Gong Xiaohua's shift at the prison was during the Rooster Hour, which is approximately 5 p.m. in modern times.
As a logistics prison guard, most of Wang Dachui's time was spent helping prisoners with meals, registering prisoner information, and requesting necessary supplies.
Another arduous task in logistics work was carrying corpses, which usually occurred once a month and wasn't very frequent.
Therefore, Wang Dachui didn't tell Gong Xiaohua about this, fearing that it would frighten her after her memory loss.
The responsibilities of most other prison guards were to stand guard, patrol, and rotate shifts every two hours.
There was also a small group of guards responsible for interrogations. These individuals were the most fierce in the dungeon, interrogating prisoners without batting an eye.
Only those with strong mental fortitude could handle such a role. Those with weak psychological resilience would struggle to pass the mental test.
It was early quitting time, and because it was early summer, the sky outside was still bright and open.
Gong Xiaohua wondered if her uncle was busy at this time.
After bidding farewell to her colleagues at the side gate of the Ministry of Justice, Gong Xiaohua, holding her book, arrived at the back door of the Qin Residence. Entry and exit required a round of inspection and questioning.
Gong Xiaohua approached one of the gatekeepers and said, "Excuse me, could you help me find Li Zichen, the companion reader of the Fifth Young Master? Just tell him that his niece is looking for him."
The gatekeeper saw a woman wearing a prison uniform, with an ugly and strong physique.
He reached out his hand towards Gong Xiaohua.
Gong Xiaohua stood still, looking at the hand extended in front of her.
For a moment, they stared at each other—the gatekeeper cursed inwardly, having encountered a fool. He scolded Gong Xiaohua, saying, "Go away! Do you know where you are? This is the Qin Residence. You, a prison guard, shouldn't cause trouble here. Leave immediately."
If this were modern times, Gong Xiaohua, as a special agent, would have immediately taken him down, not giving him a chance to blabber.
But this was ancient times. She chose to take a step back and stood not far from the side gate, hoping to wait for her uncle.
Seeing this, the gatekeeper approached and pushed Gong Xiaohua, persistently berating her, "I told you to leave. Can't you see people going in and out of the residence? Do you think you have a place to stand here? Look at your appearance. If you accidentally offend someone important in the residence, you'll be in big trouble."
If Gong Xiaohua could endure this, she would be letting herself down.
She raised her hand and slapped the talkative gatekeeper's face with force.
The surroundings instantly fell silent, everyone astonished.
This person was fearless, daring to strike someone in the Qin Residence.
The gatekeeper's face was struck on the left side, and he froze.
Having served in the Qin Residence for several years, he had always been arrogant. Every time he stood at the gate, he was full of pride.
Today, he encountered a tough opponent. He was determined to give this ignorant prison guard a good lesson.
He raised his head, feeling the fiery pain on his face. There was something wet flowing from his nostrils. He wiped it with his hand and saw blood all over his face. It infuriated him.
Shouting loudly, he said, "You wretched woman! How dare you hit me! Today, I will teach you a lesson, a good one."
He then raised his foot to kick Gong Xiaohua.
Before the gatekeeper could lift his foot, Gong Xiaohua swiftly raised and extended her leg, causing the gatekeeper to fall backward and heavily hit the ground.
The speed of her reaction impressed everyone around her.
Another servant, Ding, witnessing the situation, quickly helped her fallen companion and they hurried back to the mansion, presumably to get help.
Some of the people nearby developed a strong fondness for the female prison guard who, despite being ugly and somewhat fierce-looking, had won their hearts. They couldn't bear to see her get into trouble and advised her to leave promptly.
However, Gong Xiaohua didn't leave. From the beginning, she had already reported the incident to Ding. If she were to leave like this, it would cause trouble for her uncle.
She said to the people who were advising her, "Thank you for your kindness, but I can't leave yet."
Seeing that she wouldn't listen to their advice, the people could only shake their heads and disperse.
"Xiaohua?"
A voice came from behind.
Gong Xiaohua turned around and saw Li Zichen. She called out to him, "Uncle."
Li Zichen was sitting on the edge of a carriage, and when he saw Gong Xiaohua, he said something to the people inside the carriage and then jumped down.
He came to Gong Xiaohua's side, took her hand, and asked, "Xiaohua, did you work today? Are you tired?"
"No, I'm not tired. Everyone has been taking good care of me, especially Lin, the head guard. He assigned me light tasks," Gong Xiaohua replied.
"That's good. Have you finished learning the big characters I taught you last time?"
"I have finished learning them. I came here today to learn some new ones from Uncle."
"Our Xiaohua is so clever. You learned them so quickly," Li Zichen said, but before he could finish his sentence, a group of people rushed out from the entrance with a fierce momentum, heading straight for Gong Xiaohua.
The person at the forefront was the one Gong Xiaohua had just struck.
As he walked, he said to the person leading behind him, "Uncle, this little wench attacked me for no reason."
Another servant who was guarding the entrance chimed in, "That's right, she doesn't respect our Qin Residence. Today, we need to teach her a lesson."
The person called "Uncle" was Wang, a steward responsible for the comings and goings of the Qin Residence. The person who was struck was his nephew.
Usually, when someone came to the mansion looking for someone, they would be bribed with a small amount of money, making it a lucrative job.
Wang, accompanied by his nephew, approached Gong Xiaohua and noticed that Li Zichen, the companion of the Fifth Young Master, was also present. Li Zichen was someone the Fifth Young Master trusted deeply.
With a smile, Wang said to Li Zichen, "Li, are you accompanying the Fifth Young Master on duty? Why haven't you entered the mansion?"
Li Zichen smiled at Wang and replied, "Steward Wang, there's no rush. May I ask what my niece did to offend your subordinates, prompting them to want to teach her a lesson?"
"Li, this is your niece? Ah, it's just a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding," Wang said, smiling at Li Zichen.
These troublemakers who achieved little but caused trouble in abundance, if they weren't kept in check, sooner or later, they would create a big problem.
Li Zichen didn't respond to him but turned to Gong Xiaohua and asked, "Xiaohua, can you tell me what happened?"
"I asked him to help me find Uncle, but he insulted me, so I hit him," Gong Xiaohua explained.
"Wang Steward, you see, it wasn't as he described. It was my niece who was provoked by your people. She wouldn't have taken action if they hadn't insulted her."
"My niece has always been well-behaved and adorable. If it weren't for the excessive insults from your people, she wouldn't have resorted to violence."
Wang Steward took a look at the pitiful state of his nephew, who had been beaten, and couldn't help but curse. How did you ever think your niece was well-behaved?
And cute? She was nothing but a chubby girl, dark-skinned and plump. What man would be interested in her?
Qin Chuyuan, who was waiting on the carriage, had been waiting for a while, but Li Zichen had not yet arrived.
He pulled back a corner of the carriage curtain and saw Li Zichen talking to a chubby girl and one of the stewards from the mansion.
He let go of the curtain and thought for a moment before turning to the coachman and saying, "Uncle Huang, go tell Li Zichen that the matter has been handled and it's time to leave."
Uncle Huang replied, "Yes, young master."
Then he approached Li Zichen and said, "Young Master Li, the young master said the matter has been resolved, and it's time to go."
It would be impossible for Wang Steward to rise to the position of a small steward without some insight.
Knowing that these words were meant for Li Zichen, it was actually a warning from the Fifth Young Master for him not to cause trouble.
He could only reluctantly say to Li Zichen, "Young Master Li, I'm sorry. Today's incident was caused by the unruly behavior of the young ones below. I will teach them a lesson when we get back. Let's put this matter behind us."
Li Zichen knew when to stop and his niece hadn't suffered any harm.
He said to Wang Steward, "Not at all, Wang Steward. My niece was also at fault. I apologize for injuring your people. Thank you, Wang Steward, for not making a fuss about it."
Wang Steward replied, "Young Master Li, you're too kind. The next time your niece comes over, I will make sure those kids at the bottom open their eyes wide."
Li Zichen immediately clasped his hands and said to Wang Steward, "In that case, I'll thank you in advance. When you have time, I will definitely invite Wang Steward for a drink."
Seeing Li Zichen being so courteous, Wang Steward's anger subsided.
He said to the group of people, "All of you, go back and do your jobs properly."
The crowd scattered like birds and beasts.
Gong Xiaohua, as a special agent, had already noticed the "beauty" sitting in the carriage when the curtain was lifted.
Her face was finely sculpted, with fair skin and rosy lips like rouge.
Her thick black hair was held high on her head with a white jade hairpin, making her look like a nobleman walking on the street.
Even as a woman, Gong Xiaohua couldn't help but feel inferior.
Li Zichen smiled and saw Gong Xiaohua looking towards the distant carriage.
He knew that Gong Xiaohua's second favorite pastime, since childhood, was to daydream about good-looking people.
He quickly blocked Gong Xiaohua's line of sight and said, "Little ancestor, stop staring. That's not someone you can casually look at."
Gong Xiaohua looked at her uncle with a look of disbelief, as if he was looking at her like a pervert.
She was just appreciating beautiful things, did he really think she had no integrity?
Seeing that she was no longer staring at the Fifth Young Master, Li Zichen breathed a sigh of relief. He said to her, "Flower, it's already late after today's incident. Go home early and come back at this time tomorrow."
Gong Xiaohua said, "Okay, Uncle. Then I'll leave first."
Li Zichen pinched her cheek and nodded at her before walking towards the distant carriage.
Gong Xiaohua watched as her little uncle sat outside the carriage and exchanged a few words with the people inside. The carriage slowly entered the estate, while she turned around and walked back home along the road.
