The moon was hazy, and the stars twinkled in the sky.
Purple Clothed Girl walked out of the Palace of No Worries with a girl dressed in plain clothes.
"Qing Ying, you can go now," she said.
Qing Ying had just been released from the prison cell, wearing a coarse plain dress, with her hair somewhat disheveled.
She looked at Purple Clothed Girl with disbelief and asked, "What did you say? You're letting me go?"
"It's not me who's letting you go, it's the palace master," Purple Clothed Girl replied, looking at her. "You refused to reveal the person who instructed you, and keeping you imprisoned is pointless."
Qing Ying furrowed her brow, still finding it hard to believe. "Is what you're saying true? The palace master won't pursue me anymore?"
"You know that everyone in the Palace of No Worries has been abandoned at some point, either by their parents or by men. The palace master has a kind heart and takes us in, providing us with a place to stay. So why would he easily kill someone?" Purple Clothed Girl explained.
Qing Ying lowered her gaze and remained silent.
"When you were abandoned by your parents and almost sold to a brothel, I saved you. But I almost caused harm to the palace master in the process. It was my negligence," Purple Clothed Girl said, biting her lip.
"Purple Clothed Sister, I'm sorry. I'm grateful to you for saving me back then, but..." Qing Ying began, but Purple Clothed Girl interrupted her.
"Enough. No matter what reasons you have, the palace master has already let you go. From now on, you have no relationship with the Palace of No Worries. We were like sisters, and I kindly remind you that people's hearts are unpredictable. Take care of yourself in the future," Purple Clothed Girl concluded, turning around and returning to the Palace of No Worries.
Qing Ying stood at the gate of the Palace of No Worries, looking at it hesitantly for a while.
In the end, she left the Palace of No Worries without looking back.
Purple Clothed Girl suddenly halted her steps, turned to look at the gate, and sighed softly.
Only "love" can make a woman without parents risk everything.
...
The next day, Xia Miaomiao woke up early, preparing to help in the kitchen for breakfast.
After tidying up in her room for a while, she decided to tie up her hair.
Just as she opened the door and stepped out, a bucket of cold water poured down from above her head. Xia Miaomiao didn't have time to react and was soaked. Immediately after, a wooden bucket fell from the ceiling.
"Ah..." she exclaimed.
The wooden bucket hit Xia Miaomiao's forehead, causing her to slip and fall to the ground.
Zhang Auntie, who lived nearby, heard the commotion and quickly opened her door. Seeing Xia Miaomiao drenched and looking like a drowned rat, she hurried forward to help her.
"Miaomiao, what happened? Why are you soaked like this?" she asked.
Xia Miaomiao rubbed her bruised forehead and stood up. "It's nothing..."
Zhang Auntie saw the wooden bucket on the ground and glanced at the ceiling, instantly understanding what had happened.
"Who did this? Come, let's go find Purple Clothed Girl. She will stand up for you!" Zhang Auntie said.
"Zhang Auntie!" Xia Miaomiao grabbed her wrist. Although it was summer, early in the morning, being drenched with cold water made her shiver involuntarily.
"I'm fine... I'll just change my clothes. I don't want to escalate the situation," Xia Miaomiao said meekly.
Xia Miaomiao's obedient demeanor made Zhang Auntie feel a pang of sympathy. "Alright, go in and change your wet clothes."
"Okay."
Xia Miaomiao returned to her room, changed into dry clothes, untied her hair, and towel-dried it.
"Do you know who put the bucket on the ceiling?" Auntie Zhang asked.
Xia Miaomiao hesitated for a moment, thinking about what Bi Yue had said yesterday. Besides her, who else could it be?
But she still replied, "I don't know..."
"Such a thing has never happened in the Palace of No Worries before! You're such a well-behaved girl, who would target you?"
"It doesn't matter." Xia Miaomiao smiled and looked at Auntie Zhang. "It's just a bucket of cold water. Since I'm fine, there's no need to make a big fuss about it."
"Miaomiao, you're really sensible! Is your forehead okay? I'll boil an egg for you to apply later."
Xia Miaomiao touched her forehead, feeling a bit sore. She walked to the bronze mirror and saw a bruise.
"Thank you, Auntie Zhang."
"People in the Palace of No Worries have all been abandoned by their families. The Palace Master kindly took us in, and we have always been united. Such incidents have never happened before."
Xia Miaomiao was taken aback. She was surprised and asked, "Auntie Zhang, I heard outside that the Palace Master is a notorious womanizer?"
Unexpectedly, Auntie Zhang's face turned serious. "Hmph! Those are just slanderous rumors from outsiders! Because we are all women in the Palace of No Worries, they try to defame the Palace Master!"
"Then... why aren't there any men in the Palace of No Worries?"
"Have you ever seen any men being abandoned by their families?"
Xia Miaomiao suddenly realized that in this world, the preference for sons over daughters was a serious matter. Women had very little status, and men usually held positions of power. Even if a son was worthless and useless, he would still be favored over a daughter. In some families, they even sold or abandoned their daughters.
So it turned out... Hua Wuyou was not a womanizer.
He didn't have ten wives.
Auntie Zhang continued, "The Palace Master is, after all, a man. He wouldn't get too close to the girls in the Palace of No Worries. Although the Palace Master rarely interferes with us, the Purple Clothed Girl treats us well."
Xia Miaomiao's eyes flickered, and she asked, "Between the Purple Clothed Girl and the Palace Master... what is their relationship?"
Auntie Zhang smiled and said, "The girls in the Palace of No Worries all think they are a match made in heaven, but I feel that the Palace Master doesn't have any romantic feelings towards the Purple Clothed Girl."
Xia Miaomiao lowered her gaze, lost in thought.
"Alright, Miaomiao, it's time to prepare breakfast."
"Okay..."
...
Initially, Xia Miaomiao didn't pay much attention to the incident of being drenched with cold water.
However, that night, when she returned to her room and opened the door, she saw several dark snakes coiled on the floor.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Xia Miaomiao was terrified. Her face turned pale, and she immediately ran out, but she accidentally kicked the door frame and sprained her foot.
She had always been afraid of these soft-bodied creatures, especially snakes, because she had been bitten by a venomous snake when she was young. It nearly cost her life and left a deep psychological scar.
Hua Wuyou, who was near the courtyard gate, heard Xia Miaomiao's frightened scream and hurriedly rushed into the yard.
Seeing Xia Miaomiao sitting at the doorstep, he immediately went to check on her. "What happened?"
Feeling like she had found a lifeline, Xia Miaomiao didn't think too much. She directly threw herself into Hua Wuyou's arms and stammered, "Snakes... snakes... there are snakes..."
Hua Wuyou looked up and saw several snakes wriggling inside the room.
He furrowed his brow and reassured, "Don't be afraid, I'll take care of it."
Before Hua Wuyou could get up, Xia Miaomiao directly grabbed his clothes in front of his chest and trembled, "Don't go... Don't go..."
Hua Wuyou noticed that she seemed to be trembling all over. He immediately lifted her up and walked out of the courtyard.
Just as they left the courtyard, Zhang Auntie came back and was very surprised to see Hua Wuyou holding Xia Miaomiao.
"Master... Master? Why are you here?" Zhang Auntie looked at Xia Miaomiao, who was trembling in Hua Wuyou's arms, and asked, "What happened to Miaomiao?"
Hua Wuyou's expression turned cold as he looked at Zhang Auntie. "Find someone to take care of the snakes in her room. Inform Purple Clothed Girl. Within half an hour, I want to know who did this!"
Hua Wuyou already had a pair of distinctive blue eyes that ordinary people dared not look directly into.
Zhang Auntie was frightened by Hua Wuyou's gaze and immediately replied, "Alright, I'll go find Miss Purple Clothed!"
Hua Wuyou left the courtyard, carrying Xia Miaomiao, and went straight to his own bedroom.
He placed Xia Miaomiao on the bed and discovered a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, along with a bruise.
His face turned pale. Clearly, she had been frightened badly.
A surge of anger rose within him. He hadn't seen her for just one day, and she had already been bullied like this?
"Little bunny..." Hua Wuyou's voice was very soft, so as not to scare her.
He reached out his hand and gently patted her. "It's okay, the snakes have been taken care of. You're safe now..."
Xia Miaomiao grabbed Hua Wuyou's hand tightly, refusing to let go, as if holding onto a life-saving straw.
