At that critical moment, Gu Heng lunged forward, knocking Qin Rou’s body aside by a few inches. The dagger narrowly missed its fatal mark, merely grazing Ah Zheng’s shoulder. Though the wound wasn’t deep, it bled instantly.
That small deflection was all Ah Zheng needed to regain control.
He immediately seized Qin Rou’s wrist and squeezed hard—she cried out in pain and dropped the dagger with a clatter.
The sudden reversal terrified Qin Rou—she wept uncontrollably and turned to Gu Changfan for help.
“Husband! I was trying to save you when he caught me—save me! Please!”
Gu Changfan, having been pinned down and beaten for so long, was seething with rage. He pulled a whistle from his robes and blew it hard.
Moments later, a group of black-clad men appeared in the courtyard.
Seeing them, Qin Rou bit Ah Zheng’s arm fiercely. While he flinched, she broke free and ran.
“Shen Zhengyu! I’ve known for a while now that you’re no longer the same weakling from before. Did you think you were the only one who could fight? That I wouldn’t prepare for this?”
Gu Changfan’s eyes were dark with malice. He waved his hand and shouted, “Get him! Show this brat what real pain is!”
Ah Zheng looked at the group with a cold sneer.
They were no better than the assassins who had come that night—far from enough to be a threat.
He drew the longsword Gu Heng had gifted him from his waist and charged in to meet them.
This time, he was fighting to protect Gu Heng. He no longer needed to hide his strength. Still, knowing she feared blood, he restrained his strikes—not killing, but deftly severing tendons and disabling limbs.
In a matter of moments, the entire group lay moaning on the ground, completely incapacitated.
Seeing this, Gu Changfan stumbled back in terror and fell.
Gu Yue was also pale with fear, desperate to flee.
But before she could, Ah Zheng picked up a pebble and tossed it at the half-open door—the gate slammed shut.
Gu Yue screamed, nearly losing control of her bladder. She collapsed and begged repeatedly, “Brother Shen, please… please let me go! You didn’t just grow up with Gu Heng—we grew up together too! For the sake of those years, please spare me!”
At that, Ah Zheng laughed as if he’d heard the most absurd joke in the world.
“You? Worthy of being compared to Ah Heng?”
He stepped in front of Gu Yue, towering over her, eyes locked onto her. “It was you, wasn’t it? From childhood till now, you bullied Ah Heng. After her Yiniang died, you even tried to kill her, didn’t you? A sinner like you shouldn’t be allowed to live in this world!”
With that, he raised his sword, intending to strike down with one blow!
Gu Heng’s eyes widened in shock at the motion. She rushed forward. “Don’t!”
Gu Yue did deserve to die, but she was, after all, a commoner of good standing—an official’s daughter at that. She shouldn’t be executed here in the courtyard by Ah Zheng!
There were so many people in the courtyard—each one a witness. If they took this to the authorities, Ah Zheng would be charged with murder. Forget about the civil exams—he might be executed as a murderer, or at the very least, exiled to some distant land!
But just as she rushed forward, she realized something was wrong with Ah Zheng. His body suddenly went limp and collapsed backward.
Gu Heng had quick reflexes and managed to catch him. Otherwise, such a hard fall would’ve been excruciating!
As she held him in her arms, she saw that his eyes were tightly shut, his forehead drenched in sweat, and his lips nearly black. His condition was dire.
Seeing Ah Zheng fall, Gu Changfan let out a breath of relief, though still wary of trickery.
Just now he had been so powerful—able to fight ten men without breaking a sweat. How could he suddenly collapse?
Thinking this, he kept retreating until his back hit a wall. Seeing Ah Zheng still unresponsive, he finally relaxed completely.
At this moment, Qin Rou walked over and looked down at Gu Heng from above. “Oh? Weren’t you quite bold just now? What now, your little lover has collapsed, and you don’t know what to do?”
Gu Heng was panicked and her tone was naturally sharp. “What did you do to him? Why is he like this?!”
Qin Rou covered her mouth with a light laugh. “He’s been poisoned by what I coated my dagger with. Without the antidote, he’ll be dead within three days.”
Gu Heng exploded with rage. “You venomous snake! He’s a young master of the Shen family. You dare kill him? Aren’t you afraid Uncle Shen will come for revenge?!”
Unexpectedly, Qin Rou showed no fear at all. She even snorted twice. “My, my, Heng’er. We said from the start he was your illicit lover, and it seems we were spot on! You’ve been secretly consorting with him all these years, haven’t you? Let me guess—are you still pure? Or did you two already share a bed back on that zhuangzi?”
Hearing such filthy words, Gu Heng was furious. “There is nothing improper between me and Ah Zheng! We are innocent! Stop spewing filth and hand over the antidote!”
“Who knows?” Qin Rou shrugged. “But now, none of that matters. As for the antidote, I’ll give it to him—so long as you behave and marry as planned. When you’re carried to the Wang household three days from now, I’ll make sure he gets the antidote.”
She flipped her hair and gestured to the nearby servants. “Take Young Master Shen and Second Miss. Lock them up in the woodshed. Without my order, they’re not to be let out!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
At her command, the servants rushed forward and violently dragged Gu Heng and Ah Zheng apart, throwing them into the woodshed.
Gu Heng had already been whipped earlier. Her body was covered in injuries, and now she was being manhandled. The pain was excruciating.
In desperation, she struggled fiercely. “Let go of me! I can walk myself!”
But the servants paid her no heed, even tightening their grip until her bones creaked.
Once the woodshed door opened, they shoved the two of them inside with brute force.
To prevent escape, the servants locked the door and added several extra locks.
As the final lock clicked shut, Gu Heng felt her heart sink into despair.
Then came Qin Rou’s voice from outside the woodshed. “Heng’er, don’t even think about escaping. If you do, your little lover will surely die.”
Her cold laughter echoed from beyond the door.
At that moment, Gu Heng could also hear the sobbing voices of Ziyun and Qin Momo crying outside—so heart-wrenching, so helpless.
But before they could cry for long, Gu Changfan’s hoarse voice rang out.
“Rou’er, we really owe it all to you this time! Otherwise, we’d be done for.”
“As for Ziyun and Qin Momo—these two defied their superiors. Flog them with thirty heavy strikes! No medical treatment allowed!”
Hearing this, Gu Yue laughed gleefully. “Those two lowly servants dared to accuse me?! Serves them right to be beaten now!”
Gu Heng listened to the lively chatter of that despicable trio outside, feeling unspeakably sorrowful.
Just half an hour ago, they had been full of hope—thinking they could leave, escape this h*llish Gu manor, and begin a new life.
But in just this short time, everything had turned upside down.
She looked down at Ah Zheng’s pale face and her heart ached.
It was freezing all around, and the woodshed held nothing but a few moldy bundles of firewood.
She felt so cold.
She sat down, holding Ah Zheng in her arms, laying his head on her lap, gently stroking his face.
No sunlight could reach this place. It was completely dark, except for one faint beam of light that filtered through a crack in the window.
Beyond that was endless darkness.
Suddenly, she felt so tired. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
***
When Gu Heng woke again, it was already late at night.
Outside the door, she heard the faint whispering of a few servant girls.
One voice was particularly sharp—even though lowered, Gu Heng could hear it clearly. “Do you think the master really plans to marry Second Miss off to that old man from the Wang family?”
Another girl spoke more casually, a bit brash. “Of course! Didn’t you see? This afternoon, the Wang family’s betrothal gifts were brought over—five whole chests! The master was grinning from ear to ear when he accepted them!”
Hearing this, the first girl sighed. “Ah, what a pity for Second Miss. She’s so beautiful. Once she marries into that family, who knows how long she’ll survive?”
Then a third girl spoke, her voice cold and detached. “She asked for it—publicly humiliating the mistress and the eldest miss like that. She brought this on herself. Just wait. The young master returned from the academy today, and he’s been listening to the eldest miss cry all day. You know how much he dotes on her. He definitely won’t let the man in the woodshed off easy.”
Hearing that, Gu Heng’s heart tightened.
Just then, she heard the sound of rats scurrying through the shed, their squeaking piercing the silence. Startled, she let out a scream.
The maids outside, hearing the noise, reacted like they’d seen a ghost.
“Let’s go! That woman’s probably gone mad already. This place is cursed—we shouldn’t stay!”
A flurry of footsteps followed, and their voices faded into the distance.
At that moment, Gu Heng wanted to cry.
The darkness wasn’t the worst of it, but she was terrified of rats, bugs—of all unknown creatures.
Tears suddenly welled up and fell, landing on Ah Zheng’s face.
She quickly wiped her tears away.
She didn’t know how long had passed when she heard footsteps outside, followed by the sound of locks being opened.
Moments later, the door creaked open.
She thought it might be someone bringing food—but when she looked up, she saw Gu Feng’s face.
Moonlight illuminated half of his face, making his expression look especially sinister.
Gu Heng felt a sense of dread and instinctively tried to back away.
Sure enough, once Gu Feng shut the door, he slowly approached her.
Seeing fear on her face, he actually seemed pleased.
“What’s the matter, Second Sister? Aren’t you happy to see your big brother?”
Cornering her against the wall, he lowered his head and stroked her face. “I hear Father wants to marry you off to that old man from the Wang family? With your beauty, how could you possibly survive over there? It breaks my heart just thinking about it.”
Gu Heng turned her head away, refusing to let him touch her. But that act only enraged him—he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.
“Little sl*t. Even now, you’re still playing pure?”
