When Cui Wan and Qiaoju stumbled back to Orchid Courtyard, supporting each other, Yan Qin and Yan Huai were talking outside. Both were startled when they looked up and saw them, and hurried over.
"Madam! What happened to you?" Yan Qin frowned deeply, his gaze sweeping over Cui Wan's disheveled appearance before settling on her visibly swollen, scraped hands.
Cui Wan was still sobbing. At the sight of them, she instinctively tried to hide her hands behind her back, and fresh tears spilled out. She shook her head as she cried. "N-nothing... I just... fell by accident... It's really nothing..."
As she spoke, she raised her tearful eyes and looked pleadingly at Yan Qin and Yan Huai. "Could you... could you not tell A-Qi? He... he'll be angry... Don't tell him..."
Yan Huai's heart softened at her pitiful, frightened appearance, and he hastily nodded. "Of course, of course. Don't worry, Madam. We won't tell the young master. Go inside and rest, and let Qiaoju put some medicine on your injuries."
Supporting the still-sobbing Cui Wan, Qiaoju hurried back into the main room.
Once the two had entered and closed the door, Yan Qin and Yan Huai exchanged a look, each seeing the gravity and anger in the other's eyes.
She fell? How could a fall leave her like that? Someone had clearly bullied Madam!
They exchanged a glance in perfect understanding, turned almost simultaneously, and rushed toward Chu Moqi's study.
Inside the study, Chu Moqi held a book on military strategy, but his gaze wandered, and he had not turned a page in ages. Cui Wan had not come to see him these past few days. Orchid Courtyard was excessively quiet, yet he kept feeling somewhat... empty inside.
Yan Qin pushed open the study door. After they entered, he spoke first, keeping his voice as steady as possible. "Young Master, Madam... went out today."
Chu Moqi's gaze remained on the page. He showed little reaction, merely giving a faint "Mm."
Of course he knew. Cui Wan had not come looking for him these past few days, and he welcomed the peace. Gone out to play? Let her. Once she had played to her heart's content, she would naturally forget a cripple like him. All the better.
Yan Qin and Yan Huai were both somewhat surprised by his calm response. But Yan Huai could not wait. He immediately assumed an exaggeratedly anxious expression, his voice rising. "Young Master! You have no idea what Madam looked like when she came back! It was awful! She came back crying! Her hair was a mess, her clothes were dirty, and she seemed to be injured! It looked... it looked as though someone had bullied her!"
Chu Moqi's fingers abruptly froze over the page. He snapped his head up and looked at Yan Huai. "What did you say?!"
His suddenly piercing gaze made Yan Huai's heart jolt, but he hurried to add, "It's true! I saw it with my own eyes! Madam was crying so bitterly. She must have-"
Before he could finish, Chu Moqi flung the book onto the desk, seized the rims of his wheelchair with both hands, and made to propel himself outside.
"Young Master! Let me push you! It'll be faster!" Yan Huai immediately stepped forward, taking his place behind the handles. He pushed the wheelchair steadily, almost breaking into a run as he sped toward the main room.
The wheelchair raced along the covered corridor with a rapid rumble of wheels.
At the entrance to the main room, Chu Moqi pushed open the half-closed door before the wheelchair had even stopped.
Inside, Qiaoju held a clean handkerchief, trying to wipe the tears and dust from Cui Wan's face. But Cui Wan only covered her face, shaking her head and crying, refusing even to have medicine applied.
"Madam, please let me look at your hands first..." Qiaoju was so anxious she nearly cried herself.
"Everyone out!" Chu Moqi's icy voice rang out abruptly.
Qiaoju jumped. Turning to see Chu Moqi at the door, his face dark as still water, she dared not say more. She hastily set down what she held and withdrew with her head lowered, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
Only the two of them remained in the room.
Chu Moqi wheeled himself over to Cui Wan. At the sight of her tangled hair, tear-streaked face, dirty clothes, and reddened hands, his heart suddenly clenched, as though something had viciously twisted it, filling him with pain and anger.
His face stern, his voice grew colder and harder from suppressing his emotions. "What happened?"
Cui Wan startled. She raised her tearful eyes, and seeing him only made her more flustered. Hastily hiding her hands behind her back, she shook her head desperately. "N-nothing... I only fell... Really..."
"A fall left you like this?!" Chu Moqi's voice rose sharply, carrying an uncompromising demand and a trace of tension even he had not noticed. "Tell me the truth!"
Completely frightened by his stern tone and terrifying expression, Cui Wan thought he blamed her for going out and causing trouble, disgracing him again. Trembling and shedding tears, she haltingly told him about the filthy remarks she had heard those idlers making on the street, how she had been too angry to endure it and gone over to argue, only for them to surround and bully her, pushing her to the ground.
"...They... they were talking nonsense... About you and Sister-in-law... I... I just couldn't stand it..." Cui Wan cried until she could barely catch her breath, frightened and aggrieved.
Chu Moqi listened silently. The more he heard, the darker his face grew, a terrifying storm churning in the depths of his eyes.
A little girl without even the strength to truss a chicken-who had given her the courage to argue with those thugs and scoundrels? Did she have a death wish?
He was furious that those vile wretches dared slander the Chu Family so brazenly, sullying his and his sister-in-law's reputations! Even more furious that they had dared... hurt her.
But looking at the little fool before him, sobbing and sniffling yet still knowing to stand up for him and his sister-in-law, the surging anger in his heart ultimately turned into an even harsher rebuke. His words were bone-chilling:
"These matters have nothing to do with you." Chu Moqi stared at Cui Wan, his gaze sharp. "What? Suddenly brave today, were you? Daring to argue with those ruffians? Did you think you were bringing glory to the Chu Family?"
Stunned by his scolding, Cui Wan cried even harder, protesting aggrievedly, "But... but they were talking nonsense..."
"Then let them!" Chu Moqi cut her off sharply, his tone almost cruelly calm. "Simply don't listen! Why try to play the hero? Utterly stupid!"
Those last words were especially harsh and cold.
His scolding left Cui Wan speechless, her heart aching and bitter. All her grievances and indignation seemed drenched to the core by the bucket of icy water he had poured over them. A-Qi... didn't care at all whether she was hurt. He only blamed her for meddling, for being stupid...
Unable to hold back any longer, she covered her face and wept quietly, her shoulders shaking, utterly pitiful.
Seeing her cry so bitterly only increased the stifling pressure in Chu Moqi's chest. He frowned irritably, left her with a curt "Annoying," and wheeled himself out of the main room without looking back.
The door closed, shutting her sobs inside. She threw herself onto the bed, buried her face in the quilt, and cried with still greater sorrow and despair. A-Qi hated her... He really didn't care about her at all...
Yet just as Cui Wan was crying so hard she could almost no longer breathe, the door to the main room opened again.
Chu Moqi had returned.
A clean, warm cloth lay across his legs, along with several small medicine bottles and a stack of white gauze.
Hearing the movement, Cui Wan lifted her head from the quilt. Through tear-blurred eyes, she watched him return and saw the things on his lap. For a moment, she forgot to cry and simply stared.
His expression stern, Chu Moqi wheeled himself to the bedside. Without looking at her, he picked up the warm cloth and began wiping the lingering tears and dust from her face, his manner somewhat stiff but his movements gentle.
"Look at the state of you," he scolded quietly as he wiped, though his tone was no longer as icy as before.
After cleaning her face, he drew her injured hand toward him. A large patch of skin had been scraped off her palm, seeping blood and mixed with grit. It looked rather gruesome.
Chu Moqi picked up a medicine bottle, removed the stopper, and carefully poured powder onto her wound. It was the wound medicine commonly used in the army, potent enough to burn like fire when sprinkled on an injury.
"Hss-" Cui Wan sucked in a breath of pain and jerked her hand back, tears welling up again.
Chu Moqi's hand paused. Only then did he realize that in the army, he had always treated either himself or thick-skinned soldiers. Being a little heavy-handed did not matter; no one would cry out in pain.
But Cui Wan... with skin so delicate, how could she bear it?
His movements unconsciously grew lighter and slower. Watching her gasp in pain, her eyes brimming with tears as she forced herself not to pull her hand away, he found much of his irritation and anger quietly dissipating...
He gave a derisive chuckle, his tone still carrying its habitual mockery, though there was little chill in his eyes. "In the army, anyone who dared make a sound while having an injury like this treated would be laughed at for three days. Does it really hurt that much? So delicate..."
Cui Wan lowered her head, not daring to look at him, and merely sniffled softly without answering.
Chu Moqi said nothing more. He carefully cleaned her wound, sprinkled on the powder, then picked up the gauze and began bandaging it. His movements were practiced, but when he reached the final knot, he paused. His fingers deftly shifted a few times, producing... a rather intricate, beautiful orchid knot.
Looking at the knot beneath his hands, so utterly unlike the army's style, Chu Moqi himself froze for a moment, then looked away somewhat awkwardly.
Once he had finished bandaging her, he folded the used cloth, capped the medicine bottles, and turned his wheelchair, preparing to leave again.
"A-Qi..." Cui Wan's heavily nasal voice came from behind him.
Chu Moqi stopped without turning around.
"Thank you, A-Qi..." Her voice grew even quieter, choked with sobs and lingering fear. "I... I won't cause trouble again..."
Chu Moqi was silent for a moment before turning his head slightly, showing her his profile. His voice still held little warmth, but it was no longer so cold and hard:
"They were in the wrong."
He paused, then added, his tone admonishing, with a trace of something barely perceptible... concern?
"But in future, don't... recklessly stand up like that again."
With that, he lingered no longer, slowly wheeling himself out of the main room.
Cui Wan sat on the bed, looking at the neatly wrapped gauze on her hand, complete with an orchid knot. She recalled his stiff yet gentle movements as he wiped her face and applied medicine, and those final words: "They were in the wrong."
The hurt and sorrow in her heart seemed... not quite so heavy anymore.
A-Qi still cared about her, didn't he...
That night, the moon was dark, the wind high, and all was silent.
In the most secluded corner of Orchid Courtyard.
Even the servants who swept the grounds rarely passed this spot. Now, however, two dim lanterns had been lit, casting long, swaying shadows on the ground.
Four bulging sacks lay strewn across the ground, writhing constantly. People were clearly stuffed inside, making muffled whimpers and sounds of struggle.
Pushed by Yan Qin, Chu Moqi sat quietly to one side in his wheelchair. Dressed in fitted black clothing with narrow sleeves and draped in an ink-dark cloak, he almost merged with the heavy night. Moonlight occasionally slipped through the clouds, illuminating half his face, its contours cold and hard, his eyes as deep as a frigid pool, without a trace of warmth.
He lifted his chin slightly. His voice was quiet, yet cold as ice:
"Beat them."
One simple command, devoid of emotion, yet filled with a viciousness that chilled the marrow.
"Yes!" Yan Qin and Yan Huai answered together.
Yan Huai had long been rubbing his fists and palms, impatient with waiting. With a savage grin, he flexed his wrists and ankles, strode forward, and viciously kicked one of the sacks without the slightest restraint!
"Mmph-!" A pained, muffled groan came from inside, and the entire sack rolled violently from the kick.
"That's for your foul mouth! For spouting nonsense! For bullying people!" Yan Huai cursed under his breath as he kicked, targeting the body's most vulnerable spots, where it would hurt most without immediately killing-the sides of the ribs, outer thighs, backs of the knees... He showed no mercy.
Every kick was vicious and precise, filled with indignation as he vented Cui Wan's grievance for her. The muffled groans inside the sacks grew weaker, the struggles feebler.
For a time, only dull blows, stifled cries of pain, and heavy breathing filled the dim corner.
Only when his whole body was hot and sweat beaded his forehead did Yan Huai pause for breath. He walked over and nudged one of the nearly motionless sacks with his toe, then bent down, deftly untied its mouth, and dragged the man inside out like a dead dog.
His hands and feet were bound, a rag stuffed in his mouth, his face bruised and swollen. He was one of the idlers who had spoken obscenities outside the tavern that afternoon and later shoved Cui Wan.
He dazedly opened his swollen eyes and adjusted to the light. He was about to unleash a torrent of curses, but the moment his gaze met the figure sitting motionless as a statue in the wheelchair nearby, every curse lodged in his throat.
Beneath the moonlight, Chu Moqi's face was half illuminated, half shadowed. His eyes were like blades tempered in ice, watching him coldly, without a trace of feeling.
Then the other three sacks were opened, and three more men dragged out. Without exception, they were all members of that afternoon's group of idlers.
When the four recognized who sat before them, their souls nearly fled in terror, their faces drained of color! They might have blustered that afternoon, but they had only dared gossip behind his back and bully a lone young girl.
Actually facing this former god of slaughter, now the Second Young Master of the Marquis of Ningyang's Residence-even seated in a wheelchair, the murderous aura honed amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood was enough to shatter their livers and gall!
It really was Second Young Master Chu!
That little girl this afternoon... really was Second Madam Chu?!
They were finished! Utterly finished!
The four went limp with terror, unable even to kneel steadily. Nearly prostrate on the ground, they kowtowed like garlic being pounded, their foreheads striking the cold, hard earth with dull thuds.
"Spare us, Second Young Master Chu! Please spare us!"
"We had eyes but failed to see! We offended Madam! Please show mercy, Young Master!"
"We'll never dare again! Never again!"
"It was our foul mouths! We were talking nonsense! Please spare us, Young Master!"
Their pleas rose one after another, filled with desperate terror.
Chu Moqi seemed not to hear. He remained reclining in his wheelchair, even lowering his eyelids slightly as though resting his eyes. Only his well-defined hand moved, idly toying with a short knife barely three inches long. The blade turned nimbly between his fingers, occasionally flashing coldly against his frosty profile.
This silent threat terrified them more than any furious roar.
Even their pleas grew quieter. They could only stare in horror at the knife in his hand, which seemed ready to choose someone to devour at any moment. They dared not breathe loudly, cold sweat soaking their thin clothes.
At last, Chu Moqi stopped playing with the knife. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze like tangible spikes of ice as it swept over the four men trembling like chaff in a sieve.
"I hear..." he began, his voice quiet, even slightly languid, yet making all four shudder, "you know a great deal about my Marquis of Ningyang's Residence."
He leaned forward slightly, as though examining them carefully, a hint of amusement in his tone. "More... than even I, its master?"
"We wouldn't dare! We wouldn't dare!" Terrified out of their wits, the four shook their heads desperately.
"Wouldn't dare?" Chu Moqi repeated softly, the faintest curve touching his lips without a shred of warmth. "Then... who said I was having an affair with my sister-in-law?"
His gaze abruptly sharpened, like a hawk locking onto its prey.
All four went rigid with fright, cold sweat pouring down. None dared point anyone out, much less admit to it.
Without waiting for an answer, Chu Moqi continued, his tone as mild as though discussing the weather, yet every word struck at their hearts:
"Oh, cut out their tongues. Things that wag so recklessly are useless anyway."
The four men's faces instantly turned paper-white.
"And who... pushed Wanwan?" Chu Moqi's gaze settled on a man who instinctively shrank back-the very man who had pushed Cui Wan down that afternoon.
"Oh, cut off his hands. Those hands don't know how to behave."
The man nearly fainted from fright.
"And who... called me a cripple?" Chu Moqi's gaze shifted to another man.
"Oh, cut off his legs. Since he cares so much about other people's legs, why not experience being without them himself?"
The two men singled out had already lost control of their bladders, and a rank stench spread through the air.
As though he smelled nothing, Chu Moqi looked at the idler who had first raised the subject. He tilted his head slightly, seemingly giving the matter serious thought:
"One left... Gouge out his eyes? If he can't see, he won't be frightened."
With every sentence, their terror deepened. By the end, someone's eyes had begun rolling back, as though he might die of fright.
They had no doubt whatsoever that this god of slaughter would do exactly as he said!
Just as they thought certain death awaited them, with unspeakable torture beforehand, Chu Moqi suddenly chuckled softly.
The laughter sounded especially eerie in the silent night.
"Forget it." He waved a hand, as though suddenly losing interest. "Spilling blood in the residence... wouldn't be good."
He paused, looking toward the pitch-black perimeter wall nearby. There was an inconspicuous, low opening used solely by the night-soil carts, barely deserving the name "dog hole."
"It would dirty the place, and frighten... our Wanwan."
Hearing him say "Wanwan" in an almost gentle tone did not relax the idlers. Instead, it made their hair stand even further on end.
Chu Moqi pointed toward the dog hole. His voice returned to its earlier mildness, but carried an unquestionable command:
"Go."
The four froze, scarcely believing their ears.
"Ah," Chu Moqi added, as though remembering something amusing, "crawl out."
His gaze, mocking and icy, swept over their trembling legs.
"Crawl out through there. If you dare breathe a word about tonight..." The short knife between his fingers tapped lightly against the wheelchair's armrest with two soft knocks. His unfinished meaning needed no explanation.
"Yes, yes! Thank you for sparing our lives, Young Master! Thank you!"
As though granted a great pardon, how could the four dare hesitate? Never mind crawling through a dog hole-even if told to crawl into a cesspit, they would have done so without hesitation!
Scrambling in a flurry of limbs, they crawled and rolled toward the low dog hole. Their hands and feet weak, their terror at its peak, they crawled in an exceptionally wretched, ugly fashion, nearly getting stuck several times and trampling one another, displaying every manner of disgrace.
Only after the last figure vanished beyond the pitch-black opening did silence return to the corner.
Looking at the opening, Yan Huai spat. "Those bastards got off lightly!"
Chu Moqi said nothing, merely sliding the short knife slowly back into its sheath with a faint click.
Clouds covered the moonlight once more. The lanterns in the corner swayed, stretching the wheelchair's shadow long and distorted.
He raised his eyes toward the main room, where the lights had long since gone out, leaving only darkness.