Сhарter 75: The Yоung Мaster Аpprоасhеs Ме
Amidst the surging сrowd, once sepаrаted, rеunion рrоvеd trulу difficult.
Аftеr sеаrсhing for quitе some time, Shеn Du finаlly lеarned Zhu Yan’s whеreabоuts from Jiang Lаngхing.
Jiаng Lаngхing wоrе an awkwаrd еxрrеssiоn, stammеring as hе sрoke, mаking it сleаr that this woman hаd stirred up troublе аgаin…
Disguised аs a noble уоung lаdy, Zhu Yаn wоrе а vеil thаt enhаnсed hеr striking beаuty, adding а touсh оf mуsterу.
Sеvеrаl foreign guests sеemed to take grеat interest in Zhu Yаn, surrounding her аnd cоnvеrsing with her in brоken Chinese.
"Fair maiden, may I know your name?"
Zhu Yan lowered her head with a smile. Judging by his attire, the man before her likely hailed from the Western Regions, and his clumsy Chinese was rather amusing.
Before Zhu Yan could respond, another foreign guest hastily interjected, "I saw this lady first. Why are you standing in front of me?"
He then turned his gaze to Zhu Yan. "Though you wear a veil, your celestial eyes have deeply captivated me. Might you remove it, allowing us a glimpse of your peerless beauty?"
"This…" Zhu Yan hesitated.
She was not one to panic easily, but with so many men vying for her favor, she found herself somewhat overwhelmed.
"Fair maiden, this is my personal jade fan. Please accept it. Might you have a token to exchange as proof of our bond?"
The speaker was yet another newly arrived young master.
His attire suggested he was also from afar, but adorned in gold and silver, he was clearly from an official family or a wealthy household.
Without waiting for Zhu Yan’s consent, the young master placed the jade fan directly into her hands.
Zhu Yan looked bewildered. Before she could regain her composure, the other men also began presenting tokens from their persons, handing them to her.
At the same time, they demanded tokens from Zhu Yan in return, leaving her thoroughly embarrassed.
"It seems Lady Shen truly possesses some charm, captivating the attention of these foreign young masters," Jiang Langxing remarked playfully from the side.
His words drew Jing Lin’s displeasure. "Of course, our lady is captivating. Otherwise, our Great Pavilion Commander would not have taken a liking to her. Moreover, these young masters should reflect on their own worth—are they even fit to stand beside our lady? None can compare to our Great Pavilion Commander."
"Is that so?" Jiang Langxing seemed intrigued by Jing Lin’s words. "I heard the lady was married as a substitute, and on the wedding day, the Great Pavilion Commander held a blade to her neck."
As he spoke, Jiang Langxing mimicked the gesture of a blade against the throat for Jing Lin to see.
Jing Lin’s lips twitched, his expression turning awkward. "That… that was because our Great Pavilion Commander did not yet understand the lady. In choosing a wife, virtue matters more than appearance. How could he judge by looks alone? Before the wedding, our Great Pavilion Commander had never interacted with the lady, so it was only natural to establish authority between husband and wife."
"Oh…" Jiang Langxing nodded thoughtfully. "So that’s how it was."
The two continued their back-and-forth, completely oblivious to Shen Du’s expression, which had darkened like the bottom of a pot.
"Enough."
Shen Du’s cold rebuke silenced them both.
"Bury these men."
Shen Du’s command followed, leaving the two momentarily stunned.
Bury them? Had they heard correctly? The Great Pavilion Commander wanted them to bury these foreign young masters?"What are you still standing there for?" Shen Du turned around in a rage, glaring fiercely at the two of them, causing Jing Lin to tremble instantly.
"Make those people disappear. Do I have to teach you how to do your jobs myself?"
Hearing this, the two understood Shen Du's meaning and hurried forward to dismiss the young masters.
Jiang Langxing let out a long sigh of relief. Thankfully, he wasn't one of Shen Du's subordinates, or he would surely be scared to death by him one day.
After driving away those outsiders, Jiang Langxing, well aware of Jing Lin's difficulties, stepped forward and teased, "I was wrong. From now on, whatever you say goes. If you say one, it's one; if you say two, it's two. I won't argue with you about right or wrong anymore."
Jing Lin was quite surprised by Jiang Langxing's sudden submission, but with one glance at Shen Du's dark expression, he understood everything.
He offered Jiang Langxing an awkward yet polite smile and said nothing more.
"Madam."
Zhu Yan was still puzzled by the sudden departure of the young masters when Jing Lin appeared by her side the next moment.
"No matter what, you are the wife of the Great Pavilion Commander. You should mind your dignity. Even if you don't care about face, the Great Pavilion Commander certainly does."
Only then did Zhu Yan notice that Shen Du was standing not far away. Presumably, the departure of those young masters was thanks to him.
But this way...
Zhu Yan seemed to remember something and hurried over to Shen Du. "I have an idea."
Shen Du was still brooding over what had just happened and showed no interest in Zhu Yan's sudden attempt to please him. He snorted coldly, "Weren't you having a great time just now? How dare you come back?"
Zhu Yan was at a loss for words and explained with slight embarrassment, "That was just an accident. I didn't expect those outsiders to be so enthusiastic toward me."
"So you threw all feminine modesty out the window, didn't you? Or were you announcing to everyone that I, Shen Du, treat my wife poorly, leaving you so empty and lonely that you can't wait for unidentified men to fawn over you?"
Though Shen Du's words were harsh, they were filled with jealousy. Zhu Yan couldn't help but laugh at his remark.
"Alright," Zhu Yan began to act coquettishly, wrapping her arms around Shen Du's and swaying them back and forth. "I know I was wrong. I'll be more reserved from now on. I'm your wife, and I'll certainly remain chaste for you. I won't have any contact with any dubious men—except, of course, those male corpses."
Jiang Langxing, standing nearby, felt goosebumps all over. This woman actually had such skills—it truly opened his eyes.
Jing Lin, on the other hand, seemed accustomed to it, completely unmoved by the scene before him. But he knew in his heart that whenever this woman acted coquettish, the Great Pavilion Commander would lose his composure, and even the greatest anger would vanish into thin air.
"Enough, enough."
Sure enough, Shen Du couldn't resist Zhu Yan's submission. "What was the idea you mentioned earlier?"
Seeing Shen Du take the bait, Zhu Yan secretly rejoiced and quickly changed the subject. "This place is packed with people. Finding the murderer won't be easy. Why not let the murderer come to us instead? That way, we'll save ourselves a lot of trouble."
Shen Du furrowed his brows. "Go on."
"All the murdered women had something in common. If I dress in the same style as them, wouldn't it be easier to attract the murderer's attention? When the murderer shows up, you can capture him then and there.""That's actually a good idea." Jiang Langxing quickly chimed in from the side. "If we have Madam disguise herself as the target, the murderer will reveal themselves."
They thought this was a brilliant plan and that Shen Du would agree, but unexpectedly, he strongly opposed it.
"No." Shen Du's cold rebuke startled everyone present. "This method is too risky. You cannot go."
After speaking, Shen Du turned his gaze to Jing Lin. "Go to the Bright Hall and bring back anyone suitable. Have them dress up as the target, and make it quick."
"Yes." Jing Lin acknowledged and prepared to leave, but Zhu Yan stopped him.
"What time is it already? The murderer targets young women. With such a grand Buddhist ceremony today, what young girl in Pingkang Ward wouldn’t be out joining the excitement?"
Zhu Yan’s words made sense, but Shen Du simply refused to let her take the risk.
"How about..." Jing Lin thought of another idea. "We find someone suitable from the crowd?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Yan gave him a sharp knock on the head. "Are you a blockhead? The crowd is full of ordinary people. Do you think they’d willingly take such a risk? The murderer’s methods are so cruel—what if something goes wrong? Could you bear the responsibility?"
Jing Lin was left speechless by Zhu Yan’s retort, regretting only his own recklessness and thoughtless words.
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