Chapter 165 Love Marks Those are clearly traces of lovemaking
"You haven't come home all night, where have you been?" Ajiu walked towards Lou Cangyu.
Lou Cangyu scooped up some well water and drank a few more mouthfuls. He picked up a towel from the well and wiped his hands. He lowered his eyes and didn't even look at Ajiu. "I am the second young master of Xingguo Ward. Even my godfather doesn't ask me much about my affairs, but you care?"
Ajiu's dark eyes gleamed as she scrutinized Lou Cangyu's unfamiliar new clothes. She lowered her voice and said, "You wore a dark-colored robe with a knife pattern yesterday. Why did you change? That robe was specially made for you by Steward Pei..."
"Aren't you annoying?" Lou Cangyu interrupted impatiently. "Pei Bi said to buy new clothes for the New Year, and there are important things to do in the first month of the lunar calendar. What's wrong with me buying a few more?" As she spoke, she glanced at the half-open door of the quiet room. "With what you and Guan Ye have done, you still have the nerve to criticize me? You're allowed to have your romantic escapades, but I can't? Ajiu, let's go our separate ways and mind our own business."
The door opened, and a hint of panic flashed across Lou Cangyu's face. He angrily threw off his handkerchief and raised his head to confront Guan Ye as she approached.
Lou Cangyu's new clothes... Guan Ye felt like she had seen them somewhere before. The jade seal pattern? Guan Ye paused, and saw that Lou Cangyu had embroidered a jade seal pattern with dark blue thread on the cuffs, the mark of the inner workshop. Lou Cangyu had indeed gone to the inner workshop.
"Lou Cangyu, your sword..." Guan Ye pointed to the sword he was leaning against the well, "Could I take a look at it?"
Lou Cangyu suddenly picked up his sword. "All swordsmen use the same sword. Why don't you ask Ajiu to give you his sword?"
Guan Ye shook her head and reached out her hand, saying, "I just want to see yours. You wouldn't be so stingy, would you?"
The more Guan Ye insisted, the more bewildered Lou Cangyu became. His sword-wielding hand unconsciously went behind his back. Just as he was about to speak, the sword was suddenly snatched from his hand, startling Lou Cangyu so much that he staggered back several steps, his face turning ashen. "Don't touch my sword!"
"What's wrong with looking?" Feng Shisan appeared behind Lou Cangyu at some point, fiddling with Lou Cangyu's sword and looking at it over and over. "Isn't it the same one as before? What's so special about it?" He then handed the sword to Ajiu. "Ajiu, take a look. If there's nothing wrong, just shut Guan Ye up from her rambling."
"Give me back my sword!" Lou Cangyu leaped forward to snatch the sword, but Ji Fang slid in front of him, casually putting his arm around Lou Cangyu's shoulder and winking, "I already said it's nothing, wasn't it just to shut Guan Ye up? I'll give it back after one glance, and Guan Ye will have to pour you tea as an apology." As he spoke, he winked at Ajiu, "Ajiu, aren't you going to look?"
Ajiu drew Lou Cangyu's sword, held the blade between two fingers against the sunlight, and examined it closely. The blade was spotless, without a scratch or trace of blood. Ajiu scrutinized it, then shook her head at Guan Ye. Seeing Guan Ye's calm expression, Ajiu suddenly understood. Song Mian had died from a slit throat; the throat was thin and soft, and a sharp sword wouldn't have damaged it. As for the blood? If Lou Cangyu had truly killed him, he wouldn't have been foolish enough to forget to clean the blood from his sword…
Knowing that it wouldn't leave a trace, why did Guan Ye insist on looking at Lou Cangyu's sword?
Xiao Ma drew the sword that A Jiu had been holding onto, sheathed it, and with a smile handed it back to Lou Cangyu after scanning him up and down. "Guan Ye had a relapse this morning, don't take it to heart. Put the sword away and go have breakfast."
Lou Cangyu didn't move, but pulled away from Ji Fang's embrace and pressed down on Guan Ye like a mountain, "You made me unhappy first thing in the morning, what about your promise to apologize?"
Guan Ye retorted without backing down, "That was Ji Fang's idea. Did I agree to it?"
Ji Fang wanted to slap himself, and was about to smooth things over when he saw Xiao Ma shaking his head at him, so he could only stop and not dare to go forward.
"Ajiu," Lou Cangyu looked at Ajiu again, "We're brothers, are you just going to stand by and watch Guan Ye target me again and again? So what if I went to the inner quarters?" Lou Cangyu gained momentum and his words became more and more open, "You're allowed to be with Guan Ye, but I can't be with Wushuang? Just because she's Guan Ye's rival? Guan Ye doesn't like her, so she's going to take it out on me?"
—So what if I went to the inner quarters?
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically. Lou Cangyu's mouth was agape and he couldn't stop talking. Ji Fang shrugged, knowing he was powerless to do anything about it.
“Song Mian died last night.” Guan Ye suddenly raised her voice.
"Song Mian?" Lou Cangyu asked doubtfully. "Oh, I remember now, he's..." Lou Cangyu glanced at the people besides Ji Fang. "That young master of the official family who jumped into the sea from the boat, the one who was lucky enough not to drown?" Lou Cangyu sneered. "It seems that a person's fate is limited, and in the end, he will still die."
Guan Ye's palm was half-clenched. "Song Mian was murdered. Last night in a dark alley, someone killed him." Guan Ye slit his throat with his finger. "A sword to slit his throat, he died on the spot."
"Oh?" Lou Cangyu blinked, leaning closer to Guan Ye and said, "You even know he had his throat slit? You didn't do it, did you? No, you don't know martial arts..." Lou Cangyu looked at A Jiu as he spoke, "Could it be A Jiu? Song Mian knows too much, he threatened you two before, could it be... you two killed him to silence him?"
"Enough." Feng Shisan couldn't listen anymore. "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Human life is at stake. You can't frame your own people."
Lou Cangyu sneered, "Our own people? Thirteenth Young Master knows we're all on our own? You can't frame Ajiu and Guan Ye, but you can frame me? Guan Ye is clinging to me, isn't she trying to pin Song Mian's death on me?"
"Isn't everything alright now?" Seeing Lou Cangyu seemingly about to draw his sword, Ji Fang spread his arms and blocked him. "Disperse, everyone disperse."
"This matter won't be resolved." Lou Cangyu crossed his arms, his dark eyes unreadable. "Guan Ye, you were walking through the dark alley late at night, didn't Ajiu follow you? You looked at my sword, shouldn't I also look at Ajiu's sword?"
Ji Fang shook his head vigorously, "It couldn't be Ajiu. Ajiu stayed with us all night and didn't leave our side for even a moment."
“I ran into Mu Chenbi last night, and we were together.” Guan Ye didn’t hide anything and said frankly, “We witnessed Song Mian being murdered. The murderer was hiding in the shadows watching. Mu Chenbi even fought with him. Although the murderer escaped, I saw with my own eyes… that the murderer fled to the inner workshop.” Guan Ye paused, “Lou Cangyu, you just said it yourself. You went to the inner workshop last night, didn’t you?”
Upon hearing the name "Mu Chenbi," Lou Cangyu's brow twitched. He glanced sideways at Ajiu's face, which bore a striking resemblance to Mu Chenbi; the two faces overlapped as if they were one. Lou Cangyu steadied himself, his Adam's apple bobbing, and said, "I did go to the inner quarters. What's wrong with me seeing Wushuang? You can all testify that Ajiu was in the quarters last night, and Wushuang can also testify that I was... by her side last night..."
The shocking revelation left Ji Fang and the others stunned. Ji Fang and Feng Shisan exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with disbelief. Cang Yu and Wushuang... this is truly... exciting!
Guan Ye circled behind Lou Cangyu and suddenly pressed hard on his right shoulder. Lou Cangyu was caught off guard, his legs went weak and he staggered. He hurriedly covered his shoulder with his left hand, turned around and glared angrily at Guan Ye.
“I, Guan Ye, don’t like to keep things to myself. Now that we’ve laid it all out, let’s just show it to everyone.” Guan Ye pointed to Lou Cangyu’s right shoulder. “Last night, Wan Qixi also chased after the murderer. I saw him throw a piece of broken tile and hit the murderer’s right shoulder. The blow was very powerful. Only a few hours later, there will definitely be a mark on the murderer’s body. Lou Cangyu, do you dare to show your right shoulder to everyone?”
“Guan Ye,” Xiao Ma interjected, “this is no small matter. Is this really the right thing to do? If it weren’t for Cang Yu…”
“If you’ve wronged him, I’ll offer him tea as an apology.” Guan Ye stared intently into Lou Cangyu’s evasive eyes.
Feng Shisan took a few steps forward, sword in hand, and looked around before saying, "What if... it's Cang Yu? What should we do then? Guan Ye, have you thought it through? Do you want us to escort Cang Yu to the authorities?"
"So-called brothers..." Lou Cangyu shook his head and smiled at Ajiu, "is this all there is to it?"
Seeing no one respond, Lou Cangyu looked up and gasped for breath, one hand reaching for his collar. Ji Fang pounced on him and grabbed his hand. "Cangyu, let it go..." Ji Fang turned back and pleaded with the others, "Let it go, let it go. Cangyu may be tough, but he's not a ruthless person. We've lived together on Canglang Island for many years, we're all brothers... We're brothers."
Xiao Ma looked at Guan Ye and whispered, "What Thirteenth Young Master said is right. Whether it is or not, what should we do next? If it really is Cang Yu, taking him to the government office will not be a good thing for Xingguo Ware. Cang Yu is the adopted son recognized by the ward master in front of the emperor. The second young master of the Pei family has committed murder... and the reputation of Xingguo Ware will also be damaged... Guan Ye, Guan Ye?"
"Stop talking." Lou Cangyu pushed away Ji Fang's hand. "Some people treat me like a brother, while others see me as an enemy. Since Guan Ye has spoken up, even if I keep quiet, you all believe I'm the murderer. I'm going to show you clearly whether I am the murderer who killed Song Mian."
Before he finished speaking, Lou Cangyu had already pulled down his collar, revealing half of his back. Several pairs of eyes turned to look at him, and saw that there were bright red spots on the back of Lou Cangyu's neck and shoulder blades, like blooming flower buds. Wounds? Love marks were like knives, and lips were like thin blades. They were clearly the marks left after lovemaking, so how could they be the marks left after murder?
The swordsmen were all young and vigorous. Even if they had never experienced love, it was not difficult for them to see what the marks on Lou Cangyu's body were. The men looked at each other, their young faces flushed.
Guan Ye took a few steps forward, wanting to get a better look, but Lou Cangyu deliberately pulled his clothes down even lower and leaned closer to Guan Ye, saying, "Got a good look? Got enough? Is this what you wanted to know? Guan Ye, are you satisfied?"
"This..." Guan Ye hesitated, her brows furrowed with resentment yet helpless. The people behind Lou Cangyu had planned everything meticulously for him, even covering up the mountain of irrefutable evidence. Irrefutable evidence? With only her own eyes left, she couldn't prove anything.
Seeing the atmosphere turn icy, Ji Fang quickly draped a coat over Lou Cangyu's shoulders, saying, "I see, I see, you have nothing at all. Put this on quickly so you don't catch a cold." He then gave Ajiu a look, adding, "Guan Ye is dressed too lightly, why aren't you coming inside?"
Just as Ajiu was about to take Guan Ye's hand, Lou Cangyu shook off Ji Fang, a cryptic smile playing on his lips as he looked at Guan Ye. "You're targeting me, you're framing me. You promised to pour tea as an apology, have you forgotten?"
"Cangyu..." Xiao Ma had barely opened his mouth when Lou Cangyu glared at him and shut him up.
Lou Cangyu straightened his clothes and sat upright on the edge of the well, raising his chin slightly as he said, "Everyone present heard it clearly, Guan Ye?"
Ajiu picked up the rough blue-rimmed bowl by the well, scooped up some cold water from the bucket, and was about to do so when Guan Ye snatched the bowl away and walked straight to Lou Cangyu. She raised the bowl above her head, slowly bowed, and said, "I, Guan Ye, act rashly and without considering the consequences. I'm sorry, but please... Young Master Pei, don't take offense."
Lou Cangyu, hands on his knees, scrutinized Guan Ye's movements with amusement, letting out a low snort of rebuke. Seeing that he remained motionless for a while, Feng Shisan coughed and said, "Cangyu..."
"What did you call me?" Lou Cangyu frowned. "Didn't you hear what Guan Ye called me just now?"
“Young Master Pei,” Ji Fang hurriedly interjected, “That’s enough. Guan Ye has been holding the bowl for quite a while… Her sincerity is evident to Heaven.”
Lou Cangyu calmly picked up the rough bowl from Guan Ye's hand, shook it, and said, "You promised to pour tea, but where's the tea? Just a bowl of cold water? Is this what you call sincerity? Where's the sincerity? I don't see it at all."
Seeing Ah Jiu's brow twitch, Xiao Ma stepped in front of him and said, "Second Young Master, you are a magnanimous man. Why bother with a girl like Guan Ye? Guan Ye, please don't be so reckless next time."
Lou Cangyu turned the rough bowl upside down and splashed cold water on the ground. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at Guan Ye: "Let's leave this matter for now. If you keep pushing your luck, then I'll fight you to the death."
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