Rong Zhi had no choice but to step forward and temporarily separate the two.
"Everyone was fine normally, why did it turn into this today?" Qiu Ju looked at Xia He and Dong Mei, their eyes still red, and was at a loss.
Rong Zhi, however, understood that they were likely all influenced by Xia Jin, and like Granny Gu, were not in their right minds.
"Let them calm down first," Rong Zhi suggested. Qiu Ju had no choice but to take Dong Mei away. Xia He glared at Rong Zhi, seemingly very displeased with Rong Zhi's attempt to break up the fight.
Rong Zhi took the opportunity to seal Xia He's acupoints, causing her to fall into a deep sleep. She then checked her pulse, finding her heart beating fast and her meridians in chaos.
She then checked on Dong Mei and found she had the same symptoms. Only Qiu Ju seemed unaffected.
Strange. All four of them had their blood drawn. Rong Zhi had experienced hallucinations last night, and Xia He and Dong Mei were also affected. Why was Qiu Ju unaffected?
Rong Zhi was perplexed but could find no clues.
Now, besides Xiao Jian Li, there was no one in the imperial city who could answer Rong Zhi's questions. Rong Zhi was like a headless fly, not knowing what to do.
In the blink of an eye, the promised day with Xia Jin arrived. As agreed, as long as they provided enough blood, Xia Jin would let them go.
Although Xia He and Dong Mei had argued once, after that incident, both of them inexplicably lost their memories, seemingly forgetting the event altogether.
When Xia He, Qiu Ju, and Dong Mei had packed their belongings and were ready to leave, Rong Zhi found Chen Xing alone and asked him to arrange for someone to keep an eye on these women, while she herself went to monitor Xia Jin.
She refused to believe that by persistently watching, she wouldn't find any leverage against Xia Jin.
"Madam, the General has instructed that Xia Jin's matters are not to be handled for now. All decisions will be made after the General has recovered."
Chen Xing had his own considerations. General Xia Yun Ting was severely injured, and the General's mansion was in dire need of manpower to guard it. If another assassin were to infiltrate at this time, the General would be in danger.
If Rong Zhi's plan were to be followed, increasing manpower to monitor those women and Rong Zhi monitoring Xia Jin, any need for support would further deplete the guards protecting the General.
Chen Xing explained his concerns to Rong Zhi. Rong Zhi said, "How many people are needed to deal with one Xia Jin? I can go alone. As for those three women, you only need to assign one person to watch them. Are you saying you can't even spare one person?"
Chen Xing hesitated and replied, "The General has his own arrangements for this matter. Madam need not worry about it."
Rong Zhi became somewhat angry. "I am also within Xia Jin's schemes now, and I might lose my senses at any time. All of this is for whose sake? Has Xia Yun Ting's arrangement considered me at all?"
"This..." Chen Xing looked somewhat guilty.
"Fine, if you won't, I'll investigate myself."
Rong Zhi could no longer wait. She felt that Xia Jin would not easily let these women go. He must have further plans. If she did nothing now, wouldn't she be letting Xia Jin succeed?
When Rong Zhi returned to the room, the remaining women had already packed their belongings. Perhaps because they were about to leave this place, their faces were filled with excitement.
"Fortunately, the steward kept his word. Once we're out, we'll never come back to this deep mansion again," Qiu Ju said to Xia He and Dong Mei, relieved that there had been no further arguments since the last incident.
When Dong Mei saw Rong Zhi enter, she asked, "Chun Tao, why aren't you packing? We're leaving today, aren't you happy?"
Rong Zhi asked them, "Will the steward really let us leave so easily?"
Dong Mei paused, then gave a wry smile. "Even if not, what can we do?"
They were merely pawns in the steward's hands. Instead of constantly thinking about how they would be schemed against, it was better to play dumb.
At her words, Qiu Ju and Xia He also fell silent.
Until they stepped out the door, no one spoke again. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy. It was then that they suddenly noticed a carriage parked outside. The steward, Xia Jin, was waiting there.
"Steward, what are you doing?" Dong Mei asked the steward, stopping in her tracks. Rong Zhi also showed a look of vigilance.
"You came with me, and now I'm sending you away. What, are you afraid I'll harm you?"
Xia Jin wore a smile, but Rong Zhi keenly detected a murderous intent within it. She had a premonition that getting into the carriage this time would lead to no good.
"Steward, you are too kind. We are merely servants, how could we trouble you to escort us out?"
This was the back courtyard of the General's mansion. Even if Xia Jin did anything here, no one would see.
Xia Jin's expression suddenly turned cold. "Stop the nonsense. Get in when I tell you to get in."
The women exchanged glances, despair creeping onto their faces. In the end, Rong Zhi was the first to board the carriage. At worst, if something happened, she would protect these women.
If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch the tiger's cub? She wanted to see what exactly Xia Jin was up to.
After the women boarded the carriage, with the rumbling sound of the wheels, the scenery of the General's mansion slowly receded.
"Steward, where are you taking us?"
Rong Zhi lifted the curtain and discovered that Xia Jin was the only one driving the carriage. For a grand steward to personally drive, it would be unbelievable if there were no trickery involved.
"You thought you could still stay in the imperial city? Naturally, I'm taking you to a good place."
Xia Jin's voice seemed to fluctuate in the wind, sometimes loud, sometimes soft. Worry appeared on the faces of the women.
Not long after, the carriage stopped in a desolate wilderness. Before Rong Zhi even got out, she could hear the howling wind. After she alighted, she realized that the imperial city was nowhere in sight. Trees and wild grass surrounded them, and a thatched hut stood out abruptly on the grassland, looking particularly out of place.
"You are not allowed to return to the imperial city in the future. I have arranged a new place for you, and someone will pick you up in a few days. For these few days, you will rest here first."
Xia Jin pointed to the only thatched hut in the grassland and said to the women in a commanding tone. It seemed he was certain they had no other choice but to obey his arrangements.
Dong Mei sensed something was wrong. "Since you're letting us go, we're free. Why should we do whatever you say?"
Xia Jin sneered. "Who said you are free? Your deeds of sale are still in my hands. As long as I haven't returned them to you, you are still servants of the General's mansion. It's just that you are no longer allowed to serve in the General's mansion."
Hearing this, Xia He and Qiu Ju's faces turned somewhat pale. They had thought Xia Jin was truly granting them freedom, but unexpectedly, he was just moving them to a different place to serve.
"Oh, and it's best not to run around at night. After all, in this wilderness, there are bound to be wild beasts. If they consider you dinner, don't blame me for not warning you."
Xia Jin laughed heartily and drove the carriage away, leaving the women bewildered.
"Chun Tao, what should we do now?"
The women turned their gazes to Rong Zhi.
At this moment, Rong Zhi had already understood the structure of the thatched hut. It was very simple, with only two beds and some basic living supplies. It looked like it had been temporarily built, and the mud on the walls was very fresh.
"We'll face the consequences as they come. Since the steward doesn't want us to leave, we'll stay here for now."
Qiu Ju seemed confused. "The steward isn't here, why don't we just escape secretly? Why should we listen to him?"
Rong Zhi said, "I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to escape even if you wanted to."
Rong Zhi had witnessed Granny Gu's madness before. Although the steward had said it was because Granny Gu already held resentment towards Xing Jia Hui, Granny Gu was Xing Jia Hui's servant. How dare she show it normally? It was only because she was influenced by Xia Jin.
Rong Zhi had heard of the methods of those Xuanmen families. If Xia Jin didn't want them to leave, she believed they wouldn't be able to escape this place no matter what.
The women had no choice but to temporarily move in.
The house was not large but not small, just enough for the four women to live in. However, if they wanted to move around inside, the space was somewhat insufficient. Rather than calling it a thatched hut, it was more like a cage.
Before entering, Rong Zhi looked in the direction of the imperial city with some surprise. Even if Xia Yun Ting didn't want to meddle in Xia Jin's affairs, would he really pretend to be deaf and blind? He didn't even come out to inquire about the situation when she was taken out by Xia Jin?
Never mind, rely on mountains and they will fall, rely on people and they will run. Everything must be relied upon by oneself. After entering, Rong Zhi specifically searched the room to see if there were any Xuan Shu related items.
Generally speaking, those Xuanmen disciples needed a medium to cast spells. It could be talismans, or it could be objects, like the blood Xia Jin took from them.
However, Rong Zhi didn't know what Xia Jin intended to do, so she couldn't find any clues. Moreover, after inspecting the entire room, she found nothing.
This house was very new, as if it had just been built, with no clues at all.
Rong Zhi had no choice but to instruct the women not to sleep too deeply at night and to try to stay awake.
As night fell, Rong Zhi heard rustling sounds from nearby. In a daze, she seemed to see Qiu Ju getting out of bed.
Because the space in the house was small, there were only two beds. Xia He and Dong Mei slept together, and Rong Zhi slept with Qiu Ju. Therefore, when Qiu Ju got out of bed, Rong Zhi was the first to sense it.
She quickly got up and called out Qiu Ju's name a few times, but received no response. When Qiu Ju pushed the door open, her movements were very stiff, looking like a puppet being controlled.
Rong Zhi's heart sank, guessing that Qiu Ju might have seen some illusion, just like she had.
Before going out, Rong Zhi specifically called out to Xia He and Dong Mei a couple of times. As expected, she received no response; they were sleeping soundly.
Rong Zhi had no choice but to chase out alone, only to find Qiu Ju circling the house, each step strange. No matter how Rong Zhi called or blocked her, the other party remained unresponsive. If Rong Zhi blocked her path, Qiu Ju would stop, but her legs would continue the motion of walking.
As Rong Zhi approached, she keenly detected the smell of blood on Qiu Ju!
The smell of blood!?