At the hour of the Tiger, Su Zhou lay on the bed, falling into a deep, hazy sleep.

Xiaoman touched her forehead and whispered, “Young Master, her forehead is a bit feverish. Is there anything we can do?”

Chen Ji replied, “There’s not much we can do. We can only use a wet cloth to cool her down.”

Xiaoman took a white cloth, re-wet it, and placed it on Su Zhou’s forehead. Subtly, she reached her hand into Su Zhou’s hair, searching, but couldn’t find the remaining Lamp-Flame Copper Coins.

She disappointedly returned to the small stool beside the charcoal brazier, staring blankly as the firelight in the brazier flickered.

Xiaoman had initially wanted to get a little revenge on Su Zhou for holding her hostage while she was asleep, but then she realized Su Zhou would be unaware, which made it feel pointless.

For revenge to be satisfying, the enemy must know it’s happening.

Chen Ji sat on a small stool next to her, with Wuyun curled up in a ball on his lap, already fast asleep.

Tonight, after the assassination of General Wang and then the search by the Secret Intelligence Bureau, this moment was a rare period of peace.

Xiaoman picked up the tongs, poked at the charcoal brazier, and asked, “Young Master, I can make a makeshift bed on the floor for you. Why don’t you rest for a while?”

Chen Ji, holding Wuyun, calmly replied, “No need. I’m worried someone might search the Chen Residence again tonight, so I can’t sleep.”

Xiaoman said, “Oh.” Her eyes darted around. “Young Master, earlier I heard the elder brother from the Military Bureau say that the assassin who attacked General Wang tonight was a Xingguan?”

Chen Ji grunted in affirmation.

Xiaoman secretly observed him. “Do you want to become a Xingguan?”

Chen Ji’s gaze flickered slightly. He said casually, “I’ve heard that Xingguan are very mysterious and powerful, but I don’t have the opportunity to become one.”

Xiaoman lowered her voice. “There’s an opportunity.”

Chen Ji turned to look at her. “Oh?”

Xiaoman pursed her lips and gestured towards Su Zhou on the bed. “Young Master, isn’t the assassin right here? She must be a Xingguan. We can tie her up and force her to hand over her cultivation method…”

Chen Ji was speechless.

Xiaoman was young, but truly shameless and ruthless, with no sense of martial ethics!

It made sense. From a young age, she had been sold to a slave trader, and even getting a bite to eat there required fighting for it.

When she came to the Chen Residence, although she stayed with the concubine for a while, the concubine soon left, and she became rootless again, like duckweed. Life as a third-class maid must have been very difficult; no one taught her right from wrong. She could only devise her own philosophy for survival.

Like wild grass growing tenaciously on a cliff face, she had to constantly drive her roots into crevices, seizing limited nutrients just to survive.

Xiaoman, however, continued to tempt him, “I heard that if you cultivate the Xingguan method, you’ll be immune to all diseases and live longer, as long as you don’t get injured. There are so many benefits! Not only that, but once you become a Xingguan, you’ll stand tall, and no one in the Chen Residence will dare to bully you again.”

Chen Ji shook his head. “She is Prince Jing’s friend, and so am I. Although her actions are somewhat extreme, I cannot take advantage of her situation now.”

Xiaoman lowered her head. “Alright… then we’ll think of other ways to get you a Xingguan method later.”

Chen Ji calmly asked, “You seem to know a lot about Xingguan?”

Xiaoman panicked for a moment. “Ah? No, no, I just happened to hear storytellers mention them in tea houses…”

Chen Ji had two main theories. The first was that his birth mother, Lady Lu, bought Xiaoman, felt pity for her unfortunate background, and, seeing her cleverness, taught her the Mandala Secret Seal of the Jing Dynasty branch, intending to train her as a confidante.

However, soon after Lady Lu imparted the Xingguan method to Xiaoman, she either died or fled for various reasons and didn’t teach her much else. As a result, Xiaoman seemed to be an amateur in everything except possessing the Xingguan method.

The second theory was that Xiaoman was originally a member of the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Bureau, and her Xingguan method was taught by them. She could be someone his uncle had placed by his side, and her current lack of experience was merely an act.

Chen Ji pondered it carefully and concluded that the first theory was more probable than the second.

However, he didn’t need the Xingguan method. Including the Mountain Lord, Sword Seed, and ‘Cloud Concealer’ bestowed by the Inner Chancellor, Chen Ji already had three cultivation methods.

Just as he was contemplating, Chen Ji was drawn back by a commotion outside the courtyard. He picked up Wuyun from his lap, opened the door to look, and saw Dongzhi, Lady Liang’s first-class maid, waking all the maids in the Qunfang Courtyard.

Chen Ji looked at the sky. It wasn’t even dawn yet, and the roosters hadn’t crowed.

Holding Wuyun, he stood in front of the Mingquan Courtyard gate and asked curiously, “Miss Dongzhi, what’s going on?”

Dongzhi performed a curtsy. “Reporting to Third Young Master, Master and Madam have urgently instructed us to pack up the family’s valuables. We’re leaving Luocheng as soon as dawn breaks.”

Chen Ji asked, “Are we going to the capital with the Zhang family?”

Dongzhi smiled and explained, “Reporting to Third Young Master, our Chen family will travel alone, not with anyone else. By the way, you should also pack your things. The carriages are already parked outside the residence. Master and Madam are in the first carriage, the Eldest Young Master in the second, the Second Young Master in the third, and you and Xiaoman will be in the fourth.”

With that, she turned away from Chen Ji and shouted loudly, “Everyone get up! Liqiu, lead some people to boil water and cook. The rest of you, follow me to Wenyun Hall to pack. Be extremely careful with everything today! If you break even one item in Wenyun Hall, selling all of you wouldn’t be enough to compensate!”

At the hour of the Rabbit, the roosters crowed.

Inside the Chen Residence, a flurry of maids bustled back and forth, meticulously cataloging and loading all the items to be taken onto carriages and ox-carts waiting outside Cuiyun Lane.

The gates of the Zhang Residence were tightly shut, quiet, as if they were in no hurry to leave Luocheng.

In the thin morning mist, Chen Ji and Xiaoman carried a large wooden box through the Chen Residence and loaded it into their carriage. When a young servant offered to help, Chen Ji politely declined.

Seeing this, Dongzhi quickly intervened, “Third Young Master, that box can simply be placed on an ox-cart in the back. There’s no need for it to take up space in the carriage. The ox-carts are covered with tarpaulin shelters, so there’s no need to worry about snow or rain.”

Chen Ji emerged from the carriage, dusted off his palms, and explained with a smile, “It’s a collection of possessions I’ve slowly accumulated, so it’s more reassuring to keep them close.”

Dongzhi turned back into the residence, her smile fading as she muttered under her breath, “Hmph, never seen the world, anyone who didn’t know would think there were countless treasures inside.”

After breakfast, the Chen family members hastily climbed into their carriages and set off in a rush, as if fleeing. Chen Liqin and Lady Liang showed no lingering attachment, not even glancing back at the Chen Residence, while the maids, however, were weeping.

Some of the Chen Residence maids were returning to the capital with them, while others were staying behind to look after the family’s properties in Luocheng, thus parting ways. For people of this era, the distance between Luocheng and the capital often meant a lifetime.

In front of Chen Ji’s carriage, Liqiu wiped her tears with a cloth while cautioning Xiaoman, “When you return to the Chen family manor, don’t be so foolishly stubborn with people anymore. Control that bad temper of yours; sometimes, it’s better to tolerate things.”

Xiaoman’s eyes were also red. “Yes, I know, Sister Liqiu, but I can’t help it.”

Liqiu was amused, almost to laughter, by her. She tapped Xiaoman’s forehead with a finger. “You little imp, you never listen to what I say. There will be times when you suffer losses. What will you do if they demote you back to a third-class maid without me?”

Xiaoman squatted where the coachman sat, tears falling continuously. “Sister Liqiu, you must also be well in Luocheng. When you reach the age next year, find a good family to marry into early. Be sure to write me a letter after you’re married…”

Liqiu asked, still crying, “What, are you going to add to my dowry?”

Xiaoman shook her head, wiping her tears as she spoke. “No, I just want to congratulate you.”

Liqiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I’ve doted on you for nothing!”

From the first carriage, Chen Liqin’s calm voice came, “How long are you going to cry? Depart.”

The young servant beside him quickly waved his arms. “We’re leaving, we’re leaving!”

The coachman sat sideways on the carriage, cracked his whip, and the carriage slowly began to move.

Liqiu chased for two steps, stuffing the cloth bundle from her shoulder into Xiaoman’s arms. “Once you’re in the capital, don’t dwell on the people and events in Luocheng. Live your life well!”

“I know!”

As the carriage swayed, Xiaoman clung to it and looked back. She watched the Chen Residence’s gate recede into the distance and saw the maids standing rooted to their spots, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

After a long time, she climbed back into the carriage and sat down, dazed. “Young Master, are we just leaving like this?”

Chen Ji, squeezed next to the wooden box with Wuyun in his arms, asked, “Liqiu was very good to you?”

The light from outside the window filtered through a gap in the curtain, softly falling on Xiaoman’s face. “What does ‘good’ even mean in a large, secluded residence like this? If you mean ‘good’ like a life-saving kindness, then no, definitely not. But sometimes, when Wang Gui would make things difficult for me – when it was time to eat, he’d suddenly tell me to fetch water or sweep the floor, and by the time I finished, there would only be inedible burnt rice left in the pot – Sister Liqiu would secretly save a bowl of rice for me. That, to me, was very, very good.”

Chen Ji grunted, “See what she gave you.”

Xiaoman untied the bundle and found it filled with bath beans from Liu Ji in the East Market, rouge paste from Nansheng Ji, and an eyebrow pencil from the old brand Dongzhe…

Chen Ji instinctively covered Wuyun’s ears. The next moment, Xiaoman burst into loud sobs in the carriage, like an overgrown child.

At that moment, a commotion interrupted her crying.

A maid rushed out of the Chen Residence, crying and chasing after the carriages, walking alongside Chen Wenxiao’s carriage. “Second Young Master, aren’t you taking me with you? You said you’d take me to the capital! I carried your child!”

Chen Wenxiao, in a panic, ordered his young servant, “What are you standing around for? Pull her away!”

The servant pulled the maid away, and she gradually disappeared into the cold, thin mist behind them.

The Chen family had a total of eight carriages, twenty-two ox-carts laden with valuables and soft goods, eighteen maids, and over forty servants and houseboys. Wang Gui sat silently on the very last ox-cart; having lost his position as steward, he couldn’t even ride in a carriage.

After about half an hour, the convoy reached the North City Gate.

Suddenly, someone outside the carriage shouted loudly, “Lord Chen! Hahaha, Lord Chen, why didn’t you inform me you were leaving? You’ve made me wait here for so long!”

Hearing the familiar voice, Chen Liqin’s heart immediately sank.

He lifted the curtain and looked out, only to see Zhang Zhuo, his wife Lady Xu, Zhang Xia, and Zhang Zheng sitting in a teahouse in front of the city gate, eating tofu pudding and golden-fried dough sticks.

Below the city gate, the Zhang family’s convoy of hundreds of vehicles formed a long, magnificent procession. Not only did they have crowds of maids and servants, but they had also hired guards from the Liang Clan Escort Agency of Luocheng to accompany them.

Zhang Zhuo wiped his mouth, walked out of the teahouse, and chuckled, “Lord Chen, I, Zhang, have been waiting here for a long time. Let’s return to the capital together!”