The Little Doll and the Midnight Intruder
A week had passed, and nothing particularly important had happened.
TanTan spent most of her days resting in her room. She had received no visitors at all and hardly saw any servants, except XiaoRue, who was always busy running here and there, taking care of household chores.
Sometimes, whenever TanTan stepped outside her room, she could feel that someone was watching her. However, she paid little attention to it, as her main priority was recovering her strength.
Unfortunately, living in an era without smartphones or television made her terribly bored.
Once she had regained enough strength to walk around, TanTan began exploring her room. She examined almost everything she could find.
First, she inspected the antique wooden wardrobe. Inside were numerous silk garments, neatly folded and arranged.
Next, she opened the drawers of the dressing table and discovered a collection of beautiful antique jewellery and cosmetics.
Then, her attention turned to an antique wooden chest.
It was locked, but TanTan guessed that the key must be somewhere among her belongings. She was right. After searching for a while, she found it inside a pocket sewn into one of her clothes.
She unlocked the chest and opened it.
Inside were piles of money, carefully stored beneath several layers of silk clothing, along with a collection of ancient books.
Wow... Hua MuTan really was an extravagant woman.
However, among all those expensive belongings, one particular item caught her attention.
It was a doll.
An old, handmade cloth doll with faded colours and a rather worn appearance. Judging from its uneven stitches and untidy sewing, it was probably made by an amateur.
TanTan picked it up and examined it carefully.
"How strange... Why would Hua MuTan keep a doll like this? Is it something special to her?"
Just then, XiaoRue entered the room carrying TanTan's meal.
She looked a little surprised to see her XiaoJie examining the contents of the chest.
"XiaoJie, are you looking for something? XiaoRue can help you."
"XiaoRue, do you know this?"
TanTan held up the doll.
"Ah... That's Xiaomei! XiaoJie's favourite doll. You always take her wherever you go."
"Really? But why? Isn't that a little childish?"
"XiaoJie has never been willing to part with her because Madam ShuiXian made this doll for you."
"Madam ShuiXian?"
"Yes, XiaoJie... Your mother."
XiaoRue felt a pang of sadness. Her XiaoJie's condition seemed worse than she had imagined. She had even forgotten her own mother.
Seeing TanTan's confused expression, XiaoRue began explaining what she knew about Hua MuTan's parents.
TanTan listened quietly, holding the little doll in her hands as she sat beside the chest. At the same time, her thoughts were busy putting together the pieces of Hua MuTan's past.
Hua MuTan's mother? So this doll is a precious keepsake from her deceased mother.
TanTan couldn't help feeling sympathy for the girl whose body she now occupied.
According to XiaoRue, Hua MuTan had lost both her parents when she was only seven years old.
Her father, General Hua YiCao, had died on the battlefield while serving the kingdom. Her mother, Madam ShuiXian, was so devastated by her husband's death that she eventually jumped from a cliff, choosing to follow him.
Despite all the terrible things Hua MuTan had done, she had once been a little girl who had lost both her parents at such a young age.
She still keeps this doll to remember her mother. Perhaps Hua MuTan wasn't entirely evil after all.
TanTan gently placed the doll back inside the chest, making sure it was safe. Then she closed the lid.
At midnight, a black shadow moved silently across the rooftops.
The figure stopped above TanTan's room. After carefully lifting a small section of the roof, the intruder took out a small tube and blew some sleeping powder into the room.
Before long, TanTan fell into a deep sleep.
The shadow was about to enter when, unexpectedly, another figure appeared.
It was ManQi.
Without wasting a moment, ManQi attacked the intruder.
The two figures exchanged several swift moves. Their movements were so fast that an ordinary person would have struggled to follow them.
After a short exchange, the intruder realised that he was no match for ManQi.
He quickly threw a handful of powder toward ManQi, using it to distract him before escaping into the darkness.
ManQi considered chasing after him, but then he stopped.
Checking Hua MuTan's condition was more important. Besides, he had inhaled some of the powder himself and was already beginning to feel dizzy. Chasing the intruder in his current condition would be unwise.
He immediately checked TanTan's room.
She was still lying peacefully on her bed, deeply asleep.
After confirming that she was safe, ManQi left the room and went straight to report the incident to Prince Li.
After receiving ManQi's report, Prince Li ordered him to rest and recover before attempting anything else.
He then went to Hua MuTan's room himself.
Standing beside her bed, he carefully examined her condition. Indeed, she was sleeping deeply, just as ManQi had reported.
Prince Li frowned.
"So someone really is targeting her?"
He looked down at the woman lying on the bed.
"But this time, the intruder only put her to sleep instead of trying to kill her. Is tonight's intruder from the same group as the assassins who attacked her carriage, or is he someone else entirely?"
His gaze lingered on Hua MuTan's face.
"You seem to have a lot of secrets, Hua MuTan..."
After a moment, he turned and quietly left the room.
Meanwhile, somewhere far away, a black shadow finally reached a secluded cliff.
A man wearing a mask that concealed almost his entire face was waiting there.
"So, did you find the thing?"
The Master spoke in a cold voice.
The black-clothed intruder immediately dropped to his knees and bowed his head to the ground.
"I... I'm sorry, Master. That bodyguard, ManQi, was too strong. I could barely escape from him."
"Useless..."
The Master approached him without another word.
Before the intruder could say anything else, the Master drew his sword and struck him down.
The black-clothed man collapsed to the ground.
Without even looking at him again, the Master kicked the dead body over the edge of the cliff. It disappeared into the darkness below.
"It seems I'll have to find it myself..."
With that, the masked Master turned away from the cliff and walked into the night.