There was a time bomb under the car and 180 catties of explosives near the Xinmao Department Store. He wanted to see if, now that he had just returned, someone truly dared to make a move against him in the city.
The adjutant took the order and left.
Before long, Zhao Yuan ran back personally, his expression solemn.
“Young Marshal, two bundles of time-delayed explosives were found under the car.”
Ever since last night, Yan Changye had told Zhao Yuan to carefully inspect the vehicle and the route they would take before leaving today. Zhao Yuan had taken it to heart and had people watching since early morning.
Just now, when the adjutant passed on the order to check under the car, Zhao Yuan had thought everything would be fine—it was just that since the Young Marshal had just returned to Ancheng, they had to be careful about everything. Zhao Yuan had checked it himself, and he never expected to find two bundles of explosives with that simple inspection.
There was only half an hour left on the timer. If the Young Marshal had sat in that car, his survival today would have been grim!
Zhao Yuan broke into a cold sweat.
“There must be a mole.”
The car had been parked inside the Yan Mansion and checked earlier that morning. For explosives to be strapped on in such a short time, it could only have been done by someone inside the Yan Mansion.
But Zhao Yuan did not know where the Young Marshal had gotten the information. Fortunately, the Young Marshal had discovered it in advance; otherwise, heading to the Marshal’s residence to serve tea today would have surely ended in disaster.
Yan Changye’s jaw tightened, and he said coldly, “Investigate carefully. When you find them, I will interrogate them myself.”
He wanted to see if it was Yan Changzhuo again.
Liu Xiyin had changed into an old-fashioned outfit: a silver-red long-sleeved jacket with plum blossom embroidery and a diagonal closure, paired with a light-gold horse-face skirt with scrolling flower patterns. Both the cuffs and the hem were trimmed with warm fur, and she wore light-red embroidered shoes with tiny pearls on the toes.
On her ears were a pair of delicate, water-drop-shaped green jade earrings.
Her lips were painted a bright red, making her look full of youthful vitality.
[The Ninth Concubine is the plump and mature type. Yan Changye likes that style. If I dress in the exact opposite direction, I can definitely avoid the lightning strike~]
Liu Xiyin felt great and added a gold bracelet to her wrist.
[A slender, fragile, and frivolous little chick like me doesn’t deserve the attention of a cold, ruthless, and vicious villain.]
[Hmm… later, when I take a header into the snow, I must make sure not to break my earrings.]
Hearing her voice, Yan Changye turned around and saw a bright figure emerging from the swirling snow. Because she was worried about breaking her earrings when she fell, Liu Xiyin couldn’t help but touch the two tiny jade pieces. As her sleeves slid down, they revealed her slender, fair wrists and the exquisite gold bracelet.
She looked like a ray of golden sunshine piercing into the frozen world.
The golden sunshine was currently filled with thoughts on how to trip and fall more naturally.
[I need to check under the car carefully, but I can’t get back up too quickly. Yan Changye shouldn’t help me up, right? If he doesn’t help me, I’ll just roll around on the ground.]
[It’s a good thing the snow is deep enough that it won’t dirty my clothes. If only I could invent a washing machine.]
“…”
Liu Xiyin looked up and saw Yan Changye standing on the inner side of the gate. His expression was cold and stern, his feet in black military boots, his legs straight. Over his gray-blue military uniform, he wore a burgundy velvet cloak—the color scheme of a high-ranking officer, looking solemn and noble at a glance.
[Wow, wow, wow. If only the Ninth Concubine were here, wearing a dark red cheongsam, with those curvaceous, stunning proportions, standing beside this cold, noble villain… then I could sneak away without a sound!]
Liu Xiyin watched as Yan Changye frowned while looking at her, and she felt even more elated.
[Look, look, I told you he doesn’t like my type.]
Liu Xiyin felt proud. She walked quickly to Yan Changye’s side, outwardly putting on a look of weakness and panic. “I’m sorry, Young Marshal. I didn’t know how to coordinate my clothes, keeping you waiting.”
“Mm,” Yan Changye withdrew his gaze from her. “Let’s go.”
“Oh, right.”
Yan Changye strode over the threshold, and Liu Xiyin followed with small, quick steps, holding up her skirt. Just as she approached the car, her foot slid—
“Ah… oh?”
Just as she had calculated the distance, the pace, and the posture, and was about to “touch porcelain” with the snow to fall, a large hand grabbed her arm and yanked her up.
A handsome face suddenly appeared right in front of her, and the gasp Liu Xiyin had prepared became stuck in her throat.
[Damn it, he grabbed me!]
[Why are you grabbing me! If you grab me, how am I supposed to check under the car? You have villain plot armor and won’t die, but I’m cannon fodder—I’ll die!]
[No, I have to fall again.]
[If you grab me again, I’ll drag the great villain down with me. Where are my silver needles?]
As this thought popped into Liu Xiyin’s head, Yan Changye turned and shouted coldly, “Who swept this snow?”
A servant threw himself out. “Young Marshal, have mercy! Young Marshal, have mercy!”
The servant was shaking all over. The adjutant beside him kicked him hard. “Bold! The Young Mistress just arrived, and you dare to be lazy? If the Young Mistress had fallen, ten of your heads wouldn’t be enough to pay for it!”
The force of the adjutant’s kick was clearly great. The servant was sent sprawling to the ground, rolling across the snow. Just as he was about to climb up, his eyes suddenly locked on the bottom of the car, and he screamed in terror: “There are explosives!”
?
Liu Xiyin was shocked.
“Young Marshal, Young Mistress, look out!”
The entrance to the Yan Mansion erupted into chaos. Liu Xiyin was dazed as Yan Changye pulled her inside the gate in a few quick steps and pressed her against the wall.
“BOOM!”
A violent explosion sounded outside the gate.
The wall behind Liu Xiyin vibrated, dust shaking down, but it was blocked by Yan Changye’s cloak.
[Weren’t the explosives supposed to go off on Heping South Street? Why did they blow up in front of the Yan Mansion? And no one even lit a fuse?]
[Could it be that because I took so long changing clothes, the time ran out?]
Liu Xiyin was completely bewildered.
Yan Changye was a head taller than Liu Xiyin, broad-shouldered and wide-chested, shielding her firmly beneath him. His expression was equally complex.
Zhao Yuan had found the explosives under the car, but Yan Changye had not let him remove them.
Since someone had strapped them on, someone had to suffer the consequences.
So, these two bundles of explosives had to go off.
If explosives were found on Heping South Street, they also had to be brought out for everyone to see.
He had staged this scene at the entrance to show the young bride, fearing she would insist on “falling flat on her face” or doubt his source of information.
But the bomb the young bride mentioned was real, which meant she truly might have come from the future, and in her eyes, this place was just a book.
And he was the villain?
The buzzing from the explosion gradually faded. An adjutant ran in, covered in dust. “Young Marshal, explosives were strapped under the car. Thanks to the Young Mistress slipping just then, everyone was able to dodge in time, and there were no casualties.”
Liu Xiyin: I feel like something is wrong here.
Once the vibration at the gate completely stopped, Yan Changye asked, “Is the Young Mistress unharmed?”
Even weirder.
Liu Xiyin furrowed her brows, her hands pressing against Yan Changye’s chest to keep him from leaning any closer.
But the act still had to be played out.
“Young Marshal, you scared me to death.”
Waaaah, it exploded.
A naive village girl’s courage would be shattered by this. I really am not a spy, I swear.
Yan Changye glanced at her fair hands pressed against his chest and her tear-stained face, then said to the adjutant, “Investigate everyone. Ensure you catch the culprit. Also, call the police department and have them sweep all roads from the Yan Mansion to the Marshal’s residence.”
“Yes.”