Половины жизни, посвященной музыке и макияжу

Глава 103

"What do you mean?" Zhao Ting had just returned from the palace and had a lot on his mind. Now, he felt nauseous whenever he heard the words "Seven Sheng Sect".

Duan Chen thought for a moment, then looked up at the three of them: "What is your impression of the Seven Sheng Sect's methods of killing people in the case in Bitter Water Town?"

Zhou Yufei frowned: "Disgusting, that's insane, not something a normal person would do!"

Zhan Yun couldn't help but chuckle. While the words were somewhat rash, they weren't entirely wrong. Drawing blood, ripping out hearts and livers, concocting secret medicines—handsome men were castrated, and the young men and women who survived bore scars from long-term bloodletting and were trained to be killing machines. Ordinary people couldn't possibly do such things; they probably couldn't even imagine it.

Duan Chen lowered his phoenix eyes and said softly, "What you said is true. But the most important point is that they have a ritual in the process of killing."

"A ceremony?" Zhao Ting narrowed his eyes.

Duan Chen glanced at Zhan Yun, then nodded slightly: "Xia Luzhen once said that each person they kidnapped underwent multiple screenings before being executed. Those who were hung by the trees had needles inserted into their necks, their hearts gouged out, and were dressed in white. If it were just ordinary murder, there wouldn't be a need to change them into clean clothes..."

Zhan Yun frowned, then nodded thoughtfully: "Thinking about it that way, it makes some sense. In this case, the victims all had their hearts removed, especially the two young women, who both had a piece of jewelry removed after they died, and one of them even had a lotus petal stuffed into her heart..."

"And have you noticed that this Miss Shi is quite a beauty?" Zhou Yufei sighed and pursed his lips. "I heard that these two were quite competitive when they were alive."

Seeing the puzzled looks on the faces of the other three, Zhou Yufei revealed a somewhat amused smile and raised his eyebrows: "I say, you two have been in the capital for so many years! Have you forgotten that every year around this time, there are all sorts of beauty pageants in the capital?"

Zhao Ting rolled his eyes at him and scoffed, "Boring!"

Duan Chen turned his gaze to Zhan Yun—what did that mean?

Zhan Yun was also somewhat helpless. He glanced at Zhou Yufei and then explained gently, "These are all things that busybodies have come up with. Some are tea competitions, some are zither playing, some are poetry and calligraphy competitions, all sorts of gimmicks. But when it comes to the final evaluation, one thing will never change: appearance."

Duan Chen nodded, then looked at Zhou Yufei: "So, what competitions did these two young ladies win?"

Zhou Yufei raised the corners of his mouth, and his peach blossom eyes sparkled when he mentioned beauties: "That Miss Lu is proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She won the top spot in five competitions last year. Today's Miss Shi is even more amazing. Since she was thirteen years old, she has won the title of the most beautiful woman in Bianjing for four consecutive years."

The most beautiful woman, the top of the list, the competition, first place… As Duan Chen listened, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind, and her clear, cold phoenix eyes lit up. Zhan Yun noticed the change in her expression and couldn't help but smile, asking gently, “Chen’er, have you thought of something?”

Duan Chen pondered for a moment, then sorted out his thoughts before speaking softly, "I'm not entirely sure yet. However, I think I might have guessed how the murderer chose their targets." Raising his eyes to look at the three women, Duan Chen slowly explained, "These two young ladies are both exceptionally beautiful and have won first place in numerous competitions; that's what they have in common. As for the two men, one was a scholar and the other a warrior, and Zhan Yun once said that the scholar surnamed Jiang was exceptionally talented in literature and had his own ideas about politics. I wonder if they might have participated in some competitions before…"

Zhou Yufei blinked, and asked uncertainly, "You mean, this person specifically targets leaders in various industries?" A beautiful and talented woman, a scholar with outstanding literary talent, a martial artist with superb martial arts skills—each of them is extremely excellent in a certain aspect and can be considered a leader. Is this the murderer's standard for choosing targets?

Zhan Yun tapped his folding fan with one hand, nodded slightly, and showed a hint of approval in his eyes: "Chen'er's deduction makes a lot of sense. At least, we now have another clue. If we follow this lead, we should be able to find something."

Zhao Ting nodded in agreement, "That's easy. Every year, the Kaifeng Prefecture keeps records of all kinds of competitions in the capital. We can just check the names to confirm."

Zhou Yufei lifted the curtain and glanced at the three of them, then looked at them and said, "You guys go back to the Prince's Mansion first. I'll get off at the intersection ahead, go back to the government office to get the files, and we'll have a good show tonight."

Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun exchanged a glance, both finding it somewhat amusing. This kid had really been driven to desperation by his father. He used to be carefree and irresponsible in everything he did, but these days he had become increasingly diligent, spending every day out and never returning home until dark.

Zhou Qianbo, however, was determined to clash with the Seventh Prince, coming to the Prince's residence almost every night for a free meal and strictly forbidding Zhou Yufei from eating at home. Every day, she would greet Duan Chen with an exceptionally warm and kind smile, showing none of the airs of a high-ranking official, and would often reminisce about Zhou Yufei's childhood. Zhou Yufei felt like she wanted to disappear into the ground. Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun, one cold and aloof, the other gentle and refined, with Zhan Yun always sporting a faint smile, sent chills down Zhou Yufei's spine every day, waking her in terror several times from nightmares.

Upon reaching the intersection, Zhou Yufei nodded to the three of them, lifted the curtain, jumped out of the carriage, and strode towards the government office. The moment the curtain was lowered, Zhan Yun's expression changed slightly, and a strange light flashed in his crescent-shaped eyes.

Quickly averting her gaze, Zhan Yun met Duan Chen's cool gaze. She smiled faintly, then gently shook her head, indicating it was alright. Duan Chen turned his gaze to the window, saying nothing.

Zhao Ting watched from the side, his dark eyes dimming, a faint bitterness rising in his heart. The two of them were getting along better and better.

During that incident at the tower, Zhan Yun was poisoned. He led his men down the stairs, and Xiao Changqing, upon seeing her condition, immediately paled, saying that not a moment could be wasted. The two then rushed towards the Prince's residence. He was worried about Zhan Yun's condition, but the image of her clutching his sleeve, tears streaming down her face, as she single-handedly chopped off half a window was constantly replaying in his mind. It was the first time he had ever seen Duan Chen cry, the first time he had ever heard her plead with him in such a soft voice. Yet, he would rather be the one poisoned and injured than be begged by her to save another person's life first.

He was the one who fell in love first, he had expressed his feelings to her long ago, he liked her no less than Zhan Yun, and in the end he even put aside his pride and scruples to confess his feelings to her, but in the end she said that his feelings were not pure.

How could she know his love wasn't pure? In his twenty-five years of life, he had only ever loved this one woman. He had never given another woman, whether a lady of high society or a courtesan, a second glance. He loved her, wanted to cherish her, protect her, marry her as his queen, and there would be no other woman in the future. Wasn't that enough?

She said her feelings for someone came with too many limitations, but does having limitations mean it's not love? He's a prince, a member of the royal family, and many of his ideas have been cultivated since childhood. He can't accept being in love with a man, he won't allow himself to like someone from another race, and he absolutely cannot touch his brother's woman... Who doesn't have their own rules and bottom line? Who doesn't live according to their own path? Who can guarantee that their feelings for another person won't come with any additional conditions?

The other two people in the car remained silent, yet the subtle sweetness and intimacy between them were palpable even to strangers. Zhao Ting lowered his eyes, his thin lips pressed together, a hint of sadness veiling his usually cold and aloof expression. He truly loved this person, even though she said his feelings weren't pure, even though she already had someone else in her heart, he still loved her…

Author's Note: There will be an update this Saturday at 9 AM!

P.S., cough cough, there's a little foreplay this weekend~

I want to show you all that I'm a master at stewing meat! ╭(╯^╰)╮

91

Chapter Eight: Budding Awakening • Deeply Rooted Entanglement...

The night was still and quiet.

The faint fragrance of lotus blossoms drifted through the room on the evening breeze, and the icicles placed on the windowsill gradually melted, creating a fine mist that brought a refreshing coolness.

Everyone in the room was engrossed in their books, the soft rustling of pages turning occasionally filling the air. Zhao Ting rubbed his temples, then turned to see Duan Chen leaning against a chair by the window, a book resting on his lap, his head slightly tilted, his phoenix eyes gently closed, a slight upturn at the corners of his lips, his expression serene, a rare tenderness appearing on his usually cool face. Like a kitten retracting its claws, he nestled obediently beside him, dozing off.

A gentle smile flickered in his dark eyes. He glanced sideways instinctively and saw Zhan Yun with his eyes half-closed, one hand carefully examining a file, the other holding a folding fan, calmly fanning Duan Chen. Noticing the probing gaze from across the room, Zhan Yun raised his eyes, a smile of indulgence and tenderness curving his lips, silently uttering a few words: "You've been exhausted these past few days."

Zhao Ting nodded, got up and walked to Zhan Yun's side, took the dossier from his hand, and said in a low voice, "Take her back to her room, Yi Ran and I can handle the rest."

Zhan Yun gave him a deep look, but didn't refuse. She closed her folding fan and bowed slightly to Zhao Ting. Then she reached out and wrapped her arms around Duan Chen's waist, and with her other arm around her legs, she gently lifted her up. Zhao Ting quickly took a few steps to help open the door, and at the same time took the book from her hands.

Duan Chen gently lifted his eyelids and stirred slightly. Zhan Yun quickly and softly coaxed him, "It's alright, go to sleep..." He then glanced at Zhao Ting and said softly, "I'll be back soon."

He carried Duan Chen all the way back to the backyard. Before they even entered the house, Duan Chen had already begun to wake up. Realizing he was being carried horizontally, and vaguely recalling the conversation between Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun earlier, he felt a slight burning sensation in his ears, but his voice was a little hoarse from just waking up: "Put me down..."

Zhan Yun glanced at the beauty in his arms with a smile, his clear voice carrying a hint of amusement: "Don't move, we're almost there."

As the door creaked open and slowly closed, Duan Chen soon felt himself being gently placed on the bed. The moonlight outside the window was dim, and the summer evening breeze was warm and slightly intoxicating. The other person's eyes, however, were bright and gentle like the moon in the sky, their tender affection making Duan Chen's cheeks flush. Duan Chen's mind was still a little dazed; he had forgotten how the other person had held him earlier, only suddenly feeling that they were too close, and coupled with the intense affection in the other person's eyes, he raised his hand and gently pushed Zhan Yun's shoulder.

Zhan Yun had just carefully put the person down when he was shoved on the shoulder. Although the force wasn't strong, it still startled him. Seeing Duan Chen's half-dazed and half-shy expression, his heart fluttered, and he leaned down to kiss him.

Just then, Duan Chen was propping herself up on the bed with her elbows, about to get up. Zhan Yun had originally intended to kiss her forehead, but as she stood up, he instead offered his lips to hers. In that instant when their lips met, Duan Chen was both surprised and embarrassed, and her elbows went weak, causing her to fall back down.

Zhan Yun was stirred by her seemingly coy actions, his heart pounding. Overwhelmed with passion, he no longer restrained himself as usual and kissed Duan Chen's lips several times. His handsome face flushed slightly with a tipsy heat as he gently rubbed against her fair cheek. As his breath quickened, he saw her delicate, jade-like earlobe right in front of him. His eyes darkened, and he leaned down to gently take it in his mouth, his tongue lightly teasing and licking it for a while before kissing his way down her fair neck.