The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming-Chapter 15: A Delicate Flower
In the end, Shen Yanchuan bought the flower lantern after all.
Its soft glow illuminated him, a gentleman as refined as jade.
The streets were still bustling, but Shen Yanchuan seemed a little tired. He carried the lantern and started heading back.
As he passed through a small alley, the clamor of the streets gradually faded.
Just as he turned a corner, the sound of something slicing through the air suddenly rang out!
Lian Zhou’s heart tightened, and he instantly drew his sword!
CLANG!
The sharp sound of impact was jarring in the quiet corner.
Shen Yanchuan stopped and lowered his gaze to the ground.
It was a steel nail, about an inch long. It had flown at an incredible speed; if it had hit, it likely would have embedded itself directly into bone.
The moon was high in the western sky, casting down its cold light. The steel nail reflected a faint, eerie glow that was chilling to the bone.
The corners of Shen Yanchuan’s lips lifted slightly.
"How thoughtful of you, to chase me all the way from Huizhou."
Several figures appeared without a sound. Each was lean and sturdy, wearing a veiled hat that obscured their faces.
The man in the lead sneered, his voice deep, harsh, and raspy.
"You’re a tough one to kill!"
The last time, Shen Yanchuan had narrowly escaped, but he was gravely injured. They all thought he was a dead man, yet here he was, still alive!
Shen Yanchuan smiled faintly. "I must thank your man for showing mercy."
Hearing this, the leader’s heart sank.
According to "that person," the potent poison Shen Yanchuan had been afflicted with last time had no antidote.
He had suffered two injuries, and the poison had seeped deep into his organs. There was no way he could have survived!
But now, Shen Yanchuan was standing right before them, perfectly fine!
They had already suspected a traitor in their midst had switched the poison, allowing Shen Yanchuan to escape his fate. Now, hearing him say this, they grew even more uneasy.
The leader snorted. "You think I’ll believe anything you say? Stop trying to sow discord! Instead of wasting time on that, you should be thinking about how you’re going to die tonight!"
Shen Yanchuan seemed completely unfazed by his words, only smiling lightly. "It was just a joke. Why so serious? Or... has someone among you really turned traitor?"
His words were so light and nonchalant, an unknowing bystander might have thought he was merely catching up with an old friend.
Yet every word he spoke was like a stone lodged in their chests—unsettling and deeply uncomfortable.
Rumor had it that this Shen Yanchuan was deeply calculating and unpredictable. Seeing him today, it was clearly true!
His words were a mix of truth and lies, making them impossible to judge.
’It’s best to end this quickly!’
The leader was unwilling to banter with Shen Yanchuan any longer.
"They say all seven masters of the Black Cavalry Guard are experts in martial arts. Now, only one remains by your side. I’d like to see how he handles fighting many at once!"
Lian Zhou’s grip on his sword tightened, a cold glint rising in his eyes.
The moment he saw these men, his aura had changed, now faintly exuding a bloodthirsty ferocity.
It was the first time these men had faced Lian Zhou directly. Seeing this, they felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
They clearly had the advantage in numbers, but...
Shen Yanchuan suddenly said, "Have you ever wondered why, of all people, it is Lian Zhou who remains by my side?"
The men were stunned by the question for a moment.
But before they could react, Lian Zhou’s figure had already vanished from his spot!
"If you want to touch my master, you’ll have to get past my sword first!"
...
The glint of blades flashed amidst a biting wind.
Shen Yanchuan stood where he was, waiting quietly. He even felt a little bored.
Suddenly, as if he heard something, he tilted his head slightly and looked to his right.
From just over the wall, he could faintly hear a commotion.
It sounded like someone was fighting.
Shen Yanchuan’s brow arched. ’This is getting interesting.’
He had specially chosen such a fine spot, never expecting someone else would have the same idea.
After listening for another moment, Shen Yanchuan had a good grasp of the situation on the other side.
Three against one. And the one fighting the many was the stronger party—coincidentally, just like his own situation.
But there were clearly five people over there. Besides the four who were fighting, there was another with faint, shallow breathing, who seemed to be a young child.
’...What kind of decent person gets into a brawl in front of a child?’
Shen Yanchuan felt this person was rather uncouth.
But it was someone else’s business, and none of his.
Shen Yanchuan glanced up at the sky.
The moon was high. They needed to hurry. If the Spring Lantern Festival ended before they returned to the clinic, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.
’The less trouble, the better—’ THUD!
A muffled thud suddenly came from the other side of the wall, accompanied by a pained groan.
"Urgh..."
THUD!
Another one.
The man’s voice instantly diminished, becoming nearly inaudible through the wall.
Shen Yanchuan’s brow twitched.
’This fighter is quite decisive. They’re probably slamming someone against the wall. Not dragging things out at all.’
The commotion on the other side quickly died down, as if everything was settled.
’That was fast.’
Just as Shen Yanchuan was thinking this, he heard a gentle and clear young woman’s voice.
"Now, are you ready to talk?"
A strange glint flashed in Shen Yanchuan’s eyes.
’Ye Chutang?’
...
On this side, the three men who had been about to attack Ye Chutang were now all on the ground. Two were unconscious, while the last one, his face covered in blood and his head sporting several large bumps, knelt with his hands over his head in utter terror.
"I-I was just paid to do a job! The person that day was wearing a mask, I don’t know them! I really don’t!"
Ye Chutang took out a handkerchief and leisurely wiped her hands, looking down at him from above.
"Is that so?"
Her tone was distinctly light, as if asking a casual question, but to the listener’s ears, it carried an inexplicable, fear-inducing shiver.
Before they came, the man never would have imagined that several grown men working together would be no match for a seemingly delicate girl of seventeen or eighteen!
He kowtowed frantically, begging for mercy. "Please! Spare our lives! We—" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
Ye Chutang smiled. "I’m easy to deal with. After all, murder is against the law. But if you go back tonight, can you really keep your lives? Cao Chengwen doesn’t seem like such an agreeable person, does he?"
The man said hurriedly, "No! He said that whether we succeeded or not, he’d still give us the money—"
His voice cut off abruptly, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.
Ye Chutang nodded in understanding. "So it really was him."
She wasn’t surprised by this outcome. He was the only person she had made an enemy of recently.
The man realized he had revealed the identity and began to tremble like a leaf.
Ye Chutang had easily extracted the answer, but she wasn’t particularly happy, feeling a little regretful instead.
’A pity...’
She had thought it might be...
Of course, the man had no idea what she meant by "a pity" and was too scared to utter another word.
Ye Chutang stepped forward and brought the edge of her hand down in a chop, and the man fell completely unconscious.
Only then did she look to her left and ask through the wall, "Mr. Shen, have you heard enough?"
After a brief silence, footsteps approached.
A tall, upright figure appeared at the corner.
Dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, a gentleman beyond compare.
Their eyes met, and an undercurrent seemed to flow between them.
Shen Yanchuan acted as if he hadn’t seen the blood on the ground or the three unconscious men. He was the first to speak, a light smile on his face. "Doctor Ye, what impressive skills. But perhaps you should be a little gentler next time. After all—"
Ye Chutang’s dark, gentle eyes watched him quietly as she nodded earnestly.
"I understand. I’ll be sure to be more careful next time, so as not to frighten Mr. Shen."
Shen Yanchuan’s smile froze slightly.
