How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

With a loud bang, Qingru slammed the car door shut.

This is so embarrassing. Yesterday, Guo Zixing confessed his feelings to her and even... took liberties with her. Then he turned around and hugged Zheng Peilan. Has he gone mad?

Tears of grievance welled up in Qingru's eyes, and she turned to leave, but Zhang Xun stopped her.

"You can't go."

"Why?"

"It's hard for me to explain to you right now, but if you don't want the young master and Miss Zheng to get involved, you can stay."

"What? Do you know what you're saying? They've gone through all this, and you still don't want to take responsibility?"

Zhang Xun lowered his head and said, "I can only say it's not what you think."

"What is it? Can't you speak if you don't have a mouth?"

Zhang Xun said anxiously, "It's a long story, but in short, the young master definitely didn't touch Miss Zheng. It's just that things were too chaotic today. If we don't make proper arrangements for Miss Zheng, I'm afraid the newspapers will be full of this story tomorrow, and we won't be able to clear our names no matter what."

Seeing his serious expression, Qingru began to believe him somewhat, but seeing it with her own eyes just now was too shocking for her.

"Then you should at least give me a general idea, otherwise how am I supposed to know how to respond?"

Zhang Xun pulled Qingru aside and briefly explained what had happened that evening: "...Miss Zheng was feeling down, so she went to the Jin Anna Ballroom to have some fun. She booked a large private room and invited many young men and women to join her."

Qingru frowned and said, "Weren't many people supposed to be attending the banquet at the Zheng family's house today? How could this be..."

"Those who come to the banquet with their elders generally have some sense of propriety, while those who go to the dance hall are all seasoned veterans of the pleasure quarters. Miss Zheng is a well-known young lady in Sifang City, wealthy and powerful, so naturally those people are willing to fawn over her, and then..."

Zhang Xun thought of some extremely embarrassing things and couldn't bear to continue. "When the young master was patrolling the streets, he saw her maid and went up to get her down. The young master was probably also drugged. Many people saw Miss Zheng and the young master hugging and cuddling. If we don't smooth things over, we'll probably be at the top of the entertainment section tomorrow."

Qingru then realized what had happened. Although she didn't go into details, she could roughly guess what had happened.

"Then why did you call me here in such a hurry? Wouldn't it have been better to just quietly send Miss Zheng back?"

“This is the young master’s car. If we go in, the powerful and influential people in the other half of Sifang City will know. The rumors will spread… and they won’t sound good.”

Qingru suppressed her anger and said, "Go and call our driver to bring the car over. Tell him that Miss Zheng saw that I sprained my ankle and kindly took me to the hospital, but she fainted on the way because she was too weak. I had no choice but to bring her back first."

"Is this okay?"

"What else can we do?" Qingru growled in a suppressed voice. What kind of mess is this?

Zhang Xun said no more and hurried over to find someone.

Qingru suppressed her anger and opened the car door again.

With just one glance, Qingru knew what kind of drug Guo Zixing and Miss Zheng had been given. The two of them were entangled in each other's arms, searching for the antidote.

With red eyes, Qingru finally couldn't hold back and slapped Guo Zixing hard across the face.

The intense pain brought Guo Zixing back to his senses. Once he saw who it was, he immediately pushed Zheng Peilan away.

Having lost her source of agitation, Zheng Peilan immediately shifted her restless body and rubbed against Guo Zixing.

Guo Zixing quickly bit his tongue to stay awake and pushed Zheng Peilan away to get out of the car.

Seeing Qingru looking at him with disappointment, Guo Zixing was speechless for the first time.

I want to explain, but I don't know how to say it.

Qingru closed her eyes briefly. "Guo Zixing, you're very good."

Thinking about how Guo Zixing had made no attempt to hide his desire to marry Zheng Peilan in front of her, she simply couldn't believe his feelings for her, let alone the fact that he had such intimate contact with Zheng Peilan today.

Qingru turned around and took a few steps back, too lazy to see Guo Zixing's irritating face.

Guo Zixing shamelessly followed, the clarity brought on by the pain gradually fading. Qingru's reddened eyes, her trembling body, and her constantly opening and closing lips were all irresistible.

An ambiguous red color appeared before his eyes, and Guo Zixing's vision began to blur again.

He grabbed Qingru and pressed his burning body against her back, the intense heat a warning of danger lurking behind her.

"Guo Zixing, wake up." Qingru pushed him, but the more she resisted, the tighter Guo Zixing hugged her.

His heavy breath was hot against her ear, making Qingru tremble all over. Guo Zixing's lips pressed against Qingru's and rubbed hard, showing none of the tenderness he had shown yesterday.

The closer Qingru got, the more she could smell Guo Zixing's scent. The irresistible fragrance of Zheng Peilan's perfume wafted into Qingru's nose, allowing her to remain absolutely clear-headed even at this moment.

Women are generally not as strong as men, and with Qingru's ankle twisted at this time, no matter how much she resisted, Guo Zixing became even more unrestrained.

Just as Qingru was in despair, a powerful force finally ripped Guo Zixing off.

As soon as the tight grip loosened, Qingru fell to the ground uncontrollably.

Turning around, Qingru saw clearly who had saved her.

"It's you?"

"It's me again." The man gestured jokingly. "Twice now."

Qingru fell to the ground in a disheveled state, only able to pull the grass over to cover the places where her private parts had been exposed.

"Thank you."

"It's not enough to just say it; consider this your thank-you gift."

The man waved his hand, and a sparkling sapphire earring appeared in his hand.

Qingru touched her ear and realized that she had lost one of her ears without even noticing.

"you…"

"I'm really leaving. Don't tell anyone you've seen me."

After saying that, the person turned and disappeared into the darkness, coming and going in a hurry, as if he had never appeared.

Qingru was stunned for a moment, still not knowing his name.

"Miss," Song Fu called softly. The lights were off, so he didn't know where Qingru and the others were standing.

Qingru composed herself and replied, "Here, give me your coat."

Song Fu took off his outer jacket and walked over towards the source of the sound.

Qingru fell several times during the night, and this time she fell directly into the grass, making her thin dress almost unrecognizable.

After putting on her long gown, Qingru stood up with Song Fu's help.

Zhang Xun also found Guo Zixing lying unconscious on the ground, with a visible crack on his head.

However, seeing Qingru's disheveled clothes and the suspicious red marks on her shoulders, he could easily imagine how much effort Qingru had put in to stop the further embarrassment.

"Qingru, I'm entrusting Miss Zheng to you."

Qingru did not answer, but took Song Fu's hand and entered the car to tidy herself up.

Song Fu had no choice but to help Zheng Peilan up himself.

"Um…"

Song Fu blushed instantly. Zheng Peilan, who had been drugged, lost Guo Zixing as her "antidote" and felt extremely uncomfortable, so she could only squirm in the carriage by herself. The drug combined with alcohol made Zheng Peilan completely oblivious to the world around her, and she was even more unaware that a servant had been watching her.

Song Fu lowered his head, trying not to look, and reached out to scoop Zheng Peilan out and throw her into the Lü family's car.

Zheng Peilan suddenly understood, and immediately clung tightly to Song Fu to ease the tension, her eyes glazed and alluring. If it had been a frivolous person like Huang Qian or Liu Songbai, they probably would have already consummated their relationship.

Qingru couldn't help but genuinely want to help Zheng Peilan. She was originally such a proud noblewoman, showing no respect even to Guo Zixing, but under the influence of drugs, she could even get close to a driver.

"Put her next to me. The car will be at the door in a bit. Go in and tell Zheng the comprador what happened. He will tell you what to do."

"Hmm," Song Fu replied awkwardly.

Zheng Peilan twisted her legs, unable to find any relief from the discomfort. Ignoring Qingru sitting next to her, she grabbed Qingru's hand and pulled it towards her body.

Qingru blushed and quickly tried to pull her hand back.

Fortunately, Zheng's comprador acted quickly, and soon led the guests to the other side. Then, with the car windows covered, Song Fu quietly drove the car into the backyard.

The car door opened, and a row of maids completely blocked the back door. Several strong and capable old women immediately opened the car door and carried Zheng Peilan upstairs.

After finishing everything, Qingru immediately took her leave.

"Wait a minute," Zheng, the comprador, said coldly, stopping Qingru.

"What do you mean?"

"Explain my daughter's situation clearly before you leave."

"How much more can you ask? I only met Miss Zheng outside the door. If you insist on clarifying things, I'm afraid you'd be better off asking your maid."

Qingru's face also turned cold. Even a clay figure has some temper. If I saved your daughter, I should at least treat you with courtesy, instead of saying thank you.

Zheng, the comprador, narrowed his eyes. His daughter was the most important person to him. If anything happened to her, including her reputation, he would make others pay the price.

Now that this woman knows about Perrin's scandalous affairs, there's no guarantee she won't spread it around or use it to blackmail him...

Qingru sneered inwardly as she watched Zheng's increasingly dangerous expression. So, anyone who threatens her is willing to eliminate even her benefactor?

"Mr. Zheng, do you want to kill me?"

Zheng, the comprador, was speechless when Qingru unexpectedly saw through his thoughts.

"Heh, you're overthinking it. I am... Oh, I see you've injured your foot too, and you're good friends with my daughter. I'm just asking you to rest at home for the night."

Qingru said coldly, "No need. The Zheng family is wealthy, and I am not a homeless beggar. Farewell."

Qingru turned to leave, but Zheng, the comprador, stopped her, and the atmosphere became tense.

"Master, Miss, she..."