Chapter 8 You stepped on my skirt and dirtied it
He thought his daughter had changed her ways, but he never expected she would offend such a powerful figure!
The man turned around, his face cold and stern. The flying fish fins embroidered on the hem of his clothes were outstretched, as if they were about to break through the waves and soar into the sky, exuding an imposing aura.
"Minister Jiang, please don't be angry. I've come to apologize to Miss Jiang." Lu Yuan smiled, but his eyes were deep and cold.
Jiang Zhengting's anger suddenly vanished. "An apology?"
He was startled when the gatekeeper came to report that Lu Yuan had arrived.
Although Lu Yuan's official rank was only the third grade, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was directly under the Emperor's command and not subject to the jurisdiction of the Six Ministries of the Outer Court. They also had the responsibility of monitoring the words and deeds of all officials.
Whether or not one has committed a crime, being targeted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard can result in anything from minor mistreatment to the confiscation of one's property and extermination of one's entire family, especially now, a sensitive time for apprehending assassins.
Therefore, when Lu Yuan bluntly asked to see Jiang Zhi, Jiang Zhengting was terrified, thinking that Jiang Zhi had offended Lu Yuan at Puzhao Temple.
I never expected they came to apologize.
The Imperial Guards personally came to apologize?
The sun is rising in the west.
"Indeed, I was rude to Miss Jiang last night, and I have come today to apologize. I hope Miss Jiang will forgive me."
After speaking, Lu Yuan took out a jade hairpin from his bosom and bowed respectfully to her, saying, "I have inadvertently damaged Miss Jiang's hairpin, so please accept this as an apology."
The jade hairpin in his hand looked simple in design and not particularly valuable, but its value was about the same as the one he had broken.
Since he dared to give it to her, Jiang Zhi dared to accept it.
She accepted the jade hairpin with a cold expression. "Thank you, Lord Lu. I accept your apology. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave."
"Wait a minute," Lu Yuan smiled, but the smile seemed to carry a knife, sending chills down one's spine. "Regarding last night's events, I wonder if Lord Jiang would allow me to ask Miss Jiang a few questions in private?"
Lu Yuan was acting on behalf of the Emperor, so Jiang Zhengting couldn't very well stop him.
Moreover, the fact that the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard personally came to inquire instead of directly throwing the person into the imperial prison for interrogation was already a great show of respect for him.
"Commander Lu, please proceed." Jiang Zhengting had his servants change the tea, gave Jiang Zhi a warning glare, and then they all left the main hall.
"Miss Jiang, now it's just the two of us. Tell me, who was in your room last night?"
Lu Yuan didn't give Jiang Zhi a chance to react. His hawk-like eyes stared straight at her, as if he could see right through her.
Jiang Zhi suppressed the surprise and doubt in her eyes and said in a low voice, "What are you talking about, Lord Lu? I don't understand. Didn't you search last night and find no one?"
"I thought Miss Jiang was a smart person. I came to ask because I had noticed something." He stepped closer, his black boots almost touching the hem of Jiang Zhi's skirt, and a chilling sense of oppression came over him.
After leaving Jiang Zhi's meditation room that night, Lu Yuan searched almost the entire Puzhao Temple but couldn't find any trace of the assassin.
The assassin, cornered by her, vanished without a trace outside her meditation room in the blink of an eye.
Although they had already questioned many monks at Puzhao Temple, they had gotten nothing out of it.
After returning home, Lu Yuan felt something was amiss. The only breakthrough point lay with this Miss Jiang.
Jiang Zhi's heart pounded violently, and her palms were covered in cold sweat.
She was forced to take a half step back as Lu Yuan's figure gradually approached, her back hitting the lacquered wooden armrest, which made her side ache.
"How can Lord Lu falsely accuse my daughter of innocence without any evidence?" She took a deep breath to calm herself down.
“The Embroidered Uniform Guard doesn’t need evidence to do things,” Lu Yuan looked down at her. “If you don’t explain yourself now, you’ll have to go to the imperial prison to tell me.”
"Miss Jiang must have heard of the Imperial Prison. I am only doing this for your sake."
"If you confess the truth now, I can let bygones be bygones for your deception last night, how about it?"
He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if he were teasing a bird struggling to its death in a cage.
Jiang Zhi felt a chill run down her spine.
They were so close that the heat emanating from Lu Yuan through his flying fish robe was almost scalding her.
She reached out and pushed his chest, only to find that she couldn't budge it an inch.
That damned Lu Yuan.
She promised Xie Qi that she wouldn't reveal his identity, especially since Xie Qi was crucial to her upcoming plans.
Whether it was to take revenge on his stepmother and stepsister or to deal with the Earl of Zhongqin's mansion, Xie Qi's help was indispensable.
She cannot betray him at this time.
The only way to get rid of Lu Yuan's entanglement is...
Jiang Zhi bit her lip, made up her mind, and then raised her hand to slap him without hesitation.
A soft "snap" sounded.
The distance was too close, and Lu Yuan's face turned to the side when he was hit.
What he found even harder to believe than the slight pain on his face was that he had been slapped by the same person again.
Very well, he hasn't been provoked by anyone in a long time.
"You're asking for it." Lu Yuan grabbed her thin wrist, leaned forward, and forced her to stagger and fall onto the cold chair.
A dark shadow loomed over them, and the bloodthirsty and ruthless aura of someone who had held a high position for many years was terrifying.
An ordinary woman would have fainted from fright at the sight of Lu Yuan's appearance, which resembled that of a demon from the underworld.
Jiang Zhi did not flinch, but instead looked up and stared straight into his turbulent eyes, and said calmly, "Lord Lu, you have dirtied my skirt."
Her expression was calm, and her tone even carried the coquettishness of a young lady, making Lu Yuan almost think he had misheard.
Looking down, he saw that his black boots had indeed stepped on her moon-white skirt, leaving a faint gray shoe print.
It's as if a painting has been stained with ink, losing its original value.
"So what?"
“There was no one else in my room last night,” Jiang Zhi said calmly, “but I can help Lord Lu find clues about the assassin.”
Lu Yuan chuckled, "Do you think my Embroidered Uniform Guard is full of useless people, and that we need a young lady like you to solve cases?"
“It has to be a young lady from a respectable family,” Jiang Zhi tilted her head and looked at him. “I have some knowledge of spices. Last night outside the meditation room, I smelled a very peculiar fragrance.”
Today, Lord Lu mentioned that the assassin disappeared outside my meditation room, so this scent most likely originated from him. If we can find the source of this spice, we can follow the trail and track him down.”
In her past life, she had a lot to learn in the brothel, and one of them was the ability to distinguish scents.
Some guests disguise themselves and do not want to reveal their identities, but in fact, as long as you can tell what kind of incense they are using on their clothes, you can tell whether they are from a wealthy or powerful family, and you can even guess some of their daily habits and preferences.
Unfortunately, although she had learned a lot, she was always confined to the brothel by that man, and had no opportunity to use her skills.
She did smell a strange yet familiar fragrance last night, but it was fleeting and she didn't pay much attention to it at the time.
Lu Yuan loosened his grip on her wrist slightly, but didn't move away an inch, scrutinizing her with eyes as sharp as a venomous snake.
Jiang Zhi also looked up and stared directly at him; she couldn't back down now.
"I've helped Lord Lu find clues about the assassin. In return, Lord Lu, please don't bother me with this matter again, okay?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
