Chapter 25: Too Light

The lights in the garden were extinguished, leaving only the moonlight to spill across the grounds. Dozens of Li Manor’s guards lay sprawled in disarray, the area a scene of utter devastation with blood splattered everywhere.

Shen Ruojin stood in the center of the courtyard, her skirts fluttering as she stepped on Li Chengzhi’s head. The scenery of the entire garden paled in comparison to her presence, save for the chilling, icy light of the long sword in her hand. An aura of murderous intent shrouded the surroundings. "Who else is looking to die?"

"No, I don't want to die!"
"This servant won't dare again!"
"Spare my life... please, spare me!"

The Li family guards, each having suffered broken arms or legs, were howling in pain and kneeling to beg for mercy. Li Chengzhi, both legs shattered, had his face twisted in agony. Unable to escape, he could only hop on the ground like a toad, blood pooling beneath him.

Hearing the thunderous crash of the gates being kicked open, Shen Ruojin glanced back and was momentarily stunned to see her newlywed husband among the arrivals. It was too late to hold back or pretend that none of this was her doing.

Simply kicking Li Er aside, Shen Ruojin sheathed her sword behind her back, turned to face the newcomers, and declared loudly, "Qin Lang, you were too soft with your strikes."

Scum like Li Er deserved nothing less than death.

Qin Qi, who had followed behind, was left speechless. The magistrate and the Prince’s guards were so shocked their mouths hung agape. A vast crowd stood frozen outside the gates of Li Manor, none daring to step forward. Just what kind of woman had the young Prince married?

Li Chengzhi was notorious for bullying others and abusing his power; the thugs he kept were skilled in combat and had run rampant in the capital for years, only ever suffering losses at the hands of the young Prince. Yet tonight, Shen Ruojin had crippled Li Er and every single person in Li Manor single-handedly.

The magistrate couldn't help but ask Qin Qi, "Since the young Prince was in such a hurry to bring me here, were you trying to rescue the young Princess... or Li Er?"

It was a question that neither the magistrate nor his accompanying clerks and bailiffs could answer. The young Princess of the Prince of Zhenbei’s estate hardly seemed in need of rescue. With her ability to hold off a hundred alone, any passerby who dared approach now would likely be met with a sword stroke.

Qin Lang, still dazed, remained silent.

"My lady is absolutely right. It is my fault for being too soft previously."

Qin Lang walked toward Shen Ruojin against the night wind. Seeing her uninjured, save for a few stray locks of hair disheveled by the breeze, his tension eased slightly. He steadied his mind, tossed aside the long staff he was carrying, and slammed it down onto Li Chengzhi’s lower body.

With a sickening crack, the staff shattered, and so did Li Chengzhi’s manhood.

"Ah—!"

Li Chengzhi’s scream shattered the silence of the moonlit night. The surrounding guards felt their scalps prickle in terror, and one man quickly covered his crotch with his only remaining hand.

Death is but a single stroke, but what the young Prince had just done was truly ruthless.

Shen Ruojin, annoyed by their wailing, threw her sword. It embedded itself three inches deep into the stone tiles, causing the ground to crack for several feet. The crowd fell silent instantly.

The surroundings were deathly quiet. Only Li Er remained, rolling on the ground in agony, cursing Shen Ruojin and Qin Lang, screaming, "This hatred will never be forgotten! Shen Ruojin, Qin Lang! I will never rest until one of us is dead!"

"In that case, I will end this trouble once and for all today." Qin Lang’s fury flared; he raised a foot to stomp on Li Chengzhi’s heart.

"Second brother, no!"

Qin Qi rushed forward, shielding the blow with his arm, and the sound of bone snapping echoed through the air.

"What is big brother doing?"

For a moment, Qin Lang couldn't tell if he was hallucinating from the effects of the *Xiangjianhuan* poison, or if Qin Qi had lost his mind. Had he worn the mask of a "good man" for so long that he was now protecting even a piece of trash like Li Er?

Qin Qi didn't lose his composure despite the injury. He felt his bone and set it back in place, whispering, "Father has repeatedly warned us not to further antagonize the Prime Minister’s office. Besides, if you truly kill Li Chengzhi, how would that leave Ruojin?"

Shen Ruojin pulled on Qin Lang’s sleeve, drawing him toward her. "No matter how worthless Li Chengzhi is, he is still the Prime Minister’s son. He can be beaten, but he cannot be killed."

If not for that, she would have sent Li Chengzhi to the underworld with a single stroke long ago. Why would she have waited until now?

"...Mm."

Qin Lang felt his head swimming with heat. He thought to himself that he couldn't kill him in public. Another day, then. In a dark, wind-swept place with no one around—an assassination.

As Qin Lang calculated in his daze, he noticed Shen Ruojin was suddenly standing quite close and reached out to grasp her hand. Her hand was so cool. Her swordplay had been so fierce, yet her palm was so soft.

"What is wrong with you?"

Shen Ruojin sensed something amiss the moment he held her hand. Qin Lang’s palm was burning. The way he looked at her was also wrong—scorching like stars, as if fueled by a fire. Between the scent of wine and blood on him, he looked even more disheveled than she did, despite her just having finished a fight.

"I... I am fine."

Unruly as Qin Lang was, he couldn't admit in front of outsiders that he had been drugged while drinking.

"Are you really fine?" Shen Ruojin was skeptical.

Since Qin Lang wouldn't speak, she couldn't press him in front of others, especially with the entire Li Manor filled with the severely wounded. Compared to them, the young Prince didn't even look like he had any injuries.

Shen Ruojin turned to ask Qin Qi, "How is big brother’s arm?"

Qin Qi pursed his lips. "It is nothing serious. The bone is just broken; I will have it set when I return."

This was considered "nothing serious." These brothers were not born of the same mother, and it seemed their relationship was typically poor.

Shen Ruojin offered an explanation: "Second brother was not aiming at you. It is just that Li Er has committed every evil act from rape to murder. If it weren't for the laws of this dynasty, which would see him die eighteen times over, I would have sent him to the Yellow Springs with one sword stroke."

"Cough." Qin Qi coughed heavily upon hearing this. "Ruojin, this is Magistrate Su Honglang."

"This official, Su Honglang, pays his respects to the young Princess and the young Prince." Su Honglang hurried forward to pay his respects and began the procedure, asking Shen Ruojin, "Might I ask, young Princess, what exactly happened in Li Manor, and why these people have ended up like this?"

"Li Er’s wife, Li Anshi, came to me today, feigning a pregnancy complication to lure me to Li Manor. Li Er intended to commit lewd acts against me to retaliate against my husband. In a fit of rage, I beat them all. That is the cause and the sequence of events."

Shen Ruojin was blunt. To her, there was nothing to hide or embellish. No one in Li Manor was innocent. Li Anshi had been feigning the pregnancy complication, but when Shen Ruojin began beating Li Er all the way from the reception hall to the garden, she had been so terrified that she truly went into labor. As for the servants who helped their master poison the tea and pastries, Shen Ruojin had beaten them all, regardless of gender.

Now that the magistrate was asking, she told him everything exactly as it happened.

The bailiffs were sweating profusely. If every victim who encountered trouble were as capable of fighting as this woman, what need would there be for their services? The Prince’s guards, meanwhile, were secretly glancing at the second young master. The bride he had married was fierce; if the two of them ever had a disagreement, it would be quite the battle.

After Shen Ruojin finished speaking, she asked the magistrate, "May I leave now?"

"Yes, of course." Su Honglang didn't dare detain her. "Please feel free, young Princess."

"Then we shall take our leave."

Before leaving, Shen Ruojin looked at Qin Qi once more. She said, "Thank you, big brother, for bringing people to save me." Although she would have finished dealing with these people and left regardless, the fact that they had made a special trip was a kindness, and it was quite a hassle. She could not be entirely ungrateful.

Qin Qi’s gaze fell on the hands of Shen Ruojin and Qin Lang, still clasped together. He offered a strained smile. "We are family; there is no need for such courtesy."

Shen Ruojin nodded. "Second brother and I will head back first. Big brother should also return early to have your arm treated."

Qin Qi wanted to say more, but Qin Lang was already pulling Shen Ruojin away. "Let's go. We're going home."

The garden was a mess, the night air filled with the chaotic scent of blood. Only the torches held by the bailiffs and the Prince’s guards illuminated the space. As Qin Lang passed by a guard, he suddenly snatched a torch and threw it toward the second-floor pavilion. The flames leaped, devouring the silk curtains and spreading to the roof beams.

In an instant, the wind fanned the fire, and smoke and dust scattered in every direction. Qin Lang pulled Shen Ruojin away without looking back, leaving behind only one sentence: "This garden is too filthy; let it burn."