Chapter 49 The latecomer surpasses the former; they are siblings.

"What do you mean by death?" Wang Yan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and helped Shen Minghuai up. "I'm still young, you can die first."

The cloud robe slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. Wang Yan quickly channeled all his inner strength, attracting all the surrounding leaves. In an instant, thousands of leaves burst forth, flying towards Ban Sheng like endless sharp blades.

Seeing Ban Sheng's pupils constrict and his hasty defenses, Shen Minghuai seized the opportunity to scatter the medicinal powder and then pulled Wang Yan in another direction. Wang Yan had exhausted too much internal energy, and before they had run far, his body could no longer support him and he slumped forward.

Shen Minghuai reacted too late; before he could steady her, the two of them tumbled down the hillside again because Wang Yan slipped. Shen Minghuai quickly pulled her into his arms, and they didn't stop until they crashed into a grassy slope.

"Are you hurt?" Shen Minghuai lit the tinderbox and carefully checked her over, still worried.

Wang Yan found a clean corner of his clothes and tentatively raised her hand to wipe the dirt off his face. Shen Minghuai's outstretched hand hadn't even touched her face before he withdrew it. His hands were hardly any cleaner than her face.

He hastily wiped his face, and Shen Minghuai's smile vanished instantly. He looked up and saw dark clouds gathering overhead, a downpour looming. The two searched around, but found only dark, dense forest, with no place to take shelter.

Wang Yan bent down, parted the weeds, touched the stone bricks hidden beneath, and exclaimed in surprise, "There's a tomb here!"

Shen Minghuai was taken aback at first, then pulled up his outer robe to cover her, and asked, "The rain is getting heavier, can you teach me how to find the entrance?"

With his outer robe draped over her head, Shen Minghuai helped her search around nearby and indeed found a cave entrance on the northeast side.

"This is it."

The two men, soaked to the bone, entered the tomb, supporting each other. The tomb chamber was small, and all the gold, silver, and jade artifacts that once filled it were now gone. The coffin lid was open, and the remains were scattered. Exhausted, Wang Yan sat in a corner, handing a tinderbox to Shen Minghuai and fiddling with his robe in one hand.

"It should be a female corpse."

Wang Yan clutched the hem of his robe tightly, repeatedly glancing towards the cave entrance, "When will this rain stop?"

Shen Minghuai stepped back to her side and wrapped his hand around hers. "This rain came quickly, it won't last long."

After the two hastily applied the medicine, less than half an hour later, the rain outside gradually stopped, but it was still pitch black. The ground was slippery after the rain, and when the two walked out of the tomb, it was almost dawn. Wang Yan had walked about ten feet away when he realized that Shen Minghuai had not followed and was now walking over from the stone tablet.

"What did you see? Who is the person buried here?"

"Princess Changping".

"It's actually a princess?" Wang Yan looked back again. "I've never heard of this title before. It must be from a long time ago."

Shen Minghuai nodded. "Nearly seventy years."

"Aying!"

"It's my senior brother—"

"Why are you covered in mud?" Li Changling held Ling Cang with one hand and placed the other on her shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

Wang Yan smiled and shook her head, but her legs suddenly went weak. Fortunately, Shen Minghuai caught her in time.

Li Changling placed two fingers on her pulse, his expression suddenly changing. "You used that move?!"

"It's not that serious, is it?" Wang Yan guiltily withdrew his hand.

"It's not that we should only resort to it as a last resort—"

Li Changling stopped talking there and instead scolded, "Didn't you say you would protect her? Where are your two men? You young masters from noble families are truly untrustworthy."

Shen Minghuai's eyes were full of worry as he asked urgently, "What will happen if we use that trick?"

"At most, I'll lose some internal energy; I won't die." Wang Yan tried to appear relaxed, but his bloodless face was clearly unconvincing.

Li Changling glanced at her sullenly, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Shen Minghuai lowered his eyes and bit his lip, "It's because I'm not capable enough to protect her."

Wang Yan tightened his grip on his hand and asked, "Senior brother, have you encountered Ban Sheng yet?"

"Half a voice? So that's what he called Half a voice." Li Changling's eyes, which were usually very bright, were now filled with dark and unfathomable emotions.

"He paid the price he had to pay."

Since that injury, Li Changling has never recovered to his peak condition, and Wang Yan couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Senior brother, are you injured?"

"I'm fine. You're seriously injured, you need to see a doctor quickly."

Shen Minghuai stared intently at Wang Yan and Li Changling, who were walking ahead of him.

Hua Xin and Ying Ming slowed down by half a step and whispered, "Have you noticed that since Young Master Li appeared, Young Master and Lady Wang have not walked side by side?"

Ying Ming didn't take it to heart, "Young Master is a latecomer who has surpassed him, so naturally we're not that close."

"Don't let the young master hear you say that." Hua Xin accidentally bumped into the back of the person in front of him.

Shen Minghuai turned his head slowly, "The latecomer surpasses the former? They are siblings."

"Did you find anything in Mingzhou, Senior Brother?" Wang Yan was unaware that he and Shen Minghuai had been exchanging messages.

"It took some time to shake off those tails. I only know that after Jingxin went to the Xu family, she left Mingzhou not long after." Li Changling seemed to be quite familiar with Cixi, and went to the best restaurant in the area with ease.

"Since we're setting off tomorrow, we absolutely must come and try the unique floating dumplings here today."

"Bring the wine quickly!"

Xu Jiliang gestured for Shen Minghuai to sit beside him and personally poured him wine. "Young Master Shen, I also have a plum-green bamboo bowl, a pomelo-carved lotus petal vase, and a set of celadon teacups. There's only one set in the entire Dayue, and only the Duke of Dingguo's mansion can use it. I won't sell it to anyone else!"

As if afraid that others would hear, Xu Jiliang looked around before he felt at ease.

Shen Minghuai ignored him, picked up the porcelain cup, sniffed it, then put it down again. "This wine—"

Xu Jiliang seemed to remember something, stood up and exclaimed, "Good wine deserves good music, I'll go and call the beauty right now!"

The boats that had been waiting outside the barge became lively, vying to perform. Those chosen by Xu Jiliang had the opportunity to perform on the barge and receive many times more reward than usual. Inside the barge, all the guests were men, and each person had a beautiful maidservant attending to them. Today, Xu Jiliang unusually chose a different tea ceremony performance.

After the performance of the tea ceremony, the performers of the tea acrobatics took the stage carrying tea utensils.

The spice merchant, Wang Yang, still savoring the experience, asked, "What's in this cup of tea—"

The lady of the house was beautiful; with her slender fingers, she grasped, lifted, released, and twisted, creating a waterscape painting of "fish playing among lotus leaves." Wang Yang was the first to break the silence, clapping loudly in approval, and the other guests followed suit.

Wang Yan approached with the tea, and Xu Jiliang, who was to Shen Minghuai's left, kept giving her meaningful glances. She had no choice but to ignore Wang Yang's expectant gaze and placed the tea in front of Shen Minghuai as she wished.

Did you have fun?

These words brushed against Shen Minghuai's ear like a feather, yet they made his heart tighten suddenly. Could it be that his unexpected close-up offer of wine had been seen...?

The woman serving Shen Minghuai left on Xu Jiliang's orders, and Wang Yan felt that her smile deepened at that moment.

Xu Jiliang paid Wang Yan and wanted to keep her there, but another tea lady immediately spoke up: "We only perform—"

“I will give her extra money.” Xu Jiliang looked at Wang Yan again, his face beaming with joy, showing no sign of reluctance.

Tea Lady glanced at them worriedly a few times, but still left the painted boat with the remaining entertainers.

"Five taels of gold, give me her, how about it?" Wang Yang whispered in Shen Minghuai's ear.

Shen Minghuai slowly picked up some food, "This lady chose me."

“She’s just a street performer, what’s with all this talk about choosing?” Wang Yang assumed he thought the price was too low. “Ten taels, ten taels should be enough, right?”

The maidservant serving Wang Yang brought the porcelain cup to his lips, "My lord, drink!"

Wang Yan imitated the woman's manner, slowly pouring a cup of wine. He placed one hand on Shen Minghuai's shoulder and picked up the porcelain cup with the other. Wang Yang waved his hand, and Wang Yan, unable to dodge, fell into Shen Minghuai's arms, spilling wine all over Wang Yang's face.

Shen Minghuai concealed his smile and gently helped her up. Everyone saw Wang Yan hide behind him in utter terror.

"What should I do... I'm so clumsy..."

"You shameless hussy!" Wang Yang tried to get up and slap her, but Shen Minghuai grabbed him and stopped him.

"Young Master Xu's banquet is not something that just any street ruffian can participate in, is it? Master Wang's unreasonable behavior is probably a disgrace to the name of this 'Jade Boat'."

"Hey, how am I being unreasonable?!"

“Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth—” Xu Jiliang strode between the two men. “Just now, the master accidentally touched this lady when he raised his hand. It was also unintentional on her part. Why don’t we each take a step back? I’ll compensate you with a bolt of Yun brocade that just arrived from Qiluo Workshop…”

Although Xu Jiliang tried to lower his voice, Wang Yan still heard him.

"I'll keep that celadon-glazed vase with floral patterns for you; I'll never sell it to anyone else." After saying that, the two of them looked at Shen Minghuai.

Lady Hua hurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe Wang Yang's face, saying, "This servant will lead you, sir, to change your clothes."

When Wang Yang returned to his seat, he drank with the guests as if nothing had happened. The banquet ended, and many were completely drunk, needing their maids to help them off the boat. Wang Yang, reeking of alcohol, was helped into a carriage by his maid. Shen Minghuai waited by the carriage, but Wang Yan did not disembark for a long time.

Yun Niangzi, who had initially served Shen Minghuai, removed her hair and changed her clothes, now wearing plain plain clothes completely different from before. She walked up to Shen Minghuai and said with a pout, "The master told me to inform you that Wang Niangzi will not go with you."

Shen Minghuai's gaze never left the Jade Pavilion. "I only wish to make friends with Lady Wang."

"A lone man and woman on a dark and windy night, making friends?" Lady Yun left with only a mocking laugh before turning and walking away.

Wang Yan and Xu Jiliang walked out together. They had just thanked the Xu family for their kindness in offering a ride in their carriage when they saw Shen Minghuai, who had been waiting outside for a long time.

"Are you sure you don't need it?"

"No need, I'll ride in Young Master Shen's carriage. Surely Master Wang won't cause trouble for Young Master Shen."

"Ah—" Xu Jiliang didn't say anything, but this young lady seemed to know his intentions. He watched her walk towards Shen Minghuai's back, shook his head, and got into the carriage.

Wang Yan leaned forward and asked, "Is Hua Xinyingming here?"

"Madam Wang." Hua Xin waved from ahead.

"Get in the carriage first." Without saying another word, Shen Minghuai led Wang Yan into the carriage.

Does he want you to risk your life for him?

Wang Yan chuckled, "It can't be that he's risking his life, can it? He's prepared to give me fifteen strings of cash a month."

"Young Master! There's an assassin—" Hua Xin's voice abruptly stopped, followed by the sounds of fighting.

Shen Minghuai quickly grabbed the person next to him, preparing to escape, but when he lifted the curtain, he saw that Hua Xin had already swiftly sheathed his sword, and all the assassins had fallen to the ground, groaning in pain. Ying Ming then jumped down from the roof and rode off with Hua Xin, saying, "There are hidden guards, but they don't seem to have any intention of harming anyone."

Wang Yan pulled Shen Minghuai back, "He's probably one of Xu Jiliang's men. Yingming, go to Jishengtang."

Li Changling waited for a while in Shen Minghuai's room before Wang Yan and Hua Xin finally returned to the inn.

"I've finally made some progress today." Li Changling recounted all the insights he had gained from observing the Xu family over the past few days.

The Xu family business is managed by the eldest son, Xu Jiliang. The second son, Xu Yuhuan, does not seem to be close to them. The head of the family, Xu Wujiu, is a Buddhist and spends an hour in the small Buddhist hall every day.

"There is a hidden room beneath that Buddhist hall."

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Author's Note: Entering the new Mingzhou instance! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers]