Chapter 31: Her Jade Butterfly Is Missing

Shen Xiuci had just been by the riverbank when he spotted two figures on the bridge in the distance, instantly recognizing one as his Ningning!

Then he saw that audacious man kiss his own sister, and at that moment his eyes nearly burst with rage; he wished he had wings to fly over and separate them immediately.

Shen Shuangning also saw Shen Xiuci.

She suddenly felt guilty.

She never expected to be caught by her brother.

Shen Xiuci strode forward, grabbed Shen Shuangning and pulled her behind him, then clenched his fist and, without a word, swung hard at Xie Lin's face.

Xie Lin could have dodged that punch completely, but he hesitated for a moment and still stood there, taking the blow full force.

Although Shen Xiuci was a civil official, he excelled in all six arts of a gentleman and was no ordinary weak scholar; moreover, he threw this punch without holding back.

The punch knocked Xie Lin's face askew, and half of his mask fell to the ground.

"Xie Lin?" Shen Xiuci exclaimed upon seeing his face clearly.

Xie Lin pressed his tongue against the sore cheek, lifted his hand to feel it, and saw blood at the corner of his mouth.

Meeting Shen Xiuci's astonished gaze, he frankly admitted, "It's me."

Then he glanced at the worried woman behind him and added, "I will marry her."

Perhaps the setting was inappropriate, or perhaps Shen Xiuci was simply too angry, but he instinctively felt that Xie Lin's words were insincere and even felt Xie Lin was trying to take further advantage, which made his anger flare even more.

"Damn it! I won't let you off!" he shouted, charging forward and throwing several more punches.

Each punch landed solidly.

Shen Xiuci's usual gentlemanly bearing vanished completely at this moment, and Shen Shuangning had not expected her brother to be so furious.

In the crowded public thoroughfare, with people coming and going, many had already stopped to watch.

Shen Shuangning knew she had to do something, or else who knows what rumors would spread after today.

More importantly, Xie Lin's status—he is the beloved nephew of Emperor Xuanwen—if Shen Xiuci were to injure him, the trouble would be great.

"You guys, stop fighting, don't hit anymore!"

Actually, Xie Lin was merely taking the beating; he hadn't fought back at all.

Their attendants hurried over to separate them.

Xie Lin's face was bruised, while Shen Xiuci's clothes were merely a little disheveled.

Shen Shuangning received a glare from her brother, didn't dare step forward to speak to Xie Lin, and was then pulled away by him.

As she walked away, she glanced back at Xie Lin, who, despite his unsightly face, gave her a smile, as if telling her he was fine.

But after Shen Shuangning and her brother had completely disappeared from view, Xie Lin couldn't help but cover his face, grimacing in pain.

He still cared quite a bit about his face.

"One doesn't strike the face when fighting, Shen Xiuci, you—" "turtle grandson."

Xie Lin paused, realizing the situation had changed, and ultimately did not let that insult out completely.

"You keep aiming for my face and show no mercy! It's clearly just an excuse for revenge!"

Back when they were at the Imperial Academy, they were classmates; Xie Lin was far more arrogant then than he is now, and even Shen Er was not even one-thousandth of him.

Because Shen Xiuci meddled, went to the teacher and complained about him, letting the teacher know his schoolwork was done by others, which got him detained after class and struck with a board; thus the next day after school, Xie Lin brought people to block Shen Xiuci in an alley and beat him severely.

Both Xie Lin and Shen Xiuci are the type who must repay every grudge; the difference is that Xie Lin forgets after taking revenge on the spot, whereas Shen Xiuci can hold a grudge for a lifetime—his ruthlessness lies in his bones; he won't lay a hand on you, but he will make you suffer in his own way.

Like a steel needle buried deep in the bone, unseen, with no visible wound, yet it aches on every damp, overcast day, refusing to let you feel at ease.

Over these years in Jingcheng, Xie Lin has suffered who knows how many overt and covert attacks, almost all linked to Shen Xiuci, yet he could never catch anything on the man; thus, while he has feuds with many others, only his enmity with Shen Xiuci is irreconcilable.

Yet everyone thinks he, the Young Marquis Xie, relies on his influence to bully others and can't get along with Shen Xiuci, when in fact the truth is completely the opposite!

Shen Xiuci had been called a prodigy since childhood, his intelligence awe-inspiring; everyone says it's better to offend a gentleman than a petty person, but Xie Lin would say—

"Better to offend both of them than to offend a petty person masquerading as a gentleman!"

Heaven played a joke on Xie Lin.

He swore he would have nothing to do with the Shen family in this life, only to end up falling in love with his arch-enemy's sister.

What else can he do?

At worst he'll just face karmic retribution, and he accepts that.

Chang Shu, looking at his master's injury, rolled up his sleeves in indignation and said, "That Master Shen is going too far, striking with such cruelty—I'll bring people tomorrow to block him and get justice for the Young Marquis!"

"Nobody is allowed to cause him trouble!" Xie Lin ordered, covering his face.

If he were to do anything else to Shen Xiuci, Ningning would turn against him instantly.

The Duke's Mansion's carriage was parked beneath the Cloud Pavilion; Shen Xiuci, without a word, led Shen Shuangning against the crowd, when he suddenly caught sight of a black shadow flitting past the eaves overhead.

There was more than one.

Along both sides of the street, numerous black shadows dashed away on the rooftops, the snow‑white blades flashing a cold gleam.

Shen Xiuci's face shifted slightly; he grabbed Shen Shuangning's wrist and involuntarily quickened his pace.

The crowd was packed; Shen Shuangning, focused on protecting the flower lantern Xie Lin had bought for her, accidentally got bumped in the shoulder by several people.

Suddenly her foot caught on something, she lost her balance and staggered forward.

Just then, a hand reached out and steadied her.

She instinctively looked up, but the person's features were concealed by a dark, glossy mask, revealing only a pair of hawk‑like eyes and a thin mouth with the corners slightly downturned.

An inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up.

But before Shen Shuangning could discern anything, Shen Xiuci urgently said, "Hurry up!"

She heard the anxiety in her brother's tone, sensed something was wrong, but had no time to ask and hurried away.

The man standing where she had left watched her retreating back, his phoenix eyes holding emotions no one could read, as if brewing a storm.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion sounded from behind.

Boom—!

Shen Xiuci reacted quickly, hurriedly shielding his sister in his arms, his wide sleeve blocking the scattered debris that splashed toward her.

After the explosion, the crowd seemed frozen in place, all sounds as if sucked away by the sea surface.

After just two breaths, an even greater chaos erupted.

Screams, cries for help, wails... all burst forth from the source.

Shen Shuangning's face went pale, she jumped in fright: "Ah Ling, where is Ah Ling? I still haven't found Ah Ling!"

Shen Xiuci said: "Shen Ling isn't here; she's in the carriage, don't worry, she's fine. Let's leave first."

Shen Shuangning's heart pounded like a drum; as she followed Shen Xiuci in fleeing, she couldn't help but glance back twice.

Xie Lin was still over there...

The source of the explosion was beside the bridge.

A rebel had strapped explosives to his body, intending to fight to the death, to blow up Cloudtop Pavilion, bury Xiao Jingyuan under the rubble, and best of all kill him.

Not wanting his deeds to be exposed, he had already been spotted by members of the Investigating Office.

That rebel, not stopping at one thing, dove straight into the crowd—if he could blow up a few civilians, the Investigating Office, even with a hundred mouths, could not wash away its guilt; then surely someone would seize the chance to memorialize the throne and impeach Xiao Jingyuan.

Here, the Holy Heaven Sect is called the Rebel Party.

But he overlooked one thing: there exists a weapon called the Hooking Soul Claw; when swung, its chain links like a living thing wrapping around, the five claws hook into flesh upon contact, even bone, and the chain instantly contracts, able to hoist a person into the air!

After this rebel ignited the explosives, it was precisely the Hooking Soul Claw flung by the Black Armor Guard that landed on the bridge.

Besides blowing himself and the bridge to pieces, it harmed no innocents.

However...

Su Chen looked at the destroyed bridge and felt a headache: "This is the famous Top Scholar Bridge. Blowing it up is far more troublesome than killing people."

Xiao Jingyuan stood nearby, expressionless, saying: "I've never heard of this Top Scholar Bridge."

Su Chen gave him a sideways glance: "I'm talking about the Civil Top Scholar; you're the Martial Top Scholar, of course you haven't heard of it."

Every year many students come here to make wishes; saying it's the divine bridge in the hearts of all scholars is no exaggeration. Even if it wasn't the Investigating Office that blew it up, those literati would still blame the Investigating Office.

In other words, Xiao Jingyuan is still destined to be impeached.

"The Investigating Office is already notorious; what's one more stain?" Xiao Jingyuan snorted coldly, unbothered, ordered his subordinates to clean up, then turned and left.

Su Chen inexplicably felt like "the emperor isn't anxious, but the eunuch is."

"Pah! Who's the eunuch!"

Su Chen then recalled something, turned his eyes, and said: "Let me remind you, this Top Scholar Bridge was built with the Song family's money; its fame is likely due to the Song clan's promotion. Now that you've destroyed it, Song Zhang won't let you off. Hey, are you listening? Aren't you afraid he'll forbid his granddaughter from marrying you in his anger?"

Song Xizhi is Song Zhang's most beloved granddaughter.

Su Chen is usually not this annoying, but tonight he's chattering nonstop; Xiao Jingyuan's head ached faintly, and he said impatiently: "If you're idle, go fish for corpses in the river with them."

Su Chen fell silent at once.

The once bustling Everlasting Peace Street instantly turned desolate, scattered with flickering flower lanterns on the ground.

Xiao Jingyuan, Su Chen, and a few Investigating Office personnel walked the street; the passersby hiding nearby stared at them as if they were monsters.

At that moment, a child separated from his parents crouched on the ground, wailing helplessly.

Xiao Jingyuan stopped before her, not knowing what he thought, bent down, lifted the little girl, and said: "If you keep crying, I'll send you to the Investigating Office."

The little girl indeed dared not cry, sniffling, yet she rested her head against his chest, helpless and aggrieved.

Xiao Jingyuan didn't know why he thought of Shen Shuangning, his brows slowly knitting, he turned and handed the little girl to his subordinate.

"Take her home."

"Yes!"

The subordinate then carried the lost little girl off to find her parents.

Passing a stall selling flower lanterns, Xiao Jingyuan abruptly halted.

He casually picked up a flower lantern, examined it for a moment, and then, under Su Chen's astonished gaze, bought it.

The stall owner, earlier frightened by the commotion, had hidden under the table; only after people left did he dare slowly poke his head out, then saw a gleaming lump of silver on the table. His eyes lit up.

"Truly lavish! This is enough to buy out his whole stall!"

Su Chen just stared at Xiao Jingyuan holding a flower lantern, swaggering down the empty street, wanting to speak but holding back.

Soon, Su Chen suddenly understood.

Xiao Jingyuan must have taken his earlier words to heart; this flower lantern is what he's taking to coax the Song maiden, after all, even if Song Zhang is displeased, his granddaughter's wish to marry cannot be stopped, right?

Perhaps Song Xizhi will speak a few good words for the Investigating Office in front of Song Zhang, and the impeachment memorial presented to Emperor Xuanwen's desk could be a few volumes shorter.

Thinking thus, Su Chen, while passing the Silver Shop, figured he had sharp eyes and said: "This place is good; buy two more ear pendants to give the Song maiden, she'll surely be delighted; don't be so stingy—how much is this flower lantern worth? They might not think much of it; at a glance they'll see you don't know how to coax a maiden."

Xiao Jingyuan paused, gazing deeply at Su Chen: "You're quite skilled; go coax for me."

Su Chen slowly pointed at himself: "Me, me?"

Xiao Jingyuan nodded: "Enough, you go." Having said that, he walked away with his hands behind his back.

Su Chen lightly slapped himself twice across the cheeks: "Let you talk too much, let you talk too much!"

Meanwhile, in the carriage returning to the Duke's Manor, Shen Shuangning noticed the jade butterfly on her head was gone.