Yujin’s urgent questioning irritated Madam Zhu even more.
How was she supposed to know why her son hadn’t returned yet? Her eldest daughter-in-law had gone to offer incense and somehow caused such a commotion. She was still bewildered by it all.
Seeing that Madam Zhu couldn’t answer, Yujin decided not to press further. He casually stroked Erniu’s head.
Madam Zhu’s gaze shifted downward, landing on the large dog sitting close to Yujin.
The dog, nearly half as tall as a person when seated, exuded an intimidating presence.
Sensing Madam Zhu’s stare, Erniu silently turned its head away.
How annoying, it thought. Why did the master bring it here? There was neither the mistress nor any meaty bones.
Madam Zhu’s expression momentarily contorted.
Was she seeing things? She could have sworn she saw disdain in the dog’s eyes.
Her displeasure with Yujin deepened instantly: She had never seen anyone bring a dog to investigate a case!
She prided herself on entertaining only refined guests in this reception hall. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t associate with uncouth individuals. Yet now, a dog had brazenly entered her home, leaving Madam Zhu feeling increasingly vexed.
A maidservant in blue hurried over: “Madam, the master has returned.”
Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps approached, and a middle-aged man entered the room. He cupped his hands towards Yujin and said, “My apologies for keeping Your Highness waiting.”
Yujin smiled: “It’s no trouble.”
Zhu Shaoqing turned to Madam Zhu and asked, “What exactly happened?”
Madam Zhu began, “Today, Ziyu accompanied Mrs. Jiang to offer incense at Baiyun Temple. Unexpectedly, His Highness arrived with officials from the Shuntian Prefecture, saying that the Fourth Miss of the Jiang family had filed a complaint against us. I’m still unclear about the details.”
Zhu Shaoqing looked at Yujin: “Your Highness—”
Yujin rubbed Erniu’s head and smiled, “Let’s wait for the victim to arrive before discussing the details.”
Zhu Shaoqing’s mouth twitched as he forced a laugh, “Your Highness, please enlighten this official about the situation. I’m completely in the dark here.”
Yujin shook his head with a smile, maintaining an air of mystery.
He wouldn’t say anything before seeing Asi. What if their stories didn’t match up?
As for being fair and just? Hah, that didn’t exist. Was he the type to side with reason over his loved ones?
Zhu Shaoqing was at a loss.
He couldn’t very well force a prince to speak if he didn’t want to.
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly grew silent. Yujin remained unconcerned, continuing to stroke the large dog.
Seeing dog hair scattered all over the floor, Madam Zhu was tempted several times to call a maid to clean up but managed to suppress the urge.
Finally, a maid came to report that Zhu Ziyu and the others had returned. Mr. and Mrs. Zhu eagerly went out to greet them.
At this point, Yujin hesitated. He discreetly brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes before straightening his back and walking out.
As the group approached from a distance, Yujin immediately spotted the frost-faced young woman.
Hmm, it seemed that every time he saw Asi, she wore this aggrieved expression. What could be weighing so heavily on such a young girl’s mind?
Yujin felt a twinge of sympathy, but when he saw Jiang Ancheng beside Jiang Si, his expression instantly froze.
What was going on? Why was Asi’s father here?
He… he wasn’t prepared for this at all!
Yujin had successfully portrayed himself to Jiang Ancheng as a good young man from an ordinary background, independent, self-reliant, and eager to help others. He was almost ready to visit the Earl of Dongping’s mansion as a guest. If his true identity was suddenly exposed now, what if his future father-in-law couldn’t accept it?
Thinking this, Yujin panicked, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
Zhu Shaoqing quickly went to greet them. Although surprised by Jiang Ancheng’s presence, he managed to keep his composure and smiled, “My in-law has come as well.”
Jiang Ancheng snorted coldly: “If I hadn’t come, my daughter might have been killed. I had no choice but to come.”
“What do you mean by that?” Zhu Shaoqing quickly glanced at Zhu Ziyu, seeing only a face heavy with helplessness.
“Let your son explain,” Jiang Ancheng said irritably, his dissatisfaction with his elder son-in-law reaching its peak.
To think his eldest daughter had always told him the couple was harmonious. Who would have thought her in-laws could cause such life-threatening trouble? What use was such a husband?
As Jiang Ancheng was inwardly grumbling, he caught sight of Yujin and was taken aback.
Why was Young Yu here?
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Ancheng understood: Of course, Young Yu worked under Old Zhen. Since Si’er had sent Aman to report to the Shuntian Prefecture, it made sense for Young Yu to lead the officials here.
He glanced at his younger daughter, then at Young Yu, whom he genuinely liked. Suddenly, Jiang Ancheng felt that this trip was truly worthwhile.
Who knows, the young pair might take a liking to each other, which would put his mind at ease.
Jiang Ancheng wasn’t worried about Young Yu. With Si’er’s character and beauty, if the young man couldn’t appreciate her, he’d be blind. Such a blind fool wouldn’t be worth having anyway.
What he worried about was his daughter. If she couldn’t even accept the new Top Scholar, wouldn’t she end up staying at home forever? While having a daughter by his side was a blessing, he feared she might regret it when she grew older.
Yujin felt his scalp tingle under Jiang Ancheng’s gaze. Fortunately, Zhu Ziyu began to speak at that moment, recounting the incident. He concluded, “It’s hard to say how the needle ended up in the horse’s hindquarters. We shouldn’t have troubled the Shuntian Prefecture with this…”
“Why shouldn’t we?” Jiang Ancheng sneered, “Son-in-law, I hear you defending the coachman. Is Yi’er’s safety less important to you than the coachman’s?”
Zhu Ziyu’s head felt like it was about to explode. He hurriedly said, “Father-in-law, you misunderstand. I just felt that family matters should be kept private. Of course, we must find out who wanted to harm Yi’er and deal with them properly.”
Yujin coughed loudly: “There’s no need to discuss whether we should have involved the officials now. Since it’s been reported, let’s have the coachman come for questioning.”
Jiang Ancheng immediately felt that Young Yu, whom he hadn’t seen in days, looked even more agreeable. He was far superior to his disagreeable elder son-in-law. Just as he was about to greet Yujin, he saw the young man wink at him.
Jiang Ancheng was momentarily stunned but quickly understood: They couldn’t let the Zhu family know they were acquainted, or it would give them leverage.
Believing himself to be quick-witted, the elder Master Jiang gave Yujin an imperceptible nod, indicating that he understood.
Yujin felt half relieved.
Well, he had temporarily fooled Asi’s father. Now he just had to deal with Zhu Shaoqing.
“Your High—” Zhu Shaoqing began, but received a meaningful look from Yujin.
The young man’s features were delicate, especially his eyes, which sparkled alluringly. This exchange of glances was almost like flirting.
Zhu Shaoqing forgot to finish the word “Highness” and suddenly began coughing violently.
After recovering, a thought suddenly struck Zhu Shaoqing: It seemed the Earl of Dongping didn’t know about the Prince of Yan’s identity, so why should he reveal it? Given the Earl’s temperament, he’d likely offend the Prince of Yan within a few sentences, which would naturally benefit the Zhu family.
Zhu Shaoqing smoothly changed his words: “I forgot to introduce him to you, my in-law. This is a subordinate of Master Zhen from the Shuntian Prefecture. He’s here to handle this matter.”
Jiang Ancheng grunted a displeased acknowledgment.
Having averted the crisis of identity exposure with just two glances, Yujin secretly stole a look at Jiang Si.