QYT - 25

Before long, there was a knock on the door of the bamboo hut. Fudong’s seductive voice came from behind the wooden door. “Young Master Jiang, it’s me.”

Jiang Cizhou let Derong open the door for her and asked, “So, is there wine?”

Fudong gave a gentle smile and didn’t answer. She went straight to Jiang Cizhou’s side, covered her mouth, leaned into his ear, and whispered a few words.

As Jiang Cizhou listened, a faint smile appeared on his lips. “There’s such a good thing?”

Fudong’s voice was like a silver bell. “Yes, Young Master Jiang, are you coming?”

Jiang Cizhou stood up and instructed, “Derong, take the food box and go pack Miss Fudong’s new brew.” Holding his green bamboo fan, he made a “please” gesture. “Then I’ll have to trouble you to lead the way, Miss Fudong.”

It was late in the evening, and the sky had long been completely dark. However, the area around Donglaishun was still lively. Jiang Cizhou followed Fudong as she turned into an alley off the main street. When they arrived at the Zhezhiju, he noticed that the noise was completely cut off, and the alley was eerily quiet.

“This is it,” Fudong said, letting Chaotian break the copper lock and push the door open.

Qingwei had been to the Zhezhiju’s small courtyard a few days ago. Inside, there was nothing but a large, dry water tank. But today, the smell of wine in the courtyard was much stronger than before, and there were occasional gusts of a rich osmanthus scent, which was extremely strange.

Qingwei held her breath and looked around. It was too dark. The light from the torches only illuminated a small area, and the villains were lurking in the shadows, making it impossible to see anything.

Fudong took a small shovel from the shop, dug out a jar of wine from under an old locust tree in the courtyard, and handed it to Jiang Cizhou. “Young Master Jiang.”

Her figure was half-hidden in the darkness and half-exposed in the torchlight. Holding a jar of wine in her hands, she was both soft and passionate. A person with poor self-control would have been drunk before even tasting a drop.

Jiang Cizhou smiled and reached for the wine. Before his fingertips could touch the jar, a flash of white light suddenly appeared in the dark night.

“Young master, watch out!” Chaotian shouted, stepping in front of Jiang Cizhou. As Jiang Cizhou pulled his hand back, a flying blade shot through the air and pierced the wine jar.

The wine jar shattered on the ground with a “bang.” Almost simultaneously, more than a dozen masked men in black leaped down from the courtyard wall and the shop roof, attacking Jiang Cizhou and the others.

Chaotian was already prepared and immediately drew his blade. Qingwei’s hand flipped at her waist, and she drew her Yun Tou blade, turning around and slashing horizontally, forcing back a masked man who was rushing from the shop door.

Qi Ming and the other three Xuan Ying guards surrounded Jiang Cizhou and Derong. They were martial guards transferred from the Imperial Guard and were already skilled in martial arts. With their disciplined training, the three of them formed a formation that was more than enough to handle the masked men attacking the courtyard.

Qingwei saw that they were handling the situation with ease. She looked around and saw Fudong still cowering behind the locust tree. She immediately went over with her blade, grabbed Fudong’s hand, and protected her by the dry water tank in the courtyard. “Hide here. I have something to ask you later—”

Before she could finish, she heard Jiang Cizhou’s low voice from behind her. “Watch out!”

Qingwei’s ears twitched slightly. Before she could turn her head, she twirled her blade at her side, turning it into a dagger. She pressed the back of the blade against her arm and thrust it backward, piercing the chest of a sneak-attacking assassin.

Qingwei turned around and saw that while she was distracted, a dozen more assassins in black had emerged in the courtyard, besides the masked men.

Assassins were different from ordinary martial artists. They might not be highly skilled, but every move was a killing blow. They always lurked in the shadows, and once they found an opportunity, they would not hesitate to trade their lives for a kill.

Such assassins were also known as death warriors. Even the most skilled martial artists could lose their lives if they were not careful when facing them.

The dozen assassins had a clear target and all rushed toward Qingwei. Qingwei was secretly alarmed and immediately retreated.

“Qi Ming,” Jiang Cizhou called out.

“Commander?”

“I’m fine here. Go help her.”

Qi Ming immediately agreed and rushed over with two Xuan Ying guards. At the same time, Chaotian forced back a masked man and rushed over with his blade.

However, He Hongyun had hired more than just these assassins. A new group quickly surged into the courtyard, bypassing Qi Ming’s defense and attacking Qingwei.

With blades coming at her from all sides, Qingwei leaped into the air, throwing her Yun Tou blade. It pierced the thigh of an assassin in front. When Qingwei landed, she pulled out the blade, drawing a trail of blood, and then stomped on the assassin’s neck, breaking it.

But for every assassin she dealt with, countless more followed. Qingwei retreated step by step. Jiang Cizhou saw this and immediately went forward, placing a hand on her waist. Qingwei used his support to arch her back and fall, avoiding a round of attacks from the assassins. Then she stood up, switched from defense to offense, and swung her blade at the assassins. She also managed to say, “Thank you.”

Jiang Cizhou didn’t reply and put his hands behind his back.

A lingering warmth remained on his fingertips.

In the days since they were married, her body had always been hidden under loose robes. Only when he had held her under her cloak just now did he realize that her waist was incredibly slender, yet flexible and strong.

The assassins were everywhere, like rats in a dilapidated room. Qingwei felt wronged. She wasn’t the one who had broken into the Fuxia House. She couldn’t help but turn to Jiang Cizhou and ask, “What did you do to He Hongyun? Why does he hate me so much?”

Jiang Cizhou said, “Are you trying to trick me into talking, my wife?”

Qingwei didn’t want to play his games. “Aren’t you going to help?”

Jiang Cizhou said, “Do I look like a martial arts practitioner?”

She didn’t know if he was skilled or not, but she had heard Derong say that Jiang Cizhou had been injured at the Xijintai and had an old injury.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. To succeed tonight, she had to walk through the fire. As Qingwei was thinking of a solution, she heard Jiang Cizhou behind her say, “You don’t usually use a blade, do you, my wife? Why aren’t you using your own weapon?”

Her weapon was a soft jade sword, which she couldn’t use, as doing so would expose her identity.

Qingwei didn’t know if he was testing her again, so she just said casually, “I don’t have any money. Will you forge a weapon for me?”

Jiang Cizhou said, “Chaotian, did you hear that? Give her your blade.”

Chaotian’s scalp tingled. He finally understood what had happened. The female thief he encountered at the Zhuning estate that night was indeed the young madam. It was no surprise that he had been fed a bowl of stinking fish and had his new blade taken away after he blamed Qingwei for breaking into the Fuxia House.

But his new blade had only been in his hands for a few days, and Chaotian’s heart ached. He kept slashing, thinking that the longer he could use it, the better. He might lose it to Qingwei at any moment. At this moment, he managed to force most of the assassins out of the wine shop.

Qingwei used this opportunity to retreat to Jiang Cizhou’s side. “Let me borrow your fan.”

Jiang Cizhou smiled and handed it to her. “Take it.”

Qingwei didn’t reach out to take it. She placed the fan on the tip of her Yun Tou blade, spun it open, and then slammed it on the ground. The hinge at the bottom of the fan handle instantly broke, and the bamboo ribs of the fan were launched into the air by the blade. Qingwei reached up and caught them, gathering all the ribs in her palm. Then she threw them out. The bamboo ribs flew like blades, repelling the remaining assassins in an instant.

Jiang Cizhou was a little surprised. “My wife, you have such exquisite skills.”

His fan was expensive. Although the handle was destroyed, the jade pendant was still on the ground. Qingwei casually hooked it with the tip of her blade, put it in her pocket, and asked Jiang Cizhou, “Didn’t you say you were going to fight fire with fire? We’ve been fighting for so long; the commotion should have gotten big by now. Why hasn’t Young Master Zhang from the banquet come over?”

Jiang Cizhou also felt that it was about time. He called out, “Qi Ming.”

“Here.”

“Go to a high place and take a look.”

Qi Ming was tall and skilled in light-footed martial arts. He leaped onto the roof of the wine shop with the help of Chaotian and the others. When he looked around, his brows furrowed. He jumped down and came to Jiang Cizhou’s side. “Commander, Young Master Zhang and the scholars with him have been drawn here by the commotion, but Zou Ping has blocked them at the fork in the road with his Inspection Office guards.”

Derong thought for a moment and said, “The young master chose to host the banquet on the same day as Young Master Zhang. That Young Master He figured out our plan and was prepared for it. Zou Ping is probably just saying that there are thieves in the alley and isn’t letting them in.”

Qi Ming also said, “Zou Ping’s guards are disguised as thieves. They don’t have crossbows and are hiding behind the assassins, so we can’t capture them alive. Commander, if we can’t pin the crime of assassination on Zou Ping, tonight’s efforts will be in vain. Young Master He must have been sure that you would come to the banquet, which is why he resorted to this.”

When Qingwei heard them, she thought to herself that this was not good. She knew He Hongyun was not an easy person to deal with, but she never expected him to be so difficult.

Qingwei turned to Jiang Cizhou and asked, “What do we do now?”

Jiang Cizhou’s tone was calm. “Derong, where’s the gunpowder I asked you to prepare?”

“Here,” Derong said, taking a small bundle of tung wood from the food box with a fuse attached. It was gunpowder. Derong said, “But young master, we can’t get out! There are assassins outside, and those people from the Inspection Office are blocking the fork in the road and just watching. Even if we set off the gunpowder, it won’t be on the Inspection Office’s head.”

“Isn’t watching perfect?” Jiang Cizhou said. “Who said I wanted you to detonate it outside? Detonate it here.”

“Here?”

“Don’t forget, Zou Ping’s father is the Minister of the Court of the Imperial Insignia.”

Derong still didn’t understand, but Qingwei reacted first.

The Court of the Imperial Insignia was the office in charge of military weapons and gunpowder. Gunpowder, a controlled substance, was difficult for ordinary people to obtain. If something unexpected happened, the Court of the Imperial Insignia would be the first to be suspected.

It didn’t matter that Zou Ping’s guards didn’t have crossbows tonight, thanks to He Hongyun’s reminder. The Ministry of War had assigned them from the Court of the Imperial Insignia, and it wouldn’t be difficult for them to get their hands on gunpowder from the military armory.

Of course, relying solely on gunpowder would be a stretch to pin the crime on Zou Ping. However, at He Hongyun’s estate, Zou Ping had already ordered his guards to shoot Jiang Cizhou with a crossbow once. Now, his Inspection Office was conveniently blocking the fork in the road. With these repeated incidents, once the gunpowder exploded, the previous shooting would be seen as intentional, and it would be impossible for him to deny his guilt.

Zou Ping followed He Hongyun’s orders. If he was proven to have committed the heinous crime of assassinating the Deputy Commander of the Xuan Ying Division, even if He Hongyun could clear his name on the surface, he wouldn’t dare to act rashly for a while.

No wonder Jiang Cizhou said he would make He Hongyun have no choice but to stop.

Derong was still thinking deeply when Qingwei stepped forward, snatched the gunpowder, and asked Jiang Cizhou, “Where should I throw it?”

Jiang Cizhou looked at the two-story wine shop next to them. Qingwei nodded immediately.

In an instant, more assassins rushed into the courtyard. Qingwei shouted, “Qi Ming, cover me! Chaotian, go to the door and get ready to clear a path!”

Chaotian immediately replied, “Yes,” and his body shot up, heading toward the door of the Zhezhiju.

Qingwei moved extremely fast, rushing into the wine shop. She took out the flint from her pocket, lit the fuse, and as she retreated, she pulled Fudong out of the water tank she was hiding in. She carried her and ran toward the door. “Let’s go!”

Amidst the clash of weapons, a faint “sizzle” could be heard. A pungent smell of smoke filled the air.

When Qingwei had rushed into the wine shop just now, the assassins hadn’t seen what she was holding. It wasn’t until they smelled the smoke that they knew something was terribly wrong. In an instant, they either climbed over the wall or leaped from the roof, all rushing out of the wine shop.

Jiang Cizhou had been waiting for Qingwei at the door. When he saw her come out with Fudong, he grabbed her hand and led her to run quickly.

There was only a moment left before the gunpowder exploded.

It was at this moment that a turn of events occurred.

In the dark night, a flash of pure light appeared. Fudong, who had been following behind Qingwei, suddenly pulled a jade hairpin from her sleeve and stabbed it toward Qingwei’s neck.

Jiang Cizhou’s eyes caught a flash of cold light. He turned his head first, grabbed Fudong’s wrist, twisted it back, and shook off the jade hairpin.

The jade hairpin fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. Qingwei’s gaze fell on the hairpin and she was instantly shocked—this jade hairpin was identical to the one Xue Changxing had left her, the one with the two swallows.

When Fudong saw the shattered hairpin, her eyes filled with sorrow. She immediately bent down to pick it up, but Qingwei was faster and snatched up the hairpin.

Just then, a deafening explosion was heard. Fire shot up into the night sky, and a wave of scorching heat, along with sand and dust, swept toward them.

Because of the momentary delay, they hadn’t been able to retreat in time and were too close to the wine shop.

Qingwei’s mind went blank from the shock of the explosion. When she came to, she found herself lying on the ground, in... Jiang Cizhou’s arms.

Qingwei was stunned. She had never been so close to anyone before, and the man’s chest was warm and strong, making her feel incredibly uncomfortable.

She couldn’t help but look up, meeting his gaze.

Behind him were the towering flames, but his eyes were as deep and calm as water.

It was just like on their wedding day when he lifted her veil and saw it was her.

“You...”

Qingwei was speechless for a moment. She felt a sense of bewilderment. She felt that he shouldn’t be looking at her like that.

Jiang Cizhou was silent for a moment, then took his arm from her waist. “Are you alright?”

Qingwei shook her head and asked, “What about you?”

Jiang Cizhou said, “I’m fine.”

Qingwei was filled with confusion. After some thought, she asked, “Just now, you...”

“My fan pendant is still with you, isn’t it?” Jiang Cizhou interrupted before Qingwei could finish. “My mother left it for me. It’s very important.”

Qingwei was stunned again. So, he had protected her for this?

Qingwei nodded, stood up, took the fan pendant from her pocket, and handed it to him. “Thank you. It’s a shame your fan was destroyed. I’ll get you a new one another day.”

Jiang Cizhou looked at her.

He had always seen her as efficient and decisive. But in such a dangerous situation just now, she had still thought to save Fudong, which showed that she was truly a gentle and kind person on the inside.

He took the fan pendant, about to say that she didn’t need to replace it, but Qingwei had already turned around. She expressionlessly lifted Fudong from the ground, grabbed her arm, dragged her a few steps, and pushed her against the wall. She put her hand on Fudong’s throat. “I ask, you answer. If you dare to play dumb, I’ll snap your neck!”

Jiang Cizhou: “...”