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With a loud bang, the carved door of the main courtyard was smashed open.

Zhou Ruyin barged in with a dozen or so rough-looking women, her gilded armor gleaming coldly in the morning light.

"Sister, you've been frightened." Aunt Zhou said with concern, but her eyes kept glancing towards the inner room. "A thief broke into the mansion, so I came here to protect you."

Ruan Xiwen sat upright in her wheelchair, an old velvet blanket covering her knees.

Just as Granny Chen was about to speak, she was shoved and stumbled by a burly old woman.

“Aunt Zhou, you’ve really made quite a show of force,” Ruan Xiwen said calmly. “Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were here to ransack the house.”

Zhou Ruyin's fake smile froze on her face.

She did indeed intend to catch them in the act of adultery. The news of Yuwen Chang'an entering the mansion last night was something she bought from the gatekeeper at a high price.

"Search!" Aunt Zhou suddenly shouted sharply, "Don't let the thieves harm the mistress!"

The old women rushed into the inner room like wolves and tigers, overturning the dressing table and tearing the curtains.

An old woman deliberately smashed Ruan Xiwen's favorite celadon Guanyin statue to pieces. The shards of porcelain landed near the wheelchair and cut the back of Chen Mama's hand.

"stop!"

Zhuang Shiyang's voice came from outside the courtyard.

He strode up to Ruan Xiwen, but his gaze swept towards the tightly closed side room door: "Is Madam alright?"

Ruan Xiwen sneered: "Master, you might as well speak plainly. You want to find Yuwen Chang'an, don't you?"

She pulled a divorce agreement written in vermilion ink from her sleeve. "Sign this, and you can search it freely."

Zhuang Shiyang's face turned ashen.

He had asked Ruan Xiwen for her hand in marriage when Yuwen Chang'an was on a western tour, and this matter had always been a thorn in his side.

Just as he was about to lash out, he suddenly saw Fu Yunxi walking over through the mess, carrying the missing official seal in her hand.

“Father-in-law, the seal was found in the incense burner in the ancestral hall.” Fu Yunxi gave Zhou Ruyin a meaningful look. “It must have been some blind fool who mistook the official seal for an offering.”

Zhou Ruyin's face turned deathly pale.

She clearly hid the mark in...

“Now that the seal has been found…” Zhuang Shiyang took the opportunity to step down, but suddenly turned to Ruan Xiwen, “Madam has been unwell lately, so let Ruyin temporarily take over the management of the household.”

Granny Chen gasped.

A power grab! This is an attempt to completely sideline the matriarch!
"My lord!" Zhou Ruyin exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and delight, feigning reluctance, "I am rather dull-witted..."

"Granted." Zhuang Shiyang turned and left.

As they passed the side room, they suddenly stopped. A corner of a moon-white skirt peeked out from the crack in the door, clearly the one Zhuang Hanyan was wearing today.

……

As dusk settled, Zhuang Hanyan helped her grandmother back to Songhe Hall.

The old woman stroked her thin, bony wrist, tears streaming down her face: "Hanyan, you've suffered so much! The affairs of our Zhuang family are truly a long story."

"My granddaughter isn't suffering," Zhuang Hanyan said softly, her gaze drifting towards the window.

Fu Yunxi's carriage was slowly driving away.

If he hadn't appeared in time today, Uncle Yuwen would probably be in a difficult situation.

The old lady suddenly lowered her voice: "Yan'er, your mother has really had a hard time these past years."

"..."

The candle flame popped, reflecting a fleeting complex emotion in Zhuang Hanyan's eyes.

She recalled seeing deep finger marks on her mother's wheelchair armrests when she hid in the side room this morning.

Even that woman who always stood tall and straight could feel pain.

"Granddaughter understands." She tucked the blanket around her grandmother. "There's a family dinner tomorrow, please watch over granddaughter..."

Before the words were finished, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside the window.

Through the gauze window, Zhuang Hanyan saw her father and Yuwen Chang'an facing off at the back door.

Under the moonlight, the two men looked like two swords drawn from their sheaths.

"Lord Zhuang, you have quite the methods." Yuwen Chang'an sneered, "Back then, you used Master Duan to force Yan'er away, and now you're condoning your concubine's bullying of Xiwen."

"General Yuwen, please be careful with your words." Zhuang Shiyang's voice trembled. "Ruan is my lawfully wedded wife, and Zhuang Hanyan is also the legitimate daughter of my Zhuang family."

"Is that so?" Yuwen Chang'an suddenly moved closer. "Then why does Yan'er have the mark of the Miao Heart-Eating Gu on her arm?"

Zhuang Hanyan was startled.

She never told Yuwen Chang'an about the runes!

Zhuang Hanyan suddenly realized that the Zhuang family was a huge mystery; figuring out one secret would reveal even more secrets.

……

The next day at the family banquet, Zhou Ruyin, adorned with jewels, sat arrogantly in the seat that originally belonged to Ruan Xiwen.

As soon as she announced the start of the meal, the servants brought out six hot dishes.

“This…” A scholar from the south of the county suddenly stood up during the banquet. “Lord Zhuang, I still have an elderly mother at home…”

The room erupted in uproar.

In the south of the city, the number four and six is ​​the last meal given to condemned prisoners!

Zhou Ruyin's face turned pale.

She had intended to show off her household management skills, but unexpectedly, such a blunder occurred in the kitchen.

In the midst of the panic, a faint fragrance of plum blossoms suddenly wafted over.

"Look, everyone." Zhuang Hanyan gracefully entered, carrying a celadon plate on which red plum blossoms were arranged in the shape of a top scholar. "The plum blossoms reaching for the top spot, is this not an auspicious omen?"

The candidates' eyes lit up.

The plum branch was clearly broken off from the ancient plum tree in the ancestral hall, and the words "Zhuang Family Ancestral Hall" were engraved on the bottom of the porcelain plate.

Using ancestral items to entertain guests actually shows that they are highly valued.

"Brilliant!" Yang Ping suddenly clapped his hands and stood up. "Miss Zhuang's ingenuity is truly admirable!"

He stared intently at Zhuang Hanyan, "I wonder about this plum blossom..."

"The ancient plum tree in the ancestral hall only blooms once every three years." Zhuang Hanyan placed the plum blossom tray on the main table. "Just like the imperial examination, one studies hard for years and finally reaps the rewards of one's efforts."

Amidst the cheers and applause, Zhuang Shiyang glanced at his daughter with mixed feelings.

Zhou Ruyin twisted her handkerchief in anger, thinking to herself, "That little bitch actually used a plate from the ancestral hall to get out of trouble!"

What's even more infuriating is that Zhuang Shiyang personally arranged for Zhuang Hanyan to sit to his right, while her Yu Chi was relegated to the last seat!

Taking the opportunity, Yang Ping stepped forward to offer a toast, but secretly slipped a note into Zhuang Hanyan's sleeve.

She accepted it without batting an eye, her fingertips touching the wax seal on the paper—it was the Black Shark Gang's mark!
……

During the banquet, Yang Ping suddenly slammed his wine glass down on the table, splashing wine onto Zhuang Hanyan's sleeve.

He deliberately turned his face to the side, revealing his missing ear: "Does Miss Zhuang still remember this?"

The whole house was in an uproar.

The guests' gazes darted back and forth between Yang Ping's deafness and Zhuang Hanyan, and whispers spread like a tide.

“Of course I remember.” Zhuang Hanyan wiped her sleeve slowly. “When I was seven years old, Young Master Yang pressed me down in the snow and said he wanted to see if the barefoot ghost’s soles were really blood red.”

She raised her eyes, her gaze sharp as a knife. "When I bit your ear, you were pulling at my skirt to take off my socks."

Yang Ping's face turned ashen instantly.

He never expected that Zhuang Hanyan would dare to reveal such a shameful thing in public.

Zhuang Yushan seized the opportunity to interject: "Third sister has been fierce since childhood, and she often..."

"Which time are you referring to, Second Sister?" Zhuang Hanyan chuckled. "The time you pushed me into the pond, or the time you hid a needle in my bedding?"

She suddenly rolled up her sleeves, revealing a dense array of old scars on her arms. "Do you want me to list them all out?"

Several ladies at the table gasped in surprise.

These scars included both new and old ones, but the most shocking was a knife scar that stretched from the wrist to the elbow, resembling a grotesque centipede.

"Enough!" Zhou Ruyin shouted sharply, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

She originally intended to use Yang Ping to humiliate Zhuang Hanyan, but unexpectedly, she gained sympathy for this little bitch instead.

Enraged, Yang Ping pointed at Zhuang Hanyan's nose and cursed, "You jinx who brings death to your whole family..."

“Young Master Yang, be careful with your words.” Fu Yunxi’s voice suddenly came from behind the screen. “Miss Zhuang is now a filial daughter praised by His Majesty himself.”

He walked slowly into the banquet hall, the iron ruler from the Dali Temple at his waist clanging. "Those who tarnish a person's reputation shall, according to the law, be punished with twenty strokes of the cane."

Yang Ping immediately fell silent, trembling with fear.

Fu Yunxi's gaze swept over the wounds on Zhuang Hanyan's arm, a barely perceptible shadow flashing in her eyes.

……

"General."

Fu Yunxi placed a black jade chess piece down, looking with interest at Zhuang Hanyan, who was distracted on the other side.

Since that conversation at the Dali Temple, this girl has become increasingly unpredictable.

Zhuang Hanyan stared at the chessboard and suddenly said, "When the Heart-Eating Gu takes effect, it will make people see the most terrifying scene."

With a "snap," she swallowed a black piece with her fingertip. "Lord Fu, would you like to know what my uncle saw before he died?"

Fu Yunxi paused slightly in her hand holding the chess piece.

“He said… the barefoot ghost has come to claim my life.” Zhuang Hanyan chuckled. “How ridiculous, I don’t have any red moles on my feet.”

The situation on the chessboard suddenly changed.

Looking at her dragon, which had been surrounded without her noticing, Fu Yunxi suddenly realized: "You deliberately let me win the first three games."

“It’s only fair to reciprocate.” Zhuang Hanyan looked directly into his eyes. “Just like how the adults deliberately let Chai Jing go.”

Rain pattered on the banana leaves outside the window, making the room even quieter.

Fu Yunxi suddenly pushed the chessboard up and asked, "Third Miss, have you ever heard of 'Crimson Phoenix'?"

Zhuang Hanyan felt a sudden burning pain from the runes on her wrist.

This is the pattern engraved on my mother's secret boudoir box!
“An organization of remnants of the previous dynasty.” Fu Yunxi was tidying up books with her back to her. “It specializes in taking in women with special abilities.”

He suddenly turned around, "For example... someone who can control the Heart-Eating Gu."

The rain grew heavier.

Zhuang Hanyan finally understood why Yuwen Chang'an knew about the rune on her wrist; her mother and "Red Phoenix" probably had a deep connection.

"The secret conversation you overheard that night..." Fu Yunxi stepped closer, "Is the witness Yuwen Chang'an is looking for Chai Jiu from the Black Shark Gang?"

Zhuang Hanyan was deeply shaken.

Chai Jiu is Chai Jing's adoptive father. It was he who rescued her from the pirates in Danzhou!
"I don't know." She met Fu Yunxi's scrutinizing gaze frankly. "But I can help you investigate, sir." She paused, "In exchange..."

"I guarantee Madam Ruan's safety."

……

Inside the main courtyard, Ruan Xiwen stared blankly at the empty antique display shelves.

Suddenly, a pair of mud-covered embroidered shoes appeared in front of the wheelchair.

"Mother."

Zhuang Hanyan knelt down, resting her forehead on her mother's knee.

This posture reminded her of when she was five years old, when she knelt down and begged her aunt not to lock her in the woodshed.

“My daughter killed my uncle and aunt in Danzhou.” Her voice was muffled. “They…wanted to sell me to a brothel.”

Ruan Xiwen suddenly gripped the blanket tightly.

She had known all along that her daughter was carrying a murder charge, but she never imagined it would be like this...

"That night I escaped and met the benefactor in my life; otherwise, my daughter would have died a hundred times over."

The woman in the wheelchair finally began to tremble.

Granny Chen quietly withdrew, wiping the corner of her eye.

"Your daughter knows what you're going to do, Mother." Zhuang Hanyan looked up, her eyes filled with an unprecedented determination. "Let your daughter help you, okay? Your daughter isn't as weak and frail as you think. You can't always be thinking about protecting me."

She suddenly pulled out a silver hairpin from her hair, saying, "Aunt Zhou will be my pledge of loyalty."

The silver hairpin left a white mark on the blue brick, just like the exorcism talisman that Master Duan drew on the gate of the Zhuang family mansion back then.

Ruan Xiwen finally reached out and touched her daughter's thin cheek.

“Silly child…” her voice choked with emotion, “Mother would rather you never know these sordid things.”

“Mother, it’s too late now. I’m already a part of this.”

"..."

……

Chai Jing squatted on the crossbeam of the abandoned granary, watching Zhuang Hanyan arrange the hibiscus pastries in the food box into a specific shape, which was their agreed-upon code to indicate "danger".

"Why would Yang Ping come to the capital?" Chai Jing jumped down, grabbed a pastry and stuffed it into his mouth. "After you bit off his ear back then, didn't the Yang family move to Lingnan?"

Zhuang Hanyan pulled a letter from her sleeve: "The Black Shark Gang's informant said that he went to Beijing with Pei Dafu's letter of recommendation."

She frowned slightly. "I suspect that the Pei faction wants to use him..."

"To deal with you?" Chai Jing sneered, twirling his curved blade between his fingers. "Should I strike first?"

"No." Zhuang Hanyan pressed down on her wrist. "Fu Yunxi has been keeping a close eye on you lately. You go first."

Before she could finish speaking, the sound of the night watchman's drum came from afar. She hurriedly got up, "I have to go back. Aunt Zhou is going to steal the exam questions tonight."

Chai Jing's eyes widened: "You knew all along? Why didn't you stop it?"

Zhuang Hanyan removed her veil, a cold smile playing on her lips: "To destroy something, first make it go mad."

Zhuang Hanyan is no longer the helpless little girl she once was, because she has the powerful Su Ning behind her.

Zhuang Hanyan had a feeling that even if she caused a huge disaster, Su Ning would be able to clean up the mess for her.

……

Outside the study, Zhou Ruyin moved along the wall like a night owl.

She took out the key she had secretly made and quietly opened Zhuang Shiyang's drawer.

By the moonlight, she could see the topic of tomorrow's quiz: "On Floods and Droughts".

"Chi-ge'er, your time has come." She murmured to herself, copying the topic onto a silk handkerchief she had prepared in her sleeve.

Then Zhuang Yushan took the test questions to find outside help. Young Master He was frowning at the questions: "These questions are strange, they're like Han Yu's essay from twenty years ago..."

"Who cares whose it is!" Zhuang Yushan waved his hand impatiently. "Just tell me how to write it!"

Young Master He's eyes flickered.

He originally came here for the Zhuang family's young ladies, especially the quick-witted third young lady at today's banquet.

If I could win the heart of such a beauty...

"Brother He?" Zhuang Yushan couldn't help but give him a push in an ambiguous way.

“Ah, I mean…” Young Master He came to his senses and casually made up a few words.

He made up his mind to find an excuse to withdraw from the exam tomorrow; the questions were clearly tricky!
Then Zhuang Yushan, having obtained the policy essay, handed it over to Zhuang Yuchi, which led to a series of foolish and absurd actions.

……

On the day of the exam, as soon as Young Master He saw the exam paper, he stood up and said, "The student has suddenly fallen ill and requests to leave the exam room!"

Zhuang Shiyang, the proctor, frowned, but seeing that Young Master He's face was pale and not faking it, he had no choice but to grant permission.

He turned to look at his son, only to see Zhuang Yuchi writing furiously, looking confident and composed.

Three days later, the results were announced, and Zhuang Yuchi's essay was read aloud by the academic official, who praised him as a "talent for governing the world."

Zhuang Shiyang listened to his colleagues' compliments, but his heart was pounding. When did Chi Ge'er acquire such literary talent?
Zhuang Yuchi, his face flushed from drinking, slammed his fist on the table in the restaurant and shouted, "Hmph! Those poor scoundrels dare to discuss philosophy with me? Wait until we meet the Emperor..."

In the next private room, Zhuang Hanyan paused slightly in her teacup.

Fu Yunxi sat opposite her, discussing something in hushed tones with several officials from the Court of Judicial Review.

Since that banquet, he has always appeared near her intentionally or unintentionally, like a leopard waiting for its chance to strike.

"Brother You!" Zhuang Yuchi's drunken voice pierced through the screen, "How about I betroth my third sister to you? Let's consummate our marriage tonight!"

Zhuang Hanyan's fingertips trembled, and tea spilled onto her skirt.

Just as she was about to get up, a hand with distinct knuckles pressed down on the rune on her wrist.

"Don't move," Fu Yunxi whispered a reminder. "Chai Jing is right outside the window."

Sure enough, a red shadow flashed past the eaves.

Fu Yunxi suddenly raised her voice: "Guards, please summon Miss Zhuang to the Dali Temple for questioning!"

Upon hearing the commotion, Zhuang Yuchi burst through the screen, reeking of alcohol: "Who dares to touch Zhuang Hanyan!"

Upon recognizing Fu Yunxi, he immediately deflated, stammering, "Sister, brother-in-law..."

Fu Yunxi didn't even glance at him, and went straight to Zhuang Hanyan: "Third Miss, regarding the Danzhou case..."

“I’ll go with you.” Zhuang Hanyan interrupted him, and deliberately stretched out her hands as if she were tied up.

This gesture made Fu Yunxi raise an eyebrow slightly; she was putting on an act for Chai Jing.

……

The secret chamber of the Dali Temple was cold and damp. When Zhuang Hanyan was "escorted" in, Chai Jing had been waiting on the beam for a long time.

Seeing that Fu Yunxi had her back to the door, she swooped down like a falcon, her curved blade aimed straight for her back!

With a clang, Fu Yunxi didn't turn her head and used her iron ruler to block the blade.

The two exchanged more than ten moves in a short time, and Chai Jing gradually lost ground.

"Stop!" Zhuang Hanyan suddenly pulled out a dagger hidden in her sleeve and held it to Fu Yunxi's throat. "Let her go."

Fu Yunxi actually laughed: "As expected, the Third Miss has a hidden weapon."

Instead of retreating, he took a step forward, letting the knife tip pierce his skin, "just as ruthless as when I killed your uncle and aunt in Danzhou?"

A drop of blood slid down the dagger.

Zhuang Hanyan's wrist trembled slightly; she hadn't expected him to dare gamble with his life.

"Girl, run!" Chai Jing seized the opportunity to break through the window and escape.

Fu Yunxi's guards made a move to give chase, but he stopped them by raising his hand.

“No need.” He wiped the blood from his neck. “You have to keep the bait to catch the big fish.”

Before the words were finished, footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

Fu Yunxi pulled Zhuang Hanyan into the dark room and saw, through the vent, that Minister Gao from the Ministry of Justice and his colleagues walked in.

"Lord Pei's adopted son is hiding in the capital." Lord Gao lowered his voice. "I saw him twenty years ago; he had a butterfly-shaped birthmark on his left cheek..."

Zhuang Hanyan's breath hitched; it was that suffocating Pei Dafu again.

"Have you heard enough?" Fu Yunxi whispered in her ear, her warm breath brushing against her earlobe. "Is Miss Third now willing to tell the truth?"

The dark room was small, and the two could almost hear each other's breaths.

Zhuang Hanyan could smell a faint scent of agarwood on him, mixed with a hint of blood.

"My lord!" a guard suddenly shouted from outside the door, "Young Master You was harassing a woman in the street, and we have apprehended him!"

Fu Yunxi's eyes turned cold: "Break both his legs." She turned to Zhuang Hanyan, "Is the Third Miss satisfied?"

……

In the main hall of the Zhuang family mansion, Zhuang Shiyang knelt down to receive the imperial edict, his face ashen.

Zhuang Yuchi's "masterpiece" was recognized by the emperor as plagiarism of Han Yu's old text, which enraged the emperor.

"Zhuang Aiqing has done a good job raising her son!" The emperor's cold laugh still echoed in my ears. "Since you like Han Qing's writing so much, why don't you go and guard his tomb for three years?"

Zhuang Yuchi collapsed to the ground, his crotch soaked.

Zhuang Yushan rushed out and pointed at Young Master He: "It was him! He's the one who taught Chi-ge'er to write it!"

Young Master He calmly took out a draft from his sleeve: "I only said three sentences that day, which have nothing in common with Lord Han's article."

He glanced meaningfully at Zhuang Hanyan standing in the corner, "It seems that Miss Zhuang the Second has quite a bit of knowledge about Korean..."

"You're talking nonsense!" Zhuang Yushan shrieked, "I have no idea what Han is..."

"Enough!" Zhuang Shiyang roared, then kowtowed heavily. "Your subject... accepts the imperial decree and thanks you."

Zhou Ruyin collapsed to the ground and was carried out.

Zhuang Hanyan watched the farce quietly, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips.

She had already placed Han Yu's collected works in Zhuang Yuchi's study, and the one she was opening was "On Floods and Droughts".

Fu Yunxi appeared under the corridor at some point and raised her teacup to her.

Zhuang Hanyan turned her face away, but heard him send a message using his telepathic communication skills:

"Next up is Aunt Zhou."

The wind blows through the courtyard trees, and fallen leaves flutter down like rain.

Zhuang Hanyan stroked the slightly warm rune on her wrist, and for the first time, she felt a sense of kinship with this unfathomable man.

...(End of chapter)