The wind on the eve of her wedding carried the sweet scent of gardenias, the rustling of sycamore leaves in Xiefang Courtyard, and the radiance of twelve red gauze lanterns shattered on the bluestone slabs. Chen Weiwan adjusted her phoenix crown before a gilded bronze mirror. Nine golden phoenixes, each holding a pearl, gently swayed in her hair. The pearl tassels brushed her cheeks with a cool, yet incapable of suppressing the joy in her eyes. Suddenly, the swish of a folding fan echoed from outside the courtyard gate, accompanied by Chuntao's stifled laughter: "Miss, His Highness has arrived bearing an octagonal food box. He says he has a 'surprise' for you!"
Chen Weiwan raised an eyebrow and deliberately tilted the phoenix crown to resemble a waiter's felt hat. The pearls on her earlobes shone with her movements, "Another surprise? Did you pack all the chili powder from the West Market into a box? I don't want to get married with a 'walking hot pot' on my head."
The carved wooden door creaked open, and Xiao Yu, dressed in a moon-white suit with a dark gold cloud pattern, stood in the lantern shadows. The Hetian jade Pisces pendant adorned with a jade belt buckle shone softly. He couldn't help but laugh when he saw Chen Weiwan's phoenix crown tilted to the back of her head. His folding fan clanged against his palm, making a crisp sound. "What princess wears her phoenix crown like a scoundrel's futou? It looks like she's going to sell candied haws on the street."
"What do you care!" Shen Weiwan tiptoed to grab the gilded food box from his hand, her fingertips touching the lotus pattern on the box. "Hurry up and take a look. Are there any tricks hidden here? The chili powder sachet from last time is still hanging around the dog's neck!"
The moment the food box was opened, Shen Weiwan's laughter suddenly stopped. Inside, there were no pigskin rafts sprinkled with chili powder, nor were there sugar figurines with faces painted on them. Instead, there was a stack of rice paper tied with a gold string. Atop it rested a jade-tipped wolf-hair brush, its shaft inscribed with the tiny character "煜." She untied the string and unfolded the rice paper. The first page, inscribed in cinnabar, was a striking sight: "A List of Enemies." A long list of names was written in tiny, insignificant calligraphy, and each was followed by a note in red ink detailing their current situation.
- Lin Wanrou: The clan house specially provides rice mixed with croton seeds, three pounds of mixed brown rice every day, and she is a user of the VIP seat in the toilet room. It is expected that she will stay there until the peach blossoms bloom next year.
- Liu: Exiled for 3,000 miles, passing through Shu, he was beaten black and blue for stealing chili powder from a fellow villager. Now he washes clothes for hundreds of people at the post station to atone for his sins, and his ten fingers are festering with frostbite.
- Chen Ruorou: In the family temple, there are ancient Buddhas and green lamps. She was caught hiding pork belly by the abbot and was punished to copy the Heart Sutra 300 times. The tendon in her right wrist was strained and she felt like holding a branding iron when she picked up a pen.
- Li Xiu: The rumors of his "homosexuality" were confirmed and he was expelled from his family. He now tells stories in a teahouse in Nancheng. His story is titled "The Lame Young Master and His Twenty-Eight Male Concubines", and his shows are always packed.
- Rene Liu: During the period of house arrest, she climbed over the courtyard wall secretly. After being discovered, she was punished to copy "The Admonitions for Women" twenty times a day. The ink she used was specially mixed with chili powder. She sneezed continuously while copying, and her eyes were red and swollen.
......
Shen Weiwan grew increasingly alarmed as she flipped through the pages. As her fingertips traced the small words, "Ninety-eight individuals have been dealt with, two remain to be investigated," the rice paper trembled slightly from the force. Written in cursive on the last page of the roster: "Anyone who harms my wife will be punished, no matter how far away they are. This roster will be updated as it is reviewed until the world is at peace." The ink was so thick it practically shone through the paper, as if she had used all her strength to write.
"Xiao Yu..." She raised her head, the candlelight dancing in her pupils, making her eyes watery, "When did you..."
Xiao Yu gently grasped her chilled fingertips, brushing the corners of her red eyes. "Silly girl, why are you crying?" He bent down to straighten her crooked phoenix crown, the pearl tassels brushing the back of his hand as they fell. "Although I didn't experience every blow you received in the snow in your past life, I have read them clearly in the clan records. In this life, I will avenge you one by one."
Shen Weiwan sniffed and suddenly burst out laughing, patting his shoulder and laughing so hard that she fell backwards. "Your Highness, your cinnabar annotations are more clever than the accountant's abacus! Look at Lin Wanrou, this 'toilet room VIP', you're so creative!" She pointed at Liu's annotations and shook her shoulders. "Being beaten for stealing chili powder? You deserve it! Let her taste the pain of crying!"
Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow and lifted her chin with his folding fan. "What's that? When Liu Ruolin copied 'The Instructions for Women,' she added pepper powder from the Western Regions to every drop of ink. I guarantee she'll sneeze three times for every word she writes. It's a memory she'll never forget."
"Great!" Chen Weiwan laughed so hard that she slapped her thigh. "It's even more cruel than the 'chili ink' I thought! Next time I should let her grind chili powder into ink, write a stroke, and then lick it. That would be really satisfying!"
As the two of them were laughing and joking, Chuntao suddenly stumbled in, the jasmine flowers in her bun all askew: "Miss! This is bad! A few masked men have come to the front yard, holding knives and shouting that they want revenge on you!"
Shen Weiwan's face darkened, and she casually picked up the phoenix crown on the table, intending to use it as a weapon. However, Xiao Yu walked slowly to the corridor, waving a folding fan. The moonlight flowed on his clothes like silver. "Oh? There are two vacancies on my roster."
Before he finished speaking, there was the sound of weapons hitting the ground and a few muffled groans outside the courtyard. Shen Weiwan pried open the window and saw that the four masked men had been pinned to the ground by the guards. The leader was Liu Ruolin's brother, Master Liu, with half a sesame cake hanging around his waist.
"Let me go!" Young Master Liu struggled until his face flushed red, his hair half loose. "Chen Weiwan! You caused my sister to be grounded. Today I want to avenge her!"
Xiao Yu walked over to him, his folding fan lifting his greasy chin. "Young Master Liu lost all his ancestral home at the 'Jucai Gambling House' last month, and I had someone cover the three thousand taels of silver. So, now you have the energy for revenge but not for repayment?"
Young Master Liu's pupils suddenly shrank, and he said stubbornly: "That was me..."
"Not only did I pay off your gambling debt," Xiao Yu said, crouching down, his voice low. "I also found you a lucrative position in West City—director of the manure cart factory." He pointed in the direction of the clan office. "Lin Wanrou's daily output of 'croton essence' will be yours to manage. It's a great opportunity to exchange 'experiences' with her. Isn't that wonderful?"
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