The Duke Was Actually This Generous?

"Mm-hmm, I understand." The sculpture nodded obediently.

"Where's my food?" Zhao Xun had noticed right away that the sculpture's hands were empty, but only now had he found a moment to ask.

"When that person came over earlier, I heard his footsteps from far away. To keep him from finding me, I put your food up on the bamboo." The sculpture pointed straight ahead.

The tops of two bamboo stalks leaned close together, their leaves interwoven into a net that held up the brown paper bag.

In the dead of night, even someone looking up would have had trouble noticing anything up there without inspecting it closely.

Zhao Xun stood beneath the bamboo and shook it, shaking the leaves apart. The brown paper bag fell, and he caught it with ease.

The brown paper bag was sturdy and completely undamaged, and the food inside was fine too.

In high spirits, Zhao Xun said goodbye to the sculpture, climbed over the wall, and left the Duke's Manor.

By the time he returned to Xiao Ai's home, it was already 2:43 a.m.

Zhao Xun found Xiao Ai sitting in the bedroom, staring blankly into space.

At the sudden sight of Zhao Xun returning, Xiao Ai instinctively stood up, then broke into a smile. "You're back!"

"What's wrong?" Zhao Xun sensed that Xiao Ai was feeling down.

"It's nothing serious," Xiao Ai said, trying to sound casual. "The Flower Fields said business hasn't been good lately and they have too many workers, so they let me go."

Understanding dawned on Zhao Xun's face.

It seemed the Duke was ready to make his move on Xiao Ai.

Once Xiao Ai couldn't find work anywhere and could no longer support herself, she would naturally have to become a maid at the Duke's Manor, the only place willing to take her in.

In the entire town, only the Duke had the power and connections to pull something like that off.

"Don't worry too much. You might find a new job tomorrow," Zhao Xun reassured her.

"Yes, that's what I think too. There are plenty of jobs in town." Xiao Ai encouraged herself. "I'm sure I can find another job that suits me!"

Although she didn't understand the deeper meaning behind Zhao Xun's words, she was optimistic by nature and hadn't let losing her job crush her.

"Oh, why did you get back so late today?" Xiao Ai looked curiously at the brown paper bag and documents in Zhao Xun's hands. "I thought you'd found a better place to stay and weren't coming back."

"You're the only one willing to take me in. Where else could I go?" Zhao Xun smiled, opened the brown paper bag, and took out a piece of butter bread for Xiao Ai. "I heard the Duke was treating the townspeople to dinner tonight, so I went."

"You got this from the Duke's Manor?" Xiao Ai's eyes widened. "The Duke was actually this generous? He not only treated everyone to dinner, but let you take so much food home too."

It was a whole big bag, enough to feed her for at least three days.

"As if the Duke would be that generous." Zhao Xun chuckled. "I took it myself."

Xiao Ai's eyes widened even further. "Is... is that okay?"

"Go ahead and eat. The Duke is so rich, surely he wouldn't come after us over a few pieces of bread." Zhao Xun pressed the butter bread into Xiao Ai's hands.

Even if the Duke really was petty enough to cause trouble for them over something so trivial, he wouldn't have the chance tomorrow.

If the Short-Haired Woman killed the Duke, he naturally wouldn't be able to do anything.

If the burly man saved the Duke, the Duke would be too busy scrambling to protect his reputation tomorrow to care about such a minor matter.

Just then, Xiao Ai's stomach growled twice.

She lowered her eyes in embarrassment. "Thank you."

After being dismissed from the Flower Fields, she had felt a little down. Her plans to sell flowers had fallen through too, leaving her with no choice but to come home early.

She hadn't eaten anything all day.

Now, with the scent of butter reaching her nose, she really did feel hungry.

She stopped standing on ceremony and began taking big bites.

Meanwhile, Zhao Xun placed the stack of documents on the bedside table and carefully read through them page by page in the dim light of the oil lamp.

According to these records, Ruby's parents really had died in an accident, and the Duke had taken Ruby in purely to build a good reputation for himself in town.

But Ruby had grown into such a beautiful woman that the Duke had begun harboring improper intentions.

That was when Ruby's situation had given the Duke an idea.

Whenever he saw a girl he liked, he schemed to bring her into the Duke's Manor as a maid, then found opportunities to grope her and sleep with her.

To keep anyone from causing trouble for him, he simply arranged for her family to die, leaving the girl orphaned and with no one to rely on. Then he could do whatever he pleased.

That was how Xiao Ai had lost her parents.

As for why the Duke had waited over a month without making a move on Xiao Ai, the records didn't say, but Zhao Xun could guess.

First, unlike Ruby back then, Xiao Ai wasn't a child. She had a job of her own, so bringing her under his control would take some effort.

Second, the Duke had to keep a low profile for the time being while dealing with Ruby's situation, lest trouble arise on both fronts and become too much for him to handle.

Third, the Duke had a new favorite, Tiantian, so his interest in Xiao Ai had become less urgent.

All in all, Xiao Ai had been lucky amid her misfortune.

Zhao Xun borrowed paper and a pen from Xiao Ai and selected the key parts of the documents to copy down.

There were no photocopiers in this world, so he had to make a copy by hand.

Fortunately, he only needed to copy them once.

His main concern was preventing the destruction of the originals from making his hidden mission impossible to complete.

To be honest, he rather hoped the Short-Haired Woman had already killed the Duke.

After all, his mission was to clear Ruby's name. He didn't need the Duke to confess his crimes personally.

If the Duke died, he wouldn't have a chance to defend himself, which would actually make things easier.

Unfortunately, Zhao Xun had no way of learning the outcome of the fight between the Short-Haired Woman and the burly man just yet.

Seeing how intently Zhao Xun was writing, Xiao Ai leaned closer for a curious look.

She couldn't read many words. After looking for a while, she only felt dizzy and gave up.

She was curious about what Zhao Xun was writing, but she didn't ask any more questions.

Zhao Xun didn't volunteer an explanation either.

Tomorrow, Xiao Ai would naturally learn everything.

To keep his handwriting as clear as possible, Zhao Xun copied slowly. It wasn't until after four in the morning that he finished organizing and copying all the important parts.

He stood up, stretched his arms, and said to Xiao Ai, "I'm going out for a bit."

Xiao Ai was dozing at the edge of the bed. At the sudden sound of Zhao Xun's voice, she woke with a start.

She turned to look out the window. It was still pitch-black outside.

"Where are you going this late?" she asked in confusion.

"I have something to take care of," Zhao Xun said vaguely, picking up the originals and his handwritten copy. "You don't need to wait for me. I might not be back for a while."

"Oh, all right." Xiao Ai rubbed the hem of her skirt, stammering, "Then... then take the key with you. I might go out to look for work as soon as it's light."

Zhao Xun gave a casual "Mm," then turned and walked out.

Watching Zhao Xun leave so briskly, Xiao Ai felt hollow inside.

Ever since her parents died, she had been on her own. The truth was... she was afraid of being alone.

That was why she had offered him a place to stay when Zhao Xun said he had nowhere to go.

She just wanted company.

But now it seemed she would still be spending a long time alone.

She needed to get used to it as soon as possible, rather than always hoping to find someone to keep her company.