A group of pampered noblewomen had never witnessed such a scene before. The young girl’s body was almost riddled with bloody wounds, with her arms, thighs, and shoulders still gushing blood. Her clothes and the carpet around her were already soaked through.
Her frail body had stubbornly shielded her trunk. Seeing Guo Hongying arrive, she collapsed to the ground as if relieved.
“Mom, you’re finally here. He… he… he wanted to steal things. I wouldn’t let him, so he… he just…”
Before she could finish speaking, the overwhelming effects of the drug, the pain, and the dizziness from excessive blood loss became unbearable, and she fainted.
Meanwhile, the “adulterer” arranged by Guo Hongying, Young Master Shen, stood there dumbfounded, holding a blood-stained pair of scissors, neither refuting nor resisting.
It took a while before someone snapped out of it, screaming repeatedly,
“Quick, quick, quick! Take her to the hospital, to the hospital!”
When she woke again, she saw a grayish-white ceiling, an IV stand by the bed, smelled the faint scent of disinfectant, and felt a sharp pain on the back of her hand.
Xu Zhitao couldn’t help but tremble, digging her nails into her palm. Had she passed the first hurdle?
“Miss Taotao, you’re awake?”
Xu Zhitao turned her head slightly. A maid stood beside Guo Hongying by the bed. Instantly, she put on an anxious expression, struggling to sit up.
“Mom, ouch… the things, were they stolen? Was that man caught?”
Guo Hongying truly didn’t know what expression or attitude to adopt at this moment. The man was someone she had brought, the trap was one she had set. She had intended to use this disgraceful method to rid herself of the girl once and for all, but the result was the opposite—it had backfired.
She was now in a difficult position.
The window had indeed been pried open, the rope was still hanging there, and there were indeed messy footprints in the backyard.
Most importantly, Young Master Shen had actually confessed to the attempted murder and theft.
He hadn’t exposed her, which relieved her, but in this situation, she didn’t even know what attitude to adopt next.
It seemed as though the girl had genuinely become a hero. It was bizarre, but she couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong.
“Hmm, the trunks are all still locked. The man has been caught. This time…”
Looking at the bandages on her body, which were already soaked through, Guo Hongying’s tone was stiff.
“This time, you’ve earned some credit. Rest well. When you’re discharged, I’ll buy you two new outfits.”
Xu Zhitao immediately broke into a smile.
“Really? Thank you, Mom.”
Once they left, she collapsed, her body soaked in cold sweat and blood.
That half-hour had been truly perilous!
She had immediately found a pair of scissors. She knew self-harm was the worst option, but it could slightly suppress the overwhelming effects of the drug. She had no other choice.
When the man lunged at her, her entire body stiffened, as if a stress response from her past life had taken over, leaving her unable to even dodge.
His cold, greasy fingers pinched her chin, then slid across her skin, tugging at her collar. The drug’s effects surged again, and her body unconsciously leaned forward to meet his. Facing the lust in his eyes and enveloped by that familiar, murky aura, she suddenly snapped back to reality. Panicking, she scrambled backward but stumbled weakly to the ground, only able to inch away bit by bit.
“Don’t come closer, please, don’t come closer!”
Young Master Shen was having fun, grinning as he dragged her around by one ankle in circles. Men were naturally strong, and the effects of the drug surged through her in waves. That feeling, that familiar sense of humiliation, made her wish she could kill herself. It was as if she had fallen back into the nightmare of endless, humiliating days without sunlight. She lost control, crying and screaming, struggling desperately, her hands clawing wildly at everything around her.
“Let me go, please, I beg you, spare me…”
She didn’t know what she grabbed, but there was a clattering sound—something had been knocked over, and many things fell. That familiar Mupai bounced twice and landed not far from her. Xu Zhitao’s struggling paused for a moment.
The Mupai? Yes, the Mupai!
She snatched the Mupai into her hand and quickly imitated Qin Tingting’s method, pressing it hard against the wound on her shoulder.
She knew this Mupai was her only chance, but she didn’t notice the faint white light quietly emanating from it, absorbing both her and the man inside.
She had only seen Qin Tingting use that Kongjian to hide and retrieve things, but when she entered, all she saw was an endless expanse of black soil, a well, and a small stream—nothing else.
Of course, she had no time to look around. The moment she entered the Kongjian, she ran, putting as much distance as possible between herself and that man.
After running a long way without hearing any sound, she slowly turned around and discovered that the man was standing motionless, as if he hadn’t moved since entering the Kongjian.
She tentatively spoke a few words and was delighted to find that, once inside the Kongjian, this man had lost his own consciousness, behaving more like a puppet, following one command after another.
He turned when told to turn, sat when told to sit, and walked when told to walk.
Puzzled, she brought him back out to test further.
To her surprise, the effect persisted even outside.
She felt a surge of excitement. Could this be… turning the enemy to her side?
She directed the man to pry open the window, jump down to leave footprints, and then climb back up.
She could have had him leave quietly, but then she thought: if this attempt failed, Guo Hongying wouldn’t give up. Since things had already gone this far—she had been injured, bled, and suffered pain—she couldn’t let it end without consequence, allowing them to pin a theft charge on her again.
And so, the scene Guo Hongying witnessed unfolded.
She knew there were many flaws in her rushed plan, but it was the quickest, most ruthless, and most direct method she could think of. Having been given a second chance at life, her goal was simple: to live, and to live with her integrity intact.
This birth mother of hers, divorced from an officer, had managed to remarry into the prominent capitalist Qin family in Shanghai as the mistress of the household, despite being a rural woman. She had enjoyed favor for four or five years, legitimately bore a son, and thrived in these circles—naturally, she was a formidable woman.
Xu Zhitao understood this all too well.
She also knew she was no match for her.
The incident had caused quite a stir, so Guo Hongying wouldn’t make any moves for a while. Thus, Xu Zhitao slept soundly, not even noticing when the nurse came to change her bandages and medicine.
She rested peacefully for three days. Guo Hongying didn’t show her face, but a maid delivered three meals a day punctually.
On the fourth day, she was discharged from the hospital and returned to the Qin residence.
Guo Hongying’s expression was still unpleasant, though slightly better than before. She reluctantly told Xu Zhitao not to wander around and to focus on recovering.
Seizing the moment while Guo Hongying was in a relatively good mood, Xu Zhitao timidly voiced her request,
“Mom, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going back to the countryside, back to Xujiaao. I’ll get married and have children there from now on.”
“…”
Guo Hongying stood up in shock.
“You want to go back to the countryside?”
To be honest, when she chose this daughter during the divorce, Guo Hongying still had some maternal love left. But over the years, her daughter’s various actions—being difficult, seeking attention, causing trouble, being timid, vain, lying, framing others, and constantly clashing with Tingting—had worn away most of her already limited maternal affection.
On top of that, after this incident, it wasn’t hard for anyone with eyes to see her intentions: it was all about marriage alliances. She wasn’t a good pawn either.
Leaving was the most appropriate choice.
If she was willing to leave, Guo Hongying was naturally happy to go along with it.
But the change was so fast, so sudden and decisive, that she couldn’t help feeling uneasy deep down. She slowly sat back down, her eyes fixed on her daughter like searchlights.
“Is that really what you want?”