Everyone turned around and saw the little slave girl who had just entered Qingshan Court the day before standing behind the crowd. She was small and spoke in a tender voice, "Although it is winter now, our courtyard is close to the hot springs, and the climate is much warmer, with more mosquitoes and moths. Vines attract these small insects, and burning the vines will dissipate heat. This will attract birds, mice, and mosquitoes, and then snakes. This is common sense, and I should have thought of it earlier."
Zhuge Yue frowned, and after a while, he turned around and said in a deep voice, “Who sent these pots of vines?”
Jin Si's face turned pale, and she said tremblingly, "Master, these pots of flowers were sent by Butler Zhu yesterday. He said they were specialties from southern Xinjiang. He said that Master might like them, so he specially asked me to place them at the foot of the wall."
“Zhu Shun?” Zhuge Yue pondered for a long while, his narrow eyes slightly cold, and he said slowly, “He is really becoming more and more powerful as a steward. Next time if he buys a dagger from the Western Regions and asks you to place it on this young master’s bed, I’m sure you will do the same.”
Jin Si was shocked and quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "I dare not!"
Zhuge Yue remained indifferent and silent. When the servants were about to leave, Zhuge Yue suddenly said, “You, serve in the inner room from now on.”
Everyone was stunned and didn't know who he was talking about.
Zhuge Yue frowned impatiently, pointed at Chu Qiao and said, “It’s you.”
All eyes suddenly gathered together.
Chu Qiao bowed her head and agreed respectfully: "I obey your command."
After leaving the main room of the pavilion, the servants had just thrown Jinzhu, who was covered in blood, into the carriage. How could a weak woman survive after being beaten with thirty boards and being thrown into a place like Anjunyuan?
Jin Si felt a chill down his spine and his hands and feet were shaking. At this moment, a sweet voice suddenly sounded behind her. She turned around and saw Chu Qiao looking at her with a smile. She said sweetly, "Sister Jinsi, we will work together in the future. I am young and ignorant, so you have to take care of me!"
For some reason, Jin Si suddenly felt a little flustered. He looked at Chu Qiao and said calmly, "We are all servants. We should... take care of each other."
"Really?" Chu Qiao smiled and said, "Then Sister Jin Si, do you think we should let those children of Nuanyu off?"
Jin Si was slightly angry, but still nodded and said, "It's almost time for them to go home."
"Then I'd like to thank you on their behalf." Chu Qiao smiled as she walked over and asked the children, whose faces were blue from the cold, to leave. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she turned around and said, "If Sister Jinzhu had been as kind as Sister Jinsi, the servant Linxi would not have been beaten to death by the young master. That's why we should be kind. You see, Linxi died only three days ago, and Jinzhu followed. It really makes me feel cold when I think about it."
Jin Si could no longer pretend, his face was pale, and he stared at Chu Qiao with his eyes wide open. He felt that this little child was full of evil spirit, which was scary.
Chu Qiao slowly approached, stood on tiptoe and whispered in Jin Si's ear: "As the saying goes, good and evil will be rewarded in the end. It's not that retribution hasn't come, it's just that the time has not come yet. Don't you think so?"
Jin Si was startled and immediately took a step back, turned around and wanted to leave.
Chu Qiao quickly grabbed her shoulders. The girl was startled and jumped away, shouting, "What are you doing?"
Chu Qiao snorted coldly, without a trace of smile on her face, and said in a deep voice: "Why are you so nervous? I just want to get the plate of peaches back from you."
"peach?"
"You and I are both maids in the inner chambers now, there is no distinction between high and low. I worked so hard to get the peaches from the South Garden, don't you think it would be safer for me to present them myself?"
When Jinsi heard this, he was speechless.
Chu Qiao turned and walked towards the flower room, saying calmly as she walked: "The green mountains cannot block it, after all, it flows eastward, and those who know the current situation are heroes. Some words can only be said once, and some warnings can only be made once. How to act and how to be a person in the future, you should think about it yourself."
On a winter afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and the bright sunlight swayed on the snow, making people's eyes hurt.
This day was not an ordinary peaceful day. The Council of Elders issued a manifesto to dispatch troops. The Huangtian Tribe was about to set out to quell the rebellion. The heads of the seven major clans were vying for the position of the commander-in-chief of the Huangtian Tribe. Zhuge Muqing, the head of the Zhuge family, was not at home, so all matters, big and small, were left to Zhuge Huai to preside over. In the imperial court of Great Xia, there were flashes of swords and shadows of sabers, and the atmosphere was majestic.
It was also on this day that Zhuge Yue, the fourth son of the Zhuge family, was bitten by a venomous snake. Although he received timely treatment, he still needed some time to recuperate. Although Zhuge Yue was not very old, he was a major general of the Huangtian tribe. He was born in the Dianjiang Hall and had led troops to the northwest three times to quell the Shaman rebellion. He was highly skilled in martial arts and was the best in the Zhuge family besides Zhuge Huai. The other major families were extremely well-informed about their sources and quickly learned of the news. Zhuge Huai had just submitted a petition requesting to join the war on behalf of his brother when voices of objection from various families were immediately sent to the Shengjin Palace.
That afternoon, the imperial physician from the palace entered Zhuge Mansion, and the Zhuge clan had to quietly give up the idea of interfering with the Huangtian tribe.
A single move affected the entire body, and the patriarchs of the Zhuge clan's collateral relatives all came to the door, and the Zhuge mansion was immediately overwhelmed with trouble.
On the same day, due to Zhuge Yue's injury, the same competition scene as usual was played out in Zhuge Mansion. Jinzhu, the maidservant in the courtyard of the fourth young master who always took advantage of her power to bully others, was found dead under the stick. Two servants from Qingshan Courtyard who were holding sticks also beat each other, one died and the other was injured. The injured one died of his injuries early the next morning. The chief steward of Zhuge Mansion was beaten with twenty sticks for no reason because of a few potted plants that caused trouble. He is still lying in his room sighing.
In the Ting Lake where crocodiles were raised next to the hot spring in the back mountain, three corpses sank silently again, left to be eaten by fish and shrimps, but no one paid any attention.
The night was dark and the stars were dim. Chu Qiao took the last string of paper money from Xiao Ba's hand and slowly put it into the brazier.
Jin Si has been feeling uneasy these past few days. Every time she sees the child from the Jing family, she feels an uncontrollable chill rising from the soles of her feet, making her lose her appetite and feel like there is something stuck in her throat.
This morning, the weather was fine. After clearing the snow in the courtyard, the servants started the day's work in an orderly manner. Just as they were about to serve the meal, a servant from Hongshan Courtyard suddenly came to report that Young Master Mu of the Lingnan Mu Mansion, Young Master Wei of the Wei Mansion, the Seventh Prince Zhao Che, the Eighth Prince Zhao Jue, the Thirteenth Prince Zhao Song, and the Young Master of the Yanwang Mansion were all in the glazed hall of Hongshan Courtyard. The Eldest Young Master was there with them. The Third Young Master and the Fifth Young Master had already rushed over to ask if the Fourth Young Master was feeling better. If so, they would also go to join in the fun.
Zhuge Yue was a rather solitary person, and even in the mansion he seldom hung out with his brothers. He stayed in the Qingshan Courtyard all day, either reading books, planting flowers, or eating snacks and fruits. He had no spirit of a soaring eagle or a galloping horse. If he wasn't so cruel, he would be a law-abiding person. He was lying on the bed at the time. After hearing the announcement, he told the servant who delivered the message that he was not feeling well and would not go to accompany the guest.
Chu Qiao stood beside the incense burner and gently fanned the incense with a fan. Hearing this, her eyebrows slightly raised, her face indifferent and silent. After a while, the food was served, and Chu Qiao followed the maid who served the food and retreated quietly.
Jin Si glanced sideways, secretly kept it in mind, and after a while, he found a chance to retreat.
The Glazed Hall is called a Hall, but it is actually just a pavilion. It is located on the Octagonal Mountain in the center of Hongshan Courtyard, with a green lake below. Now it is midwinter, the lake is frozen and covered with snow, and on both sides are red and white plum trees, blooming in the cold, bright and eye-catching.
Outside Meilin is Zhuge family's Horse Racing Mountain. A large hillside is planted with the finest forage grass that Zhuge family brought from outside the Great Wall, and is used specifically to raise good horses with excellent bloodlines. This place is vast and sparsely populated. Servants can enter for any reason. It is very secluded.
Chu Qiao was small, and she nimbly avoided the guards and entered Paomashan Mountain, climbing up the slope without being noticed.
Jing Yue'er's small body has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, now, if she wants to move a potted plant, she has to use a lot of effort.
Chu Qiao was about to leave when she suddenly spotted a figure sneaking past on the mountainside. She carefully lowered her body and waited for the person to leave before slowly approaching. There was a dark horse tied to a pine tree on the mountainside. It was tall and had no hair on its body. It didn't react when it saw Chu Qiao coming. Chu Qiao felt strange, as such a good horse should not be so careless as to be on guard against strangers approaching. Looking down, I saw that there was indeed a small handful of uneaten buckwheat on the snow. Chu Qiao stood on tiptoe, grabbed the horse's head, looked at it carefully for a long time, frowned slightly, but ignored it.
Just as he was about to leave, he turned around and saw dozens of snow-white feather arrows in the quiver on the horse. She took out one, the arrow head was silvery white, with a small "Yan" character engraved on it in powerful strokes.
The masters of various mansions were eating and appreciating the plum blossoms in the glazed hall. Chu Qiao ran along the secluded cliff path of Bajiao Mountain, placed the pot of burnt vine horns on the cliff path, and poured out a few small snakes from a cloth bag at her side.
"Ha! I knew it was you who did this!"
A shrill voice suddenly sounded. Chu Qiao turned around and saw Jin Si standing behind her. He looked at her triumphantly and said, "If I don't tell the Fourth Young Master, you're dead this time."
"Really?" Chu Qiao tilted her head, curled her lips cunningly, and moved her ears slightly. She heard footsteps approaching in the distance. She shook her head and said, "That's not necessarily true." After that, her body suddenly fell backwards and flipped down the cliff.
"It's right there!" A childish voice sounded almost at the same time.
Before Jin Si could even scream, he was pinned to the ground by a group of big men.
Zhu Shun looked at the girl coldly, his teeth itching with hatred, and said in a deep voice: "Jin Si, now that we have caught the criminal red-handed, what else do you have to say?"
Jin Si was shocked and said quickly: "It's not me, it's Jing Xing'er, I followed her here!"
"Nonsense! I saw with my own eyes that you sneaked into housekeeper Zhu's house and stole a pot of vine horn, and you even framed others!" a crisp voice suddenly said.
Jinsi turned around and saw a little girl following Zhu Shun. She looked very familiar. A light bulb suddenly lit up her mind, and she immediately figured out the whole situation. She shouted, "She and Jing Xing'er are in cahoots, Steward Zhu, you can't trust her!"
Zhu Shun sat on a soft chair, carried by four strong men. His butt was still swollen from the twenty strokes of the cane a few days ago. He frowned and lowered his voice, "You said you came here with Jing Xing'er, but where is she?"