Chapter 4: Initial Appearance

In front of Rongniang's eyes, she seemed to see Shentong jumping up, and then she knew nothing.

When she woke up again, Rongniang found herself lying on Shentong's bed, the canopy hanging low. She heard the voices of young girls outside.

"This rice cake is so delicious, Fangfei, you should have a piece too."

"Thank you, Miss, I dare not."

"Eat up, eating well gives you the strength to work. This piece is for Chunque. Take it to her. Rongniang is tired and wants to rest here for a while. You all keep watch outside. If Mr. Tao's steward needs her, come and tell me. Don't let Mr. Tao's steward know she's sleeping here, otherwise my uncle will blame me when he comes back."

Fangfei's mouth was full of rice cake, and although she didn't understand why the master would blame the Miss, she still nodded earnestly. She had never seen the master, but the steward Mr. Tao looked fierce, so she dared not talk to him much. If he asked, she would play dumb. It wouldn't involve the Miss.

The sound of the door closing indicated that Fangfei had left. Rongniang wanted to call her back, but she couldn't say anything.

She then realized that something was stuffed in her mouth, and she couldn't say a word.

Her hands and feet were also tied with her own ribbon.

At that moment, the canopy was lifted from the outside, and Shentong walked in.

Shentong was still the same as before, a delicate little girl with snow-white skin, chubby cheeks, clear black and white eyes, and a bit of rice cake crumbs at the corner of her mouth.

She was clearly a seven or eight-year-old child!

But Rongniang seemed to see a monster. Cold sweat oozed from her forehead, and her body trembled involuntarily. Her eyes widened in fear, and the blood vessels in her eyes were clearly visible.

Shentong raised her eyes with interest, looking at Rongniang. She knew she was too weak at the age of eight, and she had to jump up to knock Rongniang unconscious with a hand chop. It had to be just right, otherwise, with her strength, she couldn't hit her in one blow.

Even so, she had to exert a lot of effort to drag Rongniang in. Although Rongniang was not fat, she was still too heavy for a child.

This was a bit risky. If she hadn't been sure that Rongniang was a weak woman, Shentong wouldn't have done this.

Rebirth was not easy, and she didn't want to recklessly throw herself into trouble.

The bowl of medicinal soup was still on the small table, already cold, with no more steam rising from it, and the smell of alcohol had faded.

Shentong brought the bowl of medicine and her bright, lively eyes were still fixed on Rongniang. "Rongniang, I heard that the Cold Food Powder is a good thing. After taking it, it can make people feel light and carefree. Do you want to try it?"

Rongniang's face changed dramatically, staring at Shentong in disbelief. Was this child a demon? How did she know that the medicine was laced with Cold Food Powder?

Shentong sighed softly, put down the bowl, and suddenly stepped forward, leaning close to Rongniang's ear, and whispered, "Do you want to know how I knew about your scheme? When you die and go to the underworld, King Yama will tell you before he sends you to the 18th level of hell."

Her voice was childish, with a feigned coldness, but to Rongniang, it sounded like a ghostly voice from the underworld.

She shuddered.

A guilty person is bound to be overly suspicious.

Seeing that she had scared her enough, Shentong asked softly, "My mother entrusted me to you, so she must have trusted you a lot, right? You must have been forced to do this, otherwise, as a nanny, how could you have obtained Cold Food Powder? Who forced you? Mr. Tao's steward? No, he's just a steward. Or... let me guess, was it my uncle?"

Shentong's tone was very gentle, her childish voice like a hand stroking Rongniang's frayed nerves, and Rongniang gradually calmed down. Yes, she was just a nanny. The lady trusted her, so she was allowed into her uncle's house. She was so happy then. Her uncle was a refined scholar, and her aunt was gentle and kind. The two young masters were clever and lovely, and the servants in the house were respectful, not neglecting her because she was a nanny.

She thought she was really lucky, and she was grateful, serving the master and mistress carefully, helping the mistress with the household chores.

Tears rolled down silently, and Rongniang sobbed.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Shentong reached out and removed the cloth stuffed in Rongniang's mouth, and asked softly, "What did my uncle use to blackmail you?"

Rongniang's mouth was a little numb, and she replied incoherently, "It's my little brother, the master, my uncle. He said he would arrange a job for my little brother in the house, and I was so happy that I called my little brother over. Who would have thought that my uncle would hide my little brother. He said... he said to let me find the mistress, saying that the Feiyu Guard had come and taken the whole family away. I only escaped by going back to my mother's house..."

Rongniang cried and couldn't continue. Shentong wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, and Rongniang turned pale with fear.

How could she have said everything? Her little brother was still in the hands of the master. She was really useless. She was scared by her sister and blurted everything out.

"You tell my mother that Feiyu Wei has taken away the entire family of my uncle's wife, including my uncle's two children and the servants. Oh, and also my uncle's wife. The children and the servants may not know anything, but my uncle's wife does. Feiyu Wei only needs to threaten my uncle's wife with the children, and she will reveal the secret."

"You don't need to tell my mother every word. Just hint at it, and she will understand."

"What secret does Feiyu Wei want to know? I guess it must be about my mother and my whereabouts."

"The little girl you brought, is she from my uncle's family? My cousin or my niece? Or maybe neither. She's just a child my uncle raised outside. When you were going to find my mother, my uncle brought this child to you, so that you could take her with you. Seeing this child, my mother would believe you even more, because compared to you, who knows nothing, my mother trusts my uncle more. Only my mother and my uncle know about the existence of this child, right?"

"But how did my uncle tell you? He was already captured at that time, and you were at my mother's house?"

Shen Tong's rapid-fire words left Rong Niang stunned. She stood there, dazed, and said, "I will tell Madam that my uncle once told me that if something happened to him, I should go to the Little Wang Manor in Wild Boar Ridge and find a widow named Huang, and take her daughter to see Madam. When I learned that my uncle was really in trouble, I went to Wild Boar Ridge."

"I see," Shen Tong smiled. "My uncle not only has a loyal and courageous heart, but also plans ahead. This is very much like someone involved in a major event. No wonder when you said that, my mother believed you without hesitation and let you take the little girl away from me. It seems they had an agreement long ago that if something happened, you would bring the little girl over. By the way, what is my mother's maiden name? Could it also be Huang?"

Rong Niang was stunned again. How could a daughter not know her own mother's maiden name?