At this moment, Xia Zhu, who was being thought of, tiptoed out of the courtyard gate with a determined look on her face. She wanted to see Young Master Qin with her own eyes.
The moment she stepped out of the Marquis's residence, a petite figure hiding behind a stone pillar not far away quietly appeared, staring intently in her direction for a long time before turning and leaving.
"Miss, Xia Zhu has left the manor. Judging from the direction she went, it seems she's heading towards the Qin family." The figure was none other than Xiu Yue. She was ordered by Shen Jinshu to keep watch at the entrance of Songxi Courtyard, and unexpectedly, she actually managed to gather useful information.
Shen Jinshu held a delicately embroidered handkerchief between two fingers and asked thoughtfully, "Have you found the owner of this handkerchief?"
"I've heard that the two best embroiderers at Songxi Courtyard are Lu Bai and Xia Zhu, so this handkerchief could only belong to one of them." Xiu Yue only had this much information, and her tone was still somewhat uncertain.
All the spies they had originally planted in Songxi Courtyard were driven out by Song Zhiyu for various reasons, leaving none behind.
Therefore, it is now even more difficult for her to inquire about Songxi Courtyard.
Shen Jinshu's expression hardened. If the person hiding behind the artificial hill that day was Lu Bai, it meant that Song Zhiyu already knew all her secrets.
But after so long, Song Zhiyu has made no move and hasn't even revealed these secrets, so she's starting to have doubts again.
“Lu Bai is the Second Miss’s confidante. If this handkerchief belongs to Lu Bai, then…” Xiu Yue hesitated, but her meaning was already quite clear.
Shen Jinshu sneered, her words full of sarcasm, "Song Zhiyu's thoughts are too deep; even I can't figure her out now."
She and Song Zhiyu had a long-standing feud, and both wished they could destroy each other and ensure that the other would never be able to recover.
If Song Zhiyu already knows the secret she's been trying so hard to hide, he'll definitely take action; he might already be setting a trap for her somewhere.
Having clashed with Song Zhiyu many times and been outmaneuvered by him several times, she had to be more cautious.
"Perhaps this handkerchief belongs to Xia Zhu, and the Second Miss is unaware of this matter," Xiu Yue said tentatively. If the conversation between the young lady and Madam Ye that day were to spread, everyone would suffer.
"No matter whose handkerchief this is, it's better to kill the innocent than to let the guilty go free." Shen Jinshu's smile gradually turned cold as she crumpled the handkerchief in her hand into a ball.
Lu Bai was always by Song Zhiyu's side, so she couldn't make a move, but Xia Zhu was a different story. This fool delivered herself right to her doorstep.
*
Three days later, at the main gate of the Marquis of Chengen's residence.
"Miss, are you sure you don't need me to go with you?" Lu Bai looked at Song Zhiyu with eager eyes, still clutching her bundle tightly in her hand, her eyes shining brightly.
Song Zhiyu chuckled helplessly. "This trip isn't very safe. You should stay at Songxi Courtyard for now."
The Prince of Li has already begun to target the hot spring resort, and she must go there in person. However, she is not comfortable taking Lu Bai with her, so she has no choice but to leave her at Songxi Courtyard.
"Alright, Miss, please be careful." Lu Bai lowered her eyes in disappointment and slowly loosened her grip on the bundle.
She doesn't know martial arts or poison, and if she stays by the young lady's side, she might just be a burden.
Thinking of this, she could only suppress her worries and watch Song Zhiyu walk away.
As soon as Lu Bai returned to Songxi Courtyard, the cleaning maid from the outer courtyard came over with a disgruntled look on her face. "Sister Lu Bai, Xia Zhu has gone off to slack off somewhere again. We haven't seen her for several days."
"You said you haven't seen Xia Zhu for several days?" Lu Bai frowned. Because of the Lishan incident, she hadn't paid much attention to Xia Zhu's behavior these past few days.
"Yes, sometimes you can't even find her in the room." It makes me angry just talking about this maid. Xia Zhu is lazy, so all the work in the outer courtyard falls on her shoulders.
Lu Bai straightened her expression; she sensed that this matter was not simple. "I understand. You can go now."
The young lady had just left when Xia Zhu disappeared. The whole thing seemed suspicious, and she couldn't help but take it seriously.
After the maid left, Lu Bai felt increasingly uneasy and decided to go to Xia Zhu's room to check on things herself.
Before long, Lu Bai reached out and pushed open Xia Zhu's door. The room was pitch black and eerily quiet.
Lu Bai steadied herself, lifted her foot and walked inside, her eyes filled with a hint of wariness.
Suddenly, Lu Bai felt a cold touch on her ankle. She opened her eyes wide, gasped for breath, and almost screamed as she covered her mouth.
"Dew...white..."
A faint call reached her ears. Lu Bai looked closely and saw Xia Zhu lying on the ground, her face pale, with blood gushing from her other wrist.
"Xia Zhu, what's wrong?" Lu Bai opened her mouth wide and quickly squatted down to check on Xia Zhu's condition.
"Lu Bai, I regret it. I shouldn't have betrayed Miss. Young Master Qin is no good man at all; he has been lying to me all along." After saying this in one breath, Xia Zhu's breathing became even weaker.
Lu Bai glanced at her coldly, "If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place? Let's not talk about that now, what's wrong with you?"
"The young lady wants to kill me..." Xia Zhu said with difficulty, her face filled with fear.
If she hadn't faked her death and held her breath to fool that person, and if Lu Bai hadn't just walked to the door, that person, fearing exposure, would have already pretended she hadn't climbed the tree and hanged herself in a fit of rage.
"What's going on? Tell me quickly!" Lu Bai realized the seriousness of the problem. She hadn't expected that the young lady's influence had extended to Songxi Courtyard.
Xia Zhu endured the pain of blood slowly flowing from her body and said, word by word, "The eldest young lady is not the daughter of the Marquis's benefactor at all... but... the Marquis and Madam Ye's biological daughter. And the eldest young master's leg was not an accident..."
Lu Bai was shocked. She knew that the young lady's background was not simple, but she did not expect that the young master's leg had a hidden story.
"Those robbers back then were all arranged by Miss, just to ruin the young master so that Young Master Rushan could make way..." After saying this, Xia Zhu could no longer hold on and closed her eyes.
"Xia Zhu, Xia Zhu!" Lu Bai trembled as she checked Xia Zhu's breath, her face turning deathly pale, and she collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.
Xia Zhu is dead.
The commotion attracted the maids and servants in the courtyard, who stared in horror at the scene before them, trembling with fear.
Only Lu Bai sat slumped to the side, her face pale, seemingly lost in thought.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the man in black hiding in the shadows gave Lu Bai a deep look before quietly leaving.
Finally, someone reported the matter to the old lady. Since it involved Qin Xu, the old lady scolded him with a dark face, deliberately suppressing the matter, and sent people to throw Xia Zhu's body into the mass grave. The servants from that day were also silenced.
Xia Zhu's death was ultimately left unresolved.
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