Chapter 172: The battle record can be checked!

The prefectural city lay still at noon, the ancient alley breeze idle.

After an hour, Du Shanü and Chinu were kicked out of the inn empty‑handed, they squatted on the stone steps at the alley mouth, both doubting life.

Du Shanü recalled the landlord's look, feeling quite resentful.

"...... It's really damned."

"How can it not be that their inn's bed is shoddy? They insist it's our fault, making us pay!"

They still had to pay two taels in compensation!

Two taels!

Heaven knows Du Shanü's heart is dripping blood!

Chinu's expression also looked a bit odd.

"After all, the bed before we entered the room really didn't creak; it was a good bed......"

Du Shanü's pockets were empty, she was already feeling stifled; hearing Chinu still speaking up for the landlord, she instantly felt dissatisfied.

"That can't all be made us pay......"

Heaven knows she took a tumble, and even now her waist and back are sore!

Hmm......

Just don't know if it's the aftermath of indulgence in drink and lust, or from the fall.

Du Shanü was very irritable; this time Chinu surprisingly had a good temper and was patient.

He accompanied Du Shanü in cursing the landlord a few sentences, then comforted her a few; his expression and voice were exceptionally gentle.

Du Shanü barely came to her senses from the grief and anger over the payment, finally sensing something was off——

His brows and eyes were gentle, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Compared to her anger, Chinu seemed......

Quite happy?

Du Shanü stared at that soul‑captivating face, silent for a few breaths, finally sensing something.

"Good Chinu, what are you secretly laughing at?"

Chinu is not usually stupid; he wouldn't be happy after being swindled out of money.

Then it can only be......

"Ah Chinu just feels, Wife Master is really awesome......"

Chinu tried to answer seriously, but after just one sentence he couldn't hold back and burst out laughing with a puff.

"Ah Chinu too!"

Right!

Exactly like that!

Besides him, who else could be this awesome?

Today, he finally realized this deeply——

Nothing more.

Besides him, I fear no one else could care for Wife Master so thoroughly.

Thus, how could one not be happy?

Is that the two taels of silver we had to pay?

That is clearly an affirmation of his great achievements!

From now on, even if we die, it must be inscribed on the tombstone!

Du Shanü rarely saw such a proud little 'tail‑up' expression on Chinu's face; she stared hard a few times, realizing Chinu wasn't joking, and then finally recalled something.

"No wonder you just asked the innkeeper for proof......"

Let her recall what was written on that proof......

If I remember correctly, it seems: 【Bingzi year, tenth month, sixth day, a man and a woman in the Welcoming Joy Inn's Bing‑shaped small room slept on a collapsed bed, compensation two taels】?

Bad.

Really bad.

With this thing in Chinu's hands, he's truly going to show off for life.

Du Shanü inwardly cried 'not good', but she barely kept her composure on the surface:

"...... Take out the proof and let me see it."

Chinu clutched his chest and flatly refused:

"Don't!"

"Don't think Ah Chinu doesn't know; once Ah Chinu takes it out, Wife Master will fly into a rage and tear it!"

Du Shanü was exposed again, and then she truly flew into a rage.

She reached out, irresistibly probing into Chinu's bosom:

"Nonsense!"

"I'll just rub a bit, not go in...... No, I'll just look, then I won't tear it!"

Hearing those familiar words, Chinu immediately bowed his body, laughing as he fended off the hands coming from all sides.

Du Shanü, left and right with no recourse, busied herself half the day, almost falling from the stone steps, yet still couldn't see any trace of the proof.

She finally withdrew her hand, propping her head to watch Chinu smile with narrowed eyes.

There are still many matters outside; just thinking about them is mentally exhausting.

However......

However, in this mortal world, there must come such a day.

Or at least there will be such a day.

When she is old and grey, with no interest in anything, looking back she will still be able to share a quiet smile.

Two taels of silver is indeed not a small sum, but compared to what comes later, the only thing she ought to remember should be that unique splash of colour belonging only to Chinu, and......

The scene of her and Chinu scrambling for a voucher on the stone steps, almost coming to blows.

Winter is approaching, and a chill rises in the city's corners.

But today, the sun is still warm.

She and Chinu still have a long road ahead.

Du Shanü felt a loosening in her heart, she bent over and leaned against Chinu, who was still bowed.

Chinu's motion paused, and he murmured:

"If the Wife Master can't out-grab A-nu, she starts using beauty tricks?"

"Even so, A-nu wouldn't bring out the voucher, would he?"

Du Shanü gave Chinu three moderate punches, and Chinu finally behaved.

The afternoon's brightest sun had already passed; the two leaned against each other, fingers interlaced, and a rare softness showed in their brows and eyes.

Du Shanü let Chinu play with her fingers, lazily lifted her gaze, and outside the alley entrance was a bustling street of carriages and horses.

The prefecture remained bustling in the afternoon, carriages rumbling over the stone slabs, vendors' cries rising and falling, and occasionally a whiff of sandalwood drifted in from the alley entrance——

Probably someone was coming back from the direction of Kind Cloud Temple, carrying incense and candles.

Du Shanü smelled the faint fragrance at the tip of her nose, and the smile on her face gradually faded.

The sunlight shifted westward inch by inch, moving from her knees to her toes, then from her toes to the polished stone slab beneath the steps that had been worn bright by footsteps.

Du Shanü suddenly spoke.

Her voice was not loud, even a little languid, as if the afternoon sun had softened her bones, yet what she said left no room for doubt:

"First, think of a way to capture the Celestial Master."

Chinu knew well that their tender moments wouldn't last long before he had to attend to official duties, yet he couldn't help sighing.

He turned his head to look at her, needing either a couple of gentle words to coax her, or perhaps another soft kiss.

However, Du Shanü did not look at him; her gaze fell on the passersby outside in the street, her face expressionless, as if she were stating something utterly ordinary.

Chinu fell silent for a moment, not asking why or how, and merely replied in a low voice: "Good."

Only then did Du Shanü turn her head to glance at him.

Sunlight gilded her eyes with a layer of golden light; beneath that lay her habitual calm and resolve, and a faint weariness only Chinu could perceive.

Du Shanü glanced at her loyal slave-slave for two breaths, the corner of her mouth revealing an ease she herself hadn't noticed:

"Well then, let's go."

This was something she had pondered for a long time.

Zhao Daniu's death gave her some reminders.

A prefectural governor is fundamentally different from the two magistrates previously slain by Chinu and Chen Weifang.

Even though Chinu had suffered lingering wounds from his raid on the county office, the defenses flanking the prefect would inevitably be tighter.

Moreover, if one were to suddenly move against the prefect, that reckless Assistant Judge Ruansizong would likely seize great power, and might again tear down the bridge after crossing the river......

This matter certainly still requires long-term planning.

However, given the prefect's esteem for the Celestial Master, if we could act against that Converger......

If the prefect and his assistant judge were both brought over to her side, what would there be to worry about the prefecture not being hers?

Moreover, since that Converger can set up a stall to tell fortunes, it shows the other side is far more approachable than the prefect!

Du Shanü rose from the stone steps, brushed off the dust on her lapels, and Chinu hurried up to take her hand.

Perhaps because the sun was a bit strong, or because they had slept long these past two days, the gloom lifted......

Chinu's palm was also dry and warm, pressed against her fingers, warmth trickling into Du Shanü's hand, very comfortable.

Du Shanü narrowed her eyes, about to lead the person toward the alley entrance, when she saw a familiar figure squeeze out from the bustling street.

Chen Er was drenched in sweat, his front collar smeared with some unknown dust, yet his face bore a smile as bright as a flower, and he began waving from afar.

He took three strides as two, pushing through the crowd, ran into the alley, bent to catch his breath, then straightened and produced something from his bosom, offering it with both hands to Du Shanü:

"Master of the house, I'm back!"

"This is a letter sent by the magistrate of Dun Cheng after I left the county office, having someone chase the carriage to have me deliver it to you—take a look."

The envelope was made of fine xuan paper, folded neat and square, with a dab of paste at the seal, no wax seal, but a small vermilion stamp pressed on the corner.

Du Shanü needed only a slight glance to see the front of the envelope bearing a few neatly written characters——

"To be opened. Urgent."

Indeed, it was Afang's habitual hand.

Chinu was the first to take and open it; Du Shanü was not surprised by this, and simply asked:

"What did Afang say? Was she secretly scolding us... no, just scold me a few lines?"

Du Shanü's judgment of people is consistently accurate.

I had expected Afang would certainly not bear to lose her temper with Chinu.

Only unfortunate, this time she hadn't anticipated that the urgent matter in the letter was truly absurd.

Chinu read it through, and upon lowering the letter, his expression had turned from clear to overcast.

He had to grit his teeth to force out each word with a pause:

"... Afang said, after we left, Ruansizong sent someone to Dun Cheng."

?? Today's release is out now..... so there will be another chapter later..... please wait~