The following day, the Court of Judicial Review sent a transfer order directly to the Ministry of Justice, requesting to reassign Zhu Yan to a position at the Court.
This news shocked everyone in the Ministry of Justice. The people from the Court of Judicial Review were not to be trifled with, and those from the Imperial Guard were even more untouchable. After much deliberation, the Ministry of Justice forwarded the transfer order along with several letters to the Imperial Guard.
When Shen Du received the letters, he was furious. Although Zhu Yan worked for the Ministry of Justice, she was also his wife, Madam Shen. For Lai Luozhi to attempt to transfer her without a word was truly inconsiderate.
Since that was the case, Shen Du saw no need to be considerate either.
He led his men to the Ministry of Justice, quietly waiting for Lai Luozhi’s arrival.
After their setback, Lai Luozhi’s people would surely not give up easily. They might even cause trouble for the Ministry of Justice. So Shen Du waited at the Ministry, ready to personally confront them when they showed up.
As expected, within the time it took to burn a stick of incense, Lai Luozhi arrived at the Ministry of Justice with his men.
Seeing Shen Du there, Lai Luozhi wasn’t particularly surprised.
He led his men into the Ministry and, without even glancing at Shen Du, inquired about Zhu Yan’s whereabouts from the Ministry staff.
The Ministry officials knew that today was the day two formidable opponents would clash, so they had all gone into hiding. Only Wu Taiming, who had a relationship with Zhu Yan similar to Shen Du’s, stood alongside him, representing the Ministry’s presence.
As soon as Lai Luozhi inquired about Zhu Yan’s whereabouts before Wu Taiming could answer, Shen Du spoke up with displeasure, “Vice Minister Lai, although Madam Zhu is part of the Ministry of Justice, she is also my wife. If you wish to take her away, shouldn’t you first ask whether I, her husband, am willing?”
Hearing this, Lai Luozhi merely glanced at Shen Du.
“Commander Shen, I simply admire Madam Zhu’s intelligence and courage and wish to recruit her under my wing for proper nurturing. This is a matter of official business, unrelated to family affairs. Don’t you think you’re being overly concerned?”
“Overly concerned?” Shen Du’s eyes turned cold, like a winter wind chilling one from head to toe. “You want to take my person away right in front of me, and you say I’m overly concerned? This habit of turning the tables on others, you haven’t changed a bit!”
Lai Luozhi was displeased with Shen Du’s words, his face darkening. “So what if she’s your wife? Everyone in Chang’an knows that on your wedding day, Commander Shen, you held a knife to her throat and spoke of three delusions. With a man like you, who terrorized his wife before she even entered the household, her days with you surely can’t be pleasant. Since that’s the case, Commander Shen, isn’t it inappropriate for you to prevent her from pursuing a better career?”
“Vice Minister Lai just praised my wife for her intelligence and courage. If our married life were truly as you describe, would she still be considered a person of courage?” Shen Du glared at Lai Luozhi, who was left speechless. Lai had intended to praise Zhu Yan to make Shen Du feel unworthy of her, but he didn’t expect to be so quickly refuted. It was truly infuriating.
With a grim expression and unable to counter Shen Du’s argument, Lai Luozhi could only leave the Ministry of Justice with his men, having suffered a defeat.
Even so, Shen Du couldn’t help but feel suspicious of Zhu Yan. Upon returning to the Shen residence, he instructed Jing Lin to inquire about the progress of the case from Zhu Yan, reminding him to approach the subject indirectly.
Jing Lin was completely baffled, not understanding Shen Du’s intentions.
“Never mind,” Shen Du said, annoyed. Had Jing Lin become so obtuse, or was his guidance unclear?
After some thought, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Tonight, he would get to the bottom of this.
At this moment, Jing Lin suddenly bowed and said, “Commander, there’s been progress in the investigation you ordered. Also…”
“Also what?” Shen Du’s expression suddenly turned serious. He had been having Jing Lin investigate the movements of court officials, and now there was progress, yet Jing Lin seemed hesitant to continue.
Could it be that this investigation had yielded results beyond his expectations?
“Also, the Imperial Princess from Mingsheng Temple has…”
Before he could finish, Shen Du’s face darkened completely. As expected, this news was somewhat unexpected for him.
As night fell, Zhu Yan had not yet returned from her outing, causing Shen Du to worry. But more than that, he felt uneasy. Could it be that she truly intended to work at the Court of Judicial Review? Or was she reporting case details to Zhang Xingwei?
These numerous suspicions made Shen Du increasingly anxious. After spending so much time together, he had unconsciously developed a special affection for Zhu Yan. It seemed he wasn’t as annoyed by her as before, or perhaps he had never truly disliked her at all.
Shen Du couldn’t figure it out. When he returned to his room, he didn’t light any candles.
He sat in the dark room, waiting for that woman to arrive.
He didn’t know what the outcome of tonight would be. If he truly determined that Zhu Yan was a spy planted by his side, would he have to eliminate her?
He wasn’t sure.
It seemed like a long time had passed when suddenly, there was a sound at the door. Shen Du looked towards it.
The sky had completely darkened, and when Zhu Yan entered the pitch-black room, she could barely see her hand in front of her face.
She stretched her tired muscles and began to undress, preparing for a bath.
Shen Du remained silent in the darkness. His eyes had adjusted to the dim light, and he could see the woman’s every move.
She looked tired. Where had she been all day?
Thinking this, his brow furrowed again. How should he inquire without arousing her suspicion?
Zhu Yan had already seated herself in the bathtub. After a long day, the comfortable temperature washed away her fatigue, allowing her to relax.
Letting out a long sigh, Zhu Yan contentedly said, “It’s still most comfortable at home. A bath can wash away the odors on my body. That corpse smell was truly unpleasant.”
Hearing this, Shen Du understood completely.
So she had been investigating cases again today, spending time with corpses. Had he been overly suspicious of her for no reason?
“Hmm hmm~”
Feeling utterly content, Zhu Yan began to hum a tune. In the darkness, Shen Du’s lips curled into a smile. This woman had such an adorable side to her, truly rare.
As if she had finished bathing, Zhu Yan stood up and put on her robe. While she was drying her wet hair with a towel, a sudden voice startled her.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
Shen Du’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to frighten Zhu Yan out of her wits. In the pitch-black room, a man’s voice suddenly appearing would startle anyone, let alone Zhu Yan.
“Who’s there?!”
Zhu Yan was greatly alarmed and quickly turned around to look, but the room was completely dark, and she couldn’t see anyone. In her panic, Zhu Yan moved forward, but accidentally stepped on a puddle of water on the floor. Her foot slipped, and she fell forward.
Just as Zhu Yan thought she was going to fall flat on her face, a solid wall of flesh suddenly blocked her path. In her shock, her hands flailed about aimlessly, even pulling open Shen Du’s clothes and inadvertently feeling his firm, muscular chest.
Zhu Yan was stunned, lying in Shen Du’s arms, not knowing what to do.