At that, they rushed her.
A man with a missing finger and cloudy eyes lunged first, pinning Gu Heng in the corner.
She had nowhere to run. Grabbing a wooden stick nearby, she clutched it to her chest and shut her eyes tightly.
She thought—even if she had to fight them to the death, even if she were to die here today—she would not back down.
Suddenly, the sound of flesh being pierced echoed.
A heavy thud followed. Then came terrified screams.
“Ahhh! He’s been killed!”
Gu Heng opened her eyes and saw a thick tree branch had impaled the attacker’s abdomen, blood gushing from the wound and splattering her shoes.
Looking where everyone else was staring, she saw Ah Zheng standing a short distance away, his face dark and terrifying.
Clearly, he was the one who’d struck.
From that far away, he’d managed to impale someone with a branch.
Gu Heng was stunned.
What had happened to him over the years that made him abandon the scholar’s path and train himself so ruthlessly for survival?
Meanwhile, fury roared in Ah Zheng’s heart.
He had just finished washing up and was going to find Gu Heng when he saw a crowd gathered outside her door, shouting and cursing.
He forced his way through, only to witness her in grave danger.
He didn’t dare imagine what would’ve happened if he’d arrived a moment later.
Seeing the blood on the ground, Gu Heng’s head spun and she nearly collapsed, but Ah Zheng rushed to her side and caught her.
The moment he appeared, the guards fell completely silent—no one dared move.
Chunhua, too, was petrified. After the last beating, her face still ached, and now she trembled all over in fear.
“Shen Zhengyu! You’re an outsider! How dare you act violently at our Baixue Manor?! Are you seriously going to kill someone?!”
At her words, Ah Zheng lifted his eyelids slightly and spoke coolly, “Didn’t I warn you last time? If you dared report me to your household—I would kill you?”
His tone was flat, yet Chunhua felt chilled to the bone. She tried to argue, but fear left her speechless.
“You want to say you didn’t tell on me? That I have no proof? Then where did these guards come from?”
Seeing her plan falling apart, Chunhua panicked and yelled to the remaining guards, “Go! All of you! There’s five or six of you! You can’t beat just one man?!”
The guards exchanged uneasy looks—no one dared make a move.
Ah Zheng chuckled coldly. “These clowns? Even if they all came at once, they wouldn’t last a single move against me.”
Arrogant as it sounded, no one doubted him—not after what they had seen.
The man he’d injured was still moaning on the ground.
The guards, realizing their bluff had failed, now hesitated even more.
They were only intimidating in size—used to bullying the weak under their master’s name, not real fighters.
Seeing their failure, Chunhua tried to flee, slipping into the crowd to escape.
But in the next second, Ah Zheng grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back to Gu Heng.
“Ah Heng, this woman has offended you again and again. How should I punish her? Break her hand—or her leg?”
Chunhua laid on the ground, looking up only to see Gu Heng and Ah Zheng towering over her, eyes full of contempt.
Terrified, she thrashed about in a panic. “Please! Spare me! I’ll never do it again! I swear!”
Gu Heng crouched down and grabbed her chin, her voice filled with disappointment.
“Last time, after I beat you, you said the same thing. And then? Look at what you’ve done today. If I let you off again—who knows what you’ll do to me next time?”
Ah Zheng said nothing, but the killing intent rolling off him was even more intense than before.
Desperate, Chunhua flipped over and knelt before them, sobbing.
“I swear—I’ll never dare again! From now on, I’ll follow Second Miss loyally and never step out of line! If I break this oath, may I be struck dead by lightning!”
Gu Heng sighed. “Fine. Take my clothes off now, and I’ll let this go.”
Chunhua was overjoyed and nodded eagerly. “Okay, I’ll go back to my room and change right away.”
She hated Gu Heng with a passion, but for now she had to play nice. The moment she got back, she planned to destroy the outfit and head straight to the county seat to report this pair.
But Gu Heng’s cold voice stopped her.
“Who said you could go back? Take them off now. If I don’t watch, how can I be sure you won’t mess with my clothes?”
Chunhua was mortified.
“Here? Right now?”
“Where else?”
Chunhua looked around—the crowd hadn’t dispersed. Even more people had gathered, and the guards were watching too.
If she undressed in public, she’d never live it down.
Seeing her hesitation, Gu Heng sighed again. “I was only going to take back my clothes. But if you don’t want to—shall we go with the broken hand? Or the broken leg? We can make it quick.”
As she spoke, she handed the stick to Ah Zheng.
Seeing this, Chunhua trembled in fear.
That stick looked thick and solid. If it really came down on her, her bones might very well be shattered.
“I’ll take it off! I’ll take it off!”
Gritting her teeth, Chunhua turned and shouted angrily at the household servants who were watching the spectacle. “What are you looking at? Turn around!”
The few men curled their lips, but in the end, they did turn away.
“What’s there to pretend about? With a body like yours, even if you showed it to us, we wouldn’t want to look.”
Upon hearing this, Chunhua was so angry her eyes filled with tears.
She swore to herself that the humiliation she suffered today—one day, she would repay it a hundredfold.
After removing her outer clothes, she was left wearing only a plain white undergarment.
At this, the nearby maids and servant women started pointing and whispering.
“Chunhua’s always been relying on her backing to run rampant on this zhuangzi. Now she’s finally hit a wall, hasn’t she?”
“Look at her now, stripping in front of so many people. Truly shameless. Once word gets out, let’s see how she ever gets married.”
Enraged, Chunhua snapped, “You b*tches dare to gossip about me? I’ll tear your mouths apart!”
As she lunged at the woman who’d just spoken, the others took a step back, letting her grab at empty air.
Seeing her in such a sorry state, someone kindly reminded her, “Chunhua, even if your mother is a respected stewardess, you’re still just a servant born into the household—a bondslave. If you, a slave, defy your master, once this goes to court, you could be executed. You’d best apologize to Second Miss now.”
Knowing what was said was true, Chunhua swallowed her anger and handed the clothing back to Gu Heng, gritting her teeth as she said, “I’m sorry, Second Miss. I’ve returned your clothes. Can you let me go now?”
—“Heh, of course not.”
At those words, Chunhua’s expression froze. After a long pause, she forced a smile. “What do you mean by that? Are you going back on your word?”
Gu Heng took the clothing, dusted it off, and said seriously, “I only agreed not to have you beaten. But you, as a servant, dared to steal from your master and even incited the guards to lay hands on me. Shouldn’t you be punished?”
“Tonight, go to the woodshed and face the wall in reflection. It’ll help you cool off.”
Upon hearing this, Chunhua cursed loudly, “Gu Heng! How dare you do this to me! Not only did you strip me, you’re sending me to the woodshed to sleep with rats! You’re cruel!”
Gu Heng spread her hands and shook her head. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning. If I let you go now, what if you hitch a ride straight to the county magistrate? I have to consider my own safety too.”
After saying this, Gu Heng gestured to the servants to take her away.
The servants exchanged glances.
After all, they had been sent by the matron—Chunhua’s side. They had only arrived yesterday, and now they were being asked to carry out the second young miss’s orders?
But seeing the man with the pierced abdomen lying on the ground, they felt even more frightened.
The leader, who had been kicked down earlier by Gu Heng, was still in pain. Though he felt resentful, the moment he saw Ah Zheng’s face, fear overtook him.
They had a feeling—this man really knew martial arts. If they dared to act out, they might not live to see the next day.
With no other choice, the leader gritted his teeth. “Let’s go. Take Chunhua away first.”
Once they took her away, Gu Heng ordered someone to carry the injured guard down to get medical treatment.
At this, Ah Zheng grew anxious.
That man had tried to assault Gu Heng earlier. A person like that should be beaten to death on the spot. Why was she still treating his wounds?
Sensing his unease, Gu Heng gently held his hand and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: “He can’t die—because you’re the one who hurt him. And I don’t want blood on your hands.”
Ah Zheng froze.
He had imagined a thousand reasons—but not this one.
In Gu Heng’s eyes, he had always been someone clean and pure.
But he himself didn’t think so.
He felt that there was cruelty and bloodlust in his very bones.
When he killed the wolf, when he injured the guard—it was the same.
Blood excited him. It was as if something inside him awakened at the scent of it.
He felt filthy, violent. If Gu Heng found out, would she be disappointed? Would she abandon him?
On the other side, Gu Heng wasn’t thinking about all that.
She did hate those people—wanted nothing more than to get rid of them. They were clearly a pack of troublemakers.
But they couldn’t die—not by her hands, and certainly not by Ah Zheng’s.
He had always been like a clear breeze and a bright moon. Even if he’d changed a bit now, in the dream she had once had, he would still pass the imperial exams and even win the top scholar title.
If he had a record of murder, he’d never be allowed to take the exams.
And so, he could never have blood on his hands.
Clearing her thoughts, Gu Heng took a deep breath. Then she addressed the remaining maids and servant women loudly: “I know what you’ve all been thinking lately. You believe I’ve fallen out of favor, been cast aside to this zhuangzi. But you’d better remember—Baixue Manor is my Yiniang’s property. Years ago, she wrote a deed that upon her death, the zhuangzi would pass to me.”
“Now, I am the master here. From today forward, I expect you all to know your place, perform your duties. If not—then get out of Baixue Manor!”
