Several jailers walked to the bars. One of them took out a key and opened the cell door.

Yan Sanhe didn’t move.

Her calm appearance made the jailers’ hearts tremble slightly. Thinking of this woman’s ruthlessness, no one dared step forward voluntarily.

“Come out!”

The head jailer shouted sternly.

Yan Sanhe’s eyelids lifted slightly, but she still didn’t move.

Several jailers exchanged glances and all drew the blades from their backs.

The leader snorted coldly. “Everyone, attack!”

Yan Sanhe leaped up, her back pressed against the wall, a pair of black pupils like a wild beast’s, watching everyone warily.

The jailers approached step by step.

“Don’t blame us brothers for being ruthless.”

The leader sneered coldly. “Who told the young lady to be so ungrateful, offending Young Master Xu? You deserve to have your hands and feet severed.”

Yan Sanhe gripped that small gold hairpin tightly in her palm. “Someone from Xie Daozhi’s household—you dare?”

“In here, I don’t care about any Xie Daozhi or Zhang Daozhi. We only recognize one surname—Xu!”

As the words fell, one jailer’s blade swept across.

Yan Sanhe’s eyes instantly shot out blood-red color, like a cornered beast, her throat exploding with an angry roar.

Fight to the death!

Just at this critical moment, a loud shout came from the end of the corridor.

“Boss, don’t make a move yet. Third Master of the Xie household has come knocking.”

The leader paused slightly, glared viciously at Yan Sanhe, and turned to walk out of the cell.

As he left, the remaining jailers also departed.

The instant the cell door closed, Yan Sanhe slowly slumped to the ground.

The heavy blood-red color slowly retreated from her black eyes, leaving only the emptiness of surviving a disaster, and a body of cold sweat.

…

Ministry of Justice, inner hall.

Xie Sanye crossed his legs, picked up the hot tea offered by the bailiff, and slowly tasted it.

Mm!

Good tea!

Slowly tasted another sip!

His manner didn’t seem like someone coming to make demands at all, but rather like visiting the Ministry of Justice—just lacking a plate of melon seeds to crack.

Xu Lai coughed once, signaling he had something to say—speak up or fart already, his son was still crying in pain in another room.

But Third Master’s lips moved, he hummed lightly through his nose, then lowered his head to drink tea again.

Xu Lai set his teacup down heavily on the table, smiling without mirth. “This Ministry of Justice’s tea seems very much to Third Master’s taste!”

“Fragrant, with a pleasant aftertaste.”

Xie Sanye looked full of appreciation. “Compared to our North City Military Commissioner’s tea, simply one is heaven, one is earth—can’t compare!”

Xu Lai’s ability to become the dignified Left Vice Minister of Justice wasn’t just about flattering and speaking pleasantries.

His son was a troublemaker. He couldn’t control his son, so he could only follow behind cleaning up his messes.

Cleaning up messes in the capital—besides needing to understand the depth of waters, one also needed some real skill.

Xu Lai’s real skill was reading people’s hearts and adapting to circumstances.

The woman locked in the prison—as soon as his son had the accident, he sent people to investigate. She wasn’t a legitimate young miss of the Xie family, nor did she seem to have any close relations, so he dared order her hand and foot tendons severed.

Who knew Third Master of the Xie household would come upon hearing the news?

Good!

If this Xie fellow came to the Ministry of Justice to cause a great scene, forcing him to release the person, matters would be much clearer—

This woman’s position in the Xie household was still fairly important. He would need to consider his actions carefully.

But this kid neither made a scene nor got angry, his entire body radiating an aura of visiting relatives and friends harmoniously. Xu Lai couldn’t quite gauge the situation.

It wasn’t that he was wary of this kid, but rather of Xie Daozhi behind him.

Xie Daozhi was a close subject of the Emperor, one of the Cabinet. Over these years, people around the Emperor had come and gone, but he alone had remained standing.

“Someone come!”

Xu Lai’s mind stirred. “Wrap half a catty of fine tea leaves for Third Master to take home.”

Going to drive him away already?

Still early!

Xie Sanye slowly set down his teacup. His pitch-black eyes lightly swept over Xu Lai, and he slowly opened his mouth.

“Where’s the logic in eating, drinking, then taking things away? Minister Xu is truly too polite.”

Xu Lai forced a smile and probed, “Then Third Master’s trip here is to…”

“Drink tea!”

Xie Sanye raised his sword-like brows, with an air of “whoever says I’m not here to drink tea, I’ll get into it with them.”

Xu Lai was worried about his son’s injury. Several rounds of maneuvering had already used his maximum patience.

“Then Third Master take your time drinking. I still have official business to attend to in the office.”

“Don’t be hasty, Minister Xu.”

“…” Xu Lai stared at him, waiting for what came next.

But Xie Sanye had no next words.

He first stretched lazily, then covered his mouth yawning, and finally stood up slowly, hands behind his back, walked to the threshold, lifting one foot.

Was he leaving?

Xu Lai watched helplessly as that foot was about to cross the threshold, but that foot fell back to its original place.

Falling back wasn’t enough—he even walked right in front of him.

Xu Lai’s heart jumped fiercely several times. He had no choice but to summon full vigilance, standing to face the tall man before him.

The man clicked his tongue, his lips moved several times, but he didn’t speak. Then he sat back in his original position and picked up his teacup to drink tea.

You motherfucker, playing with me!

Xu Lai nearly had a heart attack from anger.

“The imperial physician has arrived, the imperial physician has arrived!”

This shout carried over. Xu Lai couldn’t care about reading hearts or adapting to circumstances anymore.

“Third Master is here for that woman, correct!”

“Minister Xu is truly clever—you guessed right.”

Does this even need guessing?

“That woman held a dagger and committed violence in the street. Both witness and physical evidence are present.”

Xu Lai sneered coldly. “What is it, Third Master—are you planning to have me disregard the laws of Great Hua and bend the law for personal gain?”

“How could that be!”

Xie Sanye’s peach-blossom eyes smiled as if brimming with water.

“Minister Xu’s official integrity is well-known throughout the court—who doesn’t know, who doesn’t recognize it?”

Xu Lai raised his head. “Since you know, Third Master please return. When the case is judged, I’ll send someone to notify your household.”

“Then many thanks to Minister Xu.” Xie Sanye set down his teacup.

That teacup somehow wasn’t set steadily. It rolled several times on the table, then with a “clang,” fell to the floor.

Xu Lai was so startled his whole body jumped. Instinctively, he looked at Xie Sanye.

Where was there any smile on Third Master’s face? A pair of pitch-black pupils coldly and silently watched him, containing both warning and killing intent.

“My lord, my lord.”

Just then, a guard rushed in. “My lord, quickly go listen—the imperial physician says, says the young master’s manhood…”

“Shut up!”

Xu Lai flicked his sleeve and rushed out in a panic.

The inner hall suddenly emptied. Xie Sanye walked with hands behind his back to the middle of the courtyard, pretending to admire a magnificently blooming peach tree in the yard.

Standing for a moment, Zhu Qing somehow appeared like a cat from somewhere.

“Master, they’ve rushed back to the Xu household for treatment.”

Xie Zhifei let out a long breath of relief.

Injured so severely, and in such a private area, involving the major matter of continuing the family line—how could Xu Lai leave his son at the Ministry of Justice for everyone to watch the spectacle?

This move was called luring the tiger away from the mountain—

To prevent that bastard Xu Sheng from having a chance to harm Yan Sanhe.

And the performance he’d just carefully staged before Xu Lai was called attacking the heart as supreme strategy—

Wasn’t Xu Lai a person most skilled at reading hearts? Then let him properly read Third Master’s intentions for this trip.

“Before Xu Lai left, did he give any instructions to his subordinates?”

“He did—said to keep her locked up temporarily, don’t make any moves yet.”

Don’t make any moves yet!

Meaning he was planning to make a move, or had already moved halfway?

Xie Zhifei’s face paled, silently gritting his teeth.