Lin Zijing nodded upon hearing this. Since Anmei had taken action, there should be no problem. As for Jiang Yumin's background, they could only wait for Anmei to return before discussing it further.
Anmei returned the next day, and Lin Zijing was surprised to see him again, because Anmei was injured!
With his strength as the number one on the Dark Night Tower's Dark Ranking for many years, and as one of the four great stewards of the Dark Night Tower, there are very few people in the martial arts world who can match his strength, let alone injure him!
Lin Zijing hurriedly asked someone to bring medicine, and personally stopped the bleeding, applied the medicine, and wrapped it with gauze. Only then did Lin Zijing ask, "What exactly happened?"
"Heh heh, he's not much better than me! As soon as I caught up with him, I was quickly discovered. This kid subtly led me to a deserted alley. I thought since I'd been discovered, I might as well go all out and fight him. But I didn't expect this kid to be so tough!" Dark Charm wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled sinisterly.
Hearing Anmei praise her opponent, Lin Zijing was surprised for the third time. Was this the arrogant martial arts master Anmei?
Anmei, oblivious to Lin Zijing's expression, continued, "This person's face is indeed as rumored, burned by fire. Unexpectedly, this seemingly weak scholar possesses such high martial arts skills, and every move is a killing blow! If it were anyone else, they would probably find it difficult to escape from him. We were all testing each other, so we all held back, but this exchange was quite fruitful."
After a pause, looking up at Lin Zijing's increasingly solemn expression, An Mei also became very serious. He slowly said, "His martial arts style reminds me of someone!"
"Who?" Lin Zijin asked hurriedly.
“Red!” Dark Enchantress uttered softly.
☆、Thirteen、The Traitor
Anmei said Jiang Yumin's skills were like Piao Hong's. Lin Zijin, disregarding her doubts, excitedly asked, "You mean, Jiang Yumin might be—is Piao Hong?"
Thinking of that handsome young man who had been orphaned since childhood, that lonely boy who regarded himself as his only family, after their separation by death, he disappeared from the martial arts world, and no one ever heard any news about him again.
After Lin Zijin returned, she was still worried about him and had sent people everywhere to inquire about his whereabouts, but to no avail. Now that she had finally received news of him, how could Lin Zijin, who had been secretly searching for Piao Hong for so long, not be excited?
Seeing Lin Zijin's excited state, Anmei calmly reminded her, "Master, this is only a possibility, it hasn't been confirmed yet. You mustn't lose your composure!"
Hearing this, Lin Zijing became much more sober. Indeed, his identity wasn't yet confirmed, and approaching him rashly now would be unwise. She could only proceed cautiously, observing him slowly. If he was Piao Hong, things would be easy; if not, this man was a formidable opponent! She couldn't send anyone to follow him now. How could she determine his identity? Lin Zijing racked her brains, trying to think of a solution.
Just as one problem was about to be solved, another bizarre misunderstanding befell Lin Zijing, leaving him both amused and exasperated.
Lin Zijin and General Ye Zhanqing had a close relationship, which was no secret in the Fugui Pawnshop. Moreover, it was normal for ordinary people to have a few fair-weather friends. Therefore, the two often met without trying to hide it from others, only instructing their servants not to make a fuss.
This was not a big deal in itself, but it somehow reached the emperor's ears, which caused a lot of trouble.
After the court session ended that day, Jun Yifeng specially asked Ye Zhanqing to stay behind.
"May I ask how old you are, Minister Ye?" Jun Yifeng asked kindly.
Ye Zhanqing was completely baffled, but answered honestly.
"Do you have wives or concubines at home?" Jun Yifeng continued to ask.
"Huh? Why is the Emperor asking this? Is he going to arrange a marriage for me?" Ye Zhanqing immediately had a bad feeling. He could only say, "I am still young and busy with military affairs, so I have no time for anything else and therefore have not yet married."
Jun Yifeng smiled warmly: "Even the busiest person needs to get married! Otherwise, wouldn't others say that I am too harsh? My dear minister, do you have someone you like? I will make the decision for you."
Ye Zhanqing felt a chill run down his spine and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I have no time to consider personal matters at the moment, nor do I have anyone I fancy. I am grateful for Your Majesty's grace. I will do my utmost to repay your kindness until my dying breath!"
Jun Yifeng smiled with satisfaction, then changed the subject: "Have you encountered any difficulties at home recently, my dear minister?"
Not knowing what the emperor meant, Ye Zhanqing could only reply, "Your Majesty, no."
"I've heard that you've been frequenting a pawnshop lately, and the second manager of that wealthy pawnshop is said to be exceptionally handsome. Since he has no financial difficulties, he's obviously not there to pawn anything. Could it be that you're going there with ulterior motives?" Jun Yifeng said with a smile.
Ye Zhanqing's head buzzed, and he almost couldn't contain himself. Had he been discovered?
No, if I were discovered, I wouldn't be here to meet the emperor right now, but rather sitting in the imperial prison.
After calming herself down, Ye Zhanqing didn't dare to look up at Jun Yifeng's face. She also thought that now was not the time to turn against him, and she still had to deal with him.
Since everyone thinks that he and Zijing are the same person—let's just go with the flow! Ye Zhanqing thought of Lin Zijing and Jun Yilin's ugly faces, and couldn't care less about that anymore. He steeled his heart, blushed, and stammered, "He and I, he and I, we are just like-minded friends."
Ye Zhanqing felt disgusted with her own performance, but was certain that she could fool Jun Yifeng.
Jun Yifeng carefully observed the young general's expression. Based on his understanding of Ye Zhanqing, this expression didn't seem feigned. He immediately laughed loudly and said, "Haha, so that's how it is. In that case, I'll lend you a hand and bestow it upon you!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhanqing was greatly shocked. How could the emperor really be going to arrange a marriage for him? And the other party was a man, didn't he care? Although it was common for wealthy families to keep servants as concubines, those were all discreet matters, how could they be made public?
If this were to come true, just thinking about the fury that Lin Zijing and Jun Yilin would unleash, Ye Zhanqing shuddered. He really wanted to live a few more years!
Ye Zhanqing acted decisively, kneeling down and saying, "Your Majesty, please rescind your order. Although I care about him, he doesn't know it yet. I hope to give him some time to accept me, and then—" He was sweating profusely and his face was flushed from rambling on.
Seeing Ye Zhanqing's embarrassed look, Jun Yifeng became even more convinced of his judgment. Sure enough, it was just as he thought! So he smiled and agreed.
Back at the General's Mansion, Ye Zhanqing suddenly realized something: Jun Yifeng was definitely not inquiring about his private affairs on a whim today. Rather, he had somehow learned of his recent whereabouts and found it strange, so he was testing him. On one hand, he was observing his reaction to see if he was hiding anything, and on the other hand, he was reminding him not to do anything inappropriate, since his whereabouts were entirely under the Emperor's control!
Thinking of this, Ye Zhanqing felt uneasy and worried about Lin Zijin. He immediately ordered a sedan chair to be prepared to go to Fugui Pawnshop. Since Jun Yifeng already knew his whereabouts, it was better to go openly than to hide it!
Upon arriving at the pawnshop, Lin Zijing listened to Ye Zhanqing's account of Jun Yifeng's unusual behavior that day and agreed with Ye Zhanqing's thoughts. Jun Yifeng had always distrusted others, so he must have noticed Ye Zhanqing's recent suspicious behavior and thus become suspicious of him. Ye Zhanqing's answer today was indeed the best answer; when it came to matters of love and romance, no one would doubt him.
But—did she really have to pretend to be lovers with her younger brother? And with two men at that? Lin Zijing felt a chill run down her spine.
However, both of them simultaneously realized a serious problem: how could Jun Yifeng know Ye Zhanqing's whereabouts? He always came discreetly and instructed his servants not to make a fuss. If the methods Anmei had taught Ye Zhanqing for shaking off pursuers didn't work, then there could only be—
"There's a traitor!" the two shouted in unison.
After shouting, they realized their voices were a bit loud, so they immediately quieted down, looked at each other, and lowered their voices.
"Who could it be? Is it one of yours, or one of mine?" Lin Zijing frowned.
“I always made excuses to go to the military camp or to take care of other things, and I didn’t allow anyone to follow me. I believe they weren’t my people.” Ye Zhanqing recalled for a moment, thinking about whether there were any oversights in the past arrangements, and then said.
"Yes, I can trust the people from Dark Night Tower. It's just that some of the shop assistants in the pawnshop aren't from the tower. It's possible they saw you here by chance and accidentally told someone who was interested." Lin Zijing also mentally filtered through the suspicious people.
Suddenly, Lin Zijing remembered something, opened the door and instructed Hexiang to invite Accountant Yi over.
"Why did you suddenly call him over? Does he know something?" Ye Zhanqing asked after Lin Zijing closed the door.
“He once told a joke, do you remember it?” Lin Zijin said solemnly.
Sensing Lin Zijin's seriousness, Ye Zhanqing thought carefully for a moment and suddenly remembered that day when Jun Yilin pushed the door open and came in—could it be?
"Huh? It was that day! He said you and me—you and him—" Ye Zhanqing was too embarrassed to finish the sentence.
Lin Zijing knew he remembered and nodded.
“Where did this rumor originate? We’ll have to ask him to find out,” Lin Zijing said.
"Yes, that's right. Since there's this rumor, if we find its source, our problem will be pretty much solved." Ye Zhanqing agreed.
Regardless of the purpose of those who spread such rumors, it serves as a reminder that their opponents are not simple characters, and any oversight on their part could lead to incalculable losses.
"A thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole. It seems we need to be even more careful in the future!" Lin Zijing said slowly, her brows furrowed.
Jun Yilin arrived quickly. After listening to their description, he said in a daze, "I only said that because I listened to He Xiang. Could He Xiang be a traitor?"
Lin Zijing also felt it was unlikely. He Xiang was so young, and having grown up in the pawnshop, she was simple-minded and would never betray her employer. Could she be being used? If the person behind this wasn't found, she would always feel like she had thorns in her side, extremely uncomfortable.
Looking at the two serious-looking people, Jun Yilin smiled and said, "Leave this matter to me. No matter who that person is or what their purpose is, give me three days, and I will give you an answer."
Lin Zijing nodded, then said dejectedly, "But now I have to play lovers with Zhan Qing, and I have no experience with this. What should I do?"
"What? Pretend to be lovers? Why?" Jun Yilin roared, his usually gentle face contorted with rage.
Seeing his agitated state, Ye Zhanqing realized that Lin Zijin had let slip what she could have avoided earlier. Remembering his impending outburst of anger, Ye Zhanqing thought, "A wise man avoids dangerous situations; it's best to leave as soon as possible!"
So as he walked out, he said, "Uh, Zijing will explain this to you later. I have something to do, so I'll be going now!"
Seeing Ye Zhanqing run away without any sense of loyalty, Lin Zijing realized that his words might provoke Jun Yilin. Everyone knew about Jun Yilin's feelings for him, and he knew it even better. He immediately felt a little guilty and tried to cover it up by making up something to distract Jun Yilin.
But then she thought again, why should she? He's no one to her, so why should she have to consider his feelings in every way? Thinking of this, Lin Zijing felt a little more assertive.
Just as Lin Zijing's thoughts were in disarray, the anger Jun Yilin had anticipated didn't erupt; instead—
"What plans do you have that you can't tell me? I know I've always been worthless in your eyes, before and now! Fine, if you don't want to tell me, I won't ask anymore." Jun Yilin turned and left sadly.
This reaction was different from what she had expected. Lin Zijing was a little stunned, but seeing Jun Yilin's departing figure, she felt a pang in her heart, a tightness in her chest. If he were arguing with her, she could handle it calmly, but his resigned attitude left her at a loss! How could she make him feel less uncomfortable?
Startled by her own thoughts, Lin Zijing wondered when she had become so concerned about Jun Yilin's feelings!
"One, two, three, four..." Jun Yilin counted silently in his mind.
"Wait!" Lin Zijing called out.
Jun Yilin complained inwardly, "Why did it take so long to speak? They're almost gone!" But his act of playing the victim was quite effective, and Jun Yilin was secretly pleased.
Maintaining a mournful expression, Jun Yilin slowly turned around and looked at Lin Zijin.
Never having known that a man's sorrow could be so heartbreaking, Lin Zijing had no choice but to obediently tell him what Ye Zhanqing had been too afraid to say.
"What? Does Jun Yifeng have nothing better to do? He loves meddling in other people's private affairs so much. Luckily, Ye Zhanqing refused in time, otherwise—" Jun Yilin's eyes were blazing with anger!
Lin Zijing explained somewhat guiltily, "It's just an act, not real. Don't be angry! This is the best way now, otherwise, if our relationship is exposed, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
After saying that, I felt confused. Why was I feeling guilty?
Seeing Lin Zijin's timid appearance, Jun Yilin was secretly pleased, knowing it was a last resort. Not daring to push his luck any further, he went along with it, still feigning sullenness, and said, "That's all we can do for now, but you and Zhan Qing mustn't get too close. Keep a distance of three feet—no, five feet!"
Lin Zijing only wanted to calm the man's anger first, so she pitifully nodded in agreement regardless of what he said.
Lin Zijin breathed a sigh of relief as the expected storm was resolved peacefully.
Although Jun Yilin was quite pleased to have gotten the better of Lin Zijin by pretending to be pitiful, he was also thinking about how to find the traitor so that everyone could avoid such a sudden situation from happening again in the future.
So Jun Yilin immediately sought out He Xiang to test her.
He Xiang was overjoyed to hear that Accountant Yi was looking for her. Could it be that Accountant Yi had finally come to his senses and no longer liked the Second Manager, but had fallen for her instead? Of course! What was so great about the Second Manager? First, he was dissatisfied with Accountant Yi's superior abilities and suppressed him; later, when suppression didn't work, he turned to seducing him. Poor Accountant Yi, the Second Manager was a man—how could he bear children for him? She was much more suitable… He Xiang blushed as she imagined herself and Accountant Yi holding their son and daughter.
"Easy Accountant, you're looking for me?" He Xiang was still immersed in her wonderful fantasy, her rosy cheeks making her look adorable.
Seeing He Xiang's shy demeanor, Jun Yilin was taken aback. It seemed this girl was interested in him. This wasn't good. Once this matter was settled, he needed to find a suitable opportunity to marry He Xiang off to a good family.
"Hmm, you said General Ye keeps coming to see my cousin. Won't people outside think something strange about it?" Thinking that He Xiang was simple-minded, Jun Yilin decided to get straight to the point.
He Xiang then realized that she had misunderstood. It turned out that Accountant Yi was jealous and had nowhere to complain, so she said unhappily, "Every time General Ye comes, he only sees the Second Manager and Accountant Yi. I serve in the inner courtyard. Only I know about this. How could people outside know?"
Jun Yilin raised an eyebrow, feigning distress: "I've heard people outside are talking about General Ye and my cousin—I wonder who spread the rumor!"
He Xiang was startled. Could it be that the news got out because she had mentioned to her cousin that General Ye often came? Hadn't she repeatedly told her cousin not to tell anyone?
So she said embarrassedly, "Maybe I accidentally let it slip when I was having a private conversation with my cousin that day. I told her again and again not to tell anyone, so how did she tell anyone?" He Xiang was angry that her cousin had broken her promise and stomped her foot.
"Oh, so is your cousin married? What does your cousin's husband do?" Jun Yilin asked casually.
He Xiang answered honestly, "My cousin got married. Her husband is a lieutenant general under General Ye!"
Seeing that He Xiang was so innocent, Jun Yilin figured she wouldn't lie. He pondered for a moment and realized that this young general was the problem. So he said to He Xiang, "Go back first. Don't talk about what happened in the inner courtyard anymore. My cousin is very unhappy about this rumor. He said he'd beat up all the maids and servants serving in the inner courtyard and kick them out. I don't think you did it on purpose this time. I'll put in a good word for you with my cousin."