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  Chapter 12: The Cost

  As soon as it got dark, Zhu Yuhuan was just about to climb over the wall and take a look inside this mansion. He had been guarding this back door, and coincidentally, someone came out from inside just then.

  He was dressed in a black robe, and as soon as he came out of the door behind him, it was locked from the inside. He ran south towards Nanjing without touching the ground.

  Zhu Yuhuan hesitated for a moment and decided not to stare at that person, but to enter the house and take a look, because his mother was likely in this house.

  He ran to the corner of the wall and listened carefully as the footsteps faded away, then used a nearby tree to climb over the wall and enter the compound.

  The person who just went out was agile and quick, he also figured it out, should be a guard or something. There should be more people like that inside the mansion, he needs to be extra careful.

  He walked along the wall corner to the front, just walking to a courtyard with lights on, he stopped moving. Two people came out of the courtyard, talking and walking forward.

  "...the stomach is quite good!"

  "This rascal has now gone free, it seems we caught him just to raise him!"

  "Alright, alright, let him eat it then, see how many days he can last!"

  Zhu Yuhuan found it somewhat strange to hear, the two of them seemed not like his mother, could it be that someone else was also caught here? Or had he mistaken the place? Perhaps this was someone else who had caught someone and was sneaking around, but ended up deceiving himself.

  Having thought of this, I'm a bit anxious, but now going out is also reluctant. Since I've come all the way here, I still have to investigate clearly whether it's really here or not.

  The two of them walked away, and Zhu Yuhuan immediately crouched down and ran to the entrance of the courtyard. He peeked inside and saw that there was no one in the courtyard, but the house inside was lit up. He quickly slipped inside and ran to the corner of the wall under the eaves, observing all around for a while without startling anyone. He slowly walked over to the window and listened to the movements inside.

  After listening for half a day, it seemed that there was only the sound of someone eating inside, like one person, and no one spoke. He slowly got up, wanting to lift the window to take a look inside, but the window was pressed from the inside. Now is winter, windows are generally not open.

  Zhu Yuhuan could only crouch down again, stunned for a moment, thinking of a daring plan. He walked to the door with his waist bent, listened to the movement inside, and confirmed that there was indeed only one person inside. After looking at the courtyard gate again, no one came, he straightened up, pushed open the door, lifted the curtain and went in.

  The main house was empty, and the sound came from a room on the side. He walked to the door and looked inside, seeing a disheveled man sitting at a table eating. The man heard the noise and looked over, catching sight of Zhu Yuhuan. He was surprised for a moment because Zhu Yuhuan's clothes were different from those people. They usually wore black robes, but Zhu Yuhuan wore brown-red clothing that looked quite luxurious. However, he only felt surprised for a moment, as Che Gui didn't dare to be nosy. His life was still in their hands! He thought Zhu Yuhuan was just like the person who came last time, a leader, so he didn't say anything and continued eating with his head turned away.

  Zhu Yuhuan swept his eyes around the room, there was no one else, he didn't say a word, turned and walked out, when he came out, he closed the door just like before. Then he crouched down and ran to the gate of the courtyard.

  He doesn't know Chegui, and Chegui doesn't know him either.

  He went to the front yard, which was a bit bigger and more empty. There was nothing in the yard, but fortunately it was at night, he ran along the wall corner to the corner, crouched down and stared straight at the door of the house, and no one could see him.

  There were vague human shadows inside the house, walking back and forth, seemingly four or five people. He wanted to sneak up and crouch under the window to investigate, but the people inside were very vigilant, and from time to time someone's shadow would appear at the window, sometimes opening it to look out, sometimes standing by the window listening.

  Zhu Yuhuan saw that when they opened the window, there were about four people inside, and one of them was a woman, holding something and walking back and forth.

  Zhu Yuhuan was startled as soon as he saw what the old woman was holding, and without regard for danger, he scurried from the wall to the edge of the house, crouching low to listen at the window sill.

  "Who are you people, what kind of people?! Why did you catch me!" He had just crouched down when he heard the voice of his mother, Liu Luo Su! Zhu Yuhuan was shocked to the point where all the hairs on his body stood up! He had found the right place!

  "Let's eat something, who cares what others think, anyway it won't harm." a man's voice said.

  Liu Luo Su angrily said: "I won't eat! You catch me like this and still say you're not harming me!"

  The old woman softly persuaded: "Hey, eat some, if it's really poisonous, why bother with so much trouble?"

  "Why did you catch me? What is your purpose?"

  Another man seemed annoyed and shouted: "Forget it! Let her starve! The three of you watch over her!"

  Zhu Yuhuan heard the footsteps coming towards the door, and hastily turned around to run to the corner of the wall under the eaves to hide. He saw two people walking out of the house one after another.

  The two of them walked out of the courtyard, and Zhu Yuhuan crouched down under the window to listen for a while. Inside, there were still two men and an old woman left. The old woman was still persuading Liu Luosu to eat something in a low voice, while the two men chatted in low voices around the stove, not paying attention to anything else.

  Zhu Yuhuan listened carefully, the two people's voices were very small, seemingly not wanting to let the two people in the same room hear them, so he couldn't hear clearly. He squatted for a while, looking at these people who seemed to have no intention of harming his mother, as if waiting for something. He returned to a quiet corner and squatted down again, waiting for the night to deepen and the people in the house to fall asleep before thinking of a way.

  Squatting outside, my mind was also thinking non-stop. What the old woman said made sense too. If they wanted to harm Mother, why go to so much trouble? Mother is a weak and helpless woman, if they wanted to do something to her, it would have happened already in the nunnery or at the foot of Qingyun Mountain. Why did they need to go through so much trouble to tie her up here? What's their purpose? Is it to use Mother as leverage to threaten someone?

  Is it a court struggle or a party struggle? Zhu Yuhuan thought for a moment and immediately denied his own idea. As for the affairs of the imperial court, Master Chu has always been cautious and has not had any deep-seated enemies so far. Moreover, using his mother to threaten Chu Nancai doesn't seem very reliable, as Chu Nancai has already returned the marriage certificate, and his mother is no longer a member of the Chu family, how can she be threatened?

  Looking at these people's expressions, they seem very determined and don't appear to be probing anything.

  After a while, Zhu Yuhuan's body was numb with cold. He had to gently rub his hands and squat on the ground to walk back and forth, blowing air onto them.

  One of the two people who left came back, seemingly as a leader, instructing the people on this side to take care and checking various places. Zhu Yuhuan crouched behind a pile of snow, rubbed some snow on his body, lowered his head and held his breath, and the person passed by in front of him without discovering him.

  The leader left and didn't come back, the people in the house sat for more than half a time unit before one of them got up. Zhu Yuhuan saw that the lamp next door lit up for a moment, then went out, probably going to sleep.

  The light in this room has been on all along.

  The cold wind started blowing strongly, Zhu Yuhuan shrank into the corner of the wall, shivering with fear as he stared at the light in the house...

  ……

  Chu Ke stood in the boudoir, staring blankly at her dowry chest. The trousseau was almost all packed up, and as she watched the items being put away box by box, it felt like her wedding day was approaching bit by bit. She pursed her lips and smiled slightly, then let out a faint sigh. However, today, she didn't see Zhu Yi Chen.

  At this time, he should have left the mansion too.

  She turned back into the house, feeling a bit chilly, and went to sit beside the carved golden brazier, stretching out her hands, lost in thought.

  Her wedding day is getting closer and closer, but she's getting more and more anxious, and the only ones making her anxious are her brother and mother.

  Brother acknowledged his ancestors and returned to the clan, this may not be possible in this life. However, this matter cannot be kept from Old Man Chu and Chunan forever. After all, Brother is a descendant of the Chu family, so they have the right to know out of emotional and rational considerations. Although the relationship is significant, Chunan still makes people uneasy, but Old Man Chu should know; he has also experienced great things, and being the junior master of three generations is not in vain. Even if he knows about this matter, he should have a good solution.

  At least, the old man won't be so heartbroken now that he knows his family still has a male heir. It's some comfort, anyway.

  And when can her mother come out of that nunnery again? Chu Keji always felt that if she got married, she wouldn't be able to help with these things anymore. She thought back to the last time she came, and although Zhu Yuhuan had hidden it well, he still couldn't conceal the desolation and bleakness in his heart, which made her feel a pang of distress.

  Her mother lived alone in the hut, which was not a long-term solution. She thought that after she got married, she would take her mother to Shuozhou, but then she thought about leaving her brother all alone in Chengde and couldn't bear it!

  Thinking and thinking, I couldn't help but let out a long sigh. So, it's really brother's matter that is the most troublesome.

  She turned her head to look, the maids were still busy outside, she couldn't move around today, but there were many things in her room that needed to be done by the maids.

  She thought of bringing the maids again, Jing'er and Qingguo were to be brought along, Baiguo had told her a few days ago that she also wanted to come with them, but there weren't three to bring, if they were going to bring some, it would have to be an even number, four, so who else could they find? Or, they could just bring two and not let Baiguo go?

  And on the other side, the proper wife is also quite worrying. Hearing about the things the proper wife has done before, she's a troublemaker herself. Even if she's passed that stage, it doesn't mean she won't stir up more trouble. Chu Keji isn't afraid of her causing trouble, but who would want to spend their days scheming and plotting if they could live in peace? (If you like this work, welcome to subscribe and reward on Qidian Mobile Web, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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