Shen Xiuwang returned to the capital under the starry night, providing a detailed report on the military situation.
By convention, a Grand Commandant returning in triumph should ride a tall horse, lead his troops through the main streets, receive the welcome of officials, and be cheered by the masses.
But Shen Xiuwang had the least patience for such formalities, accustomed to swift and decisive action.
After leaving the imperial study, he rode straight back to his residence, with Chang Feng and Yuan Jing following closely behind.
Upon returning to Pine Crane Garden, before he could even remove his armor, he noticed that the servant attending his room was a new face.
After questioning, he learned that Zhan Ming had been detained by Old Madam’s side.
The reason for the detention was already clear.
Before leaving the capital, he had entrusted only one task to Zhan Ming.
Shen Xiuwang suddenly recalled that night of warm red curtains and lingering springtime intimacy.
The girl knelt on the bed, clutching his sleeve, looking up at him.
Her eyes were filled with trust and reluctance.
“Sir, please don’t lie to me.”
Counting the days, half a month had already passed. With Zhan Ming detained, no one had delivered the silver to Fragrant Pavilion.
As a cash cow, her situation must be precarious.
Grand Commandant Shen frowned slightly, thinking of his firm promise. He immediately turned on his heel, left the residence directly, and rode toward Fragrant Pavilion.
From half a street away, he saw the carved wooden window suddenly flung open.
The girl was panicking and dodging, blood streaming down her temple.
Shen Xiuwang simply leaped onto his horse’s back, his feet swift as wind, flying over the rooftops straight toward the brothel.
After bursting into the corridor of the building, Mama Yue and a few pimps were left dumbfounded and terrified, scrambling away in fear.
Shen Xiuwang headed straight for Su Tan’s room. Seeing the copper lock outside and hearing Yang Qian’s filthy, foul-mouthed curses inside,
he instantly flew into a rage and kicked the door open…
Now, the girl in his arms still hadn’t recovered from the shock, trembling uncontrollably.
He grabbed an outer robe from the clothing rack, wrapped her tightly in it, and carried her to the bed.
Just as he was about to get up and deal with that damned Yang Qian, the hem of his armor was suddenly tugged.
The girl’s peach-blossom eyes were swollen and red, the blood on her temple already dried, fragile and pitiful.
Her small hand clutched his armor, trembling as she looked up at him: “Sir, please don’t go…”
Shen Xiuwang paused, his heart feeling as if it had been pinched, a strange sensation of sourness and numbness fleeting through him.
He raised his hand and gently stroked her fluffy hair, unusually gentle: “I won’t go. Wait.”
Receiving his affirmation, Su Tan finally calmed down.
She released her fingers and nodded obediently: “Yes, Mei Wu will wait.”
Outside, Chang Feng and Yuan Jing arrived shortly after, apprehending the pale-faced Mama Yue and forcing her to kneel on the ground.
Yang Qian, pinned to the wall by a long sword, had already screamed himself hoarse and began threatening by invoking his father’s name.
“Shen Xiuwang, how dare you harm me for a whore! Tomorrow, my father will surely submit a severe memorial to His Majesty against you!”
“He’ll have you punished!”
Shen Xiuwang turned and walked toward him, a cold smile playing on his lips.
Daring to talk tough even at death’s door.
“Submit a memorial against me?”
He raised his hand and gripped the sword hilt, twisting his wrist, causing the blade to dig and churn inside the flesh.
Crimson liquid flowed down from the bloody hole, instantly soaking the front of Yang Qian’s chest.
Yang Qian writhed in pain, his features contorted: “Ah! Stop!”
Shen Xiuwang ignored him, speaking softly: “Just who gave you the courage to touch what’s mine?”
The force in his wrist gradually increased. Yang Qian gasped for breath in agony, his face growing deathly pale.
If this continued, he would surely bleed to death.
He had thought Shen Xiuwang wouldn’t dare kill him, but now he felt the gushing blood draining from his body, as if it were emptying his very lifespan.
He was terrified.
“It was… it was Mama Yue,” Yang Qian hissed through gritted teeth, wincing in pain. “She took my silver—she agreed to it!”
The madam kneeling outside had long been scared out of her wits. Hearing this, she raised her voice in a frantic defense: “Military Governor, it was clearly Young Master Yang who insisted on having Mei Wu serve him!”
“Mei Wu is your woman—I wouldn’t dare force her even with ten times the courage!”
“Military Governor, please see the truth!”
Yang Qian snarled in fury: “You damned old hag, that’s a lie! Five hundred gold—you named that price loud and clear with your own mouth!”
Gritting his teeth against the pain, he clung to his last breath, pleading with Shen Xiuwang: “Brother Shen, we’re both men of official families. We mustn’t be swayed by this vile woman’s provocations.”
Mama Yue opened her mouth to shriek again, but Shen Xiuwang tilted his head and cast a glance toward his guard.
Chang Feng immediately understood. He picked up the copper lock from the floor and dangled it before her.
“Who locked the door?”
The madam fell silent.
Yuan Jing had no patience for her excuses. He snatched the copper lock from Chang Feng’s hand and smashed it down on her forehead.
With a thud, the noisy madam’s forehead split open in a gash.
For a hardened scoundrel like her, nothing short of bloodshed would do.
Sure enough, after the blow, Mama Yue curled into a ball, kowtowing repeatedly: “Spare me, sir! It was my fault, I was foolish…”
Tears and snot streamed down her face, whether from pain or fear, it was hard to tell. “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me.”
Seeing Mama Yue confess, a sliver of hope flickered in Yang Qian’s heart.
Playing along, he continued to grovel: “Brother Shen, you see—it was all this vile woman’s doing. Today’s incident was just a misunderstanding.”
Hearing this.
Shen Xiuwang let out a light laugh. With a slight twist of his wrist, he withdrew the longsword.
Yang Qian’s eyes rolled back in pain. Suppressing a groan, he clutched the bloody hole in his shoulder, not daring to move an inch.
Shen Xiuwang leisurely gripped the hilt. The sharp blade scraped against Yang Qian’s undergarment, stroke after stroke, like a death warrant, smearing crimson blood all over the fabric.
“Indeed, it was a misunderstanding.”
Military Governor Shen remained composed, but his tone shifted abruptly: “Tonight, an assassin infiltrated the Fragrant Pavilion. Failing to ambush this Military Governor, he mistakenly injured Young Master Yang.”
Yang Qian swallowed his teeth and blood, nodding repeatedly. “Yes… yes, it was the assassin who injured me.”
The curve of Shen Xiuwang’s lips gradually widened. “Quite self-aware.”
Yang Qian suddenly began to tremble.
The smile on the man before him sent waves of dense panic through his heart, along with a dread of the unknown.
Yet the next moment, before he could react—
The hilt shifted, a cold gleam flashed.
Yang Qian felt a chilling breeze between his legs, followed by an unbearable, explosive pain.
A bloody, mangled thing left his body. His legs went weak. Glancing down at the spot, he let out a despairing scream before collapsing completely unconscious!
Shen Xiuwang happened to block Su Tan’s line of sight.
By the time the girl on the bed realized what had happened, Chang Feng and Yuan Jing had already dragged the dog-like “eunuch” Yang Qian away and tossed him to the Yang family servants downstairs.
Mama Yue covered her mouth, her eyes wide as copper bells.
Just now, Military Governor Shen had personally castrated the son of the Prime Minister’s household!
Right here in her establishment!
In an instant, the madam felt as if the sky had fallen.
Crawling on the ground like a stray dog, she begged for mercy: “Spare me, Military Governor Shen!”
“Spare me!”
The sword blade, stained with filthy blood, slowly pressed against her throat—cold and merciless.
Her life hung by a thread.
The madam’s face turned ashen as she frantically dug into her robes, trembling hands finally retrieving her lifeline.
“Military Governor, this… this is Mei Wu’s deed of indenture. I know you value her, so I… I ask for nothing in return. Please accept it.”
Shen Xiuwang stood above her, sword in hand, ignoring her plea as he glanced toward the girl on the bed.
The madam immediately understood, scrambling on hands and knees to the bedside.
She thrust the deed into Su Tan’s hands, weeping, “Mei Wu, it was my fault. Here is your deed. From now on, you shall follow the Military Governor!”
Su Tan was already in excruciating pain, and now her mind buzzed with chaos.
A thin sheet of paper fell into her palm, light as a feather, yet it had imprisoned her for eight long years.
She had fantasized countless times about reclaiming her deed, but now that she truly held it, her heart felt none of the imagined elation.
She had lingered in this brothel for too long, so long she had nearly forgotten who she truly was.
Seeing the girl’s expression caught between tears and laughter, Mama Yue clutched her hand and wailed, “Mei Wu, say something! The Military Governor is going to kill me!”
“I raised you for eight years… I…”
Amid the madam’s pig-like squeals of misery, Su Tan slowly regained her senses.
Her soft, pitiful gaze sharpened, converging on the madam like a blade.
If looks could truly kill, Mama Yue would have been decapitated on the spot.
The madam froze, stunned by the ferocity in her eyes, forgetting even to beg for mercy.
The girl before her resembled a young wolf, poised to pounce and tear out her throat at any moment.
Exactly like the stubborn seven-year-old child from years ago.
Terror surged within her, waves of despair crashing over her heart.
This wretched girl had never been tamed!
Knowing it was hopeless to expect her to plead for mercy, Mama Yue’s strength drained away, and she collapsed in despair.
Su Tan looked at her coldly, as though gazing upon a corpse already long dead.
Shen Xiuwang kicked Mama Yue aside from behind. The old woman shrieked before crashing into a corner and falling unconscious.
Instead of earning a proper redemption fee, she had played these petty tricks—she deserved to die!
He lowered his gaze to the girl on the bed, raising an eyebrow as he asked, “Can you walk?”
Su Tan retracted her sharp gaze, bowing her head in a nod.
She leaned against the wooden bedpost, struggling to rise.
The whip wounds on her back cut deep into her flesh, and even the slightest movement felt like tearing skin.
As her right foot touched the ground, a piercing pain shot through her ankle. From her desperate struggles earlier, there was likely not a single uninjured spot on her body.
But she knew Shen Xiuwang had little patience and would not wait for her long.
Even if she had to crawl, she would follow him out of this brothel.
To leave this place forever!
Su Tan gritted her teeth and insisted, “I’m fine, I can—”
Before she could finish, her body suddenly felt weightless, and the pain in her ankle vanished.
A man’s strong, powerful arms wrapped around her waist and beneath her knees.
Shen Xiuwang scooped her up in his arms, grumbling, “Fine? What fine? Stop pretending.”
“If I wait for you to crawl out, I won’t get any sleep tonight.”
As he spoke, the man’s chest vibrated slightly, enveloping her in a profound sense of security.
The girl lowered her head and murmured, “Mei Wu dares not presume. Thank you, sir.”
Grand Commandant Shen snorted in annoyance, striding directly out of the room without a moment’s delay.
Su Tan glanced back at the wooden box on the dressing table and the little turtle in the clay pot.
She pressed her lips together but ultimately dared not speak another word.
Everyone in the building who had been cautiously peeking out to watch the spectacle saw Shen Xiuwang emerge from the room clad in Black Armor, exuding an overbearing aura.
They all knelt and bowed in respect.
Chang Feng raised his voice and declared to the crowd:
“Tonight, the madam of Fragrant Pavilion colluded with assassins with malicious intent. Young Master Yang was unfortunately attacked, but fortunately, the Military Governor arrived in time, preventing any loss of life.”
“The matter has already been reported to the Five City Military Command, and Deputy Commander Cheng is personally leading troops to seal off the building for a thorough investigation!”
Caught up in this unexpected disaster, the patrons now regretted their earlier actions. As soon as they finished dressing and tried to flee, officers had already surrounded the building, layer upon layer.
Shen Xiuwang carried the girl out of the building, where Cheng Yue stood at the street corner with his hands on his hips, yawning lazily.
Seeing him emerge, Deputy Commander Cheng strode forward, suppressing a laugh as he urgently asked, “Did you really castrate Yang Qian, kid?”
“His father is, after all, the Prime Minister. Even if he’s a bastard son, he won’t let this go easily.”
Cheng Yue’s words exploded like firecrackers, but his gaze suddenly paused when he noticed the delicate figure nestled in Shen Xiuwang’s arms.
Shen Xiuwang raised a hand to lift his cloak, shielding Su Tan completely from view.
“If Old Man Yang comes looking for you, you only need two words to shut him up.”
“What words?”
Shen Xiuwang carefully helped the girl onto the horse, then mounted himself, tilting his chin slightly. “Qu County.”
The clatter of hooves gradually faded into the distance. Cheng Yue stood in place, crossing his arms and murmuring to himself, “Qu County?”
Qu County in Tongzhou.
He turned and walked slowly back toward the building, chuckling disdainfully. “You damn kid, you actually had a backup plan. Charging into a rage for a beauty, and I’m left to clean up the mess.”
Still, Yang Qian had always bullied the weak, not only imprisoning and abusing courtesans but also repeatedly targeting innocent women from respectable families.
Ordinary people, constrained by his status, suffered in silence, forced to swallow their grievances.
Now that Grand Commandant Shen had taken his manhood, it could be considered a service to the people!
As for this brothel that forced good women into prostitution, he had long despised it.
Sealing it off was for the best, sparing more girls from suffering!