C2

The night was still dark.

Qiao Qingya was completely awake.

He was worried that his daughter would be surprised, so he immediately went upstairs to his daughter's bedroom door and lightly knocked. "Chu'er, are you scared?"

Qiao Ruo Chu was picking up the scattered items on the ground. "Father, I'm fine. Rest in peace."

Hearing that his daughter was still able to speak normally, he let out a long breath and went downstairs to his bedroom.

This was a two story French style small building. The area was not big and the first floor only had five or six rooms. Qiao Qingya had bought the land and designed the building himself.

To be exact, it was built for his beloved wife, Shi Shiyan.

Nineteen years ago, he had just made a fortune in the silk business. That year, he met Shi Shiyan, the eldest daughter of the tea king, Shi Yan.

For her, he visited her house day by day and became her grandson's slave. Finally, he touched old man Shi and said: If Ruo Shiyan agrees, the Shi family will marry her daughter.

The jade-like beauty blushed and agreed.

He was so happy that he wanted to jump up.

He took out all of his possessions as a betrothal gift and borrowed some debt to build the current house. He named it Yanzhou Garden, where the two of them lived after their marriage.

All the love, except Wu Shan, three years later, his wife gave birth to a lovely daughter.

The heavens are jealous of her beauty, but the mandarins are even more jealous.

Seven years later, Qiao Qingya, who was immersed in the blissful period of his upbringing and destiny, always heard his beloved wife cough. At the beginning, he didn't pay much attention to it and only said that it was lung fever.

The patter dragged on for half a year, but there was no end to it. When the famous doctor called Gumuchuan saw that his diagnosis was pulmonary tuberculosis, and it was already late stage.

Qiao Qingya, who was complacent in the spring, had his hair turn white overnight.

He braced himself to expend every means of prolonging the life of his beloved wife.

Helpless, half a year later, she still went.

In the dream, the peach blossoms still fell on her face, and her face suddenly became lost. When she looked back, the beauty seemed to be separated by the clouds.

Qiao Ruo had just tidied up the bed. The sky was already slightly warm, and the good dream she had for an entire night was twisted into disarray.

That was enough, she was actually still wearing her pajamas and being threatened and molested by a man of unknown origins. The man's arm had been placed on her small chest, and she was extremely scared, not caring about being embarrassed. Now, the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

She heard the creak of the living-room recliner.

She knew that her father had woken up, that he was sleeping very lightly and would not be disturbed. After her mother passed away, he suffered from insomnia.

It was a little cold before dawn in August. Qiao Ruoxi took out a bed of thin damask embroidered with jasmine flowers and covered it with it, then lay down again.

Today, she was going to visit the new Marie-Ladies School in Xiang City, which was said to be run by the American Church. The main school was in Shanghai, while the main campus was only in Xiang City. The school's promotions had started since the start of the year. They had even invited a reputable person from the Xiang City to attend the opening ceremony, and Yao Qingya had been invited to attend as well.

When he came back, he told Qiao Yifeng that he would register for the school after he enrolled into the academy and that it was no longer an era where "talent is virtue" and that there were girls' schools everywhere in Shanghai. After graduation, there were plenty of girls doing things in society like the men, and he also hoped that his daughter would be able to keep up with the trend of the times.

Qiao Ruo had never left the city before, so she didn't know what the outside world looked like.

However, she didn't reject going to the outside world in the future.

Ever since her father had said this, Qiao Ruo Chu had been looking forward to the opening of the Maria girls' school.

Auntie Yu had prepared for her, according to Qiao Qingya's description, a light blue cheongsam with a flared wrist sleeve, a silver silk border, a blue pleated skirt, white stockings, and round cloth shoes, which were said to be the standard attire for schoolgirls.

Madam Yu was her mother's concubine. Before Qiao Ruo Chu's mother died, she had insisted that her husband take her in. She probably wanted her daughter to have someone reliable to raise.

In the past few years, the Yu family had indeed not failed to live up to the trust of Qiao Ruoxi's mother. They treated her like their own child and protected her with utmost care.

Qiao Ruo wore the school clothes for the first time. They fit her perfectly, giving her the appearance of a newly bloomed white magnolia.

The first rays of light shone through the curtains and onto Qiao Ruoxi's bed. A few birds were singing happily outside the window. Their naughty and noisy voices made Qiao Ruozhu feel refreshed. She was about to get up.

Next to her room was the washroom. In order to make it convenient for her daughter to wash up, Qiao Qing Ya specifically called for someone to put on the cozy interior decoration. Qiao Ruo Chu, wearing slippers, pushed the door open and went in to brush her teeth and wash her face.

Because she was going to the Maria Girls' School today, she purposely braided half of her hair at an angle and pinned it to the back of her head with a butterfly knot. The rest of her hair was hanging straight down over her shoulders, leaving a thin layer of bangs in the front, about a finger's length above her eyebrows.

After brushing her hair, she went back to the bedroom. Qiao Ruoxi picked out a short shirt embroidered with pale orange marigolds with a satin surface, and put it on. She then put on the skirt with flowing patterns on it, and put on a pair of flat leather boots with yellow laces that her father had brought back from Shanghai.

She felt that today was a grand day. This kind of dressing should be considered quite proper, it would not appear shabby or special. She was not a person who liked to stand out.

On the mahogany table downstairs was a bowl of rice and chrysanthemum porridge, a plate of fish, a plate of spinach and peanuts, and a plate of egg tofu. The Qiao family's two servants, mother Sun and mother Meng, were setting the tableware.

Qiao Ruo Chu curled her way down the stairs. "Miss, are you awake?"

Sun Yiyi's mother quickly greeted her.

"Miss is so beautiful today." Mama Meng also smiled and spoke to her.

Hearing her daughter go downstairs, Aunt Yu also came out from the house. "Good morning, Auntie." When Qiao Ruo Chu saw the Yu Family, her eyebrows raised and her eyes curved into a smile. The corner of her mouth curved into a faint dimple.

"Ruo Chu is going to visit the girls' school today." Auntie Yu said, "Tell your father to accompany you." Everyone else has friends. "

Aunt Yu was worried that her daughter would go out alone. She would usually ask the servants to follow her at home. In a grand occasion, she would have to drag Qiao Qingya along with her.

Qiao Qingya had already heard the conversation between the mother and daughter from the balcony. He coughed and walked over, then sat down at the table to look at Qiao Ruoxi. he said proudly.

"Father would laugh at his daughter." She pretended to be angry and ate in silence.

Qiao Qing Ya laughed heartily. "It's time to eat."

Auntie Yu also sat down, smiling in satisfaction at Qiao Ruo Chu's delicious meal.

The late summer sun jumped in through the large french windows, and the mahogany furniture in the room gave off a low-key glow. Upon closer inspection, it was incomparably resplendent.

The servant, Fu Quan, came in holding a newspaper in his hands. "Master, something happened in the city. Last night, bandits from the Great Glow Mountain came to the city to assassinate Governor Wu. Look, the newspaper is full of yesterday's news." he said uneasily.

Qiao Qingya was stunned. The hand that held the chopsticks stopped in midair, and the peanuts that were caught in the chopsticks quickly fell and rolled onto the ground.

He had heard of the bandits of the Great Proud Mountain. There were thirty to forty thousand people in this group, and the five leaders were brothers of the worshipers. They were all vicious and cruel people.

It was said that the bandit's nest at the Dazhuang Mountain was lit up by oil lamps, musical instruments made from women's ribs, and urns made from the skulls of enemies. In short, these legends alone were extremely sinister and terrifying.

Ten-odd years ago, the government sent out a hundred thousand men and horses to circle the mountain for more than half a year. The news that came back was that they had completely annihilated the bandits and caused a huge stir throughout the country.

Wu Zicheng, the leader of the bandit army, had thus become the local governor of the province, dominating the entire province of Zhejiang.

After so many years without any bandits, he really had lost out on that bandit incident.

Qiao Ruo Chu had already eaten most of her fill. She stood up to catch Fu Quan's newspaper. With just a glance, she felt that her head was heavy and her legs were light. She almost fell down head first.

The newspaper said that of the twelve bandits who attacked Wu's villa last night, only one had escaped.

Her hands were trembling slightly and her face was pale.

Last night she had hidden a bandit from each other.

The bandit was hidden in her quilt, his thick arms clasped around her chest.

Qiao Ruo Chu felt as if she had fallen into hell. She felt dizzy and her ears were ringing and her legs were numb.

Afraid that her father would notice something amiss, she forced herself to climb upstairs. She locked herself up, found the quilt from yesterday, and stuffed it into a big coarse cloth bag, ready to throw it out when no one was looking.

In her room, there was no way she could leave a bandit's scent.