Chapter 20. Ji Ran has ulterior motives; he deliberately approaches...
"You mean, she's a defenseless, weak woman who beat you all up like this?" A slightly hesitant voice came from above.
Bie Zhi glanced sideways at the Li family's young master, whose face was covered in scars. She hadn't expected him to actually file a complaint with the authorities on the spot. She lowered her eyelids, feigning innocence, and remained silent, letting them decide her fate.
The young master of the Li family glanced at the man in official robes in the courtroom, then at the silent, pouting girl. His eye twitched, and in an instant, an indescribable pain surged through him. He instantly became furious: "What does Lord He mean by assuming she's a weak woman before even investigating the situation? How do you judge cases like this?!"
Lord He, sitting in the high hall, was speechless. He looked at the two figures below the steps, then at the petite and delicate girl, then at the young master of the Li family whose face was bruised and swollen, and then at the servants behind him. None of them were in a good position.
He coughed, covering his mouth, "Miss Qin, do you have anything to refute?"
“If Young Master Li is convinced that I was the one who hit him, then I was the one who hit him.” Bie Zhi timidly raised her eyes, her almond-shaped eyes glistening as she swept over everyone present. She seemed to feel more and more wronged as she thought about it, and then lowered her head again.
The young master of the Li family exploded upon hearing this, "What do you mean I'm convinced it was you who hit me? It was clearly you!"
A slightly noisy voice reached her ears, and Biezhi took a deep breath, glancing at him sideways, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes behind her eyelashes.
Their eyes met, and the young master of the Li family trembled. He hurriedly said, "Look, look, she still dares to glare at me."
"I didn't." Biezhi suddenly raised her eyes, pursed her lips and looked at Lord He in the hall, her voice filled with endless grievances.
Lord He frowned, looking at the two of them hesitantly.
He couldn't afford to offend either the Qin family or the Li family.
Just then, he heard the sound of running footsteps. He glanced to the side and saw his colleague running towards him with a look of fear and trepidation. The colleague ignored everyone else and went straight to his ear to whisper something.
Lord He felt a chill run down his spine after hearing only half of what was said. He glanced down at the girl biting her lip and immediately became uneasy.
How could he forget that the Qin family's biggest backer is His Highness Prince Su?
Biezhi, whose attention was always on Lord He, immediately realized that something seemed wrong with him. His occasional glances at her carried a hint of panic that she couldn't understand.
With His Highness Prince Su's backing, Lord He instantly knew how to resolve the case. He picked up the gavel, paused briefly in mid-air, and then brought it down swiftly, the loud thud echoing throughout the yamen. He declared, "Today's case—"
"My lord," the yamen runner at the door interrupted him, bowing and saying, "a man has come to the yamen. He said he witnessed the beating of the young master of the Li family and has come to testify."
Lord He frowned upon hearing this.
After a moment of silence, he said, "Bring him up."
Biezhi recalled the scene just now. She remembered that she did not see anyone pass by, so how could someone come to testify?
As her eyes narrowed slightly, she caught a glimpse of the tall man ascending the steps out of the corner of her eye, and she suddenly straightened her back and turned to look at him.
The witness mentioned by the constable was actually Xu Wenche?
Xu Wenche walked straight to Biezhi's side without looking to the side and cupped his hands in greeting.
Lord He looked at the newcomer thoughtfully. His demeanor and clothing were no different from those of a young master from a noble family. However, he had never seen the man before. He asked, "When did you witness the Li family's young master being beaten?"
“Half an hour ago.” Xu Wenche glanced at the excited young master of the Li family and said unhurriedly, “I was just about to leave Yongle Avenue when I saw several dark figures dart out. One of them used a sack to cover the young master’s head and started beating him up.”
The man's voice was slow and gentle, like a spring breeze.
As he spoke, the young master Li's raised lips froze in mid-air, staring incredulously at the man beside him, "You—"
Before the young master of the Li family could give a proper explanation, Xu Wenche continued, "Not long after, this young lady happened to appear at the street corner, and the men who were beating her scattered and fled when they saw someone coming."
Upon hearing this, Biezhi's lips twitched slightly.
She hadn't expected that Xu Wenche was there to give false testimony.
After hearing Xu Wenche's testimony, Lord He, who was worried about what reason to come up with, stopped paying attention to the young master of the Li family and quickly struck the gavel, concluding that today's case had nothing to do with other matters, and that the young master of the Li family had mistaken the person. He then adjourned the court.
Before Biezhi could ponder why Lord He was so certain that Xu Wenche's words were true, she caught a glimpse of the man's departing figure, and after a moment's thought, followed him at a distance.
She followed him for two blocks before he stopped and turned around to look at her.
Xu Wenche lowered his gaze slightly, quietly watching the girl following behind him without saying a word through the surging crowd. She tilted her head slightly, and the sunlight poured into her eyes. Her clean and clear eyes reflected dappled light and shadow, just like the brown glass unique to the Western Regions.
She stood there obediently and charmingly, as if she really wasn't the one who had just brutally beaten up the young master of the Li family.
Their eyes met, and after a moment of silence, Biezhi stepped forward, looking directly at the man, and said, "Thank you for your help earlier, young master."
“I was also present at the Qing Shi Zhai incident,” Xu Wenche said.
The implication is that his perjury today is understandable.
He looked at the girl with a hint of surprise in her expression and said with a half-smile, "Even if it weren't you, I would still be here to testify in court today."
Biezhi really didn't expect Xu Wenche to be at Qing Shi Zhai. Now that she had met him, she certainly couldn't miss this opportunity. She pondered for a moment and said, "I was able to escape today thanks to your help, young master. I will always remember this kindness. If you need any help in the future, you can send someone to the Qin family in Ning Le Street to find me."
"The Qin family?" Xu Wenche asked.
"Qin Biezhi," Biezhi said, pausing before asking, "May I ask how you are addressed, sir?"
"Xu Wenche." Xu Wenche, who already knew that the girl in front of him was the second daughter of the Qin family, stared at her for a moment and said, "I have other matters to attend to. Please make yourself at home."
She nodded and watched the man leave.
Just as the man's figure disappeared around the corner, she looked around and quickly walked towards the west side path. Unexpectedly, she saw Senior Brother Jingqing's figure just as she reached the corner of the path.
He leaned against the wall, staring intently at me.
It seemed like they were just waiting for her to arrive.
Bie Zhi glanced at Xu Wenche as he entered the inn, then slowly walked to the corner of the path, crossed the narrow lane and stepped onto the quiet, boundless bluestone road. She turned back to look at her senior brother who was following her at a distance, and frowned as she asked, "What happened?"
Jing Qing took out a sealed letter and handed it to her, saying, "My master asked me to bring this to you."
Biezhi took the letter, puzzled, and tore it open in front of him. She quickly skimmed through the words, a hint of seriousness creeping onto her brow: "The person I fought that day was an assassin who came after accepting the challenge?"
"You've clashed with them?" Jing Qing's expression hardened as she pressed, "When?"
“Yesterday evening.” Biezhi recalled the skills of the men who came down, which indeed carried a ferocity rarely seen in others. Every move was aimed at vital points: “Their skills are no less than mine. They must have been watching me for some time, otherwise they wouldn’t have made a rash move.”
Jing Qing's expression grew increasingly solemn. He looked at his junior sister, whose eyelids were drooping, and said, "The assassins who dare to oppose Xianyun Tower are mostly desperate criminals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Now that you are on a mission alone, you must be extra careful in everything you do."
"I know, Senior Brother too." Biezhi nodded, folded the letter and put it in the envelope. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Is Qingshan at Baiding Tower?"
"He's not here." Jing Qing came from Bai Ding Lou. "Master hasn't been in the building for the past few days. The news of the hefty reward offered for the people of Xian Yun Lou was told to us by our master."
Biezhi gave a faint "hmm" in response.
According to her master's letter, the bounty was posted in Hezhou, and she was the only one in Xianyun Tower who had any connection with Hezhou.
The bounty was clearly aimed at her, and her fellow disciples in the building seemed to be implicated because of her.
Ji Ran, who was also severely injured, was also among them.
Thinking of this, her eyes darkened.
Looking at her senior brother who seemed lost in thought, Biezhi remained silent for a moment before saying, "Senior brother, could you do me a favor?"
Jing Qing, preoccupied with her own thoughts, snapped out of her reverie, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. It was the first time she had ever heard her ask for her help. "Go ahead," she said.
"I am unable to leave the city these days. Could you please help me find out who I fought yesterday?" Biezhi asked.
The injuries Ji Ran suffered will be repaid a thousandfold.
“Okay.” Jing Qing nodded. The matter she asked him to do was a small thing. When he noticed her increasingly indifferent expression, he couldn’t help but feel a little confused. He asked casually, “Why do you suddenly want to see them?”
Jing Qing couldn't understand the others, but this junior sister who grew up with him was different. She wasn't the type to cause trouble. Unless her bottom line was really crossed, she rarely got into conflicts with others, let alone suddenly want to find an assassin to kill him.
“Jiran was there yesterday too.” Biezhi didn’t hide it from him. “If he hadn’t shielded me, I would have been the one who got hurt.”
After listening, Jing Qing remained silent for a moment.
He frowned, looking at his worried junior sister, and asked, "Was he standing behind you?"
Biezhi nodded: "We happened to run into them yesterday. There were three of them. Jiran doesn't know martial arts. I was a little distracted and almost got stabbed. He shielded me from behind and was seriously injured."
“No…” Jing Qing’s suspicions began to grow. “According to what you said, the person who came was no less skilled than you. He was openly heading towards you. How could a man who is so weak be able to stand behind you in an instant?”
Upon hearing this, Biezhi's expression changed slightly.
She truly hadn't considered how Ji Ran had managed to do it.
and……
The man who collapsed yesterday clutching his stomach was kicked by Ji Ran.
The newcomers were all quite skilled; it was impossible for them to be so easily kicked to the ground by a man who knew absolutely no martial arts, and to be unable to get up for a long time after falling.
She was momentarily surprised yesterday, but when she saw his injury, she was so focused on healing him that she forgot about it.
Looking back now, it really doesn't seem right.
Seeing that she had been lost in thought for a long time without speaking, Jing Qing knew that his suspicion was correct, and asked again, "Did you see any other injuries on him yesterday?"
“Yes.” Biezhi nodded, but couldn’t see it very clearly. “There seem to be two very shallow scars on his side.”
It doesn't look like an old wound, but rather a new one.
Jing Qing's lips tightened.
"It seems he's not as innocent and harmless as you imagined." He inexplicably recalled the day they first met, when Ji Ran's gaze seemed to be looking at him with a mixture of amusement and indifference, not exactly friendly, but rather carrying a strange hostility. "He can even block the swords of a desperado, so he must have some martial arts skills."
"If he has martial arts skills, why would he hide them from you?" Jing Qing speculated little by little. "Unless he has some ulterior motive and is deliberately getting close to you."
Deliberately getting close?
Bie Zhi's eyes darkened, a dangerous glint flashing in them.
On second thought, it didn't quite seem right.
Since they met, it was he who had been intentionally getting closer to her, not Ji Ran who had done it deliberately. He could have found out that he liked handsome men, but how could he have guessed that he would find a man with a long, narrow scar on his face to be so handsome?
But what my senior brother said was also true. If he didn't have any martial arts skills, how could he have blocked that sword for me?
In an instant, a sense of unease welled up inside her.
Whether it's true or false, go and find out!
Biezhi carefully put away the letter given to him by his master and said, "Senior brother, I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave first."
"Where are you going?" Jing Qing frowned.
Another branch: "Five Flavors Shop".
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