Chapter 20 The Twentieth Kill

"She is the elder and you are the younger. Can you lay hands on an elder?"

This reason obviously did not convince Xiaoyu. She retorted: "She is not my elder, why should I give in to her!"

Zhou Xunran was so angry that he slapped her palm twice again: "Do you admit your mistake?"

Xiaoyu gritted her teeth and tried hard to hold her eyelids open to prevent the tears from falling. "I'm right!"

Zhou Xunran paused his hand in the air, then dropped it again: "You still don't admit it?"

There was a "pop" sound, and then another one.

After being hit several times in a row, Xiaoyu's palms became red and swollen. Zhu couldn't bear it anymore and hesitated to step forward to plead: "Prince, it's..."

Zhou Xunran glared at him and said, "Shut up. This matter was caused by you. Go find Wang Shunyi and accept the punishment."

"This matter has nothing to do with him. If you want to punish someone, just punish me alone!" Xiaoyu also stretched out his other hand, "I'll take it for him!"

"You are a righteous man." Zhou Xunran said coldly. He raised his hand and slapped her right palm again. "Okay, if you want to be a hero, I won't stop you."

Snap, snap, snap.

The force of his beating did not decrease at all. Xiaoyu's hands were numb and she could hardly feel the pain. She gritted her teeth and stared at him, not looking at him, but only staring at his hand holding the ruler tightly.

Snap, snap, snap.

Three more times.

Manager Zhu was so anxious that he wanted to step forward to stop them, but he didn't dare to do anything because of the identities of the two men. "Your Highness, Your Highness, it's all my fault. Stop hitting me. If you hit Xiaoyu again, my hand will be crippled."

Zhou Xunran stopped and asked, "Do you admit your mistake?"

The little fish raised his head and shouted stubbornly, "I'm right!"

Seeing that he was about to raise his hand again, Nanny Zhao could no longer bear to watch and tried to persuade him: "Prince, Xiaoyu is still young, just teach her well in the future. Your health is not good, please don't be angry."

Pop.

Zhou Xunran frowned and stared at Xiaoyu: "You say."

Xiaoyu's forehead, nose tip, and chin were all covered with sweat from the pain. She still insisted, "I'm right, I don't need to be taught! It was Aunt Zhao who scolded me first, and she was the first to hit me."

Zhou Xunran's hand holding the ruler was trembling slightly.

The two of them were in a stalemate for a moment. Zhou Xunran threw down the ruler and turned his back to her: "Since you don't listen to me, you don't have to stay here. Go pack your things and leave the palace."

Manager Zhu grabbed her clothes anxiously and said, "Be patient and calm down. Don't be impulsive, Xiaoyu."

Xiaoyu ignored him, and was so angry that he felt dizzy. He shouted at Zhou Xunran's back: "You don't have to chase me away. I don't want to live here with someone like you who can't tell right from wrong. I'm leaving now."

She turned and walked out. Without Zhou Xunran's order, Manager Zhu did not dare to leave on his own. He could only watch Xiaoyu walk farther and farther away.

Xiaoyu hurried all the way back to Fenghe Courtyard. She didn't have much luggage, just a bag filled with the clothes she wore when she came. After tying it with trembling hands, she walked out of the east courtyard in a swagger.

She didn't know if Zhou Xunran had already informed everyone, but until she left the palace, everyone she met on the road lowered their heads and pretended not to see her.

After leaving the palace gate and hearing the bustling hawking on the street again, Xiaoyu felt that the depression in her heart had finally dissipated a little. She looked back at the palace sign, stretched out her foot and kicked the stone steps hard, then turned and left.

As it was leaving, the little fish stopped after turning a corner.

Her palms were red, swollen, and a little hot. She was so angry that she didn't notice it. Now she came to her senses and felt the pain in her palms.

Xiaoyu looked around and saw a pharmacy not far ahead. She prepared to go there and buy some anti-edema ointment to apply on her wounds to relieve the pain.

The street was bustling, not only were there shops selling all kinds of things on both sides of the road, but there were also various temporary stalls on the roadside. Next to Xiaoyu, there was a beautiful woman in her thirties selling embroidery.

Xiaoyu glanced at her stall inadvertently, the embroidery did not attract her attention, but the white jade ring exposed under the sleeve of the woman caught Xiaoyu's sight.

Xiaoyu walked up to the woman and stopped, pointing at her wrist and said, "Excuse me, sister-in-law, can you please let me see the jade ring on your wrist?"

The man immediately covered his wrists nervously with his sleeves: "I, I don't know what you are talking about. There is no such thing as a jade ring."

She felt so guilty that Xiaoyu immediately realized that something was wrong.

Xiaoyu grabbed her wrist forcefully, opened her sleeves, and saw a white jade ring tied with a red rope. Two words were engraved on the jade ring: Sixteen.

That was Sixteenth Sister's jade ring. When she went to Yirenyuan last time, she saw this jade ring on Sixteenth Sister. Why was it now outside the mansion, on the body of a strange embroiderer?

Xiaoyu asked: "Where did you get this jade ring?"

“I, I…”

She stammered, clearly feeling guilty. Xiaoyu held her wrist tightly and yelled, "Hurry up and tell me!"

"I said, I said, let me go."

The woman rubbed her wrist and explained in a low voice: "It was given to me by someone I know. He said it was a fine jade that women from wealthy families wear and that it can support a family, so I wore it."

Xiaoyu tensed up and said, "If you don't tell me the truth, don't blame me for being rude."

"This is me..."

The woman looked up and saw Xiaoyu's red eyes and murderous expression. She stammered, "He is my lover. He is said to be in charge of purchasing for a wealthy family. He took this from the deceased concubine of that family."

Xiaoyu stared at her in disbelief, "Dead concubine?"

Could it be Sixteenth Sister?

"Well, he said that everyone was doing the same thing. After all, it would be a waste to bury such a precious thing in a coffin after the person dies, so many people took it."

Xiaoyu sneered, not quite believing her words, "If you say so, you dare to take things from a dead person?"

"I wore this after burning incense in the temple," the woman argued.

Xiaoyu didn't want to say anything more to her, and forced herself to calm down. "Did he tell me why this concubine died?"

"She committed suicide," the woman relaxed when she saw that Xiaoyu's target was not her, and she spoke with some interest, "I heard that a silver nail as long as her palm was pierced into her neck. My lover said that when he carried her into the coffin, he saw that the concubine's legs were broken, and it was a bloody mess."

Xiaoyu recalled the last time she went to Yirenyuan to visit Sixteenth Sister, she saw her sitting on the bed, covered with a heavy quilt, putting on makeup in front of a round mirror. At that time, Xiaoyu felt something was wrong, and was angry at Sixteenth Sister's words. After returning home, she did not think about it carefully.

Now that I think about it, the smell in the room at that time was somewhat like the smell of blood.

Could it be that at that time, Sixteenth Sister had already had her legs broken?

She put on thick makeup and covered herself with a thick quilt, just to suppress the smell of blood so that she wouldn't notice it?

Xiaoyu remembered that not long after that, she went to her junior fellow apprentice's study and smelled a mixture of blood and powder on Zhou Shiwei's body. She was surprised at the time, but was interrupted by her junior fellow apprentice and forgot about it.

Maybe at that time, when I met Guard Zhou, he had already taken action against Sixteenth Sister.

Why did Junior Brother suddenly attack Sister Sixteen? If he only suspected that she was related to the death of Madam Zhang like Madam Yao, he could have sent Sister Sixteen and Madam Yao to the Ministry of Justice together. But why did he attack Sister Sixteen directly now? Could there be a deeper reason?

Was it because he went to see Sixteenth Sister secretly twice and was discovered by his junior fellow apprentice, who then followed the clues and found out Sixteenth Sister's identity?

Xiaoyu didn't dare to listen any more. She took the jade ring off the woman's wrist, took out her brocade bag and threw it on her embroidery stall. "I have to take this away. This is the silver to compensate you, no more, no less, you take it."

The woman weighed the brocade bag and did not ask for the jade ring.

Xiaoyu took the jade ring and returned to the palace, where she saw Chief Eunuch Zhu wandering at the door.

"Hey, Xiaoyu, where have you been? I was so worried." Seeing her coming back from a distance, Manager Zhu took two steps at a time and jumped down the stairs to come in front of her.

Xiaoyu asked directly: "Manager Zhu, I respect your care for me in the palace. I have always treated you as a trusted elder."

Manager Zhu was confused. "Why are you saying all this? Let me tell you, Xiaoyu, the prince is still angry. I found a place for you to stay. You can stay there for two days. After two days, when the prince calms down, you can come back."

Xiaoyu said to himself, "Manager Zhu, I want to ask you something. Can you tell me the truth?"

"It's already this late. If you have something to say, just tell me. Why are you being so polite to me? I'm telling you, that place is not far from my home. When you get there, just tell me my name and you can stay however you want."

"You are the head of the West Court. You should know everything about the West Court, no matter how big or small it is, right?"

At this time, Manager Zhu also noticed Xiaoyu's abnormality. He stared at Xiaoyu and asked, "Xiaoyu, are you scared silly by the prince?"

Xiaoyu looked at him and asked with a trembling voice, "Was Madam Cheng executed by the prince?"

Manager Zhu was stunned for a moment, his face becoming somewhat stiff.

There was no need for him to answer at this time, the little fish already knew the answer.

Why! How could it be!

Zhu was a little embarrassed, but he still advised: "Xiao Yu, don't think too much. Madam Cheng deserved it, and the prince gave her a quick death. Are you scared? Are you afraid that the prince will do the same to you? Don't worry, you are different from her, and the prince will not do that to you."

Seeing that Xiaoyu seemed to be thinking, Manager Zhu continued to advise earnestly:

"The prince hit you on the palm of your hand to save Madam Zhao's face. You don't know that Madam Zhao cares most about her reputation. Today, she was beaten by you and lost all her image. She will be angry for days when she goes back. She is already half buried in the ground, and she can still be angry. We should not argue with her. You listen to me, go to the place I found for you and have a good rest. Get some sleep. When I leave the house to find you, we will think of a solution."

Xiaoyu couldn't hear him. "Where is Mrs. Cheng buried?"

Manager Zhu shook his head: "I don't know the details, but I heard that she was transported back to her husband's home and buried with her husband."

The little fish felt a little comforted.

"Don't worry about it. Take care of your own business first. The prince is not really angry with you. My brother-in-law and I will discuss it later...Xiaoyu, are you listening to me?"

"Ah? Yes, I'm listening."

Xiaoyu wanted to refuse his kindness, but when she felt her pocket, she remembered that she had given all her money to the beautiful woman who sold embroidery. If she didn't live in the place that Manager Zhu found, she would probably have to sleep on the street tonight.

Manager Zhu was a little worried: "Don't think too much. If you take something from someone, you will be grateful. Since I take and eat the food you cook, I won't ignore you. Listen, go back and rest first."

Xiaoyu nodded: "Thank you, Manager Zhu."

"Why are you being polite? Can you find the way? Or should I ask someone to take you there?"

"No, I can find it. Manager Zhu, please go ahead and do your work."

Xiaoyu repeated the address again, turned around and walked forward slowly.

Too many things happened today, and they happened too fast for her to accept. She needed time to digest it.

The place that Zhu Zongguan found for her was near the Imperial City. When Xiaoyu arrived, she found the surrounding scenery somewhat familiar. It was the place where she had come last time to look for the candied haws vendor and stayed to talk to the residents around.

Under the old locust tree that was so big that it took three people to hug it, there were still those white-haired old men, and the old woman wearing a floral headscarf from last time was also there.

Xiaoyu walked over and asked for their address. "Didn't the government say you had to move out these days, Grandma? Why are you still here?"

The old woman in the floral headscarf also recognized her: "It's you, young lady. Why are you here again? Are you here to eat the candied haws from Old Xu's? It's a pity that you are too late. Old Xu's family no longer sells candied haws."