The Fifth Prince’s glance made Yu Jin immediately drop his smile.
He had long suspected this bastard’s appearance here was ill-intentioned, which is why he had been idle enough to waste words with him. He didn’t expect to be proven right so quickly.
This bastard still hadn’t given up his filthy thoughts about A Si. It seems that the wine jar hadn’t hit him hard enough last time.
“What is Fifth Brother doing here?”
Of coarse, the Fifth Prince wasn’t stupid. As he watched the other’s expression change suddenly, he felt an inexplicable chill.
“What, do I need to report to Seventh Brother wherever I go now?”
Yu Jin smiled: “Of course not. I was just asking casually since this doesn’t seem like a place Fifth Brother would frequent.”
The Fifth Prince sized up Yu Jin, unsure what he was up to.
He didn’t believe this kid was just asking casually. The other day, this kid had “casually” said he was drunk, and that wine jar had ended up smashing his head.
Thinking of this, the Fifth Prince had the urge to reach up and touch his head.
This urge made the Fifth Prince particularly angry.
It’s not like he was afraid of this kid, so why did he have this involuntary reaction?
“Then why is Seventh Brother here?”
Yu Jin smiled: “Fifth Brother lives in a prince’s mansion, so you probably don’t know, but my temporary lodgings are nearby, so of course I’d be here.”
“Ah, right, Seventh Brother’s prince mansion hasn’t been built yet.” The Fifth Prince finally found something to taunt the other with, a sneer hanging at the corner of his mouth. “It must be hard on Seventh Brother. Why don’t you come stay at my place for a few days?”
“I appreciate Fifth Brother’s kind offer. But you see, I like to drink from time to time, and when I drink too much, I tend to do things I like to do. It wouldn’t be good to cause trouble for Fifth Brother then.” After saying this, Yu Jin gave the Fifth Prince a meaningful look. “I never thought Fifth Brother enjoyed watching other people’s celebrations and funerals.”
“Who likes to watch that stuff?” The Fifth Prince blurted out.
Yu Jin narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife.
Very good, confirmed. This bastard was here thinking about A Si.
At this point, the Fifth Prince had lost all interest in his chance encounter with a beauty. He said with a dark face: “Since you don’t have the guts to fight, I won’t waste words with you.”
“Take care, Fifth Brother.”
Yu Jin stood still, watching intently as the Fifth Prince left with his servants. Only then did he quickly walk towards Quezi Hutong.
Returning to the residence with the crooked jujube tree in front, Er Niu, who was eating braised beef, immediately raised his head to look at his master.
The big dog’s nose was very sensitive, and he had already smelled the faint scent of blood on his master.
He lowered his head to look at the bowl full of braised beef, struggled internally for a moment, but still got up and went to his master’s side, concernedly sniffing.
“It’s nothing.” As Er Niu had become increasingly intelligent over these few months, the man and dog had developed an even better understanding. Yu Jin comforted him, patting his head.
Only then did Er Niu give a low bark before running back to continue his battle with the bowl of braised beef.
“Master—”
Yu Jin raised his hand to cut off Leng Ying’s inquiry: “Has Long Dan returned?”
“Not yet.”
Yu Jin walked to the stone table under the silk tree and sat down, his slender fingers tapping the table surface: “Tea.”
Leng Ying immediately brought over a teacup and teapot, poured a cup of tea, and handed it over.
Yu Jin took it and drank sip by sip, his mind alternating between Jiang Si’s cold words and the image of the Fifth Prince wandering near the Earl of Dongping’s mansion.
Before he knew it, he had finished a pot of tea, and Long Dan finally returned.
Long Dan didn’t come back alone; he was dragging a person, or more accurately, a corpse.
Seeing Yu Jin, Long Dan threw the corpse on the ground and knelt on one knee: “Master, I couldn’t keep him alive.”
Yu Jin walked over and looked down at the male corpse on the ground.
The corpse’s face was ashen, with black blood remaining at the corners of his mouth.
“Died from poison?”
“Yes, just as I was about to capture him, he bit down on a poison tooth in his mouth.”
The wind blew, scattering silk tree flowers onto the corpse. The soft pink-white petals formed a stark contrast with the gruesome corpse, making the scene even more eerie and sinister.
Yu Jin, however, paid no mind to this. He crouched down and picked up the corpse’s right hand, examining it closely.
There was a layer of calluses on the corpse’s hand.
“Master, this man’s martial arts were not weak. I barely managed to defeat him,” Long Dan said in a low voice.
Long Dan and Leng Ying had been following Yu Jin for a long time. Despite one always smiling and the other expressionless, their skills were extraordinary. For Long Dan to find it difficult, this person couldn’t have been just any ordinary guard.
Yu Jin’s expression turned serious.
It wasn’t simple to raise death warriors, so why would such a carefully trained death warrior try to assassinate him?
This was what puzzled Yu Jin the most.
He was just an idle prince. Even if he had some influence, it was in the South. After returning to the capital, that bit of influence was nothing in others’ eyes, certainly not enough to be a threat to anyone.
The appearance of this death warrior was very interesting indeed.
The corner of Yu Jin’s mouth curved slightly. Far from being troubled, he found it intriguing.
“Master, what should we do next?”
Yu Jin smiled coolly: “What should we do? Report it to the authorities, of course.”
He had been finding Fifth Brother’s people irritating anyway, but couldn’t get rid of them for now. Collecting some interest first wasn’t a bad idea.
Since returning to the capital, Zhen Shicheng has been handling one case after another. Despite being run ragged, he felt quite in his element.
He enjoyed clearing the names of the dead and bringing murderers to justice. It made him feel content.
However, these days, his eldest son’s lack of cooperation had affected Master Zhen’s good mood.
“Where are you going again?” Taking advantage of a break, Zhen Shicheng was strolling in the courtyard when he once again caught his son preparing to go out.
Zhen Heng lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly: “A friend invited your son to go appreciate orchids and paint in the forest.”
Why was his father so free? Didn’t he have any cases to solve? He seemed to be watching him all day long.
Hearing this, Zhen Shicheng’s face darkened: “Appreciating orchids and painting? Why are you getting involved in these useless activities? If you have time for this, wait for me to finish work and accompany me to pay a visit.”
Zhen Heng’s temples throbbed.
People always said he was as gentle as jade, but who would know that deep down, he often had the urge to beat his old man!
He was a scholar. Reciting poetry and appreciating flowers with friends were perfectly normal pastimes. How did they become so despicable in his father’s eyes? He knew very well that his father’s insistence on taking him along to visit was an attempt to force on him the young lady his father had his eye on.
It wouldn’t be surprising if today he went with his father to someone’s house, and tomorrow his father would have arranged the marriage.
Zhen Heng was clear about this in his heart and was determined not to go out with Zhen Shicheng.
“Appreciating orchids and painting is just a pretext for a small gathering. After all, when I enter officialdom in the future, I’ll need the support of my classmates. I can’t be absent from all gatherings. Moreover, I’ve already made plans with people—”
Seeing his son find another excuse to escape, Zhen Shicheng waved his hand irritably: “Just go already.”
Zhen Heng: “…” He must be adopted, right?
Come to think of it, he was a bit curious about what kind of young lady his father had taken a liking to.
Thinking of the female coroner who followed Zhen Shicheng around, studying severed heads, Zhen Heng’s mouth twitched.
No, he’d better not be curious. Curiosity killed the cat!