With a loud "bang," the door was pushed open from the outside, revealing a crowd of eavesdroppers who had all tumbled in a heap. Seeing Xiao Shao's displeased expression, Butler Lin was the first to stand up, clearing his throat and speaking with utmost seriousness, "Your Highness, the hundred taels of gold spent last night to purchase medicine for Miss Jiang have already been recorded in the accounts. Would you like to review them?"
"No need."
Jiang Ruan stared at Xiao Shao in shock. "A hundred taels?"
Jin Si, hiding behind Butler Lin, "helpfully" reminded Jiang Ruan, "Last night, weren't you affected by the 'Spring Breeze Crossing'? His Highness spent a hundred taels of gold to buy the antidote from the Hundred Flowers House."
Xiao Shao frowned. Too much talk. When had he ever concerned himself with financial matters? Yet today, everything seemed to have gathered here.
What kind of place was the Hundred Flowers House? A den of extravagance. Jiang Ruan had once inquired about Jiang Chao's incident there, but she hadn't known that not only were the courtesans expensive, even the antidote for the Bewitching drug cost a fortune. A hundred taels of gold—wonderful. Now her debt had grown even larger.
Butler Lin was quite pleased with himself. It was good that the young mistress knew how much she owed. If she couldn't repay in money, she could always repay with herself.
Jin Si, observing his master's slightly displeased expression, couldn't help but facepalm. Why was his lord so dense? Spending a fortune for someone like this—any young lady would be moved!
The two people in the room, however, remained oblivious to the complicated thoughts of the others. One wore a strange expression, while the other frowned slightly. The former was inwardly cursing the brothel for its greed and lamenting that her debt would never be repaid, while the latter simply thought, There are too many people in this room. It's so noisy—completely devoid of any romantic atmosphere.
...
The previous day, the Jiang family had married off their daughter. The third young miss, a concubine-born, had become the wife of the Left Vice Minister of the Court, a topic of much gossip in the capital. For a concubine-born daughter to secure such a future was considered exemplary in the entire Da Jin Dynasty. The guests had all enjoyed themselves, and the hosts had been most attentive—yet some secrets remained unknown to outsiders.
For instance, the next day, when the sun was already high in the sky, the maids and the wedding matron from the Vice Minister's residence came to collect the "proof of virtue" from the wedding night. After calling out several times without a response, the maid assumed the newlyweds were still exhausted and pushed the door open.
As soon as she entered, the scent of intimacy and passion filled the air. The maid lowered her head and called out softly, "Master, Madam."
After a long wait with no reply, the wedding matron grew suspicious and boldly looked toward the bed. The gauzy curtains swayed gently over the large bed, faintly revealing entangled naked bodies. The matron's old face flushed red, and she inwardly cursed, thinking, Truly, concubine-born girls have no manners. What bride behaves so improperly, just like those low-born concubines?
The matron forced a smile. "Madam?"
Perhaps finally hearing her voice, the person on the bed let out a soft moan—one filled with endless allure—before a hand lifted the curtain, and a drowsy voice asked, "Who is it?"
The matron took one glance at the bed and froze, letting out a shrill scream that startled the maid beside her into looking as well. The maid was equally stunned. The two exchanged glances, seeing sheer horror in each other's eyes, and without another word, they screamed and fled.
The piercing shrieks were so loud they nearly summoned every servant in the Vice Minister's residence. The woman on the bed seemed to finally wake up, suddenly sensing something amiss. She looked down—and then she, too, began to scream.On the wide bed lay two disheveled men!
Her scream finally roused the other two on the bed, who slowly awoke.
Jiang Li was on the verge of collapse. At this moment, she was completely naked, with bruises and marks covering her exposed skin. The red marks stood out starkly against her fair complexion, making it all too clear how wild the previous night had been.
One of the men on the bed rubbed his sleepy eyes and woke up, displeased. "What's all the noise? If you disturb this prince any further, you'll regret it." It was Ye You.
The other man... Jiang Li began trembling all over as Zuo Jiang opened his eyes, utterly stunned.
"You shameless whore!" Zuo Jiang slapped her hard across the face!
Jiang Li staggered from the blow, covering her cheek in silence. What was going on? How had she ended up in bed with two men—one of whom was her newlywed husband?
At the wedding banquet the day before, she had watched Jiang Ruan drink the drugged wine and felt relieved. But after the guests left to toast, she began to feel something was wrong with her own body. She had been burning with desire, and now it seemed as though she had been the one who had fallen into the trap. Had Jiang Ruan switched the cups?
Jiang Li had no way of knowing that Ye You, to ensure nothing went wrong, had laced both cups with a potent dose of the aphrodisiac "Spring Breeze Crossing." Whether Jiang Ruan had switched the cups or not, she would have been affected either way!
But she had stayed in the bridal chamber the whole time. Zuo Jiang being there was one thing, but how had Ye You ended up here too?
The sharp sound of the slap not only sobered Jiang Li but also made Ye You realize what had happened. The day before, he had captured Jiang Ruan, and just when everything seemed foolproof, Xiao Shao had arrived with his men. Xiao Shao had looked terrifying at the time, and then... then he remembered nothing. When he woke up, he was in Zuo Jiang's bed.
Ye You knew this had to be Xiao Shao's doing. Though Xiao Shao hadn't taken his life, Ye You was already relieved. As much as he resented Jiang Ruan slipping through his fingers, he didn't dare oppose Xiao Shao.
Shamelessly, he glanced at Zuo Jiang and Jiang Li, frowning slightly. So, the wild night had been with Jiang Li. Well, at least she wasn't bad-looking. Ye You stretched lazily. "Miss Jiang—or should I say, Madam Zuo now—thank you for your hospitality last night. This prince was quite satisfied."
Zuo Jiang clenched his fists, his heart filled with rage. The commotion caused by the wedding attendants and maids had already drawn a crowd of onlookers. Many of the wedding guests from the night before, who had celebrated too hard and gotten too drunk, had stayed overnight at the minister's residence. Now, they had all rushed over to see what was happening. The doorway was packed with people—what a ridiculous spectacle!
His newlywed wife had spent her first night entangled with another man, and he had been right there beside them. If word got out, people would think he, Zuo Jiang, had some peculiar tastes. Now, he had lost all dignity and face! Zuo Jiang couldn't fathom how things had turned out this way. The one who should have spent the night with Ye You was supposed to be Jiang Ruan. Since Ye You was here now, it meant Jiang Ruan was unharmed. When this news reached the palace, the imperial consort would surely blame him for failing his task.However, Zuo Jiang couldn't concern himself with Noble Consort Chen's affairs at the moment—the current predicament left him trapped between a rock and a hard place. If he let Ye You off now, the capital's citizens would drown him in their scorn tomorrow, and the Imperial Censors would undoubtedly use this incident in their memorials. But if he pursued Ye You relentlessly... this entire matter had been carried out on Noble Consort Chen's orders—how could he possibly act against Ye You now? At this moment, Zuo Jiang deeply regretted ever agreeing to help Ye You obtain Jiang Ruan for Noble Consort Chen. Even if he had to comply, why did it have to be on his own wedding day? Though he disliked Jiang Li, she still bore the title of his official wife. To maintain his reputation, he couldn't divorce her now. Yet doing so would shatter the carefully crafted image of a devoted and righteous man he had cultivated!
Gritting his teeth, Zuo Jiang watched as Ye You dressed and swaggered away without a care. Ye You had never feared public scrutiny, so he left with ease. But Zuo Jiang was left alone to face the storm of gossip. In his fury, he turned to Jiang Li's despondent figure and couldn't resist kicking her. "You wretched woman!"
Jiang Li shrank back in terror. Even someone as foolish as her now understood—having been defiled in front of Zuo Jiang, even if she retained the title of his wife, she would never again earn her husband's respect or affection.
Outside the bridal chamber in the Minister's residence, the crowd of onlookers grew larger. Two figures slipped away from the throng—one dressed as a wedding attendant, the other as a maidservant. They were none other than Jin San and Jin Si.
Jin San glanced at Jin Si. "Did I scream loudly enough earlier?"
Jin Si nodded. "Not bad."
The two exchanged a smile. This was only the beginning. With their master enraged, the capital was bound to witness another bloodbath. For now, the Minister's residence had merely suffered humiliation, but what followed would drag every involved party into an inescapable disgrace. Those destined to die would die—and as for the one in the palace, there would be no escape either.
The consequences of provoking Xiao Shao had never been pleasant. The nobility of the Da Jin Dynasty had grown too complacent over the years, long dismissing such warnings. Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to remind them—to let them see with their own eyes whether the legends held any truth.
...
Ye You returned to his residence singing boisterously all the way. After last night's exhausting escapades, he headed straight to his quarters. Once in bed, he felt parched and grabbed the teacup on the nearby table, draining it in one gulp.
'Spring Breeze Crossing' truly lived up to its reputation as the finest Bewitching drug. Even after a night of frenzy, he still felt restless and agitated. Ye You got up, intending to summon a concubine to sate his urges. But just as he was about to leave, his steps faltered. From the moment he returned, not a single soul had greeted him—no servants, no maids, none of his beautiful concubines. The entire estate was eerily silent, devoid of any signs of life.
A chill ran down Ye You's spine as he halted at the doorway. The earlier heat in his body vanished, replaced by a foreboding sense of dread. He called out, "Xiao Li! Xiao Li!"
No one answered. The estate remained deathly quiet, as if emptied of all living beings. Not daring to venture out recklessly, Ye You approached the window and peered outside. What he saw made his blood run cold—a vast expanse of crimson sprawled beneath the windowsill, horrifying to behold.Ye You staggered back in fright, accidentally knocking over the screen behind him. As the screen toppled, a figure inside stiffly collapsed forward. With a startled cry from Ye You, the person hit the floor—rigid and covered in blood. It was his personal attendant, Xiao Li.
A chill ran down Ye You’s spine, and he immediately turned to flee through the door. But before he could move, the entrance was kicked open from outside. Two black-clad figures stood at the threshold, staring at him expressionlessly.
"Who are you? Guards! I am a prince—what do you think you're doing?" Panic surged in Ye You’s heart. The two men advanced toward him, and moments later, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the room.
...
On the second day after Left Minister Zuo Jiang’s wedding, sensational rumors spread like wildfire through the capital. One tale claimed that despite Zuo Jiang’s outwardly honorable and devoted demeanor, he harbored disgraceful private proclivities—allegedly indulging in the debasement of his own wife alongside outsiders. While men’s peculiar tastes were hardly uncommon, to subject one’s lawful wife to such humiliation was considered deeply immoral. Whispers circulated that Zuo Jiang willingly wore the cuckold’s horns, neither divorcing his wife nor confronting the lecherous prince responsible.
Jiang Li, because of this scandal, could no longer hold her head high in the capital. Like a startled bird, she cowered indoors, too ashamed to step outside. Even the servants in the minister’s residence eyed her with disdain, and Zuo Jiang himself was worse—berating and beating her at the slightest provocation, making her life unbearable. Jiang Quan, too, flew into a rage over the disgrace Jiang Li had brought upon the family, earning nothing but contempt from court officials. The Imperial Censors submitted memorials condemning the minister’s household for domestic chaos, while also rebuking Jiang Quan for failing to properly discipline his children.
If these events were shocking enough, what followed sent waves of uproar through the capital—because Ye You was dead.
Ye You had died in his own residence. Not a single soul in the household was left alive, each killed with a single, precise strike. Ye You’s death was the most gruesome—his body hacked into pieces, his head missing. Only his clothing and official seal allowed anyone to guess the mutilated remains were his. The brutality of the attack led many to speculate it was the work of a vengeful enemy. The authorities had dispatched investigators, but so far, there were no leads.
(End of Chapter)
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