Chapter 37: Man, do you want to die?

Si Nanfeng let out a hollow laugh. "Unseemly? Ha, a bitch seeking lust everywhere—if that is so unseemly, Brother Zhou, why are you protecting her so fiercely?"

"Presumptuous!" The guard roared in fury, wishing he could strike down the man before him who dared to speak such madness and slander his master.

"Si Nanfeng, you truly are willful. If you hadn't refused the marriage, would you have ended up in such a state?"

"Has no one ever taught you that those who understand the times are the truly wise?"

Zhou Linchuan gazed coldly at the man, his eyes looking upon him as if he were some sort of fool.

"I heard that your younger brother is in poor health, suffering from asthma since childhood." Zhou Linchuan raised his hand and took a dusty, grime-covered handkerchief from a subordinate, shaking it in the air.

Si Nanfeng's expression shifted. He turned his head, struggling violently. "What are you trying to do?"

Zhou Linchuan signaled with a finger, ordering his men to bring Si Nanli before them.

Holding the filthy handkerchief between two slender fingers, he waved it back and forth and smiled. "I heard that for your brother's asthma, contact with such dust is strictly forbidden. Tell me, if one were to cover his nose and mouth with this..."

"Would he cough himself to death?"

Bound before them, Si Nanli lowered his head slightly, looking up at him with eyes full of defiance.

"Theoretically speaking, probably not. Unless there is some lethal poison in that dust that can spread through the entire bloodstream within a single second," Xin Nian interjected, drawing out her words. "Otherwise, if it's even a second slower, he likely won't die."

"The people I save, I decide. Even the King of Hell wouldn't dare snatch them from my hands."

Lady Yu, who had been trembling with fear, felt her eyelids twitch violently upon hearing Xin Nian's voice.

The members of the Xin family, young and old alike, turned their heads slowly, their necks stiff.

They saw the young girl sitting cross-legged in front of a dirt mound, looking forward with a beaming smile.

The guards behind Zhou Linchuan turned simultaneously, drawing their blades in unison.

Xin Nian patted off the dust and hopped to her feet. She stepped forward with her hands behind her back, her voice dripping with provocation. "The... Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Lord Zhou, is it? I wonder, what brings you here to seek something from a group of miserable exiles like us?"

"I don't quite understand. Yesterday, we all met the Princess Imperial, and we even knelt to pay our respects! But so what? Did we break some heavenly law?"

"Are we not allowed to kneel? Are we not allowed to pay our respects? Or is it that with our lowly status, we aren't even permitted to catch a distant glimpse of a noble? Which law of the Great Xia Dynasty have we violated? Please, do enlighten me."

Zhou Linchuan stared at the girl who had suddenly appeared, his eyes filled with coldness.

The girl was not tall, but her limbs were quite slender. She possessed a delicate figure and a refined face; even in her dirty clothes emblazoned with the large character for "Prisoner," her beauty could not be hidden in the slightest.

"You are quite bold," Zhou Linchuan replied coldly after a long silence.

"You flatter me, My Lord."

"Are you the physician mentioned by Liang Guang? Were you the one who saved the second young master of the Si family yesterday?"

"That's right, My Lord." Xin Nian gave a sweet smile and tilted her chin up. "That child wasn't meant to die. Since I saved him, he owes it to me to live out a full life. Otherwise, wouldn't all my hard work be for nothing?"

Zhou Linchuan's cold eyes fixed on her. "Yesterday, after Princess Jiuni met with you all, she disappeared from the Yunlin Villa."

A wave of commotion erupted among the group of exiles.

"And?" Xin Nian looked at him with a smile, waiting for the rest.

"Sixteen corpses were recovered from the Yunlin Villa. Upon investigation, they were all guards accompanying the Princess."

At this, even the members of the Earl of Yongkang's and the Marquis of Enyi's households couldn't help but stare in shock.

A cold sneer flickered in Xin Nian's eyes. Sixteen corpses? The Court of Judicial Review must be bad at counting. Were those civilians who died on the pasture just cats and dogs? Were they not human?

"According to the investigation, the last people to come into contact with the Princess were you."

"Surely not, Vice Minister. Are you suggesting that among us miserable exiles, there is a murderer? One who possesses such supernatural powers that they could kill the Princess and her guards?"

"Who? You? Or you?" Xin Nian turned, looking at Han Li and Han Zhao, then at the several young people standing to the side.

Everyone being questioned took a small step back, shaking their heads and waving their hands repeatedly.

Xin Nian let out a "hehehe" laugh. "Vice Minister, where is your brain? We exiles have been walking since the hour of the Tiger before dawn, and we've only just collapsed to rest. And then you arrive!"

"How would we kill them? By flying?" The girl held up her hands and fluttered them slightly in a flying motion.

"And then fly back without being noticed by forty-odd bailiffs? If that's the case, could they even be human?" She laughed so hard she swayed.

Zhou Linchuan rubbed his forehead and looked down at Si Nanfeng, who was watching him with a mocking gaze. "The Si family may be hiding secret guards."

"This is a reasonable deduction. The eldest son of the Si family was the last person to come into contact with Princess Jiuni. Now that the Princess has disappeared and her guards are dead, the Si family is a major suspect. You must return to the capital with me to explain the details of this matter to His Majesty."

"An earthquake is an omen of heavenly change," Xin Nian said playfully.

"Is it possible that you are all being framed? Perhaps the gods and Buddhas have manifested to seek revenge against your Emperor of Great Xia!"

"This is Heaven descending punishment upon you! They've started by taking your Princess as a target. Who will be next? Xiao Jiuni, the Xiao family... tsk tsk tsk, disaster is imminent, and no man can stop it!"

"If I were you, Vice Minister, I wouldn't waste time. I'd crawl back immediately and urge the Emperor to issue a decree of self-reproach, praying for Heaven's forgiveness for his incompetence and his attempts to deceive and mislead the people!"

"Silence!!" Zhou Linchuan glared at her, incredulous. "To spout such lies and spread such delusions, to use such sophistry to disrespect the Sovereign! Seize her!"

Before the guards could even reach her, the girl sent them flying with two swift kicks.

Zhou Linchuan froze. Before he could react, he felt a massive force slam into him, knocking him heavily to the ground.

His back hit the earth with a heavy thud, the pain sharp and agonizing.

"Tsk tsk tsk, my handsome, cunning, and thoughtful Vice Minister... how can a person be so malicious?"

Zhou Linchuan stared at her coldly. He didn't know what kind of sharp blade the girl was pressing against his neck, but he could feel a bone-chilling sting.

"Don't draw your sword. Stay calm, otherwise, the one who goes to meet the King of Hell first will be your dear Lord Zhou."

"Lord Zhou, I know you are anxious to solve this case and can't wait to find a scapegoat to deliver to the Princess's father."

"But you can't operate like this. We exiles are already miserable enough; don't throw more filth upon us, okay?"

Zhou Linchuan's eyes were dark as he stared up at the girl pressing down on him, enunciating every word: "Do... you... want... to... die?"

Xin Nian smiled sweetly. "Threatening me? Oh honey, you're the one who wants to die, aren't you?"

*Clatter, clatter, clatter.* The sound of rapid galloping horses pierced through the heavy, silent night.

"Vice Minister Zhou, the Crown Prince has issued an urgent summons. Please return to the capital immediately to fulfill your duty."