"Your parents…" Yuzhu hesitated for a moment before speaking, "No one's ever seen them…"
The black qi at Xie Zhaolin's fingertips suddenly surged. "Make it clear."
"Ugh!" Yuzhu's body went rigid. "Don't, please don't! I'll talk! In the manor… people say… Master Zhang suddenly showed up in Qingyang City with you and Zhang Laosan…" Her face turned blue, her eyes rolling back. "Other than your grandfather… no one ever…"
Black qi slid around Yuzhu's neck, tightening until bruises surfaced.
"Your grandfather… the day after the engagement was arranged, he just…" Her lips trembled uncontrollably, her teeth chattering. "When the old master sent people over… he was already… already…"
Xie Zhaolin's pupils shrank slightly.
A grandfather and granddaughter appearing out of thin air, a suspicious engagement, and then a sudden death right after…
"How did my grandfather die?"
"I don't know, I really don't know!" Yuzhu finally broke down in tears. "It's been seven or eight years, I really don't know!"
"Then was there anything strange about the Chu Manor?"
"Every month… on the eighth…"
Xie Zhaolin loosened her grip slightly. Yuzhu sobbed, "On the eighth of every month, Master and Madam would receive a man in a black robe in the back courtyard!"
"A man in a black robe?" A sharp glint flashed in Xie Zhaolin's eyes. "Tell me in detail."
"He always came late at night, wrapped from head to toe in that black robe, you couldn't even see his face…"
Her voice dropped lower and lower. "The servants were strictly forbidden from approaching the back courtyard, but… but once I secretly saw…"
"Saw what?" The black qi at Xie Zhaolin's fingertips tightened again.
Yuzhu's pupils shrank violently. "I… I saw Madam personally lead two maids into the side room in the courtyard, but… but the next day…"
"What about the next day?"
"Those two maids were gone…" Yuzhu's voice shook. "People said they'd been sold off, but their bundles were still left in their rooms…"
Xie Zhaolin rubbed her chin lightly.
A mysterious visitor on the eighth, disappearing maids… Chu Manor really had issues.
"When was the last time you saw the black-robed man?"
"Just… five days ago…" Yuzhu gasped for breath. "That night Young Master suddenly went into seclusion… the next day he… he rushed off to fetch you…"
A cold gleam flickered in Xie Zhaolin's eyes.
Such a coincidence? Chu Huaizhou fetched her back right after the black-robed man's visit…
"One last question. Chu Huaizhou's cultivation, what's going on with it?"
Yuzhu thought for a moment before opening her mouth. "Young Master, half a year ago he—"
"Ahhh—!"
Before she could finish, Yuzhu let out a shrill scream, her whole body convulsing violently!
"A restriction?!" Xie Zhaolin's face darkened, and she instantly slapped her palm against Yuzhu's crown.
More black qi rushed into Yuzhu's mind along with her divine sense, trying to suppress the restriction, but it was too late. The girl's pupils dilated, her body stiffening as she collapsed.
"Tsk…" Xie Zhaolin looked at the twitching Yuzhu, the black qi at her fingertips seeping into the corpse.
"Since you're already dead, I might as well make use of you."
A moment later, "Yuzhu" staggered to her feet. Her eyes were vacant, blood still smeared at the corner of her lips.
Xie Zhaolin nodded. This puppet wasn't as lively as a living person, but it was good enough for basic information gathering.
"Now, repeat it. When does the black-robed man come to the manor?"
Yuzhu's mouth opened and closed stiffly. "The seventh… west corner gate… Qingzhu Pavilion…"
A cold light flared in Xie Zhaolin's eyes. So before she'd said the eighth, but now it became the seventh. This maid had been playing games from the very start. The black qi lashed out, slamming Yuzhu onto the ground. Her bones cracked audibly, enough to make one's teeth ache, yet not a drop of blood spilled.
Xie Zhaolin crouched down, gripping the puppet's chin. "What's the exact hour the black-robed man comes?"
"The… the seventh… third quarter of the Xu hour…"
Xie Zhaolin abruptly let go.
The third quarter of Xu (8:30 to 9:00 PM) was earlier than midnight. So this was the real truth. She should've realized earlier—how could a maid who'd survived under Madam Chu all this time reveal the truth so easily?
"Go fetch hot water," she ordered coldly. "And bring a clean blanket."
Yuzhu's body moved stiffly, joints clicking as she walked toward the door. Just as she reached the threshold, Xie Zhaolin called her back.
"Wait."
A strand of black qi shot from her fingertip, drilling into Yuzhu's ear. "If anyone asks, say I was so scared today that I fell into a fever and soaked through three handkerchiefs with tears."
Yuzhu's eyes flickered, then she nodded to show she understood. When she turned toward the door, her movements were stiff, but her face wore its usual sharp expression.
Only when her footsteps faded did Xie Zhaolin finally let exhaustion show.
She rubbed her temples. To maintain the puppet's lifelike state, she had to preserve part of Yuzhu's consciousness. It cost her divine sense heavily, but at least this way, even if Madam Chu checked personally, no flaws would show.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the window. Xie Zhaolin quickly collapsed onto the bed, sweat beading on her forehead, her body weak.
When Chu Huaizhou pushed the door open, he saw a pale girl curled up under a thin blanket, a damp cloth on her forehead to bring down the fever.
"Ah Xiu?" He rushed forward. "How did you get this sick?"
Xie Zhaolin's lashes trembled as she opened her eyes, still wet with tears. "Brother Huaizhou…" Her voice was hoarse and weak.
Chu Huaizhou's hand hovered, then settled lightly on the blanket. "Yuzhu said you were frightened…"
"I… I dreamed of those men in black…" She clutched the edge of the blanket, her knuckles white. "They were covered in blood, saying they'd come to take my life…"
Chu Huaizhou's pupils shrank violently.
"Don't say nonsense." His voice rose sharply, then quickly lowered. "Ah Xiu, don't be afraid. With me here, no one will hurt you."
"R-really?" She immediately looked overwhelmed with relief.
"Of course it's real."
He stayed a while longer, offering soothing words. Before leaving, he reminded her to "focus on recovering," but not once did he mention moving her to a warmer room.
As soon as his footsteps faded, Xie Zhaolin ripped off the cloth from her forehead. The bronze mirror by the bed reflected a cold, expressionless face—no trace of illness left.
The mirror's reflection rippled, black qi crawling across the surface like tiny snakes.
She stared at the unfamiliar face in the mirror—Ah Xiu's face, pale, fragile, still carrying traces of childishness.
"Pitiful," she whispered so softly it was almost inaudible.
Yuzhu had died for a man who never cared, Ah Xiu had loved to her dying breath, clinging to her "Brother Huaizhou," and countless other women in this deep mansion… all of them were like the bronze mirror before her. They looked solid, but with the slightest tap, they'd shatter to pieces.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The mirror suddenly reflected Yuzhu's figure.