AUBTN -Chapter 64 Stirring the Waters

Su Hewan pressed a hand to her forehead.

“Ancestor, didn’t Lu Yan tell us not to cause trouble?”

But seeing the vicious faces of those thugs, she sighed and slowly stood up.

Fine.

Since this is an investigation, sometimes you have to stir the waters for the fish to surface.

“Where did these little wenches come from? Take them away!” The lead servant sneered at Yu Qing with a lecherous grin.

Yu Qing placed her hands on her hips, her almond-shaped eyes wide with indignation.

“Take you away, my foot!”

“We are esteemed guests of the Jiang household! We just came from your family banquet! If your master knew you dared touch us, you’d be dead for sure!”

The group of servants froze for a moment at these words, then erupted into a loud, mocking laughter.

They stared the two girls up and down as if inspecting fools.

Two seemingly delicate little maidens, though dressed nicely, had no attendants with them, sitting in the corner of this teahouse eating sunflower seeds—how could they be esteemed guests?

After all, today the Jiang household was hosting the imperial commander of the Jinyiwei and the chief of the Eastern Depot!

Those were figures of immense importance! The womenfolk were all inside the inner court watching performances; how could they possibly sneak off to a seedy place like this to listen to a storyteller?

“Esteemed guests? I think they’re just the old storyteller’s accomplices!”

The steward’s scarred face twitched as he spat disdainfully.

“These days, people who freeload are everywhere, and they even dare pretend to be Jiang household guests? They should take a good look in the mirror! Everything in Su City belongs to the Jiang family. Spreading lies here is like poking the tiger!”

“Guards! Untie them! Muzzle their mouths and bring them back for the master to deal with!”

“Yes, sir!”

A group of servants, like wolves and tigers, surged forward.

Su Hewan’s gaze turned cold.

【As expected, a strong dragon can’t suppress a local snake. These people are used to bullying others and have no sense of reason.】

She quickly assessed the situation and pulled Yu Qing back, whispering in her ear: “Don’t resist. Let them tie us up.”

“Ah?” Yu Qing froze.

Is Wan Wan crazy? This is practically hostage treatment!

Su Hewan gave her a “stay calm” look.

Yu Qing instantly understood.

“Ah! What are you doing! Let go of me! Help—uh-uh-uh!”

The two made no resistance at all, allowing the servants to roughly bind their arms behind their backs and shove them out of the Ting Feng Pavilion.

Over Su City, the sky was dark with thick clouds; a storm was brewing.

Meanwhile, in the opulent banquet hall of the Jiang household, the singing and dancing had reached its climax.

Inside the Ting Yuxuan, the scent of wine lingered.

Shen Jue’s slender fingers toyed with a cracked white jade cup.

His phoenix-like eyes were lowered, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

Lu Yan sat like an iceberg, his gaze occasionally flicking to the door.

Those two women had been gone for quite a long time.

Could they have gotten lost? Or did that girl Yu Qing cause trouble again?

Lu Yan frowned slightly, unconsciously stroking the hilt of the embroidered spring dagger at his waist.

At that moment, a servant rushed in from a side door, whispering hurriedly into the ear of the chief steward.

The steward’s expression changed. After hesitating for a moment, he forced himself to approach Jiang Huai, who was raising his cup to toast Shen Jue.

“Master…”

Jiang Huai, flushed from drinking, had his mood interrupted and scowled at the steward.

“Don’t you see I’m toasting the two gentlemen? What’s this nonsense?”

The steward trembled, lowering his voice: “Master, the men outside caught a few people causing trouble in the Ting Feng Pavilion. They say… they insist on seeing the household master.”

“Causing trouble?”

Jiang Huai snorted coldly, a trace of cruelty flashing in his eyes.

“Is something this trivial even worth bringing here? Don’t you know any rules? Get out!”

Though his voice was low, both Shen Jue and Lu Yan were martial experts with incredibly sharp hearing.

The wine glass in Shen Jue’s hand wobbled slightly, and a playful curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The steward’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat. He forced a bitter smile and said, “It’s not like that, sir… those two young ladies… they’ve been shouting, saying they know you, sir, and that they’re honored guests of the Jiang household. We were afraid… afraid that maybe they really are…”

“Nonsense!”

Jiang Huai’s drunkenness surged.

“All the honored guests I invited today are sitting right here! How dare some wild girls pretend to have connections? Drag them away and give them a slap!”

Seeing the master angry, the steward dared not argue further and obediently stepped back.

“Wait.”

A cold, clear voice, like the clink of jade, suddenly rang out.

Lu Yan, who had been silent until now, slowly stood. His tall figure immediately cast a shadow over the room.

“Since someone claims to be Chairman Jiang’s honored guest, wouldn’t it be… a bit unreasonable for Chairman Jiang to shout ‘beat them’ without even seeing them?”

Jiang Huai froze and quickly forced a smile. “Lord Lu, you may not know… Su City has many unruly citizens. Sometimes there are those shameless—”

“Unruly citizens?”

Shen Jue also smiled.

He rose deliberately, his eyes smiling yet not smiling, making Jiang Huai shiver inside.

“We happen to be quite interested in Su City’s unruly citizens. It seems the two young ladies who came with Lord Lu went out for some air and haven’t returned for a while. Why don’t you, Chairman Jiang, take us to see exactly what kind of people are causing trouble?”

A chill ran down Jiang Huai’s spine.

A foreboding feeling rose in his chest.

But then he reminded himself—they were just two wild girls who had been listening to storytellers in a teahouse. How could they possibly have anything to do with these two giants?

“If the two lords are interested… then, please.”

Jiang Huai braced himself, made a gesture of invitation, but in his heart, he cursed every one of the household’s servants through eighteen generations.

Front courtyard of the Jiang mansion.

A storm was approaching. Wild wind swept up fallen leaves in spirals across the ground.

A dozen or so servants, armed with sticks, surrounded two figures tied up in the middle.

The rag in Yu Qing’s mouth had just been pulled off, and in anger, she kicked the servant next to her in the shin.

“You blind idiots! Just wait until your master comes—I’ll see how you die then!”

The servant, stung and humiliated, raised his stick to strike. “How dare you talk back! Hit her!”

“Stop!”

A booming shout rang out. Jiang Huai hurried over, surrounded by his entourage.

Behind him followed the stern Lu Yan and the menacing Shen Jue.

The servants trembled in fear, their hands shaking, and dropped their sticks. They quickly knelt and kowtowed. “Master! It’s these two crazy girls! They—”

Jiang Huai’s eyes swept over the two tied-up figures in the center of the courtyard.

At that sight, he felt all the blood in his body rush backward. His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

Those were…

Clearly the two young ladies who had come with Lu Yan and Shen Jue!

It was over.

The sky was falling.

“You idiots! Who told you to lay hands on them?! Untie them at once! Untie them!”

Jiang Huai roared hysterically, rushing forward and kicking the lead steward to the ground. His expression was uglier than if he had just lost his own father.

“It’s a misunderstanding! All a misunderstanding!”

At this point, Jiang Huai no longer cared about maintaining the appearance of a wealthy master. His face forced into a smile that looked worse than crying, he kowtowed repeatedly toward Su Hewan and Yu Qing.