The Man Who Brought Shame Upon the Shen Family!

"Miss, the candied fruit, sugar figurines, snowflake pastries, and water chestnut cakes you wanted..."

The round-faced girl with twin-bun hair returned at a brisk pace, carrying more than a dozen kinds of snacks in her arms.

The moment she climbed into the carriage and saw the scene before her, her eyes went wide. She stammered, "Miss, y-you-you...?"

"I dunno either. He just suddenly barged in."

Shen Zhixia swallowed the plum blossom cake stuck in her throat and thumped her chest hard. After finally catching her breath, she said, "He said he was the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief... Chief..."

"The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief?"

Qing'er calmed down and frowned.

Shen Zhixia nodded. "That's right, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief's son. He even told me to take him home."

Qing'er took a deep breath and asked, "Miss, do you remember what we came out here for?"

"Of course I remember. I was hungry, so I came out to find something to eat." Under Qing'er's gloomy stare, Shen Zhixia added, "And to demand an explanation from that bastard."

Qing'er pointed at Chen Mo and gritted her teeth. "We waited here for half an hour for him! He's Chen Mo! The man who tore up the marriage contract on his own for some woman of the dust and brought shame upon the entire Shen Family!"

Shen Zhixia froze at those words.

She reached out, lifted Chen Mo up, and examined him carefully.

His face was pale as porcelain, handsome as polished jade, his sharply sculpted features distinct and refined.

Even with his eyes shut, there was something faintly familiar about the space between his brows.

—He really was the "fiancé" she had not seen in years.

"Miss, what do you think?"

"Good-looking. I like looking at him."

"???"

"I mean, what do you think about this matter!"

Qing'er stamped her foot and said indignantly, "Look at how weak and listless he is. He must have been doing something shameful with that vixen!"

"Broad daylight, and he starts fooling around the moment he breaks off the engagement. Now he's even sharing a carriage with you... If word gets out, how will you ever face people afterward?"

Shen Zhixia pinched her smooth, rounded chin and nodded. "That makes sense."

Qing'er let out a breath of relief. "So..."

"So we just don't let it get out."

"..."

"Only you know about this anyway. If I hear any rumors, I'll have you caned."

"..."

Qing'er wore an expression as though she were badly constipated.

"Pfft."

Shen Zhixia smiled, reaching out to rub her little head. "All right, I was teasing you. What do other people's opinions have to do with me? Besides, he only tore up the marriage document. He neither obtained the elders' approval nor formally issued a written annulment, so in name, I am still the Chen Family's fiancée."

"But, Miss..."

Qing'er wanted to say more, but Shen Zhixia cut her off. "In any case, take him home first. We'll discuss everything else later."

"Yes."

Qing'er sighed.

Since her mistress had spoken, she naturally did not dare disobey.

She shot the unconscious man a glare, twisted her slender waist, and walked out of the carriage compartment.

Shen Zhixia looked at Chen Mo, an unreadable glint flashing through her eyes. She grabbed his wrist and sent a thread of True Essence into him.

A moment later, her willow brows rose slightly.

"His meridians are in chaos, his True Essence is exhausted, and his body is severely overdrawn. It looks like he just fought a powerful enemy."

"Was he coming to see a lover, or to seek an enemy?"

Qing'er came to the front of the carriage, lightly leaped onto the driver's seat, seized the reins, and snapped them hard.

"Hyah!"

The fine horses neighed and galloped down the street.

Her petite figure controlled two tall horses with ease. This strangely incongruous sight drew quite a few glances.

"Look at those markings. Isn't that a Shen Mansion carriage?"

"General Shen has decreed that no member of the Shen Family may enter places of pleasure. Who has the nerve to come openly to Brothel Alley?"

"I saw that carriage parked near Cloud Water Pavilion just now..."

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

As Heaven Capital City's greatest den of extravagance, the Music Bureau occupied half a city block. More than a thousand registered singing girls and musicians served there.

Among them, there were only five "courtesan queens."

Each had undergone strict selection. Their beauty, family background, and learning were all first-rate, while each excelled in the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and song.

Cloud Water Pavilion was the residence of Gu Manzhi, the "Zither Fairy."

It was a secluded private courtyard, and only invited guests had the qualifications to enter.

At that moment, a pot-bellied man said, "If you ask me, the Shen Family must have come to demand an explanation."

Someone beside him asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"You still don't know?" The fat man looked around, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously, "Just today, Chen Mo tore up the marriage contract in public and demanded to break off the engagement. The Shen Family has gone into an uproar!"

"Break off the engagement?"

"Really?"

An uproar swept through the crowd.

"My nephew works at Shen Mansion. This is absolutely true!"

Unhappy at being questioned, the fat man dropped another "bombshell." "And I heard that the Shen Family's young lady has achieved success in martial arts. She's already left Martial Saint Mountain and returned home to visit her family!"

"That martial arts fanatic ranked sixth on the Azure Cloud Ranking has returned?"

"Good heavens, this is going to be quite a show."

"The Chen and Shen Families have been friends for generations. Why did things come to this?"

"Isn't it obvious? Who in all Heaven Capital City doesn't know that Chen Mo is utterly devoted to Gu Manzhi?"

"For the sake of a courtesan queen, he was willing to turn against the General's Mansion... Young Master Chen really is a man of deep feeling."

"Beauty brings calamity..."

The discussion grew ever more heated.

Within the crowd, a gray figure slowly backed away and vanished into the shadows.

Music Bureau, Cloud Water Pavilion.

Inside the bedroom, Gu Manzhi sat cross-legged. A green gleam surfaced between her brows. On closer inspection, it was a miniature scripture.

"Green light protects my body, shrouding me within..."

As she softly chanted the incantation, the pages slowly turned. Characters surged forth like a tide and continuously entered her body. Color gradually returned to her pallid cheeks, and her breathing steadied considerably.

But this only temporarily suppressed her injuries.

The force of those eight palms had been too savage.

Even though the Azure Jade Mirror had absorbed part of the force, she had still nearly been beaten to death. The fire toxin within continued to scorch her heart meridians.

To fully recover, she would need at least several months of rest and recuperation.

"I underestimated him."

Gu Manzhi sighed.

No matter how many methods an Occultist possessed, they needed room to use them. What they feared most was letting a martial artist get close.

Relying on the fact that her cultivation was an entire major realm above Chen Mo's, she had inevitably grown overconfident. She had never expected Chen Mo to be so strong—or to strike so ruthlessly!

That cold and merciless manner was practically like a different person from before!

Thinking back on it now, all his former tenderness and attentive care had merely been acting on the occasion...

"Tsk, tsk. Who would have thought that Saintess Gu, renowned for toying with people's hearts, would be injured so badly by a man?"

At that moment, a mocking voice rang out.

The shadows in the corner twisted, and a figure wrapped in a gray robe stepped out.

Gu Manzhi frowned. "What are you here for?"

"Of course, to laugh at you."

"Wasn't that fellow utterly bewitched by you? What, you spent your days hunting geese only to have one peck your eyes out in the end?"

The Grey-Robed Person's voice was hoarse and grating, making it impossible to tell whether they were male or female.

"Those who scheme against others are schemed against in turn. It was nothing more than mutual calculation."

Facing the mockery, Gu Manzhi remained calm. "Chen Mo came prepared this time. He saw through every move I made... I did not lose unfairly."

"Is that so?"

The Grey-Robed Person folded their arms, their tone playful. "But don't you find it strange? Since he knew it was a trap, why did he still walk straight into danger and come alone?"

"He clearly could have killed you in the end, yet he still spared your life?"

Gu Manzhi's gaze flickered slightly.

That was also what puzzled her.

Given her status, whether he killed her or captured her alive, it would have been a great achievement for Chen Mo.

There was no reason for him to let her go so easily...

Especially those final words he had said—they seemed as though he had been urging her to leave as soon as possible.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Gu Manzhi asked in a low voice.

The Grey-Robed Person shrugged. "I heard Chen Mo publicly broke off his engagement for your sake, even going so far as to tear all ties with the Shen Family... Is it possible that he never intended to scheme against you at all? That he truly fell in love with you?"

Gu Manzhi was struck as if by lightning, her entire body going rigid.