The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 57

Zhao Li kept her eyes tightly closed, her head and face covered by a large cloak.

Shen Yan supported her across his arms, and the faint scent of pine surrounded her.

She shifted awkwardly.

“Don’t move,” Shen Yan said in a low voice. “You’ll damage your eyes.”

He pulled the cloak tighter and covered every possible gap before setting her back on the ground.

Gripping the cloak with both hands, Zhao Li said, “There’s no longer any problem below.”

Then she remembered something and shouted, “Lu Jianxing! Remember to bring that old woman’s corpse out and burn it with peachwood.”

An acknowledgment immediately came from nearby.

Zhao Li raised one hand to wipe her face.

A pair of hands reached beneath the cloak.

“Don’t move.”

Shen Yan’s breath brushed the crown of her head.

He tied a strip torn from the hem of an inner garment over her eyes.

“It’s all right. I should be able to see again sometime tomorrow.”

Zhao Li tilted her head back.

The man’s knuckles lightly brushed the rim of her ear, and heat rose in her face.

Then Shen Yan said quietly, “No. You are injured and require a long recuperation.”

“A palace eunuch is outside. Do not pretend to be strong.”

Not only should she avoid bravado—she ought to show weakness.

The realm was approaching chaos. Many dangerous tasks would emerge.

Shen Yan did not want certain people to view Zhao Li’s abilities as a resource that cost nothing and could be expended at will.

The current emperor was benevolent, but benevolence came with a susceptibility to persuasion.

Shen Yan absolutely refused to let anyone treat Zhao Li as a tool merely because she was capable.

Only when something was understood to be precious would people know to cherish it.

Zhao Li understood his meaning and allowed him to wrap the cloth over her eyes.

Then he took her wrist and led her to a side room in the rear courtyard.

The children formerly housed there had been transferred to Shengjing in several groups, leaving the room empty.

Some bedding used by the Jingning Guard agents on night duty remained inside.

The room was filthy and smelled unpleasant.

Zhao Li had barely sat down when Lu Zhao entered, with Daoist Xuanxu and the others behind him.

Eunuch Zhang had been smiling upon hearing that the matter was resolved.

But when he saw Zhao Li covered in mengshi powder, her eyes hidden behind cloth, his brows drew together.

“Was Hundred-Household Commander Zhao injured?”

Zhao Li did not know who had asked.

She turned toward the voice and answered, “Thank you for your concern. Ten days or half a month of recuperation should be enough.”

Lu Zhao stepped forward and spoke softly.

“Come, A-Li. Lord Shen ordered me to take you home first.”

“Thank you, Lord Lu.”

Zhao Li secretly calculated how many days of paid leave she might receive this time.

A large hand reached out and took hers.

At first, she assumed it was Lu Zhao, but immediately sensed something was different.

It was Shen Yan.

She had grown quite familiar with his scent.

After thanking him, she allowed him to hold her hand and personally guide her to the carriage.

Everyone remaining in the room wore a different expression.

Lin Zhu’s face was livid.

That brat Shen Yan was behaving far too obviously. Lin Zhu could practically hear the clatter of his calculating abacus.

His granddaughter looked utterly innocent.

Sooner or later, that villain Shen Yan would trick her straight into his mouth.

Lin Zhu’s expression darkened.

Eunuch Zhang also looked thoughtful.

His Majesty had once worried greatly over Shen Yan’s marriage and considered giving him Princess Chengyang.

Given the current situation, that match was unlikely to happen.

Huang Li, meanwhile, delighted in Lin Zhu’s dark expression.

Shen Yan personally held Zhao Li’s hand and escorted her to the carriage.

Lu Zhao brought over a mounting stool, only to see Shen Yan extend one long arm and lift Zhao Li directly into the carriage.

“Rest well after you return. If there is anything you wish to eat, tell Matron Wan.”

As he spoke, Shen Yan straightened Zhao Li’s collar.

“Once matters here are finished, I’ll come see you.”

“Oh…”

Zhao Li had not recovered from Shen Yan’s intimacy and answered blankly.

Only after sitting inside the carriage did she wonder whether something was wrong with this atmosphere.

It felt as if she were a small child being sent off to kindergarten.

When Shen Yan returned to the room, Lin Zhu immediately gave him an enormous eye roll.

He was about to make several cutting remarks when footsteps sounded outside.

A Jingning Guard agent entered to report.

“Lord Shen, the hidden chamber has been cleared. We found a register of donations from White Lotus Sect believers inside a straw cushion beneath the altar.”

He presented the register in both hands.

Shen Yan opened it.

His expression changed drastically.

Zhao Li did not know how much blood and upheaval that list would unleash across Shengjing.

She sat in the swaying carriage, her world dark, and dozed against the wall.

When she woke again, she had returned to the Pacification Office.

Matron Wan had received word and waited at the entrance with two maids.

She lifted the carriage curtain and saw Zhao Li covered in mengshi powder and dirt.

Her heart immediately ached.

The young woman had taken medicine for so long before her complexion finally became rosy again.

How had she gone out once and returned by carriage in this condition?

Matron Wan had no children.

After spending time with Zhao Li, she had developed genuine affection for her.

The girl leaned against the carriage window, dozing beneath an oversized cloak with cloth tied over her eyes.

“Young Mistress A-Li?”

Zhao Li had not been sleeping deeply.

At the call, she turned her head in confusion.

“Matron Wan, have I arrived?”

“You’re home. I’ll help you down so you can rest.”

Matron Wan supported Zhao Li’s arm, and the two maids came forward to help.

Zhao Li wanted to say that she was fine.

Remembering Shen Yan’s words, she closed her mouth and obediently allowed them to help her from the carriage.

“A-Li, rest well,” Lu Zhao called before preparing to hurry back.

Zhao Li nodded.

She stood at the entrance until she heard the carriage recede, then followed Matron Wan and the maids into Pear Garden Courtyard.

What followed was the finest possible treatment.

Under Matron Wan’s care, Zhao Li enjoyed a comfortable bath, and her long hair was thoroughly washed.

Then she sat obediently on a stool while Matron Wan fed her.

The cloth over Zhao Li’s eyes had been replaced with black fabric that blocked light more effectively.

She reclined against a beauty’s rest.

The visiting orange cat had not found Shen Yan there, but it did not object to Zhao Li.

It hopped into her arms, settled into a comfortable spot, and lay down.

Zhao Li stroked its soft fur and opened the system interface.

Although she could not currently see, the familiar blue screen appeared inside her mind.

[Current Profession: Jingning Guard Minion]

[Current Side Profession: Dark Cuisine Maker]

[Passives: Light as a Swallow, Green-Tea Talk, Lin Yu’s Gratitude]

[Item: Zhang Hui’s Apron]

[Experience to Next Level: 4,620/5,000]

After the hide-and-seek game, the Mother-and-Child Bane, and all the experience earned from making scallion pancakes, Zhao Li was finally close to leveling up.

She desperately wanted to know what came after Jingning Guard Minion.

The last time she advanced from cannon-fodder female side character to vicious female villain, the rewarded constitution and charm had produced obvious changes.

Her body was much stronger, and communication with others had grown easier.

That made her anticipate the next advancement all the more.