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  Chapter 16: The Cost

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  Zhu Yichan nodded in agreement, turned around to collect the items, and in the evening took some melons and fruits that had been prepared by Ce Fei. They were all tribute goods, some for Old Master and Old Madame, some for Chu Nancai and Chu Gaoshi, and a small portion left over for Liu Niangniang. Ce Fei sighed as she was preparing them, feeling it wasn't worth it - a good person like that, with a different status, even when preparing things, had to give priority to others first, while the one who truly deserved it could only get a very small and insignificant portion.

  The next day in the afternoon, Chu Ke heard Qing Guo report that Second Young Master had arrived.

  She hastily stood up and went out to greet them, just in time to see an old woman smiling and leading Zhu Yuxian over.

  Zhu Yichan's face was tinged with a hint of helplessness, but he smiled after seeing her, his narrow and long black eyes fixed on her, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and in his ink-like eyes, there was a smile that only Chu Kui could understand.

  The old woman entered the door and smiled, saying, "Third sister, Second Master brought some tribute melons and fruits. The concubine also wants to see if you are safe and sound. The old lady asked me to lead the young master."

  "Chu Ke smiled on her face and said, 'Thank you, Mom.' She turned around and instructed Qing Guo to invite her mother to the side room for tea."

  The green fruit is just right, the old woman smiled and bowed her head, not daring to speak. The old lady was worried about the concubine, so she asked the young master to take a look at the girl's, and soon called for the child to lead the way."

  Chu Ke smiled and nodded "Alright." She looked at the ham melon in her mother-in-law's hand and laughed, saying "It looks fresh indeed."

  The old woman nodded with satisfaction and said, "Just now the old lady has already tasted one piece, it's really very sweet." As she spoke, she put the fruit on the table, and Qing Guo hurried to help.

  In the blink of an eye, Chu Kei handed a letter to Zhu Yi Chen, who quickly took it and tucked it into his bosom. The two of them looked like thieves, exchanging glances after completing the handover, before letting out a sigh of relief. Chu Kei's face involuntarily flushed with shyness, while Zhu Yi Chen's eyes sparkled with even more amusement.

  Chu Xue had actually thought of it earlier, if Zhu Yi Chen came, the old lady would not have called him to come here alone. The side concubine was also not an ordinary identity and couldn't always follow, this time it was probably Zhu Yi Chen who came alone, so she wrote the matter on paper in advance.

  As expected, the old lady sent someone to keep an eye on her and she got caught writing the IOU.

  The old woman put the watermelon on the table and turned around to smile at Chu Ke Hui, saying "Miss, I'll take Master Biao to the front now."

  Chu Ke nodded slightly and turned to Zhu Yi Chen Fu, saying "Brother, slow down."

  "Wait a minute, sister-in-law." As soon as Zhu Yichen finished saying this, he saw Chu Keqi suddenly laugh for no reason, silently staring at him with a smile. Zhu Yichen immediately also smiled silently and followed the still puzzled old woman out the door.

  Chu Xue smiled because she saw that the sash tied around Zhu Yi Chen's waist was the same one she had given him.

  Zhu Yichan came over and sat down beside Old Lady Chu for a bit. He didn't even eat dinner before taking his leave immediately.

  The old lady was originally uncomfortable in her heart, and many things had happened in the mansion these days. She was annoyed that guests came at this time, as if watching a joke, especially when there were worries here at Chu Ke's place. Seeing Zhu Yucheng leave for a few days and then come back, she was a bit suspicious. However, now seeing Zhu Yucheng indeed just took a look and left, she dispelled her suspicions again.

  Zhu Yichan came out of the mansion and moved into a guest house outside. After arriving at the guest house, he finally opened the letter written by Chu Keqi and took a look. He was shocked after reading it and muttered to himself, "This girl... is too bold."

  Although he said so, he didn't dare to slack off and hastily called the two attendants who followed him, whispering instructions...

  ……

  The heavens are dry and withered, the moon is dark and the wind is strong.

  The Western Wing of Chu Nan Cai was on fire tonight.

  "The water is overflowing, come quickly! The water is overflowing, come quickly!"

  In the middle of the night, a sudden burst of sharp and urgent gong sounds rang out, mixed with people's panicked shouts, waking up everyone who was asleep. When Chu Ke woke up, she looked outside the window, but there was no firelight illuminating the window red, Zhu Yu Xun still had some restraint.

  She pretended to be startled and asked, seeing Jing'er and Qingguo rushing in, "What's wrong? Where's the leak?"

  "It seems to be the front yard...the old man's side of the house..." Jing'er said, trembling as she quickly came over to help her get dressed.

  "What's going on?" Chu Xue was really startled for a moment and hastily stuffed the curved knife under her bed into her clothes.

  "Hurry up and get dressed, girl! What if the fire spreads over here..."

  Jing'er's words had not yet finished, when shouts were already heard outside the courtyard "Miss, miss!" There was the voice of a matron, and also the voice of a servant.

  Chu Xue's eyes widened in surprise: "Who went to take a look?"

  Jing'er and Qingguo both went out to respond, only then did Chu Ke hurriedly get up and hide the curved knife inside her clothes, quickly putting on her inner shirt to cover it up.

  "Hurry up and get the young lady to safety, open the west gate, and have the old woman keep watch. If the fire spreads, please have the young lady leave immediately from the west gate." The servants outside shouted.

  Qing Guo and Jing Er responded in unison, and the two quickly ran again. Chu Kui Xi had already gotten out of bed and lit the oil lamp in the room, seeing that the two were pale-faced, disheveled, and with their hair loose.

  Two people nervously approached and stayed beside Chu Ke Hui, Qing Guo asked in a trembling voice: "Is anyone hurt?"

  "Dad is not doing well." Chu Kei's face was filled with anxiety as she maintained her good daughter image.

  Outside was a cacophony of shouts and clangs of cymbals, people's loud cries.

  "Something's wrong with the old man and woman!" Chu Keqi stood up, saying anxiously "No, who will go take a look? Waiting like this is making me worried to death."

  Jing'er immediately said "I'll go ask" and quickly ran out, probably worried about her mother who was serving the old lady.

  Liu Yiniang's courtyard was far from Chu Nancai's side, and Chu Keqi wasn't very worried.

  After a while, Jing'er didn't respond, so Bai Guo shouted from outside, "Miss, are you okay?"

  "Good!" Qing Guo replied with a sound.

  "Someone has come from the old lady's side, please don't worry, Miss. It's just a fire in the west wing of Master's house, and no one lives there. The fire is not big either, and it's almost extinguished now."

  Chu Kui Xi and Qing Guo both let out a sigh of relief. Chu Kui Xi personally asked, "Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, are they all okay? Were they frightened?"

  "It's all right, the old lady was afraid that the girl would be frightened to death, and hastily called someone to say so."

  "What about Aunt Willow? Go ask a woman over there."

  "Mrs. Liu just had a woman come over and ask about the young lady's situation, everything is fine on her end."

  "That's good." Chu Ke'er let out a breath of relief again.

  Qingguo was shocked and murmured that Hongxiu's wife had already moved out of the west wing, and there was a fire?

  Chu Xue heard this and her heart skipped a beat, asking, "Was that courtyard on fire before?"

  Qing Guo seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "Hong Xiuniang had just been promoted to be the head of the concubines and moved into the Western Courtyard. That night, a fire broke out... At that time, the young ladies were still at the Duke's mansion."

  "Chu Ke said in a soft voice, 'It's really as lively as the Junwang Fu.'"

  Hong Xiu was framed as the aunt's wife, and the yard where she lived caught fire. Is this a frame-up? Who wants to frame her? It can't be Liu Yiniang, can it?

  "Now that I've said it, let's get straight to the point." Her voice suddenly became stern.

  Qing Guo was frightened and lowered her head, saying in a low voice: "This servant is just too hasty with her words..."

  "say"

  "It was... that fire wasn't big either, it was put out quickly, the next day... the old lady called in Liu Niang, it seemed like... she was beaten with a board..." Qing Guo's face under the light of the oil lamp looked even more frighteningly pale.

  Chu Ke's heart was secretly laughing coldly. The old lady's opening move was indeed brilliant, but she probably didn't expect that the West Wing would catch fire again after a short while.

  Chu Ke didn't ask Qing Guo why he hadn't spoken up earlier, nor did she continue to ask about the matter. She was thinking that Liu Niang's expression was very indifferent in the crowd, and except for her own actions, no one else mattered to her. Then she thought of the expression she saw on Chu Nan Cai that day - disheartened and disappointed.

  At that time, she had this feeling, and the impression Liu Yiniang gave her was a kind of despair and coldness that came from the bones. It turned out that it wasn't just because of Chu Nancai, but also because of the gloomy and ubiquitous Old Man Chu.

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