman" by everyone. Unless her identity is exposed, she has absolutely no chance of getting any money.

The mansion was guarded like an iron barrel, making it virtually impossible to sneak someone away.

Shen Huaiyu's eyes remained calm: "We have no choice, but there are people who are more anxious than us."

She leaned closer, her voice barely audible: "Shen Huaijing, he will never willingly wait to be exiled."

“Before I came here, I found out that he had arranged for his trusted men to stage an ‘accidental’ fire in the next couple of days and escape in the chaos! This is our chance!”

---

Late the next night, flames suddenly shot up, and thick smoke billowed out.

The deathly silent inner quarters of the Shen Mansion were suddenly thrown into chaos by a sudden outburst, filled with cries and shouts.

"Fire! The west warehouse is flooded!"

The officials guarding the servants were also alarmed by this sudden turn of events.

Some people shouted and rushed towards the fire, while others cursed and drove the terrified maids and servants to the open space in the front yard away from the fire.

The sounds of voices, splashing water, and crackling wood mingled together, turning the night upside down.

Just as the chaos reached its peak, Lin Lan's wrist was grabbed.

"Let's go!" Shen Huaiyu said urgently.

Lin Lan didn't have time to think. She was pulled along by her, and against the flow of fleeing people, they entered the corridor leading to the most desolate corner of the Shen Mansion.

Shen Huaiyu knew the cage that had imprisoned her for many years like the back of her hand.

She led Lin Lan through thick smoke and shadows, taking only abandoned garden paths.

The surroundings were dark, with only the two people's rapid breathing and the soft sound of their feet crunching on the dry leaves.

Their escape went surprisingly smoothly, and the secret passage leading to the alley outside the mansion was now within reach.

However, a figure suddenly appeared from the side, blocking the end of the path.

The moonlight barely illuminated the person's face.

His clothes were tattered, and his face was smudged with black ash. It was Shen Huaijing, who had obviously also escaped in the chaos.

Shen Huaiyu and Lin Lan suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Shen Huaijing's gaze swept over the disguised Shen Huaiyu without lingering.

He just stared intently at Lin Lan, pointing a finger at her, his eyes bloodshot, filled with hatred that seemed to be dripping blood.

"Lin Lan, you vile wench!" He approached step by step, his words vicious and his tone fierce. "Did that bitch Shen Huaiyu conspire with you all along? She pretended not to take you with her, but then she leaked the secret and harmed the Shen family!"

Lin Lan took a step back: "Miss is gone, how could she betray the Shen family! Young Master, even now, are you still going to smear her?"

Shen Huaijing hissed, "It was her maternal grandparents who reported the Shen family! The evidence is all in the mansion, how did they know? How could this be unrelated to her? It must be you and her working together from the inside..."

"Now that she's dead... you'll have to pay this debt. I want you to be buried with the Shen family!"

He suddenly reached out and grabbed Lin Lan's neck hard!

Shen Huaiyu pushed Lin Lan aside, dodging his attack: "Run!"

Having failed to land his first attack, Shen Huaijing went completely mad, roaring, "You still dare to resist? I'll kill you all!"

Suddenly, voices came from not far away.

"Over here! Sir, there's movement over here!"

"Quick! There's a runaway slave! Don't let him escape!"

Heavy footsteps and the harsh shouts of the officials approached rapidly from behind, while the flickering torchlight clearly illuminated the three people on the path.

Shen Huaijing's roar made him the most conspicuous target.

The last glimmer of light in Shen Huaiyu's eyes was completely extinguished.

She glanced desperately at the approaching officials, then simply held Lin Lan tightly to her side.

All the struggles were in vain.

The three men were roughly twisted by the arms and slammed to the ground. Iron chains were wrapped around their wrists, completely blocking all avenues of survival.

"Good! You dared to set fire in the chaos and then tried to run away. Your crime is compounded!" The leading officer grinned maliciously and kicked Shen Huaijing, who was still struggling in vain. "These two maids will be treated as runaway slaves. This family member of the convicted official will be handed over to you for punishment."

"Let's see where you can run now!"

A note from the author:

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The flashback is finished; the next chapter will return to the present timeline. [Sprinkling flowers]