"She jumped off a cliff."
"What?" Zhu Shun was immediately furious and shouted, "Do you think I'm an idiot? You mean that the girl from the Jing family jumped off the cliff and died in order to frame you?"
"I……"
"Nonsense!" Zhu Shun said angrily, "You have been in the mansion for four or five years, and I have always treated you well. You and Jinzhu are competing for favor, that is your internal affairs in Qingshan Courtyard, why do you have to throw dirty water on my head? What do you want to do now? Do you want to put the blame on me in front of the masters and young masters of the other families?"
"Butler Zhu, you have to trust me."
"Someone come! Beat him up!"
A shrill scream suddenly rang out.
Chu Qiao grabbed the rope that she had prepared in advance and swung hard, then she entered a small cave. The Eight-Cornered Mountain is made of black rocks. Every spring, a kind of purple moss grows on the black rocks. This moss is extremely rare and has a unique aroma after being dried and roasted, which is elegant and peaceful. Every spring, the servants of the Zhuge family would collect moss from the cliff. Over time, they actually dug out a hole that was more than one meter high. Chu Qiao lived in the backyard of the chores all day long. She knew that this hole had been there for a long time. She pulled aside some dry grass, carefully landed on the ground, slowly retracted the rope with the hook, and quietly waited for the crowd above to disperse.
At this moment, a warm breath suddenly sprayed on my ear, and a male voice with a hint of amusement whispered: "You little girl, why are you so vicious?"
Chu Qiao was startled and turned her head back abruptly. In a hurry, she grabbed the hook on the rope and stabbed it hard into the opponent's neck.
“It’s hard to imagine that you are still a child under ten years old.” The other party was agile and grabbed Chu Qiao’s small hand tightly, and said lightly in a calm voice.
Chu Qiao was small and weak. She was pinned to the ground with one hand, but she raised her head stubbornly. She was startled and frowned. She said in a deep voice, "Is it you?"
The man seemed to be stunned as well. He looked at the child carefully for a few times, then suddenly realized and smiled: "I was wondering who it was. It turned out to be you. Is the medicine still effective?"
The man had sword-like eyebrows, a high nose bridge, eyes as dark as ink, and a gentle look that could not conceal a hint of sharpness like a knife. He was none other than the guest of today's banquet - Yan Xun, the prince of Yanbei who was held hostage in Beijing.
Chu Qiao raised her head stubbornly and said coldly: "Why are you here? What do you want?"
Yan Xun chuckled, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you this?"
Chu Qiao's mind raced, thinking over and over again how likely it was that she would be able to deliver a fatal blow if she pushed the man off the cliff here. While thinking, she reached for the dagger at her waist.
Yan Xun raised his finger and said softly, "If you don't want to be discovered, just be quiet and don't have any bad ideas in your mind. How can a little kid be so cruel?"
Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows, "When it comes to being vicious, I am far from you. You are hiding here, so you must not be doing anything good. You and I are the same, so don't act like you are doing me a big favor. It's fake."
Upon hearing this, Yan Xun suddenly stood up, pushed aside the weeds, and shouted loudly, "Who is up there?"
Chu Qiao was shocked and wanted to stop it, but it was too late. Thinking that if she was exposed, Xiao Ba would not be spared either, she immediately drew out her dagger and stabbed it towards Yan Xun's vest.
Yan Xun casually hooked his hand, covered Chu Qiao's small mouth, and held her tightly in his arms. At this time, a questioning voice came from above. Yan Xun poked his head out of the cave and said loudly, "This prince is here to appreciate the plum blossoms. What are you guys yelling about up there? Disperse quickly."
Zhu Shun was carried to the edge of the cliff. When he saw Yan Xun, he immediately lost all his dignity. He nodded and bowed for a while, then quickly left with his men.
Yan Xun smiled and let go of his arm. He turned around and said to Chu Qiao with a smile, "I think I have helped you a lot now, right?"
Chu Qiao was very small, and when she stood in front of Yan Xun, she was not even as tall as his shoulder. She tilted her ear and listened for a while, and found that there was really no movement from above. He threw the hook in his hand up, and after it was firmly hooked, he turned over and climbed up.
Yan Xun squinted his eyes and looked at her. He saw that although she was quite agile, she did not seem to know any martial arts. She could only be considered to be bold and careful, with quick movements. The cave was only about one meter away from the top. Yan Xun grabbed the rock wall with both hands, exerted a little effort, and jumped up.
Chu Qiao hid the hook, looked around, and after making sure it was safe, she turned around and was about to leave. But he turned around and said calmly, "I don't want to owe you a favor. When you go back later, pay attention to your horse."
Yan Xun was slightly stunned, and by the time he reacted, the child had already walked away. From a distance, it looked like a puppy climbing up and down the rugged path, and then it disappeared.
The young Prince Yan narrowed his eyes, smiled softly, and said, "Interesting."
After descending the Bajiao Mountain and turning around a series of small rockery hills, you will enter the plum forest.
Today, all the prodigal sons from the major families in Zhenhuang City gathered at Zhuge Mansion. The area around Meilin was under strict guard and was very quiet. Chu Qiao was of petite stature. She walked in the plum forest, standing on tiptoe from time to time to pick a few plum blossoms, looking very leisurely.
"Hey! Come here!" An impolite voice suddenly sounded, childish in voice and domineering in tone.
Chu Qiao looked up and saw a young man in his teens wearing an emerald green robe. On the collar of his robe was a snow-white mink tail sewed with golden embroidery. The mink tail was fluffy and surrounded his smooth jade-like face. His strong little nose was slightly wrinkled, and his eyes were staring at her darkly. He shouted, "It's you! I'm calling you!"
Chu Qiao frowned slightly, thinking it would be better not to cause trouble. She bowed politely and said in a deep voice, "I have something else to do. I'm sorry I can't stay long." After that, she turned around and was about to leave.
The young master was stunned. He didn't expect the servant to leave like that. His nose wrinkled and he immediately waved the whip in his hand and shouted, "You little dog slave! You are so brave!"
Chu Qiao identified the location by hearing the sound, turned her head suddenly, stretched out a pair of tender white hands and grabbed the end of the whip in her hand, looking over with a sharp and cold gaze.
The young master never expected that the maid from the Zhuge family was so fierce. He tried to pull her back but failed. He pouted and said angrily, "Are you looking for death? I'll have someone chop you up!"
Chu Qiao smiled coldly, and the hand holding the whip turned deftly, and the handle of the whip immediately slipped out of the young master's hand and fell into Chu Qiao's hand. The girl was no more than eight years old, with a petite figure and a pink and tender face, but there was absolutely no childishness in her eyes. She walked forward step by step with a calm expression and said in a flat voice: "The whip is used to drive horses, not to hit people." After that, she handed the whip upside down to the young master's hand and turned to leave.
When the young master saw that the girl was smaller than himself but full of aura and very agile, he actually felt a sense of closeness to her. Seeing that she was about to leave, he suddenly became anxious, but he couldn't bring himself to say something nice, so he ran forward angrily to block her way and shouted, "Which courtyard of the Zhuge family are you from? What's your name? Do you know who I am? Do you believe that I will really get someone to drag you out and chop you up?"
Chu Qiao raised her head and glanced at the young master indifferently. She pushed his arm away and raised her eyebrows contemptuously. "What kind of ability is it to keep saying you want to find someone when you can't beat them? I have no interest in knowing the identity of a person like you."
The plum trees swayed gently. The young master in brocade robe stood in the plum grove, looking at Chu Qiao's small body gradually disappearing at the end of the plum grove. He was a little dazed.
After returning to Qingshan Courtyard, Chu Qiao greeted the servants walking around and went straight into the pavilion. Zhuge Yue was half leaning on the couch, looking lazy. He didn't even raise his head when he saw Chu Qiao come in, but only glanced at her lightly with the corner of his eyes.
Chu Qiao walked to a green jade vase, took out yesterday's flowers, and then inserted the freshly picked plum branches into it one by one. After finishing, he walked to Zhuge Yue, squatted in front of the small incense burner, mixed the snow water swept from the plum blossoms with the orchid fragrance, then carefully poured it into the incense burner, and fanned it gently with a small fan. The smell in the room suddenly became fresher. Zhuge Yue took a long breath and slowly closed his eyes.
More than half an hour had passed, and Zhuge Yue seemed to have fallen asleep. Suddenly, there was a noise outside, and the young man opened his eyes impatiently.
"Fourth Young Master, the butler Zhu from the outer mansion just sent someone to say that Miss Jinsi was captured at the foot of Bajiao Mountain. Miss Jinsi was carrying a pot of rattan horns and a large number of poisonous snakes. She was caught red-handed and is now being interrogated in the Office of the Chief."
Zhuge Yue narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly, “Although Jin Si is a domineering person, she is very timid. How dare she carry a poisonous snake with her? Did you hear what she said?”
"She said..." The servant lowered his voice immediately, and glanced at Chu Qiao who was sitting quietly in a corner, and whispered, "She said she followed Xing'er, and said that Xing'er framed her and Jinzhu in order to avenge the children of the Jing family who died a while ago."
“Xing’er,” Zhuge Yue leaned on the couch, picked up the teacup, and said calmly, “Explain yourself.”
Chu Qiao knelt on the ground and replied calmly, "To answer the Fourth Young Master's question, Xing'er didn't do it."
"So where have you been?"
"Xing'er went to the plum garden."
"Did anyone else see it?"
The child tilted his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Xing'er met a young master in the garden. He was not a young master from our mansion. He was more than ten years old and wore an emerald green robe with a snow-white sable tail on his collar. Xing'er didn't know his name."
“Yes.” Zhuge Yue nodded and said to the servant who passed the message, “You can go down.”
The servant was slightly startled, and asked cautiously with doubt: "Then Miss Jinsi..."
Zhuge Yue half-raised his head, closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch, and said slowly: "If you do something wrong, you must be punished. Let the Office of the Headmaster handle it."
The man agreed and left. The room was quiet, with only the faint scent of incense floating in the air, like a cloud of mist.
"Xing'er, do you hate the mansion for killing your relatives?"
Chu Qiao lowered her head and replied obediently, "Master, Xing'er has been a slave in the mansion since she was old enough to understand. It is because of you that Xing'er can sleep in a warm bed, eat hot meals, and wear warm clothes. Xing'er is still young and can't hold so many things in her heart. She just wants to serve you well and live a good life."
“Yes,” Zhuge Yue nodded, “It’s best if you can think this way. Although you are young, you are quite prudent in doing things. From now on, you will be in charge of the affairs of the Pavilion.”