Chapter 47 The fire raged, his gaze fixed intently on her retreating figure.
During the day, Lin Shutang was led to the backyard to change clothes after receiving a hint from a servant.
The Lu residence was bustling with guests, and the servants moved about among the artificial hills and flowing water. With everyone working together, they soon shook off Yingxi.
Lin Shutang entered the room, but unexpectedly, he did not see Song Ying. Instead, he smelled a certain fragrance and fell asleep in the room.
When Shen Yun approached the bedside, Lin Shutang was still unconscious.
The maid lowered her head tremblingly, trying her best to ignore the cold aura emanating from the person in front of her, and said according to the words the eldest young master had instructed, "Madam may still be feeling the effects of the wine."
Shen Yun picked Lin Shutang up by the waist and carried her out of the room. Ying Xi, who had followed, had already prepared a carriage outside the Lu residence.
After passing through the hanging flower gate, turning into the corridor, and entering the back garden of the Lu residence, Lin Shutang finally woke up in a daze, her mind completely blank. When she saw herself being held in Shen Yun's arms, she was even more confused.
"What's wrong with me?" Lin Shutang asked, her voice hoarse, clearly having slept for a long time.
The familiar scent of cool pine wood wafted into her nostrils, bringing her back to her senses. Lin Shutang leaned closer to Shen Yun's chest.
Shen Yun glanced down at her, his Adam's apple bobbing, and said in a low voice, "You're drunk."
“But I didn’t drink it…” Lin Shutang retorted instinctively.
But then she remembered that this might be the Lu family's excuse to Shen Yun. If she admitted that she hadn't drunk much, wouldn't that be an admission of guilt? How could she explain to Shen Yun why she stayed at the Lu family's residence?
Lin Shutang herself didn't know what had happened. Her senior brother had come to find her, so she went with him. What happened after that...
Why does she have no recollection of it at all? Did she see her senior brother?
Lin Shutang felt like her head was a tangled mess, and the more she thought about it, the more blank some memories seemed to become, giving her a real hangover feeling.
She shook her head in Shen Jun's arms, trying to shake off the lingering pain, when Shen Jun's voice came from above, "If you can't remember, then don't think about it."
Lin Shutang looked up and saw Shen Yun's cold and hard profile. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, and he took large strides. His arms around her were tight, and Lin Shutang didn't feel any jolts. Instead, she felt a sense of stability and security.
She saw the last rays of sunlight fade on the horizon, and the sky above Yujing was already covered with a deep blue canopy, realizing with a start that it was getting late.
Lin Shutang's heart skipped a beat. Looking at Shen Yun again, she realized that he must be in a bad mood.
She hesitated before speaking, belatedly realizing something, "Have I caused you any trouble?"
Having already stepped out of the front yard, Shen Yun turned past the screen wall, seemingly laughing, "More than that."
As he spoke, he looked down at her, about to speak, when a piercingly bright red flashed in the corner of his eye.
Turning around, the deep blue curtain that had been gradually spreading seemed to have been suddenly torn open, and the fiery red fireworks began to advance inch by inch, spreading and instantly occupying half of the sky above Yujing.
Thick smoke billowed from the eaves, and the cries for help from the surging crowd in the distance rose in waves. The flames spread across the sky on the wind, and the wind that came in was scorching hot and carried a strange smell of burning. It swept in like a hurricane.
Lin Shutang stared blankly at the scene before him, then turned his stiff head to look at Shen Yun.
From this angle, she couldn't see his expression completely, but inexplicably, he seemed very calm. Calm enough to simply stare quietly at the half of the sky that had turned red with fire.
The crimson firelight reflected on his face, making it look as if it were stained with blood—a truly chilling sight.
After a long pause, Shen Yun spoke, "Lin Shutang, you owe me again."
As he spoke, he slowly shifted his gaze, lowering it to her face. A smile, as usual, curved his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes. He still had that same carefree demeanor, but Lin Shutang felt there was an emotion in his eyes that she couldn't understand.
Shen Yun was half surrounded by the shadows of the screen wall, the high wall, and the corners of the eaves, while half of his face was illuminated by the towering firelight, like a faint candle flame flickering on rice paper, tearing his whole body apart.
Lin Shutang couldn't understand Shen Yun's words, but she had a gut feeling that what had happened was related to her.
Carried by Shen Yun into the carriage, Lin Shutang lifted the curtain and looked at the firelight, watching it gradually disappear from sight.
She turned around and saw Shen Yun staring intently at her back.
-
"The Lu family is utterly audacious! They actually dared to kidnap Lin Shutang to threaten you!"
As soon as Ji Huaiyi entered the Imperial Training Ground today, he stormed into Shen Yun's duty room, his face red with anger.
Yesterday's fire burned the Chen residence to the ground, and Chen Nian was unable to be rescued from the fire.
By the time Yingxiao and his group realized what was happening, the fire had already spread completely, thanks to the secret dousing of oil. Not only that, but a group of assassins were also blocking their way.
Such meticulous coordination clearly indicates that Lin Shutang was used as a hostage to lure Shen Yun away, both to prevent the two from meeting and to loosen the manpower, making it easier for them to carry out their plan.
However, no one expected that the Lu family would be so ambitious, not only destroying the evidence but also taking a lucrative job.
Ji Huaiyi simply couldn't understand why Shen Yun had actually handed it over.
This morning in court, he was so shocked when he heard Shen Yun request to be relieved of his post as the Director of the Ministry of Revenue and hand it over to Lu Zheng that he almost went deaf.
But considering that Lin Shutang was in their hands, it would be truly bizarre if Shen Yun disagreed.
After all, no one has any evidence to suggest that Lin Shutang was definitely at the Lu residence.
If they really want to investigate, they can just find a few "witnesses" to say that Lin Shutang left a long time ago, and no one can do anything about it.
After all, Zhao Mingzhu thought Lin Shutang had gone ahead of her yesterday.
Ji Huaiyi sighed. This was a dead end.
"The Lu family is willing to expose their own secrets in order to protect the person behind them. It seems that this person must be of noble status, perhaps even above you and me."
Ji Huaiyi now understands.
That person's identity is probably one of the Emperor's princes.
Shen Yun must have already guessed this, which is why that person took the risk of using the Lu family, a seemingly neutral pawn. Since they've already been exposed, why not take advantage of the situation and get a share of the spoils?
"Having been promoted to the position of Supervisor of the Ministry of Revenue, Lu Zheng will soon set off for Jiangnan to cooperate with local grain merchants. If he controls the grain storage network, the power behind them will be immeasurable." Ji Huaiyi was somewhat worried. "That person treats you like this now. If we really fight for the throne in the future and he ascends to the supreme position, he will definitely not let you go."
"I'll give it to him, but we'll see if he can handle it." Shen Yun scoffed lightly.
“Yes, your maternal grandfather is in charge of Jiangnan.” Ji Huaiyi’s eyes lit up, and he immediately relaxed and sat down.
Finally, something went smoothly for me.
"From this perspective, it's not entirely fruitless. At least it proves that the Lu family isn't as neutral as they appear on the surface, and we can guess who's behind it all." Ji Huaiyi pondered for a moment, and the worry in his eyes lessened considerably.
Just thinking about how the hard-won clues had ended with Chen Nian still made Ji Huaiyi feel a little heartbroken.
Some people couldn't help but become a bit alarmed, thinking, "What if the people I sent to the border garrisons also run into trouble?"
He suddenly stood up from the armchair, looking terrified.
Shen Yun glanced at him indifferently, "Don't worry, if they knew, it would have been Zhao Mingzhu who was detained yesterday."
The reason he entrusted the investigation of the ledgers to Ji Huaiyi was to deliberately mislead those behind the scenes. After all, apart from him, Madam Zhou, and Ji Huaiyi, no one knew that Zhou Ziyang had left behind a fragment of a military pay ledger.
It was precisely because of his large-scale investigation of the Military Equipment Bureau that Ji Huaiyi's troops were able to leave the city quietly without being discovered.
Otherwise, if he just goes wherever he's told to, will the case even be investigated?
"What! That damned old bastard, he dares to touch my pearl!" Ji Huaiyi roared, displaying a fierce determination to fight Lu Bingyan to the death if he dared to harm Zhao Mingzhu.
Just thinking that even I am like this, how could Shen Yun sit still like this?
Ji Huaiyi glanced at him. Shen Yun was flipping through the official documents on the table, seemingly no different from usual. The silence was somewhat unusual.
It is said that a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years.
Shen Yun is no gentleman; he harbors as many malicious intentions as there are holes in a sieve.
Unlike him, Shen Yun would take revenge on the spot and then forget about it afterwards.
To achieve his goals, Shen Yun could lie low and dormant, like a coiled snake. On the surface, he could even chat and laugh with his enemies, treating them with courtesy, while secretly employing all sorts of underhanded tactics. Only when he had brought someone to the brink of death, and that person was struggling in their death throes, might they realize that they had unwittingly provoked a madman.
Ji Huaiyi silently shook his head, and fine goosebumps rose on his back.
Suddenly it occurred to me, no wonder Lin Shutang always called him a treacherous villain who was vindictive.
"Is there anything else?" Shen Yun raised her eyes and glanced at him, gesturing for him to move aside and not block the light.
Ji Huaiyi stepped forward, placed one hand on his desk, and said quite seriously, "Chen Yun, you still have a backup plan, don't you?"
"Now, the Lu family and those behind him are all trying to harm you. Song Ying goes without saying; joining the Third Prince's forces will certainly be detrimental to you as well. You're such a vengeful person; what would you do if Lin Shutang also sided with Song Ying?"
Shen Yun's expression turned completely serious. "Is there something you need?"
"Hey, I just wanted to give you a heads-up." Ji Huaiyi dropped his nonchalant attitude and straightened up. "Now that Song Ying is back, are you sure she'll be on your side?"
If he were Song Ying, with such great help from Lin Shutang, he certainly wouldn't give up easily. I'm afraid Lin Shutang wouldn't show any mercy to Shen Yun either.
By then, everything will be set in stone, and there will be no going back.
Ji Huaiyi truly considered Shen Yun a brother, and even knowing that Shen Yun wouldn't like to hear these words, he still had to say them, risking a falling out.
He didn't want Shen Yun to be confused about Lin Shutang's matter again.
"You are surrounded by dangers now. I hope you can think carefully and not act on impulse. How many of their schemes have you fallen for because of her? Is she really unaware of this? When has she ever appreciated your kindness?"
"She seemed to have been well-behaved by your side for three years, but things are different now. Are you sure she will stay willingly? How confident are you that she has feelings for you and is loyal to you? And can you tell whether she hates you more or... cares about you more?"
Ji Huaiyi paused, not even daring to mention the word "love." Could there be love between them?
Can things turn out well, given the deep-seated hatred and blood feud?
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