Chapter 18: Chen Yan: I'm Still Missing a Warm Bed Girl!

"Chen Yan, even if I turn into a fierce ghost, I will never let you off!"

Qin Jinglan claws the ground with his fingertips, his eyes bloodshot, veins of blood spreading, and begins a futile, raging curse.

"Unfortunately, you shouldn't die—for now...."

Chen Yan shrugged, teasing nonchalantly.

He paused, turned to the embroidered‑uniform emissaries behind him, and said as if: "Take these three would‑be rebels back, bring along Da Xi Jue's corpse, and present it to the Grand Tomb Governor at dawn!"

Death is inevitable, yet we can't let them die.

This is a gift for the Grand Tomb Governor, and also Chen Yan's achievement—it's a KPI!

As for the curse, he's a staunch atheist of the new era—who's afraid of that stuff?

"As you command!"

The embroidered‑uniform emissaries stepped forward and began escorting them individually.

"Chen Yan, you won't die a good death!"

Qin Jinglan and the others struggled wildly, to no avail, and were gagged and taken away in a hysterical frenzy.

"Next, the brothers will have to work hard—after ransacking General Da Xi's mansion, we still have to go to those three's residences...."

Chen Yan suppressed his smile, turned to the remaining embroidered‑uniform emissaries, and said seriously.

He paused again, placed his hand on Song Fei's shoulder, and ordered: "Lao Song, you take full charge here!"

Song Fei nodded, leading the Zhuque Guard and the embroidered‑uniform emissaries, launching the grand house‑raiding operation.

Mingjing Office.

Zhuque Guard.

Council Hall.

Chen Yan leaned on the main seat, closed his eyes to rest, while Zhu Yi sat at his side, polishing a sword as guard.

"Sir, this is a detailed summary regarding Dantai Mingyue; please review it!"

Zhang Wenqian came briskly, holding the investigation report.

"Lao Zhang, your efficiency is quite high..."

Chen Yan opened his eyes, reached out to take it, and praised.

Speaking, his gaze dropped as he skimmed through the report quickly.

Dantai Mingyue, eighteen years old....

"I won't dare be lax about the tasks you ordered, Sir," Zhang Wenqian replied with a beaming smile.

Chen Yan assigned Zhang Wenqian to interrogate Qin Jinglan and the other two.

Then, carrying two jars of wine and a roasted chicken alone, he went to the prison holding Dantai Mingyue.

"Dantai Mingyue, we meet again...."

Chen Yan opened the cell door, strolled casually to her side, and sat against the wall.

"Hmm."

Dantai Mingyue clasped her knees, rested her head on them, and replied casually.

Her black hair fanned out, her complexion slightly pale and haggard.

Yet it still couldn't hide her beauty.

Indeed, there was a hint of a delicate beauty....

"You're still quite aloof; when you stabbed someone earlier, you weren't like this...."

Chen Yan didn't mind, teased once, then handed over one of the wine jars he was holding, smiling: "Want a drink?"

"Glug!"

Dantai Mingyue looked up, gave a sideways glance, said no extra words, and directly took a gulp.

Perhaps because she drank so fast and hard, a lot of wine spilled from her mouth corner.

Chen Yan, however, sipped leisurely, watching her with keen interest.

"Lord Chen, what exactly do you intend to do?"

Dantai Mingyue set down the wine jar, wiped the corner of her mouth, and asked directly.

For some reason, Dantai Mingyue found this man, barely older than herself, hard to read.

Especially his intentions....

What benefit does he seek from her, what exactly is his plan?

"Just wanted to talk to you...."

Chen Yan smiled calmly, shook the roasted chicken wrapped in lotus leaf in his hand, and said, "Not just talk—there's wine and roasted chicken!"

"Talk about what?"

Dantai Mingyue had already smelled the aroma, her stomach growling; she snatched it from Chen Yan's hand, unfolded the leaf, and tore off a big drumstick.

"You're really not polite...."

Chen Yan, seeing this, shook his head, also tore a big drumstick for himself, and said: "Talk about why you are at Da Xi Jue's mansion?"

"And why you intend to kill Da Xi Jue?"

Dantai Mingyue swallowed the meat, took another sip of wine, her gaze cold, and said gravely: "He killed my parents, slaughtered my clan, forced me into servitude; for this day, I have waited fourteen years...."

"Is it not justified for me to kill him?"

She said, subconsciously gripping the wine jar tighter.

"The Dantai clan, once a prominent Hebei noble family, was exterminated in the Ge Rong Rebellion...."

Chen Yan lifted his own wine jar, clinked it against Dantai Mingyue's, sighed deeply, and remarked: "Fourteen years of restraint for a single day of revenge—Dantai Mingyue, you truly have resilience!"

Just like the findings Zhang Wenqian uncovered....

That year Yan Guo had not yet fractured, Ge Rong's rebellion swept the Hebei lands, and Da Xi Jue, while quelling the uprising, seized the chance to slaughter the Dantai clan of Hebei, who had a past feud with him and backed Ge Rong. (North of the Yellow River)

Even more twisted, he took the four‑year‑old little daughter at the time and raised her by his side....

After fourteen years of biding his time, waiting for the chance, he finally ended his foe with a single slash.

In the era Chen Yan once lived in, this would be a textbook uplifting, feel‑good, female‑lead story.

"Since you've already investigated me, why ask again?"

Dantai Mingyue was not surprised, as if she had long anticipated it; she set down her wine flask and asked, "Now that the severed‑head rice is finished, when does Lord Chen intend to send me on my way to meet my parents and clan?"

"Not in a hurry."

Chen Yan pursed his lips and said, "I have another question I wish to ask Miss Dantai...."

"Speak." Dantai Mingyue lifted her wine flask again, took a shallow sip, and coldly uttered a single word.

"I ordered a poison to be administered within Daxi Fu; everyone else, including Da Xi Jue, fell victim..."

Chen Yan suppressed his smile, his expression darkening, and asked the question that troubled him most: "Why is it that you alone were untouched?"

A hint of cunning flashed in Dantai Mingyue's eyes as she calmly said, "Because I had already sensed that today's water in the mansion... was abnormal!"

"I haven't drunk a single drop!"

Dantai Mingyue's sense of smell and perception far surpass those of ordinary people....

When she noticed something unusual this morning, she keenly realized that the opportunity she had been waiting for had arrived.

Thus, instead of reporting it, she chose to watch silently and see how it unfolded!

Chen Yan nodded, offered no further questions, grasped the woman's forearm, and smiled, "If you put it that way, I'm still the benefactor who repaid your great vengeance...."

"Sss~"

The moment she was seized, Dantai Mingyue's complexion changed abruptly, and she inhaled a cold gasp, "It hurts!"

"I didn't apply force...."

Chen Yan hurriedly released her, offered an explanation, and seeming to realize something, he lifted her sleeve, revealing winding, scabbed red scars, and asked, "Why do you have so many wounds on you?"

Those wounds on the woman's fair skin were all the more striking and shocking.

"What do you think?" Dantai Mingyue withdrew her hand, pulled up her sleeve, and pursed her lips in retort.

"It was Da Xi Jue who struck...."

Chen Yan exhaled a breath of stale air, murmuring, "You are far tougher than I imagined!"

In the eighteen‑year‑old woman, he seemed to see his former self....

His own self, once scraping the lower rungs, struggling to survive.

Dantai Mingyue lifted her gaze, staring at the dazed Chen Yan, and asked directly, "So, my great benefactor, why did you, amidst your countless duties, come here especially for what?"

She knew well that the Mirror Keeper of the Mingjing Office, having just captured Da Xi Jue and his accomplices, would have enough post‑incident work to keep him busy....

Yet he came to chat idly with her; how could he possibly have such leisure?

"From now on, follow me...."

Chen Yan pinched the woman's cold cheek and smiled calmly.

After a pause, he continued, "I'm still missing a warm‑bed maid!"

If in the future there is a chance to set foot in Hebei lands occupied by Dong Qi, this woman of the compound surname Dantai will be a banner.

She could help him infiltrate the Hebei aristocracy, becoming a bridge of communication.

Do not underestimate this era; the power of the great families....

"You...."

Dantai Mingyue stared at the lecherous man, and two words sprang from between her teeth: "Shameless!"

Chen Yan raised an eyebrow, half‑smiling, and "threateningly" said, "I'm not just helping you; I'm avenging the entire Dantai clan...."

"Moreover, a good death is worse than a lingering life; you surely don't want the Dantai line to become extinct, do you?"

Saying that, he winked at the woman.

As if to say, "Bro, I've got you covered...."

"I..."

Dantai Mingyue seemed as if her life‑force point had been squeezed; after a moment's hesitation, she pursed her lips and answered with difficulty, "Fine!"

Having said that, she tossed a harsh rolling eye.

She looked as if forced to compromise.

She may be willful, but she cannot be willful with her bloodline.

The continuation of the Dantai clan now rests solely on her alone....

"That's right then, from now on live well and serve your great benefactor—me!"

"Eat more, look at you getting thin...."

Chen Yan smiled with satisfaction, pinched Dantai Mingyue's slender jaw, smacked his lips in appraisal, then slowly released, lifted his wine flask, took a hearty gulp, "Fine wine!"

"Besides being shameless, this fellow is actually quite decent...." Dantai Mingyue pursed her lips, stole a glance at Chen Yan, and thought to herself.

Fourteen years have passed, and this is still the first time anyone has cared for her....

Even if the motive may not be pure.

At that moment, a messenger in embroidered robes stepped outside the cell and reported, "Lord, Deputy Envoy Song has returned...."

"A fruitful harvest!"