She remarried a cold-faced, powerful man, and the scumbag regretted it and cried his heart out.

Jiang Jin'an's scabbard suddenly pressed against the tip of Gu Changfeng's boot, almost piercing the boot surface.

The lightning outside the window tore through the night, casting a sharp shadow on his brow bone. His tone was cold and deep, “Cousin, these gold-threaded shoes of yours have stained the Northern Border Map. The century-old reputation of the Duke of Dingguo’s mansion is probably not enough to clean it up.”

Gu Changfeng chuckled lightly, slowly smoothing the cloud pattern embroidered in gold thread on his cuff. "The henchmen of the Commandery are even more diligent than the remonstrating officials of the Censorate."

He suddenly stepped over the grain supply route marked on the map, the hem of his brocade robe stained with wine. "I heard His Majesty summoned the Minister of Revenue the other day. I wonder if he mentioned this year's military pay for the northern border—"

Lin Yu calmly continued, "His Majesty is naturally more concerned about treasonous acts. Yesterday, Eunuch Li praised our lord for his loyalty and bravery, saying he was much more capable than the old scholars of the Censorate."

Gu Changfeng suddenly leaned close to Jiang Jin'an's ear, his voice tinged with the scent of sandalwood and alcohol: "My dear younger brother didn't come home last night, while Miss Wen ran all over both mansions. What do you think he should do if this marriage is broken off?"

A cold glint flashed in Jiang Jin'an's eyes, and the scabbard suddenly snapped upwards, the blade barely grazing Gu Changfeng's throat.

"What, does the Commandant think that just because the Duke of Dingguo's mansion is in trouble, he can get away with it? Don't forget your relationship with the Duke of Dingguo's mansion." Gu Changfeng smiled insincerely, but there was no smile in his eyes.

“That’s true.” Jiang Jin’an nodded, his gaze sharp as he looked directly at Gu Changfeng. “If that courtyard in the west of the city hadn’t been burned to ashes…”

"You!" Gu Changfeng suddenly gripped the silver box and copper ring tightly, his knuckles turning white, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

The atmosphere froze instantly, tense and ready to fight.

The clanging sound of armor clashing came from the stairs, and the next moment, the door to the private room was kicked to pieces.

Duke Gu Zhong, wearing a straw raincoat and holding the dragon-patterned staff bestowed by the late emperor, stepped into the private room. Behind him followed twenty black-armored guards, their iron boots crushing wine jars scattered on the ground.

Gu Zhong's gaze swept over everyone present, finally settling on Jiang Jin'an, his tone icy, "Is the Commandant planning to use my Gu family as a scapegoat?"

"Uncle, you flatter me." Jiang Jin'an lightly flicked the scabbard of his sword, rolled up the map of the northern border and placed it at Gu Zhong's feet. His tone was calm. "This junior only wants to ask why this route map and the garrison map stamped with the seal of the Ministry of War are in the hidden compartment of Prince Gu's silver box?"

Cheng Wenhao suddenly rushed to the silver box and fished out the half of the waist token from the wine jar: "Oh my! There's still the waist token of the Prince Jing's Mansion soaking in here!"

He held up the wooden plaque dripping with yellow wine, waved it in front of Gu Zhong's eyes, and said with a mischievous grin, "Old man, you have good eyesight, can you take a look?"

"enough!"

The dragon-patterned staff swept in with a strong wind, and Cheng Wenhao rolled to the side of Shen Jingshu's skirt, shouting, "Grandma, save me!"

Jiang Jin'an shielded Shen Jingshu in his arms, his scabbard blocking the attack. Sparks flew as the gilded dragon pattern on the staff clashed with the dragon's body. "Uncle, are you sending my cousin to the imperial prison right now for a hangover cure?"

"I will go to the palace to meet the Emperor myself!"

Gu Zhong roared, slamming his dragon-patterned staff heavily onto the ground, the sound making everyone's eardrums ache. His gaze swept over Gu Changfeng like a knife, and he roared, "You unfilial son, get back and kneel in the ancestral hall! Do you really think Jiang Jin'an would protect the Duke of Dingguo's mansion? Back then, he even—"

Jiang Jin'an raised his knife and cleaved the silver box in two. The Xuanjia Guards were shocked and immediately surrounded the silver box tightly.

Gu Changfeng glanced at Jiang Jin'an, then turned and left.

The torrential rain pounded against the carriage roof. On the way back, Cheng Wenhao peered out through the carriage window: "Today I've been baited and played the clown. I hope I won't get killed later?"

"You're overthinking it." Shen Jingshu pushed the locust flower candy in the ice chest towards you. "The Gu family is probably just hoping to send you ten more boxes of silver ingots to seal the deal right now."

She traced the character "程" on the small sandalwood table with her fingertip. "Isn't the vacancy in the Ministry of Personnel's Performance Evaluation Department still open?"

"Stop!" Cheng Wenhao picked up a locust flower candy and stuffed it into his mouth, wincing from the sweetness. "You two, one handing me candy and the other handing me a knife, do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

He chewed on acacia flower candy and mumbled, "What exactly happened to your uncle back then, regarding the last unfinished sentence of the Duke?"

Jiang Jin'an suddenly pulled a secret letter from his sleeve. "I found this in the rafters of the house in the west of the city."

The sealing wax on the envelope clearly bore the mark of the Cheng family's caravan.

According to Zhao Yan's confession, three of the merchant caravans traveling between the Duke of Dingguo's mansion and the northern border were actually flying the Cheng family's flag.

Cheng Wenhao choked, spraying sugar residue onto the carriage curtain. "You knew all along that my Cheng family's caravan was transporting military equipment?!"

He lunged forward to snatch it, but the carriage suddenly braked sharply, and he fell into the ice chest.

Shen Jingshu suppressed a laugh and pulled the sugar strand stuck in his hair: "There are still eleven boxes left, enough for you to eat until spring. The chairs in the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Evaluation Office are much more comfortable than the prison cart."

Amidst the torrential rain, Cheng Wenhao's wailing pierced the downpour: "Jiang Jin'an, you tricked me! If I'm really silenced, I'll haunt your wedding night and knock on your window!"

He recalled the noble person the young novice at Qingyun Temple had mentioned. If it was indeed one of the two of them, it seemed like a vengeful ghost destined to send him to the underworld.

He felt like he had been tricked.

A strange sight unfolded in the west of the city today.

The rain poured down and the wind howled, but in the midst of this torrential downpour, an inconspicuous courtyard suddenly burst into flames, illuminating half the sky.

Fu Zijin's cloak swept across the fire, while the silver bell on Chu Xiangling's wrist jingled in the rain.

Despite the flames that the torrential rain couldn't extinguish, there was no trace of panic on that stunningly beautiful face.

"The dogs from the Commandery came quickly." Fu Zijin grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the carriage, his calloused palm rubbing against the old whip mark. "It's a pity Jiang Jin'an is busy performing with Prince Gu."

Chu Xiangling raised her eyes and smiled, the firelight making her face even more beautiful. "A dog of the Commandery? Then what makes you so obedient?"

Tong Qingyun's shouts came from outside the carriage curtain. Fu Zijin suddenly pressed Chu Xiangling against the carriage wall, and whispered with a chuckle in her ear, "Of course..."

Before the words were finished, the dagger in his sleeve was thrown out, piercing the throat of the dark figure outside the car. Blood splattered on the car window. "You evil spirit who will go to hell with me."

Seeing this, Chu Xiangling withdrew her hand, which was about to poison Fu Zijin, and asked with a smile, "Then let's guess, will you go to hell first, or will I send you to the afterlife first?"

Tong Qingyun lifted the carriage curtain, wiped the blood from his face, still shaken and quite surprised. He couldn't help but give a thumbs up and exclaimed, "Young Master Fu, what a sharpshooter!"

Having served as a treacherous minister for so many years in his past life, he naturally needed to have some skills to protect himself.

Fu Zijin released Chu Xiangling, his expression indifferent, "After being tricked by your master a few more times, you'll get the hang of it."

Tong Qingyun: "..."

Fu Zijin glanced at the distant firelight and said, "Tell Jiang Jin'an to remember to use tung oil next time he burns down the house—rapeseed oil is very pungent when it burns."