"Wait!"
Song Qingchao struggled to prop herself up, her breath shallow. "Officer, my young lady wishes to ask, does the imperial edict decree the lives of our entire family?"
The thin monkey, holding a whip, turned his head and grinned as if looking at refuse. "Is the eldest young lady displeased?"
He took a leisurely step, the whip in his hand coiled into a circle, rhythmically striking his palm. "If this official were to say, rather than suffer on the road, it would be better to follow the Madam's path and join the Marquis."
He knelt on one knee, took Song Qingchao's chin with his whip-holding hand, and said, "Death would be quick. What do you say?"
"You want my opinion?" Song Qingchao lowered her expression with a smile. "This humble girl is not talented, but I would still advise you to restrain yourself. After all, a starved camel is larger than a horse. What do you say?"
The thin monkey patted his official hat. "Fortune favors the bold. Eldest young lady, you are so intelligent, you must understand this, no?"
He dropped his smile and said sternly, "Act."
Those behind holding Song Qingmu stirred, shouting, "I've had enough of this brat long ago!" and raised their sabers overhead.
Song Qingchao's heart skipped a beat. She retrieved a thick book from her spatial dimension and flung it towards the gleaming saber.
With a clang, the saber fell to the ground. Song Qingchao looked with lingering fear at Song Qingmu, who was being held captive.
His face was filled with desolation, not a trace of fear.
It was as if whether his hand was crippled or not had nothing to do with him.
Song Qingmu sensed her gaze, but he lowered his head, smiled, and hoarsely called out, "Elder Sister."
He was lost and forlorn, as if his soul had been ripped away. "Mother is gone."
Song Qingchao, who had not cried, suddenly felt her eyes redden upon hearing his call.
This was her brother. How long had it been since he called her this?
In her previous life, they had turned against each other. She thought he had discarded his name, ashamed of the Song family, but who knew he would rise to become a powerful minister, known among the populace as a living Yama who could claim lives without using his hands.
Song Qingchao laughed wildly. This life, she would protect her brother, and she would avenge their mother!
With a "snap."
Song Qingchao felt a burning pain on her face. She tilted her head, blood trickling down her jaw and onto the floor.
She glanced sideways at the bloodied whip in the thin monkey's hand. "Sir, you may strike me, but for my brother's hand, I implore you to show mercy and release him."
Tears blurred the bloodstains on the floor. Song Qingchao's voice trembled, "A scholar cannot be without hands."
"Elder Sister." Song Qingmu's expression finally showed some fluctuation. He frowned and shook his head. "It's alright for me."
The thin monkey sneered, took the book picked up by his subordinate, and flipped through it. "It has always been said that the siblings of the Zhennan Marquis's estate were not on good terms. Now you are putting on a show of sisterly affection."
He flipped through a few pages, did not understand them, and threw the book directly at Song Qingchao's head.
Song Qingchao stumbled from the impact and fell to the ground, knocking over her mother's favorite porcelain vase.
"Boring," the thin monkey said, clapping his hands and standing up. He kicked her again. "Hurry up and act. This rainy weather is truly unlucky."
Song Qingchao cowered, clutching her chest, coughing up blood wildly, but still gripping the porcelain shards on the ground.
The bracelet on her wrist glowed red, much like the red lanterns hung before the gates of hell, swaying with an eerie light.
She moved with extreme speed, darting behind the thin monkey like a ghost, the shards pressed against his throat.
With her other hand, she flung the book again, striking the raised saber.
Everyone was stunned. In the vast room, only the sound of rain hitting the mossy stone steps could be heard.
"Release my brother."
Song Qingchao kept her head lowered, her weak voice whispering into the thin monkey's ear, threatening again. "I chose these shards, they are the sharpest, the largest pieces."
Her hand tightened slightly, the white porcelain piercing the rough yellow skin, and countless drops of red fluid overflowed.
"Eldest Young Lady, killing me is a capital offense."
Song Qingchao tilted her head with a smile, her eyes reddened. "Is it? But you also killed my mother, didn't you?"
She looked at Song Qingmu, who was in shock. "And you want to harm my brother."
"The Madam committed suicide. What does that have to do with us?"
Song Qingchao tutted and whispered in his ear, "I know you are acting under orders from other officials, unable to disobey, but if I can't kill him, killing you is easy."
She curled her lips and used her other hand to grip the thin monkey's head, forcing him to look at Song Qingmu. "Everyone knows I am close friends with the Grand Princess. You truly don't think the Princess just wants to be friends with me, do you?"
The thin monkey remained silent, but Song Qingchao noticed his subtle movements.
His unconsciously clenched fist, his rolling Adam's apple.
She was truly borrowing the tiger's might to ascend to heaven, so she grew more audacious, patting his official hat. "Tell me, whose head will fall first, yours or mine?"
Song Qingchao paid no mind to the thin monkey and, with her chin held high, gestured for the soldiers to release her brother.
The soldiers holding Song Qingmu looked at each other and whispered, "Head, should we release him?"
The thin monkey pondered for a moment and said, "Release him."
Seeing the men retreat, Song Qingchao's tense heart began to relax, but she did not let go.
"Eldest Young Lady, I have released the person, and you?"
"Have them withdraw from the courtyard."
"That might not be possible. We still need to search the residence later."
Song Qingchao nodded. "I know. Then have them search first, and you stay here."
The thin monkey thought about it and made a gesture. The officers and soldiers gradually withdrew.
Song Qingchao tilted her head, and with a thought, secreted half of the estate's assets into her spatial dimension.
Her space was vast; it could accommodate them.
But the price was her increased physical weakness, which was why she hadn't stored anything before.
But as Feng Shaocheng had said, the journey to Mobei was perilous. Without storing some provisions, it would be difficult to survive the trip.
In her previous life, she had been kept by Feng Shaocheng and had not taken this path, only letting her brother go alone. What had started as an injured hand had been frozen and crippled, and he had not even reached Mobei.
Her brother's hands were long and elegant, and he looked even more captivating wearing a green jade thumb ring.
Hands like these should be holding writing brushes to stir up the wind and clouds, not wielding sabers and swords.
"Eldest Young Lady, all the men have withdrawn. Can you let go now?"
Song Qingchao snapped back to attention but did not release her grip. "Who sent you?"
The thin monkey chuckled. "Does that matter?"
He sighed. "Our lives are as humble as ants, only meant to be slaughtered at will. Now that my mission is incomplete, there's no good living outside this door."
"I will ensure your survival," Song Qingchao replied calmly, dropping the shard. "He is childish enough, only wanting my brother's hands."
She walked to Song Qingmu's side and took his hand, but he resisted slightly.
"Don't be afraid."
She comforted Song Qingmu, and in doing so, comforted herself.
"If you tell me who sent you, I can complete this mission for you, and you can provide an account, can't you?"
Song Qingmu stared at her with a complex expression, but she merely smiled gently.
The thin monkey thought for a moment and was about to speak when he was interrupted by someone who barged in.
The person was drenched and shouted, "Qingchao, I've come to marry you!"