Chapter 39: Something Happened!!

"How is this possible!? How can this be!"

After Liu Er was woken up, he sat slumped on the ground, his eyes dull as he pulled at his hair. He looked toward Ma Dashi, whose throat had been slit.

"Why did he do it?"

"What else could it be but money!" Ye Qingyi said coldly.

"Go to the stream and clear your head. We shouldn't stay here long; we must leave immediately!"

The three of them quickly tidied up, got onto the carriage, and continued on their way. The moonlight was like water, the mountain forest was silent, and the carriage rumbled forward leaving all the mess behind.

Although Liu Er still had a bit of a headache, he was now fully awake. Fortunately, this escort route was familiar and not far, so even if the journey was slower under the moon, they wouldn't lose their way.

Lu Xuan continued to drive the carriage behind him, while Ye Qingyi urged her horse forward to ride alongside him.

Ye Qingyi kept her eyes fixed ahead.

"There was a hole in that Scarface man's wrist."

Lu Xuan said nothing.

"It looked like it was made by a pebble."

Still, Lu Xuan remained silent.

Ye Qingyi turned her head and studied him.

"Did you see it?"

Lu Xuan looked up, his expression blank.

"See what?"

Ye Qingyi stared at him for a long moment. His eyes didn't waver, and his face revealed nothing. He looked completely innocent, as if he genuinely had no idea what she was talking about.

Ye Qingyi narrowed her eyes.

"You're pretending you didn't see it?"

Lu Xuan blinked.

"See what?"

She watched him for another moment, then looked away.

"Forget it."

"All right."

His answer came so quickly that Ye Qingyi's expression darkened.

"Don't sound so relieved."

After a moment of silence between them, Ye Qingyi couldn't help but speak again.

"How did you know Ma Dashi drugged the food, and how did you have the antidote?"

Lu Xuan remained expressionless, but Lu Xuan had already thought of an answer.

"I've been weak and taking medicine since I was a child, so I'm exceptionally sensitive to drugs. I smelled it when the wind blew by."

"As for why I had the antidote..."

Lu Xuan pulled another pill from his pocket and held it in his hand.

"These medicines were all prepared for me by my wife. She knows I don't know martial arts and was worried about the dangers of the escort business, so she prepared these just in case. I didn't expect they would actually come in handy!"

Ye Qingyi listened on horseback, finding it remarkable.

"As for why my wife knows how to make all these different medicines, you can just buy a few pounds of meat and two pounds of fine wine and come ask her yourself another day!"

Ye Qingyi's face stiffened.

"You... you certainly have it all calculated."

Seeing Ye Qingyi's cold face stiffen even more on horseback, Lu Xuan felt smug.

Ye Qingyi took a deep breath and said to Lu Xuan, "Your acting when you 'fainted' just now was really terrible..."

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

After saying that, she urged her horse forward, leaving Lu Xuan behind with an ashen face and ignoring him.

---------------

They traveled through the night, delivered the goods the next afternoon, and then rushed back through the night again. By the time they reached the escort agency, it was already the afternoon of the third day.

After Fang Tieshan heard Ye Qingyi's account, his face turned livid.

"Ma Dashi... I didn't treat him poorly, so why?"

Fang Tieshan was silent for a long time, then said, "It must be because of that Steward Huang... the Lu Family..."

He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to Ye Qingyi. "I'll settle this debt later."

Ye Qingyi didn't speak, so Fang Tieshan turned around and asked, "Where is Xuan'er?"

"He went home."

Fang Tieshan nodded. "Let him rest for a few days, he must be terrified. This time... it's thanks to you."

Ye Qingyi opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed her words, and she didn't mention the pebble.

----------------

Lu Xuan pushed open the door to his home, but the door wasn't locked, which made his heart tighten as he walked in quickly.

In the courtyard, the drying rack had fallen over, and washed clothes were scattered across the ground, with a few having fallen into the mud and become covered in footprints.

The inside of the house was even messier, as cabinets had been ransacked, clothes were thrown everywhere, and drawers had been pulled out and overturned on the floor.

The table was flipped, stools were knocked over, and porcelain shards lay on the ground because her favorite bowl had been broken into several pieces.

Shen Yuyan sat in the corner, hugging her knees with her face buried in her arms.

Lu Xuan's heart had tightened when he saw the state of the house, but when he saw that she was still there, alive and unharmed, his panic eased. He walked over and knelt down.

"Yuyan."

Shen Yuyan looked up, and although her eyes were red, she hadn't cried.

"Husband... you're back..."

Her voice was very soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing someone.

Lu Xuan saw red marks on her arms. There was more than one, as they covered her wrists and forearms; some had already turned bruised and blue, while others were fresh and still swollen.

His eyes become cold.

"Who was here?"

Shen Yuyan lowered her head and pulled down her sleeves to cover the marks.

"Shen Wanqing and Shen Wanrong."

Her voice was very quiet, "They came looking for the jade pendant. I said I didn't know where it was, so they started searching the house instead."

"Did they hit you?"

"No... they just pushed me a few times."

Lu Xuan looked at her, noticing that her face was also a bit red, with the left side slightly more swollen than the right, so he reached out and gently touched it.

Shen Yuyan flinched, and Lu Xuan's hand stopped in mid-air.

"Did they hit you in the face?"

"No... they just pushed me, and I hit the corner of the table."

Shen Yuyan's voice grew quieter and quieter, as if she were speaking of something she shouldn't.

Lu Xuan didn't speak, but looked at the red marks on her face and the bruises on her arms.

"Why didn't you use the medicine you prepared?"

Shen Yuyan didn't speak, and Lu Xuan was confused for a moment before he understood.

The medicine, she had given it all to him.

The red antidote pills and the black poison, she had given them all to him, and she hadn't kept a single one, because she had stuffed everything that could save his life into his arms.

Lu Xuan's throat felt as if something were blocking it.

"It's nothing." Shen Yuyan looked up and gave a small smile. "It was just a few pushes, so it doesn't hurt. It really doesn't hurt."

Lu Xuan looked at her.

Not hurt? How could it not hurt?

The marks on her arms were already turning blue, and those were from being pinched with fingernails and then twisted; he had tasted that kind of pain when he was young at the Lu Family.

He clenched his fists.

Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Shen Yuyan tugged at his sleeve.

"Husband, it's really okay. They didn't find the jade pendant, so they just cursed a bit and left."

She paused.

"And... I scared them."

Her voice suddenly lightened, as if she had done something remarkable.

"I said, my husband will be back soon, and if you don't leave, he won't let you off."

She looked at Lu Xuan, her eyes shining.

"They were intimidated by me, so their faces changed, and they left while grumbling."

Lu Xuan looked at her.

She was smiling, but that smile was more heartbreaking than crying.

She knew he couldn't beat the Shen sisters, and she knew that saying "he won't let you off" was just an empty threat, but she said it anyway because she believed in him.

Lu Xuan reached out and pulled her up from the ground, but the moment she stood up, her legs buckled, and she leaned against the wall for support.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing... I just sat for too long, so my legs are numb."

Lu Xuan didn't ask further, and after letting go of her hand, he began to tidy the room.

He straightened the table, arranged the stools, and swept up the porcelain shards from the floor.

Shen Yuyan wanted to help, but he pressed down on her shoulder.

"You stay still."

Shen Yuyan didn't move, so she stood to the side and watched him.

Lu Xuan picked up the clothes one by one, shook off the dust, folded them, and put them back into the cabinet, while he also put the drawers back and returned everything to its original place.

He worked slowly and meticulously, as if he were performing a very important task, while Shen Yuyan stood by his side and watched him.

"Husband."

"Yeah."

"Aren't you going to ask if the jade pendant is still here?"

Lu Xuan paused.

"Is it?"

"It is."

Shen Yuyan pulled the Yin-Yang jade pendant from her chest and handed it to him.

"I hid it behind the stove earlier. They searched the whole house but couldn't find it."

Lu Xuan took the jade pendant and turned it over to take a look, but he still didn't recognize the two ancient characters on the back.

He handed the jade pendant back to her.

"Keep it safe."

Shen Yuyan pushed the jade pendant back.

"Husband, you keep it for me!"

Lu Xuan was taken aback.

"Isn't this your most important possession?"

Shen Yuyan nodded.

"Yes, that's why I'm asking you to keep it for me."

Looking into Shen Yuyan's eyes, Lu Xuan nodded and put it away.

"Starting tomorrow, I'll stay with you for a couple more days."

Shen Yuyan was stunned.

"No need..."

"I've already told Uncle Fang to let me stay home for a few extra days this time."

Shen Yuyan opened her mouth as if to say something, then swallowed it.

She lowered her head as the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"Okay."