When Zhuzi threw that punch, power surged from his Dantian, flowing along his arm and into his fist, like an iron rod piercing through a layer of window paper.

In front of that punch, Steward Zhang's stomach was nothing more than that layer of window paper.

The fist punched straight through his abdomen.

After landing the punch, warm blood splattered onto Zhuzi's face, and only then did he suddenly realize what he had done.

Steward Zhang stared with wide eyes as he looked down at the hole in his stomach, a wheezing sound rattling in his throat, before he collapsed with a crash like a falling wall.

Looking at his blood-stained fist, Zhuzi completely broke down.

He crouched on the ground, clutching his head and pulling at his hair, repeating over and over, "I really didn't mean to."

These words were not meant for anyone else; they were meant for himself.

Zhou Ming stood behind the crowd, quickly running through this information in his mind, and arrived at a conclusion that sent a chill down his spine:

Now, the "Dushi Sutra" could no longer be hidden.

A Kitchen steward in the Marquis's estate had died, and the culprit was a third-class servant who usually couldn't even lift a bucket of water, yet had punched a hole straight through a man's stomach.

This kind of matter could not be covered up, nor could it be explained away.

The masters of the Marquis's estate were not fools, and the stewards were not useless.

They would investigate where Zhuzi's power came from, ransack his living quarters, and interrogate him personally.

With Zhuzi's honest and dull mind, he wouldn't be able to withstand more than a few questions before spilling everything.

Fang Yuan would be dragged into this, the matter of Fang Yuan passing on the scripture would be exposed, and that copy of the "Dushi Sutra" would be unearthed.

Then the Marquis's estate would know that someone in the manor was secretly spreading a Cultivation Technique that allowed ordinary people to develop martial power in a short period of time.

As Zhou Ming walked toward his room, he reached into his robe.

He still had another copy on him, which he had brought along yesterday when he went to the West Mountain to prepare an Opportunity.

He had originally planned to find an Opportunity at night to stuff it into a crack in the brick wall in that alleyway.

But now that this matter with Zhuzi had occurred, the security of the Marquis's estate would inevitably double, and everyone would be screened.

If this scripture were to be found on him, he would be finished.

It was clearly too late to take it out of the estate and hide it now; it was almost time for the morning roll call, and if he were late without reason, it would only draw more attention to himself.

He returned to his room, tidied himself up as quickly as possible, washed his face, smoothed his hair, and straightened his collar.

He pushed the door open and headed toward Begonia Court.

When he passed the alley he had crawled through countless times, Zhou Ming suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Zhou Ming scanned his surroundings.

No one.

The stewards and guards were all occupied by the matter with Zhuzi, and it was not yet time for the night patrol to change shifts.

He no longer hesitated, crouched down, and crawled out through the dog hole.

In the empty alley, there were only a few dog barks echoing from the distance.

Zhou Ming stood up, took out the book from his robe, took a deep breath, and swung his arm.

The book flipped a few pages in the air, traced an arc, soared over the wall on the other side of the alley, and landed in the courtyard with a thud.

The other side of the wall was also a courtyard; Zhou Ming knew it was a two-section courtyard, not very big, and it didn't look like the home of any prominent family.

As for who the owner of the courtyard was, he didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

He just wanted this scripture as far away from him as possible.

After the book landed, he didn't wait, turned around, crawled back through the dog hole, and climbed out from this side of the alley.

He stood up, brushed the dirt off his knees, pulled at his collar to cover his muddy cuffs, and walked quickly with his head down toward Begonia Court.

Zhou Ming arrived at the outer courtyard of Begonia Court, stood in his position, lowered his head, eyes focused on his nose and heart, waiting quietly just like every other morning.

The people in the outer courtyard had arrived one after another, with attendants and guards standing in their respective rows.

Chunlan had not yet returned from Zhuzi's side, and compared to the past, the outer courtyard lacked its usual solemnity and was filled with whispers.

Zhou Ming didn't need to strain his ears to hear people behind him whispering about the incident with Zhuzi.

They said Steward Zhang had breathed his last before even being carried to the medical hall, and that Zhuzi had been taken to the dungeon.

He did not participate.

At a time like this, saying one extra word meant one extra bit of trouble.

He kept his head down, focusing intently on studying the moss growing in the cracks of the stone slabs by his feet.

Before long, the door to the inner courtyard opened.

Empress Su Mingyue walked out, surrounded by a crowd of maids and matrons.

Today, she had changed into a navy blue plain-colored bodice, with no embroidery on it at all, except for a very fine silver-gray trim along the collar.

Her entire appearance was plain and simple, as if she had deliberately reined in all her sharp edges, yet the look in her phoenix eyes could not be contained.

The Killing Intent from West Mountain yesterday had not yet completely faded from her eyes, lingering there faintly, causing everyone who met her gaze to subconsciously lower their heads.

When she walked past Zhou Ming, her footsteps paused for a moment.

Zhou Ming felt it.

He didn't see it.

He kept his head down, his gaze fixed obediently on the ground, but he could feel those boots stop for a beat beside him.

Then a voice came over, clear and indifferent, no different from the tone Empress Su Mingyue usually used when ordering the steward matrons to move a few pots of flowers.

"Zhou Ming, from today on, the Kitchen will be managed by you."

The voice paused.

"Dongmei, train him well."

Zhou Ming was stunned for a moment before he realized what had happened.

This was the voice of the Eldest Miss, Su Mingyue.

The Kitchen was to be managed by him?

Didn't that mean he had been promoted directly from a second-class attendant to a steward?

Although the Kitchen steward of Begonia Court didn't amount to much in the entire Marquis's estate.

It actually held real power over the allocation of food, and he would be in charge of several cooks and assistants.

It was a truly lucrative position, and one that only a first-class servant could occupy.

A lowly servant who had just finished Transmigration less than half a month ago, and he had ascended to the heavens in one step just like that?

But before he could even be happy, the second half of her sentence made him break into a cold sweat.

"Have Dongmei train him well."

"Understood, Eldest Miss, this servant will definitely train him well."

Dongmei's voice came from behind Su Mingyue, light and cheerful, carrying an undisguised sense of schadenfreude.

Zhou Ming quietly lifted his eyelids and glanced over.

Dongmei was standing in the line of the four head maids, looking in his direction.

The corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, and there was a hint of malice in that smile, no matter how one looked at it.

She had used a short sword to block several blades for Su Mingyue on West Mountain yesterday.

The fierce Killing Intent on her face hadn't quite dissipated yet, but at this moment, she was smiling like a wild cat that had its eyes on a field mouse.

Zhou Ming's heart tightened, then immediately relaxed.

He had probably guessed the Eldest Miss's intentions.

The Kitchen steward position was likely a reward for the matter in the cave yesterday.

He had pointed out that cave which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, leading everyone to find a place of refuge; this contribution wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either.

Su Mingyue didn't say anything about it, but she remembered it in her heart.

Promoting him to Kitchen steward was a reward for his contribution.

As for having Dongmei train him.

Zhou Ming thought of how he looked yesterday, standing at the cave entrance clutching that broken wooden board, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The Eldest Miss had seen it too.

He had been standing at the cave entrance at that time, with one foot inside and one foot outside.

Cowering and clutching a piece of broken wood as a shield, he looked exactly like a frightened quail.

The Eldest Miss's lips had curled up at the time; now that he thought about it, that probably wasn't because she found him cute, but because she thought he was too cowardly.