Chapter 76 "Afraid of me?"

They stood facing each other, separated by only a few meters.

Sheng Yunche turned around completely and slowly raised his hand to one side.

Bu Xi immediately stepped forward, understanding the gesture, and placed a clean handkerchief in his hand. At the same time, she glanced at Ye Mingzhu standing at the door, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something.

Sheng Yunche didn't give her a second glance. After slowly wiping the blood off his hands, he walked straight toward Ye Mingzhu with a solemn killing intent.

Baozan, who was supporting Ye Mingzhu, was so frightened that she took several steps back. After she came to her senses, she quickly stood in front of Ye Mingzhu and stood there nervously on guard, as if he were some kind of monster.

It was as if she wasn't the one who had previously addressed him as "Lord Duke" with such delight, genuinely pleased that her master and husband were in love.

Sheng Yunche walked up the steps, not even glancing at the hairpin. His dark, deep phoenix eyes were fixed on the pale-faced Ye Mingzhu, and he asked indifferently, "Afraid of me?"

Ye Mingzhu looked up at him.

She pursed her lips, about to speak, but Sheng Yunche made a move before she could.

He quickly untied the jade belt around his waist, tore off his blood-stained outer robe and threw it on the ground, then bent down and picked her up in his arms. As he carried her into the inner room, he coldly said, "I killed for you. If you dare to be afraid of me, I will show you what true terror is!"

Ye Mingzhu: "..."

"Speak." Sheng Yunche lowered his eyes, his cold phoenix eyes seeming to be filled with ice and snow.

Ye Mingzhu's wildly beating heart gradually calmed down. She first glanced reassuringly at Baozan, who was standing not far away with a worried expression, signaling her not to worry.

Then, she wrapped her arms around Sheng Yunche's neck and struggled to get up to hug him.

Sheng Yunche paused for a moment before continuing to walk towards the bed.

His lips curled up slightly, and the grip on her hand loosened.

He gently placed her on the bed, his deep gaze fixed on her, and asked in a low voice, "Aren't you afraid of me, or don't you want to know what real terror is?"

Ye Mingzhu smiled and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm not afraid."

“Your voice…” Sheng Yunche frowned, suddenly looked out the window, his eyes like knives.

"It's nothing..." Ye Mingzhu said with difficulty, "I just choked on water and hurt my throat, cough cough, it will be fine in a couple of days."

Sheng Yunche withdrew his gaze, stared at her intently for a moment, and suddenly said, "The Jade Pearl Flower is about to bloom."

"Hmm." Ye Mingzhu thought he was talking about consummating their marriage and tried to reassure him, "It's just your throat, no, cough cough cough, it won't affect anything."

Sheng Yunche took a deep breath and laughed angrily: "What kind of beast do you think I am?"

He paused for a moment and said calmly, "Use the Jade Pearl Flower of this month on yourself."

"Huh?" Ye Mingzhu was surprised.

Sheng Yunche said coldly, "...I don't want to consummate the marriage with someone who's half-dead. It's boring."

"Oh," Ye Mingzhu replied simply, without saying anything more.

Sheng Yunche waited for a while, then suddenly looked up at her. He saw that she did not have any anger on her face, but instead her almond-shaped eyes were full of smiles.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked.

“Lord Duke…” Ye Mingzhu began, “Just now, you lifted the face of that villain outside, and I cough cough cough, I saw his appearance clearly. I should have seen him before, he might be, cough cough, Zhang Shuheng’s man.”

"Are you sure?" Sheng Yunche asked sternly.

"Yes." Ye Mingzhu nodded. "I saw him once at the mountain villa in Yunxi. He was, cough cough, cough cough, next to Zhang Shuheng, his personal attendant."

Because of her sore throat, her voice was hoarse and unpleasant, and she spoke intermittently with coughing, but Sheng Yunche understood her perfectly.

He abruptly stood up, exuding a murderous aura, and said, "I'm going to investigate the Zhang family right now! If it really is Zhang Shuheng, I'll kill him!"

Ye Mingzhu quickly said, "No..."

"You're stopping me?"

“No.” Ye Mingzhu shook her head, looking at him with her dark eyes. “I want to do it myself.”

...

After Sheng Yunche left, Baozan patted her chest with lingering fear and quickly ran to Ye Mingzhu's bedside.

"Miss, were you scared to death?"

Ye Mingzhu thought for a moment: "Half-dead."

That scene was indeed very impactful for her.

But to say that he feared Sheng Yunche like a tiger from then on is not true.

She had long since honed her skills during those years as a wandering ghost. Besides, Sheng Yunche was doing this for her; if she were to put on a weak and disgusted act, wouldn't that chill the hearts of those who worked for her?

She burst out laughing at her teasing.

With a smile, she was less nervous and stuck out her tongue, saying, "Seeing how the Duke always acts, I thought what people were saying about him was just a rumor, but I didn't expect it to be true!"

Ye Mingzhu nodded in agreement.

“Oh, right, Miss,” Baozan added, “before the Duke arrived, you were unconscious, which worried me terribly. A kind young lady stepped forward and said she knew how to do CPR. She did this and that for a while, and you vomited a lot of water before your condition stabilized.”

"A young woman?" Ye Mingzhu asked in return.

“Yes,” Baozan said. “She said her surname was Jiang. I originally wanted to give her a thank-you gift, but it was too chaotic at the time and I didn’t have time. After you were settled, I went to look for her, but I couldn’t find her.”

Ye Mingzhu nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Later, you draw her portrait and have someone look for her on the street. Cough cough, if you can't find her, then we can only hope, cough cough, that fate will allow it in the future."

“Yes, yes.” Baozan nodded vigorously, then said regretfully, “But in the vast sea of ​​people, that young lady looks like she’s just a daughter from a commoner family, so she might not be easy to find.”

Ye Mingzhu also knew.

But a voice inside her inexplicably urged her to do her best to find that young woman.

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate," she said.

"Yes, I understand." Baozan helped her lie down and covered her with a quilt. "I don't know when the Duke will return. You were frightened today, so go to sleep."

"Um."

Exhausted, Ye Mingzhu closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

...

Sheng Yunche acted very quickly.

Within two or three days, it was confirmed that Zhang Shuheng was indeed responsible for Ye Mingzhu being ambushed and falling into the water, and Zhang Shuheng was handed over to the Wucheng Military Command.

After going through the motions at the Wucheng Military Command, Zhang Shuheng, looking utterly disheveled, was brought before Ye Mingzhu that afternoon.

Huixianlou, second floor private room.

Sheng Yunche looked at Ye Mingzhu and gestured with his chin, "The person is right in front of you. Do you want to take action directly or what? It's your decision."

"Waaaaah..."

With his limbs bound, Zhang Shuheng immediately burst into tears, but because his mouth was gagged, he couldn't beg for mercy. He could only crawl to Ye Mingzhu's legs and keep kowtowing to her and pleading.

They were once so arrogant, and now they are just as pathetic.

While unconsciously recalling the stories featuring Zhang Shuheng, Ye Mingzhu pondered how to deal with this villain who had almost taken her life.

Not counting Liu Pinliang, this was the first time she had directly executed a male protagonist from a storybook.

For some reason, I felt a sense of relief.