Chapter 14: Making a Scene

Chapter 14: Making a Scene

Shen Yunhe saw from afar that this little punk was actually trying to kill someone in broad daylight at the Minister's residence.

No wonder his wife had been so anxious to call him back.

"Well, well, the Second Young Master of the Cheng Family! Is there no law in your eyes?!"

Shen Yunhe's face turned black as thunder.

Yet the brat didn't show an ounce of fear at his presence, casually twirling the longsword in his hand, making Zhu Dazhuang scream in terror.

"Cheng Yi! Even in Duke Zhenguo's mansion, with the Old Duke right there, you wouldn't dare act like this!"

This arrogant little lunatic was supposed to be his future son-in-law?

Shen Yunhe felt a headache coming on.

Cheng Yi sneered: "Lord Shen, what makes you think I'm killing someone?"

A sword at a man's throat and that's not killing?

Wang Shuci, seeing Shen Yunhe return, finally felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He hurried over and laid out the whole story.

Shen Yunhe listened with a dark face, his brow furrowing deeper with every word.

He knew exactly what his son was like and had his suspicions, but he didn't let it show on his face.

"If there are doubts, the Minister's residence will get to the bottom of it. What right do you have to go around causing violence like this?"

Cheng Yi lazily tapped Zhu Dazhuang's pale face with his sword. "Simple. I wanted to ask him face to face."

"This bastard picked the exact moment my mother and I came to propose marriage to sneak off and meet your young master. It's hard not to think this was intentional."

"If he'd gotten away with it, wouldn't that have wrecked the marriage alliance between our families?"

"Don't you think this man's intentions are rotten, Minister?"

"Oh—now I remember," Cheng Yi suddenly said, as if something just hit him. "I haven't seen your eldest son all day. So he's been locked up in the ancestral hall."

"So is it possible that you, Minister..."

"That's enough!"

Shen Yunhe couldn't stand to listen any longer. First he slanders his wife, and now he's pointing fingers at him.

This brat was like a rabid dog, biting whoever was in reach.

The husband and wife exchanged a look.

It was clear now—this little mad dog wasn't here to propose; he was here to stir up trouble.

Now they were stuck between a rock and a hard place, with no choice but to play it by ear.

Shen Yunhe flicked his sleeve and sat to the side, his face dark.

He'd see just how this brat planned to wrap this up today.

Zhu Dazhuang had held out some hope when he saw Minister Shen arrive, but now he was completely hopeless.

Cheng Yi coldly aimed his sword at Zhu Dazhuang's ankle.

"What do you say—should I snap your tendons one by one?"

The icy pain shot straight to his brain, and Zhu Dazhuang's last shred of nerve finally broke.

"I'll talk, I'll talk..."

He was indeed a butcher from the north side of town, but he wasn't in love with Young Master Shen. He'd never even laid eyes on Shen Yichen.

Today, a man claiming to be a servant from the Minister's residence had found him, saying a huge stroke of luck had fallen into his lap.

Not only could this man get him into the Minister's residence, but he could also let him have his way with the famous Young Master Shen.

There were plenty of rumors about Young Master Shen around town, especially about his love life, with all kinds of wild versions.

Zhu Dazhuang happened to be a man who loved his wine and women, always hanging around brothels.

Though he knew something was fishy, the old saying "better to die a romantic death" won out.

He figured the young master must have been lonely and had secretly gone looking for a sturdy man like him.

And so, that servant led him into the Minister's residence, through the back gate and all the way to the small ancestral hall.

The servant told him the young master was waiting inside.

Zhu Dazhuang, too eager with lust, didn't even notice the door behind him had been quietly locked after he went in.

"That stuff about being in love was also fed to me by that servant. He said if I got caught, saying that would save my life."

But Zhu Dazhuang never expected that the moment he walked in, Young Master Shen knocked him out cold. When he came to, he nearly burned to death, and now this devil was torturing him, making him wish he were dead.

"Minister, honored sirs, I've been wronged! I really don't know anything..."

He kept shouting that he was innocent.

Cheng Yi, annoyed by the racket, knocked him out with one chop to the neck.

Cheng Yi strolled back to sit beside Wen Wanning, then sneered at Shen Yunhe, whose face was black as ink.

"Minister, don't you owe me an explanation?"

According to Zhu Dazhuang, the servant wore dark clothes, deliberately covered his face with a veiled hat, and even pitched his voice low as a disguise.

So even if that person were standing right in front of him now, he probably wouldn't recognize him.

But one thing was certain—that person had led Zhu Dazhuang from the back gate straight to the ancestral hall without a hitch, slipping past everyone.

Clearly, he knew the Minister's residence like the back of his hand.

It was all clear now.

Today's incident was a deliberate setup, an attempt to frame Young Master Shen for a secret tryst when the Marquis Zhongyong's estate came to propose marriage, thereby sabotaging the alliance between the two families.

But there were plenty of people who opposed this marriage, and even the two families themselves weren't happy about it.

So what was there to demand an explanation for?

This brat could easily take today's matter straight to the emperor. A man with such a depraved and wanton character—it was only natural he wouldn't want to marry him.

The Emperor had never truly intended to approve the marriage, so its collapse was a blessing for everyone, wasn't it?

And yet, here was this young man demanding answers from him?

Shen Yunhe's head was throbbing.

This was precisely why he detested dealing with military men—they were stubborn, single-minded, and utterly incapable of adapting.

Shen Yunhe took a deep breath to suppress his frustration, then said wearily:

"Rest assured, Nephew. I will get to the bottom of this and give you a proper explanation."

Cheng Yi sneered inwardly. Moments ago it was "you brat," and now it's "Nephew."

"Then I shall await your findings."

With that, mother and son took their leave, faces cold.

It wasn't until they were back in the carriage that Wen Wanning allowed her worry to surface.

"Yi'er, I can see the Minister's household is a den of wolves and jackals. This marriage... can we call the whole thing off? Perhaps ask your grandfather to intervene—surely the Emperor would show him at least some respect?"

Wen Wanning shuddered at the memory of the Minister and his husband's vicious expressions. They had made enemies before even forming a marriage alliance—how could the two families ever get along afterward?

Moreover, such despicable, reputation-ruining tactics disgusted her.

She feared the Marquis Zhongyong's household would never find peace again.

Cheng Yi felt a pang of guilt as he attempted to comfort his mother.

"I'm sorry, Mother, for putting you through such ugliness. But I am determined to marry Young Master Shen—not because of the imperial decree, nor because I lost a bet."

Wen Wanning was momentarily taken aback. She recalled how the boy had clung to Cheng Yi's robes throughout the ordeal.

Cheng Yi had looked annoyed, but he had clearly allowed the boy to hold on, only cutting himself loose with his dagger after the physician had finished and left.

Not only that, Cheng Yi had casually tossed the dagger to the Shen boy, declaring it his betrothal gift.

At the time, she had thought her son was simply too furious to think straight—after all, that dagger was a treasure the Old Duke had wrested from an enemy general and personally gifted to Cheng Yi.

It was said to be a priceless heirloom, and Cheng Yi had kept it on him like a precious keepsake since childhood.

Now she realized her son had done it deliberately.

"If the Minister's household is a den of vipers, then I must get him out of there all the more."

Even if it was only to repay the debt of having his corpse collected in his past life, he would drag him out.

Cheng Yi's expression suddenly turned serious.

"Mother, I need you to spread the word about today's events for me."

Wen Wanning was momentarily stunned, then it clicked.

If Cheng Yi hadn't arrived in time and made a scene without regard for consequences, that boy would have been branded with the shame of an illicit affair—even though nothing had happened.

She imagined most of the shame that boy carried had come about in just such a way.

She loved him for her son's sake, but she also genuinely felt for the child, so she nodded firmly.

"Leave it to your mother. You just focus on your own affairs."

Wen Wanning felt a surge of emotion—her child had grown up.

Matters of the inner quarters naturally spread through inner-quarter channels, and those spread fastest and widest.

With her mind made up, Wen Wanning began to think about what invitations she had received recently.

In the past, she had declined most banquets and poetry gatherings, but now she would need to socialize more.

After escorting his mother back to the Marquis Zhongyong's residence, Cheng Yi went straight to the Duke Zhenguo's mansion.

He had been keeping his mother company these past few days, which meant he had been neglecting the Old Duke.

He gave the Old Duke a brief rundown of the day's events.

The Old Duke's face turned purple with rage.

He had lived his life with integrity and could not stomach such filthy, scheming villainy.

"Yi'er, who do you think is behind today's incident?"

Cheng Yi's first suspicion fell on Wang Shuci, the head of the Minister's household.

The inner quarters were rife with venomous schemes, and given that Shen Yichen had once accused Shen Yunhe of murdering his husband and child in the previous life, there had to be more to this than met the eye.

Otherwise, Wang Shuci would have no reason to target a boy who posed no threat to him.

Beyond that, there were plenty who didn't want the Duke Zhenguo's household entangled with the Fifth Prince.

The most powerful figures at present were the Fifth Prince, the Third Prince, and the Second Prince.

As for the deposed Crown Prince—now the First Prince—everyone assumed he was a spent force, but Cheng Yi, with his knowledge of the previous life, knew the First Prince still had a force not to be underestimated.

Moreover, based on his understanding of these three, any of them was capable of such dirty tricks.

Even the current Emperor—that most suspicious and hypocritical man—was fully capable of it.

In short, there were too many suspects to reach any definitive conclusion.

Thankfully, Shen Yichen was unharmed.

And Cheng Yi had planned to cause a scene at the Minister's household today anyway.

The Drunken Capital Pavilion incident had not been enough to dispel Emperor Jingzhao's misgivings, so he needed to completely cut ties with the Minister's household.

He would marry Shen Yichen, but the Duke Zhenguo's household must also sever all ties with the Fifth Prince.

The Duke Zhenguo's household would not align with any of these princes.

Grandfather and grandson had a long, private talk in the study, and the Old Duke's eyes grew brighter with each passing moment.

His grandson, in just one year, seemed reborn—his analyses of court dynamics and various factions repeatedly drew the Old Duke's astonished gaze.

Cheng Pohu was both delighted and worried, fearing a repeat of the second son's tragedy.

But Cheng Yi's sudden mention of Lin Shoucheng, far off in the northern frontier, caught him off guard.

That man had once been nothing but a lowly county constable.

One day, by chance, Cheng Pohu discovered his exceptional horsemanship and took him into his ranks, and he fought by his side from then on.

After Cheng Pohu retired from military service and returned to the capital, this man then served under Cheng Jiyuan.

"Now, he has become your uncle's right-hand man—why do you suddenly mention him?"

Cheng Yi's eyes darkened—of course, it was because he knew that this man's true loyalty lay with that paranoid emperor.

He would, three years later, plunge his uncle into an abyss of utter ruin.

It was laughable that in his past life, he only learned the truth after becoming a wandering ghost.

After his uncle's death, even as he commanded hundreds of thousands of troops, he had trusted this so-called subordinate of his uncle's without question.

First, because he was his uncle's right-hand man, and his uncle had even entrusted Cheng Yi to his care before his death.

Second, because this man was the father of his "closest friend," Lin Beixiao.

Cheng Yi's eyes turned terrifyingly dark, and for a moment, the Old Duke felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, startled by the chilling aura radiating from him.

Fortunately, Cheng Yi quickly regained his composure, casually making up an excuse, saying he had stumbled upon this man's suspicious activities while in the northern frontier.

The Old Duke's expression grew grave; after their conversation, he could no longer see the person before him as the mischievous rascal he had doted on since childhood.

The boy's keen perception was far sharper than he could have imagined.

Thus, he didn't dare take Cheng Yi's words lightly, and was about to write a letter to warn his eldest son to watch out for this man.

But Cheng Yi said he had already sent a letter to his uncle. He added that the emperor, who had long been wary of the Cheng family, likely had spies around the Old Duke, so it was best not to act rashly.

"Yi'er speaks wisely."

Cheng Pohu's emotions were complex, finally ending in a long sigh.

When he left the Duke Zhenguo's mansion, it was already deep in the night, and the entire capital was shrouded in silence.

Cheng Yi instinctively melted into the shadows, moving soundlessly, like a lonely ghost merging with the darkness.

Before he knew it, as if guided by some unseen force, he found himself at the Minister's mansion.

Recalling the pale face from that day and the weight in his arms that was alarmingly light,

Cheng Yi's heart stirred, and with a leap, he vaulted over the wall.