Chapter 39: Who Exactly Are You?

After the meal, the maid cleared the dishes, and the aunt showered Su Yunqing with gratitude before the two of them took their leave.

Song Jiao’s mind raced, searching for an excuse to keep Su Yunqing here instead of letting her go to Meng Hu’s house.

“Jiao Jiao!” Ling Yuan called out from the bed. “Step outside for a moment. I have a few words for Young Master Cheng.”

Song Jiao leaned back, frowning. “What could you possibly have to say that I can’t hear?”

“Go and comfort Uncle Song. He’s quite upset. While you’re at it, tell him my injuries are fine and that he needn’t worry.”

“Oh, right!”

Song Jiao stood up. “Fine, talk then. I’ll go check on my father first.”

Once Song Jiao had stepped out and closed the door, Ling Yuan went straight to the point. “Tell me, who exactly are you?”

“A citizen of Daliang!”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking.”

Su Yunqing decided to play the victim. “Brother Ling, I am merely an orphan whose family was destroyed. To protect myself, I disguised myself as a man to board your ship. It just so happened that a relative I was seeking out had fallen ill, and in gratitude for their hospitality, I volunteered to find medicine.”

Ling Yuan tilted his head to look at her. “What method did you use to drive away the Japanese pirates?”

“Japanese pirates?” Su Yunqing met his gaze. “They were repelled by Banjiu; I simply treated his wounds afterward.”

“Banjiu was already unconscious before the pirates even disembarked! And you held one of them hostage.”

“Because Banjiu was so fierce, and I told them you were all arriving soon. They were afraid to stay long, so they fled. That makes perfect sense!”

Ling Yuan sighed softly and turned his head back to stare at the bed canopy. She was unwilling to speak, and further questioning would be pointless. She had driven off the pirates, saved Banjiu, and risked her life to find medicine for her relative—she was not a villain, she had no malicious intent, and she had even saved him just moments ago.

“Meow…”

An orange head poked out from under the bed. It scanned the room, then, with a nimble leap for such a plump creature, it landed on Su Yunqing’s lap.

“Huangtu!” Su Yunqing grabbed its two front paws, pulling it up to stand on her lap. “Why are you only coming out now? Where were you hiding?”

“Meow…”

“How did you get even fatter? I brought you some dried fish…”

The girl and the cat ignored Ling Yuan’s presence, playfully swatting at each other.

After a while, Ling Yuan spoke again. “Since you are from Zejiang, you must be quite familiar with the Su family, right?”

Su Yunqing’s smile stiffened. Her hand, resting on Huangtu’s belly, paused for a heartbeat before she returned to her nonchalant demeanor.

“Not familiar!”

Ling Yuan caught that fleeting moment of distraction. “The Su family is a renowned local gentry family. If you grew up in Zejiang, how could you not know them?”

Su Yunqing smiled faintly. “We are a humble family of little standing. How could we ever hope to rub shoulders with a household like the Sus?”

“A girl from a humble family can recognize a wound inflicted by the Jinyiwei’s exclusive Xiuchun saber?”

Su Yunqing began to play dumb. Huangtu rolled onto its back on her lap, its fat belly exposed, and the girl and cat went back to their game of cat and mouse.

Ling Yuan’s thoughts drifted back to that night three days ago.

Relying on the reckless courage of youth, he had attempted to break into the imperial palace alone to assassinate the Emperor. He hadn’t even made it past the palace gates, nor had he caught a glimpse of the Emperor, before the Jinyiwei chased him for five streets.

Because his lightness skills were exceptional, eventually only one Jinyiwei remained in hot pursuit, with the others falling far behind.

And that man was a force the likes of which he had never encountered.

After a brief exchange of blows, he found himself gradually losing the upper hand.

The Jinyiwei’s Xiuchun saber pressed his sword down, pinning him against the city wall. “Who are you, and why are you here?”

Ling Yuan gritted his teeth, struggling against the immense strength. “You possess such skill, yet you chose to be a dog of the imperial court, aiding the tyrant and harming the righteous! That foolish emperor, barely on the throne, wiped out the entire Su Yuan family…”

“You came to avenge Grand Secretary Su?” At the mention of that name, the Jinyiwei’s grip faltered for a fraction of a second.

In that instant, Ling Yuan exerted all his strength, using his sword to push back the Xiuchun saber while kicking out at the man’s chest.

To his surprise, the Jinyiwei merely took two steps back to steady himself before slashing down with his blade again. Ling Yuan hurried to raise his sword in defense.

The situation returned to its original state; he was being suppressed.

The Jinyiwei said, “The Su family was not killed by the Emperor. The decree to confiscate their property was merely a ruse to deceive others, intended to save their lives.”

“But they are all dead!” Veins bulged on Ling Yuan’s forehead, his deep eyes bloodshot.

“That was not the Emperor’s intent. Furthermore, according to the investigations I conducted later, no body belonging to Su Yuan’s granddaughter was found. You have the courage to risk your life entering the palace to assassinate the Emperor—you are bold and skilled. Leave now, preserve your life; you will have great use in the future.”

The Jinyiwei’s words left him stunned.

“What do you mean?”

“The palace is not your backyard; you cannot simply walk in. Leave this place and stop acting like a reckless brute.”

The Jinyiwei’s fingers loosened on the hilt of his blade; the jade thumb ring glowed with a lustrous sheen in the moonlight.

Ling Yuan stammered, “You… you aren’t going to kill me? Not taking me back to claim a reward?”

“Remember, to achieve great things, one must remain patient and not be rash. The Emperor has his own difficulties; in time, you will understand.”

The information he had just heard was too vast; Ling Yuan couldn’t digest it all. He continued to resist the Xiuchun saber out of instinct, but his mind was elsewhere.

The other Jinyiwei began to arrive one by one, their figures closing in.

“If you want to survive, run…”

The tension of the Xiuchun saber slackened. The Jinyiwei stepped back, slammed his blade horizontally into the city wall, and gave him a look.

Ling Yuan understood. He leaped up, stepped onto the blade embedded in the wall, and used the leverage to vault over the parapet, landing outside the city.

The wall was nearly twenty feet high and twenty feet wide, but he cleared it easily; he knew the Jinyiwei had exerted strength into that blade to assist him.

There was no time to think. He sheathed his sword and fled.

A flash of silver light streaked past; he was too slow to dodge, and blood began to gush from his chest.

Someone flew out from the bushes beneath the wall. Ignoring his wound, Ling Yuan swept the man’s legs, knocking him to the ground, before leaping onto his horse.

He heard that man shout to the top of the wall, “Commander Gao, I am incompetent! I let him escape.”

A cold, stern voice came from the wall: “No need to pursue. He is wounded and will not survive.”

And so, gravely injured, he had fled all the way back to Longyin Mountain.

…

Su Yunqing had no idea what he was thinking, fully absorbed in teasing Huangtu.

With a creak, the door opened.

“Brother! Young Master Cheng! I’m back!”

At the sound of the voice, Huangtu bolted, leaped off the bed, and dove underneath it.