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It was almost noon when I returned to Chunfengli. Before I even entered the yard, I saw Lao Cai running out in a hurry. When he saw Aruo and the others, his eyes lit up and he waved, "Girls, something happened in the Changsheng family!"
Aruo and Caixin were startled and rushed in. They saw that several neighbors had gathered around the house of the Chen family's grandfather and grandson. Aruo asked, "What happened? Is Changsheng injured?"
"Aruo, it's Granny Chen... She was beaten with twenty boards by the government, and she was almost dying when she came back..." Lin Xiaoniang's eyes were red, "Luckily, Granny Song was here, and she stabilized her injuries."
"What's going on? What happened to Granny Chen?" Cai Xin was startled. Aunt Song just came out with a basin of blood, and her face immediately turned pale. "Auntie, what happened to Granny Chen?"
"The government didn't really put in any effort, but the condition looked serious. It's stable now. Be careful these two days." After Aunt Song said this, she went to prepare the medicine, and Cai Xin hurried over to help.
"What happened? Where is Changsheng?" Aruo glanced inside the room and turned to ask Lin Xiaoniang.
"We don't know either. The government office notified Old Cai to bring the person back. I heard that Changsheng beat up the son of Mr. Zhou, the Minister of Public Affairs, last night, and he's now missing... Someone pointed him out, and the government office couldn't find him, so they found Granny Chen. Granny probably refuted her, so the government office tortured her..."
"Changsheng hit someone? Lord Zhou, is he Zhou Huaijin's father?" The little bully was not of high status and could not act recklessly in the academy, so he liked to make trouble for Changsheng in the private school. He was a typical bully who only feared the strong and bullied the weak.
"Yes, I heard that Master Zhou was unconscious when he was found, and the yamen had to torture him under pressure from Master Zhou." Lin Xiaoniang didn't believe Changsheng would hit anyone, but Master Zhou was seriously injured, and she didn't know who to believe. "Aruo, do you think Changsheng is really afraid of the crime? Granny Chen is so old, if something happens to him, won't it cost her her life?"
"Don't panic, I'll go to the government office first and ask." Aruo took two steps and suddenly turned around and ran towards the courtyard at the entrance of the alley. "General Cheng, is General Cheng here?"
"Sister, Brother Cheng and his family went to visit relatives. They left yesterday," Yu Desheng poked his head out, "and it seems they'll be gone for several days."
What a coincidence? Aruo was stunned, then turned around and called Caixin to run out.
Ministry of Justice, Inner Court.
"Are they all out?" Aruo looked in surprise at the person who came out after waiting for a long time.
"Yes, Lord Su and Lord Beili left the city last night." The other party replied, "Lord Qi Qi and Brother Xu are both on missions and are not here at the moment."
"Then when will they come back?" Aruo asked anxiously.
The man shook his head. "Officials are doing their job. I have nothing to say."
Since none of the acquaintances were there, Aruo couldn't ask anything, so he could only thank him and leave. Not far from the gate, he saw Caixin stamping her feet and waiting.
"Aruo, Lin Ziyan isn't here either, and those people won't say where they went." Cai Xin saw her and hurriedly told her the information she got from the Dali Temple. "Also, I went to ask the Jingzhao Yin, and they said that Master Zhou and Changsheng had an argument at the private school. They suspect Changsheng harbored a grudge and injured someone at night and escaped. Now Master Zhou is said to have a broken head and is still unconscious. Lord Zhou has ordered them to send people to arrest Changsheng. What should we do?"
Holding a grudge? That guy was just a scholar. No matter how much he held a grudge, he wouldn't seek revenge himself. She remembered that Zhou Huaijin was taller and stronger than Chen Changsheng.
"The biggest problem now is that Changsheng is missing and we can't find him!" Cai Xin stamped her feet anxiously.
Aruo's eyes darkened. "No, the biggest problem is that we are isolated."
Eh? Cai Xin stared at Aruo in shock, "You mean, we have no one to turn to? What about Lord Su? He's not here either? Where's Brother Beili? Where's Qi Qi?"
The more she talked, the more unsure she became. Cai Xin bit her red lips, feeling extremely anxious.
"Cai Xin, Aruo," Old Cai ran towards them, panting, his robe lifted. "The Jingzhao Yin has come, saying that Master Zhou is seriously injured and they can't wait any longer. The Zhou family wants to capture Granny Chen and take Changsheng out of the Zhou Mansion."
"Why are the Zhou family so anxious? Didn't you say you were going to beg for mercy?" Aruo looked at Lao Cai.
"I went there, and the wife of the Zhou family was almost crazy. She said that if anything happened to her son, she would demand the lives of Changsheng and his grandson as compensation." When Lord Zhou was not around, the woman was so crazy that she wanted to kill people. If he walked slower, he might even lose his life.
"What the hell? My mother-in-law is already like that!" Cai Xin shouted indignantly, "Aruo, what should I do?"
What to do? She didn't know... But, was it really Changsheng who hurt people? Then where did Changsheng go? Why weren't they there?
It wasn't until this moment that Aruo began to panic. She had long known how humble it was to be without power in the capital, but she had always been obedient, and with Beili and the others around, she hadn't experienced anything. Now that everyone was gone, she felt that kind of panic that made her feel uncertain. In the face of power, no one could speak. What could they do on their own?
No, why is she panicking? Why are they all asking her? This is Changsheng's business, it has nothing to do with her... Aruo suddenly looked up at Caixin and Lao Cai. They were both looking at her anxiously.
"I, I don't know what to do... Should we go and beg for mercy again?" Aruo looked back at them blankly, his throat dry.
"There's no point in going again. It might even irritate Madam Zhou." Old Cai also realized his own fault. They seemed to be overly harsh on Aruo, just because they knew she had a close relationship with the person in the Ministry of Justice. But after all, Aruo was just a little girl, and she and the Chen family's grandmother and granddaughter were just neighbors. "We are anxious, but there is nothing we can do. The most important thing now is to find that kid Changsheng. If he doesn't show up, the Zhou family will confirm his guilt, and his life will be ruined."
Aruo and Caixin looked at each other, both feeling unsure, but with no better solution, they could only suppress their anxiety and go look for Chen Changsheng separately.
A shrill scream echoed in his ears, sending a chill down his spine. Aruo unconsciously looked around. There was no one, only pitch blackness.
Suddenly, an old hand grabbed her. Beneath her disheveled hair, Granny Chen's face was pale, the blood stains on her face particularly glaring. She held Aruo tightly, her eyes fierce as she demanded, "Why didn't you save me... I died such a tragic death..."
As he spoke, two lines of blood and tears appeared in his eyes.
Aruo was shocked and struggled to shake her hand off, "No, I really have no other choice..."
The next moment, the ragged Chen Changsheng cried and asked her, "Sister Aruo, where is my grandma? Why did you want to harm my grandma..."
He grabbed her tightly, and out of nowhere, a dagger appeared in his hand, and he stabbed her while crying.
He suddenly opened his eyes and saw darkness. Aruo turned over with a start, his chest beating rapidly.
Was it a dream? She gasped for breath, guilt and fear quickly sweeping over her, an invisible heaviness pressing down on her shoulders that made them ache.
She was clearly just a neighbor, but the words "seeing someone in need and not helping" almost crushed her. Moreover, the feeling of isolation and helplessness she had felt during the day was too familiar, as if someone had deliberately moved the people around her away so that she would have no one to turn to for help.
[The capital has been a bit restless lately. If you need anything, feel free to come find me.]
The man's voice rang out inexplicably in the night. Aruo looked up and saw the man's figure hidden in the night, as if he was smiling and saying to her, I'm waiting for you.
Bastard... Aruo angrily pounded the quilt. She hadn't even come to settle accounts with him yet, but he was plotting against her first?
【It can save your life when you are at the end of your rope! 】
Suddenly, Aruo remembered the mysterious witch who had given her a lucky bag that day. But something else happened that day, and she had completely forgotten about it.
He got out of bed and dug out the lucky bag from the closet. "They said you'd only read it when you're at the end of your rope. Now, isn't there no other way out?"
Aruo opened it and saw only a piece of paper with a few Chinese characters neatly written on it, "Put yourself in a desperate situation and then be reborn... Damn it, I knew these charlatans were all liars!"
How could it be so easy to put someone to death?
Resentment and rebellion grew wildly in Aruo's heart. He bit his lip and stared at the empty darkness.
The night was cool, and in every corner of the capital, lanterns shone brilliantly. Inside and outside the prestigious buildings, graceful figures came and went. Holding round fans or silk handkerchiefs, the girls, their shoulders slightly exposed, smiled charmingly, looking particularly enchanting under the bright lights.
In the backyard of Furong Tower, on the second floor of the exquisite little building, Aruo lay on the carved railing, gazing at the bright lights and revelry not far away, and could faintly hear a hint of romantic laughter.
After a while, the curtains moved slightly, and a graceful woman in a red dress with green sleeves walked in. She lifted her skirt lightly, revealing her golden lotus. Her skin was as white as snow, her eyebrows were like the crescent moon, and her eyes were sparkling. She walked gracefully towards the girl who hadn't even turned her head.
"You heartless little thing, you left without saying anything at first, and now you come to my house without saying a word. Do you think my little building is an inn?"
The soft voice was enough to make a man with an unstable mind go weak in the knees. The courtesan in Furong Tower lightly touched the man's eyebrows with her slender fingers, and her delicate face seemed to be smiling.
"Don't you know where I'm going?" Aruo turned around, his dark eyes were clear, and his lips were curved, but there was no smile.
Ruxian paused slightly, then slowly sat down beside her. Her eyes darkened as she whispered with regret, "I shouldn't have let Yanhong go. She's a girl who only causes trouble."
Aruo let her touch his face without moving his eyebrows, and seriously corrected her, "It's not her. The first time I saw you, I knew you were his."
"Oh?" Ruxian tilted her head, then withdrew her hand and tapped her eyebrows with interest. "Is it because of this?"
Aruo nodded. After her eyes and eyebrows had restrained their charm and flirtation, they looked very similar to her elder sister. Last year, she fell ill on the way to Beijing and happened to meet Ruxian. The kind-hearted beauty lent a hand and they became friends.
Cai Xin had always believed that she liked beautiful women, and Ruxian doted on her, which was why they met. But the moment she first saw Ruxian, she felt something was unusual. They had been living in peace, and she didn't want to dwell on it, until Sizhou was inexplicably poisoned by the incense from Furong Tower. Pretending to be ignorant would have made her look foolish.
"He has always liked to collect people who look like my sister, except for Qiao." Aruo adjusted her skirt listlessly. She no longer felt anything when she mentioned the poor woman, and there was a hint of coldness in her eyes.
"Isn't it different? Unlike her, Qiao can become his concubine." Ruxian frowned slightly, with a barely perceptible resentment in her eyes.
Aruo calmly reassured him, "No need to envy her. She died a tragic death."
Qiao Shi became a concubine not because of her appearance, but because of her birthdate. Even her entry into the Marquis's residence was merely a compromise between the interests of all parties. Unfortunately, this woman didn't understand the situation, became jealous and resentful of Shen Nan, and attempted to harm her, disrupting all of Luo Ziran's plans and ultimately dying a miserable death.
Ruxian heard this and nodded with a smile, "I'm a little surprised that you'll come."
"I don't want to look for him, so I can only look for you." Aruo pursed her lips aggrievedly, her eyes accusing them of forcing her into a dead end.
"Is there any difference between looking for him and looking for me?" Ruxianle asked curiously.
"He loves my elder sister, but you are like my elder sister." A Ruo smiled and looked at her with his chin propped up. "My elder sister never refuses my request."
No matter how shocking her ideas were, Shen Nan accepted them all, which was why she had kept her promise until now.
Ruxian was stunned, then suddenly doubled over in laughter. The red gold and kingfisher-emerald hairpin and silver phoenix-carved hairpin on her head trembled and swayed with her movements, unable to calm down for a long time.
"Sister Ruxian, instead of being his woman, why not let him be yours?"
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