“Do you still remember how we split up at Li Rao’s residence that night?”
“I do.”
Zhou Sinian’s expression turned solemn.
“That night, the Imperial Guards discovered a secluded courtyard inside the Vice Minister’s residence. Several women were being kept there. We hid in the shadows and observed for quite some time. They didn’t look like concubines brought into the household—they looked more like ordinary girls who had been abducted.”
If that were true, the matter was far more serious.
Pei Yunting’s brows knit tightly together.
“What makes you think so?”
“The courtyard was enormous, yet divided into several cramped rooms built side by side. I sent the Imperial Guards to investigate, only to find that six girls were crammed into a single room. Most of them were still very young. They all slept together on one large kang bed, and not a single maid attended them.”
He drew in a deep breath.
“Several of the women weren’t even properly dressed. They already seemed mentally broken. An old matron chased them around, beating them mercilessly. I had the Imperial Guards knock the matron unconscious before questioning the girls, but the moment they saw us, they scattered like frightened birds. Each one hid herself away, refusing to see anyone.”
“What do you intend to do?”
As the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Zhou Sinian possessed unwavering integrity and a righteous heart.
Like many scholars of conviction, he despised injustice. Yet beneath that scholarly bearing lay the spirit of a true knight-errant. There was no way he could simply turn a blind eye.
“I’ll investigate,” he said firmly.
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes, as though he wished to cleave through every darkness in the world.
“I refuse to allow such filth to exist under my watch.”
The meal that followed was anything but peaceful for Zhou Sinian.
His mind replayed every detail from that night over and over, searching for clues. At the same time, he worried about how to determine the identities of those women and how to safely send them back home.
Had Pei Yunting not subtly helped cover for his distraction during the meal, he would surely have embarrassed himself before everyone.
Unable to sit still any longer, Zhou Sinian excused himself, claiming that official business awaited him at the Court of Judicial Review.
Fortunately, the elders all adored him and asked no further questions. They simply had Pei Yunting accompany him part of the way.
Inside the carriage, Pei Yunting watched Zhou Sinian’s frosty expression.
Without saying anything, she poured him a cup of tea and handed it over.
“Don’t rush things. This won’t be resolved overnight. When you care too much, your judgment becomes clouded. Stay calm.”
Only then did Zhou Sinian’s tightly furrowed brows ease somewhat as he slowly let out a long breath.
Just as Pei Yunting was about to continue speaking, the carriage suddenly screeched to a halt.
The entire carriage lurched violently.
She nearly fell to the floor before Zhou Sinian reached out and steadied her.
Before either of them could recover, the servant outside shouted,
“Forgive us, My Lord! This old woman suddenly rushed out and blocked the carriage!”
The two exchanged glances.
Pei Yunting lifted the curtain.
The elderly woman blocking the road was covered in mud.
Her clothes were old and tattered, patched over countless times. Her hair had long since come loose, likely from running desperately all the way here.
Pei Yunting narrowed her eyes as she examined the old woman lying on the ground, gasping for breath, her frail body trembling.
What could have driven her to run with such desperation?
Beside her, Zhou Sinian looked through the carriage window.
“She came from the direction of Qingshi Alley.”
Qingshi Alley.
The Vice Minister’s residence.
In that instant, scattered fragments in their minds connected into one complete picture.
“You’re a servant from Li Rao’s household?”
The old woman immediately burst into tears.
“Honored benefactors! Please save my young lady!”
She slammed her forehead heavily against the ground.
“My young lady has suffered such a bitter fate! Please save her! This lowly servant is willing to become your ox or horse in repayment!”
A trace of pity flashed across Pei Yunting’s face.
Turning to look beside her, she found Zhou Sinian wearing nearly the exact same expression.
She instructed Yi’er to help the old woman into the carriage.
The woman waved her hands frantically.
“No… no… How could this lowly servant dirty the honored benefactor’s carriage…”
“There’s no need to worry about that. And stop calling yourself a lowly servant.”
After quietly instructing Yin’er to carry out a few errands, Pei Yunting handed the woman a cup of warm tea.
“If you truly wish to save your young lady, I will send someone to fetch the finest physician available. But you must tell us everything exactly as it happened. Otherwise, we will not involve ourselves.”
“Yes… yes! Thank you, honored benefactor! I shall tell you everything I know.”
She drained the tea in one gulp before continuing.
“This old servant is my young lady’s wet nurse.”
“My young lady was originally the daughter of the local magistrate. She was treasured since childhood.”
“But last year, that dog of an official, Li Rao, came to our town. For reasons unknown, he took a fancy to my young lady and insisted on taking her as a concubine.”
“Of course my master refused. He pleaded, coaxed, and offered gifts until Li Rao finally left.”
“But only a few days later… our estate caught fire in the middle of the night.”
“My master… my master never made it out…”
“Because my young lady was kindhearted, she gave away the family fortune to compensate the families of the servants who died in the blaze.”
“Her mother had long since passed away. After her father died, she had no one left to rely on.”
“She planned to take only her two remaining maids and seek refuge with her maternal family.”
“But that shameless beast, Li Rao, lay in wait along the road.”
“He abducted her by force… brought her back to his residence… and violated her.”
“When my young lady resisted to the bitter end, he beat her nearly to death.”
“She has never fully recovered from those injuries.”
The old woman kept her head lowered.
Out of the corner of her eye, Pei Yunting clearly saw Zhou Sinian’s fists clench tightly beneath his sleeves.
“Not long afterward, he lost interest in my young lady and turned to favor other women.”
“My poor young lady… even during the coldest days of winter, she didn’t have a single decent set of clothes to wear.”
“If I weren’t there to look after her… how could she possibly survive?”
The old woman wiped away her tears, her voice choking with sobs.
“A few days ago, her old injuries flared up again.”
“At first, we could still bribe the steward into secretly buying medicine for her.”
“But recently… no matter how much we begged, he refused.”
“Several concubines who had quarreled with my young lady before only kicked her while she was down.”
“They mocked her for pretending to be noble and said she deserved her miserable end.”
“But she’s still so young… about the same age as this honored young lady…”
“How is she supposed to live the rest of her life?”
The stench of wine and meat fills the mansions of the rich, while people freeze to death by the roadside.
Nothing illustrated that truth better.
“At noon today…”
“This old servant watched helplessly as my young lady’s condition worsened until she was on the verge of death.”
“I heard that the villain Li Rao had gone out, so I seized the opportunity and risked this old life to escape.”
“I only wished to use the last few coins I possessed… to hire a physician to save my young lady.”
She dropped to her knees once more before Pei Yunting and Zhou Sinian, kowtowing repeatedly.
“I beg you both… please accumulate virtue and save my young lady!”
“This old servant’s life is yours to command!”
“You may tear out my heart or drain my blood if you wish!”
“I have no family left in this world.”
“My young lady is my only remaining reason to live.”
“I beg you… please save her!”
The old woman pleaded over and over, every word carrying the resolve of someone prepared to die.
Outside the carriage, Yi’er listened until tears welled in her eyes.
She couldn’t help but empathize.
If anything ever happened to her own young miss—if her life hung by a thread—she too would gladly trade her own life without hesitation.
At last, Zhou Sinian spoke.
“Don’t worry.”
“I will obtain justice for your young lady.”
The old woman’s head snapped upward.
Hope suddenly illuminated her gaunt face. Tears instantly filled her eyes.
“Thank you, honored benefactors! Thank you, My Lord!”
Pei Yunting helped her to her feet and pressed a token into her hand.
“Wait at the entrance. My people will soon bring the physician. One of them will accompany you inside. With her there, no one will dare stop you.”
“If you encounter any difficulties in the future, take this token to the Zhen’an Marquis Manor and ask for Second Miss Pei.”
“If that doesn’t work, go to the Court of Judicial Review and ask for Lord Zhou.”
Only then did the old woman realize their true identities.
Terrified and overwhelmed with gratitude, she hurriedly tried to kneel again, but Pei Yunting stopped her.
“It was only a small effort after witnessing injustice.”
“There’s no need to mention it.”
The night grew deeper.
The autumn breeze carried an icy chill beneath the moonlight.
For some reason, Pei Yunting suddenly thought of someone.
Without anyone reminding her, she found herself wondering—
Had he remembered to put on warmer clothes?
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Youzhou…
Inside a cold, damp dungeon sat a black-haired young man whose expression was calm yet overwhelmingly imposing.
Leaning lazily against his chair, he faced a man bound tightly to a torture frame.
There was scarcely a patch of unbroken skin left on the prisoner’s body.
Only the faintest thread of life remained.
“I’ll give you one last chance.”
Yan Huaijin’s voice was cold.
“Which Great Qi official has been working with your group?”
“What is his name?”
The prisoner merely used the last of his strength to glare hatefully at the exquisitely handsome young man before him.
His bloodshot eyes burned with venom.
“If you won’t speak…”
“Then you’re of no further use.”
Yan Huaijin curved his lips into the faintest smile.
His tone was so indifferent that it hardly sounded like he was sentencing someone to death.
“Kill him.”
Those ink-black eyes held nothing but icy coldness.
Not the slightest trace of mercy.
Ruthless.
Unfeeling.
The moment the order was given, a long blade plunged straight into the prisoner’s chest.
It tore open his heart, leaving a gaping hole.
The agony was so overwhelming that he couldn’t even scream.
Veins bulged across his forehead.
His nostrils flared desperately.
He clenched his fists, struggling with all his remaining strength.
It was useless.
Like a fish laid upon a chopping block, he was cut open alive.
After all resistance failed, life gradually slipped away.
The final image burned into his eyes before death was the same young man who had just calmly ordered his execution.
After carefully wiping every trace of blood from his hands, the youth reverently accepted a letter from his subordinate with both hands.
He then tucked it gently inside his robes…
Close to his heart.
At the warmest, most vulnerable place.
Lying upon the cold, damp ground soaked with fresh and dried blood alike, the dying man slowly closed his eyes.
How utterly ironic.