Chapter 5 Flying Thieves in Ziteng Garden

They could all tell Mo Xuetong was in a bad mood and left without arguement. The room was silent. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she bit her lip, trying to control the swell of sadness. How many things had she been blind to before? She’d never found her mother’s death suspicious. By the time she realized Auntie Fang was responsible, it had been far too late. She could almost see Mo Xuemin’s cruel smile in front of her right now. This life, she could investigate what had happened and avenge her mother. Mo Xuemin hadn’t revealed many details when she’d given Mo Xuetong the poisoned wine. She’d only said that Auntie Fang had been responsible for her mother’s death. In this life, every evil act that mother and daughter had committed would come to light. Her mother, in a letter she wrote Mo Xuetong before she died, said she had left a jade bangle in her father’s study. She’d wanted Mo Xuetong to have it to remember her by. That felt more important now. She had neglected so many things in her past life. She had never even found out how she’d really died… Mo Huawen’s study desk had a secret compartment. Mo Xuetong’s mother had told her how to open it a few days before she’d passed. Mo Xuetong did not spend long in Ziteng Garden. Nanny Ming sent a servant with lunch, but she didn’t have much of an appetite. She ate a few bites before going to Mo Huawen’s study. With a few deft motions, she opened the compartment. The jade bangle was the color of shining water. Almost transparent, it was a very precious item. She went to Auntie Fang’s room next. When she walked out, her sleeves were much heavier than they’d been when she entered. She would go to the capital soon. There she could truly begin to seek revenge. Revenge for her mother, for herself, for her child. They had spilled the blood of so many. There was no excuse for going in unprepared. Even if her body was weak, she felt a swell of energy. She even managed to keep down half a bowl of rice with dinner. Mother Xu smiled, saying it must have been the comfort of home healing her. After dinner, Mo Xuetong returned to the courtyard. She asked Mo Yu to wait at the entrance so she could be alone. The courtyard was almost silent. Fallen leaves littered the ground and she could hear the wind blow across the screens. An immense sadness hit her again, and her eyes began to fill as she walked towards the door to her mother’s rooms. Just as she stepped inside, something pulled her to the side. A large hand wrapped around her throat. “Don’t scream,” somebody said, right against her ear. The stranger dragged Mo Xuetong behind the screen where there was a narrow space behind the bed. Mo Xuetong was far too weak to fight back. She was pulled there easily. She felt as if she was going to suffocate. Her back was held against a large chest. The grip on her neck slackened a bit. Perhaps they realized she couldn’t breathe. “Let go… what do you want… get… it yourself!” Mo Xuetong whispered. The man loosened his grip and she took a deep breath of fresh air before he covered her mouth. “If you want to live, shut up.” The large window on the right of the bed opened. In this quiet house, the clear rustling sound was startling. Mo Xuetong turned her head and was shocked to see a person in black climbing through the window. They stepped lightly on the sill and down into the room. Mo Xuetong hadn’t had time to light the candles, so she couldn’t make out any details . Still, the weak light through the window was enough for her to see them rifling through her mother’s possessions. There had not been much in the jewelry boxes to start with, but the thief scattered the remaining contents across the table. He looked at each piece in the light, then put it down on the table, disappointed. That didn’t seem right. Was he checking for quality? Since when were thieves this picky? “Miss, Mother Xu has prepared the carriage for us,” Mo Yu called. Her footsteps began to approach. The figure in black sped up their inspection, then disappeared out the window empty handed. “Tell your maid to go away,” the man holding her said calmly, letting go of her mouth and holding her throat. Mo Xuetong had no doubt if she called for help, those hands could kill her. “Mo Yu, give me a moment. I’ll come out when I finish cleaning up mother’s things,” Mo Xuetong called calmly, breathing deep. Even with Mo Yu helping her, she’d have no chance against this man. Best to do what he said. “Yes miss,” Mo Yu called back, and they heard the footsteps retreat. She must have gone to tell Mother Xu to wait. “Let me go. I won’t shout,” Mo Xuetong said, tugging his hand lightly. She pointed at the jewelry on the desk. “If you want them, they’re yours.” Her captor paused as if he’d not expected the weak looking girl to be so blunt. He put his hands on her shoulders instead. “So you’re the legendary weakling of the Mo family. I didn’t expect this. You’re quite different from the rumors.” She couldn’t see his face, and she had no intention to look. “Do you really have time to bother with me? Go and take what you want.” She pushed his hands off her shoulders. “Are you really Third Miss Mo?” he asked. He seemed far more interested in how a weak noble girl could be so calm than in taking treasure. “I am. Can you please let me go now?” Mo Xuetong asked with a huff. “We aren’t ordinary thieves. We don’t want cheap trinkets,” he bragged. “Take out everything worth money in your mother’s room,” The force on her shoulders was painful. If he pushed down harder, they might break. Mo Xuetong let herself be shoved over to the table. The surface was scattered with gold and jade jewelry. It was true, not many of these pieces were valuable. She reached into the dressing table and found some larger pieces of gold, silver, pearl, and jade and put them on the table. Her mother had used these to weigh down the table, so they were usually at the back. They’d be easy to miss. “These are cheap! Are you humoring a beggar?” The thief tutted. “Didn’t your mother leave you anything nice for special occasions.” “Mother’s fine jewelry was part of her dowry. They were sent to the capital with my father,” Mo Xuetong said lightly, frowning a bit. “Your father got the entire dowry? Shouldn’t she leave it for you, her daughter?” The person behind her was endlessly curious, not even glancing at the gold and silver on the table. “Should she have left it here to be stolen?” Mo Xuetong asked coldly. “You can’t even protect your mother’s dowry. I guess the rumors got some things right. You really are weak and useless. Looking at you, you should stay here, not hurry to the capital!” As he finished speaking, Mo Xuetong started to struggle. He didn’t have time to defend himself. When he moved to tighten his grasp, she stomped on his foot. “What are you doing?!” As he spoke, he felt a sharper pain in his hand and looked to see she had buried her teeth in the back of his hand. “Since you’ve been watching me so closely,” she told him calmly, “you should have figured out the sort of person I am. If I am wronged, I will get revenge. I don’t care why you’re staring at me, but you can see this is all I have to give you. At worst, I lose some trinkets. There are plenty of people richer than me in this city. You have the skills to steal from any of them, but you come and steal from a weak girl like me.” She shrugged him off, took a glass cup from the table, and smashed it against the floor. The sound echoed through the quiet night “Miss, is something wrong.” Mo Yu was running back towards the door now. “Do you want to die!?” the thief growled. With his good hand, he grabbed her arm almost tight enough to break it. “You can have a tantrum and kill me,” Mo Xuetong said calmly, “but is it worth it? You could have taken some jewelry quietly, but you stayed. If I’m reading this right, you have another motive. I’m not particularly important, but if I die, the people of Cloud City will have to answer to my father, and they will hunt down my killer.” She smiled. “You’re skilled. You might escape. You might even still accomplish whatever it is you’re trying to do. But it is not likely. So now we are in a position to compromise. I bit you in anger, so I won’t yell. Do what you need to, and we won’t get in each other’s ways. Everyone gets what they want.” He’d made a mistake when he’d told her not to hurry back to the capital. Why would some thief know she planned to return? The only thing he should know about her would be her comings and goings. And he could have silenced her quickly. If what he wanted was important, it would be best to do away with bystanders. She felt confident this man was no real threat to her. His breathing turned heavy and she could hear him grinding his teeth. Mo Xuetong felt his breath against her ear again, then, before she realized what was happening, a sharp pain as his teeth dug into her earlobe. “I bit you too,” he said. “So remember, you owe me one.” He was out the window in a heartbeat, leaving her flushed and confused. “Miss!” Mo Yu and Mother Xu pushed frantically past the screen. They only relaxed when they saw Mo Xuetong sitting quietly behind it. “I broke my mother’s cup by accident.” Mo Xuetong took deep breaths, trying to calm down her racing heart, glad the darkness hid her face. She managed to sound calm, but her hand, resting on the corner of the table, was trembling uncontrollably. “As long you’re alright, Miss.” Mother Xu and Mo Yu both sighed in relief. Another maid came in to pick up the glass shards and scattered jewelry. Mo Xuetong had the jewelry placed back in its box to take with him. Others might think them cheap, but they had belonged to her mother. Each one was precious.