Сhарtеr 24: Commаndеr оf thе Unrightеous Agents
“Whу аre yоu looking аt mе, mаdаm?” Shеn Du, hаving slept рoorly, had eyеs thаt seеmed еvеn соlder аnd shаrреr.
Zhu Yаn remаined comроsed. “I find mу husband handsomе, so I cаn’t help but lооk а littlе lоngеr.” Тo savе hеr own skin, shе didn’t еvеn blink.
This аnswer tооk Shen Du by surрrisе. Hе had exрected Zhu Yаn tо rеtort with sоmething like, “Who’s lооking аt yоu?” оr “I wаs just wаtсhing thе cаt in thе cоrner,” but hе never аnticiраtеd such а rеsроnse. He frоze on the spot, swаllowing back аll the sarсastiс rеmarks hе had prepared.
Jing Lin pretended he hadn’t heard anything, doing his utmost to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.
At that moment, Zhu Yan dismounted and walked over to a corner under the eaves, where a person in colorful robes approached and began conversing with her.
Shen Du and Jing Lin exchanged a glance. Just moments ago, they hadn’t even noticed anyone there.
Shortly after, Zhu Yan returned, remounted her horse, and the person disappeared around the corner.
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Zhu Yan quickly understood and explained, “Before Brother Xu became the Commander of the Unrighteous Agents, he was wanted by the imperial court with a bounty of one hundred thousand taels of silver.”
“One hundred thousand taels?” Jing Lin seemed to recall something.
“Yes, he was the one who infiltrated the palace back then and stole the Emperor’s jade pillow…” Zhu Yan didn’t elaborate, but Jing Lin already understood.
“But how did he end up becoming an Unrighteous Agent?”
Zhu Yan pursed her lips, about to explain, when Shen Du spoke up first. “The Emperor valued his talent and thought it would be a waste to execute him. Not only did he pardon him, but he also removed his slave status and appointed him as the Commander of the Unrighteous Agents, overseeing all the Unrighteous Agents in Chang’an. To this day, no one dares to disobey him.”
Zhu Yan frowned. She had only pieced this together after becoming familiar with Xu Zuo and hearing some of his speculations. How did Shen Du know?
Her pupils gradually widened as a bold possibility occurred to her. “Back then, it wasn’t you who captured him, was it?”
Shen Du’s thin lips pressed slightly downward. He didn’t answer the question, but the answer was already obvious.
Jing Lin immediately looked at his master with admiration. His master was truly formidable, no doubt about it.
“So, back then, it was because of this incident that the Emperor appointed you as the Great Pavilion Commander, overseeing the inner court.”
Zhu Yan’s pink lips parted slightly, unsure of what to say.
Surprisingly, Shen Du took the initiative to ask, “What did Xu Zuo just tell you?”
Zhu Yan’s scattered thoughts were pulled back. She glanced at Shen Du and frowned. “Brother Xu came to tell me that the Liang family sent someone to Tongwen Hall to find Rong Zhui.”
Shen Du waited for her to continue.
“The eldest branch of the Liang family is discussing with Rong Zhui the possibility of arranging a ghost marriage between Liang Chenzhong and Kuang Zhanxin.”
After Zhu Yan finished speaking, Shen Du’s expression visibly darkened.
A ghost marriage, as the name suggests, is a marriage arranged for the deceased. Sometimes, young men and women who are engaged die before they can marry. The elders believe that if they are not married off, their spirits will cause trouble and bring unrest to the household. Therefore, a ghost marriage ceremony must be held for them, after which they are buried together as husband and wife, their bones united in the same grave. This also prevents the appearance of solitary graves in the family burial grounds, as a solitary grave is said to affect the prosperity of future generations.
The Liang family had the means to arrange such a thing, so it wasn’t surprising for them to arrange a ghost marriage for Liang Chenzhong. What was strange, however, was why it had to be Kuang Zhanxin.After all, the Liang family is related to the imperial clan. If they truly wanted a ghost marriage, they should have sought a pure, deceased woman from a respectable family, not Kuang Zhanxin, the top courtesan of the Tongwen Pavilion who had also been mutilated with her heart removed.
Moreover, recalling what Lu Chuichui said when Liang Chenzhong and Kuang Zhanxin’s bodies were first discovered—that the Liang family’s eldest branch "demanded the Chang’an magistrate immediately conduct an autopsy, observed it, and then left"—and now they were impatiently insisting on arranging a ghost marriage between Liang Chenzhong and Kuang Zhanxin.
"They claim a powerful diviner calculated that Liang Chenzhong, having lost his heart and his body incomplete, would affect the Liang family’s Qi fortune if paired with an ordinary woman. Thus, he could only be matched with Kuang Zhanxin, who suffered the same fate. Besides, the two were already fond of each other."
Zhu Yan had indeed heard of a powerful diviner. It was said that his prophecy foretold the Empress’s ascension to the throne.
"Dragon eyes and phoenix neck, a sign of supreme nobility."
Hah, but how many truly powerful diviners could there be? Most likely, they were just charlatans swindling the Liang family out of money.
Shen Du naturally thought the same: "Did Xu Zuo say anything else?"
She shook her head. There were other things Xu Zuo had mentioned, but she couldn’t tell Shen Du about them now.
Shen Du seemed to sense her thoughts but didn’t press further. In a moment, they arrived at the entrance of Li’s Money Shop, where clerks were removing the door panels, arranging them to the side, sprinkling water, and sweeping the floor in preparation for opening.
"Clerk!"
"Huh?"
The clerk who was called out stared blankly at the water he had just splashed, which had landed squarely on a delicate figure.
Zhu Yan hadn’t expected that merely calling out "clerk" would result in her being drenched.
Shen Du, who had been surveying the surroundings, turned back and saw Zhu Yan looking as pitiful as a soaked quail. His brow twitched slightly, and he stepped forward to remove his Flood Dragon Cloak, draping it over her shoulders.
The morning sun cast a brilliant glow, bathing her face in a golden light. Her dark hair dripped with water, resembling a water lily blooming in a mountain stream on a May morning—fresh, vibrant, and enchanting.
Her eyes, like a lost deer in the mountains, shimmered with a pool of spring water, gazing in confusion at the man who had pressed the cloak onto her shoulders.
Was this concern? Or was it a setup?
"No need, Great Pavilion Commander. I’m not cold."
Not all the water had splashed onto her, and the May air was already warm with the fragrance of gardenias.
"It’ll dry once the sun rises."
Beside them, Jing Lin’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly. His Great Pavilion Commander was unusual, and his Hall Leader’s Wife wasn’t exactly normal either.
What woman would say, "It’ll dry soon," when her husband offered her a cloak?
"Be quiet."
Zhu Yan fell silent and tightened the cloak around her.
She had heard earlier about a woman who pretended to faint and fell into Shen Du’s arms on the street, only to be detained in the Inner Guard Bureau for a day on charges of disrespecting the Great Pavilion Commander.
Utterly devoid of romance.
Since then, all the women in Chang’an avoided the White King of Hell like the plague.
Fond of the White King of Hell? That kind of fondness could land you in prison.
Shen Du frowned as he watched Zhu Yan standing there with her head bowed, suppressing a smile. His ears grew warm, and he turned to look at the clerk kneeling on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
"I’m sorry, Great Pavilion Commander, Hall Leader’s Wife. I didn’t mean it, I wasn’t…"
Shen Du didn’t spare him a glance. Standing on the steps, he ignored the clerk’s frantic kowtowing, which had already drawn blood, and said impatiently:
"Aren’t you coming in?"Zhu Yan paid no heed, helping the shop assistant to his feet and whispering a few words. The assistant wiped his tears, expressing endless gratitude before retreating to the back hall. Shortly after, a middle-aged man emerged, hastily donning his outer robe while pulling a woman behind him forward. Trembling, he fastened the last button, his voice filled with apprehension:
"I did not know the Great Pavilion Commander had come from afar. I failed to welcome you properly—please forgive this offense."
He then pushed the woman toward Zhu Yan:
"This is a set of my daughter's clothes that my humble wife found. Please, Pavilion Commander, follow my wife to the inner hall to change out of your wet garments and have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself."
Zhu Yan looked toward Shen Du. The shopkeeper, sweating profusely with cold sweat, also gazed at Shen Du, on the verge of tears.
Shen Du curved his lips into an emotionless smile: "Madam, go quickly and return soon."
His eyes followed Zhu Yan until she disappeared behind the door.
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