Jingzhi (continued)

"Gentlemen, what do you say?"

Zhang Yunchi shoved the candied hawthorn into Zhao Huiluan's hand and sauntered over to the men.

The masked brute cast a lecherous gaze at the woman behind him.

"This little wench..."

Before he could finish, a fist caught him square on the nose.

With two maids guarding her, Zhao Huiluan watched eagerly, popping candied hawthorns into her mouth one after another. She had only ever seen thugs and ruffians in storybooks, yet now she had run into some herself.

In a private room on the second floor of Between Water and Clouds, Wen Nihe watched them fight tooth and nail, coming close several times to striking the woman in the veiled hat. Her lips curled in a smug smile.

"Your doing?"

"Of course!"

Wen Nihe was so absorbed in the pleasure of revenge that she failed to notice the tension in her brother's voice.

"Who in the entire imperial capital would dare compete with me? He's nothing but a hostage prince kept in Yan Capital, yet he really thinks he's somebody!"

"You said it yourself: who in the entire imperial capital would dare compete with you?"

Only then did Wen Nihe notice that something was wrong with her brother. She turned to see that he, who usually took nothing to heart, wore a grave expression.

"What neighbor of the Marquis Jingwu's residence would dare seek a marriage alliance with the Zhang family? Among Zhang Yanli's older siblings, he has only one sister, Zhang Nanxing, who is far away on the northern frontier."

Wen Nihe's eyes flickered, and her brother continued, his voice full of frustration at her failure to grasp the obvious.

"Even if you'd thought with your toes, you should have realized that under all heaven, the only one Zhang Yanli would call his younger sister is the one in Jade Balance Palace!"

"Hurry up and call your men back!"

Wen Nihe was too frightened to speak. She licked her dry lips and gave a sharp wave of her hand, sending her maid to pass on the message.

She looked back at the street.

Flying fish robes?

Then she heard one of them shout, "The Eastern Depot is conducting an investigation."

"That's Thousand Household Officer Xiao of the Eastern Depot, known as the Living King Yama."

"Brother, brother."

Wen Nihe's face crumpled. "You have to help me! Please help me!"

Seeing that even the Eastern Depot had been mobilized, Wen Yan shook his head and resumed his usual manner.

He flicked open his folding fan and sat back down to drink tea at his leisure.

"Go tell Grandfather yourself. He's always doted on you, so he'll think of a way to help you. I won't make a nuisance of myself before him. I finally got out of the Imperial College, and I'm not going back."

The moment the Eastern Depot appeared, the street fell into chaos. The masked brutes took the chance to flee.

Xiao Qinglan signaled his subordinates to calm the people. He glanced at Zhao Huiluan, but unable to reveal Her Highness's identity, he could only cup his fists at Zhang Yunchi.

Zhang Yunchi nodded in acknowledgment and hurried Zhao Huiluan into the carriage.

As the carriage passed Xiao Qinglan, Zhao Huiluan said softly:

"Jingzhi, let today's matter rest."

"Yes."

Zhang Yunchi was displeased. "I took you out today, so I'm responsible for your safety. I'll accept whatever punishment His Majesty gives me. You don't need to cover this up for fear of dragging me into it."

Zhao Huiluan removed her veiled hat. "We can't touch her anyway," she said mildly.

"You know who it was?"

"I've always been kind to others. Only today did I join you in thoroughly offending someone."

Zhang Yunchi realized it was Wen Nihe and angrily thumped the carriage wall.

"All over a private room, she dared have people beaten in the street. The Wen family is truly arrogant."

He couldn't swallow this insult.

After seeing Zhao Huiluan back to the palace, Zhang Yunchi returned to his residence and found a set of black clothes. Under cover of night, he stealthily climbed onto the wall surrounding the Wen residence.

He had meant to find the men who had attacked them that day, but they had been masked, and after searching all around, he found no one of a similar build.

Just then, a guest arrived at the Wen residence, and servants bustled in and out to receive them. To avoid being discovered, Zhang Yunchi jumped down from the high wall.

A small sedan chair with a blue canopy was coming toward him.

Zhang Yunchi slipped into an alley. He immediately smiled.

He had worn out iron shoes searching in vain, only to find them right before his eyes. Weren't the five drunken men staggering along, unable to walk straight, the very same men from that day?

Zhang Yunchi seized a long stick lying nearby, sprang at them, and gave them a savage beating.

"Go back and tell your eldest miss Wen that this young master is not to be trifled with."

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The five men had sobered up considerably. With their faces battered black and blue, they fled in abject terror.

Zhang Yunchi rubbed his wrist. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the five men suddenly go stiff, then topple straight to the ground.

"Who's there?"

He looked at the shadow in the alley.

The shadow paused, stepped forward, and cupped his fists at Zhang Yunchi. Then he silently turned and walked away.

By the moonlight, Zhang Yunchi saw the five corpses clearly. Apart from their dark purple lips, they bore no obvious fatal wounds.

Were they struck by concealed weapons from the Eastern Depot?

He knew the shadow was the Eastern Depot's thousand household officer in charge of punishment, Xiao Qinglan, Xiao Jingzhi.

Early that morning, a maid came running to pound on Wen Nihe's door. Wen Nihe's irritation gave way to a deathly pale face when she heard that the five household servants she had sent out to beat people the day before had been dumped in her family's back garden, their corpses a horrifying sight.

The steward sent word for her to go to the study.

Trembling with fear, she explained what had happened.

"Grandfather, save me!"

Wen Hong, however, laughed dismissively.

"I thought it was something serious. Is it worth crying like this over? Only a few people died. The princess has vented her anger, so this won't reach His Majesty."

"Really?"

"Would your grandfather lie to you? If you meet the princess again another day, just offer her a few gentle words of apology. You're my granddaughter. Who would dare do anything to you?"

"He'er, you went to watch the top three scholars' procession yesterday. What did you think of those two?"

Wen Nihe relaxed, and at her grandfather's question, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

"The zhuangyuan is handsome and distinguished, while the tanhua is as gentle and refined as jade. Both are handsome, talented men rarely seen in this world."

Wen Hong nodded. "Unfortunately, Tanhua Wang told me he already has a wife at home. If you fancy him, I don't mind having him set his wife aside and marry again."

"Grandfather! I don't want that!"

Wen Nihe said coquettishly, "I've set my heart on Rong An. Please grant my wish, Grandfather!"

Wen Hong recalled that the zhuangyuan had a proud, unbending character and was not as easy to control as the tanhua. But seeing how much his youngest granddaughter liked him, he thought that perhaps he could use a beauty trap to kill two birds with one stone, fulfilling her wish while winning over a talented man.