CMWKSD -Chapter 267 The Test Question

Jiu Yue was strolling down the main street with Ying Yi, swaggering about quite openly.

They hadn’t even gone halfway when a signal arrived from Dark Moon Pavilion, urging an immediate return.

Jiu Yue’s brows knit together. For some reason, her heart clenched.

Her first thought was that something had happened to Ji Yiqing.

She exchanged a glance with Ying Yi.

Right there on the busy street, the two of them lightly tapped their toes against the ground, climbing up the surrounding buildings and rooftops in swift succession.

In no time at all, they vanished from the street.

And yet, no one on the street noticed Jiu Yue and Ying Yi disappearing.

There was no mystery to it—Eagle Eyes belonged to the same category as shadow guards, trained specifically in concealment.

As for Jiu Yue, she herself was an assassin; it was impossible for her to move about brazenly when killing a target.

The two of them did not slow their pace as they returned to the Ji residence.

At a glance, Jiu Yue spotted Shao Qing standing at the main gate.

Seeing how urgently Jiu Yue had rushed back, Shao Qing hurriedly said, “It’s not milord.”

Jiu Yue let out a small breath, understanding what Shao Qing meant.

Only then did she release the tension she had been holding.

Shao Qing quickly explained the situation.

When Jiu Yue heard that it was the Shen family’s sixth son, she did not say much.

The two of them lifted their feet and headed inside the residence. Just as they stepped over the threshold—

A sound came from the gate: “Whoa—”

Jiu Yue turned back. The carriage had not even come to a complete stop yet.

The curtain was thrown open, and Madam Shen practically rolled out of the carriage.

From inside, a strong, powerful hand shot out, firmly grabbing Madam Shen just as she was about to tumble down. “Madam.”

The person who emerged from the carriage—who else could it be but General Shen?

The old man’s arm strength was terrifyingly strong.

Madam Shen barely managed to glance at General Shen before, once she steadied herself, she hurriedly climbed down from the carriage.

General Shen quickly followed and supported her.

The two of them lifted their heads and, at a glance, saw Jiu Yue standing at the entrance.

General Shen suddenly felt his eyes grow slightly hot.

Toward Jiu Yue, the Shen family truly felt that even repaying her with their lives would not be enough.

Of the four sons they had left, three had been saved by Jiu Yue.

Madam Shen was so anxious she nearly lost her voice.

General Shen hurried forward. “Your Highness, Little Six… Little Six, he…”

Jiu Yue looked utterly speechless. “General Shen, I just arrived too. I haven’t seen him yet.”

General Shen wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had been too rash.

The moment he heard from Jiang Xunan that Little Six was at the Ji residence, he simply couldn’t keep calm.

“It was this old man’s… this old man’s fault…”

General Shen wanted to apologize, knowing Jiu Yue’s temperament.

He feared that if he displeased her, she might refuse to treat his son.

But once he opened his mouth, he didn’t know what to say at all, growing so anxious he didn’t know what to do with himself.

Jiu Yue lifted her foot and continued inside. “Alright, let’s go in and see him first.”

As she spoke, she shot a glance at Madam Shen, who was crying until her face was drenched in tears.

Madam Shen stiffened.

She hastily wiped away her tears. She remembered—her family had told her before—

Jiu Yue disliked people who cried endlessly.

So she absolutely could not break down crying in front of Jiu Yue.

The butler was holding a box and hurriedly followed behind.

Jiu Yue caught sight of it from the corner of her eye.

The displeasure she had felt earlier—over Dark Moon Pavilion calling her back—vanished instantly.

Not long after, Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian arrived, along with the Crown Prince.

Shao Qing had summoned Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian.

After all, with a member of the Shen family suddenly appearing in the household, Shao Qing was worried there might be twists and complications he didn’t know about.

Naturally, he had to find Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian.

As for Jiang Xunan, he had thought that the Shen family’s Little Six had been missing for so long.

Now that he had suddenly reappeared, there might well be some scheme behind it.

So he immediately went to inform the Crown Prince.

And so it happened that Jiu Yue had just stepped into the residence—

When, right on her heels, wave after wave of people arrived at the Ji residence gate, as if it were market day.

When Jiu Yue entered the room,

The three little girls of the Ji family were methodically cleaning Shen Zongyan.

There was no helping it—Shen Zongyan was filthy and reeked.

If he wasn’t cleaned and disinfected properly,

And Jiu Yue took one look and refused to treat him, it would be a complete loss.

As the three girls worked, their hearts were filled with shock.

Yet they had to suppress the urge to vomit.

They kept telling themselves over and over: this is a hero, a hero who defended the country and its people.

It wasn’t that the three of them were overdoing the mental preparation.

It was simply that there was hardly a single patch of intact flesh on Shen Zongyan’s body.

The unevenness Jiang Xunan had felt earlier was all too real.

Large chunks of flesh had been gouged out of Shen Zongyan.

Bowl-sized wounds covered almost his entire body.

What Jiu Yue saw when she walked in was Shen Zongyan’s nearly naked body, riddled with one horrifying wound after another.

Madam Shen followed in behind. After only one glance, she felt her heart shatter and her insides twist in agony. “Yan’er!”

As she spoke, she tried to rush forward.

She was firmly restrained by General Shen, who was a step behind, gripping her arm tightly.

General Shen choked back a sob. “Don’t disturb Her Highness, Madam.”

Madam Shen clutched General Shen’s hand tightly.

Although she hadn’t clearly seen the man’s face,

Perhaps due to the blood-bonded instinct between parent and child,

Both Madam Shen and General Shen were certain—

Certain that the person lying inside, covered in wounds, was their Little Six, who had been missing for over two years.

It was their Little Six.

Jiu Yue entered the room, and Ji Youqin hurriedly brought her a basin of clean water to wash her hands. “Second Sister-in-law.”

“Mhm. How is he?”

The three little maids exchanged glances.

Aside from the wounds on his body, they couldn’t tell anything else.

But Jiu Yue had never blamed them for what they didn’t know.

What Jiu Yue disliked—and would never give a chance to—were those who pretended to know when they didn’t.

People who talked at great length yet never once hit the point.

For example, Director Cen of the Imperial Medical Academy.

Thus, the three of them cautiously shook their heads.

Jiu Yue gave a soft “Mm” and said nothing more.

She calmly took the cloth and wiped her hands.

Only then did she begin examining Shen Zongyan and taking his pulse.

Because Shen Zongyan’s current condition was clearly unusual,

Jiu Yue’s hands started at his scalp and moved downward.

The moment her fingers touched Shen Zongyan’s scalp, Her hand paused slightly.

A silver needle.

There was a silver needle embedded in Shen Zongyan’s scalp.

Jiu Yue did not pull it out immediately, nor did her expression change much.

She simply noted the position of the needle in her mind and continued the examination downward.

Only after she had finished examining everything did she place her hand on Shen Zongyan’s pulse.

She took his pulse for quite a long time.

Afterward, she reached out again to feel the area around Shen Zongyan’s neck.

Only then was the overall examination complete.

Thinking of General Shen, and of the familiar Shen Zongsheng and Shen Zongnian,

Jiu Yue felt sympathy and compassion for the first time.

This was compassion for people she knew—

And it was something General Shen’s family had earned with genuine sincerity.

Jiu Yue washed her hands again.

Only then did Ji Yiqing, Ji Chaomian, and the Crown Prince—who had rushed over—enter together with General Shen and Madam Shen.

The Crown Prince looked at Jiu Yue, then at Shen Zongyan on the bed, who was barely recognizable as human. “This… what exactly is going on?”

“Could this be a provocation from the Northern Barbarians?”

Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian felt the same as the Crown Prince.

At such a critical juncture,

Shen Zongyan’s sudden appearance made it difficult not to suspect that there was something behind it—perhaps the work of Prince Hui.

But what exactly was he trying to do?

Jiu Yue wiped her hands with a brocade handkerchief, glanced at the disfigured Shen Zongyan, and calmly stated her conclusion:

“It’s a test question.”