If I Draw My Blade, Blood Will Be Spilled

The Jiang Family courtyard.

Not long after Jiang Yun and Xu Suwen left today, Qian Bochou arrived. By now, he had been waiting for quite a while.

Naturally, he bore not the slightest resentment. Especially after learning that Jiang Yun had left with Xu Suwen, he even felt somewhat relieved.

He had vaguely heard of Xu Suwen's identity. She was no ordinary Imperial Guard; her background was downright terrifying.

If he could cling to Miss Xu's thigh—

Perhaps he could still climb a little higher in officialdom.

At that thought, Qian Bochou could barely keep the smile off his face.

But then he remembered that Peng San had been released from prison today. That fellow probably would not let the matter rest so easily.

If Peng San came knocking, would he still help?

At the thought, his face clouded with worry again.

Light snow drifted from the sky. Watching Qian Bochou in the courtyard, laughing one moment and fretting the next, Jiang Qiaoqiao secretly thought inside, What is wrong with this constable? Why does he seem a little unhinged?

She went outside and refilled his cup with hot water. "Constable Qian, it's cold outside. Why not come in and wait?"

"You are a woman alone at home. It would be improper for me to wait inside." Qian Bochou shook his head.

Hearing this, Jiang Qiaoqiao looked over his clothes. "Constable Qian, your clothes have come unstitched, and there's a tear here too. Shall I mend them for you?"

"Miss Jiang, you needn't be so polite."

"I'm not being polite. I charge money. Two copper coins for those clothes."

As she said this, Jiang Qiaoqiao's gaze held a trace of helplessness. She would not be able to go out and collect clothes for mending again today.

There was no helping it. Though the family was poor, her parents had taught her etiquette from childhood.

Now that guests had come to the house, she could not simply leave them behind and go off by herself.

Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard. Perhaps having heard Jiang Qiaoqiao's words, Xu Suwen said with a smiling face, "You siblings truly are alike. You've both burrowed into the eye of money."

Seeing the two return, Qian Bochou hurriedly rose to his feet. "Lord Xu."

Then Qian Bochou looked at Jiang Yun and lowered his voice. "Jiang Yun, Peng San has already been released from prison. I couldn't stop it. He probably..."

He had originally come to find Jiang Yun early this morning and bring up the favor he had asked of him yesterday.

But now that Peng San had been released straight from prison, he no longer had the face to mention it.

Having waited in the courtyard for so long, he only wanted to give Jiang Yun a warning.

"I'll help him settle this matter." Xu Suwen smiled. "There is no need for Constable Qian to trouble yourself."

Qian Bochou let out a breath of relief and clasped his hands. "In that case, I shall take my leave first."

Jiang Yun asked, "Constable Qian, yesterday you said you needed my help?"

Although Peng San had been released, Qian Bochou had rendered great assistance yesterday. Since Jiang Yun had promised him, he naturally had to keep his word.

Standing amid the snow, Qian Bochou was originally a rough and burly man, but now he became oddly bashful.

One moment, he glanced at Jiang Yun.

The next, he glanced at Xu Suwen.

It was obvious that asking Jiang Yun for help was merely a pretext. What he truly wanted was to use Jiang Yun to ask Xu Suwen for help.

What sort of person was Xu Suwen? She quickly guessed the reason and asked directly, "Constable Qian, do you want my help?"

"I've long heard that Lord Xu can see into people's hearts. You've seen through every last bit of Old Qian's little thoughts." Qian Bochou coughed, then said quietly, "It's like this: before long, the county lieutenant of Pengqing County, under our Nanzhou Prefecture, will retire from office."

"I wish to contribute another share of effort to the court, so I wish to recommend myself..."

Xu Suwen frowned slightly and said, "The appointment of officials is not under the Imperial Guards' authority. Besides, although a county lieutenant is only a Ninth Rank official, it is still an official position within the ranks."

"You have yet to obtain official status. Through proper channels, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

"You can only try giving gifts and seeking connections."

Although she was with the Imperial Guards, Xu Suwen was not from the Northern Garrison Command and was not responsible for overseeing the officials.

Matters of sending money around officialdom had nothing to do with her.

So she did not avoid speaking of it.

Qian Bochou wore a bitter expression. Of course he had tried giving gifts. The Prefect, such a greedy man, had suddenly turned into a white lotus, righteously telling him that if he wanted to become a county lieutenant, he had to rely on his own efforts.

But he had clearly already worked hard at giving gifts.

If the Prefect would not accept them, it could only mean someone else had sent an even greater gift.

Since gifts would not work, after thinking it over and over, he could only turn to Xu Suwen. This was a remedy born of no remedy.

"The Imperial Guards will not interfere in the appointment or dismissal of court officials." Xu Suwen shook her head in refusal. Of course, if she spoke up, this matter was not impossible.

She simply did not want to.

Jiang Yun's heart stirred. He pulled Xu Suwen aside and persuaded her, "Miss Xu, the matter you asked me to handle involves investigating the Nanzhou Prefectural Office. I don't know much about the situation there."

"Constable Qian can be of help. If he renders merit, rewarding him with an official post would be only natural, wouldn't it?"

Xu Suwen's eyes shifted slightly. She looked at Qian Bochou and considered it, then said to Jiang Yun, "Fine. If the two of you can successfully find the official sheltering the Evil Haunt, it will count as merit for him. I'll help him think of a way."

"Alright." Jiang Yun breathed a sigh of relief and told Qian Bochou the Good News. Naturally, he did not tell him there was a demon in the Nanzhou Prefectural Office.

He only told him that Xu Suwen would need his help on a case tomorrow. If he handled it well, Xu Suwen would help him think of a way.

"Rest assured, Lord Xu! Old Qian will climb mountains of blades, plunge into seas of fire, and roll through boiling oil without hesitation!" Qian Bochou immediately thumped his chest and agreed.

With the matter settled, Qian Bochou took his leave first, agreeing to return tomorrow.

After Qian Bochou left, Jiang Qiaoqiao, who had been standing guard nearby the whole time, sighed. Then her gaze settled on Xu Suwen's clothes.

"Sister Xu, do your clothes need mending?" Jiang Qiaoqiao asked.

Xu Suwen was quite kind toward an adorable girl like Jiang Qiaoqiao. A smile even appeared on her usually frosty face as she said, "My clothes don't need mending."

"If you need money to spend—"

Xu Suwen took out a silver ingot and offered it to her.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Qiaoqiao hurriedly shook her head. "My brother once said that a gentleman does not accept food thrown at him in contempt. Even if we are poor, we cannot take things from others for nothing."

"We can neither steal nor rob. We must earn our own living. Only then can we live with dignity."

Xu Suwen looked at Jiang Yun in surprise and could not help saying, "You actually possess such awareness?"

Jiang Yun could only force out a smile. "Don't believe me?"

"Try handing that tael of silver to me."

The original owner had indeed lived with dignity. He neither stole nor robbed, yet he still spent his days feasting and making merry, calling friends together and rushing to pay the bill. But what was the price?

The price was Jiang Qiaoqiao working herself to the bone day and night to support her useless brother.

"Then teach me how to cook. These twenty copper coins will count as payment for teaching me." Xu Suwen put away the silver ingot and took out another twenty copper coins.

"Alright!" This time, Jiang Qiaoqiao happily agreed and led Xu Suwen into the Kitchen to get busy.

Watching the two work in the Kitchen, Jiang Yun sat in the courtyard and thought that he needed to earn a sum of money quickly.

At the very least, he could not let Jiang Qiaoqiao work so hard. He needed to send her to school, or hire a teacher to come to the house and teach her to read and write.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

Xu Suwen and Jiang Qiaoqiao prepared a whole table of fine dishes in the Kitchen, and the three were just about to enjoy the meal.

But a mass of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the courtyard.

Jiang Yun set down his bowl and chopsticks, frowning as he looked outside. More than twenty ruffians had gathered beyond the house, each holding a short blade.

Under Great Zhou law, apart from those employed by court offices, any civilian found carrying a sharp weapon longer than ten inches committed a grave crime. Thus, none of their weapons exceeded ten inches.

"They've finally come. Qiaoqiao, wait inside for a while. Jiang Yun and I will go out." Xu Suwen tightened the white fur-lined garment around herself, then added, "Don't look outside, or you might be frightened."

If she drew her blade, blood would surely be spilled. She was afraid of frightening the little girl.

There is another chapter still being written~