"Let me go!" Lin Ruyan, flushed with anger, tugged hard at her wide sleeves. The shopkeeper nearby, pale with shock, rushed forward to intervene.
However, the man with the triangular eyes kicked the shopkeeper to the ground with a single blow and immediately moved to grab Lin Ruyan by the waist.
Just then, fortunately, several patrolling guards appeared at the end of the alley.
"Help!" Lin Ruyan screamed immediately. "Someone is trying to abduct a woman in broad daylight!"
"What is going on here? Stop right there!"
Seeing the scene, the guards sprinted over and finally restrained the man.
"You dare commit such an act on the main street? Come with us to the magistrate's office and explain yourself!"
As the men bound the culprit and prepared to haul him away, the triangular-eyed man lost his bravado, his pleas punctuated by sobs. "Good sirs, it’s a misunderstanding! I wasn’t doing this of my own volition—someone paid me to stir up trouble! The sand in the rice, that was given to me by him too!"
"Who?" the guard asked, stunned.
"I don't know who he is, but he was a wealthy man. He gave me three taels of silver for this, and if I could… if I could actually defile the young mistress of the Lin family, he promised me thirty!"
Seeing him trembling like a leaf, the guard believed he wasn't lying and turned to Lin Ruyan. "Have you offended someone? Why would they target you like this?"
Lin Ruyan hesitated, unable to answer. The Lin Family’s business was vast; if they were talking about trade competition, there were countless people she might have offended. But the Lin Family had always acted with integrity and never stooped to underhanded tactics. Why would someone use a scheme like this against her?
"Perhaps it is just a misunderstanding," a voice suddenly came from not far away.
Xiao Chen had appeared from the other end of the alley, having already grasped the situation.
Lin Ruyan looked at him immediately, the thrill of being protected by him the day before rising in her heart again. But today, Xiao Chen’s face was blank, and there was no trace of anger as he looked at the culprit.
He said indifferently, "Since there is someone behind this, it must be a misunderstanding. We won't press charges. Let him go."
Since the victim had spoken, the guards had no choice but to untie the man. Lin Ruyan stared in disbelief. How had Xiao Chen changed so much overnight? Or perhaps, she wondered, this was his true nature, and yesterday had been the anomaly. He was, after all, a coward.
"Take the young mistress back to the estate. I will patrol the rest of the shops today."
Once the guards left and the culprit scrambled away, Xiao Chen summoned the Lin family guards to escort Lin Ruyan home. Watching him dismiss her like this only fueled her irritation. He couldn't speak up for her against outsiders, yet he was so overbearing toward her? She had truly misjudged him! She didn't want to argue in public and become a laughingstock, so she walked away with a stiff, cold face.
Watching Lin Ruyan’s back disappear, Xiao Chen’s lips curled into a dangerous smirk. He quickened his pace and soon vanished into the shadows of the alley.
The man with the triangular eyes, having escaped death, finally slowed his pace to catch his breath after running for some time. Just as he pulled the three taels of silver from his tunic to take a closer look, he was hoisted into the air.
"Ah!" he shrieked. Then, he saw that the person who had appeared out of thin air before him was none other than Xiao Chen.
Beneath his dark robes, Xiao Chen’s muscles were coiled tight as he held the man off the ground.
"Someone paid you to do this?" Xiao Chen asked with a mocking smile, pressing a cold dagger against the man’s throat. "There's no one around here. If I kill you, no one will ever know, don’t you think?"
"Don't! Sir, please! I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything!" The man was terrified to the point of wetting himself. Even before Xiao Chen could press him, he spilled the beans. "It was Steward Chen from the Prince of Zhennan's Estate who told me to humiliate the young mistress! I just did as I was told! Please, go after him instead! I'm just a small fry!"
He clawed at Xiao Chen's hands, wailing, "Steward Chen."
Xiao Chen laughed. "Where is he now?"
Upon learning the location, Xiao Chen threw the man to the ground and turned to leave.
On the top floor of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Steward Chen sat draped in fine robes on a soft couch, a dancing girl in each arm. The door was kicked open, and the women shrieked in terror, but Steward Chen remained unmoved, as if he had expected this.
"Xiao Chen, the useless son-in-law of the Lin Family."
Steward Chen lifted his heavy eyelids, scanning Xiao Chen from head to toe. "You have the guts to show your face before me? You must have lived long enough."
"By the day I’ve lived long enough, you’ll have long since turned to ash."
Xiao Chen couldn't be bothered with pleasantries. He kicked out, sending the fat man—couch and all—flying across the room.
"You—you dare lay a hand on me? Seize him!"
At Steward Chen's command, a swarm of estate guards rushed forward, but Xiao Chen ignored them completely. He took down every single one of them with a few swift strikes. He then hauled Steward Chen up and dragged him toward the balcony, making as if to throw him over the edge.
"I think it’s you who has lived long enough. I don't mind seeing you off!"
"You—you wouldn't!"
Everything happened so fast that Steward Chen was dangled over the white jade railing before he could react, his forehead slick with cold sweat. He desperately tried to threaten him. "You… you dare treat me like this? Do you think I can't bankrupt the Lin family within a year? The Prince of Zhennan's Estate only needs to move a finger to tear the hide off your Lin family, regardless of your wealth!"
"Is that so?" Xiao Chen smiled faintly. "Let’s put that to the test. I’ll throw you off this balcony, and then I’ll see exactly how you intend to tear the hide off the Lin family. What do you say?"
"You—" Steward Chen hadn't expected him to be so fearless. He shrieked in a fury, "Fine! Just wait! As long as I have a breath left in my body, I will see the Lin family destroyed!"
Just then, a steady, middle-aged voice rang out from the open doorway. "Mr. Xiao."
"Steward Wu!"
Xiao Chen did not recognize the newcomer, but Steward Chen’s face lit up with joy. "Steward Wu is the head steward of the Prince of Zhennan's Estate! He is in charge of everything in the house! Now that he’s here, you won't be walking out of this Hundred Flowers Pavilion in one piece!"
Steward Chen’s threat was gloating, the fear on his face completely replaced by arrogance. However, Steward Wu gave Steward Chen a look of pure contempt, as if viewing an idiot.
Without acknowledging the man, he bowed respectfully to Xiao Chen.
"Mr. Xiao, the Princess is feeling unwell. Would it be convenient for you to come to the estate to provide treatment? I apologize for the trouble."