It was still ringing outside, and people were shouting to catch the thief everywhere. There was no light in the room, and only shadows could be seen in the dark. Yu Shu sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the dark shadow standing under the back window. She wondered why she was so lucky to meet her again and again.
The masked thief probably felt Yu Shu's sad gaze. She turned around and said, "Why aren't you asleep yet? It's so late."
"You came when I was about to sleep."
"Thank you for helping me last time," the thief said in a gentle tone. "Did I cause you any trouble after I left that day?"
Trouble? Was being beaten and kicked out of the house, and losing half of my life counted?
"No." Every debt has a debtor. Yu Shu never thought of pursuing responsibility with a thief. What happened at that time was due to her carelessness and the ruthlessness of the Ji family.
Hearing Yu Shu's answer, the thief was silent for a moment and then asked, "Didn't you live in a …"
There was still ringing outside, and people were shouting to catch the thief everywhere. There was no light in the room, and only shadows could be seen in the dark. Yu Shu sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the dark shadow standing under the back window. She wondered why she was so lucky to meet her again and again.
The masked thief probably felt Yu Shu's sad gaze. She turned around and said, "Why are you still up so late?"
"I was about to sleep when you came."
"Thank you for helping me last time," the thief said in a gentle tone. "Did I cause you any trouble after I left that day?"
Trouble? Was being beaten and kicked out of the house, and losing half of my life counted?
"No." Every debt has a debtor. Yu Shu never thought of pursuing responsibility with a thief. What happened at that time was because of her carelessness and the ruthlessness of the Ji family.
Hearing Yu Shu's answer, the thief was silent for a moment and then asked, "Didn't you live in — Weren't you a servant of the Ji family?"
"If you're not a servant, you might as well be a servant." Yu Shu laughed at herself. Thinking about their current situation, it was worse than before. Back then, no one cared about them. Now, the Ji family treated her like a prisoner.
The masked thief sensed that something was wrong with her tone and asked with concern, "Did something happen to you?"
If it weren't for the chaos of arresting people outside, Yu Shu would have thought that this thief had come to the Ji family to chat with her. However, Yu Shu could hear the kindness in his words. Although she felt that he was a busybody, she didn't hate him.
"Heh, you think you can help me when I'm in trouble? You better pray for yourself first. Why aren't you injured this time?" She remembered that this thief was in a very sorry state last time.
"No." He heard the teasing in Yu Shu's words. He touched his nose through the veil and said, "If you don't tell me, how do you know that I can't help you? Tell me, maybe I have a way."
"Don't you think you're too enthusiastic?" "Do you really think that I helped you out of kindness last time, so you're thinking of ways to repay me now? There's no need. I had no other choice at that time. I was saving myself, not helping you. You don't have to thank me either." Yu Shu said in a soft voice.
The thief was probably shocked by Yu Shu's blunt words. After a while, he sighed and said, "You're really straightforward."
Yu Shu snorted and walked to the window. When she was a few steps away from the masked thief, he took two steps back. This small movement was noticed by Yu Shu and she secretly sneered. He hid in a girl's boudoir in the middle of the night. Was he still concerned about the difference between a man and a woman?
Yu Shu leaned against the window and peeked out through the crack. Seeing that the fire was gone and the noise was far away, she turned her head and said: "They're gone. You should take this opportunity to escape. This is the South Stride Courtyard. Judging from the movements just now, they should be chasing you to the south. You can go west now and you'll be out. You're a thief, you should know how to climb over the wall, right?"
The thief looked at Yu Shu's calm face with the help of the moonlight outside the window. After a while, he softly said, "Mm." Then he turned around and moved towards the door.
Yu Shu followed him in the dark. Of course, she didn't want to send him off, but to close the door after he left. The two of them went out of the bedroom and came to the living room. Just when they were two steps away from the door, the thief suddenly turned around. She was caught off guard and bumped into him. She staggered and leaned back. When she was about to sit on the ground, the thief caught her and pulled her back. The next moment, the two of them were face to face. Yu Shu was lying on his hard chest. Her nose hurt so much that her eyes were filled with tears. She took a deep breath and smelled the night breeze.
This sudden intimacy made the two pairs of eyes stunned in the dark.
Yu Shu's mind went blank for a moment. When she was still in a daze, she heard someone knocking on the door. "Sis, are you asleep?"
Yu Shu's body stiffened. She sniffed and acted as if nothing had happened. "Mhmm, I'm going to get up to drink some water. It's fine outside. Xiaoxiu, you should go to sleep. Cover yourself with the quilt. Don't catch a cold."
Yu Xiaoxiu didn't suspect anything. She said, "Oh." Then she turned around and went back to her room.
When she heard the sound of the door next door, Yu Shu hurriedly pushed the thief away. In her previous life, she had never hugged a man so closely. She felt a little sullen, but when she pushed him, he didn't immediately let go. There was even a warm arm wrapped around her waist. It seemed like he was hugging her tightly. This small action made her angry. She raised her arm and grabbed the man's clothes. Her other arm suddenly bent up, and her sharp elbow pressed against the man's Adam's apple!
The so-called self-defense technique, when practiced to the highest level, is to defeat the enemy with one strike. The enemy's throat, eyes, and lower body. "Let go." In the quiet living room, although Yu Shu's voice was soft, there was a strong warning hidden in it. She didn't have the previous politeness.
The thief didn't expect this move from Yu Shu. The joint on his throat clearly told him that this was not a weak girl. He was distracted for a moment, and she attacked his vital point. If she was a little more ruthless, he was afraid that he wouldn't even have time to cry.
However, such a ruthless threat didn't make him angry. Instead, there was an inexplicable feeling in his heart. It was so itchy that he wanted to reach out and scratch it.
In the dark, a pair of eyes became dark and unclear.
"I'm sorry." He first let go of his hand and raised his arms. He made a harmless gesture and apologized.
After the alarm was lifted, Yu Shu coldly snorted and took two steps back. She pointed at the door and said, "You can go."
Sensing Yu Shu's hostility, the thief bitterly smiled, knowing that he had screwed up. The little bit of good impression that Yu Shu had of him just now was gone. Sighing inwardly, he retreated to the back, stared at her again, opened the door, and left.
"See you later."
Yu Shu cursed in her heart. Seeing that the door was closed from the outside and the shadow outside the door had disappeared, she relaxed her guard. She went forward to close the door and bolt it. She came back to check the windows in the room. After confirming that they were all closed, she took off her shoes and climbed into the bed.
After tossing and turning, she thought of being hugged by the thief and letting him take advantage of her. She gritted her teeth and fell asleep.
***
The next morning, Aunt Liu came back from the kitchen with a basket of food. While setting the food on the dining table, she nagged Yu Shu about what happened last night. "I heard that there was another thief in the mansion last night. He woke up most of the mansion. It seems that he ran away. They didn't catch him. Old Madam was furious. The masters didn't sleep all night. They are still listening to the lecture in the east room."
Yu Shu smiled. She was happy whenever she heard the heart-wrenching story of the Ji family.
Hearing this, Yu Xiaoxiu thought of the thief they met before. He looked up at Yu Shu. He wanted to say something, but he didn't because Aunt Liu was here.
Yu Shu picked up the bean sprout from the plate with chopsticks. When Aunt Liu was not paying attention, she threw it under the table. Kim Bao, who was hiding under the table, squatted down, bent down and sniffed. Then he picked it up with his two little claws and ate it. He didn't care about meat or vegetables.
After breakfast, Old Maid Huang came. Yu Shu was really afraid that she would read the "Women's Commandment" again and waste her time in the morning. Old Maid Huang pulled her into the room and urged her to wash her face and change clothes —
"Hurry up. The Xue family sent an invitation. Mr. Xue invited you to the mansion for tea."
Yu Shu felt strange and asked, "Didn't he get sick the day before yesterday?"
The yellow-haired woman didn't know anything, so she quickly dressed her up. From the wardrobe, she took out a pink and yellow floral gown and put on a lake green pleated skirt. Her shoes were newly made, and she also brought a set of jade jewelry with her. After dressing her up, she stood in front of the mirror, looking like a little bird, trying to make Yu Shu look like a well-behaved girl.
When they arrived at the door, Ji Hyotani was already waiting. Yu Shu saw that there was only one sedan chair. She turned her head and asked, "Where is Third Master? Don't you want me to go with you?"
Ji Hyotani didn't sleep last night because of the thieves. He didn't look good. He frowned and said to Yu Shu, "He invited you to have tea. Why would I go? When we get there, remember to behave yourself. Don't say anything you shouldn't say. Remember to greet Mr. Xue for me. Don't make trouble for me."
Yu Shu was used to pretending to be polite to him. She treated his cold face as a wall and bent down to get on the sedan chair.
Sitting in the sedan chair, Yu Shu played with the fan in her hand. Along the way, she thought back and forth. Was it Master Xue or Cao Zixin who invited her to have tea?
***
The sedan chair stopped in front of the guesthouse. Yu Shu got off the sedan chair with Qiu Xiang's help. She took a look and found that the door was open today.
When she went forward, the person inside the door wasn't the servant who had been guarding the door the last two times. Instead, it was Xue Rui's manservant, Baode. When he saw Yu Shu and her servant, he called out, "Young Miss Yu." Then he stretched out his hand to lead her in.
"Has your young master recovered from his illness?" Yu Shu asked.
"Miss Yu, thank you for your concern. Young Master has recovered." Hōtoku was very polite to Yu Shu.
After walking down the corridor, Yu Shu found that this was not the same path as last time. "Where are we going?"
"To the tea room. Young Master is waiting for you there."
Yu Shu stopped. "Aren't we going to visit Governor Xu first?"
Hōtoku turned his head and said, "Governor Xu left early in the morning."
Hearing this, Yu Shu smiled. Could it be that Master Xue saw that the housekeeper wasn't around and secretly asked her to come?
After passing through the small garden, they arrived at their destination. In front of them was an independent hall. There were a few bluestone steps in front of the door. Under the eaves, there were square bamboo lanterns with flowers and birds. It must be very beautiful when they were lit at night.
Hōtoku stood in front of the door and said, "Young Master, Miss Yu is here."
There was a landscape screen in front of the door. Yu Shu couldn't see the person inside. She only heard a voice, "Let her in."
"Miss, please."
Yu Shu wanted to go in. Qiu Xiang wanted to follow but was stopped by Hōtoku, "Miss, follow me somewhere else."
"Miss … Miss?" Qiu Xiang asked Yu Shu helplessly.
"Let's go with him." Yu Shu didn't want Qiu Xiang to be in front of her. Although this girl looked stupid, she was undoubtedly a spy placed by Ji Hyotani around her.
Hōtoku brought Qiu Xiang away. Yu Shu looked at the open door. Holding her ankle-length skirt, she stepped in and walked around the screen. In front of her was a tea table, incense table, flower racks and jade vases, but there was no one.
"Inside."
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