Chapter 47: Garlic White Meat (Part 22)
The woman smiled calmly. Before she could speak, Jing Yi widened his fox-like eyes and asked in an even louder voice than Leng Yue, "Are you Bi Xiao?"
The woman lowered her long but slightly sparse eyelashes, directing her smile and the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes toward Jing Yi. "Finally remembered me... and how well you treated me?"
A gentle breeze swept through. Jing Yi felt the chill on his uncovered scalp so acutely it nearly brought tears to his eyes. His shaved head was secondary; what truly unsettled him was that the breeze had been stirred by Leng Yue's wrist as she twirled her sword.
"No..." If Jing Yi could have gotten up from the bed, he would have immediately knelt before both women. But for now, he could only lie there obediently, tilting his head toward Leng Yue and making his eyes look as innocent as possible—innocent beyond measure. "I only..."
Jing Yi had barely started speaking when Leng Yue coldly cut him off, her voice rising. "Bi Xiao, you have killed five people and now kidnapped the Deputy Minister of the Dali Temple, Jing Yi. Do you admit your crimes?"
Leng Yue ignored Jing Yi's explanation not because his eyes lacked innocence, but because she hadn't even glanced at him.
After knowing Jing Yi for so many years, though she'd never said it aloud, she had always believed that one day, under Master Jing's guidance, the influence of his three elder brothers, and the trials from his superiors, he would grow into a shining example of a good official wherever he went.
Now, he had achieved the "shining" part ahead of schedule.
It had all happened so suddenly that Leng Yue hadn't yet decided what kind of look to give this transformed person.
"Kill people?" At Leng Yue's question, Bi Xiao also stopped looking at Jing Yi. She blinked in surprise and raised her eyes to Leng Yue, bewildered. "When did I ever kill anyone?"
Today, Leng Yue had already encountered two people who brazenly lied to her—Jing Yi's maid and Cheng Xun's steward—but their lies combined couldn't hold a candle to the sheer falsehood of Bi Xiao's words.
"No killing?" All of Leng Yue's patience had been worn thin by the previous two. Her sword tip dipped, pointing toward where Jing Yi lay, and she stated matter-of-factly, "Then where did all this bloodstain on the bed and floor come from? It doesn't look like your own monthly cycle to me."
Bloodstain...
Monthly cycle...
Jing Yi had been lying calmly on this bed for hours, but now he suddenly felt the urge to scream for help.
However...
It would probably be in vain.
Based on Jing Yi's ability to read people's expressions, he could clearly see that his beloved wife didn't even want to look at him...
Bi Xiao, dressed in an emerald-green gown, already made her overly pale face appear somewhat greenish. After hearing Leng Yue's words, her entire complexion seemed to turn green.
Jing Yi could also tell that Bi Xiao desperately wanted to smash the half-eaten bun in her hand right into Leng Yue's unsmiling face. He quickly interjected, "Um... that bun contains Drunken World."
Jing Yi had intended to warn Leng Yue to stay away from the bun, but she paid him no mind. Instead, Bi Xiao's expression softened, and she chuckled lightly, raising the bun in her hand. "Exactly, this bun contains Drunken World. Eating it will only cause drowsiness. Once the effects wear off, the person will naturally wake up..."Bi Xiao spoke as she brought the bun to her nose for a light sniff, then glanced down at the row of sharp knives neatly arranged at the foot of the bed. "Once they wake up, they'll be clean men."
Leng Yue couldn't help but steal a glance at Jing Yi's gleaming bald head.
Clean indeed...
"Isn't Madam Jing part of the official judiciary?" Bi Xiao lifted her gaze, a genuinely cheerful smile spreading across her face. "Since you already know I've previously cleansed five men, you could inquire about them. After my cleansing, did any of them ever go womanizing again?"
"I don't need to inquire to know they didn't." Leng Yue unceremoniously rolled her eyes at Bi Xiao. "All five are lying on straw mats in the Ministry of Justice's mortuary. Where would they go womanizing?"
Bi Xiao's smile vanished as she furrowed her brows. "The Ministry of Justice's mortuary? But I personally returned them to their wives... Though Cui Niang and Prince Jing haven't married yet, Cui Niang told me many times that Prince Jing was preparing for their wedding. One night when I went to Prince Jing's residence to collect night soil, even his servant mentioned they were preparing for a celebration. That's why I brought Prince Jing back - to cleanse his body..."
She gave a sorrowful smile. "Having served in the pleasure quarters myself, I know how dirty men who frequent such places become - filthy inside and out. Everything in their bellies is contaminated, even their blood... If these impurities aren't cleansed, their wives will suffer terribly. Cui Niang has had a hard life already - her previous husband treated her like livestock and nearly beat her to death. Now she's met Prince Jing, but he's a philanderer through and through. I couldn't bear not to help her."
After listening in astonishment, Leng Yue suddenly remembered something.
"That day when I found you and asked you to look after Cui Niang, you told me not to worry because someone would naturally care for her... Were you referring to Prince Jing?"
Bi Xiao nodded without hesitation. "Of course. Since Prince Jing sincerely intended to marry her, how could he not care for her?"
Leng Yue sighed helplessly.
No wonder when she had asked Bi Xiao whether she knew about the dead man outside Cui Niang's door, Bi Xiao had so confidently shaken her head...
It wasn't that she didn't know - she simply didn't consider Prince Jing, whom she had butchered like a plucked chicken, to be dead!
After handling so many cases, this was the first time Leng Yue had encountered such a criminal.
For a moment, Leng Yue was at a loss for words.
Ultimately, Leng Yue was just a constable, and a constable's job was to make arrests. Now that the person to arrest stood before her, she simply needed to take her away. As for how to make her confess and sign the confession - for this case, that was Prince An's business.
However, compared to criminals who stubbornly denied their crimes, Bi Xiao's utter frankness left Leng Yue uncertain how to proceed.
While Leng Yue hesitated, Jing Yi sighed - neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for both women to hear.
"Sister Bi..." Jing Yi carefully chose the least misleading form of address before continuing clearly, watching Bi Xiao's twitching lips. "You've misunderstood. Prince Jing was indeed preparing for marriage, but the one becoming Princess Jing isn't Cui Niang - it's Sima Xuan, the second daughter of Jing Zhaoyin Sima."Bi Xiao was so stunned she didn't even notice the steamed bun falling from her hand. "Im...impossible! He personally told Cui Niang about the marriage arrangement. Cui Niang has already started saving for her dowry and sewing her wedding dress!"
"This marriage was arranged by the Crown Prince himself and personally approved by His Majesty with an imperial decree. Isn't that more authoritative than his personal words?Jing Yi苦笑ed, tucking in his chin as he glanced at his completely bare self. "I've confessed to this extent... why would I still lie to you?"
After the initial shock, a look of deep regret and shame surfaced on Bi Xiao's face. Her slightly trembling fingers climbed uncertainly to her lips as she murmured, "I was wrong, it's over... I was wrong..."
Finally realizing her mistake...
Just as Leng Yue was about to relax, she saw Bi Xiao, pale as a ghost, suddenly dart toward the door as if possessed. Thinking Bi Xiao was trying to escape after finally understanding the principle of "a life for a life," Leng Yue swiftly raised her sword to block the way, the blade horizontal at Bi Xiao's chest and forcing her to stop abruptly.
With this movement, Bi Xiao had moved much farther from the row of sharp knives at the foot of the bed. Having lost her last concern, Leng Yue's voice turned several degrees colder and harder. "If you run again, I can just cut off your head right here."
Though she said this, while Leng Yue had the authority, she didn't have the nerve.
It wasn't that she was afraid of cutting off heads, but as she raised her sword, she suddenly remembered there was someone lying on the bed nearby who couldn't stand the sight of blood.
Jing Yi's fear of blood wasn't something he made up - Leng Yue had witnessed it firsthand yesterday at the Jing residence when they were slaughtering chickens and ducks. She had calmly grabbed a chicken and, without warning, slit its throat. When the chicken blood sprayed out, Jing Yi had fainted immediately without another word.
Remembering this, Leng Yue glanced at Jing Yi. The wound he had inflicted on himself last night lay on his spotless body, particularly glaring.
The knife had struck in a place that bled no less than a slaughtered chicken, yet he had remained conscious enough to stop his own bleeding, bandage himself, and even come to the main hall to help her drive away the Jing Zhaoyin's family...
The wound was still oozing blood. She wondered if it hurt...
Leng Yue thought that even if Bi Xiao had shaved off his eyebrows too, Jing Yi would still deserve the title of Number One Young Master of the Capital.
If she didn't have to keep her sword across Bi Xiao's chest, Leng Yue would have rushed to the bedside and planted a firm kiss on Jing Yi's shiny bald head.
Of course, Bi Xiao didn't know Leng Yue's threat was purely to scare her. In her panic, she took half a step back, and Leng Yue's sword followed, still pressed against her chest. Bi Xiao looked at Leng Yue with red-rimmed eyes. "Madam Jing, I was wrong... I'll change, I'll make it right immediately!"
Leng Yue's voice softened noticeably, but her sword didn't relax, nor did her cold demeanor diminish in the slightest. "You don't need to tell me this. I'm only responsible for taking you back. You can explain the rest to the presiding official yourself."
"Pre...presiding official?"
Seeing Bi Xiao's bewildered expression, Leng Yue had a faint, uneasy premonition.
"I... I'll go find the Prince of Jing right now and deliver him to the Jing Zhaoyin's office tonight. Please, don't arrest me..."
Leng Yue sighed silently. Just as she thought..."Um..." Leng Yue felt as if a claw were scratching restlessly inside her heart when Jing Yi suddenly spoke up in an exceedingly amiable, negotiable tone, "Sister Bi, Prince Jing is currently at the Ministry of Justice. If you go with my wife, you can see him as soon as you arrive."
Bi Xiao was overjoyed, so much so that Leng Yue was taken aback.
"Madam Jing..." Bi Xiao turned to Leng Yue with a pitiful, pleading expression, "I'm just a night-soil woman now. Everyone avoids me and shuns me. The Ministry of Justice definitely won't let me in. Could you take me inside so I can see Prince Jing? He still recognizes me, still remembers our past affection. He'll come away with me..."
Seeing Leng Yue remain silent in surprise, Bi Xiao hurriedly added, "When we return, when we return I'll immediately clean Young Master Jing from head to toe, inside and out. You can watch me do it... I'll definitely satisfy you!"
Leng Yue glanced at Jing Yi, who looked rather like he wanted to cry, sheathed her sword, placed a hand on Bi Xiao's shoulder, and responded calmly.
"Alright, let's go."
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