“T-The Madam isn’t… isn’t here. S-She’s in the side courtyard, recuperating…” The young maid was so frightened she stammered and nearly collapsed.
Mingxi let go, and the girl instantly crumpled to the ground.
Just then, several older maids rushed over after hearing the commotion. Seeing Mingxi and her group, they didn’t hesitate to try and seize them.
Wan Mama cried out, “You brutes! Do you know who this is?”
“We don’t care who you are. Once you’re in this courtyard, you listen to Qiao Yiniang,” one of the maids snarled.
It had been a while since Mingxi had fought, but these five or six maids clearly weren’t ordinary. They were likely placed here by someone behind Qiao Wan.
Otherwise, with Yang Yiniang’s cleverness and Madam Jiang’s fiery nature, how could things have fallen apart so easily?
With that thought, Mingxi didn’t hold back. She grabbed the broom the little maid had been using and, with a sweeping motion, knocked the first charging maid to the ground. The woman crashed down hard and couldn’t get up.
Mingxi swung the broom at another one. The woman raised her arms to block, but Mingxi pressed down with force. A clear crack rang out—her bone had broken. The intense pain caused her to stumble back.
Mingxi followed up with a backward kick, sending her tumbling beside the first maid. The remaining maids, shocked by Mingxi’s ferocity, exchanged glances and charged all at once.
Wan Mama panicked and tried to help, but Li Mama stopped her. “You’ll only drag her down. Let’s focus on tying those two old hags up first.”
Wan Mama, who wasn’t used to fieldwork, nodded reflexively. Then she worriedly asked, “But can she handle it alone?”
“These little scrubs think they can take her? Watch and learn how our young lady puts them in their place.”
Wan Mama swallowed hard. Before she even finished tying up two of the maids, a flurry of crashes and bangs filled the air—and the rest of the maids were already piled up on the floor like fallen dominoes.
She quietly gave a thumbs-up. Our young miss is fierce!
Mingxi casually tossed the broom aside—it landed upright against the wall like it had been placed there on purpose.
“Tie them all up, gag them, and don’t let a single one die,” she ordered. She left Li Mama to clean up and brought Wan Mama and Qiancao with her to Madam Jiang’s courtyard.
Just outside, they saw a maid dragging the bound Qiao Wan over. Mingxi didn’t even glance at her, ignoring Qiao Wan’s feral, rage-filled stare.
Madam Jiang’s residence was clearly smaller than the main courtyard. The door was slightly ajar. Mingxi pushed it open and stepped in. Before she even rounded the decorative screen, she heard Yingliu shout, “What are you doing back here?! Get out now!”
Her voice was sharp, laced with fear.
Mingxi paused briefly, then stepped past the screen—only to find Yingliu standing under the eaves, face pale. Her arm was tied with a rope and looped around her neck in a makeshift sling.
Mingxi was momentarily stunned.
Yingliu froze too, then suddenly burst into sobs and flung herself to the ground. “Young Miss, save us! Qiao Wan is trying to kill the Madam!”
Li Mama rushed over to help Yingliu up, shocked. “What happened to you?”
It hadn’t been long since they’d moved here—how had her arm already been broken?
Tears streamed down Yingliu’s face. “Eldest Master hasn’t been seen for the past two days. Qiao Wan’s been running wild, relying on his favor. She brought in some strong maids, and we… we weren’t their match. Yang Yiniang was yelled at by Qiao Wan and fell ill from the anger. Yesterday, Madam argued with her again—got scratched in the face and fainted from rage. She still hasn’t woken up.”
Yingliu looked at Mingxi desperately. “Young Miss, I’m useless—I couldn’t protect them. That maid broke my arm, and we don’t know where they took Luo Mama. Please save us!”
Mingxi had guessed things wouldn’t be good, but she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
Just then, the maids dragged in Qiao Wan.
Yingliu went silent mid-sentence.
But her fury quickly overtook her fear. Despite her injury, she charged at Qiao Wan, clawing at her, yelling, “You finally got what you deserve! Let’s see you act all high and mighty now! Where’s Luo Mama? Speak!”
Qiao Wan’s mouth was gagged, and she could only let out muffled cries, twisting her head to dodge the attack.
Mingxi looked toward Li Mama.
Li Mama stepped forward and dragged Yingliu off. “Dear girl, don’t hurt yourself further for trash like her. It’s not worth it.”
Yingliu cried even harder, clinging to Li Mama and refusing to let go.
Mingxi spoke calmly, “Is there anyone else still usable here? Where’s Mingcui?”
Upon hearing that, Yingliu quickly said, “Mingcui is sick too. We don’t know what she ate last night, but today she’s had terrible diarrhea and can’t even get up.”
Mingxi turned her head and looked toward Qiao Wan.
Qiao Wan glared fiercely at Mingxi, only to see her offer a faint smile in return. Just as she felt puzzled, she heard Duan Mingxi say, “No matter. You go take the physician to check on the Madam first, then have him examine Yang Yiniang and Mingcui as well. If it’s just natural illness, then it’s their own carelessness. But if someone tampered with anything, rest assured—whatever they were forced to eat or drink, I’ll make sure it gets fed back to that person in full. Not a single bite less.”
Qiao Wan’s expression stiffened, and a flicker of panic flashed in her eyes.
Mingxi slowly withdrew her gaze, no longer looking at Qiao Wan. Even Ren Mian, used to major events, felt his legs go a little weak at that moment. Without a word, he followed Yingliu into the house.
Mingxi had no intention of visiting Madam Jiang. After all, Madam Jiang was the legitimate wife. Judging by Qiao Wan’s actions, she seemed to be trying to seize power, not take Madam Jiang’s life outright—just make her too sick to manage the household.
But Yang Yiniang was a different matter. As a concubine, she held less status.
And then there was Mingcui—a mere maid—whose life was even more worthless. These two were the ones who needed more careful attention.
Mingxi took a deep breath and called Qiancao over, whispering instructions: “Go find Li Quan and have him invite Guard Qi from Duan Wang’s manor. Just say I need a favor.”
Qiancao blinked, then lowered her voice, “Miss, should we inform Wangye as well?”
“Silly girl. If we tell Qi He, Wangye will naturally know.”
Realizing that made sense, Qiancao gave an embarrassed smile. “I’ll go now.”
Once Qiancao left, Mingxi had the tied-up old servant women brought over to join Qiao Wan, but none of their gags were removed.
Watching their panicked and shifting eyes, Duan Mingxi had fully calmed down.
By now, Wan Mama had also recovered and came forward to ask, “Miss, what should we do next?”
