Chapter 10 I was attracted by her and smelled the sweet soap scent on her temples...

Shen Zhongda was also startled when he saw Lin Meizhu suddenly appear. When he saw his son actually bend down to protect her, a strange voice rang in his mind: Wow! There's hope!

So instead of retracting the whip, he increased the force and hit it twice more.

Shen Changfeng had originally only loosely embraced Lin Meiju, and just as he breathed a sigh of relief, the long whip came crashing down with a force of a thousand pounds. He was completely unprepared, and had no time to gather strength to resist. The sharp barbs dug into his flesh and blood, and the pain seeped into his limbs and into his pores. He almost lost consciousness in the pain.

Lin Meizhu was shocked. Originally, Shen Changfeng had his arms around her loosely, but at a certain moment he suddenly hugged her tightly. Her face had no choice but to press against his chest. Her heartbeat was roaring, and she gradually couldn't tell which heartbeat was her own.

She clearly heard the muffled groan of pain from Shen Changfeng's throat. The tension in his waist was so strong that he began to sweat slightly. The strong smell of blood rushed into her nose. The thought of self-destruction flashed through her mind. The humeral muscles on the sides of her face would occasionally twitch uncontrollably. Lin Meizhu thought, for the time being, it's better to keep this face. She was restrained so tightly that it hurt, but she didn't dare to move. His chest was broad enough and he was tall. He could easily accommodate two of them by bending slightly.

Shen Zhongda panted heavily as he spoke, then finished the second half of his sentence: "Luckily, Meizhu was smart and found a way to escape from Tianxiang Tower unscathed! Otherwise, I would have beaten you to death today!"

Shen Changfeng: ...

Shen Zhongda kept chattering, and Shen Changfeng felt that he was taking advantage of the situation. He beat him so hard today because his wife ran away and he was angry but had no place to vent.

Shen Changfeng tried to push her away several times, but the force from behind forced him to lean outward for support. In the end, he couldn't tell if he was holding her or she was supporting him. She was tall for a woman, but she had to stand on tiptoe to reach her chin. Her eyes were slightly panicked, her cherry-like lips slightly parted, and she tilted her neck to look at him, her posture almost like she was trying to hold a small lychee in her mouth.

Shen Changfeng thought inappropriately that this could be considered a courtesy.

Shen Zhongda beat him mercilessly, his hands gradually going numb, and he slowed down his pace. Lin Meizhu could no longer hold on, the building was about to collapse, and he was naked. She put her hands on him several times, but she felt the position was not right. Her palms were wet and she couldn't hold on steadily.

Shen Changfeng was touched on the chest and pinched on the waist by her, and his body was both painful and itchy, and his legs were sore and weak. He was about to kneel forward. Shen Zhongda threw away the whip, lifted Shen Changfeng's arm and threw him to the side. Several guards hurriedly caught him.

Father Shen waved his hand: "Take this rebellious son away, don't embarrass yourself here."

Lin Meizhu was still in shock, and when she heard that Shen Zhongda was going to take someone away, she became anxious. If Shen Changfeng woke up and found himself lying on her bed, would he be angry?

She wanted to find an excuse to move him to another wing, but she found that she couldn't come up with a suitable reason. She was his wife and should take care of him.

When he hesitantly returned to the main room of Qinghui Hall, Shen Changfeng had already cleaned his wound.

The doctor gave Lin Meizhu a few instructions and left. She smelled the blood in the room and was very worried. Seeing that Shen Changfeng showed no signs of anger, she carefully walked into the inner room to help.

Shen Changfeng looked normal, except for the loss of color on his lips. A young guard was applying medicine to him. The most serious injuries were undoubtedly caused by Shen's father, so his left shoulder and chest were bandaged.

Lin Meiju felt distressed when she saw this. She washed her hands carefully, took the undershirt handed to him by the maid, and helped him put on the clothes.

Before she got married, she had learned from the maid how to take care of her husband's daily life, but when she actually did it, she was a little nervous. She was afraid of scratching the wound, so she moved very carefully.

A sweet fragrance approached, and Shen Changfeng lowered his eyes to look at her. There were only a few flower hairpins on her high black bun. Her eyelashes were thick and curled, and her eyes were as watery as always. She was obviously a very beautiful girl, but because of these black eyes like a deer that were ignorant of the world, she seemed particularly innocent.

Her nails were clean and had a healthy red hue, and her fingertips were round and warm.

While adjusting the wrinkles of his collar, Lin Meizhu noticed that Shen Changfeng seemed to tremble. She immediately stopped and asked, "Sir, did I hurt you?"

She looked a little nervous, her eyelashes trembling, her fingertips white from pinching, but the unique fragrance of her in the air gradually became stronger, and Shen Changfeng smelled the sweet and hot soapy scent from her temples.

She had bathed.

He suddenly thought of the lychees he had bitten open on the pleasure boat. Bright white, rosy red.

He could feel the blood in the wound slowly closing after coagulation. Compared to the pain of being tortured, the itchiness caused by the scabs on the wound seemed more unbearable.

But his back was clearly injured, so why did he feel discomfort in his heart? It was as if... as if the warm breath from his moving lips penetrated his clothes and chest, gently stirring his heart like a feather.

Shen Changfeng chose to ignore it. He pushed her hand away expressionlessly, tied the belt himself very calmly, and then said in a light tone: "Don't be sentimental, I just don't want to implicate innocent people."

In other words, no matter who rushes out today, he will have the same action.

Something pierced her heart again, and a dull sharp pain spread. Lin Meiju lowered her eyes and hummed softly.

"Tell me about today."

Lin Meiju thought about it and decided to hide some details and tell the rest in detail.

"Qi Guan, my younger brother, is having his birthday in two days. I went out to choose a birthday gift for him."

Shen Changfeng chuckled, knowing she must have something unfinished. The troublemakers had clearly known her route and blocked her at Tianxiang Tower. Her own brother had actually sold her out, and yet she could still speak so calmly?

When saying this, Lin Meizhu turned her head away, avoiding Shen Changfeng's questioning gaze.

What was she hiding? Sadness? Embarrassment? Anger? He couldn't quite decipher the meaning behind her slightly lowered eyes. For a moment, he felt a surge of impulsive curiosity, and a touch of inexplicable irritation.

He didn't care about family matters, but today he was furious at this young woman for shielding his family. He snorted coldly, "Go on."

Lin Meiju actually had some guesses, but after all, family disgrace should not be made public. In his eyes, she was of humble origin, and she did not want to label herself and the Lin family as despicable because of this incident.

It turned out that Lin Qiguan, upon hearing that Shen Changfeng was visiting Yijing Garden, had been urged by a group of classmates to go and look for his brother-in-law. Upon arriving at Yijing Garden, although he didn't see Shen Changfeng, he was treated like honored guests by the garden's owner, Ding Sheng, and his companions. After a few ounces of fine wine, he felt even more elated. Ding Sheng and his companions claimed to have long admired Lin Meizhu, lamenting their inability to witness her divine beauty. Lin Qiguan waved his hand, saying, "What's the problem? I've got a way to feast your eyes!"

It turned out that Shen Changfeng had beaten several people to death that day, using the excuse of a servant's negligence. If Ding Sheng hadn't arrived in time and sensibly returned the Qin family's property in full as an apology, the matter would probably not have been resolved. But the more Ding Sheng thought about it, the angrier he became. And with Lin Qiguan, the good-for-nothing, just showing up, he decided to take his anger out on Lin Meizhu.

By the time Lin Qiguan sobered up, the time he'd agreed with Lin Meizhu had already passed, and it was too late to send a message. While he felt his actions were inappropriate, he also felt those people wouldn't do anything out of the ordinary. Furthermore, he was also somewhat afraid of being blamed, so he kept the matter a secret, hoping for a lucky break.

Lin Meizhu continued, "I knew that if I didn't cooperate with them and get the silver, those beggars would definitely not leave. I was isolated and helpless outside, and I felt that these people were so audacious and presumptuous that I decided to use their tricks against them and teach them a lesson."

Shen Changfeng was flipping through the letter sent back to the palace, and what caught his eye was a huge gold ingot pattern. This gold ingot was made up of several small gold ingots, with the number written on the side and the signature written crookedly at the bottom.

When ordinary people saw this letter, they would definitely be amused by the gold ingots and the weird signature. Shen Changfeng also curled his lips slightly.

He found a few words in the gaps between the stacked small gold ingots. If you didn't look closely, you would think they were accidentally outlined with extra ink.

Most people might not be able to make sense of it when they see it.

These four words are clearly "life, fragrance, sinking, and water".

If this letter was delivered directly to Aunt Liu or Nanny Sun, they might find it strange but would still deliver the silver as instructed. However, Lin Meizhu asked the groom to deliver the letter to Chief Steward Shen.

Manager Shen had been immersed in officialdom for many years and was more steady and cautious than others. When he discovered these small words, he was vaguely puzzled. After arranging the four words, he was shocked. He immediately sent guards to clear the way and bring Lin Meizhu back.

The four words combined in pairs are: raw water and agarwood.

There are many thieves in Guangdong, and they use secret codes to convey information. Those who threaten the villagers are called "kai ma lu", and those who are not threatened are called "sheng shui". The rich men and women they capture are called "chen xiang" and the poor are called "chai".

Lin Meizhu deliberately used exaggerated pictures and signatures to make the people in Tianxiang Pavilion let their guard down, and then quietly asked for help.

He asked, "Why do you use these code words?"

Lin Meizhu blinked and smiled, "My cousin was a mountain when he was young..."

Shen Changfeng raised an eyebrow, and Lin Meizhu immediately frowned and stopped smiling, becoming dignified and submissive again. She whispered, "He's a kind and upright young man who highly respects the 'Ten Family Card Method' and has even gone out of his way to learn the secret code to help the government. I heard that Chief Steward Shen once accompanied the prince to suppress bandits in Lingnan, and I suspect he might be able to understand the mark I left behind."

In the early years, banditry was rampant in Lingnan. Many of these were ordinary people who had been forced into banditry or were falsely accused of being bandits. The real bandits colluded with government officials and salt merchants, making it difficult to distinguish between civilians and bandits, making control difficult. This situation did not change until the implementation of the "Ten-House Card System." The system stipulated that every ten households would form a card, with a small card placed at each door. A list of suspected criminals would be compiled and reported to the authorities for future use. Each person would carry a card and conduct daily inspections of each household, reporting any violations to the authorities at any time. If anyone hid, all ten households would be held responsible.

This move was like cutting off the firewood from under the cauldron, forcing the real bandits into hiding. Just as they were discussing the rebellion overnight, Shen Zhongda's father, Shen Yingwu, who was still the Duke of Dingguo at the time, had already been ordered to march south and caught them off guard.

At this point, the banditry that had plagued the South for more than a decade finally came to an end.

Shen, the chief steward, was concerned when he heard Lin Meizhu talk about the banditry. After all, the "Ten-Family Card Method" was proposed by Song Jiusi, a cabinet minister. It was precisely because of this initiative that Song Jiusi became famous and well-known.

The outside world didn't know, but as Shen Zhongda's confidant, Shen Zongguan had heard a little about the old tiffs between the Princess and Song Jiusi, and he knew that Shen Changfeng hated everything about this man. Although Lin Meizhu hadn't meant to mention it, she had no idea that she had run into such bad luck!

Manager Shen was wondering whether he should offer some words of advice later, but when he glanced up, he saw that Shen Changfeng's face looked a little dazed, and his eyes seemed to have a hint of...smile?

He followed Shen Changfeng's gaze and saw the girl's shallow dimples at the corners of her lips, her black eyes were watery and cunning, and if you looked closely, there was a hint of pride in them, which could be said to be a lively look.

Manager Shen smiled secretly, and then he understood a little bit and quietly retreated.

Shen Changfeng slowly regained his composure, observing the quiet and well-behaved woman before him. Something in his heart stirred: his wife seemed to have many sides he didn't know about. She thought her expressions were fluid, but in reality, they were full of flaws. Yet, miraculously, he didn't expose her, nor did he show any sign of anger. Instead, he found it vaguely... amusing?

It's so strange. I'll have to call the doctor back later to get him to prescribe some medicine to treat me.

Lin Meiju naturally had no idea of ​​what he was thinking. She almost exposed her cousin's great-uncle's past. If the old man knew about this, he would probably be unable to keep his coffin lid closed. At this moment, she just wanted to end this conversation quickly.

"Later, the guards took the troublesome beggar and the shopkeeper away for questioning. I also returned home not long ago."

Shen Changfeng looked at her intently and suddenly asked, "No more?"

She shook her head: "No more."

Lin Meizhu met his dark pupils and was silent for a moment. His eyes were like a sharp blade, seemingly able to see through all her secrets and thoughts.

She sighed inwardly and knelt down: "While I was resting in Tianxiang Tower, a man quietly entered the room."

Shen Changfeng's expression suddenly turned cold.