The guest room door creaked open, covered in dust, clearly unused for a long time. This was where they chose to accommodate her. Ming Yi said nothing, pretending to admire the carved flowers on the ceiling beams as she stepped inside.
Sun Liao immediately summoned several guards with strong Yuan Power, pointing at the guest room. “Watch her closely. Provide food and water, but don’t let her leave.”
“Yes, sir!”
Divine weapons were expensive, and he couldn’t afford to keep buying them. It was better to keep her in the mansion to forge for him. If she cooperated, fine. If not, if she tried to resist, he wouldn’t spare even her life. After all, having brought down the Qian family, his wish was fulfilled. Leaving the Yuan Shi Academy didn’t matter anymore.
With malice in his eyes, Sun Liao strode back to his courtyard, continuing to feign illness.
Now that the craftsman was in his mansion, the Sun family naturally stopped accepting the remaining ordinary divine weapons. They immediately reneged on the promised double price and sent people to wreck that courtyard, erasing all traces of Master Ming’s existence outside.
Xiu Yun, standing by the wall of the Situ mansion, listened to the commotion next door and widened her eyes. “He’s truly shameless.”
Situ Ling, who hadn’t initially understood what Ming Yi intended to do, now realized it with the Sun family’s reaction. He blinked and sighed admiringly, “Sister Ming is truly formidable, securing both money and justice.”
Xiu Yun looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Situ Ling waved his hand. “Just stay here and don’t cause trouble for Sister Ming.”
Xiu Yun pouted defiantly. “I’m not trouble. I’m just worried. What if she’s been captured by the Sun family?”
She’s already been captured, that’s why this is happening, Situ Ling thought.
He hesitated, then waved his hand again. “It’ll be fine.”
The Sun family’s Yuan Power wasn’t even as strong as Liang Xiuyuan’s.
Ming Yi staying in the Sun mansion must be to find some evidence. He naturally couldn’t sit idle either, so he quickly instructed Fu Yue to go with him to the inner court to first delay the Da Si’s actions against Qian Li.
As everyone around her disappeared in a flurry of activity, Xiu Yun stood bewildered by the courtyard wall for a while. Hearing the violent sounds of destruction, she felt very anxious. After much thought, she decided to squat by the main gate to wait for Ming Yi’s return.
However, instead of Ming Yi, she first saw Ji Bozai.
Ji Bozai, dressed in somber attire, slowly alighted from his beast carriage. Ignoring the two rows of lantern-bearing maidens by the door, he was about to enter with a cold expression.
“My Lord!” she called out.
He paused and turned to look, seeing Xiu Yun’s expression of concern and helplessness.
Guessing it was related to Ming Yi, Ji Bozai inwardly sneered. She was so capable, she could live well without him. What trouble could she possibly encounter that she couldn’t solve?
He didn’t want to get involved. She didn’t come back when he called, so if she was in trouble, it served her right.
He turned away gracefully.
—And walked towards the Situ mansion with big strides.
“My Lord!” Seeing him approach, hope lit up in Xiu Yun’s eyes. She quickly said, “Miss Ming has been captured by the Sun family. She can forge divine weapons. I’m afraid Sun Liao might harm her!”
Divine weapons? Sun Liao?
Ji Bozai frowned. “The ‘Now I Come’ and ‘Thunder of Ten Thousand Pounds’ he had before, were they…”
“Forged by Miss Ming!”
“…”
She seemed to have many skills. No wonder those divine weapons always had a familiar feel to them. So it was her.
With such ability, why didn’t she go to the Yuan Shi Academy instead of being pushed around by Sun Liao?
Could it be because of him that she didn’t want to go to the Yuan Shi Academy?
His heart sank and rose, rose and sank. Ji Bozai had never known his emotions could be so changeable, like the weather, unstable even to himself.
He waved his hand irritably and said in a deep voice, “What do you want me to do?”
Xiu Yun’s mind was in a fog. She stared at him blankly. “What to do… naturally, save Ming Yi.”
“Bring her back to my mansion, right?” He nodded. “As you wish.”
Xiu Yun:?
Although she didn’t know what was going on, that certainly wasn’t her wish.
Ji Bozai strode back to his beast carriage, his tone noticeably more cheerful than before. “To the Sun mansion.”
Bu Xiu hesitated for a moment. “Master Qin specifically instructed earlier not to cause trouble for Sun Liao.”
“Is this causing trouble?” Ji Bozai raised an eyebrow. “I’m fulfilling the wish of a poor, helpless commoner. We fighters, while powerful, must never forget our roots. The affairs of the main city are important, but so are the concerns of the common people. Let’s go.”
Bu Xiu: “…” He had never seen his master so concerned with the welfare of all under heaven before.
Ming Yi easily escaped from the guarded wing and searched through the mansion.
Compared to the Ji mansion, the security here was much laxer, allowing her to move about as freely as if she were in her own home. In no time, she had found and examined the Sun family’s account books.
Due to bribes for official positions and entertainment expenses, the Sun family had invested large sums of capital and had been operating at a loss in recent years. The bei notes given to her weren’t reflected in the accounts, but such a large sum of money, with no source or destination, was suspicious.
Her heart sank a little. Ming Yi thought indignantly that if he dared to give her fake bei notes, she would surely deliver justice.
However, apart from these things, there was no other evidence in the mansion that could incriminate him. It wouldn’t be easy to convict Sun Liao.
Just as she was thinking this, voices approached from outside: “What’s so great about Ji Bozai? If pushed too far, you can fake your death and stick to him. Even if he’s at the height of his glory now, causing the death of the only divine weapon craftsman would be enough to get him in hot water.”
Ming Yi was startled and quickly hid behind a bookshelf.
The door opened, and the old master she had seen before entered with Sun Liao, speaking earnestly, “The family’s finances are in dire straits. If you keep messing around in the main city, our family will soon fall.”
Sun Liao was very reluctant. “If I hadn’t encountered Ji Bozai so early, I wouldn’t have been eliminated from the selection so quickly. He did it on purpose! I must find a way to not only get him in trouble but also turn everyone against him.”
Ming Yi frowned as she listened.
Winning and losing in the selection was common. What was there to be intentional about? Ji Bozai probably couldn’t even remember his face.
“Is that divine weapon craftsman you caught behaving?”
“Yes, she’s been locked up for so long without a sound. When I sent someone to ask, she only said to give her work if there was any.” Sun Liao snorted with laughter. “A poor boy with no background, I can handle him easily.”
“Then there’s no rush. You can stay at the Yuan Shi Academy a bit longer.” The Sun patriarch pondered. “I’ll go out to greet Ji Bozai. I doubt he can do anything.”
“Alright.” Sun Liao nodded, stepping aside to let him pass, then casually grabbed a few bei notes from a nearby lacquer box and tucked them into his robe before following him out.
After they had gone far, Ming Yi emerged, smoothing out the account book she had crumpled. She took it with her as she climbed over the wall and across the roof back to the guest room.
“Ah, Lord Ji, your presence truly brightens our humble abode.” The Sun patriarch opened the door to greet him, smiling and bowing. “Sorry to keep you waiting. What brings you here?”