He had actually thought this daughter of his had changed her ways—never did he expect her to have provoked this formidable figure!
The man turned around, his countenance cold and severe. The flying fish embroidered on his robe spread its fins as if about to break through the waves and soar into the sky, radiating an imposing aura.
“Minister Jiang, do not be angered. This official has come to offer Miss Jiang my apologies.” Lu Yuan’s lips curved in a smile, yet his eyes were deep and icy.
Jiang Zhengting’s fury was instantly extinguished. “Apologies?”
He had been startled when the doorman reported Lu Yuan’s arrival earlier.
Though Lu Yuan’s official rank was only the third grade, the Jinyiwei answered directly to His Majesty, were not subject to the jurisdiction of the six ministries of the outer court, and bore the responsibility of monitoring the words and deeds of all officials.
Whether or not one had committed an offense, being targeted by the Jinyiwei meant at best losing a layer of skin, and at worst having one’s family executed and property confiscated—especially now, during this sensitive period of hunting down assassins.
So when Lu Yuan came straight to the point and asked to see Jiang Zhi, Jiang Zhengting’s heart trembled with fear, thinking that Jiang Zhi had offended Lu Yuan at Puzhao Temple.
He never expected it to be an apology.
The Jinyiwei, personally coming to the door, to apologize?
The sun must be rising from the west.
“Indeed. Last night, this official was presumptuous toward Miss Jiang. I have come today specifically to offer my apologies, and I hope Miss Jiang will be lenient.”
With that, Lu Yuan produced a jade hairpin from his robes and made a formal bow to her. “I inadvertently destroyed Miss Jiang’s hairpin; please accept this as compensation.”
The jade hairpin in his hand appeared simple in design, not particularly valuable—roughly equivalent in worth to the one he had snapped in two.
Since he dared to offer it, Jiang Zhi dared to accept.
She took the jade hairpin, her expression cold. “Thank you, Lord Lu. I accept your compensation. If there is nothing else, this young lady will take her leave.”
“One moment,” Lu Yuan said with a smile, though the smile seemed to carry a blade, sending chills down one’s spine. “Regarding last night’s matter, might I ask Minister Jiang to allow me a few private words with Miss Jiang?”
Lu Yuan conducted affairs on behalf of His Majesty, so Jiang Zhengting could hardly obstruct him.
Moreover, the fact that the Commander of the Jinyiwei had come personally to ask questions rather than throwing someone directly into the Imperial Prison for interrogation was already a considerable show of respect.
“Commander Lu, please do as you wish.” Jiang Zhengting had the servants change the tea, shot Jiang Zhi a warning glare, then withdrew everyone from the main hall.
“Miss Jiang, now that it is only the two of us, tell me—who was in your room last night?”
Lu Yuan gave Jiang Zhi no chance to react, his hawk-like eyes fixed directly on her, as if they could see straight through her.
Jiang Zhi suppressed the shock beneath her gaze and said quietly, “I don’t understand what Lord Lu is referring to. Did you not search last night and find no one?”
“I took you for a clever woman, Miss Jiang. The fact that I am asking means I have sensed something.” He stepped closer, his black leather boots nearly treading upon the hem of Jiang Zhi’s skirt, an oppressive pressure washing over her that made one’s heart race.
After leaving Jiang Zhi’s meditation room that night, Lu Yuan had turned nearly the entire Puzhao Temple upside down without finding any trace of the assassin.
The assassin had been cornered by him, yet vanished without a trace outside her room in the blink of an eye.
Though he had already interrogated many of the temple’s monks under torture, he had gained nothing.
The more Lu Yuan thought about it after returning, the more wrong it felt. The only breakthrough lay with this young lady of the Jiang family.
Jiang Zhi’s heart pounded violently, cold sweat seeping from her palms.
Forced back half a step by his gradually advancing figure, her back pressed against the lacquered wooden armrest, the edge digging painfully into her side.
“Lord Lu, how can you slander my innocence without any evidence?” She took a deep breath to steady herself.
“The Jinyiwei never needs evidence to act,” Lu Yuan said, looking down at her from his height. “If you don’t explain yourself clearly now, you’ll have to do so in the Imperial Prison.”
“I’m sure Miss Jiang has heard of what the Imperial Prison is like. I’m only thinking of your well-being.”
“If you confess everything truthfully now, I can overlook your deception from last night. What do you say?”
He spoke slowly and deliberately, with an air of absolute confidence, as if toying with a bird trapped in a cage, struggling in its death throes.
Jiang Zhi felt her scalp go numb.
They were far too close. The heat radiating through Lu Yuan’s Feiyu Robe was almost scalding against her.
She reached out to push against his chest, only to find she couldn’t budge him an inch.
Damn Lu Yuan.
She had promised Xie Qi she wouldn’t reveal his identity, and besides, Xie Qi was crucial to her plans going forward.
Whether it was taking revenge on her stepmother and stepsister, or dealing with the Zhongqin Bojue Mansion, she couldn’t do without Xie Qi’s help.
She couldn’t give him up now.
To shake off Lu Yuan’s persistence, there was only one option…
Jiang Zhi bit her lip, made up her mind, and without hesitation raised her hand to slap him.
A sharp crack sounded.
They were too close, and the slap sent Lu Yuan’s face turning to the side.
More than the negligible sting on his cheek, what he found hard to believe was that he had been slapped by the same person again.
Fine. It had been a long time since anyone had managed to provoke his anger.
“You’re asking for death.” Lu Yuan grabbed her slender wrist and pressed forward, forcing her to stumble and fall back into the cold chair.
A dark shadow loomed over her, and the bloodthirsty menace of one who had long held power was enough to make anyone tremble in fear.
An ordinary woman, faced with Lu Yuan looking like an avenging demon from the underworld, would have fainted long ago.
But Jiang Zhi didn’t flinch. Instead, she looked up, staring straight into his stormy eyes, and said calmly, “Lord Lu, you’ve stepped on my skirt and dirtied it.”
Her expression was serene, and her tone even carried a hint of a young lady’s playful reproach, making Lu Yuan almost think he had misheard.
Looking down, he saw that his black boots were indeed planted on the hem of her moon-white skirt, leaving a faint grey footprint.
Like a painting stained with ink, losing its original value.
“So what if I did?”
“There was no one else in my room last night,” Jiang Zhi said composedly. “But I can help Lord Lu find clues about the assassin.”
Lu Yuan let out a cold laugh. “Do you think the Jinyiwei keeps nothing but useless men, that we need a young lady from the inner chambers to solve a case?”
“It has to be a young lady from the inner chambers,” Jiang Zhi said, tilting her head to look at him. “I have some knowledge of fragrances. Last night, outside the meditation room, I caught a very peculiar scent.
Since Lord Lu mentioned that the assassin lost his trail outside my meditation room, that scent very likely came from him. If we can trace the origin of this fragrance, we can follow the thread and find his whereabouts.”
In her past life, she had been required to learn many things in the brothel, and identifying scents was one of them.
Some clients would disguise themselves, unwilling to reveal their identities, but by discerning what kind of incense their clothes were scented with, one could tell whether they came from a powerful family, and even guess their daily habits and preferences.
Unfortunately, though she had learned much, she had been confined to the brothel by that man, with no chance to put her skills to use.
Last night, she had indeed caught a strange yet familiar fragrance, but it vanished in an instant, and she hadn’t thought much of it at the time.
Lu Yuan’s grip on her wrist loosened slightly, but his body didn’t retreat an inch, his gaze scrutinizing her like a venomous snake.
Jiang Zhi also raised her head to meet his eyes directly—this was no time to back down.
“I’ll help Lord Lu find clues about the assassin. In return, Lord Lu will stop pestering me over this matter from now on. How about it?”