Chapter 48: Liao Clan (Part 1)

  Madam heard what Butler Ho said and immediately asked without hesitation, "Did you hear clearly? Is it the wife of Duke Anguo?"

  Huo Guan's family nodded and said: "I asked several times, they all said it was the personal maid of Madame Anguo."

  The lady was startled at once. "Isn't Madame Anguo with the second and third branches? So it seems that she really encountered a chaotic party?"

  The lady looked at the chaotic backyard again, and after the fire in the small courtyard where the fourth aunt lived spread to this side, fortunately, the servants put out the fire in time. The lady handed over the matter of the backyard to the housekeeper, and asked Yohua to send Mrs. Cai to rest in the Hongxue Pavilion. Finally, she called Chen Mama: "Quickly follow me to the front door to take a look."

  Madam Chen was unclear about what was going on, so the mistress told her everything, and Madam Chen became flustered as well.

  The lady said: "Let's talk about what happened first."

  The old lady and Chen's mother hastily arrived at the front gate, where a young servant rushed over to report: "That maidservant who came knocking on the door was speaking just now, but now she doesn't make a sound no matter how you ask her."

  The old lady walked over and had the little servant call out a few more times. The other side of the door was indeed silent.

  What's going on?

  That little fellow said: "Just now I heard that maid's meaning, she was injured, and now it's probably..."

  "What can we do now?" said Chen's mother.

  The lady gritted her teeth, now perhaps there are traitors in front of the mansion gate, and as soon as the door is opened, the traitors will rush in. But if she doesn't open the door, not to mention that the second house and third house will be in danger, Madame Anguo... The marriage between Wu Mu Hou's family and their family not only has no hope of happening again, but also the relationship with Wu Mu Hou's family in the future...

  The lady measured for a while, and then let the servant send someone up the ladder to look outside the mansion gate. The young servant said: "Except for the courtyard where the fourth aunt is recuperating with a fire light, this side is pitch black, seemingly no one is around."

  The lady had just called a few servants to wait, in case some robbers broke in, everyone would rush up together and might not be at a disadvantage, then let the little servant open the big gate.

  The two men in green jackets then stepped forward to remove the door bolt and slowly opened the door. As soon as the door was open a crack, someone tumbled in with the door panel.

  In the 24th year of Jingde, on November 5th, in Beijing, there was a person claiming to be the seventh prince of the previous dynasty. He gathered remnants of the previous dynasty and colluded with Chen Qing, deputy general under General Su Xiyao of Jianwei Army, to secretly plot a rebellion on the 7th day of the 11th month at the fifth watch. Due to the leak of information, the rebels launched their uprising ahead of schedule on the 6th day of the 11th month, throwing the entire capital into chaos.

  Among the rioters, there were a group of bandits and thieves who took advantage of the chaos to commit robbery and theft. Many large households in the capital city and passing horse-drawn carriages were affected.

  Such a sudden event, and it happened in the capital, is probably a once-in-a-hundred-years encounter. It caught people off guard, and those bandits wouldn't let go of the opportunity when they saw the carriage of the Duke of An's mansion. Fortunately, the Duchess of An had brought many guards with her when she went out. They managed to fend off the attack and escape, but the Duchess of An and the two young masters of the Tao family got separated from their guards, and many were injured. If they encountered more bandits, they probably wouldn't be able to resist, so they could only temporarily find a hiding place to hide. The Duchess of An then sent her personal maid, Ruxuan, back to the Wu Mu Hou Mansion to report the news. The road to the Wu Mu Hou Mansion was also chaotic with bandits, and Ruxuan had no other choice but to come to the Tao Mansion for help.

  When Ru Xuan ran away and got hurt, the madam ordered someone to carry her into the house. After a great deal of effort, she was finally rescued back to consciousness.

  The lady asked Madame An Guo Gong clearly about the hiding places of the second and third branches of the Tao family, and after hastily calculating the people in the mansion, she selected a few suitable candidates, took things and went to rescue them.

  Second Master Tao Zhengqian and Second Mistress Wang, Seventh Miss, Ninth Miss, and Eleventh Miss were escorted back first. The Eldest Mistress hurriedly instructed Yao Hua and Rong Hua to arrange for several misses to rest in her room. Second Master Tao Zhengqian was slightly injured, while Mistress Wang was frightened pale-faced. Several misses had icy hands and feet, their entire bodies trembling.

  Yao Hua led Seventh Miss to her place, while Rong Hua brought Ninth Miss and Eleventh Miss to his own residence. He also asked Mu Jin to hurriedly brew a cup of hot tea for the two misses to drink.

  Miss Qi and Miss Eleven met Rong Hua for the first time, they should have been strangers, but at this moment, they couldn't care about that anymore.

  It's not easy to escape danger and see loved ones, the most sincere affection in one's heart is stirred up.

  Miss Qiao Hua took two sips of water and patted her chest, saying: "I was really scared to death."

  Miss Eleven also said: "Yes, I don't know how we encountered such a thing."

  Miss Jiū looked at Róng Huá, and with a tired face, she forced out a faint smile. "I've only heard of Eighth Sister before, but today I finally get to meet you," she said, adjusting her hair and clothes. "Unfortunately, I'm in such disarray - the gifts and packages I prepared were all stolen by those bandits."

  "Those are just external things, losing them is no big deal, as long as people are safe," Ronghua said hurriedly, comforting her with a smile. "I think the two sisters and I are about the same height, why don't we take out my clothes for you to wear first?"

  The ninth and eleventh young ladies said apologetically: "Then thank you, sister."

  Muxiu hurriedly went to fetch Yaohua's clothes and called in the maidservant who had helped with bathing to help the two young ladies get dressed. The Ninth Miss stood up, just about to enter the inner chamber, when Ronghua suddenly noticed that there was a small patch of blood on the pale yellow skirt of the Ninth Miss's dress.

  Rong Hua slightly hesitated, took a step forward and grasped the hand of Ninth Miss, "There's something in my warm pavilion, sister come with me to take a look." As she spoke, she deliberately used her skirt to cover up the bloodstain.

  Miss Jiū didn't know why Miss Bā suddenly wanted her to follow her to the warming chamber, but seeing Miss Bā's gaze full of deep meaning, she simply followed along obediently.

  She entered the warm pavilion and heard that the maid outside had already let the eleventh young lady into the inner room, and then she heard the sound of wooden clappers dispersing the other maids.

  Rong Hua turned around and asked Ninth Miss, "Ninth sister, what's on your skirt?"

  Miss Jiuzi lifted her skirt and turned around to look, following Ronghua's gaze. Seeing the bloodstain, she also panicked, "Whose...blood is this? When did you get stained?"

  This blood doesn't seem like it was rubbed on, the kind that's rubbed on should be a light and faint bloodstain. The bloodstain on Ninth Miss's skirt is gradually deepening.

  Rong Hua tentatively asked, "Has Ninth Sister...?" She only hinted at it, if Ninth Miss had her period, she would understand what she meant.

  Miss Ji's face indeed turned red, nodding her head, "It only appeared this summer, but it hasn't arrived on my little day yet, it can't be..."

  Rong Hua nodded, "Otherwise, I'll bring over your clothes and you change first, little sister?"

  Miss Jiū knew that Róng Huá had called her over because she was afraid of embarrassing herself in front of everyone, and quietly changed her clothes to avoid gossip. Suddenly, she felt grateful to Róng Huá, and compared to the gentle and kind Second Miss who was praised by everyone, Eighth Miss seemed more approachable.

  Miss Jiuxia changed her clothes and Ronghua came in again, whispering "How is it?"

  Miss Ji's face turned red as she shook her head, "It's not mine. It's just strange. The bloodstain has actually seeped into the inside of the skirt." As she said that, she handed the skirt to Rong Hua.

  Rong Hua thought for a moment and then asked, "Who was sitting next to my sister?" Maybe it was...

  Miss Ji suddenly remembered, "It was Third Aunt." She said this and thought, "It couldn't be Third Aunt..."

  Miss Nine seemed to want to discuss something with Rong Hua, "Tenth Little Sister told me that in another half a year, she will have a little brother or sister."

  Rong Hua's heart tightened, "Aunt San, are you hurt?"

  Miss Ji shook her head and then nodded, "Those bandits were robbing things, and Third Aunt was kicked a few times by the bandits while taking care of Madame Anguo." When she said this, Miss Ji's face also sank, "Sister, you say, it won't be Third Aunt..."

  Ronghua pulled up Ninth Miss's hand. "Hurry up, sister, come with me to tell mother."

  Ronghua and Ninth Miss had just walked a short distance with Mu Ge when they saw that something was amiss up ahead.

  An old woman rushed over in a flurry, "Miss, quickly find a place to hide, the wall behind has collapsed halfway, and some thieves have climbed over from behind."

  "Have Third Uncle and Third Aunt returned?"

  The old woman hastily said: "Miss, don't ask anymore, quickly find a quiet place. The people in the mansion are all armed and driving them away."

  Miss Ji suddenly panicked, pulled Rong Hua's hand tightly and looked around, "Eighth sister, quick, we..."

  Ronghua stopped the old woman and asked, "Are there any other young ladies in the mansion?"

  The old woman said: "The second young lady is protecting Mrs. Cai, and the first wife has hidden in the flower room. Most of the family members are over there. You girls shouldn't go anywhere else either. Hurry back to your rooms, put out the lights, and hide. Wait until those people are chased away before going to inform the other young ladies."

  Ronghua had no choice but to return to the courtyard with Ninth Miss first and then tell the matter to Eleventh Miss and others.

  Jinxiu said: "This matter can't be taken lightly, let's turn off the lights, those people will think there is no one in the house and won't come in."

  Rong Hua furrowed his brow, "What if they're those bandits who take advantage of the chaos to loot? The family members in the mansion are chasing them tightly, they might just find an empty house and steal some things before leaving. What if they stumble upon us..." The real target of the thieves shouldn't be a household like theirs... And yet, they entered through the back door again.

  Miss Jiū said: "What does Miss Bā think is the best way to handle this?"

  Ronghua said: "Call all the maids and old ladies in our courtyard to come into the house, light up all the lamps. If it's a thief, they'll be afraid of bright places and even more afraid of crowds. Besides, we can hide quietly, and the people in the mansion won't know where we are, so they won't be able to come and protect us." At this time, she could only think of these things.

  The maids and old women nailed up all the doors and windows in the house.

  Everyone sat outside and let the girls go into the inner room.

  After a while, I indeed heard the sound of fighting, followed by someone shouting: "There's one here, come and help us beat them up together." Then there was the sound of swinging weapons.

  The sound faded away into the distance.

  Honghua let out a long sigh.

  Although bandits have entered the city, it is still safe for now.

  The one in danger now is Third Madame Liao. If she really becomes pregnant, the bloodstain on Ninth Miss's skirt...