Tingzhuyuan.
Song was offering incense in the small Buddhist shrine when she saw Liuzheng enter with a sword hanging from her arm, and she immediately frowned.
“How can you bring a sword into a small Buddhist shrine?”
“His Majesty allows me to bring a sword into the palace, but my mother’s small Buddhist shrine does not allow me to bring a sword in. If word gets out, wouldn’t that displease His Majesty? Besides, I’m used to carrying a weapon for self-defense at the border.”
“Now, if I say one sentence, you can come up with a hundred to counter me.”
“The daughter was just thinking of her mother.”
Song opened her mouth to curse, but then remembered the important matter and barely managed to suppress her anger.
“Every day I collect Buddhist rice for your elder brother for an hour, hoping for Buddha’s blessing. Today I’m not feeling well, so you can collect the Buddhist rice for me.”
Liuzheng nodded: “Yes. I had my brother’s leg broken, so I should personally pray for his recovery.”
Song’s cheek twitched violently.
“Are you deliberately trying to annoy me?”
“Why would Mother think that way? I only feel guilty.”
“If I truly felt guilty, I wouldn’t have taken action.”
“If we don’t take action, the lives of our entire family of over a hundred people will be in danger.”
Mrs. Song was so angry that she kept pounding her chest.
She took several deep breaths to calm her anger before turning away and leaving.
“You are not allowed to come out until you have collected all the materials for a full hour!”
Liuzheng seemed to be looking in the direction Song Shi had left, her moon-like eyes slightly narrowed.
Something’s not right.
Despite her words, the First Madam managed to hold back her anger twice.
Liuzheng’s gaze swept around the small Buddhist hall before she finally knelt down to offer incense.
She silently prayed: “Buddha, Liuzheng has offered you three sticks of incense. If blood is seen in the Buddha hall, please forgive me.”
She looked up at the compassionate Buddha statue, her gaze resolute.
Granny Liu stepped forward.
“Young Miss, this is Buddha Rice…” She quickly explained the rules for picking Buddha Rice, speaking faster than usual.
Liuzheng knew something was wrong, but her expression remained unchanged. She simply took the bowl and, as Liu Mama had instructed, evenly sprinkled the rice on the ground.
Then, after each recitation of “Amitabha Buddha,” pick up a grain of rice, and repeat this process.
Granny Liu glanced at it and quickly left.
As she left, she instructed the two maids at the door: “The young lady is collecting rice to pray for the young master’s well-being; please do not disturb her.”
They sent the people away.
Liuzheng heard a slight noise; the small Buddhist shrine was locked.
She pretended not to notice and continued picking up the rice.
About an incense stick’s time later, Liuzheng suddenly heard the west window click open and something jumped in.
When she could see clearly, a huge black dog raised its paws, baring its fangs, and lunged directly at her face.
It moved so fast that only a blur could be seen.
“Thump thump thump “
There was a sound of heavy objects colliding, followed by a gasp.
Song and Ruan Yunzheng stood not far from the small Buddhist hall.
Hearing the commotion coming from the small Buddhist hall, Madam Song put her hands together and said, “Amitabha, Buddha, please don’t be offended,” before slowly leading Ruan Yunzheng into the small Buddhist hall.
“Click”.
The door to the Buddhist hall was unlocked, and Ruan Yunzheng rushed to check the situation inside, only to see a huge black shadow pounce on her.
“ah!!”
Ruan Yunzheng screamed and instinctively raised her wrist to cover her face.
Her face was protected, but the black dog’s teeth were deeply biting into Ruan Yunzheng’s wrist.
Blood was everywhere.
Ruan Yunzheng fainted from the pain.
“Guards! Guards! Kill him! Kill him!!!” Song screamed.
Hearing the commotion, the black dog lunged at Song.
Liu Mama loyally protected Song Shi and stood in front of her, but the black dog tore off her ear.
Screams echoed continuously.
On the other side, Aunt Su and Master Ruan were having a post-meal walk when they happened to pass by Tingzhu Courtyard.
Hearing the commotion inside, Master Ruan rushed over.
Just then, they saw the black dog eating Liu Mama’s ear.
Granny Liu cried out in pain, covering her ears, while Ruan Yunzheng fainted after her arm was bitten.
Just as the black dog heard the commotion and was about to pounce on Master Ruan again, a flash of cold light appeared, and a long sword pierced straight into the black dog’s neck.
The black dog twitched a few times and then died.
Liuzheng glanced at the black dog.
She recognized the black dog.
After she was thrown into the well and died, Ruan Yunzheng somehow got a black dog and threw it into the well.
The black dog devoured her.
To destroy the evidence and cover up the crime.
That black dog is the one right in front of us.
Now, the ones being devoured are Ruan Yunzheng herself and Liu Mama, who serves the First Madam.
It’s just a pity we didn’t bite them to death.
Liuzheng quickly suppressed the emotions in her eyes and walked a few steps toward Master Ruan.
“Father, are you alright?”
Liuzheng’s sword is still dripping blood.
Master Ruan was a scholar; he had never killed a dog, let alone a chicken.
Still shaken, he grabbed Liuzheng’s hand, not daring to look at the black dog, and asked her, “Is it dead? Is that vicious dog dead?”
“Even if you die, your daughter won’t let it hurt you.”
Master Ruan breathed a sigh of relief, and his gaze toward Liuzheng changed somewhat.
For the first time, he clearly realized that Liuzheng was not a delicate daughter, but a brave female general who had crawled out of a pile of corpses.
“You are good.”
Liuzheng smiled and then went to ask Song Shi, who was stunned and speechless with fright.
“Mother, are you alright?”
As if waking from a dream, Song hugged Ruan Yunzheng, who was lying on the ground.
“Yun’er! Are you alright?”
He turned and glared fiercely at Liuzheng, blurting out, “Why are you alright?!”
Liuzheng looked surprised.
“What does Mother mean by this? Did Mother deliberately let this dog in to bite me?”
Song was stunned, a thousand words stuck in her throat, unable to be uttered or swallowed.
Even though one of her ears had been bitten off, Granny Liu endured the excruciating pain and said, “Miss, you’ve misunderstood. Madam is just relieved. How come you’re alright?”
“Of course I’m fine. It’s just a dog. I could kill ten of them too. Otherwise, how could I earn military merit for my family?”
Mrs. Song was so angry she felt like she was going to vomit blood.
It was only after Granny Liu reminded her to call the doctor first that she temporarily forgot about Liuzheng and hurriedly ordered people to carry Ruan Yunzheng to the main house in the courtyard to lie down.
After the group entered the house, Liuzheng walked up to Master Ruan and opened her palm.
There are a few grains of rice in my palm.
“Father, this Buddha rice smells wrong, like it’s been soaked in meat broth. This dog must have smelled the meat broth and jumped into the Buddha hall.”
Master Ruan took it and smelled it; it was indeed the smell of meat broth.
Thinking that he had almost been bitten by that mad dog, Master Ruan immediately flew into a rage.
“Investigate! You must find out the truth!”
Finding out the truth about this matter isn’t necessarily difficult.
Before the investigation even began, Granny Liu came out and confessed.
She knelt on the ground, crying uncontrollably.
“I was blinded by greed. The other day, I was scolded by the wet nurse in the young lady’s room, and I held a grudge, which is why I had such an evil thought. I deserve to die! I will never dare to do it again!”
Master Ruan pointed at Granny Liu on the ground and cursed, “Vicious woman! Hateful! Guards, beat her to death with sticks!”
Hearing the commotion, Song ran out.
“No! Granny Liu was my dowry maid, she’s been with me since I was little, sir, you can’t kill her!”
“But she committed a capital crime!”
“Then I’ll die in her place!”
“What nonsense are you talking about? She’s just a servant.”
“To me, she is family!”
In the end, Master Ruan had no choice but to spare Granny Liu’s life.
They ordered her to be beaten twenty times, then taken away in a donkey cart to a village in the countryside, and forbade her to ever return.
Although Madam Song saved Granny Liu’s life, she could no longer keep her by her side.
She fell ill that very night.
Although Ruan Yunzheng is not in mortal danger, she may be left with permanent scars on her hands.
The Tingzhu Courtyard was deathly still.
Liuzheng won a great victory.
However, when he returned to Tinglan Courtyard, he couldn’t smile at all.
Granny Jiang was puzzled.
“Why is Miss so unhappy even though it’s just because of Granny Liu?”
Liuzheng glanced at Granny Jiang and said, “Nanny, even Granny Liu, are family to the First Madam.”
Granny Jiang lowered her head, feeling extremely distressed.
She didn’t know how to comfort Liuzheng, because she didn’t understand how there could be a mother in the world who didn’t love her daughter.
She turned and went out to make Liuzheng a bowl of her favorite Changchun noodles.
Liuzheng tasted like wax when she ate it.
Seeing the black dog that should have bitten her, but was now under her control and lunging at Ruan Yunzheng and Granny Liu, she felt a sense of satisfaction, but… she was not happy.
Granny Jiang tried to tell her happy things.
“Judging by the distance, the old lady should arrive in three days.”
A trip to the Summer Palace takes three days round trip.
Packing takes a day, but I’ll be home in a week.
A smile did appear on Liuzheng’s face.
“I haven’t seen my grandmother for nine years. I wonder how she is doing.”
“The old lady is not picky about meat or vegetables and has always had a good appetite. I have heard that people with good appetites live long lives. The old lady must be very healthy.”
Liuzheng relaxed again.
Late at night, Pan Hong brought back two pieces of news.
First, on his way back to the capital, he met Uncle Jiang, who was also Liuzheng’s wet nurse’s husband.
He had once worked as an accountant in the Ruan family. Liuzheng asked her wet nurse to send him a message, asking him to come back and work for her.
Secondly, after reading Liuzheng’s secret letter, Prince Su Heng asked Pan Hong to pass on a message.
It can be summed up in one sentence, but really it boils down to two words: “Thank you.”
Prince Su was standing behind the screen at the time, so he didn’t even see Prince Su’s face, he only heard those two words.
Liuzheng then realized that the other party had already understood the contents of the secret letter.
She pursed her lips, a slight smile appearing on her face.
“This Prince Su doesn’t talk much?”
In her previous life, Liuzheng’s body was eaten by a black dog, and this Prince Su also kept a black dog by his side. She was terrified and never went near Prince Su, so she knew nothing about him.
Pan Hong replied, “Yes, from the moment I entered until Your Highness finished reading the secret letter, you only uttered those two words.”
He added, “This person should not be underestimated.”
How did you figure that out?
“It’s just…it’s just an intuition…”
He didn’t know what to say.
Human intuition is without reason.
Pan Hongran hadn’t even seen what Prince Su looked like, but he was so nervous that he broke out in a cold sweat.
Seeing his expression, Liuzheng didn’t ask any more questions.
“I understand. You’ve been traveling day and night, go and rest.”
“yes!”
After Pan Hong left, Liuzheng went to see Uncle Jiang.
A family of three is talking by candlelight.
Although they hadn’t seen each other for only a few days, the three of them felt as if they had been apart for a long time.
Liuzheng was about to leave, afraid of disturbing them, when her wet nurse noticed her.
“Is this Miss?” She came out to open the door.
Liuzheng asked with a smile, “Did I disturb you?”
“No, no, please come in, Miss.”
Liuzheng then went inside.
As soon as she entered the door, Uncle Jiang knelt down before her with difficulty.
“Young Miss!” Her voice was choked with sobs.
Liuzheng helped him up, her gaze falling on his legs.
“What did the doctor say about Uncle Jiang’s leg?”
“It’s basically useless…”
“I’ll have one of my men take a look at it for you another day.”
“No need…” Uncle Jiang avoided her gaze and said, “We’ve consulted several doctors, and they all said it can’t be cured. Miss, please don’t waste your time.”
Liuzheng sensed that he was intentionally hiding something, but it wasn’t malicious.
She nodded, echoing Uncle Jiang’s words: “Then take good care of yourself from now on and don’t do any heavy work anymore.”
“yes.”
Liuzheng exchanged pleasantries with the three of them for a while before returning home.
The next day, Liuzheng called Uncle Jiang over alone.
Uncle Jiang, leaning on his cane, was about to kneel before Liuzheng when she helped him up.
“Uncle Jiang, there’s no need for such formalities. Please have a seat.”
“yes.”
Uncle Jiang nodded, and as soon as he sat down, Liuzheng asked, “Uncle Jiang, did you hurt your leg in a fall?”
Uncle Jiang was startled, and suddenly stood up, but almost fell because of the weakness in his right leg.
A rough, large hand helped him up.
It’s Pan Hong.
“Thank you…”
He thanked him, but felt guilty and didn’t dare to look up.
Liuzheng said, “Since neither the wet nurse nor Yu Liu are here, Uncle Jiang, you might as well speak frankly.”
Uncle Jiang gritted his teeth and after a long while, he finally spoke: “My leg… is definitely not injured from a fall.”
That day, after the first wife drove their family out of the Ruan residence, they returned home by donkey cart.
At night, he went out of the inn to use the restroom, but was dragged out by several men in black and had his kneecaps shattered!
Before leaving, the men told him not to return to the Ruan residence, or they would kill him.
“I was afraid they would be frightened, so I said I fell while using the toilet. I didn’t mean to deceive you, please forgive me…”
Liuzheng had already guessed whose work this was.