Chapter 208: Caught in One Net

The sky gradually darkened.

Nightfall quietly shrouded the area; shops on the street closed their doors, and pedestrians grew sparse.

The three of them soon arrived at the street in the south of the city.

Liu Chujian suddenly said, "Xiuzhao, there seem to be two people behind us, following us the whole time."

Xiuzhao turned her head to glance, then smiled, "It's nothing, ignore them."

As she spoke, she walked quickly for a few steps and suddenly turned into a small alley nearby.

Once inside the alley, there was no turning back.

A cold smirk appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she slowed her pace, waiting for the little lamb behind her to follow inside.

Liu Chujian, bringing Bi'er along, followed her in.

Hearing the footsteps behind her, Xiuzhao sneered in her heart: Truly a foolish woman whose eyes have been blinded by a man.

She remained composed and continued walking forward.

At this moment, the person following behind suddenly spoke up: "Is the Earth Temple just ahead?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Xiuzhao's expression changed drastically.

She steadied her emotions, turned her head, and wore a look of confusion: "What Earth Temple? What is Liu talking about? Ahead is the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion; my Young Master is right there."

Liu Chujian said, "Oh, then I must have remembered wrong."

Xiuzhao smiled, continued walking forward, and urged, "Young Lady, walk faster; I fear my Young Master cannot wait any longer."

Liu Chujian, bringing Bi'er along, continued to follow behind.

Soon, on an empty lot to the right, an old and dilapidated Earth Temple appeared.

Xiuzhao suddenly stopped her steps.

Liu Chujian also stopped, looked at the Earth Temple, and said, "It seems I wasn't wrong; there really is an Earth Temple."

Xiuzhao turned around, the humble smile on her face having turned into a mocking sneer: "So, Young Lady has been here before?"

Liu Chujian looked calm: "No, today is my first time here."

Xiuzhao stared at the expression on her face for a few moments, suddenly feeling that something was wrong, and her gaze immediately shifted to behind her.

However, behind her was empty; there was nothing there.

Those two women who had been following behind had also disappeared, she knew not when.

Xiuzhao's pupils constricted, and she immediately barked, "Where are they? Come out at once!"

However, no one responded, and no one came out.

In the dim alley, it suddenly became terrifyingly silent.

Xiuzhao felt a jolt of alarm and immediately shouted toward the Earth Temple, "Senior Brother! Come out quickly!"

Yet, the temple was also deathly silent, with no response whatsoever.

Xiuzhao's complexion began to turn pale, and her right hand trembled as she reached toward her waist.

Liu Chujian watched her with a calm expression.

At this moment, two blurry figures suddenly walked out of the pitch-black alley.

Xiuzhao's eyes brightened, and just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw those two figures gradually become clear, then stand behind Liu Chujian, staring at her with icy gazes.

They were not the two women, but two sturdy matrons.

Xiuzhao's heart sank instantly.

She suddenly twisted her body, preparing to run into the nearby Earth Temple, but as soon as she moved, she stopped again.

Bai Qingtong walked out from the temple.

Behind her followed several guards holding blades and swords, their faces cold and ruthless.

Xiuzhao was utterly desperate; with a "whoosh," she lunged fiercely toward the wall on the left, then leaped up and jumped onto it.

However, at this very moment, "Swish, swish, swish!", dozens of sharp arrows suddenly shot out from the other side of the wall, sealing off all her paths.

She clearly saw a tall young girl standing on the other side of the wall, along with a row of guards holding bows and arrows.

Several sharp arrows pierced her body, shooting her down from the wall.

She fell heavily to the ground.

Liu Chujian looked at her calmly and said, "You should have inquired clearly. When Young Master Luo goes to a Brothel, he never has to spend money; on the contrary, the Brothel even pays him. As for detaining him, that is even more absurd; those women in the Brothel would never let anyone bully him."

"Of course, he can barely handle the women around him now, so how would he dare to go to a Brothel?"

Xiuzhao glared at her, and just as she was about to grit her teeth and curse, Bi'er suddenly walked over and punched her in the mouth, shouting angrily, "How dare you speak ill of my Young Master!"

A look of resentment appeared in Xiuzhao's eyes; she suddenly reached out to grab her arm, and just as she was about to use her final strength to kill this arrogant Young Maid, she saw Bi'er grab her arm in return, twist it lightly, and with a "crack," break her arm directly.

Xiuzhao immediately let out a miserable scream.

"Bang!"

As she opened her mouth wide to scream, Bi'er threw another punch, shattering all the teeth in her mouth and caving in her nasal bone, knocking her unconscious on the spot.

"Bad woman! Hmph!"

Bi'er cursed again, then stood up and returned to her mistress's side.

Bai Qingtong looked at her with a surprised expression.

Not long after.

The guards escorted Bai Qingtong and the others out of the alley.

In the alley nearby, Jia Tanchun was also escorted out by a group of archers and guards.

These were all people from the Bai Family. Jia Tanchun had originally wanted to bring the Jia Family guards, but fearing there might be spies among them, she only brought two maids and one matron.

The two of them, each leading a group of people, had arrived at the Earth Temple in advance.

One entered the temple to capture the people, and the other intercepted any who might have escaped outside; before Liu Chujian arrived, they had already rounded everyone up.

The five people in the temple, the two people keeping watch outside, the Xiuzhao who went to trick Liu Chujian, and the two women preparing to forcibly seize her—a total of ten people—were all captured.

However, neither of them felt any joy or relief.

After boarding the carriage, Jia Tanchun frowned and spoke: "What exactly is going on? Why would someone want to kill Young Master Luo? And why send so many people?"

Liu Chujian glanced at her without speaking.

Bai Qingtong said: "As far as I know, the only person who has a grudge against my brother-in-law is Wan Qianzi."

Jia Tanchun shook her head: "It is not her."

Bai Qingtong looked at her and said: "I also know it is not her. That Mama, that maid, and that servant in your mansion have all been in your mansion for many years. No matter how rich Wan Qianzi is, it is impossible for her to make all three of them betray you."

!

Jia Tanchun's expression shifted, and she said: "I have already had people interrogate them. Once I return from the Royal Palace, I will personally interrogate them throughout the night."

Bai Qingtong said: "I am afraid it is not that simple. I suspect that even with interrogation, nothing will be found."

There was silence in the carriage for a while.

Jia Tanchun suddenly looked at Liu Chujian beside her and asked: "Chujian, do you know anything? Young Master Luo should have told you everything about his affairs, right?"

Liu Chujian was silent for a moment and said: "I do know some things, but for the time being, I cannot say."

Jia Tanchun was startled; she exchanged a glance with Bai Qingtong, and a look of confusion appeared on both their faces.

There were few pedestrians on the road.

The carriage began to pick up speed, heading toward the Royal Palace.

Bai Qingtong said: "Chujian, come into the palace with us; you can just wait outside with the maid and Mama. When we leave the palace, I will have my brother-in-law escort you back."

Liu Chujian nodded, then suddenly looked at her and said: "How did Third Miss know about this matter tonight?"

Before Bai Qingtong could answer, the carriage suddenly stopped.

The woman driving the carriage said: "Miss, the brother-in-law is outside. Should I let him up?"

Without waiting for an answer from inside the carriage, Luo Zijun had already jumped onto the carriage.

The woman hurriedly said: "Brother-in-law, the carriage is full of young ladies, including the young lady from the Jia Family; it is not appropriate for you to come up."

"It is fine. If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, no one will know."

With a lift of the curtain, Luo Zijun squeezed into the carriage.

The woman was left between laughing and crying: "It is not just the two of us; there are so many guards and maids watching."

Bai Qingtong said to the outside: "It is fine, let's go; hurry to the palace."

The woman said no more; with a "crack," she whipped the horse's rump, and the carriage began to move again.

As soon as Luo Zijun entered the carriage, he reached out to press down on Bi'er's head, shoved her aside rudely, and then sat between her and Chujian, saying with a face full of concern: "Chujian, are you alright?"

Bi'er pouted, shifted her bottom to the side, and then wiped her head with her sleeve.

Liu Chujian smiled slightly, looking at him with gentle eyes as she said: "I am fine."

"Ahem..."

Just as the two were huddled together, gazing at each other with affection, Bai Qingtong, sitting opposite them, could not help but "ahem" and spoke up: "Brother-in-law, do you think your sister-in-law does not exist?"

Beside her, Jia Tanchun let out a "pfft" of laughter.

Only then did Luo Zijun cup his hands and say: "Third Miss, Miss Tanchun, thank you."

Jia Tanchun laughed: "Is Young Master Luo being so brazen? To be so lovey-dovey with another woman right in front of your own sister-in-law."

Bai Qingtong huffed and said: "This is completely disregarding me and my sister."

Luo Zijun apologized: "Third Miss is joking; how would I dare? I was just worried after seeing Chujian being tricked away."

Jia Tanchun suddenly asked: "How did Young Master Luo know someone was going to make a move on you? And how did you know there was a mole in my Jia Mansion?"

Luo Zijun was silent for a moment. He looked at the two people opposite him, and just as he was hesitating whether to speak, Liu Chujian whispered from the side: "Zijun Gege, at a time like this, Chujian thinks you should tell Third Miss and Miss Tanchun; perhaps they can help you."

Bai Qingtong suddenly said with some anger: "It is not 'perhaps,' it is 'definitely.' Brother-in-law, you told Chujian but refuse to tell me—do you really treat me as an outsider?"

Luo Zijun sighed and said: "The main thing is, I have been living off a woman's support, and I do not want to continue doing so."

Once these words were spoken, the four people in the carriage suddenly all laughed.

Jia Tanchun laughed: "What is wrong with living off a woman's support? Many men want to, but do not have the ability to do so."

Liu Chujian laughed: "Exactly."

Bai Qingtong said: "Brother-in-law, since you have already been living off it, you might as well keep doing it to the end. Hurry up and tell us, what exactly is going on?"

Luo Zijun stopped joking and looked at the Third Miss of the Jia Family opposite him: "Miss Tanchun, there is a person in your mansion named Lai Da. When you went back to secretly investigate the corruption in Daguanyuan, did you investigate him?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Tanchun was stunned for a moment, then the expression on her face became grave: "He is the head steward of our Rongguo Mansion. When Daguanyuan was being built, he also helped people secure a few jobs, but..."

"But his mother, Lai Mama, is an old servant of your Rongguo Mansion who served the Duke back in the day. She is highly respected in the Jia Family, and with your grandmother backing him, you did not dare to investigate him, is that right?"

Luo Zijun continued.

Jia Tanchun's expression shifted: "How does Young Master Luo..."

"Of course I know."

Luo Zijun's expression was calm, and his tone was surprisingly calm as he said flatly: "Because back then, before he became the head steward of your Rongguo Mansion, he caused the deaths of my father and mother, and also caused the death of my sister's unborn child, destroying my family. Back then, he even nearly had people beat me to death, causing me to lose my memory and turning me into a fool..."

The carriage suddenly fell into silence.

(End of chapter)