Chapter 167: Pleasing the One Who Pleases Oneself

Chapter 167: Pleasing the One Who Pleases Oneself

Min Leyi, seeing that the Zhao family had finally revealed some clues, was itching to get to the bottom of the truth right away, worried the Deputy General might leave him behind.

Having witnessed the Deputy General bravely rescue a kidnapped woman two years ago, Min Leyi simply thought he was a good guy who wouldn't harm him.

"Sure, sure, shall we go now?"

The Deputy General gave him a look that was hard to read, "Get your stuff together and follow me."

The two trailed the cart from a safe distance, following it all the way from the north to the west side of the city. The cart came to a halt in front of the City God Temple and slipped through a side gate. As the cart driver explained, it was their family's offerings to the City God.

The west city was where the Ministry of Justice was located, and Min Leyi's home was also in the west city. Feeling right at home here, he gave the Deputy General a nudge with his shoulder, "Hey, want me to help you sneak in?"

The Deputy General thought for a second, "Alright, show me what you've got."

So, Min Leyi took his candied hawthorn stick and chatted with the young temple boy guarding the small gate, giving him a candied hawthorn, and successfully led the Deputy General into the backyard of the City God Temple.

"He knows you?"

"There's a temple fair on the first and fifteenth of every month at the City God Temple, I often come here to play."

Min Leyi told the young temple boy that he wanted to dodge the entrance fee for the main gate and sell candied hawthorns in the front yard, while the Deputy General was his country cousin here to see the sights.

"You could play the part of a wide-eyed country bumpkin," Min Leyi teased him secretly.

The Deputy General gave him a half-smile, and Min Leyi ducked his head, not daring to continue the banter.

The backyard of the City God Temple was quiet during the day, with rows of silent meditation rooms cutting off the view. The Deputy General held Min Leyi's arm with one hand, his eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

At one point, his ears perked up, and he suddenly yanked Min Leyi aside, hiding in the shadow of a row of meditation rooms.

They had reached the farthest corner of the inner courtyard, some distance from the front hall and several gates, surrounded by junk like old barrels, broken carts, firewood, and charcoal, with a pretty rank smell.

Min Leyi buried his face deeper into his scarf and whispered close to the Deputy General, "What's wrong?"

The warm breath on his neck brought an inexplicable itch. The mysterious Deputy General suppressed the strange feeling and pointed to a certain meditation room.

The doors and windows of that meditation room were tightly shut, but there were windows on both sides. Sunlight streamed through the east window, casting blurry shadows of people inside on the west window.

Min Leyi roughly estimated that there were at least seven or eight people inside!

Gathering so many people in a meditation room during the day without making a sound was highly unusual; there must be something wrong here!

"What should we do?" Min Leyi instinctively asked the Deputy General of General Wu, although this person had a mischievous personality, his strong presence was still very trustworthy.

"Can you fight?"

"Huh?"

"We're going to catch the people inside, don't make too much noise, you take the lead."

Min Leyi knew this was because the Deputy General still didn't fully trust him. His heart pounded with excitement, more thrilled than scared.

He had always been bold and physically strong, and since coming to the capital, he had been practicing martial arts under the indulgence of his brother and sister-in-law. Faced with the current situation, an ordinary young lad would have been scared stiff, but Min Leyi was thrilled at the prospect of finally getting into real action.

"No problem!"

Min Leyi patted his chest and crept towards the nearby meditation room. The mysterious Deputy General's eyes flashed with an unreadable light as he followed closely behind.

Sure enough, there were eight young and strong thugs in the meditation room. They didn’t expect anyone to suddenly ambush them and were somewhat unprepared. Min Leyi tumbled through the door, first tripping one, then swiftly kicking another in the stomach.

The thieves in the room finally reacted at this moment, each lunging forward. Min Leyi heard the whoosh of air behind him and dodged to the side, but the expected attack did not follow.

He turned his head to see that the Deputy General following behind had already entered. With his arms crossed, he directly grabbed the necks of two thieves, kicked another one down with a reverse kick, and knocked another one out.

After a brief moment of surprise, Min Leyi quickly reacted and helped subdue the thieves. Every time the Deputy General knocked one down, Min Leyi would knock them out with a precise hand chop, their coordination perfectly synchronized.

In just a few breaths, the only ones left standing in the room were the two of them. Min Leyi hadn’t expected the Deputy General to be so skilled and was relieved that he hadn’t tried to sneak away at the back door of the Zhao residence.

The mysterious Deputy General flexed his wrists, reached out to pull Min Leyi up, and praised with a smile, "Not bad, your skills are much better than in Xiangping. If you had this strength back then, you might have actually knocked me out with a sneak attack."

Min Leyi’s face turned bitter, "Can we not bring that up?"

Having fought side by side, they had formed a bond through shared adversity. The atmosphere between them eased considerably, and after a couple of seconds of eye contact, they both laughed.

Min Leyi instinctively pulled down his scarf, tilting his head back to take deep breaths. The fight had taken a toll on his stamina.

A few seconds later, Min Leyi belatedly realized that the Deputy General was staring at him.

Min Leyi gave a puzzled look, and the Deputy General shook his head.

"You’re all covered up, looking sneaky. I thought you were some shady character, but turns out, aside from being a bit dark, you’re quite handsome."

Min Leyi instinctively touched his hat, making sure the melon-skin cap was still firmly covering his forehead, and sighed in relief.

"You’re the shady one! I’m clearly outstanding in both demeanor and talent!"

The Deputy General laughed again, then said, "Hey, you’re skilled, quick-witted, and you admire Commander Wu so much. How about I recommend you to serve under him in the command office? Although military households have many restrictions, it’s still better than selling candied haws in the capital."

Hearing the Deputy General’s affirmation, Min Leyi’s face lit up with joy, but soon his expression dimmed.

He stammered, "No, my family wouldn’t agree, and it’s not possible anyway."

"Not possible? What do you mean?"

Seeing the Deputy General’s persistent questioning, Min Leyi quickly changed the subject.

"What should we do with these people? This must be their meeting point. We can’t stay here long."

The Deputy General walked around the small room, rummaging through the thieves’ belongings, then turned to ask Min Leyi, "Have you ever killed anyone?"

"I... I haven’t," Min Leyi blushed, honestly admitting.

The Deputy General gave a smug smile, "A pretty face, huh?"

Min Leyi retorted, "I’m not a soldier. If I had killed someone, I’d be in jail by now."

The Deputy General clapped his hands and stood up, "Alright, you’re done here. Sneak out quietly."

"You’re going to—"

"I can’t take all these people with me, and there’s no need. I’ll take the leader, and the rest will have their throats slit and be burned." The Deputy General spoke casually.

Min Leyi was shocked, "Set a fire? This is the City God Temple!"

The mysterious Deputy General shrugged, "Soldiers are all marked by the seven killings; we don’t believe in gods or ghosts. Even if the City God really has a spirit, he wouldn’t blame me for killing a few evil thieves on his turf."

This Deputy General must know a lot of inside information, Min Leyi thought. It seemed he already understood the origins and intentions of these thieves.

"Still not leaving? Don't worry, even if you tell others about meeting me today, it's fine. I won't kill you to keep you quiet."

The Deputy General said this while making a throat-slitting gesture with his hand, his face once again showing that annoying youthful grin.

Min Leyi knew he would only be in the way if he stayed, so he quickly prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he glanced at the Deputy General, not wanting to back down, "Don't get too full of yourself. When I see the young General Wu later, I'll definitely report you to him!"

"Oh? You're planning to report me to the young General Wu?" The Deputy General raised an eyebrow, intrigued, his mood seemingly lifting for some reason.

"Alright, I'll wait for that day. Then I'll properly thank you for helping me get into the backyard of the City God Temple today."

Seeing that threatening to report him to his superior had no effect, Min Leyi once again realized how shameless this man was. He snorted, picked up his candied hawthorn skewers, and quickly left.

After the incident in the meditation room was exposed, the mastermind behind it would surely investigate everyone who had entered the backyard of the City God Temple that day. For safety's sake, Min Leyi decided to keep a low profile for a while.

Although he hadn't found more clues about the case of the real and fake Miss Zhao today, Min Leyi was still very happy.

The appearance of the young General Wu's Deputy General here suggested that the young General Wu might also be interested in this case. Being interested in the same thing as his idol made Min Leyi very excited.

As for the Deputy General he reunited with today, apart from his annoying way of speaking, he was also a heroic figure. Perhaps they could become good brothers in the future.

As long as his identity as a young master stayed hidden, of course.

...

Although the Deputy General said it was fine to talk about what happened, Min Leyi decided not to tell anyone, just to be safe.

Min Leyi stayed at home quietly for a few days until the Lantern Festival, when he went out with his brother and sister-in-law to attend Du Yunse's birthday banquet at the Du residence.

The messenger from the Du residence said that the young General Wu Shen would also attend the banquet at the Du residence today, and Min Leyi had been looking forward to it for days.

On the Lantern Festival, Min Leyi got up early, took a thorough bath, and then suddenly remembered something. He hurriedly asked his personal servant, Hu Fu, to help him find clothes.

Seeing Min Leyi go through several large chests without finding a single outfit he liked, Hu Fu couldn't help but ask, "What kind of outfit are you looking for today?"

"I want to wear something that—" Min Leyi gestured, "something that makes me look like a respectable young master."

A respectable young master... Hu Fu couldn't help but smirk, thinking that the young master's words were already quite improper.

Having been with Min Leyi since childhood, Hu Fu quickly understood what he meant.

"Does the young master want something with wide, flowing sleeves, bright colors, and a striking, elegant look?"

Min Leyi nodded repeatedly, "Something like that, and also some jewelry, find a set for me."

Hu Fu was at a loss. Since coming to the capital, where he had no one to restrain him, Min Leyi had only worn narrow-sleeved, short-fronted clothes. Half of his wardrobe was filled with commoner disguises. Where would he find the kind of clothes a proper young master would wear?

After a long search, Hu Fu finally remembered that among the New Year gifts from Min Leyi's grandmother were a few sets of "proper" clothes for him. He quickly dug them out from the bottom of the chest.

Min Leyi's grandmother had a very traditional sense of style, each outfit more exquisite than the last, but they didn't quite match Min Leyi's temperament.

However, Min Leyi wanted to make a good impression on his idol, who came from a prestigious general's family, so he willingly dressed in the lavish clothes he seldom wore, even drawing his eyebrows and wearing bracelets and a gold necklace.

He didn't want to be seen as a wild young master by his idol, as that would also embarrass Brother Hua.

After dressing up, Min Leyi draped a fiery red cape made of morning glory brocade over his layered light-colored clothes. When he made his appearance, even his brother and sister-in-law were taken aback.

"Is this our Yi Ge'er?"

"Seeing him so rough and unkempt all the time, I almost forgot that our Leyi is actually a top-notch beauty."

Min Leyi, blushing from the teasing, gathered the hem of his robe and jumped onto the carriage, urging everyone to hurry.

Since Qiu Huanian was still in her postpartum confinement, both the child and the adults couldn't handle much noise, so Du Yunse's birthday celebration was a small, intimate gathering of close friends and family.

The Min family's carriage stopped at the entrance of the Du residence. Min Leshi helped his pregnant wife out of the carriage, and Min Leyi also stepped down gracefully. The three were led inside.

Seeing Min Leyi dressed so splendidly, Qiu Huanian was also taken aback and couldn't help but laugh, "As the saying goes, one dresses up for those who admire them. Who are you dressing up for today?"

Min Leyi's face turned red with urgency, "Brother Hua, don't talk nonsense! I just, I just wanted to be more proper."

The Min family arrived early, and the warm pavilion was still quiet, so Qiu Huanian and Min Leyi spoke more openly.

After chatting for a while, Qiu Huanian noticed Min Leyi's restless mood and simply said, "Today is the Lantern Festival, I had the servants craft many lanterns and hang them all over the mansion. Wu Shen should be coming later, why don't you go out and see the lanterns?"

Min Leyi felt a bit interested; the lanterns made by Brother Hua must have some clever designs.

"Then I'll go out and take a look, I'll come back later." Min Leyi didn't forget to add, "When Deputy General Wu Shen arrives, be sure to have someone call me back!"

Qiu Huanian smiled helplessly, "Don't worry, I won't forget about you."

Min Leyi didn't call for anyone to follow him. After leaving the warm pavilion, he first wandered around the inner courtyard, then went to the outer courtyard and the courtyard for a while, and then came to the west pathway leading to the garden.

On the west pathway, there were two long lines of small lanterns shaped like koi fish, painted in gold and red, with bulging eyes that blinked vividly. They were already very beautiful during the day, and one could only imagine how stunning they would be at night.

Min Leyi was engrossed in studying the eyes of the koi lanterns when, after an unknown amount of time, a sense of danger suddenly arose in his subconscious. He turned his head sharply and found that someone had appeared behind him without his notice!

"You!" Min Leyi reflexively assumed a defensive stance, his clothes and jewelry flying about.

The person standing behind him was even more astonished, and they both exclaimed in unison, "You!"

The air froze, and the two stood face to face on the deserted pathway, their expressions more dramatic than the other's.

Min Leyi took a few breaths, and his muddled brain finally regained its ability to think, "You... came with Deputy General Wu Shen to celebrate Du Yunse's birthday?"

"..." The mysterious deputy general who had fought alongside Min Leyi at the City God Temple just a few days ago remained silent.

He stared at the red mole between Min Leyi's handsome brows for a long time before reluctantly shifting his gaze.

"May I ask... what is your name, young master?"