The Jinwuwei stepped forward, seizing Shen Shuangyue and dragging her toward the exit. As the armored guards holding torches withdrew like flowing water, not a single servant in the courtyard dared to intervene. The fierce-looking Jinwuwei showed no mercy whatsoever toward Shen Shuangyue, a woman of the household.
Someone clamped shackles directly onto her wrists. The heavy iron chains weighed her down so much she could barely stand, and before she could recover, she was yanked hard.
“Move!”
Shen Shuangyue, injured, couldn’t keep up with their pace. Amid the shoving, she was practically dragged along.
Xie Yuyin, watching her being hauled away and nearly falling several times, trembled all over with fright. Thankfully it was Shen who was taken—thankfully they didn’t know the item had been taken by her. If she were the one arrested, she might as well be dead.
“Mother—”
“Shut up!”
Just as Xie Yuyin tried to speak, Old Madame Xie turned and slapped her. At this moment, the madame showed not a trace of the doting mother she had been toward her eldest daughter.
If Xie Yuyin hadn’t greedily stolen the Sunjia betrothal gifts, how could such an enormous disaster have erupted? If it weren’t for protecting Xie Yuyin, she would never have wronged Shen and made Xie Huaizhi change the gift registry, provoking the Imperial City Department and handing them leverage.
That Sunjia had hidden their ledger among the betrothal gifts was indeed despicable, but the Xie Jia had genuinely known nothing.
If the item had been properly returned, they could have stood apart from the affair. But now, because of Xie Yuyin’s greed, they had tumbled straight into a mire, coated in filth—unable to explain themselves no matter how many mouths they had.
Old Madame Xie glared at Xie Yuyin and said through gritted teeth, “Go back to the Xujia at once and bring back whatever remains of the Sunjia’s things. You’d better pray the ledger is still there, or don’t blame me if I can no longer protect you!”
With that, paying no more heed to her ashen-faced eldest daughter, she turned to Mama Cen and said:
“Properly discipline the servants here at the Citang. Make them all keep their mouths tightly shut. Anyone who dares gossip about tonight’s events will be beaten to death on the spot.”
“Have someone clean up the Citang, and go immediately to fetch a physician for Jinque. No matter what, her life must be saved.”
At the critical moment, that lowly maidservant could still be used to hold leverage over Shen.
Mama Cen naturally understood the stakes and nodded hastily. “This servant will go at once!”
It was the depths of winter, the night bitterly cold. The freezing wind, carrying drifting snow, numbed Shen Shuangyue’s hands and feet. The burn on her arm had blistered, and each gust of wind felt like being flayed by knives. The servants of Count Qing’an’s Residence hid at a distance, watching. Shen Shuangyue gritted her teeth in silence, straining to steady herself and keep pace behind the Jinwuwei as best she could.
Her whole body burned with fever. The shackles on her wrists scraped against her wounds, yet she dared not gamble that these ruthless hounds of the Emperor would show leniency to a woman entangled with the Empress Dowager and the Wei Family.
By the time she reached the residence gate, Shen Shuangyue saw that all the guards there had already been driven off, replaced by the imposing Jinwuwei, surrounding the Bofu in layer upon layer—and a carriage was parked before the gate.
Shen Shuangyue was shoved forward to the carriage, where she heard Ji Sanyi say with lowered head, “Houye, the person has been brought.”
The dark blue brocade curtain embroidered with floral patterns was lifted, and a lean, long hand reached out from the carriage window.
The man behind the curtain sat imposingly within, his black hair bound high with a golden crown, sword-like brows over starry eyes. On that stern, angular jaw, his thin lips were pressed lightly together, and as he looked outward, his eyes brimmed with frost and cold.
Raising her gaze, Shen Shuangyue saw the scar left by the Nuyin on his forehead and quickly lowered her head. “Greetings, Marquis Pei.”
Pei Yu’s cold eyes narrowed sharply. Seeing the red swelling on the woman’s face, he abruptly turned to Ji Sanyi. “You laid hands on her?”
“Your subordinate did no such thing.”
Ji Sanyi felt the hairs on his back rise inexplicably and hurriedly said, “She was already like that when I led the men inside. The Xie Jia Citang seems to have been set on fire—the flames hadn’t even been put out yet. I merely ordered men to bring her back.”
Besides, even if he were to strike someone, he would never slap a woman.
Shen Shuangyue felt his gaze bearing down on her from above. “Marquis Pei, the Imperial City Department was right to arrest the culprit, but the Sunjia’s embezzlement has nothing to do with the Xie Jia, and my Count did not intentionally deceive. This humble woman can explain to Houye…”
“Countess Xie.”
Her voice cut off as Pei Yu spoke, his tone like jade striking a chime.
“The matters between the Sunjia and the Xie Jia cannot be explained in a few words. Xie Huaizhi swapped the Sunjia’s betrothal gifts, resulting in the loss of the salt tax ledgers. Does Countess Xie intend to argue with this Hou here?”
The capital was naturally quiet after nightfall, and the commotion at Count Qing’an’s Residence could hardly be hidden. The Imperial City Department had come to the door, the Jinwuwei had surrounded the residence, and the earth-shaking noise of their forced entry had startled the nearby households awake.
The east of the city was where the powerful and noble gathered, and Sishui Street, where Count Qing’an’s Residence stood, was not far from the capital’s main thoroughfare. The nearby estates had long since sent people out to investigate—figures lurking in the darkness, spying from afar, could not be concealed. If not for the Jinwuwei standing guard outside as a deterrent, a crowd would have already gathered before the residence.
The ledger was of great importance, and now its whereabouts were unknown. If others overheard and stirred up trouble, it would be another crime laid upon the Xie Jia.
Shen Shuangyue quickly said, “It was this humble woman’s foolishness.”
“Get in.”
Shen Shuangyue looked up in astonishment, meeting his sword-like gaze—utterly different from Xie Huaizhi’s gentleness, so cold that a single glance inspired fear.
She instinctively took half a step back. “This humble woman is under suspicion and dares not ride in the same carriage as Houye. I will go to the Imperial City Department myself…”
“It takes half an incense stick’s time to walk from here to the Imperial City Department. Do you intend to make this Hou wait for you, or would you rather be publicly arrested by the Jinwuwei and paraded through the streets in a prisoner’s cart?”
Shen Shuangyue’s lips parted slightly. She knew that after tonight, infamy would cover her, adding yet another stain to her already tarnished reputation. But if she were escorted by the Jinwuwei all the way to the Imperial City Department in such a conspicuous manner—
Even though it was night, by dawn the Shenjia would become the laughingstock of the entire city because of her. Yet riding in the same carriage as Pei Yu, she instinctively resisted.
The man leaned against the carriage with a cold gaze, offering no urging, only quietly meeting her eyes. Even merely sitting there, his imposing presence, like a deep pool before a towering mountain, was enough to captivate and intimidate.
After a long moment, seeing the corners of her eyes reddening as she twisted her fingertips, Pei Yu’s expression suddenly softened.
“You said you wanted to explain to this Hou. How will you do that without getting in?”
The prying eyes around them stung, and all the Jinwuwei were watching her. Shen Shuangyue bit her lip and stepped toward the carriage. As she hesitated before the towering carriage shaft, the door was pushed open.
A tall figure leaned out from within, extending a long arm to grasp her uninjured arm. With a slight pull, steadying her by the waist, he drew her up into the carriage.
The door slammed shut. Ji Sanyi stared dumbfounded at the woman who had been practically half-embraced by Pei Yu into the carriage.
Mu Xin hurried out of Count Qing’an’s Residence only to see the carriage already moving forward. He tossed the two men he was dragging to a nearby armored guard, and before he could even catch his breath, Ji Sanyi grabbed him.
“Mu Xin, that Shen woman…”
“What about Shen?”
“Isn’t she Xie Huaizhi’s wife?”
Ji Sanyi lowered his voice as if he were a thief. “Houye made such a big commotion tonight, having us storm Count Qing’an’s Residence in the middle of the night to make arrests—isn’t that to move against the Wei Family and the Empress Dowager? So why would he let that Shen woman ride in the same carriage as him, and even…”
And even! Hold! Her!!
His Houye was as cold as an uncivilized stone pillar—he’d kick a woman clear across the room even if she stripped bare and threw herself at him. But he had seen it clearly with his own eyes just now.
Not only had Houye invited Lady Xie to share his carriage, when he reached out his hand for her, he deliberately used just the right force to send her stumbling into his arms—and as she fell against him, he even feigned losing his balance to serve as her cushion!!
Hearing this, Mu Xin’s eyes went wide. “Who told you Houye came here today to move against the Wei Family and the Empress Dowager?”
“Huh?”
Seeing the brutish man before him looking completely bewildered, Mu Xin instinctively sensed something was wrong. “Didn’t I tell you that Lady Xie is a very important person, that you were to bring her out to see Houye? Did you get rough with her?”
Ji Sanyi’s mouth opened and closed. “The Xie Jia’s ties with the Wei Family are murky—she might even be carrying the salt trade ledger on her. I thought Houye wanted to arrest her to intimidate the others and find a chance to land a major blow against the Wei Family, so I put handcuffs on her and had her brought out under lock…”
Mu Xin felt the sky collapsing upon him.
Ji Sanyi was baffled. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?!” Mu Xin said through gritted teeth. His Houye had planned this for ages—digging pits, laying traps—and had finally found the chance to come poach from the Xie Jia personally. Before leaving, Houye had even changed out of three different outfits, combed his hair, and washed his face. And then this idiot Ji Sanyi had gone and slapped shackles on the woman the moment he saw her.
What’s wrong, he asks?!