Meanwhile, He Sui’an anxiously watched the shadows outside the house, wondering how likely it would be to knock them out with a piece of porcelain and escape when they came in.
However, they didn’t come in. It seemed they were just ordered to check whether the doors and windows were tightly closed and whether the locks were intact.
“Why is the steward so worried? He even sent us to check the locks again,” a new servant asked, puzzled.
The other servant, an old hand who had been serving in the mansion for a long time, looked around to make sure no one was nearby. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut and began to talk about the dirty secrets of the rich.
The Duan family used to be a prestigious clan in Qingzhou.
Though they have declined a bit now, even a broken ship has nails, let alone a once-famous family. Hence, the Duan family’s status in Qingzhou is still significant, and officials have to give them some respect.
The master of the Duan family has three sons.
The eldest son was born to the legitimate wife of the Duan master, making him the legitimate heir.
The eldest son of the Duan family was pampered from a young age. He got whatever he wanted and hung out with the dissolute sons of Qingzhou, picking up bad habits and learning nothing good.
He had once married a legitimate wife, but she died within a few years in his house.
The official story was that she died of illness.
In reality, she was beaten to death by the eldest son of the Duan family.
Her maternal family knew the truth, but the Duan family’s influence was too great. They suppressed it with their power and compensated heavily, silencing the public.
The reason the eldest son beat his wife to death was because he used hallucinogenic Gu insects that night.
Using one would have been manageable, but he used three at once. Who knows what he imagined his wife to be; he caught her and beat her half to death, and the servants couldn’t pull him off. They were beaten too.
That night, the courtyard was in chaos, and no one had peace.
The room was a mess, with no intact tables, chairs, or porcelain. He grabbed anything at hand and smashed it hard on her.
By the time the effects of the Gu insects wore off, she was already dead, her body half stiff, a sight that sent chills down one’s spine.
The eldest son of the Duan family looked at her corpse, also feeling troubled.
How did he beat her to death?
The key point was that she was a kind person, with a dignified appearance, educated and reasonable, and treated the servants well. Her tragic death was lamented by all the servants of the Duan mansion, who secretly thought that good people indeed do not live long.
The eldest son’s only consequence was being scolded by the indulgent master of the Duan family and being grounded for a month. A human life was dismissed so lightly.
A month later, the matter was personally settled by Master Duan.
The eldest son of the Duan family was not affected in the slightest.
His use of hallucinogenic Gu insects became increasingly unrestrained, frequently resulting in the deaths of concubines or servants in the courtyard. Therefore, the Duan mansion often had new servants coming in.
Today, the old servant’s recounting of the eldest son’s secrets to the new servant was not just for gossip. He wanted to warn him, advising him on how to avoid violating any taboos in the mansion.
The new servant listened, breaking out in a cold sweat.
The old servant, seeing that he had taken the warning to heart, felt relieved and patted him on the shoulder.
They were assigned to check whether the room storing the hallucinogenic Gu insects was securely locked because an important guest had arrived at the mansion today. Both Master Duan and the eldest son were rushing back to entertain this guest.
The guest was a high-ranking official from the court. Even the prefect of Qingzhou had to show him respect.
Hallucinogenic Gu insects were banned by the court.
The old servant was unsure whether this official, unlike other officials in Qingzhou who turned a blind eye to the Duan family’s actions out of respect, would do the same.
However, the guest had once been a student of the deceased old master of the Duan family. This visit to Qingzhou and to the Duan mansion might be due to this old relationship.
Regardless, it would be bad if the guest discovered that the eldest son was using the banned Gu insects. If it weren’t for the steward needing to arrange matters in the mansion, he wouldn’t have ordered them to check.
The old servant added another lock to the room and prepared to leave with the new servant.
Suddenly, two more people arrived.
They were sent by the steward to guard the room. The steward was thorough and, after thinking it over, decided to have someone guard the place to be sure.
Seeing that his job was done, the old servant wisely left.
Inside, He Sui’an put down the porcelain she was holding.
An important guest?
A high-ranking official from the court? She knew she couldn’t panic in a dangerous situation. She turned and opened a small box nearby and searched through other small ceramic containers in the room.
Suppressing her fear of the insects, she recalled how Qi Buyan had deftly handled the insects that night without getting bitten.
Resolutely, He Sui’an reached in to grab the insects.
The soft bodies of the insects wriggled.
Ah, ah, ah.
Though she screamed in fear in her mind, she still mustered the courage to quickly grab a few hallucinogenic Gu insects. She quietly walked to the door, squatted down, and let the insects crawl out through the gap, praying for success.
After waiting anxiously, He Sui’an finally heard the two guards outside express their confusion:
“Huh, I think I got bitten by a bug.”
“This season has a lot of bugs. It’s normal.”
“Terrible weather.”
After a moment, they both fell into the hallucinations induced by the Gu insects. One of them mumbled, “Beauty, come here, let me love you.”
The other laughed foolishly, “So much gold, all mine.”
Success!
He Sui’an stood up excitedly.
In desperation, she had to use the hallucinogenic Gu insects on them. As long as they didn’t use them more than three times, there wouldn’t be significant harm to their bodies.
She opened the small box again and used the same method to grab the Gu insects, putting a few into a small ceramic container and sealing it with a cloth to prevent them from crawling out. She then fastened the container to her waist.
Given how busy the Duan mansion was today, it was unlikely many people would come here.
With the two guards outside lost in their hallucinations, she quickly picked up something to pry open the wooden window.
Heaven helps those who help themselves.
She managed to pry it open.
He Sui’an worked on it for a quarter of an hour. By then, she was drenched in sweat, panting heavily, and so exhausted that she wanted to collapse right there. But her survival instinct pushed her to drag Jiang Xuewan towards the window.
This wasn’t a sustainable way out. He Sui’an glanced at the window where she had pried open a hole just big enough for one person to crawl through at a time.
She wriggled her way through first.
Soon, she came back.
He Sui’an poured a ladle of water she had secretly fetched from the courtyard pool onto Jiang Xuewan’s face.
The people in the front courtyard of the Duan mansion were busy, leaving the back courtyard relatively deserted, so she had managed to find the pool without much trouble.
The residual hallucinogenic Gu poison in Jiang Xuewan’s body was almost gone. The cool well water brought her back to consciousness. She looked at He Sui’an and then at the unfamiliar surroundings.
“Miss He?” Jiang Xuewan’s lips quivered as she began to cry, “Where is my third uncle?”
He Sui’an made a shushing gesture.
“Shh.”
Jiang Xuewan’s tears welled up in her eyes.
He Sui’an’s face was dirty after all the effort, with smudges of dust here and there, making her look quite comical. “Don’t cry. I’ll take you back to see your third uncle.”
Trusting He Sui’an, Jiang Xuewan held onto her hand and nodded heavily, “Okay.”
“We need to crawl out first,” said He Sui’an, who was also just a teenager. Although she felt a faint fear in this crisis, she had to be strong in front of the childlike Jiang Xuewan.
Jiang Xuewan agreed without hesitation.
He Sui’an crawled out first and then helped Jiang Xuewan follow her.
The Duan mansion was large, with grey bricks and tiles, winding around rock gardens and water features. The ornate gates and the eight courtyards made it easy to get lost.
They kept wandering around without finding a way out.
He Sui’an felt dizzy from all the twisting paths, trying to avoid being seen while finding an escape route. Jiang Xuewan, also tired, silently held onto He Sui’an’s clothes, following closely.
He Sui’an’s eyes caught the sight of servant clothes hanging on a wooden rack. She quickly pulled down two sets, “Let’s change into these.”
Jiang Xuewan took the clothes.
“Change?”
He Sui’an led Jiang Xuewan to a hidden spot, explaining patiently, “Yes, change into these. We stand out too much in our current clothes. If someone sees us, they’ll be suspicious. These will make us less noticeable.”
“I, I understand,” Jiang Xuewan said as she took off her original dress and put on the servant’s attire.
“When we meet people, don’t speak. Remember?” He Sui’an said as she untied her own dress, changed into the servant’s clothes, and cleaned both her own and Jiang Xuewan’s faces.
Jiang Xuewan nodded, “I remember.”
As soon as they stepped out in their servant clothes, they were called out to.
It was an old maid from the Duan mansion, followed by several servants carrying trays of refreshments.
The old maid craned her neck, “The front yard is busy, and here you are, hiding and slacking off. Watch out, or you’ll be punished. Hurry up and follow me to serve the guests in the front hall.”
They turned and followed the old maid.
The old maid eyed them suspiciously.
“You look unfamiliar. New here?” She waddled, waving a handkerchief. “You’re good-looking, but in this mansion, looks aren’t everything. You have to serve well.”
He Sui’an, not fully understanding, simply responded with an “Oh,” and hung her head.
Jiang Xuewan kept the warning to not speak in mind.
Seeing they were obedient, the old maid stopped lecturing them. She adjusted her clothes and quickened her pace, knowing the mansion’s complex layout well.
They crossed winding corridors, passed pavilions, and exited two more courtyards before finally reaching the front yard.
Following the old maid, He Sui’an tried to memorize the route. She managed to retain a rough mental map, even catching a glimpse of the main gate in the distance.
As soon as they reached the front yard, they encountered the second young master and second madam returning with a few others.
The old maid stepped forward.
She gracefully bowed and greeted, “Second young master, second madam.”
The other servants also lowered their heads and greeted them. He Sui’an and Jiang Xuewan, blending in, followed suit, bowing to the so-called second young master and second madam.
The woman in purple, addressed as the second madam, nodded and supported the frail-looking second young master, helping him over the threshold and inside.
