"Yes," Chen Xing said. "Xia Jin's ancestral home is in Jinyuan County. Thirteen years ago, a plague struck Jinyuan County. The Grand Tutor happened to pass by and cured Xia Jin, who has followed the Grand Tutor ever since, managing the business of the Grand Tutor's wife's family. When the General established his residence, the Grand Tutor arranged for Xia Jin to come to the General's Mansion."
Jinyuan County? Rong Zhi found the name very unfamiliar.
"Does he have no other family?"
"No, sir. My subordinate investigated. That plague almost wiped out everyone in Jinyuan County. Those who survived fled in all directions. Even if we wanted to find them, it would be impossible."
"What did Xia Jin's ancestors do?"
"They say they ran a restaurant business."
His family background was ordinary, and he had no other family. Rong Zhi had hoped to find some clues from Xia Jin's origins, but it seemed unlikely now.
"That's all. You may withdraw," Xia Yunting dismissed Chen Xing.
"Are you suspecting that Xia Jin's ancestors might have understood feng shui and metaphysics?"
"It's possible. Otherwise, why would he look for four girls with the same birthday? Besides this, I can't think of any other motive he might have."
The two of them pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with any leads. Rong Zhi couldn't stay here too long and had to return.
In the following days, Nanny Gu found ways to make things difficult for them, assigning them the dirtiest and most tiring chores.
Dong Mei, who had been resting in bed, was also pulled away to work shortly after. It seemed Nanny Gu truly intended to treat them like beasts of burden.
In the evening, the tired girls returned to their room. Xia He and Qiu Ju started crying as soon as they lay down on their beds.
"When will this kind of life end?"
Dong Mei's eyes also welled up with tears, though she didn't cry out loud.
"Spring Peach, aren't you tired?" Dong Mei saw that Rong Zhi showed no reaction and asked curiously.
Rong Zhi said, "I'm thinking about why Madam is treating us like this."
"It's all because she's jealous. Seeing that we are good-looking, she thinks we're going to seduce the General, and she can't stand us."
Qiu Ju, who was usually quiet, complained uncharacteristically today.
That night, the four of them were very silent.
In the middle of the night, Rong Zhi vaguely heard the sound of a door opening. She looked up and saw Qiu Ju pushing the door open and leaving, wearing only a thin shawl. She deliberately lowered her voice, likely not wanting to be heard.
Rong Zhi remembered Qiu Ju's despair that evening and followed her out, unable to rest assured.
In the dim moonlight, Qiu Ju walked to the base of a tree in the courtyard. Rong Zhi vaguely heard sobbing. In the moonlight, Rong Zhi saw Qiu Ju hanging a rope from the tree.
She was going to hang herself!
Rong Zhi casually picked up a stone from the ground and struck it with her internal energy. The noose Qiu Ju was using snapped.
"Who?" Qiu Ju turned around abruptly but saw no one. She seemed to remember something and suddenly covered her face and burst into tears, her sobs sounding mournful and long.
Rong Zhi recalled how Xing Jiahui had either beaten or scolded them over the past couple of days. As a martial artist, such beatings and scolding were nothing to her, but the other three were ordinary girls who lived in constant fear. It was understandable that Qiu Ju would consider suicide.
Perhaps because the rope had broken, Qiu Ju couldn't hang herself. After crying for about half an hour, she finally stood up, swayed, and walked back.
Seeing that Qiu Ju wouldn't go through with it, Rong Zhi finally felt relieved. She followed Qiu Ju all the way and suddenly found the place strange.
The General's Mansion was heavily guarded, with young servants patrolling every corner and hidden guards in the shadows. However, Qiu Ju had come and gone without encountering any obstacles, as if no one was guarding the place.
But Rong Zhi was very sure that there had been guards here before. Could this just be a coincidence?
The next day, while Rong Zhi was cleaning outside, she specifically observed the guard situation in the General's Mansion. She noticed that the night watchmen who were absent last night had returned!
Logically, the General's Mansion should have constant guards, not guards who appeared and disappeared. Unless it was deliberately arranged.
"Dong Mei, Madam is calling for you."
As soon as they returned to their residence, a young maidservant, looking like a stranger with an unfriendly expression, arrived.
Dong Mei trembled at the mention of "Madam." She glanced at the remaining few, who all wore worried and helpless expressions.
Finally, Dong Mei put on her clothes and went out with the maidservant.
Xia He and Qiu Ju both looked at Rong Zhi.
Dong Mei had been taken away several times before, and Rong Zhi had gone to inquire about the news. Rong Zhi said, "I'll go and see."
After these days, Rong Zhi felt that Xing Jiahui wasn't just trying to punish them; she wanted them dead!
Last time, she had beaten someone to near death. Who knew what methods she would use to torment her this time.
Rong Zhi went to Xing Jiahui's courtyard and found that there was no activity inside. She secretly climbed over the wall and saw that no one was there.
A moment of sobbing came from not far away.
Rong Zhi ran towards the sound and found two servants strangling Dong Mei with a rope. The rope tightened with each passing moment, and Dong Mei's face turned red, on the verge of losing consciousness.
Beside the two servants, Nanny Gu stood with her arms crossed, glancing around occasionally, seemingly afraid of someone approaching.
How dare they openly commit murder in the General's Mansion! Rong Zhi was about to go out and save her when she realized the place looked familiar. Wasn't this the place where Qiu Ju had tried to hang herself yesterday?
Was Nanny Gu intentionally trying to kill Dong Mei here, or was it a coincidence?
No matter, saving her first was the priority.
Rong Zhi shot a silver needle from her sleeve, hitting the wrists of the two servants. They were surprised to find they couldn't move.
"Nanny! What's going on?"
The servants panicked. Nanny Gu pulled them aside and was about to act herself when Rong Zhi shot another silver needle, freezing Nanny Gu in place.
"Nanny?" The two servants, not knowing what was happening, called out several times with no response.
The servants exchanged glances, their faces showing fear. "It's haunted."
Dong Mei, tears streaming down her face, also found the phenomenon strange. However, since she wouldn't die, she tidied her clothes and quickly returned to her room.
Rong Zhi released Nanny Gu and the servants from their acupoint restraints. Nanny Gu, seeing that the person had escaped, became enraged.
"We've really run into evil spirits."
When Dong Mei returned, Xia He and Qiu Ju were not yet asleep. They were waiting anxiously, as if they would experience the same fate as Dong Mei today. They worried about Dong Mei and even more about themselves.
Just then, Rong Zhi pushed the door open.
"Spring Peach, you really saved Dong Mei back!" Xia He was very excited to see Rong Zhi. How had she never noticed Spring Peach's great abilities before?
"You saved me?" Dong Mei looked at Rong Zhi in surprise. Recalling how the two servants and Nanny Gu had inexplicably become unable to move, she was both astonished and disbelieving.
"How could I have such skill? I saw you being taken to a tree. Thinking I couldn't defeat them, I intended to find someone to help you. But when I returned, you were already gone."
"So that's how it was." Dong Mei's suspicion lessened slightly. She knew Spring Peach wouldn't know the art of remote acupoint manipulation.
Rong Zhi asked, "Dong Mei, why did Nanny Gu want to kill you?"
"I don't know," Dong Mei fell back into fear at the mention of it.
"She just kept saying 'hurry, hurry, or it'll be too late,' and things like that. I don't know what she was talking about."
Rong Zhi remembered what Nanny Gu and Xia Jin had said earlier and tentatively asked, "Do you think the steward is problematic?"
"What's problematic about the steward?" The other three looked at Rong Zhi simultaneously. They weren't surprised by this question and clearly had their suspicions.
"The steward told us earlier that we would come in as concubines, but he never helped us. At first, when Madam made things difficult for us, he didn't defend us much. Could it be that the steward was lying to us from the very beginning?"
"But why would the steward bring us in?"
Xia He was a little confused. They weren't exceptionally beautiful, nor did they have any special qualities. Why would the steward take a liking to them?
"I don't know either, but if we stay here any longer, we might all lose our lives."
At this point, Qiu Ju lowered her head. Indeed, it was Dong Mei today, and tomorrow it would be the three of them. They were all in the same boat.
"Then what do we do now?" Dong Mei looked at Rong Zhi, subconsciously seeing her as their leader.
"I think we should sneak away!" Rong Zhi suggested.
Dong Mei's face showed a look of horror. "That won't do. Runaway servants from noble households are caught and beaten to death."
"Do you want to die now, or take a chance and escape?"
Everyone fell silent. If they stayed here, they would die sooner or later.
"We can bribe the gatekeepers to let us out secretly."
Mentioning the servants, Dong Mei hesitated and said, "I know someone who can let us out."
The four women looked at each other, and their expressions slowly became resolute.
At night, Rong Zhi quietly went to the tree in the courtyard. She had let these girls escape so that Xia Jin and Xing Jiahui would act quickly. Otherwise, who knew how long they would have to wait.
"Miss Lin, why are you here?"
A surprised voice called out. Rong Zhi turned around and saw it was Zhang Can.
"I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk." She actually wanted to re-examine the layout of the General's Mansion and see if she could recall anything.
Zhang Can seemed to have something difficult to say, as if he were troubled.
"What's wrong?" Rong Zhi asked.
"Miss Lin, when will I recover my previous skills?"
Ever since he woke up, Zhang Can had been thinking about this. After all, he was a martial artist who had served the General since childhood. Suddenly being unable to practice martial arts was worse than killing him.
"This matter needs to be approached gradually; you can't rush it," Rong Zhi said, seeing his troubled expression. "As the saying goes, great misfortune often leads to great fortune. Although you can't practice martial arts for the time being, after good recuperation, your martial arts skills will surely advance further than before. However, if you rush things, it might damage your body, which would be a loss outweighing the gain."
Zhang Can clearly understood the answer, and his expression darkened.
"Thank you, Miss Lin."
In the dim moonlight, Zhang Can showed no sign of leaving. Ever since he had recovered, he had been recuperating. He couldn't go out on missions, and the General didn't allow him to protect himself closely. He was actually feeling depressed but didn't know who to talk to.