Chapter Three: Forced Marriage Amidst Bloodshed Chapter Fifteen: Fragrant Tea House

When Ma Tian and Su Liuyun were children, they were likely the classic childhood friends everyone teased as a pair. Whether the adults meant it in jest or not, she herself took the joke to heart. Until they grew up...

At this point, Jade Ice looked at her mistress with a trace of pity. She continued, “Ma Tian fell in love with my mistress, believing his feelings for Su Liuyun to be those of an elder brother toward a younger sister. So, on the eve of choosing a bride, he came to Xiangyun Pavilion. He wanted to confide in Su Liuyun, hoping she would understand. But he underestimated the jealousy of a woman! He should have heard Su Liuyun say then, if he didn’t marry her, she would kill my mistress. Ma Tian didn’t believe it—after all, in his eyes, Su Liuyun was a gentle and virtuous maiden, not someone capable of bloodshed.”

Seeing the tears still streaking her mistress’s face, she turned her head away, unwilling to witness her sorrow. “But this time, he guessed wrong! When he finally understood, regardless of the hour, he rushed back in haste to stop Su Liuyun from making a mistake. When he saw my mistress safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief and felt lucky he hadn’t misjudged her. He certainly never intended to share his suspicions with my mistress. But, parched from the hurried journey, he carelessly drank the cup of tea with the worm in it!”

Jade Ice glanced again at Su Liuyun, whose face was serene and indifferent. “Perhaps even in death, he never understood how a gentle soul like Su Liuyun could harden her heart enough to kill.”

“How did you come by my blood leech?” Su Liuyun clenched her delicate hands and stared at Jade Ice, feeling as if something unseen was quietly devouring the blood in her veins. She could not wait any longer; she had to leave at once.

“If it’s your blood leech, you should be able to undo its effects yourself, shouldn’t you?” Jade Ice sidestepped her question, smiling as she replied.

“Miss Su, do you have nothing more to say?” Even the clerk recording events held out a sliver of hope, wishing the beauty he admired would defend herself.

“She’s right! I did kill him!” Su Liuyun, contrary to her usual demeanor, admitted openly—a reaction that caught Jade Ice off guard. “Not only did I kill those two, but the two incompetent assassins from before were also hired by me to kill you!”

“What!?”

“It really was her?”

“How could this happen?”

“Ah! The terror of jealousy!”

“Why?” Now Jade Ice was baffled. She couldn’t believe it was merely over a cup of tea.

Indeed:

“You took something belonging to my master—it’s time to return it!” With these words, she moved like lightning, flinging a ball of pitch-black smoke at Jade Ice. Just as Jade Ice prepared to dodge with her martial skills, her waist was seized, and she was swept aside by the ever-vigilant Zhang Huai, who easily evaded the attack, his fan dancing to block Su Liuyun’s relentless strikes.

“Seize the murderer!” The timid county magistrate barked, then instantly ducked under the table.

As the fight broke out again, the onlookers scattered, fearing they’d become collateral damage.

“Jade Ice, listen! Anything I can’t take with me today, I will come for again someday. Don’t get too comfortable!” With that, Su Liuyun tossed a few smoke bombs and vanished amid the swirling haze.

The bloody case, after the turmoil at the magistrate’s office, settled into quiet. How the muddled magistrate would explain things was beyond Jade Ice and her companions to know.

They respectfully returned the borrowed corpse for proper burial. Later, at Su Liuyun’s residence, they discovered a hidden compartment. Besides traces of the blood leech, they found only a strange painting.

The painting was incomplete: neither landscape nor beauty, but seemed to depict two dots. Or perhaps two black stones on a Go board? As for what they truly represented, Jade Ice was completely mystified. Since no one could decipher it, the magistrate took the painting away.

Xinru had truly vanished—her body never found, the magistrate’s office filed her as missing.

As for what Su Liuyun’s master’s belongings were, Jade Ice pondered long but found no answer. Even if it was that forbidden item, it had been left to her by her parents—it had nothing to do with Su Liuyun’s master.

But one thing was clear: Su Liuyun’s master would send others, and whether she’d have the same luck next time was uncertain. Therefore, she had to leave immediately.

For her mistress, and for the safety of Qinghe Town, she must go—no room for negotiation.

Yet, there were many aspects of the case still unresolved:

What was Su Liuyun’s true identity? Being a killer herself, why could she command those two notorious assassins? Was her master connected to the deaths of Jade Ice’s parents? And what was the meaning behind that strange painting taken by the magistrate?

Yixiang Town, Mingxiang Teahouse.

The teahouse was modest, just two stories, but the exhibits in each private room were of excellent quality. Patrons were refined scholars, folding fans in hand—a high-class establishment for such an ordinary town. According to the chatter, the town had never been so prosperous until a high official from Central Province emerged. With his presence, traffic increased, and wealth followed. Outside, the streets were festooned with lanterns and decorations—clearly a special occasion! The waiter, always well-informed, explained it was the official’s son’s wedding day.

“You’re leaving just like that? Not saying goodbye to your mistress? That’s not right!” The man by the window closed his folding fan and addressed the woman opposite him, who was gazing at the bustling street below.

“Didn’t you hear what Su Liuyun said that day? The sooner I leave, the better.” She didn’t turn her head, her voice cool.

“Where are you headed?” The man persisted, curiosity evident.

“To find the one I need to find.”

“Who?”

The woman glanced at him meaningfully, then shook her head, “No need to ask. Even if you do, I won’t tell. Our paths are different.”

At that moment, the sound of suona horns echoed, followed by a burst of firecrackers. The official’s son was fetching his bride! Sure enough, a procession in red approached, music booming, grand and festive. The bridal sedan was the most conspicuous, though the curtains hid the celestial beauty within.

“Bah! May he die a miserable death!” The waiter spat angrily at the wedding procession outside.

“Hey! What’s with you?” The man at the window was quickest to react, folding his fan and pointing at the indignant waiter. “It’s a joyous day—jealous or not, you shouldn’t be so blatant. There are plenty of guests around!”

Before the waiter could respond, some patrons nearby explained, “You must be from out of town—otherwise, you’d curse him too!”

“Oh?” The woman’s attention was piqued, and she turned to the speaker. “Why is that?”

“Ah, this bride is so unfortunate!”

“Indeed. She’s beautiful, but that’s no crime! Yet, her beauty killed her mother and landed her father in prison.”

“There must be a charge for imprisoning her father, right?” The woman raised an eyebrow.

“The charge is that he murdered his wife!”

“What?” The two exchanged a glance, speechless. What kind of charge was that?

“It’s just a random accusation! The real reason is to force the bride into submission.” The waiter slung his cloth over his shoulder and began his tale:

The bride’s name is Ye Kaixin, adopted by her father Ye Qing.

Ye Qing is a common farmer, earning his living by cultivating flowers. He has an elder daughter, Ye Ruyi, a year older than Kaixin, and their family lived happily.

But disaster struck a month ago! A month past, the Central Province official returned home to visit family, staying only half a month before leaving in haste. He left behind his spoiled son, who, during a visit to the Ye garden to buy flowers, encountered Ye’s second daughter and was smitten, vowing to take her as a concubine. Ye’s second daughter refused, so he claimed Ye Qing’s flowers were poisonous, resulting in a death, and used Ye Qing’s life to coerce the daughter into marriage. The second daughter, fiery by nature, refused to marry into the Xu family as Xu Liang’s fourteenth concubine, and relying on her martial skills, challenged Xu Liang at his mansion—only to have her abilities crippled by his master. Despairing, she still refused to wed.

In desperation, the mother, anxious for her husband’s fate, took her daughter’s place in the bridal sedan, but was returned dead the next day. The magistrate posted a notice: Ye Qing had murdered his wife and was sentenced to execution after autumn.

Ye’s second daughter was undeterred and broke into the prison at midnight to rescue her father, but failed and was captured by the young master, bound and stuffed into the bridal sedan.

The wedding was mere formality—everyone knew the bride was inside, tied up.

“Ah, beauty brings calamity—who can you blame?”

“What a pity for the Ye family—such good people!”

“Seems the so-called Central Province official is yet another muddled bureaucrat,” the maiden scoffed.

“Miss, you’re mistaken! He’s a rare upright official,” others chimed in.

“Yes, yes, all these crimes of the Xu scion were done without his father’s knowledge!”

“He wouldn’t dare let his strict father know—he’d risk getting his legs broken!”

“Has no one gone to find the official to demand justice?” Jade Ice was frustrated—how could the father be oblivious to such a scandal? Was everyone here so indignant yet afraid to speak the truth before the official?

“They have! But it’s worse for those who try—losing their lives, and the deaths en route to find the official were blamed on the Ye family. That’s the so-called flower pollen poisoning case the magistrate cited!”