Union

Chapter 50 Nearly Lost His Life
The flower hall was quiet; for a moment, even breathing was barely audible.

But even so, it seems to be of no use.

People continued to rush in this direction, roughly pushing open nearby doors and searching each room to see if anyone was inside.

The people in the flower hall were like frightened birds, all trembling with fear. Yunying even seemed to hear the grinding of teeth.

He Sui, standing beside her, was also startled and felt her hands and feet turn cold. She gripped Yun Ying's hand even tighter and pressed her frail body against Yun Ying's.

Yunying was also filled with fear and unease, but she was now the pillar of support for everyone in the flower hall. She took a deep breath, pulled He Sui up, and the two of them walked to the door together.

Those villains finally found their way here. They pushed the door twice but couldn't open it, so they excitedly shouted, "The person is here!"

Then, they kicked the door hard while yelling, "Everyone inside, get out here!"

The door was kicked so hard it rattled loudly, and because they kicked so hard they loosened the table and chairs that were blocking the door.

One of the maids couldn't bear the atmosphere and started crying, which further emboldened the villains outside.

Yunying knew that breaking down the door would happen in an instant, and now the people inside the flower hall had to save themselves. But the flower hall was empty, and there wasn't even a handy weapon.

Yunying's eyes swept around, and thankfully the lanterns under the eaves were still lit, allowing her to spot the paperweight on the treasure pavilion. The paperweight was carved from jade and looked very heavy; if it were to fall on someone's head, it would at least cause a bloody head wound.

Seeing Yunying holding the paperweight in her arms warily, He Sui looked around and then picked up the bronze incense burner next to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

After that, some maids, emboldened by their own courage, picked up vases and stools, while some of the weaker and more timid girls even picked up feather dusters...

Everyone hid by the door, waiting for the villains to break in so they could swarm them.

With a loud bang, tables and chairs inside the room were overturned, and the door to the flower hall was kicked down.

As those villains walked in, laughing arrogantly, it was at this moment that Yunying calmly and steadily slammed the heavy paperweight hard onto the head of the leader.

Caught completely off guard, the man was struck squarely. Dizzy, he turned around, his head and face covered in blood, and slowly collapsed in front of Yun Ying.

Yunying knocked one person unconscious, while Hesui also hit someone with a bronze incense burner. However, due to Hesui's excessive tension, the incense burner only hit the person's back. The person cried out in pain and cursed, raising his knife to slash at Hesui. In an instant, screams and wails filled the flower hall.

In the chaos, Yunying picked up the bronze incense burner and smashed it against another person. Then, three more villains rushed into the flower hall, turning the entire hall into a hellish place.

Screams of agony from the maids could be heard, and some maids were cut in half at the waist when they tried to escape.

Now that she had no chance to fight back, Yunying spotted a dark corner and quickly hid there. However, just as she reached the corner and her back was about to lean against the wall, she suddenly felt her arm being grabbed and then she was violently pushed away.

In a flash, by the glow of the lanterns outside, Yunying saw Ruizhu, who had been hiding in this corner all along.

At this moment, Yunying had no time to think. She had clearly hidden Ruizhu and the others under the round table, so how did Ruizhu end up here again?

All she saw was Ruizhu's face contorted in rage, her teeth clenched, her eyes so calm and resolute, as she forcefully shoved her away—

She was incredibly strong, as if she hadn't been poisoned at all.

That makes sense, considering Ruizhu had suffered a great shock tonight. She was filled with resentment and had no time to eat anything. That's why, of the four who were poisoned, her symptoms were the mildest, and she was the first to recover.

Yunying also knew that she had angered Ruizhu by giving Qiuning the antidote first instead of Ruizhu.

But no matter how angry she was, when danger struck, she did her best to hide them and protect their safety.

She asked herself if she had done right by Ruizhu, but Ruizhu wanted her dead!

A sharp, cold light flashed from the side of her cheek. Yunying only caught a glimpse of the sharp, cold blade before being forced to close her eyes by its chilling edge.

Before the pain even started, she heard a clanging sound of sharp objects colliding.

"Are you stupid? You don't even know to dodge when swords and spears come at you?"

Yunying's waist was grabbed by someone with great strength, so strong that it seemed she could easily break her waist.

The familiar scent of paper and ink, along with a faint sandalwood fragrance, filled his nostrils; this was indeed the Second Master.

In the past, Yunying would have avoided the Second Master like the plague, but at this moment, she felt that only this embrace was the safest place for her.

The killing had ceased at some point, and the candles in the flower hall had been lit without anyone noticing. The floor was littered with severed limbs and broken bones; the sight was utterly gruesome. Yunying felt nauseous and clenched her eyes tightly.

But she couldn't resist the urge to vomit, so she pushed Chen Yanzhou away and ran to a corner. She gagged twice, but thanks to not having eaten anything, she didn't vomit anything.

Chen Yanzhou frowned as he watched her clutch her chest in pain, and pursed his lips. He wanted to say that she was too timid, but among all the women in the room, she was the only one who wasn't crying, so Chen Yanzhou ultimately didn't say those words.

Finally, Chen Yanzhou beckoned to the two able-bodied maids in the flower hall, and the two maids quickly ran over to help Yunying up.

A little later, Aunt Ding, Qiu Ning, and the others also crawled out from under the round table where they were hiding.

Seeing that Aunt Ding was too weak to stand, Chen Yanzhou helped her sit down on a stool. "Are you alright?"

Aunt Ding nodded slightly, her voice barely a whisper, "Thanks to Second Master's antidote pill, this old servant's life has been saved. But that antidote pill was specially given to you by the Duke to save your life..."

Chen Yanzhou interrupted her, "Isn't your aunt's life also a life? If things are gone, just look for them again. There's no need to mention it again."

Aunt Ding then shut her mouth.

But thinking of today's man-made disaster, Aunt Ding couldn't help but speak up, "It was Magistrate Fan, wasn't it? I heard Suiyun calling for Magistrate Fan in the flower hall."

“It’s him,” Chen Yanzhou said. “I’ve been looking for him for so long, but I never expected that he would choose the path to hell when there is one to heaven.”

Chen Yanzhou sneered, his expression extremely unfriendly.

Although today's actions, by a twist of fate, resulted in the capture of Magistrate Fan, thus relieving his worries, Chen Yanzhou had not forgotten that someone in the prefecture had colluded with Magistrate Fan, daring to poison him and nearly costing him his life.

Aunt Ding obviously remembered this matter as well, and immediately said, "Second Master, please give me a day, and I will definitely find out the truth by tomorrow."

Chen Yanzhou glanced at Aunt Ding's pale face and said, "Aunt, rest first. Leave this matter to Lei Ting." He then pointed to Ruizhu, who was hiding in the corner, and called two people in, "Take her away."

Aunt Ding thought that the Second Master suspected Ruizhu of colluding with the poisoner. After all, Ruizhu had been in charge of the household recently, and the enemy had been able to enter the household silently and successfully poison the banquet. It seemed that Ruizhu could not escape suspicion.

But Aunt Ding also had to say something fair: "Ruizhu is loyal and wouldn't do such a foolish thing."

Chen Yanzhou understood what Aunt Ding meant, so he said, "Whether she is related to the chaos in the manor today, we will know after we investigate tomorrow. Just now when I came over, I saw her push Yunying under the villain's knife."

Chen Yanzhou looked at Ruizhu, who was trembling like a leaf.

A person's true nature can be known by how they handle things in critical moments.

Chen Yanzhou had already guessed most of what had just happened from the mess and chaos on the ground.

If nothing unexpected happened, when the thugs came, it was Yunying and her men who guarded the door and protected their safety. Yunying even hid them, becoming the first line of defense against the thugs herself.

In contrast, what did Ruizhu do?
Ungrateful, and taking advantage of the villain's momentary lapse in attention, she shoved Yunying violently forward. This push exposed Yunying directly to the villain's blade. Had he not arrived in time, Yunying would already be a corpse.

Chen Yanzhou didn't finish his sentence, but Aunt Ding already understood what he meant.

Aunt Ding never expected that Ruizhu would be so ruthless.

Even Mu Jin and Qiu Ning, and even the other maids in the flower hall, looked at Rui Zhu with horror upon hearing this, and then quietly moved further away from her.

They all knew that Ruizhu was not someone to be trifled with; she was vain and selfish, arrogant and greedy. But no matter what, they never expected her to be so vicious as to try to kill Yunying.

Yunying had gone to great lengths to hide her and save her life. What a waste of all her good intentions!

Seeing that everyone avoided her like the plague, Ruizhu immediately began to sob. "Second Master, please understand, I truly didn't mean it. My mind was a complete mess at the time, I don't even know what I did. Please forgive me, Second Master, I truly didn't mean it."

Ruizhu turned around again to kowtow to Yunying, but Yunying couldn't bear her kneeling and quickly hid behind the Second Master.

Ruizhu felt even more suffocated upon seeing this, but she had no time to worry too much. After all, if she couldn't resolve this crisis well, she probably wouldn't have a place to stay in this mansion.

Ruizhu cried and begged, knelt and slapped herself, but her actions only made the Second Master more disgusted. The Second Master, wanting to avoid the situation, ordered Ruizhu to be dragged away and interrogated.

Aunt Ding looked reluctant as Ruizhu was taken away, but in the end she did not plead for Ruizhu.

Just as she said, Ruizhu is definitely not innocent in today's chaos.

Even if she didn't collude with outsiders to harm the Second Master, she is now in charge of the household. Her lax management of the family led to the poisoning of the banquet, and this oversight almost caused a major disaster. Therefore, Ruizhu cannot go unpunished.

(End of this chapter)