In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

Zhu Qingyu didn't dare to stop for a moment, almost running out of breath. Only after running out of the government office gate did she lean on the stone lions at the entrance and bend over, panting.

Aside from physical education exams during her school days, she hadn't run like this in a very, very long time.

A hesitant voice asked from the corner:

"Madam?"

Zhu Qingyu looked over and saw it was the Zhang family's coachman.

The driver, huddled in the corner, his face filled with panic, suddenly felt reassured upon seeing that it was indeed Zhu Qingyu. He quickly ran over and asked:

"Madam, you've finally come out! Have you seen the master? Everyone else came out a long time ago, but I haven't seen him yet."

Zhu Qingyu's heart sank:

"I didn't see you, sir. What happened last night? What happened to the others? Tell me."

The driver looked completely bewildered:

"I don't know what happened either. Last night, I was waiting in the back room with the other coachmen when suddenly a bunch of soldiers came and surrounded the door, preventing us from leaving. They didn't let us out until around 5 a.m. After that, the masters of the various families came out one after another, but our master didn't come out at all. I vaguely heard someone say that someone had died or been arrested or something, which made me very anxious. Later, I saw Master Xue and Madam Xue. I wanted to ask them, but there were too many people and it was too chaotic. I couldn't squeeze through, and they left before I could even say a word. So I've been waiting here ever since."

The Zhang and Xue families have always had a good relationship. For example, when Zhu Qingyu attends banquets, she usually sits with Madam Xue, and Zhang Shen usually sits with General Manager Xue.

To find out what happened to Zhang Shen last night, we'll probably have to make a trip to the Xue family and ask Mr. Xue.

But more important than that, we need to go back and check on my third sister's condition first.

Zhu Qingyu, still catching her breath while supporting the stone lion, gave the order:

"Bring the car over here, let's go back first."

The street near the government office was home to many powerful and influential families in Yangzhou. On the way back to the Zhang family, Zhu Qingyu saw several houses with official seals affixed to them through the carriage window.

Overnight, countless families in Yangzhou were destroyed and their members killed. This discovery weighed heavily on her heart, and she wondered if the Zhang family was now facing the same fate.

Unsure whether the Embroidered Uniform Guards were truly waiting for her to walk into their trap at the Zhang family home, as Gu Zhao had claimed, Zhu Qingyu did not rush home, nor did she even go to the clinic.

If Zhang Shen and Zhang Ruohua really end up in the Jinyiwei prison, it's better for her to find a way out from outside than for everyone to be trapped inside and at a loss.

Have the driver go around to the street behind the Zhang family's house, go up to the teahouse on the corner, and get to the second-floor window where you can see the back door of the Zhang family's house.

The back door of the Zhang family's house was tightly closed, and the entrance was quiet. No one was coming or going, but there was no seal on it either.

As I was watching, a little girl's voice came through:

"Are you Madam Zhu from the Zhu Family Medical Clinic?"

Zhu Qingyu frowned and looked over, but did not answer.

The young girl was carrying a basket of magnolia flowers, seemingly trying to sell them to customers at the teahouse. When she reached Zhu Qingyu's table, noticing her troubled expression, she stopped, timidly took two bunches of magnolia flowers from the basket, placed them on Zhu Qingyu's table, and said:

"Last time, thank you for saving my mother. My elder brother said that other clinics charge at least one hundred coins for a consultation, so it's kind of you to only charge us twenty coins. I have nothing else to repay you with, but this is a white orchid I picked from the mountains this morning. It's the freshest and most fragrant one, and I'm offering it to you for your enjoyment."

Zhu Qingyu remembered that night a boy carried his mother to the doctor, and this little girl was indeed following behind.

Seeing that the little girl was about to leave, Zhu Qingyu called her back:

"Little sister, come here, can you pass on a message for me?"

The little girl, who had been a bit timid just moments before, immediately ran over when she heard that help was needed.

"My lady, what message do you wish to convey?"

Calling the young girl to her side, Zhu Qingyu pointed to the back gate of the Zhang family's house outside the window and showed it to her. She then took out a tael or two of silver and gave it to her, saying:

"Go knock on the door. If someone comes out, tell them that the third young lady of this house asked you to buy flowers yesterday but didn't bring any money, and asked you to come and get the money this morning. If the person inside refuses to give you the money and tells you to leave, don't argue, just come back truthfully. If the third young lady comes out, tell them you've mistaken her for someone else, and come back truthfully as well. Just one thing, don't mention me, okay?"

The little girl nodded vigorously, but refused to accept the money, replying:

"How can I accept your money, Madam? Please wait, I'll go right now."

The little girl was small, but she ran fast. Carrying the basket, she ran down the hill in no time and reached the back door of the Zhang family's house, banging on the door.

Logically, there should be an old woman guarding the back door every day, and someone should answer the call, but the little girl patted for a long time and no one came out.

The little girl was quite stubborn. She promised to pass on a message, but when she failed to do so, she persisted and refused to give up, continuing to bang and bang.

After a while, the back door finally opened, and someone came out.

Zhu Qingyu approached the window and carefully recognized the man as the head butler!

The head steward was accompanied by several servants carrying sticks.

Seeing this, the little girl seemed a bit scared and took a step back, but she was still talking to the head butler. The head butler gave some instructions inside, but neither gave her any money nor let her leave.

After a while, Zhang Ruohua appeared at the door.

Seeing Zhang Ruohua appear unharmed at the door, Zhu Qingyu, whose heart had been pounding since morning, finally felt a sense of relief. Tears welled in her eyes, and she quickly ran downstairs, calling to the driver, "Let's go back!"

The head steward, who was already hesitant about the suddenly appearing young girl, was keeping a close eye on his surroundings when he suddenly saw the Zhang family carriage coming out from the street corner and exclaimed:

"Master and Madam are back!"

Zhang Ruohua was still asking the little girl at the door:

"I didn't even leave the house yesterday, how could I have bought your flowers and not paid for them? Who sent you?"

Upon hearing that his brother and sister-in-law had returned, Zhang Ruohua ignored the little girl completely. He casually pulled out a silver ingot from his pocket—whether it was two or three taels, enough to buy at least a cartload of magnolia blossoms—and stuffed it into the little girl's arms, saying quickly:

"Okay, okay, I bought it. Now you can go."

The carriage arrived at the door in no time, just half a street away.

Zhang Ruohua couldn't even wait for Zhu Qingyu to get out of the carriage. As soon as the carriage came to a stop, she lifted the curtain to get in and said:

"Second brother, sister-in-law, you're finally back! You scared me to death! Oh, sister-in-law, where's second brother?"

Zhu Qingyu wasn't even ready to get out of the car when she grabbed Zhang Ruohua's hand to steady her.

"Third sister, how is everything at home? Did anyone come to our house yesterday?"

Realizing something, Zhang Ruohua's hands trembled slightly:

"Our neighbors' house was ransacked. It was a huge commotion last night, with shouts and threats of violence. Our house is fine; no one's been here. Sister-in-law, where's my second brother? Why didn't he come back with you?"