Hearing Miss directly reveal the hidden truth behind everything, Ning Xin Hai immediately gathered his focus and released his spiritual sense. The slightest movement of wind or grass, the chirping of birds and buzzing of insects—all of it was difficult to escape his awareness.
"Miss, be careful with your words—" Ning Xin Hai urged her in a low voice. If the Yan Family heard these words, especially the Old Butler of the Yan Family, who looked so thin and bony that a gust of wind could blow him over but whom Ning Xin Hai had no confidence of lasting thirty moves against, things would become troublesome. At the very least, it would affect the relationship between the Cui and Yan Families.
"It's only the truth. Why shouldn't I say it?" Cui Xiaoxin said with a smile, completely unconcerned. "My uncle-in-law loves his son dearly. With every move, he overturned and rearranged all my plans. He suspects Li Mu Yang, but has no concrete evidence proving Li Mu Yang's true identity. So he simply exposed him, making everyone focus their attention on him—once enough people are watching, won't Li Mu Yang have nowhere left to hide?"
"But did he ever consider my feelings? Li Mu Yang is my lifesaver. The reason the Raven came after him to kill him was because he was dragged into this by me—instead of showing gratitude to him, my uncle-in-law tossed him aside by the roadside like a weed. He was trampled beneath people's feet and could face a threat to his life at any moment. Isn't that terribly unfair to Li Mu Yang?"
"Miss, you should have understood this long ago—" Ning Xin Hai consoled her gravely. "In some people's eyes, there is no fairness or justice, only exchanges of benefits. Abandoning an unrelated person to protect their own son is perfectly normal to them—not even a pretense of hesitation is necessary."
"Yes. It's precisely because we're surrounded by people like that that I'm so grateful—grateful that Li Mu Yang rushed over in such a dangerous situation and used his frail body to block the sharp blade in the Raven's hand—"
"Li Mu Yang isn't frail anymore." Ning Xin Hai spoke with no small amount of concern. "Miss, you've always refused to let me investigate Li Mu Yang's true identity. But you should understand that the strength he's hidden is truly horrifying—he blocked the Raven's attacks twice in succession, and the second time, he even killed him by himself. The City Lord certainly intended to throw him into the sunlight and roast him alive, but if he hadn't possessed that kind of strength, if he had been utterly helpless—would the City Lord really have managed to succeed?"
"Li Mu Yang has never asked about my identity," Cui Xiaoxin said.
"But he doesn't know your identity, Miss."
"Do you take Li Mu Yang for an idiot? He isn't. At the very least, his behavior during this period has shown me that not only is he not an idiot, he's quite clever. I have an expert like you protecting me, and guards escort me whenever I visit him. I'm related to the City Lord of Jiangnan City, and the City Lord's son is my cousin—do you think all that still wouldn't make someone suspicious of my identity? Yet he has never asked."
"Because he didn't ask about your identity, Miss, you won't allow us to investigate his?"
"People should be fair." Cui Xiaoxin said, "He knows as much about me as I know about him. What good would knowing too much do? It would only be asking for trouble."
"Now that matters have reached this point, what does Miss intend to do?"
"The danger facing the Cui Family cannot be borne by an outsider." Cui Xiaoxin's voice was solemn.
"Miss—" Ning Xin Hai hurriedly tried to dissuade her. "You absolutely must not oppose the City Lord. The moment you make a move, he'll know your intentions. We're about to return to the capital, so why provoke his displeasure?"
"Yes. We're going back, and so we're going to dump all the risks and responsibility onto someone who originally had nothing to do with any of this—that's something I can't do."
"Miss—"
"What about Yan Xiangma?"
"When I came back, I saw Young Master Xiangma's convoy heading toward Li Mu Yang's home."
Cui Xiaoxin pondered for a moment before saying, "It seems we don't need to do anything after all. My uncle-in-law's wisdom is as vast as the sea, but there happens to be someone who can counter him."
"Miss means Young Master Xiangma?"
"He's the best choice." Cui Xiaoxin sighed softly. "Although this is unfair to him, he is a man of the Yan Family, and can also be considered a man of our Cui Family—he's my cousin, so protecting me is only natural. If I get the chance, I'll repay this debt of gratitude many times over. But Li Mu Yang—why drag an outsider into this?"
"I understand." Ning Xin Hai spoke in a low voice.
"Keep my cousin safe," Cui Xiaoxin said. "The capital is in turmoil, and even Jiangnan City has been affected. Once we return to the capital, I'm afraid we'll feel its murderous atmosphere even more strongly."
"Yes, Miss."
Ning Xin Hai left without a sound, just as silently as he had arrived.
Cui Xiaoxin paced among the flowers, deep worry etched between her brows.
In this incident, her uncle-in-law had probably fanned the flames from behind for reasons of his own.
What did he want?
Was the position of City Lord in such a prosperous place no longer enough to satisfy his appetite?
There must also have been a deeper meaning behind sending Cousin Xiangma to the capital first, right?—
Yan Xiangma really was going to find Li Mu Yang, because once he found Li Mu Yang, he could conveniently take a look at Li Sinian as well.
Yan Xiangma liked Li Sinian.
He had never met a girl like her before—she treated him with indifference and even mocked him openly. The way she looked at him was as though she were looking at a lump of excrement. She was completely different from all the girls who had thrown themselves at him like moths to a flame after learning his identity or seeing his handsome face.
Most importantly, she was so cute and beautiful. Her eyes seemed to possess a spirit of their own, and every gesture she made brimmed with youthful energy. Seeing her filled people with joy and swept away all their troubles.
Yan Xiangma was furious. He had come to visit Li Mu Yang, yet the Li Family's gate was tightly shut, with no one home.
"Young Master, why don't we come again tomorrow?" Li Da Lu followed beside Yan Xiangma and quietly tried to comfort him.
"Come again tomorrow? Then wouldn't I have come here for nothing today?" Yan Xiangma snapped, furiously flicking his fan open and shut.
"Then shall we wait at the door?"
"Wait? Do you know who I am? I'm the City Lord's son, the most famous young master in Jiangnan City, and you want me to wait? When have I ever waited for anyone?"
"What does Young Master intend to do, then?"
"Search for them. Find them and bring them back."
"Yes, Young Master. I'll have the men ask around nearby." Li Da Lu waved his hand, and his lackeys scattered to get to work.
"Young Master, why don't you rest in the carriage for a while?"
"No. What if it wrinkles my clothes?"
He had gotten up early to wash and dress, putting on his most expensive and handsome clothes before rushing over—all so Li Sinian would be dazzled at first sight.
As a result, Yan Xiangma was now disappointed.
Soon, his subordinates reported what they had learned. Something had happened at Li Mu Yang's family pastry shop, and Li Mu Yang had rushed there to help.
Yan Xiangma was overjoyed when he heard this. If Li Mu Yang had gone to help at the shop, then once Li Sinian returned, she could be alone with him—he would have more time and space to display his dashing grace and profound knowledge before her.
But after thinking it over, he realized that definitely wouldn't do. If Li Sinian learned that something had happened to her family's shop and he had simply ignored it, what would she think of him?
At that point, he would probably be worse than dog shit, right?
Thus, Yan Xiangma gave a grand wave of his hand and said, "When a friend is in trouble, we should naturally draw our swords to help. Set out."
Yan Xiangma didn't get the chance to draw his sword and help, because by the time he arrived, the crisis had already been resolved. The City Lord's Mansion's military police had surrounded the pastry shop.
The military police in imperial uniforms had Li Mu Yang surrounded on all sides. Their blades were drawn and their arrows nocked. The slightest misstep would trigger a bloody slaughter.
Yan Xiangma's heart tightened. This disaster was even more serious than he had imagined.
He led his men toward the pastry shop. The soldiers on the outside tried to stop him, but he smacked one of them on the head with his fan and shouted, "Open your dog eyes wide and see who I, Yan Xiangma, am—"
Li Da Lu arrogantly pulled a token from his robes. He waited until every soldier had seen it clearly before smugly putting it away.
The soldiers saluted and made way. Yan Xiangma swaggered inside with a group of sycophants in tow.
"Li Mu Yang—" Yan Xiangma saw Li Mu Yang's eyes glowing red and felt his heart jolt. Damn, this is another sign that he's about to transform. If he loses control, there probably won't be a single survivor here.
"What happened?" Yan Xiangma turned and shouted at the military police captain.
The military police captain recognized the notorious playboy young master of Jiangnan City. He hurried over respectfully and said, "Young Master, a murder occurred here. That boy attacked and killed someone. We need to arrest him and bring him to justice—"
"Attacked and killed someone? Which of your eyes saw that?"
"Young Master, I only came because I received a report—"
"A report? Who made the report?"
"The person who reported it has already left—"
"How do you people investigate cases? Are all of you blind? Is there still any law in Jiangnan City? Do you even understand the law?" Yan Xiangma pointed at the military police captain's nose and launched into a furious tirade.
"Young Master, this subordinate—this subordinate begs to know what I did wrong?"
"As a witness to the incident, I saw everything with my own eyes—it was those thugs on the ground. They rushed into the shop and started hacking and killing. They even demanded our wallets and said they were robbing us—they clearly came for me. They wanted to kill me—"
"Young Master, didn't you—you only just squeeze in here?"
Smack—
Yan Xiangma swung his fan again and cursed, "This young master had an upset stomach and stepped out to relieve himself. I could have simply left, but I couldn't let brave and righteous people suffer or be wronged by scoundrels like you. That's why I came back by a roundabout route."
Yan Xiangma pointed at Li Mu Yang and said, "If he hadn't fought with all his might and risked his life to save me, I would already have—already have—"
Yan Xiangma's eyes reddened. He patted his chest and said, "You have no idea how dangerous it was. It was enough to scare this baby to death—"
"—"
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