Lin Ruochu first retrieved the note Wu Minmin had left for her beneath the tree.
The letter began by stating that Wu Minmin had written it alone after investigating the situation, showing it to no one and not letting it pass through others' hands. She hadn't even mentioned it to the aunties who were rescued alongside her by Lin Ruochu that day, assuring Lin Ruochu she could rest easy.
The handwriting was elegant, the language concise, and the writing flowed smoothly.
As Lin Ruochu read, she thought to herself that this young girl she had saved must have attended school and received an education—quite rare for a farming family. Coupled with her cautious nature, Lin Ruochu felt a surge of admiration in her heart.
But when she finished reading the contents of the letter, the smile on her face vanished instantly.
Jinyu returned from returning the lunch dishes and, upon entering the room, saw her Concubine's face as dark as ink, her expression icy cold, her eyes filled with bone-chilling hatred as if she wanted to kill someone.
Startled, she hurried forward to ask:
"Concubine, what's wrong?"
Lin Ruochu tucked the note into her sleeve, nearly grinding her teeth as she suppressed the emotions raging inside her.
She said to Jinyu, "I feel stifled and want to take a walk in the back mountain forest. There's no need for you to follow."
With that, she strode out abruptly.
Jinyu, still worried, followed a few steps to the courtyard gate to see what was happening.
But when she spotted a reddish-brown falcon flying in from the distance, she halted her steps.
Lin Ruochu walked swiftly, heading straight into the depths of the forest. Only when the icy cold air filled her lungs did she slowly stop, breathing heavily.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face, mingling with the cold air, stinging like knife cuts, yet she remained oblivious.
Even the pain-fearing Female Ghost forgot to complain, murmuring to herself:
[How could this be…]
Hearing her voice, Lin Ruochu was consumed with overwhelming hatred. She wanted to pull out her hairpin and stab her own heart, perishing together with the culprit attached to her!
Tao Yuan!
That cheerful, lively Tao Yuan, who even in her final moments before being taken away, was begging for someone to release her!
She actually had her limbs broken, was bound with iron chains at home, living a life worse than that of dogs and pigs!
Beast!
That butcher is a beast!
It had been two years since Tao Yuan was sold to him—had she been living like this all this time?!
Lin Ruochu's heart burned with agony. She truly raised her wrist, aiming the sharp hairpin at her own chest.
She had sharpened this hairpin; its edge was honed, as sharp as a dagger. With the force of her palm, if she thrust it down straight, no matter what tricks the Female Ghost might have, it would surely end her life!
Lin Ruochu genuinely wanted to kill her, driving the hairpin down with fierce determination.
Suddenly, a gust of wind approached.
A large hand forcefully gripped her wrist.
The hairpin slipped from her grasp.
Lin Ruochu looked up, meeting Li Xuan's dark eyes filled with anger.
"What are you doing?"
Li Xuan frowned at her, his tone barely containing shock and fury.
"You want to… take your own life?"
He was both anxious and angry, unable to imagine what irreparable tragedy might have occurred if he had arrived a moment later.
The Lin Ruochu he knew would never do something like abandoning her life!
What had she endured during these three years he was away?
Li Xuan's broad figure blocked the sunlight filtering through the tree canopy.
Enveloped in this shadow, hearing his furious rebuke, Lin Ruochu felt no fear. Instead, amidst her pain, she regained a sliver of rationality.
Earlier, in her frantic rage, she had only wanted the female ghost inside her body to face retribution, nearly harming herself in the process—an act that Li Xuan likely viewed as no different from suicide.
But now, she had no time to dwell on this misunderstanding. Trembling uncontrollably, she frantically grasped Li Xuan’s hand, clinging to him as if he were her last lifeline, and urgently asked:
“Li Xuan, Li Xuan, have you gone to see Tao Yuan? Is it true that her hands and feet were broken and she was locked in the backyard? Did you rescue her? How… how is she really?”
Hearing her words, the anger in Li Xuan’s eyes shifted to understanding.
He knew that Lin Ruochu and Tao Yuan had been as close as sisters since childhood. If it was for Tao Yuan’s sake, it made sense that she might lose her composure in a moment of desperation.
He clasped Lin Ruochu’s ice-cold hand in return and led her a few steps deeper into the woods. After ensuring they were completely alone, he guided her to a large boulder nearby, removed his cloak, spread it over the stone, and helped her sit down.
Throughout it all, Lin Ruochu remained numb and unresponsive, like a walking corpse, her eyes fixed anxiously on Li Xuan.
She was almost too afraid to ask.
Li Xuan’s presence here almost confirmed the worst possible answer.
He must have had something crucial to tell her in person—otherwise, he had many ways to send her a message.
Even the coded signals used in the military—she was familiar with some of them.
Lin Ruochu felt a chill run through her entire body as she waited for Li Xuan to deliver the worst news himself.
Seeing her like this, Li Xuan felt a pang in his chest so sharp it stole his breath. Gazing intently into her eyes, he spoke with utmost seriousness:
“A Chu, the woman locked in that courtyard… it wasn’t Tao Yuan.”
Lin Ruochu’s heart shuddered violently.
“Not Tao Yuan? How… how do you know…?”
“I went to see for myself. It was a stranger, not Tao Yuan. I tied up the butcher, and he confessed—Tao Yuan escaped on the very night she was bought. The woman there now was someone he knocked unconscious and abducted from the fields outside the city.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Ruochu felt the world spin around her, a wave of dizziness washing over her as sensation slowly returned to her body.
“You’re saying… Tao Yuan… ran away?”
Li Xuan nodded. “Yes. I interrogated the butcher myself for a full day—he gave a clear account.”
“He bought her in the afternoon. He and his mother used a meat cart to smuggle her out of the city, hidden among the scraps of meat. They tied her up in the bedroom, intending to… consummate the marriage that night. But when he stumbled in, drunk and full from his meal, he found that she had somehow tied bed sheets and a stool leg together, smashed the window, and jumped out to escape.”
“He and his village friends searched for days but couldn’t find her. When he went to the General Residence to demand an explanation, Steward Qian bullied him with his authority, refused to take responsibility, and had the guards drive him away. Furious and resentful, he and his mother kidnapped a woman from the outskirts instead.”
As she listened, Lin Ruochu unconsciously tightened her grip on Li Xuan’s hand, her heart aching. By the end, she finally regained her senses:
“What happened to that woman?”
“She’s safe. I sent her to a clinic for treatment.”
Slightly relieved, she asked again:
“Then… have you found any clues about where Tao Yuan might have gone?”
Li Xuan shook his head regretfully.
“That’s exactly why I came to see you. Too much time has passed, and I didn’t bring enough men this time. We haven’t been able to locate Tao Yuan yet.”
He had wanted to tell her in person, afraid she would worry if she heard the news indirectly.
…Thank goodness he had come.
Li Xuan felt a lingering fear at the thought.
Lin Ruochu was already imagining Tao Yuan's escape.
Indeed, Tao Yuan had practiced martial arts with her since childhood. Though she hadn't delved deeply and only learned the basics, she was never one to resign herself to fate.
Initially, Lin Ruochu thought Tao Yuan had failed to resist and had her limbs broken by the butcher. But now, hearing Li Xuan's account, it seemed she had actually managed to escape on her own…
Though her heart still felt unsettled, there was finally a glimmer of hope.
She could still find Tao Yuan and bring her back.
The Female Ghost also let out a long sigh: 【Thank goodness, not too much sin committed.】
Lin Ruochu snorted coldly. Hadn't she committed enough sins already?
Coming back to her senses, she belatedly realized that her hand was tightly clasped with Li Xuan's.
No, to be precise, she was gripping Li Xuan's hand tightly with both of her own.
Her heart, which had just calmed down, began racing wildly again.
Lin Ruochu abruptly let go.