“Zheng Yunni is missing?”
The Embroidered-Uniform Guard nodded, then turned back toward the edge of the plum grove.
Huo Weilou’s narrow eyes swept over, and indeed, he saw a maid standing outside, visibly anxious.
Huo Weilou immediately ordered: “Summon Zheng Wenan and Zheng Wenrong.”
The guard obeyed and left.
At that moment, He Cheng and other guards also climbed up from the bottom of the well. One of those who had searched the other tunnels reported: “My lord, the other passages lead respectively to the southwest and northwest lotus ponds inside the estate. The northern passage leads outside the residence but has been blocked by silt. None of these places showed further traces of people.”
Huo Weilou nodded. “Confiscate everything hidden in the secret chamber beneath the ancestral hall.”
Bo Ruoyou then stepped forward. “Marquis, Miss Zheng could not have vanished without cause.”
The murderer, during the previous two attacks on Zheng Wenyan and Zheng Wenzhen, had first lured them away from their usual quarters before striking.
Now that Zheng Yunni had suddenly disappeared, Bo Ruoyou felt deeply uneasy. Yet Huo Weilou’s expression remained calm. He instructed several guards to stay behind, then led the others out of the plum grove.
Zheng Yunni’s maid, named Hua Yi, saw Huo Weilou approaching with his men and immediately knelt to the ground. “Greetings, My lord.”
Huo Weilou looked down at her from above. “When did Zheng Yunni disappear?”
Hua Yi was on the verge of tears, her eyes red. “Just two hours ago. The young lady said she wanted to go out for a walk alone and forbade us maids from following. So we stayed in the courtyard. Later, when it grew dark and she still hadn’t returned, we went out to search. But when we asked the guards along the way, they all said they hadn’t seen her. The young lady left the courtyard and vanished not long after…”
Hua Yi wiped her tears, glancing fearfully at the pitch-black forest around them.
“Did she show any unusual behavior before leaving?”
Hua Yi shook her head. “No… no unusual behavior…”
Though she said this, her eyes dropped. Huo Weilou’s voice turned cold: “The killer is hiding within the estate. Your young lady is very likely in danger. If you conceal anything, do you understand the consequences?”
Huo Weilou’s presence was already overwhelming, and now his voice turned chilling. To Hua Yi, his gaze felt like a blade suspended above her head. Her shoulders trembled slightly. Pressing her lips together, she lifted her head. “The young lady… the young lady’s temper has been very bad these past few days. After Third Master died, she said the killer’s next target would be her. For two nights in a row, she had us maids sleep with her in the inner chamber. This afternoon, when she heard from a servant boy that you had brought men to dig up the well, her expression immediately changed. She grew restless, stayed in her room for a while, then said she was going out to see the Eldest Madam. But once she left… she never came back.”
It was only after hearing about the well being dug that she left.
Bo Ruoyou frowned—did Zheng Yunni actually know about the underground chamber?
Hua Yi shrank back, her face full of fear. At that moment, Zheng Wenan and Zheng Wenrong hurried over. They bowed before Huo Weilou.
Zheng Wenrong’s expression was grave, while Zheng Wenan glanced past Huo Weilou’s shoulder, his face subtly shifting.
Zheng Wen’an said, “Marquis, what are your orders?”
His head lowered, his tone nervous. Huo Weilou looked at him. “Zheng Yunni is missing.”
Zheng Wenan’s head snapped up, his usually gentle face now showing horror. “Yunni… how could she be missing? Could it be…please save Yunni, surely the killer intends to harm her!”
Zheng Wenrong also grew anxious. “How could Yunni vanish without reason…”
“Why would the killer target her?” Huo Weilou’s eyes were as sharp and cold as a sword as he fixed them on Zheng Wenan.
Zheng Wenan’s back stiffened. His hand clenched and unclenched at his side, then finally balled into a fist. At last, he said, “The killer… the killer bears a grudge against our household. Yunni is the eldest daughter, so naturally she would be a target.”
A glint of frost appeared in Huo Weilou’s eyes. Bo Ruoyou’s brows knitted tighter, while Eunuch Fu sighed, his gaze turning indifferent.
Huo Weilou’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Even now you refuse to speak the truth. The reason you believe Zheng Yunni would be murdered is because her birthday is not on the seventh day of the second month, but on the fifth.”
Zheng Wenan’s eyes trembled violently. “Marquis… what do you mean by this? Yunni’s birthdate was long ago submitted to the capital—it… it cannot be false…”
Zheng Wenrong looked uncertainly from Zheng Wen’an to Huo Weilou, but did not speak.
Yet Huo Weilou was not finished. He enunciated each word: “On the fifth day of the second month in the fifteenth year of Jianhe, halfway through the hour of the Tiger—it was a yin year, yin hour.”
Zheng Wenrong’s face changed, and Huo Weilou continued: “And not only is Zheng Yunni’s recorded birthday false—she also has a twin sister.”
This statement struck Zheng Wenrong and Zheng Wenan like thunder, leaving them frozen in place.
Zheng Wenrong was shocked; Zheng Wenan was terrified.
Huo Weilou’s words were cold and hard as iron. No matter how Zheng Wenan tried to conceal it, he could not help but raise his head now, his eyes full of panic, his lips trembling, unable to form a complete sentence. “How… how could this be…”
Huo Weilou’s gaze grew even colder. “Sixteen years ago, because of the matter of the twin daughters, you replaced all the servants of the Marquis’s household. When this case broke and the killer left behind the words ‘yin year, yin hour,’ you knew at once that the murderer must be someone aware of that past event. After consulting with Nanny Yu, you decided to destroy the secret chamber beneath the ancestral hall, so that we would have no way to investigate. Because the evidence there was not just a piece of paper or a garment—it was several entire rooms where living people had once been imprisoned. You did not have time to erase every trace, so you burned the ancestral hall itself.”
Zheng Wenan’s face instantly drained of all color. “Marquis… without proof…”
“You want proof?” Huo Weilou’s voice carried no emotion, and that very lack made it all the more terrifying. “The ancestral hall was burned, and most of the secret chamber beneath it collapsed. But you did not realize that the chamber was connected to an old hidden canal. The person you imprisoned did not die—she escaped on her own. And now she has returned to take revenge on you, her cold-blooded kin.”
Zheng Wenan’s eyes shot up to Huo Weilou, filled with shock and fear, as though his worst nightmare had just been confirmed and he could not bear it. His knees weakened, and he staggered back two steps, nearly collapsing.
Zheng Wenrong quickly caught him. “Fifth Brother, what is going on?”
Zheng Wenan swallowed with difficulty, his eyes darting rapidly, but no words would come. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, leaving him with the hollow sense of impending doom. “Don’t ask me… I don’t know… I know nothing…”
Huo Weilou glanced at Zheng Wenrong. “You once said twins are inauspicious. If born in a yin year and a yin hour, they are an even greater curse. Your mother, your brothers—seeking to preserve the Marquis household’s wealth and honor—hid one of the twin daughters in the underground chamber. For sixteen years she lived in darkness, her life more wretched than yours.”
Zheng Wenrong himself was a twin, sent away since childhood, never enjoying the privileges of a Marquis’s son. He had long lamented the unfairness of fate. But he never imagined that sixteen years ago, the Eldest Madam had also given birth to twin daughters—and that the household, in order to secure marriage ties with the Second Prince, chose to imprison one of them underground for sixteen years.
Remembering how the Eldest Madam had suddenly gone mad back then, Zheng Wenrong’s long-held suspicions finally found their answer. His eyes surged with turmoil. Looking again at Zheng Wenan’s face, he could see—even if Zheng Wenan still denied it—that Huo Weilou’s words were true. Gritting his teeth, he asked with difficulty, “Then now… where is she? Where is that child?”
Huo Weilou replied: “The underground chamber is empty. She must still be hiding somewhere in the estate. Since this place had been discovered, she would surely have been alarmed. And at this very moment, Zheng Yunni—knowing we were digging the well—left her courtyard and disappeared.” He looked at the two brothers. “Tell me, where has she gone? And what is she trying to do?”
Zheng Wenan immediately said: “This has nothing to do with Yunni. She knows nothing.” His eyes reddened as he spoke, whether from guilt over the past or anguish at the thought of the Marquis household’s downfall. “Back then, only our elders knew the truth. She knows nothing of it. It must be the killer who wants to harm her…”
At this point, Zheng Wenan finally stopped denying it, almost tacitly admitting Huo Weilou’s words. “My lord, please send men to search immediately. Don’t let her be harmed as well. This matter has nothing to do with her. I… I don’t want to see anyone else in the household die.”
His voice was hoarse, his expression grief-stricken, as though he might burst into tears at any moment. Seeing that he truly did not know the full truth, Huo Weilou frowned. “Send men to search Sha Gu’s quarters. She also went missing this afternoon. She also must be investigating. As for Zheng Yunni…”
Huo Weilou was giving orders to the guards, but his gaze swept toward Hua Yi, who had been kneeling on the ground all this time. When he mentioned that Sha Gu was also missing, he noticed Hua Yi’s expression change. Fixing his eyes on her, he asked, “Do you know something?”
Hua Yi trembled all over. Her lips moved, but she seemed to be hiding a terrible secret she dared not speak.
Zheng Wenrong pressed urgently: “What do you know? Do you want your young lady to come to harm?”
Hua Yi burst into tears. “This servant… this servant thought… if anyone wanted to harm the young lady, perhaps it was Sha Gu… Sha Gu seeking revenge against her…”
Sha Gu seeking revenge against the young lady?
Zheng Wenrong was astonished. “Why Sha Gu? She was just a child picked up by chance. Though she mistakenly won Sister-in-law’s pity, surely she couldn’t be the one who was hidden away…”
Bo Ruoyou frowned at this. Sha Gu’s background had been investigated by the Old Madam. If she were truly that hidden child, why would they have kept her in the household? And her leg injury was real—she could not have committed murder. The Eldest Madam had taken her in only because she remembered she had once borne twin daughters, and treated Sha Gu as if she were another child.
Yet Sha Gu had fallen into the dry well and miraculously survived. The marks on the plum tree by the well showed someone often used ropes to go up and down. But if someone was in the well, who tied the rope above? And if someone went down, who removed the rope afterward? Thinking it through, only Sha Gu could have managed it. She often entered the plum grove under the pretext of picking blossoms for the Madam, arousing no suspicion. More than that, last night she appeared and distracted the guards, allowing the killer to escape.
Hua Yi shook her head, crying. “No… it’s because… because two years ago, when Sha Gu fell into the dry well—it was the young lady who pushed her down.”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone’s expression changed. Forced under questioning, Hua Yi revealed her mistress’s secret. Terrified, she collapsed to the ground. “I am not lying. Sha Gu somehow won the Eldest Madam’s favor, but the young lady resented her. That time… that time, Sha Gu came to the plum grove to pick blossoms, and the young lady hardened her heart and pushed her down. I was with her then. Only the young lady and I know of this.”
Having said it all in one breath, Hua Yi lay limp with fear. By revealing this, she knew she would never again be allowed to serve at the young lady’s side.
Bo Ruoyou felt a chill in her heart. Sha Gu was ugly and simple-minded, barely surviving in the household except for the Eldest Madam’s occasional pity. If the Eldest Madam had not been ill, it might have been tolerable. But her madness brought little benefit to the Fool, and instead drew misfortune. Not only did the servants bully her, even the exalted young lady of the Marquis’s household harbored murderous intent toward her.
Chun Tao had previously only said that Sha Gu fell into the dry well, and Bo Ruoyou had assumed it was due to her clumsy nature. She had never considered that it might have been an attempted murder. And Zheng Yunni—was it simply because the Eldest Madam showed Sha Gu too much affection that she wanted to kill her?
“You… what nonsense are you speaking? How could Yunni possibly lay hands on a lowly maid?”
Even now, Zheng Wenan continued to defend Zheng Yunni. She was betrothed to the Second Prince, raised since childhood as the jewel of the household. Even though the scandal had now come to light and the marriage was uncertain, Zheng Wenan insisted on protecting her to the end.
Hua Yi shook her head, crying. “This servant does not lie. I only wished to save the young lady. When the accident happened, Sha Gu saw her. Later, when she was rescued, the young lady feared she would point her out. But Sha Gu seemed to forget the matter, and only then did the young lady relax. Yet whether she truly forgot, no one knows. If she suddenly bore thoughts of revenge, it would not be impossible.”
“The young lady’s status is exalted. If anyone were to harm her, this servant can only think of Sha Gu—or… or the killer.”
Bo Ruoyou frowned. Sha Gu had not forgotten—she simply dared not speak. With her lowly position, how could she accuse the young lady of attempted murder? Even if she did, she would be the one to suffer in the end.
Sha Gu not only knew who the killer was, but also carried this grudge against Zheng Yunni. That indeed made her dangerous.
Huo Weilou beckoned He Cheng forward. “Withdraw the guards from the ancestral hall. Search outward from Sha Gu’s quarters. Leave no place unchecked, especially the remote corners rarely visited.”
He Cheng answered repeatedly. Now that the truth of the case was gradually surfacing and the Marquis household’s old secrets were being exposed, he felt somewhat unsettled. But with Huo Weilou presiding, he could only serve diligently.
Seeing He Cheng give orders, Bo Ruoyou stepped forward to Huo Weilou. “My lord, this humble woman also wishes to look again at Sha Gu’s quarters.”
She meant to accompany the guards, but Huo Weilou glanced at her. “Come with me.”
At this point, there was no need for further speculation. Zheng Yunni had left her courtyard of her own accord, Sha Gu had vanished, and the ruthless killer with a tragic past was still hidden somewhere in the estate. On this cold, dark night, Huo Weilou would not allow another death in the Marquis household.
Since Huo Weilou insisted on going himself, Bo Ruoyou naturally followed. He ordered the guards to secure the dry well, then strode toward the servants’ quarters. Zheng Wenrong and Zheng Wenan, seeing this, also went along.
The sudden turn of events set the entire Marquis household in motion. Embroidered Uniform Guards tightened security and searched everywhere. Most of the servants were confined to their quarters, peeking anxiously through cracks in the doors.
The cold night was vast. The sky that had been clear and bright during the day now showed not a single star. The officers carried torches, lighting the area within a few feet as bright as day, but beyond that, the darkness loomed, shadows shifting as if hiding something.
They made their way to the servants’ quarters. Bo Ruoyou again saw the side room she had visited just the night before. The guards opened the door. Inside, all was silent and empty. Huo Weilou entered first, his gaze sweeping the room. The bed, table, and chairs were all in plain view—nothing seemed unusual.
Bo Ruoyou followed, her eyes falling once more on the bed. Beside the pillow lay the same crudely stitched sachet. Apart from that, the room held almost nothing that belonged to Sha Gu. Frowning, she noticed a worn, low cabinet by the bed. It was the only cabinet in the room, its door cracked. She stepped forward and opened it. Her eyes flickered as she saw what lay inside: a few old clothes, and on the top shelf—a lantern identical to the moon-rabbit lantern she had just seen in the underground chamber. One lantern here, one lantern there.
Bo Ruoyou pressed her lips together, a complex feeling rising in her heart.
She was now certain Sha Gu had once been rescued from the well. Someone who had lived underground for years would never have seen such lanterns. Even the simplest toy lantern, beloved by children, would be a treasure to her.
Huo Weilou came over when he saw Bo Ruoyou crouched before the cabinet. His eyes also shifted when he saw the lantern. Bo Ruoyou quickly calmed herself, took out the lantern, and searched through the clothes beneath. There were seven or eight garments, for all seasons. She found nothing unusual—until her eyes caught a plain green winter jacket.
It was the uniform worn by the household servants. Chun Tao had worn one in recent days. When Bo Ruoyou first met Sha Gu, she was also wearing this jacket. But afterward, she had been seen in a dark blue one instead.
A strange thought passed through Bo Ruoyou’s mind. She examined the jacket more closely. Nothing was hidden inside—but suddenly, her nose caught a faint damp, earthy smell. Her mind flashed like lightning. She froze.
The scent was faint, but she had just come from the underground canal. She knew it well. After a moment’s pause, she walked to the back window of Sha Gu’s room and pushed it open.
Outside was a small yard piled with odds and ends, half-melted snow making it damp and cold. But there was no pungent smell of silt. So where had the smell of silt she noticed yesterday come from?
Bo Ruoyou’s heart trembled. Her gaze wandered unconsciously. Then her eyes dropped—falling on the earthen steps built against the wall beneath the window. Her breath caught, and a chill spread through her limbs.
Because the eaves sheltered it, the steps beneath remained dry. At that moment, however, they bore muddy footprints—prints the same size as those Bo Ruoyou had carefully compared in the plum grove behind Zheng Wenyan’s study. Looking at them now, she could almost imagine that when she entered the room last night, someone had been leaning against the window frame, standing just outside this back window.
Bo Ruoyou felt the hairs on her arms rise. And suddenly, a more chilling possibility struck her.
Chun Tao had once said Sha Gu was uncanny.
The details of her first encounter with Sha Gu surged back into Bo Ruoyou’s mind. For a moment, she felt as though an invisible hand had closed around her throat, making it hard to breathe.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside. One of the guards searching the grounds hurried into the courtyard.
“Marquis, the young lady has appeared! She went to Eldest Madam, saying she would take her to pick plum blossoms.”
Bo Ruoyou snapped back to herself. As she reached the doorway, she heard Huo Weilou’s deep voice: “Pick plum blossoms? Did she explain where she had just been?”
The guard shook his head. “No. This subordinate did not see Miss Zheng directly. It was one of Eldest Madam’s maids, searching for her, who reported it. Now, Eldest Madam has already been taken out by the young lady. The maids wanted to follow, but the young lady forbade them.”
So Zheng Yunni had taken Eldest Madam alone to the plum grove?
Zheng Wenan, hearing that Zheng Yunni had appeared, felt reassured. “Yunni is very filial to Sister-in-law. Sister-in-law loves plum blossoms. There is nothing wrong with her taking her to pick them.”
But Huo Weilou said: “Send men to the plum grove. Do not allow the two of them to leave their quarters again.”
The guard obeyed. Huo Weilou turned back and saw Bo Ruoyou’s face pale. He frowned. “What have you discovered?”
Bo Ruoyou pressed her lips together, uncertain how to speak. But meeting Huo Weilou’s dark gaze steadied her racing heart. She said, “Last night… it may not have been the first time I saw the killer.”
Huo Weilou’s brows rose. Bo Ruoyou’s voice was strained. “On the day Third Master was murdered, I may have seen them already.” Her eyes flicked toward Eunuch Fu standing outside. “Eunuch Fu saw it too.”
Eunuch Fu stepped forward at once. “I saw it too?”
Both Huo Weilou and Eunuch Fu looked at Bo Ruoyou. She said, “I never understood it before. Though Sha Gu’s features resemble the young lady’s by three parts, her scars are so large that no one could possibly connect her appearance with the young lady’s. Nor should Eldest Madam have taken her in and cherished her as though she were her own daughter.”
This question was not only something Bo Ruoyou could not figure out—everyone else was equally puzzled.
Bo Ruoyou paused, then said: “But what if, in Eldest Madam’s heart, the other daughter’s face was always supposed to bear scars?”
Huo Weilou’s expression changed at once. He turned to Zheng Wenan: “When Eldest Madam gave birth to twin daughters, you decided to hide one. At that time, did you deliberately destroy the child’s face?”
At these words, even Eunuch Fu showed a trace of pity. A newborn baby—how could they bear to mar her face?
But Zheng Wenan shook his head. “No, we did not. Our household has had more than one set of twins. In our great-grandfather’s generation, there were twins too, and they were always sent away. But with Yunni, we dared not send her away. When she grew up, if anyone discovered they looked identical, it would be a crime of deceiving the Emperor. So we thought to hide one child. When Sister-in-law was pregnant, a betrothal was already arranged in the capital with the Noble Consort’s son. Later, when we moved south to Qingzhou, the Noble Consort often sent people to check on her. Knowing she was about to give birth, she even sent a nursemaid to care for her. With the nursemaid about to arrive, we had no choice but to hide the child in the ancestral hall. We did not destroy her face…”
Zheng Wenan’s voice grew lower and lower, clearly ashamed. But if they had not scarred the child, then where had the scars Bo Ruoyou mentioned come from?
Huo Weilou looked at Bo Ruoyou. She shook her head. “This point I have not yet guessed. Only…”
Before she could finish, He Cheng entered with two guards. “My lord, we found Sha Gu! She was hiding in the southern kitchen, trying to steal food…”
He Cheng had not finished when another officer rushed in.
“My lords, the young lady and Eldest Madam did not go to the plum grove. The brothers stationed there said they never saw them. Moreover, just now, two guards in the east saw Sha Gu. When questioned, she said she was also searching for Eldest Madam and the young lady…”
The officer stopped, realizing everyone’s expressions had changed. He was stunned, while He Cheng burst out: “Where did you say you saw Sha Gu? My men found her in the southern kitchen, stealing food. She has already been detained and taken to the front courtyard. How could you see her in the east?”
The officer was equally shocked. “It was two guards in the east who reported it…”
Everyone was dumbfounded. How could there be two Sha Gu at the same time?
“My lord, truly… there are two Sha Gu.” Bo Ruoyou suddenly spoke.
Huo Weilou turned to her, and she said: “That was exactly my meaning. The one hidden underground is also a woman with burn scars on her face, just like Sha Gu. Their figures are similar, and because of the scars, they can easily be mistaken for one another.” She looked at Eunuch Fu. “Eunuch, the first Sha Gu we met was most likely not the real one, but the killer hidden underground.”
Eunuch Fu’s expression finally changed. “That time… that time she was following the others to deliver offerings. That day she was helping in the Old Madam’s mourning hall—so that’s how she managed to steal the vajra pestle?!”
Bo Ruoyou nodded. Eunuch Fu covered his mouth in shock. “Heavens… I actually encountered the killer that early…”
Huo Weilou’s eyes were stern, ignoring Eunuch Fu’s belated fear. He turned to the officer. “Where is Sha Gu who went to look for Eldest Madam and the young lady?”
One Sha Gu had been caught stealing food in the southern kitchen. Another claimed to be searching for Eldest Madam and Zheng Yunni. The real Sha Gu would never dare approach Zheng Yunni, let alone seek her out. And since the killer would not stop striking, naturally, the one in the east was the impostor.
The officer said: “She was last seen on the eastern path toward the Yaoyue Pavilion. At this moment, she is likely heading toward Eldest Madam’s quarters.”
Huo Weilou immediately strode out. “The killer has appeared. Pull the guards from other directions to the east. She must be captured.”
Seeing him leave, Bo Ruoyou quickly followed. Huo Weilou’s pace was swift—she nearly had to run. Exiting the courtyard, he headed straight toward Eldest Madam’s quarters. The killer knew the estate’s layout well and also knew where guards were posted. Avoiding their eyes was not difficult. With the night’s darkness as cover, if she escaped tonight, who knew how long the pursuit would be delayed?
Huo Weilou’s expression was grim, his hand brushing the short dagger at his waist. His steps were rapid, and no one dared lag behind. Even Zheng Wenrong and Zheng Wenan followed, hearts pounding.
But as they neared Eldest Madam’s quarters, Huo Weilou suddenly halted. His phoenix eyes narrowed coldly, first sweeping over Eldest Madam’s residence in the distance, then shifting toward Yaoyue Pavilion.
From the path where Sha Gu was seen, Eldest Madam’s quarters lay to the east, while the Pavilion was northwest. Between them, the easiest escape route was the small path leading to the eastern bamboo grove.
Huo Weilou turned his tall frame toward the bamboo grove.
The night was ink-black. The entire northeast corner of the estate lay in darkness. Aside from guards at the plum grove, the vast bamboo forest and the empty lotus pond were unguarded. The bamboo grove, bordering the plum grove, was the most dangerous yet safest place. To hide in its dense thickets was ideal.
“Check Eldest Madam’s quarters. The rest, to the bamboo grove.”
At his command, one officer went to Eldest Madam’s quarters, while the others followed Huo Weilou east.
Bo Ruoyou looked toward the bamboo grove, a strange sense of fate stirring in her heart. Again the eastern bamboo grove… And recalling the two unlit moon-rabbit lanterns, she felt even more desolate. Was the killer pursuing Zheng Yunni and Eldest Madam out of hatred for a mother who could not protect her, and resentment that her twin sister lived in privilege while she suffered in darkness—so now she sought to strike them down?
A sudden cold wind swept across the ground. Huo Weilou’s robes billowed as he walked ahead, the golden dark patterns on his hem flickering in and out of sight. Under the wavering torchlight and lantern glow, his broad back seemed even more imposing. No one knew what Huo Weilou was thinking, nor did he explain why he chose this direction to search. Yet Bo Ruoyou never questioned his judgment—she had trusted Marquis Wuzhao from the very beginning.
Bo Ruoyou was familiar with the eastern path. But just as they turned a corner, Huo Weilou suddenly stopped. Unable to halt in time, she nearly collided with his back. He was much taller than her, and she did not understand why he had paused—until she looked past his shoulder toward the eastern sky and saw it first: thick smoke rising, tongues of flame leaping upward.
“Put out the fire.”
Before Bo Ruoyou could react, Huo Weilou uttered those heavy words.
He strode forward quickly, the guards surging after him. When he had gone a few steps, Bo Ruoyou’s view cleared—and she saw a sight that horrified her.
The eastern bamboo grove had somehow caught fire. Flames spread through dry leaves and wild grass, and with most of the snow already melted, half the grove had become a sea of fire, driven by the wind.
Fire! Another fire had broken out!
Huo Weilou had already rushed toward the burning grove. Eunuch Fu and He Cheng were thrown into panic.
He Cheng immediately ordered the guards to fight the fire, then turned to Zheng Wenrong and Zheng Wenan. “Go call the household servants at once! If this fire spreads, it won’t be like the ancestral hall…”
The ancestral hall was nearly isolated, surrounded only by centuries-old pines and cypresses, with no nearby buildings. But this bamboo grove was different. It lay close to the front courtyard. If the flames spread, the surrounding rocks, trees, corridors, and towers could carry the blaze across the entire estate. Zheng Wenrong and Zheng Wenan both turned pale.
Zheng Wenrong, steadier than his brother, quickly went to summon help, while Zheng Wenan stood frozen, staring at the fire without reacting.
Bo Ruoyou followed He Cheng and the others toward the grove. As they neared, she saw the guards from the plum grove gathered outside the bamboo forest. But the night wind was strong, the flames nearly uncontrollable. With the canal and lotus pond dry, how could they fight this fire? It was a dire problem.
Then Huo Weilou’s deep voice rang out: “Cut down the trees on the east and west sides. Use sand and soil to form a barrier. Have the servants fetch water and attack the fire from the windward side.” He lifted his gaze to the sky. “Fortunately, tonight the wind blows west.”
If the wind shifted toward the estate, the fire would be even harder to contain. Bo Ruoyou stared at the raging flames, wondering how the blaze had started. Though the grove held many dry leaves, most were damp from melting snow. Even if sparks fell, they should not have ignited. Yet now the forest was ablaze.
Just as this thought formed, a figure suddenly burst from the flames. Bo Ruoyou gasped—it was Zheng Yunni! Everyone outside the grove was stunned.
“Yunni?!” Zheng Wenan cried out first in shock.
Zheng Yunni had supposedly taken Eldest Madam to pick plum blossoms, but vanished before reaching the grove. Now she came running out of the fire itself. Even Bo Ruoyou could not suppress her astonishment.
Zheng Yunni stumbled out, sparks clinging to her clothes. Her face was smeared with ash, her garments burned through in many places, strands of hair singed. She collapsed to the ground, lifted her head, and cried, tears streaming: “Fifth Uncle, save Mother! That person… that person tried to burn us alive! Mother stayed behind to save me—she’s still inside!”
Her voice was hoarse, her face filled with terror. She trembled as she spoke, pitiful and desperate. Zheng Wenan turned in horror toward the flames. “What? Sister-in-law is inside?”
Huo Weilou looked down at Zheng Yunni. He raised his hand slightly to the two guards beside him, and they immediately followed the path she had just run out of, entering the fire.
Zheng Yunni still lay collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. “It’s… Mother is still inside…”
She turned her body, gazing into the burning forest, tears streaming. “Mother is still inside—please, save her!”
Zheng Wenan’s heart ached. He stepped forward and helped her up. “Yunni, what happened? Why did you come here?”
Zheng Yunni cried: “I came to take Mother to pick plum blossoms. But halfway there, we saw firelight in the grove. Mother was drawn to it and ran toward it. I couldn’t hold her back, so I followed. As soon as we entered, I smelled something strange. Then… that person appeared…”
“Which person?” Zheng Wenan asked urgently.
Zheng Yunni’s voice trembled. “It was… it was Grandmother’s ghost! She wore Grandmother’s robe, her eyes fixed on us. She said she had been waiting for us. Before she finished speaking, she threw a firebrand to the ground. That’s when I realized—the grove was soaked with tung oil…”
Zheng Yunni wept bitterly, unable to stand even with Zheng Wenan’s support. Clutching his arm tightly, she cried: “Fifth Uncle, please save Mother!” Then she turned to Huo Weilou. “My lord, please save her. Mother is ill—how could she possibly escape on her own?”
Her tears poured like a flood, each word piercing with grief. She was naturally beautiful and dignified, but now, fallen to the ground, her eyes red from crying, her face smeared with ash, she looked fragile and pitiable. To think she had just escaped the inferno, while her mother remained inside for her sake—He Cheng’s nose stung with emotion.
“Miss, the guards have already entered the fire. Do not be afraid. Eldest Madam will surely be rescued.”
Zheng Wenrong arrived with household servants carrying buckets of water. Seeing Zheng Yunni collapse, looking like a refugee, he was shocked. When Zheng Wenan explained that the killer had tried to burn her and Madam alive, Zheng Wenrong broke out in a cold sweat.
Zheng Yunni was nearly delirious with grief. Fearing her mother would not be saved, she crawled forward and clutched Huo Weilou’s robe. “My Lord, please send more men—more men to save her! Mother stayed behind to save me. Save her, save her!”
Her hoarse voice was heartbreaking, her upturned face etched with desperate pleading.
Huo Weilou looked at her, then suddenly bent down on one knee.
The distance vanished in an instant, as though a mighty lord had stooped to show compassion for a mortal tragedy. None of the onlookers found it surprising—who would not be moved by such a tearful beauty, begging only to save her mother?
“Women’s tears cannot move this Marquis.” Huo Weilou’s voice was cold and indifferent, carrying a chill. But his next words shocked everyone present. “Your mother did not fail to escape because she was saving you. It was you—who left her inside.”