“I didn’t say I was asking the Young Marquis to repay a favor,” Pei Xuan said, blinking with an innocent air. “I volunteered to purge the poison for the Young Marquis.”
Shi Yue didn’t believe that for a second. With the little madman’s vengeful and petty personality, even if he didn’t say anything on the surface, who knew what kind of malice he was brewing underneath.
Just like that servant from the Song estate a few days ago.
“How is your back?”
“I won’t die.”
Aside from looking a bit pale and sweating slightly from the pain, Pei Xuan truly seemed to have no major issues; even his walking posture hadn’t changed at all.
It really made one want to die from the comparison.
Why couldn’t he be like that?
His own body was hopelessly weak.
Holding his shoulder, and compounded by the fact that he had rushed out without dressing properly to make a scene, the wound he had spent days tending to began to ache dully, making his steps feel rather unsteady.
Shi Yue stumbled slightly. Following right beside him, Pei Xuan caught him, gripping his arm tightly to prevent him from crashing to the ground.
“Weren’t you scared when you were about to be whipped?” Shi Yue asked.
Pei Xuan’s gaze rested with an inscrutable depth on the fresh blood seeping through Shi Yue’s shoulder. As a demon, he was naturally bloodthirsty, yet he hadn’t touched blood in a long time.
So, with little enthusiasm, he replied, “The beast arena was like that every day; what is there to be scared of?”
Fine, that was indeed true.
Why else would Shi Yue have meddled in other people’s business to save him, if not because he saw how miserably he was being beaten?
Shi Yue pulled his arm away from Pei Xuan’s grip. “You go on ahead. I’ll wait for Shitou and let him help me back.”
Looking at his hand, which had suddenly become empty, Pei Xuan’s expression shifted subtly. Who knew what had irritated him, but his tone dripped with chill: “Then the Young Marquis can stay right here and wait for Shitou. Next time you need poison purged, you can have him help you instead.”
What was wrong with this person? The weather turned overcast all of a sudden.
Watching Pei Xuan turn around and stride away without looking back, Shi Yue was utterly baffled.
Considering that Pei Xuan was also injured, saving him the trouble of taking care of himself—shouldn’t he be happy?
He truly was a little madman; his thought process was simply beyond ordinary comprehension.
Before long, Shitou walked over. “Second Young Master, let me help you back.”
Shi Yue nodded. Remembering the wound on Pei Xuan’s back, he instructed, “When we get back later, take the hemostatic and bruise-dispersing ointment to Guard Pei.”
“Alright.”
As Pei Xuan walked back into his room, he ran right into Shitou coming to deliver the medicine.
“This is the ointment the Young Marquis asked me to bring you. Apply it to the wound to relieve the pain.”
Accepting the jar of medicine with a blank expression, Pei Xuan muttered a word of thanks.
Shitou left as soon as he delivered the medicine.
Pei Xuan inspected the ointment jar, wondering what to make of it. Then he let out a scoff, casually tossing the medicine onto the table without a single care.
Who has any use for this kind of thing?
“Elder brother.”
Right after finishing his meal, Shi Yue was called over by Shi Yuan.
“How is your wound?” Shi Yuan asked with concern.
Shi Yue replied, “After resting for these few days, it’s almost fully healed.”
“Mm.” With an unscattered weight of solemnity between his brows, Shi Yuan said, “A-Yue, because your body hadn’t recovered the past few days, I didn’t tell you: upon hearing about your assassination attempt, His Majesty was furious and ordered the Dali Temple, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Punishments to form a joint tribunal to thoroughly investigate the case.”
“He also commanded His Highness the Crown Prince to oversee the defense of the capital garrison, and the First Prince to assist in the arrests. On the surface, this was meant to make the two of them work together, but in reality.”
Picking up the thought, Shi Yue said, “In reality, it was meant to make the Crown Prince and the First Prince keep watch on each other.”
Of all the princes still alive today, only the First Prince and the Crown Prince remained. The First Prince was the Emperor’s eldest son, while the Crown Prince was the legitimate heir born of the empress.
Even someone like Shi Yue, a romantic young master who knew very little about court politics, knew from his past life how miserably the First Prince had ended up.
The struggle for the succession had always been ruthless.
However, he still didn’t know whose path the Marquis of Stability had blocked in his past life to suffer such a tragic end.
“Indeed so,” Shi Yuan said as he ground tea leaves, lowering his gaze with intense focus. “His Highness the Crown Prince immediately took command to investigate the matter, sending men to surround Pingkang Lane; meanwhile, the First Prince ordered the Uniformed Guard under his command to take over the capital’s patrols.”
Shi Yue asked, “Then what results came out of the investigation?”
Looking troubled, Shi Yuan shook his head. “None at all. Those dancing girls were sold by a Hu merchant from the Western Regions, and when Pingkang Lane bought them, they claimed all the women were orphans with no families.”
“However, after a thorough investigation by the Dali Temple, suspicious clues were found on only one person.”
Shi Yue asked, “Who? That lead dancer?”
“Indeed it was her. A-Yue, how did you know?”
Pondering the scene of the assassination that day, Shi Yue said in a low voice, “During the attack, although the other dancing girls moved to strike, their intent to kill didn’t seem very strong. Only that lead dancer, every single move she made was fatal. It must have been her assigned task.”
Nodding approvingly, Shi Yuan praised, “To be able to observe such details even in such a dangerous place, A-Yue, you’ve truly grown up.”
Hearing the praise, Shi Yue couldn’t help the corners of his lips curling upward before asking, “And then?”
Maintaining a steady tone, Shi Yuan continued, “When the Dali Temple went to search the lead dancer’s residence, they found someone acting suspiciously outside the house and arrested him on the spot. That man was the lead dancer’s paramour.”
“After undergoing several rounds of interrogation at the Dali Temple, the man confessed. He claimed he coveted the wealth of the Marquis of Stability’s estate and knew you frequented Pingkang Lane, so he instructed the lead dancer to set a trap and capture you in exchange for treasure.”
“Afterwards, the man bit his tongue and committed suicide. The Dali Temple concluded the case based on this finding.”
How utterly absurd. Shi Yue thought to himself.
It was riddled with loopholes from start to finish.
If the goal was merely to capture him in exchange for wealth, there was no need to resort to fatal force. Yet those dancing girls, especially the lead dancer, had clearly meant to take his life.
“Does Elder Brother believe the case really unfolded this way?”
With a slight frown, Shi Yuan sighed helplessly, “Whether it did or not, there’s no point arguing it further. His Highness the Crown Prince submitted a memorial stating the case has been solved and there’s no need to continue disturbing public sentiment.”
Shi Yue asked, “He deliberately covered it up.”
Shi Yuan finally finished grinding a cup of tea and handed it to Shi Yue. “If we were to look into it closely, those dancing girls entered Pingkang Lane through the Bureau of Music and Dance, and the Bureau is overseen by His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Shi Yue nodded in understanding.
Shi Yuan continued, “Although His Majesty knows there are numerous flaws in the case, what he values most is the stability of the imperial court. If we were to pursue this and expose either the Crown Prince or the First Prince, breaking the delicate balance between them, the court would descend into chaos.”
With a heavy gaze, Shi Yuan said, “A-Yue, this case ends here. Neither the Crown Prince nor His Majesty wants it to fester further. Caught in the middle, if our Marquis’s estate digs too deeply, we will only become the target of suspicion from both sides.”
“The capital might become unsettled moving forward. Whenever you leave the estate, you must bring more attendants,” Shi Yuan instructed gently. “The struggle between the Crown Prince and the First Prince will only intensify…”
Outside the window, the autumn wind swept fallen leaves past the lattice. Watching them, Shi Yue nodded solemnly.
Deep in the night when all was quiet and stillness enveloped the world, a hazy moonlight shrouded the Marquis of Stability’s estate. Tucked away along a winding path in the estate stood a low-lying dwelling, its wooden windows casting a faint, pale glow.
Pei Xuan was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed in meditation when his ear tips twitched, catching the sound of rustling movement outside.
Walking up to the door, Pei Xuan pulled it open with a single motion.
“Aah!”
Not expecting him to open the door so suddenly, Shi Yue lost his footing and pitched forward.
Unlike earlier that morning, Pei Xuan didn’t reach out to catch him; he simply stood to the side with a cold, watching gaze.
Steadying himself by grabbing the doorframe, Shi Yue lifted his chin and instantly resumed his usual demeanor, showing not a single trace of the clumsiness from his near-fall moments before.
“Why are you here so late?” Folding his arms across his chest, Pei Xuan looked down his nose at the uninvited guest with a rakish, devil-may-care expression.
“I came to see if you were asleep.”
Perhaps because it was late, Shi Yue’s hair was loosely tied behind him, and the night breeze ruffled the stray locks over his forehead into a slightly disheveled sweep.
“State your business if you have any.” Wiping his blade without looking up, Pei Xuan spoke in a cold, indifferent tone.
With no time for beating around the bush, Shi Yue went straight to the point: “I want to go to the public office to inspect the bodies of the dancing girls.”
Although the case was closed, Shi Yue still wanted to figure out which faction the dancing girls truly belonged to.
It had to be either the First Prince or His Highness the Crown Prince.
At these words, Pei Xuan halted his hand. His narrow, slanted eyes landed on Shi Yue as a stream of less-than-flattering remarks left his lips: “Are your wounds fully healed now? Weren’t the assassination antics by day exciting enough that you need to go look for dead bodies at night for amusement?”
Wonderful. His mouth was practically dripping with venom.
Unfazed, Shi Yue stepped forward a few paces. The candlelight reflected in his bright eyes: “There’s something wrong with the case, so I want to take another look.”
A nonchalant smile touched Pei Xuan’s lips. “Then go. What are you looking for me for?”
If he knew martial arts, would he ever come looking for a troublesome piece of work like you?
Shi Yue explained, “I’m scared on my own, and I don’t know martial arts. Won’t you accompany me?”
The final few words carried a tiny hint of pleading.
The sarcastic retort lingering on the tip of Pei Xuan’s tongue vanished. Glancing at Shi Yue’s shoulder, which was nearly healed, he changed tack and asked, “Why didn’t you ask Shitou to go with you? Isn’t he the one you trust the most?”
Why did he keep bringing up Shitou?
“You’re good at martial arts, and I trust you too.” Unable to figure him out and noticing his gloomy expression, Shi Yue decided to smooth his fur the right way.
Pei Xuan wore an expression of utter disbelief.
Reaching into his robe, Shi Yue suddenly produced a paper wrapper containing a few soft, white osmanthus pastries, offering the whole lot to Pei Xuan.
Looking at the pastries and then at Shi Yue’s sparkling eyes, Pei Xuan found the young master rather amusing.
This young master certainly knew how to handle people, refusing to play hard and resorting to soft tactics instead.
What a pity, Pei Xuan was someone impervious to both hard and soft tactics.
“Shi Yue, do you think a few pastries can dismiss me?”
“Then what do you want?” Shi Yue shot back immediately. His brain whirred at lightning speed before he gritted his teeth and blurted out: “As long as you accompany me, I’ll grant you any condition you want, except murder or arson.”
That actually sounded like a good idea.
Pei Xuan raised an eyebrow, drawling lazily, “Any condition?”
“Of course! A gentleman never goes back on his word!” Shi Yue nodded.
Without another word, Pei Xuan casually picked up the newly wiped sword and stepped past him out of the room.
Understanding that this meant agreement, Shi Yue couldn’t suppress his rising elation and hurried after him.
Unfortunately, Pei Xuan was a demon and a trained martial artist, possessing incredible speed, whereas Shi Yue was slowed down both by his healing wound and his natural pace, leaving him lagging far behind.
“Hey! Can you walk a bit slower and wait for me?” Shi Yue complained.
Frowning impatiently, Pei Xuan muttered, “Troublesome.”
Even so, he slowed his pace just a fraction, pausing as if by accident whenever Shi Yue was about to fall too far behind.