Chapter 76

Zhang Yuehui was “rescued” by the doctor and proceeded to put on a show, describing to Wanyan Jun the earlier scene in the dungeon where he supposedly caught a “turtle in a jar.” He claimed that the spies from the Bingshu Division turned out to be traitors within the Guilai Hall, and he had fought them to the death in the dungeon, ultimately killing them. In truth, no Bingshu Division spies had been captured at all; it was merely a rumor spread to lure someone into a trap.

However, as Wanyan Jun listened, his expression grew increasingly grim.

Zhang Yuehui’s explanation could hold up, but it was far from the result Wanyan Jun had anticipated. After expending so much effort and losing men, they hadn’t even captured a single living prisoner. The guards involved were also complete strangers.

And they dared to claim they were fishing for a big catch?

What a joke!

Previously, at the Sifang Bridge Dock, it was also Zhang Yuehui’s faulty intelligence that led them to fall into a trap set by the Bingshu Division. Wanyan Jun increasingly saw Zhang Yuehui as an incompetent conman, but as someone who rarely displayed his emotions, his face remained dark and stormy as he reined in his temper. He picked up the wine jug to pour Zhang Yuehui a drink.

If Wanyan Jun had exploded in anger, it might have been easier to deal with. But his polite demeanor, saying nothing at all, left Zhang Yuehui uneasy. Zhang paused, hurriedly bowing as he raised his cup with both hands to receive the wine. Yet the spout of the jug bypassed the cup—Wanyan Jun had no intention of pouring.

Feigning casualness, Wanyan Jun tapped the wine jug against Zhang Yuehui’s coat as if to remind him: “Boss Zhang, business relies on trust.”

The spot he tapped was precisely where Zhang Yuehui’s freshly bandaged wound lay.

Zhang Yuehui endured the pain, maintaining a smile. “Yes, yes, Wanyan Sir, it was my mistake, treating a pawn as a big fish. Still, there were some gains—this wasn’t a wasted trip.”

Wanyan Jun smiled as well, but his tone turned icy. “What I want isn’t this low-level intelligence. I’m giving you seven days—bring me a living spy from the Bingshu Division. Otherwise—”

He pushed the wine jug forward again. The spout pressed against the tender wound, tilting slightly so that the wine seeped through Zhang Yuehui’s clothes, soaking the bandages and drenching the wound with alcohol. Zhang Yuehui’s face turned ashen, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Yet he didn’t utter a sound, keeping the same proper smile on his face.

“Understood, Wanyan Sir. Seven days. I’ll make sure everything is taken care of.”

Only then did Wanyan Jun set the wine jug down, say nothing further, and stride off.

Zhang Yuehui finally relaxed, slumping into a chair while clutching his wound, his face contorted in pain. “Damn it, this hurts like hell—”

Luo Ci, who had been guarding the door, quickly entered after seeing Wanyan Jun leave. Spotting Zhang Yuehui’s state, he panicked. “Boss, I’ll call for the doctor.”

Zhang Yuehui raised his hand to stop him.

Luo Ci froze mid-action, wisely shutting the door and standing quietly to the side, waiting for instructions.

“Where did they go?” Zhang Yuehui asked.

Zhang Yuehui had managed to cover up the night’s debacle, but mentally and physically, he had never been in such a sorry state. He had no mind to deal with Wanyan Jun’s ultimatum for now. What preoccupied him was where Nan Yi had gone with Xie Queshan.

“The tracker butterfly flew to a manor in the western part of the city—the one we previously investigated. Xie’s family claimed Lady Qin was taken there due to a sudden illness.”

Before handing Nan Yi over to Xie Queshan, Zhang Yuehui had left a special Guilai Hall powder on her body. Though imperceptible to humans, its scent could be detected by a special type of butterfly that would lead them to her location.

After a long pause, Zhang Yuehui lifted his head and looked at Luo Ci with an eerie calm. “How long have you been with me?”

Luo Ci froze, already understanding the implication. He dropped to his knees immediately. “Boss, it’s all my fault. I failed to recognize your old acquaintance. Please punish me.”

Zhang Yuehui shook his head and sighed. “You’ve been with me for three years. Everything you’ve done has been on my orders. Ultimately, this is my fault. But you can’t stay in Lidu Prefecture anymore…”

First, Xie Queshan might come for revenge, and Luo Ci would be the first to suffer. Second… for Zhang Yuehui, this mistake was enormous. It had deeply hurt Nan Yi. Though it was his decision and Luo Ci had only carried out the punishment, the fault was shared. Zhang Yuehui hadn’t figured out how to face this mistake himself, let alone continue to trust his right-hand man.

“We’ve been master and servant for some time. The southwestern properties—I’ll leave them to you to manage.”

With that, Zhang Yuehui stood and walked out. Luo Ci knelt and kowtowed to his retreating figure.

When Zhang Yuehui exited the chaotic Huachao Pavilion, the streets were empty. He walked until dawn, finally arriving outside Xie’s manor. Yet his steps faltered in hesitation.

…

Nan Yi only remembered frantically questioning Xie Queshan about the jade bangle, but he gave her no answers. The long-sought person had finally appeared, but their reunion was steeped in blood and pain. The emotional shock was too overwhelming; her spirit fractured, and she lost consciousness again. When she woke, Xie Queshan was gone.

For two days, at least during her conscious hours, he didn’t appear.

Her questions remained unanswered. Instead, he had vanished faster than anyone. Nan Yi didn’t know where she was, why Xie Queshan had locked her up here, or what Zhang Yuehui’s situation was. All she could do was lie in bed, take her medicine, eat, and sleep. The two old servants, likely under Xie Queshan’s orders, wouldn’t reveal a single useful piece of information. They didn’t even utter a single unnecessary word to her.

Nan Yi was so confused she felt like she might go insane, but her body was too weak to allow her the luxury of hysteria. She understood that the most important thing right now was to recover—get better as quickly as possible, so she could at least regain control of her own body.

As her wounds began to heal, her entire body itched unbearably. She dared not scratch them, so she asked the elderly servant to tie her hands while she slept. She cried silently, biting her lip to endure the torment.

The coarse ropes around her wrists chafed and hurt terribly. Even the elderly servant, who initially had no qualms, checked repeatedly to ensure it was secure but not too harsh. Surprisingly, Nan Yi grew accustomed to it. Compared to the pain elsewhere on her body, this discomfort seemed almost trivial.

She thought that after a night’s sleep, her wrists would be covered in marks from the ropes. Yet, when she awoke, she found that someone had switched the coarse ropes for soft satin ribbons during the night. Her hands were only slightly numb, and there were no new wounds.

She assumed the elderly servant had done it, but then she noticed a few stray fox hairs from a cloak scattered on the edge of her bed.

—Someone had braved the frost of the night to come and check on her, only to leave before she woke.

Nan Yi realized that Xie Queshan was deliberately avoiding her, refusing to talk about his own matters or those involving Zhang Yuehui.

Fine. They were all treating her like a fool, weren’t they?

Nan Yi silently vowed to herself: if he wouldn’t talk to her, she wouldn’t say another word to him either!

When she woke, she heard faint commotion from outside. The residence was usually extremely quiet; even the elderly servants walked on tiptoe, afraid of disturbing her. It was rare to hear such loud noises. She strained her ears and discerned that it sounded like an argument. At first, she thought it was street noise from outside, but it seemed to be coming from the backyard.

“What’s going on?” Nan Yi called out loudly.

An elderly servant came over at the sound of her voice and replied, “Madam, don’t worry. This old servant is already handling it.”

Then the servant promptly shut the door behind her.

Frustrated, Nan Yi lay back down. Wonderful. She’d gone from one cage to another, albeit a slightly more comfortable one. She even thought that, apart from the physical torment, at least in the dungeon, she had the freedom of will to resist revealing any information about the Candlelit Order. That freedom was hers alone. But here, she was just a useless shell of a person.

—What exactly were these selfish, arrogant men plotting?

Nan Yi wanted to scream in frustration but knew it would be pointless. She shut her eyes and tried not to care about what was happening outside. After all, it had nothing to do with her.

But in reality, it had everything to do with her.

The back door of the residence opened into a narrow alley. The door, usually sealed shut and rarely used, was now crowded with over a dozen people.

Xie Queshan and Zhang Yuehui stood face-to-face, the tension between them thick enough to ignite sparks.

The adjacent property to Xie’s residence was the back courtyard of an abandoned tavern. The tavern had been closed for a long time, with no business to speak of. But two days ago, someone had purchased the establishment in a grand gesture and renovated it overnight.

The tavern didn’t reopen, but its first act was to knock on the Xie residence’s door, claiming to deliver gifts.

The scene was ostentatious. A line of female attendants carried trays of exquisite food, each dish kept warm over small portable stoves, the aroma wafting enticingly through the air. Following them were several women dressed as physicians, each carrying a medicine chest.

Naturally, the guards at the Xie residence refused to open the door. The tavern’s people then attempted to force their way in, almost sparking a brawl.

The guards quickly reported the incident to Xie Queshan, leading to this confrontation between him and Zhang Yuehui.

Xie Queshan was seething with rage. He hadn’t even had the chance to confront Zhang Yuehui yet, and now the man had the audacity to show up on his doorstep.

“You may have misunderstood me, Young Master Xie,” Zhang Yuehui said politely, clasping his hands in a gesture of respect. “These gifts aren’t for you—” He smiled faintly. “Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Nan Yi’s true beloved.”

Xie Queshan finally lost his composure. He had no patience for pretenses with such a shameless man and immediately swung a fist at him.

Zhang Yuehui stumbled backward from the blow, clearly caught off guard. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth but continued to smile provocatively at Xie Queshan. “I’m curious, Young Master Xie. In what capacity are you hitting me?”

Xie Queshan loathed being cornered, but Zhang Yuehui’s every word struck a nerve.

“Because I feel like it. Do I need a reason?”

Still unsatisfied, Xie Queshan grabbed a wooden staff and struck him again—on the shoulder, stomach, back, waist, and knees—all with ruthless precision.

Zhang Yuehui almost buckled to his knees, but someone at his side caught him just in time. Bruised and battered, he leaned against the wall, clutching his stomach and grimacing in pain.

“Take your people and get lost,” Xie Queshan spat venomously.

Zhang Yuehui finally dropped his polite facade and retorted sharply, “Xie Queshan, stop acting like the whole world revolves around you. What can you give her? This rundown house? A few servants? A couple of second-rate physicians? You can’t even find a decent cook, and you have to sneak around like this. What use are you?”

For once, Zhang Yuehui managed to leave Xie Queshan speechless.

Damn this infuriating wealth.

He Ping, loyal to Xie Queshan, couldn’t hold back his anger and stepped forward. “Zhang Yuehui, you’re incredible, aren’t you? You injured the young mistress so badly, and now you dare to play the good guy—”

“Open the door,” Xie Queshan interrupted through gritted teeth, cutting off He Ping’s tirade.

He Ping froze, staring at Xie Queshan in disbelief. He had just felt that his words had successfully subdued Zhang Yuehui, but now his master was yielding?

“This is her matter,” Xie Queshan said after a long internal struggle. “I can’t make decisions for her. Let her decide whether or not to accept it.”

Despite his frustration, Xie Queshan stepped aside. He had provided Nan Yi with an environment conducive to healing. While it wasn’t the worst, it certainly wasn’t ideal. Zhang Yuehui, with his endless resources and luxuries, could indeed offer her better care.

And ultimately, this was her decision to make.

Zhang Yuehui knew when to stop pushing his luck and sensibly offered his thanks.

The guards opened the door, and the female attendants entered in an orderly line.

Zhang Yuehui, however, remained standing outside, motionless.

Xie Queshan raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going in?”

He had assumed that Nan Yi and Zhang Yuehui would inevitably have to meet, and no matter how much he might want to stop it, he wouldn’t be able to. Zhang Yuehui, this liar, had surely hidden many things from Nan Yi. Xie Queshan was even a little eager to see Zhang Yuehui suffer a cold reception from her—that way, he could smugly tell him to get lost.

But Zhang Yuehui rubbed his nose awkwardly, looking a little guilty. “I’ll wait until she’s feeling better before I see her. I’m afraid she might get too emotional, and it wouldn’t be good for her health.”

After a few seconds of silence, Xie Queshan scoffed, “Coward.”

Zhang Yuehui immediately shot back, “You’re no better.”

Two cowards, whose mouths were the only part of them that dared to act tough.