Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Yan Yunzheng and I conducted a secret investigation and discovered that a brothel servant at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion was the most suspicious.
Taking advantage of his absence today, Yan Yunzheng and I slipped into his room.
The cramped space was filled with portraits of girls. They were unfolded and scattered about, emitting a foul stench.
Standing in the room, Yan Yunzheng felt as if the floor were burning his feet; he looked desperate to plug his nose.
While comforting him, I covered my nose and gathered key evidence. Just as we were about to leave, the sound of rhythmic, heavy footsteps echoed from the doorway.
There was nowhere to hide.
Yan Yunzheng grabbed my hand and pulled me behind the door. In that incredibly narrow space, the air was thick with an unbearable odor.
I instinctively buried my face against Yan Yunzheng’s chest to catch a few breaths of cleaner air.
Yan Yunzheng suddenly gripped my wrist tight, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Knowing I was in the wrong, I immediately lowered my head in a submissive gesture and moved my face away. Because my head was down, I missed the surging murderous intent in Yan Yunzheng’s eyes.
We held our breath, but those rhythmic footsteps stopped before reaching the door.
I looked alertly at the door handle and noticed the door wasn’t fully closed, allowing a sliver of light to peek through.
Oh no!
Without time to explain, I turned and rushed out of the room.
The room faced the attic warehouse; once outside, we were overlooking the first floor, which was bustling with music and dance.
“Did he notice us?” Yan Yunzheng caught up and whispered.
I nodded and quickly pulled him along to give chase, but several girls blocked our path.
“Young master, leaving so soon?”
The madam sauntered over, swaying her hips, and blocked us with feigned warmth.
“Was the service poor, or did none of the girls catch your eye?”
Yan Yunzheng furrowed his brows impatiently. “Move.”
The madam wasn’t intimidated. Instead, she grabbed a beautiful girl and pushed her toward him.
“Master, don’t be angry.”
She likely saw Yan Yunzheng’s expensive attire and didn’t want to let this ‘fat sheep’ go, especially since he had only paid for a few pots of tea so far.
Seeing Yan Yunzheng’s hand already gripping the weapon hidden in his sleeve, I stepped forward and whispered in the madam’s ear.
“I’m so sorry, we really can’t delay. He only took ten taels from the accountant’s desk this time, but his wife found out and came looking for him with a knife. My young master needs to get home right away.”
The madam’s eyes darted around, and she finally gave up.
No money plus a fierce wife at home-this wasn’t a deal worth pursuing.
We finally made it out of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion smoothly. An attendant at the door mentioned that the servant had headed toward the city gate in a great hurry.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I ‘borrowed’ a horse from the roadside, but I headed straight for the Lu Manor.
A signal flare was fired behind me.
Presumably, Yan Yunzheng was urgently summoning his troops.
A moment later, Yan Yunzheng caught up, a dark intensity swirling in his eyes.
“That servant’s tracks were discovered; his most likely move is to flee the city as fast as possible. If you want to claim credit for this, you should be heading to the city gate.”
“Then why did Your Highness follow me?”
I didn’t look back, continuing to gallop at full speed.
“What Your Highness is thinking is exactly what is on my mind.”
“Miss Lu cannot afford to gamble on that one-in-a-thousand chance of him attempting a desperate, final struggle to take her down with him.”
When we arrived at the Lu Manor, the butler bowed to Yan Yunzheng in surprise, appearing quite familiar with him.
“Your Highness, what brings you here at this hour?”
With no time for explanations, Yan Yunzheng led me straight to Lu Xu’s courtyard.
When we burst through the door, that wretched servant was obsessively stroking Lu Xu’s partially bared shoulder.
Yan Yunzheng didn’t hesitate for a second. In an instant, a sharp short blade flew out, the fierce wind of the blade brushing past my cheek.
It pierced straight through the man’s palm.
I rushed forward and threw a handful of powder, paralyzing him.
I quickly covered Lu Xu’s skin and took off my outer robe to wrap around her.
She must have been drugged by the servant with a paralyzing agent; her body was limp, yet her mind was conscious. She could only watch helplessly as he pawed at her.
It was truly beyond malicious.
Now, the beauty who was usually like jade and snow was awash in tears. She couldn’t say anything, her eyelashes trembling with shock and fear.
Seeing this, a fire of rage burned in my heart. I delivered a kick that sent the man flying two meters away.
The room was filled with the harmful drug, so I quickly carried Lu Xu to a stone bench in the courtyard.
This lecherous thief was surprisingly capable-to break into the manor of a third-rank official and silently drug a young lady in her chambers. No wonder he hadn’t been caught before.
As Lu Xu regained her senses and strength, the first word she spoke was muffled by the heavy tears dripping onto my palm.
“Dirty.”
She looked at her left shoulder with loathing-the spot where the man had touched her. It seemed as if she desperately wanted to carve that piece of flesh away.
Lu Xu’s parents and Lu Zhi all arrived after hearing the commotion, but she wouldn’t let anyone touch her. She huddled in my arms, repeatedly murmuring that single word.
I wiped away her tears and kneaded her shoulders. “It’s not dirty. I’ve rubbed it clean.”
At last, I managed to coax her and Mother Lu back inside.
Lu Zhi came charging over with tears in his eyes and seized my hand.
“Jiang Rui, you saved my little sister. From now on, brothers-one word. If you go up the mountain, I… I absolutely won’t go down to the sea…”
Even their big black dog squatted in front of me with watery eyes, set one paw on my leg, and barked twice.
“Two words,”
a voice said-cold, unruly, faintly contemptuous-cutting straight through the solemn oath-taking by one man and one dog.
I watched Lu Zhi’s hand curl into a fist.
“Illiterate.”
Yan Yunzheng stood there with his arms crossed and calmly supplied the “two words.”
Blatant provocation.
“You bastard! I got into the Hanlin Academy-who are you calling illiterate?!”
Yan Yunzheng was half a head taller. He tugged one corner of his mouth up; his words were for Lu Zhi, but his eyes stayed on me.
“Illiterate when you were little, illiterate when you’re grown.”
The black dog refused to take that either and barked at him twice. Yan Yunzheng flicked it a look, and the dog promptly tucked its tail in embarrassment and wandered off.
People said Yan Yunzheng had been wrapped up in obligation because the Lu family once escorted him. Several versions of popular storybooks were floating around-ones where the Lu family forced him to marry Lu Xu, and Lu Zhi fought him to the death over it.
Seeing them like this… who knew what was true and what wasn’t.
Lord Lu insisted we stay for dinner, and his enthusiasm made it hard to refuse.
At the table, Lu Zhi worked both chopsticks at once, as though he wanted to pile the entire chicken into my bowl.
Yan Yunzheng, meanwhile, took his time picking meat from bone and ladling soup, and he didn’t refuse the dishes Mother Lu served him.
He looked exactly like someone eating in his own home.
Before we left, Lu Xu finally came out and walked us out as well.
“Brother, thank you… for this time.”
She said it softly to Yan Yunzheng-she didn’t call him “Your Highness.”
Yan Yunzheng didn’t correct her.
While my mind was racing, she moved at an unhurried pace to stand in front of me.
“Compiler Jiang.”
Her voice was light, and she paused.
Yet she still didn’t lift her gaze to meet mine.
“Jiang Rui.”
I answered at once. “Yes? What is it?”
She raised her eyes a little, pressed her lips together, and shook her head.
“Nothing. In a few days I’ll still be going to the Hanlin Academy to bring my brother food.”
I froze, then smiled. “Then I’ll get to see Miss Lu again.”
She lowered her head. Under the dim lamplight, I tried to make out her expression more clearly-then, all at once, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Stop running your mouth.”
Yan Yunzheng hooked a hand into the back of my collar and hauled me away.
On the way back, he kindly treated me to a bowl of wonton noodles.
Extra chili. Extra vinegar.
“Eat. Weren’t you not used to the dishes just now?”
I was taken aback. The Lu family’s banquet had clearly been prepared with care-only, most of it was so mild it barely had a taste. Lu Zhi had piled my bowl into a little mountain, but I’d mostly been making conversation and hadn’t eaten much.
Yan Yunzheng actually noticed.
“Are Changling tastes that heavy?”
Yan Yunzheng handled the light dishes just fine. Now he only asked for tea.
I ate my wontons in big mouthfuls and shook my head at him in between bites.
“In the future, my tastes will slowly get lighter.”
Back then, whether at home or outside, I was always doing heavy work-only spicy food could keep me full of strength.
Now, everything would get better.
“This time, you helped This Prince save the Lu family. This Prince owes you yet another favor.”
Yan Yunzheng lazily propped his head on one hand. In his eyes, a trace of something sinister rose with his smile.
Too many favors owed could get a person killed.
I lowered my eyes and swallowed the last wonton.
“Your Highness, I want to cash in this favor right now. I want all the bounty from the Folding Fan Gentleman case.”
Yan Yunzheng looked me over for a moment, the corner of his mouth lifting.
“Fine.”
“Compiler Jiang, are you that short on money?”
When the shop owner came over to settle the bill, I hurriedly pointed at Yan Yunzheng across from me.
“Who in this world isn’t short on money? Besides, back in Changling I still have a frail, helpless… cousin who needs looking after.”
The smile in Yan Yunzheng’s eyes deepened.
“Is that so.”
The Folding Fan Gentleman case was closed.
His Majesty personally issued an imperial decree: “Jiang Rui, Hanlin Academy Editor, captured the petty criminal and stabilized the capital region. She has rendered meritorious service to the state; We are greatly pleased. We specially bestow: one thousand taels of silver, one hundred bolts of palace silk, and one imperial horse, to commend and honor her. She is permitted, whenever encountering difficult criminal cases, to go to the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to observe proceedings and hear the details in advance, to be used for consultation.”
Still no promotion in office.
But word of the Female Editor in the Hanlin Academy who kept cracking major cases had already spread among the common people.
This time, among the women I saved were many daughters of official families, and the court ministers’ evaluation of me gradually began to change as well.