The beloved daughter of the Houfu is seven years old

Chapter Five: Nighttime Assassination Attempt

At the ancestral hall up ahead, Concubine Liu’s clothes had already been stripped down to just her undergarments. Her fair skin glowed under the dim light of the ancestral hall, and with only a simple hairpin in her hair, the sight made the beastly desire in the black-clothed man flare even more. His eyes gleamed with lust as he slapped her and prepared to pounce.

“Help…” Liu’s voice was weak, barely a whisper.

But just then, a scene even more terrifying occurred—the man who moments ago was filled with excitement suddenly widened his eyes, then collapsed lifelessly onto Liu’s body. Stunned, she froze for a moment, then the man’s body was yanked off her with great force.

A man dressed in grey stood above her, looking down.

He appeared to be in his late twenties, with dark, deep eyes. His face was handsome and stern, clearly not one to show kindness.

“S-sir… thank you, thank you for saving me…” Liu stammered, shaken to the core, barely able to speak. She had completely forgotten that her clothes had been nearly stripped.

But the man before her could hardly be called a gentleman. His cold eyes lingered on her exposed shoulder, then moved lower. Liu was only twenty-five, with a soft, curvy figure and a delicate, pitiable face. Noticing his gaze, she instinctively shrank back.

To her horror, the man suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms. Liu was terrified, thinking she had just escaped a wolf only to fall into a tiger’s grasp.

As Gu Yong carried Liu away in haste, Shen Qingqiu stood nearby, holding a sharp candlestick in her small hand, eyes cold and fierce. “Let go of my mother.”

“It’s you…” Gu Yong’s dark eyes flickered with something unspoken.

“I said, let go of my mother!” Shen Qingqiu shouted, then charged at him with the candlestick. Gu Yong, concerned for Liu’s safety, pushed her aside. He had thought she was just a little girl—not a real threat—but was shocked to find her attacks were calculated and vicious.

Had she any internal strength—or if it had been anyone else—he might really have been killed by that seemingly harmless candlestick.

In just a few moves, Shen Qingqiu was subdued. Her small body lacked the strength to hold her ground, and clearly, she had encountered a true martial expert.

“You’re a ruthless little thing. Do you yield now?”

“Yield to your grandmother!”

Gu Yong’s expression darkened; clearly, he didn’t appreciate her tone.

“Sir, please don’t be offended, she’s still young,” Liu said quickly, trying to calm things down. “Qingqiu, this gentleman saved my life.”

Both Gu Yong and Shen Qingqiu were stunned for a second. Taking advantage of the moment, Shen Qingqiu bit his hand and rushed over to Liu’s side.

“Peh!”

“Qingqiu!” Liu scolded, quickly gathering her robes and bowing to Gu Yong. “I am Liu, a concubine of Lord Shen, the local magistrate. Thank you for saving my life, sir.”

Shen Qingqiu narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her, as if she wanted to strip away his façade under the flickering lights.

Gu Yong’s gaze, however, remained fixed on the crown of Liu’s dark hair. In a deep voice, he said, “I was being chased by a group of thieves and happened to hide here. I saw what was happening and stepped in to stop it.”

Liu lowered her head and thanked him again, but Shen Qingqiu suddenly said, “What do you mean you saved my mother? It’s clearly our ancestral hall that saved you! You were practically dead—why not just tell the truth? If you dare, take off your clothes and prove it!”

“Qingqiu!” Liu scolded once more.