After thirty slaps, Zhuang Wanqing’s face was swollen and red, her hair disheveled and clinging to her forehead and cheeks. She collapsed weakly to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Madam Zou watched, her heart aching so much she could hardly breathe.
Suddenly, a matron rushed in—it was one of those guarding the assassin.
“Old Madam, the assassin had poison hidden under their tongue. They refused to speak and are already dead.”
The Old Madam felt a sharp pain at her temples, suppressing her anger. “Go.”
Night deepened, swallowing the grand, ancient mansion into silence.
Dou Xueci had already returned to her own courtyard. Zou Yunjian had not yet awakened, with imperial physicians watching over him.
“Miss,” Xuelu said, “I don’t understand. Since we already knew Young Master Cousin harbored ill intent and let the assassin in, why didn’t we just let him die at the assassin’s hand?”
Xuelu, trained as a shadow guard, did not find the thought cruel. Those who schemed so vilely deserved death. She knew she had the skill to kill Zou Yuanjin silently, without anyone suspecting.
But Dou Xueci replied, “If he truly died saving me, then openly I would owe the Zou family a life. In the future, if they used it against me, and I refused, I would be branded ungrateful.”
She would never hand such leverage to the Zou family.
In truth, Dou Xueci had already seen through everything today—even the assassin’s strike was an opportunity she deliberately allowed. Had she stayed hidden, the assassin could never have reached her.
From the moment she began neglecting Zou Yunjian, she had been forcing Madam Zou to act. Feigning obedience and pity had failed, so naturally they tried other schemes.
Madam Zou had sent a letter to Zou Yunjian, plotting to let an assassin into the household and stage a “sacrifice play.”
But Yuxuan had been secretly watching Madam Zou all this time. Before the letter reached Zou Yunjian, its contents had already been intercepted.
“So… are we just going to let it go like this?” Xuelu was somewhat unwilling.
Dou Xueci suddenly glanced at Mu He, who had remained silent at her side. Her lips curved, her smile cold and sharp.
People must die, yes—but never because of her.
The next day, Dou Xueci went to Shou’an Hall to pay respects to the Old Madam.
On the way, Liu Yun reported that Zou Yunjian had awakened during the night. Upon learning the truth of what had happened, he spat a mouthful of blood and fainted again.
“Grandmother, your granddaughter wishes to ask your guidance: let us move Cousin out of the household, and prepare one of our estates in the capital for him to live in. All his attendants will be drawn from our own people.”
The Old Madam narrowed her eyes. In truth, she had long considered this, but had not found the right opportunity to say it.
“This is good. You sisters are growing up. It was fine before, but now it is no longer proper for him to remain here. Only—he was injured saving you. Do not treat him harshly.”
Dou Xueci smiled and agreed.
After she left Shou’an Hall, the Old Madam sat alone for a long time, sighing quietly.
“Old Madam, it has been confirmed—the assassin entered the household through one of the Eldest Madam’s people.” Zhi Ying came in to refill her tea, speaking softly at her side.
“Perhaps Xueci deliberately allowed it as well.”
Zhi Ying dared not reply. The Old Madam sighed again.
Madam Zou’s heart was truly vicious. She should never have softened back then, allowing her into the Dou family’s gates.
In the late emperor’s reign, eunuchs held sway, valuing letters over arms. The rot had seeped into the bones of court and country alike. At that time, Dou Changhong was still a young man, brimming with ambition but unable to realize it. In anger, he left and went to Jinchuan Prefecture. There, he saved a woman who had thrown herself into the river to die. That woman was Zou Nianqiu.
Madam Zou claimed her family had forced her to marry a man over fifty as a concubine. Unwilling, she had sought death instead.
After Dou Changhong saved her, Madam Zou did not cling to him. Instead, she swore she would never reveal that he had rescued her. After all, in that situation—her clothes soaked through—she had been carried up from the river in his arms.
That night, Dou Changhong, with good intentions, worried for her safety as a lone woman in the wilderness. He thought to guard her for one night and leave at dawn.
But before morning, the Zou family arrived. Seeing her spend the night outside with a man, they were enraged and wanted to throw her into a pig cage to uphold family honor!
Dragged across the ground, Madam Zou wept as though her heart were being torn apart. In the end, Dou Changhong’s compassion stirred. He petitioned the Zou family to marry Zou Nianqiu.
At that time, the Dou family was not yet prominent—the Old Master Dou was only a fifth-rank general. But to the Zou family, mere merchants, this was already a lofty match. Learning Dou Changhong’s identity, they naturally agreed with joy and married her off.
Three years later, fortune soared like a great roc rising with the wind, climbing ninety thousand li. The new emperor ascended the throne, and Dou Changhong was ennobled as Duke Protector of the Realm. Thus, Madam Zou, once a merchant’s daughter, became the exalted Duchess.
Past events could not be undone. The Old Madam’s eyes trembled slightly before she finally spoke: “Do not stain Xueci’s hands. Once the Zou boy is moved out, let him die quietly.”
Zhi Ying’s expression did not change; she nodded in assent.
The Old Madam stroked the prayer beads in her palm, murmuring softly, “What a sin…”
She had turned a blind eye for too many years, owing her granddaughter too much. But not everyone could be allowed to use vile, base tricks against the Dou family’s legitimate daughter.
Zhenhua Pavilion.
Mu He presented a list, recording every person the assassin had contacted after entering the household yesterday.
Dou Xueci had allowed the assassin in for another reason: to uncover the spies Madam Zou had planted within the estate. Now, she only needed to root them out one by one.
“When I investigated, I found Shou’an Hall was also looking into how the assassin entered the household.”
Mu He added, “Old Madam’s thoughts run far deeper than we imagine. She surely knows this was Madam Zou’s scheme.”
What Dou Xueci did not say was that—even if the Old Madam knew—she would never openly move against Madam Zou. The family’s reputation mattered more than anything; she would not allow the scandal to spread.
“I asked Grandmother to move Cousin out of the household. All his attendants will be arranged by us. Watch closely—don’t let him live too long.”
“Yes. The young master’s body was already frail, a congenital weakness. It has nothing to do with you, Miss.”
Dou Xueci lifted her gaze to Mu He, smiling faintly.
Liu Yun was the most loyal, but lacked subtlety. Yuxuan and Xuelu were skilled fighters, yet not deeply calculating. Only Mu He truly understood restraint and timing.
Three days later.
The palace sent Dou Xueci another supply of rare tonics. As usual, she divided them into three portions—for the Eldest Madam, the Old Madam, and Zhuang Wanqing.
Everyone in the household marveled at her generosity, praising the eldest young lady’s kindness.
The words Zhuang Wanqing had spoken that day—claiming Zou Yunjian’s deep love for Dou Xueci—were never repeated openly. Yet whispers could not be entirely contained. News spread that the Eldest Madam had tried to force her daughter to marry her nephew.
The household began to gossip, recalling how, when Dou Xueci first took charge, Nanny Zhang had tried to deceive her—actually under the Eldest Madam’s orders, meant to trap and embarrass her.
Added to the rumors from the polo gathering, saying the Eldest Madam favored her foster daughter, it painted a damning picture: Zhuang Wanqing flaunting her power in the Duke’s household, even disregarding the legitimate daughter. And yet Dou Xueci bore no grudge. She still cared for Zhuang Wanqing, sharing the best of everything with her.
“Miss, today. Young Master Cousin is leaving the household. At the outer gate, he refuses to go—he insists on seeing you one last time.”