Shen Xu's attack on Zhu Qingyu's carriage that afternoon was a moment of impulse. After all these years, he still could not stand such unfaithful, heartless, and ruthless women.
Whenever he encountered one, he wanted to go mad, wanted to see blood, wanted to kill.
Her husband was still in the Imperial Prison with his life hanging in the balance. Even if she wasn't washing her face with tears or looking utterly heartbroken, she was actually leaning against the carriage window and smiling. How could she possibly smile?!
Who knew who she was smiling at, or who she was trying to hook up with this time.
When the Emperor's decree had arrived, Gu Zhao's letter had come along with it. Gu Zhao had specifically told Shen Xu not to touch the Zhang family's relatives, and explicitly named First Madam Zhang to be spared, saying he would explain it to the Emperor himself.
Shen Xu already had a lot of complaints about this First Madam Zhang who fled for her life at the first sign of disaster. Seeing her smile now made him furious, and he could no longer suppress his murderous urge.
When confronted by Gu Zhao, Shen Xu knew he was in the wrong, but he was still unyielding:
"I do owe you my life. If you want it, come and take it anytime. But using this favor on her? She's not worth it!"
The frost on Gu Zhao's face deepened:
"Shen Chongshu, you've crossed the line. This is none of your business. I will say it one more time: do not touch her. If you dare to touch her again, don't blame me for disregarding our past friendship. You know me, you know I do what I say. Don't force me to cut ties with you and show no mercy."
Shen Xu's family was all dead, and he had never married. After becoming the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he became the Emperor's killing blade. To avoid suspicion, he had cut off all contact with the aristocratic and official families in the capital.
Humans are social creatures, and as a human, one naturally has emotional needs for social interaction, even Shen Xu, who was considered cold-blooded and ruthless by the world.
In this world today, the only person Shen Xu could call a friend was Gu Zhao, and he truly cherished the bond between them.
Yet, after making it through such difficult times together, Gu Zhao was actually willing to fall out with him over a woman. And because he owed Gu Zhao his life, he had no choice but to agree.
After Gu Zhao left, Shen Xu angrily drank alone. The more he drank, the angrier he got; the more he drank, the more indignant he felt; the more he drank, the more he wanted to curse. Just as he was mentally cursing Gu Zhao for being an idiot completely bewitched by a woman, another idiot came looking for him.
The young marquis of the Anyuan Marquis Manor, Xie Ze, actually brought silver to the Shen residence, coming to act as a lobbyist for First Madam Zhang.
Shen Xu was not familiar with this young marquis of the Xie family at all. The cousin relationship between the Shen and Xie families was so distant that it was beyond five generations.
The Xie family were maternal relatives of the imperial family. Logically speaking, they were key targets for the Embroidered Uniform Guard's surveillance, so the two families were supposed to avoid suspicion. When members of the Xie family saw Shen Xu on normal days, it was just a nodding acquaintance, and they wouldn't say half a word more.
Only this young marquis was incredibly presumptuous. Every time he saw Shen Xu, he would enthusiastically greet him from afar, calling him cousin this and cousin that. He talked so much that it gave Shen Xu a headache.
Tonight was no exception. Xie Ze brought silver, his face full of enthusiasm and familiarity:
"Cousin, oh cousin. As the saying goes, a drop of water received in need should be repaid with a whole spring. The Buddhist sayings also state that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Furthermore, the apricot forest is warm under the morning glow, and the lush green leaves bloom with a hundred flowers..."
Xie Ze had just started, and Shen Xu, whose head was already throbbing with anger from Gu Zhao, felt an even worse headache. Massaging his temples, he asked:
"Young Marquis, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Having laid enough groundwork, Xie Ze finally got to the point:
"Lady Zhu saved me, so she is a person of great merit. Cousin, although I don't know what misunderstanding you two have, you are my cousin, and she is my savior. To make a long story short, we are all family. Since we are family, we should sit down and talk things out properly. There's no need for all this fighting and killing, right? Tomorrow, I will invite you and Lady Zhu to drink at Fan Tower together. We will shake hands and make peace, drink happily, talk about daily life, and treat each other like family from now on, alright?"
Shen Xu thought to himself, who is family with her.
But to avoid further nagging from the young marquis of the Xie family, Shen Xu said on the spot:
"There's no need for drinking. I just won't lay a hand on her in the future."
He didn't expect to persuade him so easily. Xie Ze, who had prepared a whole basket of words and originally wanted to have a long, candlelit conversation to fight a protracted war with Shen Xu, thought: Heavens, I am truly a genius lobbyist!
Xie Ze gleefully bowed to Shen Xu and said:
"Great! I knew it, cousin, you are a beautiful person with a kind heart. You keep your promises and won't make things difficult for her."
If it weren't this young marquis saying these words, Shen Xu, who had absolutely nothing to do with being a beautiful person with a kind heart who keeps his promises, would have drawn his blade and hacked the person down on the spot.
After sending off yet another idiot, Shen Xu couldn't fall asleep in the middle of the night. After tossing and turning for a long time, he still couldn't sleep, so he simply gave up and hurried back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Imperial Prison overnight.
The Imperial Prison was gloomy and damp no matter the time of day. Letting prisoners rot without being able to distinguish between day and night was also an important method for breaking a person's will.
The night guards were not surprised to see Lord Shen. Lord Shen had this quirk: when he couldn't sleep, looking at the miserable state of the prisoners would help him sleep soundly.
Zhang Shen had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor and was locked up on the second level of the Imperial Prison. Compared to the first level, it was even more gloomy and terrifying. Except for the coal lamps used for illumination during interrogations and the firelight during branding tortures, there was almost no light at all.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard had taken him away, setting off only one night earlier than Zhu Qingyu. They also traveled by water and land. Although they traveled day and night, they arrived only three days earlier than Zhu Qingyu.
Although he had only been in the Imperial Prison for three days, when Shen Xu followed the lantern-carrying jailer, the Zhang Shen he saw lying on the wet straw was already unconscious.
Shen Xu looked at the unconscious Zhang Jingyan for a long time without saying a word.
It wasn't until the jailer thought Lord Shen wouldn't speak that Shen Xu finally asked:
"Did the prisoner give any confession today?"
The jailer replied:
"The prisoner only woke up once today. He asked where his wife and sister were, and then he fainted and couldn't be woken up no matter what."
Shen Xu didn't understand how there could be so many idiots in this world.
His wife had already clung to the powerful and left him, yet he was still worrying about her.
Truly too stupid.
Just like he was back then.
Through the unconscious Zhang Jingyan, Shen Xu felt as if he was seeing his past self again.
When would these foolish men finally wake up! When would they finally give up!
Before leaving, Shen Xu instructed the jailer:
"The Emperor hasn't seen him yet. Don't let him die."
