Blood splattered everywhere, filling the air with a thick, metallic smell.
But the warm, sticky blood was not Su Lingqing’s.
Her face was sprayed with it, and only then did she turn around in surprise.
Reflected in her eyes was a pair of smiling fox-like eyes. The man’s lips curved in a gentle arc, and his incomparably handsome face was dotted with several drops of bright red blood.
One drop had landed exactly on the tear-mole beneath his eye, making it look strikingly crimson and almost bewitching.
“Little girl, if I hadn’t come, you would’ve died.”
Though he spoke with a smile, his anger had already reached its peak. Veins bulged along his temples.
If he had arrived even a moment later just a moment he dared not imagine what would have happened.
Taking the opportunity, Jiang Ciyan pulled Su Lingqing into his arms. His left hand was clenched into a fist so it wouldn’t accidentally touch her soft skin.
Su Lingqing’s rose-colored lips pressed into a straight line, her expression tense. Her first thought was not the joy of being saved, but
Had he seen her use martial arts?
Jiang Ciyan held her as they slowly descended to the ground, his lightness skill so graceful it seemed as if an immortal had descended. The smile on his face deepened.
“So many people bullying a single young lady. Don’t you feel ashamed?”
The bandit leader stared at him in terror.
“Y-Young Prince Jiang!”
Su Lingqing instinctively glanced at the young man beside her. She hadn’t expected his reputation to be so great that even these bandits recognized him.
The young man carried no sword or blade. In his hand was only a luxurious gilded folding fan that made a faint sound as it moved.
Just now, it was that very fan that had split open a man’s head, spraying blood across the ground.
“Nice to meet you,” Jiang Ciyan said with a cheerful smile.
Then he stepped forward whoosh, whoosh.
Before the others could even react, only the bandit leader remained standing.
“H-ha… ha…” Terrified, helpless breaths escaped the man’s mouth.
Suddenly he remembered what Su Lingqing had said earlier that after dying he should seek revenge on the person who dragged him into this mess.
So she had already known Young Prince Jiang was behind her!
But he was wrong. Su Lingqing truly hadn’t known Jiang Ciyan was following her.
Her arm had been scratched during the fight, but she didn’t notice. She only stared at Jiang Ciyan’s back.
The young man’s eyes had nearly disappeared from smiling, narrowed into slits as he faced the bandit.
“After you reach hell, remember to go settle accounts with your employer.”
“Wait!” Su Lingqing suddenly shouted.
Jiang Ciyan’s chiming folding fan stopped right in front of the bandit’s eyeball.
“Please show mercy, Young Prince Jiang. This man is useful to me,” Su Lingqing said solemnly.
The bandit had thought he would certainly die. This sudden pause frightened him so badly that his soul seemed to leave his body, and his breathing stopped.
Jiang Ciyan smelled something strange. Looking down, he realized the man had wet himself from fear.
He reached out to check the man’s neck, and after a long moment still didn’t say anything.
Sensing something wrong, Su Lingqing stepped forward. Seeing the situation, she frowned slightly.
“He’s dead.”
Useless.
Jiang Ciyan looked a little embarrassed. He had seen people frightened to death by his methods before but he hadn’t expected someone to die of fear even before being killed.
“This… is my fault,” the young man said.
Su Lingqing looked slightly surprised when she heard that.
“Young Prince Jiang saved me out of kindness. This man simply lacked courage and died of fright. How could it be your fault?” she said calmly, shaking her head.
Jiang Ciyan widened his eyes in disbelief.
“Kind? Me?”
Su Lingqing nodded. “Yes.”
The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Soon the young man’s ears turned red.
Only then did Su Lingqing notice his reddened earlobes, as if they might drip blood.
Her gaze seemed scorched by the sight, and she quickly looked away. After thanking him again, she mounted her horse.
“Today’s kindness from Young Prince Jiang will not be forgotten. It’s already getting dark and I must hurry back to the residence. Until we meet again.”
Jiang Ciyan didn’t dare look at her anymore. He softly answered, “Mm.”
Only after the sound of the horse’s hooves faded into the distance did he look toward the girl’s small retreating figure.
Powerful emotions surged within his pupils, but he suppressed them deeply, letting none escape.
He did not dare hope for too much.
He only wished to protect her and keep her safe.
Along the road her horse ran so hard it was nearly foaming at the mouth before Su Lingqing finally slipped through the side gate of the Minister’s residence just as night fully fell.
On the way she had soaked a handkerchief in snow and wiped the blood from her face. In the darkness nothing looked unusual.
When she returned, she made no effort to avoid others. She wanted the people at Fusheng Courtyard to know she had come back alive.
Judging by the time, the words she had spoken at noon had already spread throughout the residence, perhaps even leaking outside.
Zheng Rui hadn’t been in a hurry because she was certain Su Lingqing would die.
Once the subject of the rumors died, the words would naturally be forgotten. The only thing people would remember was her death.
Tomorrow, when Su Huai returned and saw his daughter dead, he would probably just frown and move on.
He wouldn’t even remember it.
But that was fine.
In this lifetime, she would make these people remember her well.
When Su Lingqing entered Weirui Pavilion, dinner was already prepared.
Jianjia, her other personal maid, had heard from Jingzhe during the day about the trouble that had happened. She had been so anxious that blisters had formed at the corners of her mouth.
Yet when she saw the bright, reassuring look in her young lady’s eyes, for some reason she no longer felt so worried.
Once the courtyard gate closed, this little world became livelier than before.
After dinner, Su Lingqing couldn’t resist Jingzhe and Jianjia pestering her, so she told them everything that had happened after going to Fusheng Courtyard.
Of course, she didn’t mention going to the black market, nor did she say anything about Jiang Ciyan or encountering the bandits.
Jianjia listened with worry in her eyes, though she was also glad their young lady was no longer being bullied.
Jingzhe remained as lively as ever. After hearing everything, she widened her eyes excitedly.
“Miss! I’m so excited tonight I won’t be able to sleep! If I’d known, I would’ve gone with you. Second Miss Su’s expression must have been priceless!”
Jianjia tapped her on the forehead. “Jingzhe, stop fooling around!”
She then picked up a bowl of thick, bitter medicine.
“Miss, drink it while it’s hot. Then go rest early.”
Although the pill had already cured most of her illness, she had to act the part. In Jianjia and Jingzhe’s eyes, she was still extremely weak.
Su Lingqing froze in place.
Her fear of bitterness was something that wouldn’t change even if she were reborn several times.
At that moment, outside Fusheng Courtyard
The second concubine in the household, known as Concubine Rong, had once been a dancer. At first she had dreamed of a better life, but under Zheng Rui’s ruthless control she could only keep her head down and obey.
Today, as usual, her two children had been “invited” to Fusheng Courtyard for dinner.
Zheng Rui used the children openly as leverage, leaving Concubine Rong too afraid to utter a single word of protest.
Concubine Rong had seen many nobles before.
But Zheng Rui was the only one who truly frightened her.
A Buddha’s mouth with a snake’s heart nothing described her better.
Soon she took back her two children and put on a grateful expression.
“Thank you, Madam. I hope Yang’er and Yue’er didn’t trouble you today. This concubine will return to Spring View Courtyard now.”
Zheng Rui nodded, watching her leave with a thoughtful look.
If she kept that woman tightly under control, would killing Su Lingqing become easier?
Just as she turned to enter the room, Dongxue and Qiuyun came running over, panic on their faces.
“Madam… the eldest young lady… she she… she came back alive!”
“What?”
The string of Bodhi prayer beads in Zheng Rui’s hand fell to the ground, shattering into pieces, cracks spreading everywhere.