Although it was still early, Madam Xu was already awake.
Pei Xie had arranged everything meticulously, sending letters purportedly from Zhu Xingxu every few days.
Madam Xu did not feel inclined to read them and would leave them aside.
Zhu Xingxu knew this and stepped in with complete peace of mind.
She first went to greet Madam Xu before returning to her own courtyard.
When Zhu Ruoyi heard that Zhu Xingxu had returned, she immediately rushed to her courtyard.
At the doorway, she saw Zhu Xingxu sitting in the middle of the room.
She was still wearing her favorite sky-blue ruqun, her skin fair, nothing like the maid from last time.
Her heart eased, and she walked in as if nothing had happened.
Zhu Xingxu glanced at her. “What is it?”
Hearing the sharpness in her voice, Zhu Ruoyi wanted to get angry but stopped herself when she saw the weariness around Zhu Xingxu’s eyes.
“Rest well.” With that, Zhu Ruoyi turned and ran off.
Zhu Xingxu watched her retreating figure with curiosity.
What was that about?
She recalled their brief encounter at the Flower Festival.
Could it be that she had recognized her?
It didn’t seem likely.
Shrugging, she returned to eating the fruit Jinzhu had brought her.
“Miss, I missed you so much while you were away!”
Jinzhu’s eyes were brimming with tears.
“Next time, let me come with you!” she said, blinking eagerly.
Zhu Xingxu wanted to agree but thought about the risks of other undercover assignments.
“Hmm… maybe next time.”
Jinzhu looked disappointed, and Zhu Xingxu pretended to be a cold mistress, turning her face away.
After resting at home for a few days, Zhu Xingxu occasionally thought of Meng Chunhe and Su Lan at the Li residence.
She wondered how Pei Xie’s side was progressing.
Even the least perceptive person could sense what the mound of gold meant.
Outside, the servants were gossiping about major events in the capital that day.
It seemed to concern the Li residence.
Zhu Xingxu grew restless and eventually donned a veil, slipping out quietly through a side gate.
Having spent a month with them, she wanted to see the Li residence’s situation for herself.
The streets were crowded, and Zhu Xingxu adjusted her veil as she wove through the throngs.
People gathered, chatting about the news.
Zhu Xingxu listened closely.
“Oh… the Li residence has been raided.”
“Which Li residence?”
“The junior minister of the Dali Court, Li Dong! I heard he embezzled a lot, digging out a mountain of gold from the basement!”
The crowd reacted with astonishment.
Though she had been prepared, Zhu Xingxu still worried about Madam Li and Su Lan.
“Heaven, such a corrupt official!”
“Who discovered it?”
Everyone spoke at once.
“It was the Third Prince. He joined forces with court officials to impeach him. The emperor was furious and inspected the Li residence. Everything matched the Third Prince’s claims.”
Those in the know explained.
“Is the Third Prince really that capable?”
“Yes, Li Dong belonged to the Crown Prince faction, and this was open and covert rivalry among the princes.”
Almost everyone held the Third Prince in high regard.
Though Zhu Xingxu and Pei Xie had been the main investigators, no one knew their role.
This was the Third Prince’s strategy, keeping them in the shadows so that if trouble came later, they would remain unharmed.
Zhu Xingxu quickened her pace.
At the Li residence, a crowd had already gathered.
She squeezed to the front.
Officials from the Ministry of Justice were hauling out boxes of gold.
People nearby said they had been at it for half an hour and were not yet done.
She remembered the mountain of gold she had seen before.
Indeed, it would take a long time to move everything.
Li Dong slumped at the gate, trying to stop them.
He lunged at one man’s legs.
“Do not take my things!”
“This is all my money!”
The officer frowned and kicked him.
“This money was issued by the court and belongs to the people!”
Someone in the crowd cheered loudly.
That officer had grown up in a flood-stricken area where the relief money was insufficient. Many relatives had died for lack of timely aid.
When he entered service in the capital, he worked diligently, hoping no one else would suffer similarly.
He had never imagined the problem was due to corrupt officials.
Since Li Dong was a junior minister of the Dali Court, the emperor sent the Ministry of Justice, and he volunteered immediately.
Seeing Li Dong, his anger surged.
“How have the people wronged you? Why take what is not yours?”
He grew angrier, wanting to kick him again.
His colleagues restrained him.
“He will be executed in two days. Let it be. We must finish moving the goods first.”
The officer gritted his teeth, glared at Li Dong, and continued hauling the gold.
Li Dong was kicked in the chest and fell to the ground, crying pitifully.
He looked strangely pitiable.
Zhu Xingxu recalled his proud and complacent demeanor in the residence.
Life could indeed be unpredictable.
Thinking that she had helped, she straightened her back.
After standing at the gate for a moment, she saw no one else from the Li family.
She asked a bystander, “Where is Madam Li?”
The passerby, seeing her question, realized and said, “Oh right.”
Zhu Xingxu, slightly speechless, asked another person.
This person knew. “I was here before the Ministry of Justice arrived and did not see anyone else from the Li family.”
She would have to wait.
Half an hour later, Meng Chunhe and Su Lan finally appeared.
Her clothing was still plain, her hair arranged elegantly and neatly, no different from when Zhu Xingxu had first seen her.
Meng Chunhe’s expression was composed, while Su Lan followed beside her, her eyes red as if she had just cried.
“Su Lan, help him up.”
Su Lan nodded, lifting the pale, lifeless Li Dong.
He now moved like a walking corpse, his eyes devoid of light.
Zhu Xingxu hesitated but removed her veil.
Her delicate features and noble attire stood out among the crowd.
Meng Chunhe’s gaze fell on her immediately.
At first, she glanced once, then frowned, looked again, and froze as if struck by lightning.
Zhu Xingxu held her gaze.
Meng Chunhe’s eyes held disbelief, anger, sadness, and finally a trace of relief.
Relief for what?
Relief that she had not wished to become a concubine?
Relief that she was not implicated and could live well?
Zhu Xingxu could not tell.
Su Lan followed Madam Li’s gaze and saw Zhu Xingxu.
Her emotions were more volatile than Madam Li’s.
Su Lan’s eyes widened. She stepped forward, trying to reach Zhu Xingxu.
Meng Chunhe stopped her.
“Forget it.”
Su Lan frowned. “But… it was her fault.”
Meng Chunhe shook her head. “This was your husband’s own wrongdoing, no one else’s fault.”
Su Lan halted, staring at Zhu Xingxu in silent resentment.
The Ministry of Justice officers continued moving the gold.
Once finished, the lead officer presented the imperial edict to Meng Chunhe and the others.
“Is the Li family complete?”
Meng Chunhe lowered her eyes and sent Su Lan to summon Li Ke and Aunt Xiang.
Li Ke, supported by Su Lan, appeared, barely conscious from crying.
His home had been raided.
He was only fifteen, just entering what in modern times would be high school.
Not long ago, he had imagined finding a girl to marry, but now, because of Li Dong’s greed, the entire family was in ruins.
The officer asked, “Are there others?”
Meng Chunhe replied, “Only a concubine and some servants.”
The officer nodded and began reading the imperial edict.
Li Dong would be executed at noon in three days. Li Ke, Meng Chunhe, and the concubine would enter government service as slaves.
Li Dong remained listless.
Li Ke cried with tears and snot streaming down his face.
Only Meng Chunhe maintained her posture, bowing slowly and formally after hearing the edict.
“My humble self thanks Your Majesty for your grace.”
She was an ordinary woman, yet faced with disaster, she remained composed, accepting the decree with dignity.
She had no complaints because she knew this was deserved.
Zhu Xingxu’s eyes flickered.
After the edict, a prison carriage arrived to take the three away.
Aunt Xiang, who had been hiding, was pulled out by the officers, crying and cursing Li Dong.
“You wretched Li, abandoning your official duties to steal silver!”
Li Dong kept his head down, ignoring her.
No matter how she shouted, they were all loaded into the carriage.
As they passed Zhu Xingxu, Meng Chunhe suddenly grasped her hand.
Zhu Xingxu looked up.
Tears glimmered in Meng Chunhe’s eyes as she pleaded, “Su Lan has served me since childhood. Please, take her with you…”
Su Lan also cried, “Madam…”
The Li residence servants were naturally dispersed, their contracts returning to the hands of human traffickers.
Meng Chunhe gazed at Zhu Xingxu. “You promise me!”
Zhu Xingxu spoke slowly, “I will.”
Su Lan tugged at Meng Chunhe’s sleeve, crying, “Madam… do not send me away… I want to stay with you.”
Having received Zhu Xingxu’s promise, Meng Chunhe released her hand and comforted Su Lan. “Fool, I am going to be a servant too, how can I let you suffer with me?”
She looked at Zhu Xingxu. “Cuihua must also be a noblewoman of the capital. With her and you, your life will remain as before.”
Su Lan understood she could no longer follow Meng Chunhe, but her heart ached, and tears continued to fall.
The officers softly urged them along.
Madam Li pulled away Su Lan’s hand and resolutely boarded the carriage.
She looked as if heading somewhere better.
Once they were on the carriage, the officers sealed the Li residence gates.
The prison carriage moved on, followed by the crowd.
Knowing Li Dong’s crimes involved embezzlement and withholding relief funds, people threw dirt, dog feces, and weeds onto the carriage.
Meng Chunhe’s hairdo was disheveled, strands falling down.
She bowed her head, enduring the crowd’s anger.
Along the way, people pelted them, even spitting at them.
Su Lan, overwhelmed, sat in front of the Li residence, dazed.
Zhu Xingxu followed behind, escorting Meng Chunhe one last time.
Street vendors, tending their stalls, had not crowded around, but when the carriage passed, they too threw some refuse.
Though they had not seen the events, they knew from others what the carriage carried.
Soon, the carriage reeked, and nearby onlookers kept their distance.
The officers did not stop them. Whenever humans were escorted, chaos often followed.
As Zhu Xingxu kept pace, she fell slightly behind.
She tried to quicken her step but collided with someone.
A cold hand lifted her up.