The newcomer was dressed in black robes with a silver mask, yet Shadow still recognized him—it was the Young Master!!
He saw him sweep the woman into his arms, a pained gaze falling on her tightly closed eyes and brows: "I told you to take care of my wife. Is this how you take care of her?!"
Shadow jolted and knelt down, but before he could plead for punishment, the man had already strode out with her in his arms.
In the main hall of the tavern, the place had been cleared out at some point.
Song Jia stood before the main door. Startled by the sudden appearance of the man in black, he quickly regained his confident smile: "Third Miss Yun, I will naturally fulfill your request, but before that, you must first hand over the antidote for 'Spring Breeze Crossing.' Otherwise, you won't be leaving through this door."
With a wave of his hand as he finished speaking, several men surged from every corner.
Yan Zheng didn't even lift his eyelids, only murmuring as he gazed at the woman's furrowed brows: "So it was you..."
The next moment, he raised his eyes. Their deep, cold, and desolate intensity actually forced Song Jia back two steps.
Swish—
A streak of blood flew before his eyes!
The man closest to Song Jia fell. Then, a casual, understated voice was heard: "Kill them all."
"It's you! You are Yan—!!"
There was no time to utter the full name. Wherever Shadow's sword light passed, blood filled the air.
The intense smell of blood and the thuds of falling corpses assaulted the senses. Song Jia was finally terrified, fleeing in panic towards the door.
Thud!!
A corpse flew over, slamming heavily against the door and blocking the exit.
Song Jia turned back. Shadow's sword was already at his throat.
And all the men he had brought—thirty-seven skilled fighters in total—were dead, as if their lives had been snatched away by ghosts and gods in an instant!
"Third Young Master Yan, Chief Grand Secretary, spare me! I will surely report to my master upon returning, and will never target the Chief Grand Secretary's residence or the Hundred Insights Pavilion again! For past wrongs, we are willing to offer ten thousand taels of gold as apology!!"
Shadow looked back at the Young Master.
Song Jia hastily knelt: "Chief Grand Secretary! No matter how angry you are, you must leave a survivor to deliver a message! And I am poisoned with Spring Breeze Crossing; my life is in Third Miss's hands. I dare not cause any more trouble! I beg you, Chief Grand Secretary, to be magnanimous and show mercy!"
If it were anyone else, they might have been persuaded.
Unfortunately, the one opposite was Yan Zheng.
"Did you not hear clearly? Kill them all."
In a tone devoid of any emotion, Shadow thrust his sword forward. Song Jia fell, eyes wide with disbelief.
He seemed never to have imagined that he, the esteemed Azure Dragon Envoy, would die in a place like this...
The hall fell into deathly silence, reeking of blood.
Yan Zheng frowned in disgust, lifting his arm to hold the woman higher, away from the filth: "Have someone clean up. Let's go."
Shadow bowed in acknowledgment. After summoning people, he hurried to follow.
He could sense the Young Master was in a very bad mood.
No, it should be said that since the Crown Prince's departure, he had never seen the Young Master so furious!
Unfortunately, upon reaching the gate of the Duke's residence, they encountered two more fools...
"Pah! What high official, letting his daughter harm the Prince to death. Others may fear you, but I don't!"
"Right! I brought chicken blood to splash on his gate to vent our anger!"
One of them grabbed a wooden bucket and was about to throw it forward. But with a thud, the chicken blood didn't splash out; instead, it drenched him head to toe!
The other looked up, saw Shadow's murderous expression, and quickly pulled him away as they fled.
Leaving behind the bucket of chicken blood, it rolled around a few times before finally coming to a stop at Yan Zheng's feet.
Only then did the servants inside open the gate, hurriedly explaining: "Guard Shadow, please don't take offense. People have been coming to cause trouble every few days recently. The Duke ordered us not to stoop to their level, so we could only keep the gate closed..." He finished with a bitter smile, pointing at the gate. "As you can see, this gate has been scrubbed several times already. Chicken blood is nothing serious."
The hairs on Shadow's back stood on end.
Sure enough, with a crack.
Yan Zheng stepped on the bucket, splitting it: "The dignified Duke's residence, and any stray cat or dog can come and make a scene? If the Capital Prefecture can't hold them, arrest them and send them to the Court of Judicial Review. If even that can't hold them, there's still the Ministry of Justice, the imperial prison! If all else fails, kill a few to set an example. Do I need to teach you such trivial matters?"
Shadow immediately knelt. Yan Zheng snorted and strode into the residence.
The servant, though not recognizing him, instinctively gave way, intimidated by his aura.
Bodhi Courtyard.
Nanny Zhou was anxiously waiting when she suddenly saw her young mistress being carried back by someone, and that person's figure looked somewhat familiar...
"Son-in-law? Is the son-in-law back?"
Upon hearing the noise, Yulu rushed out. Seeing the young mistress in the crook of his arm, her eyes instantly reddened: "Son-in-law, you've finally returned! You have no idea, the young mistress has been running around everywhere these past days. The physicians... the physicians said the child might not be saved..."
Shadow, who had followed them in, heard this and felt his vision darken.
Yan Zheng's figure stiffened slightly, but he forcefully suppressed his anger and spoke gently: "This Chief Grand Secretary knows. You've worked hard."
Shadow: "???"
Why is he so lenient with the wife's servants, but with me it's all about punishment and scolding?
This isn't fair!
Fortunately, Meng Yang vaulted over the wall just then and said, "Young Master, everything is arranged. It's just that person..."
He looked troubled, leaned in, and whispered something to Yan Zheng.
Yan Zheng, however, said, "Bring him in. Settle him here for now."
Meng Yang's eyelids twitched. He glanced first at the wife in his arms, then at the tearful Yulu and Nanny Zhou, and awkwardly left.
This night was exceptionally long.
Chu Ruoyan dreamed of that scene again.
Flames, the city wall, Yan Zheng in rebellion, and her father being humiliated...
"Don't talk to me about the Yan family! The Yan family was destroyed by your imperial house!"
"Nonsense! Although the Emperor seeks glory, he is no tyrant... You rebel, regicide, betray your lord, forget your father. You have wronged the Yan family, wronged the Grand General. You are the eternal sinner of Great Xia!"
"Ha, sinner? What, Duke Chu, are you putting on a show of loyalty to the sovereign and love for the country? And you? Chu Huaishan, are you any better?"
Her breath hitched. She saw the man curl his lips and speak extremely softly and quickly: "Your legitimate daughter is the daughter of the former dynasty's Prince Regent. The former dynasty's remnants are searching for her like madmen, wanting to enthrone her. What, are you going to tell me you didn't know?"
Father's face instantly flushed crimson. He opened his mouth as if to explain.
The man sneered mockingly: "Chu Huaishan, you adopted the daughter of the former dynasty, switched her in secret, deceiving the entire imperial family. Is this your loyalty to the sovereign, your love for the country? Tell me, if I were to reveal her true origins, let the former dynasty's old ministers support her as they charge into the palace, slaughter your emperor, destroy your Xia dynasty, how would the world curse you? And how would they view her? Hahahaha!!!"
As his voice fell, he rushed forward.
Father leaped from the hundred-foot-high city wall...
The man reached out, but only caught a piece of a sleeve.
A soldier ran up in a panic: "General, he... he fell to his death!"
The man stared at the sleeve fragment in his hand, his eyes dark and unreadable. After a long moment, he laughed coldly: "Blind loyalty! Fool! If you want to die, then die! Best if you all die, every last one of you, let none survive!!"
"Then... what about the Chu family's legitimate daughter?"
The man froze, looking down at the slender, frail woman at the foot of the wall, weeping as if her heart would break.
After a long time, he parted his lips.
