AUBTN -Chapter 6 Northern Surveillance Bureau, Yu Qing Takes the Stage

Su Hewan’s mind was in utter chaos.

She had no idea how much time had passed when the cell door clanged open again.

Startled like a bird struck by an arrow, Su Hewan shrank into the corner, hastily grabbing a handful of rotting straw and holding it in front of her chest.

“Don’t kill me! I’m still useful! I know a lot of secrets!”

But the one who entered was not the ferocious guard from before.

Instead, it was an elderly eunuch with a pale face and no beard, probably in his forties or fifties.

In his hands, he carried a tray holding a set of clean, plain-colored clothing.

The eunuch approached Su Hewan, wearing that professional, forced smile. Although still slightly eerie, it was far less terrifying than the cold-faced executioner from before.

“Miss Su, you’ve been startled.”

The high, thin voice echoed through the cell.

Su Hewan eyed him warily. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“My surname is Li. I’m the steward in charge of the overseer’s personal attendants,” Eunuch Li said with a friendly smile as he sized her up.

“The overseer has given orders. This prison is damp and dark, and it might harm the lady’s health.”

Su Hewan froze.

What kind of development was this?

Just a moment ago, he wanted to chop off her arm, and now he’s worried about her well-being?

Has Shen Jue gone completely insane?

“Then… what does the overseer mean?” Su Hewan asked cautiously.

Eunuch Li turned to the side, gesturing politely with a bow so respectful it was almost unnerving.

“Please, Miss Su, step into the clean room. Hot water and meals have been prepared. The overseer instructed that, as you are a distinguished guest, you must be well attended to.”

Su Hewan was dumbstruck.

A distinguished guest?

【This plot isn’t going the right way!】

【Could it be because that secret was too explosive?!】

Slowly, Su Hewan stood and brushed the dust off her dress.

Although she had no idea what Shen Jue was planning, having hot water for a bath and a proper meal was certainly better than waiting to die in a pile of rotting straw.

“Then… I’ll trouble you to lead the way, Eunuch,” she said, nodding slightly, regaining her composed and dignified demeanor.

As she stepped out of the cell, she glanced back at the torture instruments on the wall.

And shivered violently!

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Bureau’s secret chamber…

Shen Jue held a dagger freshly retrieved from the depths of the armory.

It was the standard-issue dagger of the Shen family army.

His fingers trembled as he pried at the handle, wrapped in anti-slip sharkskin.

The sharkskin peeled off.

On the rusted black iron, there was a fine inscription, delicate as a mosquito’s leg but etched with a cloud pattern:

Shen.

At the same time, on the other side of the capital…

At the Northern Surveillance Bureau of the Jinyiwei…

Yu Qing had not been thrown into the notorious imperial prison. Instead, she was taken to a sparsely furnished side room.

A wooden plank bed, a square table, two long benches—nothing else.

This was the so-called guest room.

But if this counts as a guest room, then the two Jinyiwei standing at the door like iron towers, blades at their waists, not even moving their eyeballs, were probably the most hardcore doormen imaginable.

Yu Qing hugged her knees and curled into a tiny ball in the corner of the bed.

She was panicking.

Utterly panicking.

Panicking enough to want to video-call Su Hewan all the way in the Eastern Bureau for help.

【This is over! This script is wrong! Other transmigrators usually come with a system or a noble background. But me? I landed straight into a sacrificial pit. Just got out of that, and now I’m thrown into a wolf den?! Wanwan, that genius, can probably handle that damn eunuch—but what about me? I’ve only got this body, these hundred-odd pounds… my beauty and acting skills?】

Yu Qing stole a glance at the two terrifying figures at the door, her little heart hammering in her chest.

【Stay calm! Yu Qing! You’re the most talented student of the third-year performance arts class! Just treat this like an immersive live-action role-playing mystery! Just think of it as submitting your final assignment!】

As Yu Qing desperately tried to psych herself up with this self-hypnosis—

“Bang!” A loud crash resounded.

A gust of icy night wind blew in.

Yu Qing shivered violently, instinctively shrinking toward the corner of the bed.

The startled, fawn-like expression she naturally wore already carried a hint of genuine charm—no acting required.

At the doorway, a tall, upright figure stood silhouetted against the light.

Clad in a Feiyu uniform, broad-shouldered and long-legged, exuding an imposing aura.

It was the Commander of the Jinyiwei, Lu Yan.

He entered alone and closed the door behind him with a single motion.

Lu Yan strode to the table and casually slammed a thick dossier down with a sharp thud.

Turning around, he looked down at the cowering Yu Qing from above.

His dark, fathomless eyes revealed no emotion—only scrutiny.

“You said there’s a mole in the Jinyiwei.”

“Tell me—what do you know?”

Concise. Direct. No wasted words.

Yu Qing stared at the handsome face so close to hers, and for a moment, her internal commentary system froze.

【Whoa! That face! That figure! Absolutely top-tier! If this were modern times, he’d debut as an instant superstar! Who even needs a bike with looks like that!】

【But… those eyes! Terrifying! Feels like the next second he’s going to draw his sword and chop me!】

Lu Yan’s thumb paused slightly on the hilt of his sword.

That voice again.

The strange voice, filled with words he couldn’t understand, intruded into his mind without warning once more.

This woman was trembling with fear, yet her thoughts were all over the place. What nonsense was she thinking?

Lu Yan’s brow furrowed, his sense of disgust intensifying.

To him, a woman whose outward fear hid inner chaos must be a specially trained spy.

“My patience is limited.”

He stepped forward, his gaze unflinching.

“If you can’t give me a satisfactory answer, tonight you’ll get a tour of every single torture chamber in the Northern Garrison Office.”

Startled by his threat, Yu Qing finally broke down, tears flowing freely.

“Sir… have mercy, sir!”

She bawled loudly, enough to sadden anyone who heard her.

Clambering down from the bed on all fours, she knelt on the floor, tilting her face up toward Lu Yan, tears blurring her vision.

“I… I really didn’t mean to deceive you! I was just so scared, I only wanted to beg you to save my life…”

Sobbing, she reached for the hem of his uniform.

Lu Yan stepped back with a look of disgust, avoiding her grasp.

“Don’t try any tricks with me. In the Sacrificial Hall, you claimed to be my dream lover?” His cold laugh dripped with mockery. “Yet how could I ever have dreamed of someone like you—”

He paused, as if searching for the right word.

“A shameless woman.”

【Shameless? Dude, you are way too much of a straight man!】

Yu Qing’s thoughts screamed internally, but on the surface, she cried even harder, her shoulders heaving as if she had suffered a grievous injustice.

“Sir, please judge! I… I loved you for a long time, unable to control my feelings—”

“Shut up.”

Lu Yan felt the veins on his forehead twitching.

This woman’s inner monologue was far too loud.

“Answer my question. Who is the mole? How do you know?”

He drew Jinyiwei’s sword from his waist. The snow-bright blade reflected the candlelight, sending a cold gleam straight toward Yu Qing’s nose.