The guard frowned and looked up and down at the little Chu Qiao, wondering when the old man changed his preferences and started to favor such immature girls? He asked doubtfully, "Who asked you to go? Do you know where the old man's outer house is?"
"I have the address." The child rummaged through his small bag, took out a piece of white paper, gestured with his tender little hands, and murmured, "Go out of the mansion, turn left at the third intersection, and the Fuxiang Restaurant is in front..."
"Okay," the guard shouted impatiently, "Who told you that? Why didn't anyone take you there?"
The child answered honestly, "Auntie Song came to tell me. She wanted to take me there, but when we were passing the stone bridge just now, she accidentally fell off the bridge and broke the ice. I watched her sink, and I guess she couldn't take me there."
"What?" The guard suddenly shouted, grabbed Chu Qiao's shoulders and shouted, "Who did you say fell off the stone bridge?"
"Auntie Song, the manager of the backyard."
With a loud slap, the man slapped the child hard on the face. He cursed, "You little bastard, why didn't you tell me earlier? Someone come with me to save them!"
Chu Qiao was knocked to the ground, her ears buzzing. Looking at everyone running away in a mess, the corners of the child's mouth slightly raised, revealing a hint of indifference and sneer.
She will remember this slap.
Chu Qiao quickly stood up, picked up the bag in her hands, and walked towards the door without looking back. The three-person-high red door inlaid with gold has majestic stone lions on both sides, with red lacquer eyes, exuding a strange and ominous aura. The three golden characters "Zhuge Mansion" are engraved on the lintel, which is magnificent and dazzling to look at.
Chu Qiao took short steps, crossed the threshold with great effort, and stood with one foot inside the door and one foot outside. The bright morning sun shines on my body, and even the air seems to become fresher. From now on, life will be another starting point. She will always remember the humiliation she has suffered and the blood and tears she has shed.
The child pursed his lips, took a deep breath, raised his hind foot, and was about to step out of this rotten cage.
At this moment, a familiar shrill scream suddenly came from the patio on the right side of the front garden, mixed with a child's frightened cry. The three doors to the right wing were wide open, and the dull sound of boards hitting flesh and blood spread throughout the Zhuge mansion.
All the servants passing by looked sideways, eager to see who would enjoy such a "honor".
Chu Qiao stood in front of the gate of the mansion. She was only one step away from walking out of the cannibalistic courtyard, but the screams continued to assault her eardrums.
The child's brows furrowed more and more, and finally he took back his small steps, turned around and ran quickly to the right wing.
Destiny often gives people a chance to choose, and one step can often change a lot of things.
Zhuge Yue was dressed in a light green brocade robe with dark green lotuses embroidered on the lapels. His black hair was tied loosely behind his back. His face was as white as jade, his eyes were as black as ink, and his lips had a hint of red that was unusual for ordinary people. Although he was only thirteen or fourteen years old, he looked evil and cold, with a pair of half-closed eyes, as if nothing in this world caught his attention. He was as cold as the snow on the top of the mountain in the dead of winter. He lay on his side on a rosewood and gold-painted soft chair, his elbow supporting the back of his head. On both sides, pretty maids squatted beside him, holding the best incense and tea, and from time to time they peeled a fresh lychee for him, which was transported from Bian Tang by a thousand-mile express horse.
Twenty steps in front of him, the child in servant's clothes had been beaten to pieces, and even his cries gradually became weaker. A little slave girl of six or seven years old knelt beside him, kowtowing and begging for mercy. Her forehead was broken and blood was flowing, spilling over the child's clear, tearful eyes.
The sun gradually rose. Zhenhuang City was located on the Hongchuan Plateau. Although it was midwinter, the sun was still very strong. Zhuge Yue raised his head, frowned slightly, and narrowed his eyes slightly. When the maids on both sides saw this, they immediately nervously opened their umbrellas to cover his head. Zhuge Yue sat up straight, waved to the attendants on both sides, and leaned back on the chair.
Two strong and muscular men immediately stepped forward respectfully, one in front and one behind, lifting Zhuge Yue's soft chair and walking towards the right wing door.
The girl who was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing was shocked when she saw this. She screamed in panic, crawled forward, grabbed the corner of Zhuge Yue's clothes, and cried, "Fourth Young Master, please let Lin Xi go. If you keep hitting him, he will die!"
Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows, glanced slightly downward, and looked at the girl's black and bloody hand.
The child felt an irresistible chill suddenly attacking his head, and saw five bloody fingerprints on Zhuge Yue's white boots, which looked particularly eye-catching.
The child was shocked and speechless. After a long while, he panicked and wiped Zhuge Yue's boots vigorously with his sleeves, crying, "I'm sorry, Fourth Young Master, Xiao Qi will clean it for you right away."
With a bang, the big man carrying the sedan chair kicked the child to the ground. The maids on both sides immediately knelt down and took off the dirty boot. Zhuge Yue glanced at the child and turned his head away, his eyes were indifferent and no emotion could be seen.
The maidservant beside her said coldly: "Cut off her hand."
The child suddenly forgot to cry and sat on the ground in amazement. The guards, like wolves and tigers, rushed forward quickly and drew the long sword at their waist in an instant. A line of blood shot up into the sky, and a white and thin little hand was chopped off to the ground!
The shrill screams instantly broke through the sky, scaring away the vultures that were howling ferociously in the sky.
But the young boy sat quietly in the soft chair with his eyes closed, as if he saw nothing and heard nothing.
Chu Qiao stood at the door in a daze, like a stone statue. Her frantic steps stopped abruptly, her eyes wide open, her mouth tightly covered, unable to move an inch.
"Fourth Young Master, this kid is dead."
Zhuge Yue glanced at Lin Xi's small corpse calmly, stretched out his slender fingers to rub his temple, and said calmly: "Throw it into the pavilion lake at the back mountain to feed the fish."
"yes."
The sturdy man lifted Zhuge Yue's soft chair and walked slowly forward. Everywhere he passed, the servants knelt in panic, not even daring to raise their heads.
“Wait a minute.” When passing by the right wing gate, Zhuge Yue suddenly said softly, turning his head slightly to look at Chu Qiao who was standing in front of the gate with her eyes fixed on him, frowning and saying in a deep voice, “Which courtyard’s slave are you from? Why don’t you kneel before me?”
The morning breeze blew, blowing up the fine dust in the corners of the wall. The sunlight was dazzling in my eyes, as if it were sharp silver needles. A white bird flew by in the sky, its wings as white as snow in early winter. Chu Qiao took a deep breath, bit her lips tightly, and swallowed the anger in her heart bit by bit. She knelt on the ground with a plop, staring at the blue brick floor with her eyes wide open. She said in a panic in a childish tone: "Yue'er is a handyman in the backyard. Please forgive Yue'er for her lack of experience. When Yue'er first saw you, she thought she had seen a god."
Zhuge Yue’s expression relaxed slightly. Seeing that this child was as cute as snow-white jade, young, and not very articulate when speaking, he seemed quite interested, so he asked again: “How old are you, and what’s your name?”
"Replying to the Fourth Young Master, Yue'er is seven years old this year, and her last name is Jing."
“Jing Yue’er?” Zhuge Yue said, “Then change your name and follow me. Just call me Xing’er.”
Chu Qiao immediately kowtowed to the ground and said loudly: "Xing'er thanks the Fourth Young Master."
Zhuge Yue withdrew his gaze, and the servant lifted the chair and turned around the corridor, and he could no longer see the figure.
The lively scene ended, as it was just the death of a low-ranking slave. The servants in Zhuge Mansion were already used to it and they all dispersed in no time. Several cleaning servants lifted the child's tiny body, wrapped it in a sack, dragged it on the ground, and walked towards the Pavilion Lake in the backyard.
The child was still very young, and his flesh and blood had been beaten to pieces. Blood flowed through the sack and dripped onto the blue brick floor, forming a long bloodstain.
Chu Qiao was still kneeling on the ground, her back rising and falling, her lower lip tightly bitten by her teeth, her eyes wide open, and her two small fists clenched tightly. She watched the sack being slowly dragged away from her sight. The glaring blood spread all over the ground, covered with dirty dust. A large tear welled up in her eye socket and fell on the back of her hand with a "pa" sound.
"Don't be afraid, Yue'er, Fifth Brother is here."
"We had a really good meal tonight. The fourth young master gave us some extra dishes, including braised carp, sweet and sour spareribs, braised pork tenderloin in vinegar, and white-cooked duck. There were so many dishes that I felt like vomiting. Now I can't eat anything."
"Don't worry, Yue'er. One day in the future, Brother Wu will make sure you have enough food and warm clothes. He will bring you all the good things in the world. Not only braised pork, but also ginseng, abalone, bird's nest, shark fin, elephant trunk, whatever you want. By then, no one will be able to bully us again. Yue'er, do you believe Brother Wu?"
"Yue'er, Fifth Brother will protect you. I'll be here with you, don't be afraid."
…
Sadness and hatred surged up like the sea, but she knew that she could not cry, and could not show even the slightest resentment at this time. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and stood up quickly. Next to the empty patio, Xiao Qi, whose arm was broken, had fainted. Blood was flowing from his broken wrist like a fountain, but no one paid any attention.
Chu Qiao quickly tore her clothes, pressed Xiao Qi's acupuncture points, and nimbly bandaged the child to stop the bleeding. After doing everything, she carried Xiao Qi on her back and walked towards the backyard with gritted teeth.
Just as I walked out of the courtyard gate, a cold voice suddenly said in a deep voice: "Stop! Who allowed you to carry her away?"
Chu Qiao raised her head and saw that it was Zhu Shun who had locked her up for three days. The child frowned and said calmly, "The fourth young master didn't say he wanted to kill her."
"The master didn't say he would let her go!" Zhu Shun looked at Chu Qiao coldly and said, "You are trying to guess the master's thoughts. You are simply courting death. Come on, capture her!"
Two servants immediately stepped forward and tried to pull Chu Qiao's arm. Chu Qiao quickly dodged backward. During the tug, Xiao Qi suddenly groaned, and the blood that had just stopped flowing out again.
"Who dares to come here! I am the Fourth Young Master's close friend. Do you want to die?"
Zhu Shun sneered and said, "You haven't even received the chicken feathers yet, but you've already taken them as your order. I don't know if the Fourth Young Master will remember you tomorrow morning. How dare you use this to scare me!"
Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows, and with Xiao Qi on her back, she immediately retreated like a little leopard, her eyes rolling rapidly and her brows furrowed.
"Butler Zhu, aren't you going to inform Young Master Huai on behalf of my prince? Why are you lingering here? I see you really have a lot of free time."