“Let’s go,” Zhu Jiayu said to Tao Yao as she stood up, “Let’s go to the shed.”
Hu Yanwang held a grand banquet for his guests and followers, leaving the courtyard unguarded. Shujian had also arranged for the steward to send people to patrol along the route from the east courtyard to the shed to deliver food to the ladies. They were able to pass through without any obstacles.
Tao Yao nodded and led her through the winding corridors and artificial hills and ponds to the low and simple shed.
Inside the shed, about thirty children were huddled together. They all had varying degrees of physical disabilities. It was late in the year, and the wind and frost were heavy, yet they were only wearing thin, tattered cotton-padded jackets, and their faces were red from the cold.
They stared at Zhu Jiayu without saying a word, none of them daring to speak, but their eyes gleamed with a bright light.
They knew that the beautiful woman in front of them was probably the one Chu Yun had mentioned, the one who had come to rescue them from this place.
Also waiting here were the butler, Haitang, and Shujian.
The butler was also very surprised to see her and couldn't understand why she was there, but he didn't dare to say anything.
Zhu Jiayu glanced at them, suppressing the bitterness in her chest, and said to Shujian, "I'll take them away first. You stay here to protect your young master and wait for the guards on the mountain to join you. Remember, be careful in everything you do."
Shu Jian nodded in agreement.
Zhu Jiayu then looked at Chu Yun, who was staring at her and the housekeeper with a wary expression. However, he cleverly did not show his dissatisfaction. Instead, he was like a small beast in its den, alert and ready to run away or fight back if he found anything amiss.
Zhu Jiayu saw what he was thinking and explained, "If it weren't for the steward, we would have had to go through a lot more trouble today."
The butler gave an awkward smile and didn't dare to speak.
According to her and Wei Qinglou's original plan, they should have waited for the guards on the mountain to fight with the guards in the courtyard before she could have a chance to lead them away via the side path. But because the steward was there, they were spared such trouble.
She didn't expect Chu Yun to understand, and after saying that, she asked, "Have you hidden all those children with leg problems? You'll have to come back with me to pick them up later."
Chu Yun nodded.
"Let's go quickly! If we don't leave now, it will be too late if the master finds out!" the steward urged impatiently. "We can talk about it after we get out of the mountain."
Zhu Jiayu nodded: "Of course, butler, please go ahead first."
The butler exclaimed "Eh!" and without refusing, hurriedly pulled Haitang forward. The next moment, he heard the sound of a long sword cutting through the wind in his ears. Before he could react, the sword had already pierced through his heart.
His eyes widened, and he turned his head blankly: "You..."
Zhu Jiayu turned around, picked up the scabbard and put it back in Shujian's arms, and said coldly, "You have aided and abetted evil and committed countless crimes. You deserve to die ten thousand times over."
She had wanted to do this ever since she saw the children in the shed.
Tao Yao once told her that if we were to talk about who was the most wicked in the mountains, in the children's hearts, even King Hu would be ranked after this steward.
Because he usually took pleasure in torturing them, and loved to hear their screams and cries, he was an absolute devil.
The butler stared at her in disbelief, then breathed his last with great difficulty. He died without understanding why he had ended up like this.
After witnessing the butler being killed, Haitang turned pale with shock. She stood frozen in place, covering her mouth with her hand, not daring to even scream.
She knew perfectly well that if she made a noise and attracted attention, she would suffer a worse fate than the housekeeper.
Zhu Jiayu's expression softened, and he said to her, "Don't panic. You haven't done anything wrong, so I won't kill you. However, if you want to avenge him—"
She was interrupted by Haitang halfway through her sentence: "Miss, you don't know, I hate him so much, how could I possibly think of avenging him! That heartless bastard, if it weren't for him, how could I have ended up in this state! It would be better if he were dead!"
Zhu Jiayu nodded and said, "That would be best. Let's go."
The group then quietly made their way up the mountain along the path behind the fence. Although the path was overgrown with thorns and sharp rocks cut the children's feet, each of them wore an indescribable joy and happiness on their face.
This wasn't their first time coming out of seclusion, but never before had they felt so genuinely liberated as they did today.
Because they knew that after today, they would never have to come back here again.
When they reached the mountainside, the guards that Wei Qinglou had arranged on the mountain had already come down to the courtyard.
While Hu Yanwang was drinking in the banquet hall, he suddenly heard the sound of swords clashing in the courtyard, and his expression changed drastically.
He looked at the equally panicked crowd in the hall and couldn't help but smile and reassure them, "Please calm down, everyone. I'll go see what's going on."
He suppressed his unease and walked steadily out of the banquet hall. Before he could see what was happening in the courtyard, he was blinded by the flash of cold light from the falling broadsword.
The next instant, warm blood spurted from the neck of the guard in front of him, spraying all over his face!
The sudden turn of events shocked him so much that his legs went weak, and he couldn't even muster the strength to run away. He opened his mouth, but found himself speechless in the face of the corpses lying all over the courtyard!
It was only then that he realized he had been living a comfortable life for too long, so long that he had forgotten that what he was doing was a business where his life was hanging by a thread.
"All three hundred soldiers of the Divine Martial Camp, obey my command! Capture them all alive!"
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