After Xue Tingrong returned, she washed herself, changed into women's clothes, and ran out in a hurry. She first returned to the vicinity of Mengzheng Academy, but found that the school had been over and Master Zhou and his men were checking around.

She was afraid that someone might notice something, so she didn't dare to get too close. She happened to meet Haitang who came back to bring her toilet paper. Seeing that she was a girl, she hurried over to ask. Then she saw Meng Yidong and two servants running down the mountain as if they had seen a ghost. The three of them did not stop. Master Zhou tried to stop them, but the three of them were so scared that they wanted to go back home and did not say a word to Cheng Songan.

Master Zhou had no choice but to have Meng Yidong sent back to his mansion. He then looked towards the mountain and went back without saying anything.

Xue Tingrong whispered to Haitang, "That's the man who was chasing Sister Cheng."

Haitang hesitated for a moment and said to her, "I'll go to the mountain to look for it. You go find someone to help me."

Then he told her about the teahouse that Lu Qingshan mentioned, and described Lu Qingshan's appearance, and asked her to make sure to bring Lu Qingshan with her.

Xue Tingrong went to the teahouse to look for Lu Qingshan as she was told, but Lu Qingshan disappeared after drinking tea. She waited in the teahouse for half a day but he didn't show up. She had no choice but to leave a note for the waiter in the shop and hurried back.

By the time she climbed halfway up the mountain, Haitang had been searching for a long time and was already in despair. At this moment, she heard Cheng Songan's chattering voice coming from above.

Xue Tingrong looked at her and saw that her body was covered in mud that had dried up a little, but she didn't care at all. Her small hands tightly grasped a young man in a purple robe. The young man had a gentle look on his face and lowered his head to say something to her. The two of them stood there, like a golden boy and a jade girl from heaven.

She lowered her head in inferiority for a moment, and when Cheng Songan ran to her, the young man had disappeared.

“My ancestors!” Haitang pulled Cheng Songan into her arms and then burst into tears, “You’re going to scare me to death.”

Cheng Songan, however, laughed nonchalantly and said, "Don't cry, hurry up and find me some clean clothes. If I go back like this, my grandmother will definitely beat me up."

Xue Tingrong said cautiously: "Why not go to my house..."

Cheng Songan then looked at her carefully. The women's clothing she wore looked very ordinary, unlike the luxurious men's clothing. People who went to Mengzheng School were either rich or noble. It was puzzling that she didn't bring a servant with her, and now she didn't look like a girl from a wealthy family.

She was actually quite curious, so she nodded and agreed, and went to Haitang's home with her.

Xue Tingrong brought them to a palm-sized courtyard in Guiyuan Lane, gently opened the door, and said inside: "Mother Zheng, I..."

He froze in the middle of his words, put down his hand that was about to push the door, and stood there holding the corner of his clothes.

"You've been too wild lately. You've already asked for leave today, but you insisted on going again. And you left early. You're so crazy that you're not even home right now. Aren't you afraid of delaying Tingrong's business?"

A woman's voice came from inside, and she seemed very dissatisfied with her.

Xue Tingrong didn't dare to speak. She lowered her head and glanced at Cheng Songan quietly with an apologetic look in her eyes.

Cheng Songan was even more puzzled. He tilted his head and looked inside, but saw nothing.

"Why don't you come in?" the woman shouted.

Xue Tingrong's face turned pale and she shuddered almost imperceptibly. Then she quietly waved to Cheng Songan, indicating that she should go first. She walked into the room with her head lowered.

Cheng Songan didn't want to pry into her family's privacy, so he walked out with Haitang. Just after taking a step, he heard Xue Tingrong let out a suppressed cry, which sounded very painful.

Cheng Songan didn't care about anything anymore, turned around, walked back, pushed open the door and rushed in.

The scene in front of her made her eyes widen. Xue Tingrong was grabbed by the arm by a middle-aged woman and hung on a porcelain bowl on the table. There was a cut on her arm by a knife, and blood kept flowing down and falling into the bowl.

There were dozens of wounds of varying sizes on that arm, some new and some old, shocking to the eye. Xue Tingrong bit her lower lip in pain, her face wet with tears, but she didn't dare wipe them away.

"What are you doing?" Cheng Songan asked loudly and walked quickly forward to rescue Xue Tingrong.

But she was no match for the middle-aged woman. With just a slight push, she staggered back a few steps and was caught by Haitang from behind.

The woman quickly picked up the porcelain bowl and handed it to a woman on the couch, saying, "Hurry up and let Master Rong drink it while it's hot, otherwise it will solidify."

Only then did Cheng Songan realize that there was a boy lying on the bed, held by a young woman. The child was about six or seven years old, and looked similar to Xue Tingrong, except that he looked very weak.

The woman holding him brought the porcelain bowl to his mouth. The child frowned and sniffed it, showing some resistance.

The woman fed him and coaxed him, "Dear Rong'er, you will feel better after drinking this."

The boy then drank it.

The woman praised, "Good Rong'er, get well soon. Then you can draw the bow and shoot arrows. That will make me happy."

Xue Tingrong listened to these words, silently found a piece of cloth, wrapped herself skillfully, and carefully cleaned the table. It seemed that she had done these things thousands of times.

After feeding the child, the woman turned to Cheng Songan and asked Xue Tingrong unhappily, "Whose wild child is this? Why are you bringing anyone here?"

Xue Tingrong whispered: "This sister's clothes are dirty, I brought her here..."

Cheng Songan revealed her identity: "I am the eldest granddaughter of Chengge's family. You are really cruel. For the sake of your own child, you don't hesitate to cut the flesh of other people's daughters and drink their blood. Isn't she born by her parents?"

She was about to say that she wanted to spend money to buy Xue Tingrong's bond, but when the woman heard about the Cheng family, her face suddenly changed and she immediately glared at Xue Tingrong fiercely.

Xue Tingrong shuddered at her glare and quickly said to Cheng Songan, "Sister, this is my brother. We are twins. He is born with a defect. I, I..."

Cheng Songan couldn't even say a word. This woman was actually her own mother! And this mother asked her to bleed for her brother to drink. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

Xue Tingrong waved her hands repeatedly, her eyes full of pleading. She sent her out the door and whispered, "Sister, I beg you, don't tell anyone about what happened today, okay? Otherwise, I won't be able to survive..."

"How can she be your mother if she treats you like this? Tingrong, why don't you come with me to my home?" Cheng Songan said with a chivalrous heart, "I have two sisters, and with you, there will be three of us. I will definitely treat you well."

Xue Tingrong was stunned, as if she couldn't believe it. The cloth wrapped around her hands was soaked with blood, but she was unaware of it. In her short life, she had never heard that anyone would treat her well.

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