Chapter 148
Chapter 148
Night blanketed all of Yuelai Villa.
By all rights, with a wedding banquet underway, the place should have been alive with clinking cups, guests rising and sitting in noisy cheer, and laughter filling the air.
But after Yu Lang kicked over a table and started fighting seven or eight guards, everything descended into chaos.
Qin Shu was utterly astonished. This kid was actually that skilled? Seven or eight men had attacked him at once and still could not take him down?
He lowered his voice and asked Old Master Shen, “Should we invite someone from the yamen over?”
At that moment, Old Master Shen’s expression was terrifyingly dark as well. He gave a slight shake of his head. “Not for now.”
Then he ordered, “Have all the guests leave.”
Qin Shu acknowledged him at once and immediately called for the servants to disperse the guests.
Over on the other side, Yu Lang was still locked in a fierce fight. From the corner of his eye, he saw everyone leaving and immediately shouted again, “Hey, don’t any of you want to hear about the dirty secrets of Yuelai Villa? Why are you running so fast?”
Some of the guests stopped for a moment when they heard him.
But in the end, they were more afraid of offending the Shen Family, and they slunk away with their tails between their legs.
In the blink of an eye, the dozen or so tables of guests had emptied out.
The old steward even shut the villa gates at once, then called all the guards and servants to the front courtyard to help.
As a result, Yu Lang, who had originally only needed to deal with seven or eight men, suddenly found another seven or eight added to the fray.
Though he was surrounded by more than a dozen people, not only did he show no fear, the longer he fought, the bolder he became. He even had time to spare for a few mocking remarks.
“So many of you ganging up on one man. Do you people still have any shame?”
“Oh, right. Why would you need shame? If you cared about shame, how would you get all this wealth and status?”
“Isn’t that right, Son-in-law Qin?”
Qin Shu’s face turned livid with rage, and his hands clenched into fists of their own accord, but Old Master Shen swept him a glance.
He understood what the other man meant and forced himself to calm down. Only belatedly did he realize that two people were missing from the courtyard.
That Daoist and that woman had disappeared without anyone noticing…
Just then, Old Master Shen suddenly lifted both hands, signaling the guards to withdraw.
The kindness from earlier was gone from his face. He appeared calm, but beneath that calm was an unfathomable depth.
“Just who are you two? Why have you come to cause trouble at Yuelai Villa on this joyous day?”
Ren Fengjue had not made a move from start to finish, but that composed, unruffled bearing of his made it impossible for anyone to underestimate him.
At this moment, his expression still did not change. “I already told you earlier, Old Master. We are merely passing through.”
Old Master Shen’s eyes were cold as he asked in an icy voice, “If you are merely passing through, must you insist on stirring up trouble?”
“Old Master, that is not quite right. It is not as if we wanted to stir up any trouble.”
Ren Fengjue pointed directly at Yu Lang’s feet and said, “Old Master, take a look beneath my friend’s feet. Do you notice anything strange?”
At these words, everyone instinctively turned to look at Yu Lang.
And under the crimson glow of the large red lanterns, someone soon realized what was wrong.
There was nothing beneath his feet.
He had no shadow.
The bizarre sight made everyone suck in a cold breath. They could not help but retreat several steps, putting distance between themselves and him.
Looking at Old Master Shen Li again, shock and suspicion flickered across his face. Qin Shu, standing beside him, was also full of disbelief.
As Ren Fengjue observed their expressions, he deliberately said, “I once heard a saying: ghosts who died unjustly will steal shadows in order to find a substitute.”
“I wonder, has some miscarriage of justice occurred here in Yuelai Villa before? Is that why a vengeful spirit has come to steal shadows?”
“Utter nonsense!”
The anger Shen Li had been holding back finally erupted at that moment. He shouted sternly, “This is a joyous day for my villa. How dare you stand here and spread your wicked lies to confuse the crowd? Steward Chen, go to the county yamen right now and invite Constable Li over!”
Steward Chen was just about to accept the order and leave when Yu Lang stepped in to block his way. “There’s no need to go to all the trouble of visiting the county office.”
He took out his Dali Temple Waist Token and said lazily, “The Junior Minister of Dali Temple is here. I should think I have the authority to make decisions.”
Shen Li was startled again at the sight of the token. He narrowed his eyes and examined it carefully, as if trying to tell whether it was genuine.
Yu Lang simply stepped forward and held the token right in front of him.
“Well? Have you seen it clearly now?”
Unexpectedly, Shen Li gave a cold laugh and glared at him. “Even if the waist token is real, does that mean you people from Dali Temple can use your rank to bully common folk?”
Yu Lang glared right back, but said, “What do you mean, use our rank to bully common folk? If there was an unjust case in this villa, wouldn’t it fall under my jurisdiction?”
“…”
Shen Li’s face flushed red, and for a moment, he seemed to panic.
He had guessed that the people before him would not be easy to deal with, but he had not expected them to be officials.
Of course, the one he feared most was not this Junior Minister of Dali Temple, but the other man…
The identity of that man was still unknown.
After weighing it over in his heart, Shen Li changed his expression with remarkable speed. Once again, he put on a kindly smile. “I was discourteous just now. Please do not take offense, Junior Minister.”
Then he gave another order. “Shu’er, invite the two lords into the hall and serve tea!”
The sudden reversal caught Qin Shu completely off guard as well.
Though he was unwilling, he still stepped forward and bowed respectfully, inviting the two men into the main hall and personally serving them tea.
The atmosphere shifted from the drawn tension of drawn swords and bent bows to deference and respect.
After Yu Lang and Ren Fengjue entered the hall, they took the seats of honor without hesitation.
Seeing Shen Li and Qin Shu standing to the side, Yu Lang felt greatly pleased. He deliberately cleared his throat and put on an official tone.
“Whatever this lord beside me asks, you will answer. You are not to conceal a single thing. Is that clear?”
Shen Li hurriedly nodded and said yes.
Ren Fengjue lifted his teacup and took a sip before suddenly asking, “Old Master Shen, you were not originally from Kaiming County, were you?”
“…”
That very first question made Shen Li’s entire body jolt.
When he did not answer, Ren Fengjue lowered his long eyes halfway, skimmed the foam with the lid of his teacup, and said leisurely, “Yuelai Inn opened twenty years ago, but Old Master Shen should have arrived in Kaiming County twenty-five years ago. Am I right?”
In just a few sentences, Shen Li was forced to recall that unbearable stretch of his past…
Twenty-five years ago, when he first arrived in Kaiming County, he had been nothing more than a poor young man, looked down upon wherever he went.
Back then, apart from being young and strong and knowing a bit of martial arts, he had no other skills. All he could do was sell his labor at the docks, earning a few copper coins to buy steamed buns.
At his lowest, he had secretly huddled under someone else’s eaves on a winter night and nearly frozen to death.
He had not even dared to truly sleep at night, afraid that if he closed his eyes, he would never open them again.
At that time, he had only felt that staying alive was so very hard. How could there be no end to the suffering?
When would he ever be able to live a prosperous life, with no worries about food or clothing?
Shen Li did not wish to remember. He merely replied in an indifferent tone, “Yes. I was indeed not born and raised in Kaiming County.”
Ren Fengjue then asked, “At that time, Yuelai Villa had already been built. But back then, it was not called Yuelai Villa. It was called Ling Family Village.”
“And Madam Shen’s maiden surname was Ling, wasn’t it?”
Shen Li abruptly raised his head and glanced at him. His expression had become exceedingly ugly, and he nearly squeezed out the word through gritted teeth. “Yes.”
Ren Fengjue looked at him and deliberately said the words he least wanted to hear.
“So Old Master Shen back then, in truth, married into Ling Family Village, didn’t he?”