"Are you awake, my lady?" Zhao Jingyu asked with a smile as he looked down at Xie Nanjia who was slowly opening her eyes.
"You are such a..." Xie Nanjia was speechless and glared at him lazily as if she had just woken up.
"She's really stunningly beautiful, isn't she?" Zhao Jingyu asked shamelessly.
"..." Xie Nanjia was too lazy to waste time talking to him and asked directly, "Did you gain anything last night?"
Zhao Jingyu was dissatisfied with her beauty being ignored by Chiluolu, so she deliberately made things difficult for her: "If you praise me a few times, I will tell you."
"..." Xie Nanjia hugged the quilt and sat up, "I don't know. If you don't tell me, I'll go ask Wei Jun."
"Wei Jun won't tell you without my order." Zhao Jingyu said.
"..." Xie Nanjia was forced to say against her will, "Second Master is handsome, suave, outstanding, a banished immortal, unprecedented and unrivalled, okay?"
Zhao Jingyu smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits: "Although the tone was a bit perfunctory, fortunately every word was true. I am indeed such an excellent man."
Xie Nanjia really couldn't beat him, otherwise he would have knocked him out long ago.
"Hurry up, we have caught all three people, let's go to court to try the case now." Zhao Jingyu said.
After catching three at once, Xie Nanjia immediately became excited: "Great, please go out first, I'll get dressed and come back."
Zhao Jingyu joked, "I've seen you take off your clothes, so why should I avoid you wearing clothes?"
Xie Nanjia: “…”
This guy is getting more and more outrageous. We have to think of a way to deal with him.
The two men went to the secret room arguing. Three men in black were tied up and thrown outside the secret room. They looked like they had suffered a lot. They all looked listless and weak. When they saw people coming in, they just rolled their eyelids.
The guard bowed and brought a chair for Zhao Jingyu to sit on.
As a maid, Xie Nanjia was not qualified to sit and could only stand next to him.
"Did you confess anything?" Zhao Jingyu asked as he lifted his clothes and sat down.
"No way, the bones are very hard." The guard replied.
"Humph!" Zhao Jingyu snorted coldly, "I don't believe there is anyone in this world whose mouth I can't pry open."
The three people lying on the ground looked at him silently.
"Use the torture instruments!" Zhao Jingyu said calmly.
Immediately, guards brought up a large tray with various torture instruments such as knives, axes, hammers, and whips on it.
Zhao Jingyu rolled up his sleeves calmly, looked around the tray for a moment, and finally picked out a small knife used by coroners for autopsies, which was thin and sharp, and flashed with cold light.
"I heard that this kind of knife is the most suitable for skinning. I have wanted to try it for a long time. Today I have the opportunity. Let's start with the leader!" He looked at the three people and asked leisurely, "Who is the leader among you?"
The three of them looked at each other and said at the same time: "I am!"
"Oh, you're quite loyal." Zhao Jingyu said with a smile, pointing at someone casually, "Since we're all big brothers, let's start with him. Drag him over here."
The guards responded and went forward to drag the man away.
The other one struggled and yelled, "Don't touch him, I'm the big brother, I'm the big brother."
"Oh?" Zhao Jingyu played with the knife with a smile, "You are the eldest brother, what's your name?"
"My name is Feng Qi, and they are all my brothers." The man said, "I forced them to do this, if you want to kill me or chop me up, come at me, don't embarrass my brothers."
Zhao Jingyu laughed when he heard this: "It's a coincidence. I like to do the opposite. The more you care, the more I will skin them alive in front of you. Aren't you stubborn? Don't change your mind later, and don't beg for mercy from me, because I have already given you a chance, but you didn't seize it in time."
After saying this, he hooked his index finger, signaling the guards to bring up the person he had chosen to be punished.
The guard took the order and tied the man to a chair and placed him in front of him.
Zhao Jingyu glanced at the man with disdain and said leisurely, "Since he is so ugly, let's start from the scalp!"
As he spoke, he grabbed the man's hair and cut off a handful of it with one knife, muttering to himself, "If you want to peel it completely, you must shave the hair first."
The man watched his hair fall to the ground, his face turned pale with fear and he couldn't help trembling.
Zhao Jingyu's hand twisted and the knife cut his scalp, and blood immediately flowed out.
The man couldn't help but let out a scream.
"Why are you shaking? You can't peel it completely now, right?" Zhao Jingyu slapped his face with the back of the knife in displeasure. "I hate imperfect things the most, you know that!"
The man's eyes rolled back and he fainted.
"You useless guy, you call this being tough?" Zhao Jingyu frowned and pointed at another person. "Let him take over. A dead person won't scream. I like to hear people scream. It's more interesting when they scream."
"Yes!" the guard responded, untied the unconscious person and tied up another person instead.
Zhao Jingyu first shaved off all the hair on the man's head, then drew a cross with a knife and said to the guard, "Go get some mercury. I'll make an opening here and pour the mercury in. This way, the skin will be the most complete and can be used as a human skin mask."
As the blood flowed down the man's face, water began to drip from his pants. He was actually scared to pee.
“Brother, save me, save me…” The man’s psychological defenses completely collapsed, and he kept asking Feng Qi for help.
"Yes, you have to scream. It's more interesting when you scream." Zhao Jingyu said sinisterly.
Feng Qi finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted, "Let my brother go, I'll tell you everything."
…
In Yixin Courtyard, as soon as Qin got up, she asked Madam Cao if anything had happened in the mansion. When she learned that everything was safe and sound, she couldn't help feeling nervous.
She knew that Feng Qi had taken action last night. Logically, regardless of whether he succeeded or not, Yilan Courtyard should not be so quiet, and Feng Qi should have reported to her anyway. However, as the night passed, there was no movement. She felt that something was wrong.
Considering the gambler's failure last time, she couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Feng Qi was also caught by Zhao Jingyu this time
But the man last time was just a gambler who lost all his money and didn't have any kung fu. Feng Qi, on the other hand, was a secret guard that she had trained at great expense. His skills were unmatched by ordinary people. Even if he was really discovered, it should not be difficult for him to escape, not to mention that there were three of them in total.
She didn't believe that Zhao Jingyu was so capable as to catch all three of them.
After much thought, she decided to go to Yilan Courtyard in person to find out what was going on. As for the reason, she would say that she was going to inquire about the matter of the fourth girl and Mr. Zhou.
So, without waiting for breakfast, she took Madam Cao and Yunyan to Yilan Courtyard.
Zhao Lanzhi had just gotten up, dressed and washed, and was about to have breakfast and go to school when she heard her stepmother coming and hurried out to greet her.
"Mother, you come here so early, but do you have any instructions?" Zhao Lanzhi bowed and asked respectfully.
Qin looked behind her and saw that only Zhen'er and Su He were there, so she asked, "Why can't I see Xiu'er?"
Zhao Lanzhi was slightly startled, and replied softly, "Xiu'er accompanied the general's wife to burn incense yesterday. She was very tired after running around all day. I asked her to sleep a little longer."
"You are quite considerate." Qin's eyes flickered. "There should be a limit to how much you can care for your servants. If you spoil them too much, they will become unruly."
"Yes, my daughter has made a note of it." Zhao Lanzhi responded, and then asked, "Why did you come here, mother?"
Qin always felt that she was covering for Xiu'er. While thinking about how to test her, she said perfunctorily: "I heard that the nanny beside Princess Anping came yesterday, so I came here specifically to ask you what Princess Anping's attitude is."
Zhao Lanzhi repeated what the old lady had said to her, and said shyly, "My daughter has done something that brings shame to the family, but mother not only did not punish her, but also cared about her so much. I am really grateful to her."
"You call me mother, so it's my duty to care about you." Qin smiled kindly and turned the topic to Xiu'er, "It's time to wake Xiu'er up. Once the rules are broken, it will be difficult to establish them again."
Zhao Lanzhi wondered why she kept pulling at Xiu'er, so she had to send Zhen'er to wake Xiu'er up, and she half-seriously invited Qin to sit in the room.
She was just being polite, but she didn't expect Qin to actually agree. She said, "Since you're here, I'd like to see what you had for breakfast and whether the servants in the kitchen have neglected you."
Zhao Lanzhi found her more and more strange, so she had no choice but to accompany her in.
Zhen'er followed the order and went to Xie Nanjia's room. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. She pushed the door and it opened. She thought Xiu'er had already gotten up, but when she went in, there was no one in the room. The quilt was piled in a mess on the bed, and she didn't know where Xiu'er had gone.
Zhen'er felt something was amiss but didn't dare to say anything. She quietly searched all the places where Xiu'er might be, but still couldn't find him.
How could a person just disappear out of nowhere? Zhen Er was extremely panicked. Because her wife was there, she did not dare to go back and tell her daughter. It was a cold day, and she was sweating profusely.
She was delaying and didn't dare to go back, while Qin was already getting impatient and kept chasing after Zhao Lanzhi, asking why she hadn't come yet.
Zhao Lanzhi didn't know what was going on, so she could only send Su He to check again.
Just at this moment, the maid from Yixin Courtyard came over in a hurry and said that the prince's wife had something urgent to tell you and wanted to see you, so please go back quickly.
Qin asked what was going on, but the little girl stammered and couldn't answer.
Qin was afraid that it was something serious, so she had to hurried back to Yixinyuan with her people.
As soon as she entered the yard, Qin Wanru came up to her anxiously, took her hand and led her into the house, not allowing the servants to follow.
Qin was frightened by her behavior. As soon as the door was closed, she hurriedly asked her what happened.
Qin Wanru's mouth flattened, tears started to flow, and she hugged her and cried loudly: "Aunt, you have to make the decision for me!"
Qin was confused: "Why don't you tell me what happened first? What's the point of crying?"
Qin Wanru sobbed and told the whole story, saying that Zhao Jingping had clearly agreed, but then he went to Lvliu's room and she sent people to call him back but he didn't come back. She also said that Aunt Liu was arrogant and domineering, and looked down on everyone. She knew it was her who sent people to go, but she didn't even open the door for him and didn't take her, the principal wife, seriously at all.
Qin Shi didn't expect that this was the most urgent matter. She was furious and scolded: "You are the wife of the prince, but you can't even control a concubine. You still have the nerve to come to me and delay my work for nothing."
Qin Wanru was hoping that her aunt would give her some advice, but unexpectedly she was scolded, feeling even more aggrieved and bursting into tears.
"What are you talking about, aunt? Is there anything more urgent than my pregnancy?"
Qin was stunned by her question. After a while, she sighed and said, "I don't know what evil has befallen me recently. Ghosts and demons are all coming out to play. Don't cry. It's just Concubine Liu. I'll take care of her for you."
"Thank you, aunt!" Qin Wanru choked and wiped her tears.
In Yilan Courtyard, Zhao Lanzhi was shocked to learn that Xiu'er was missing. She took Su Hezhen'er and Nanny Li to look for her in the yard. After searching for a long time, they found nothing. Just when she was getting anxious, Xiu'er came back from outside holding a porcelain vase.
Several people hurried over to ask where she had been. Xie Nanjia smiled and said, "I went to bed too early last night and woke up before dawn today. I thought I couldn't sleep anyway, so I went out to collect some dew and planned to make plum blossom rouge for the young lady."
"Plum rouge?" Zhao Lanzhi and the two maids had never seen plum rouge before. They were immediately attracted to it and forgot their previous worries. "How is plum rouge made? Is it good to use? Does it smell good? Can you teach us?"
"Of course it's useful, fragrant and beautiful, and it can also nourish the skin." Xie Nanjia said, "The method of making it is very simple, you can learn it in no time. When you get out of school, I will teach you how to make it together."
After she reminded him of this, Zhao Lanzhi suddenly remembered that she had to go to school, so she hurried away with Su He.
Xie Nanjia got away with it easily. She handed the bottle to Zhen'er and asked her to pick some plum blossoms when she had time. She then went back to the room to change her clothes.
Zhen'er placed the bottle in the treasure cabinet in the fourth lady's room as if it were a treasure, and went out happily to pick plum blossoms, waiting to make plum blossom rouge in the evening.
Nanny Li was old and had no interest in rouge and powder. She just stared at the bottle again and again, muttering to herself, "Such an exquisite bottle, why haven't I seen it before?"
Of course she had never seen it before. This bottle was brought by Xie Nanjia from the west wing, and it was not filled with dew, but the mountain spring water that Zhao Jingyu usually used to make tea.
Although Feng Qi is a bad man, he is quite loyal. In order to protect his brothers, he confessed everything about Qin's orders for him to assassinate him. Now, the three brothers have been properly settled by Zhao Jingyu, and they are just waiting for a suitable opportunity to identify Qin.
Thanks to Zhao Jingyu's help, Xie Nanjia felt much more relaxed. Otherwise, she would rather make up another excuse to lie to Zhao Lanzhi and others, and would not have the time to make plum blossom rouge.
The thought of being able to avenge herself soon filled her heart with anticipation, and she sat alone on the bed thinking about what she would do after her revenge.
Just as she was lost in thought, Xiao Xizi suddenly came to her and said that he saw the letter sent to her by Hongou Manor at the gatehouse, so he brought it to her on his way.
(End of this chapter)