The drunkard who had been kicked down by Lin Ting stood up cursing, the stench of alcohol and sweat making her frown as she pulled Jin Anzai back two steps.
The drunkard arrogantly pointed at their noses, slurring his words,
“What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen a husband disciplining his wife? Making a fuss over nothing.”
Lin Ting rolled her eyes at him, ignoring his words, and asked Jin Anzai what had happened.
Jin Anzai remained silent, looking towards a corner not far away.
She followed his gaze and saw a gaunt woman hiding there.
Her clothes were tattered, her face sallow, her lips cracked, but one could still see that she had once been pretty.
The exposed skin on her body was covered in scars of various sizes, and there was a horrifying red mark around her neck.
The woman was curled up, trembling, her hands tightly clutching her knees, her chin resting on the back of her hands, her head hanging down in a very insecure manner.
Jin Anzai clenched his fists, remembering how his mother had been similarly abused in the past.
The moment he saw the woman who had been beaten by the drunkard, Jin Anzai thought of his deceased mother, which is why he couldn’t stay calm.
He didn’t want to dirty his hands by hitting the drunkard, so he considered using poison directly.
The drunkard snorted coldly and spat on the ground,
“I’m disciplining my own wife, what does it have to do with you, ugly freak? Still wet behind the ears and already meddling in others’ business? Get lost.”
He glared at Jin Anzai and scolded, “Ugly freak who doesn’t even dare to show his face.”
Lin Ting couldn’t stand it anymore,
“She’s your wife, so you can beat her as you please? You’re violating the laws of Great Yan.”
“Young lady, you look quite beautiful, why are you meddling like this ugly freak? Don’t use the laws of Great Yan to pressure me, as long as my wife doesn’t report me to the authorities, it’s fine.”
The drunkard turned to look at the woman, his tone threatening,
“Will you report me to the authorities?”
The woman trembled and shook her head frantically.
He laughed heartily, “See, my wife hasn’t said anything, what right do you two outsiders have to tell me what to do?”
Lin Ting could probably guess why the woman chose not to report him Great Yan had a law regarding domestic violence, but it wasn’t perfect.
If a husband beat his wife, as long as it didn’t result in serious injury or death, the authorities wouldn’t intervene.
Even if the wife was severely beaten and reported it, the husband’s punishment would be light, and they wouldn’t be allowed to divorce.
He would soon be released, and she would suffer even worse beatings.
Seeing the drunkard’s arrogance, Lin Ting’s fists itched.
Not only was Jin Anzai unable to control his temper, but she also wanted to beat him until he couldn’t speak.
The onlookers were talking among themselves, some recognizing the drunkard,
“Isn’t that Chen San, who killed someone on the street a while ago? I heard he bribed the authorities and was released without charge.”
“That’s him.”
“This young man is quite bold, daring to provoke someone like Chen San.”
The drunkard let out a drunken belch, scratching his round belly, looking at Jin Anzai with disdain,
“If you cause any more trouble, be careful I report you for abducting my wife.”
With that, he staggered over to pull the woman,
“You worthless thing, letting you flirt with men everywhere, you disgrace, embarrassing me, see how I deal with you when we get home.”
Jin Anzai was so enraged by these words that he wanted to go over and kill him, but Lin Ting quickly grabbed him.
She whispered,
“Jin Anzai, what’s wrong with you today? This is the first time I’ve seen you so impulsive. Hold it in, we’ll find a secluded place to deal with him later.”
Jin Anzai didn’t answer her, his eyes fixed on the drunkard’s retreating figure, but in his mind, he saw another figure pleading pitifully.
The crowd quickly dispersed, not daring to block the drunkard’s path, afraid of causing unnecessary trouble.
The drunkard dragged the powerless woman away, but because he was too drunk, his eyes were unfocused, his steps unsteady, and he didn’t avoid people, bumping into Duan Ling, who was standing by the street watching.
Not only did he not apologize, but he also pushed Duan Ling forcefully, playing the victim,
“Are you blind? Blocking my way.”
Lin Ting didn’t notice what was happening here, busy trying to persuade Jin Anzai not to act impulsively.
Duan Ling glanced at the drunkard.
Seeing that Duan Ling didn’t respond, the drunkard thought he was being ignored and became even angrier, cursing Duan Ling’s ancestors with every foul word he could think of.
When he finally got a clear look at Duan Ling’s face, the drunkard squinted, his mouth still running,
“Oh, you look even prettier than a woman, are you a woman?” He didn’t notice the carriage beside him.
The woman saw the carriage but didn’t warn the drunkard, letting him continue to insult Duan Ling.
The drunkard sniffed, faintly catching a whiff of fragrance, and said disdainfully,
“Even smell better than a woman, tsk, pretty boy, get lost.”
Duan Ling didn’t seem angry, just glanced at him again, reaching out to stop the coachman who was about to scold the drunkard, stepping aside to let him pass.
“You know your place.” The drunkard deliberately bumped into him again before leaving.
The coachman was an old servant of the Duan family, in his forties, having watched Duan Ling grow up.
Seeing his young master being insulted, he was furious,
“Second Young Master, you should teach such people a lesson.”
Duan Ling smiled faintly, saying lightly,
“He’s drunk.”
Tao Zhu, sitting in the carriage, felt her dizziness subsiding and lifted the curtain to come out, anxiously asking,
“Lord Duan, where’s Seventh Miss?”
Duan Ling looked ahead, and Tao Zhu followed his gaze, “Seventh Miss!”
Lin Ting had Jin Anzai find a place to wait for her and then returned to find them,
“Didn’t I tell you to stay inside? Why did you come out? Are you still dizzy? Should we find a doctor to take a look?”
Tao Zhu, “Not dizzy anymore.”
Confirming that Tao Zhu was fine, Lin Ting walked up to Duan Ling, her tone apologetic,
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Lord Duan.”
“It’s fine. If the commotion up ahead continues, the carriage won’t be able to pass.”
He suddenly said,
“Seventh Miss Lin, I have official business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. Old Li will safely take you back.”
She hesitated slightly, “Alright, Lord Duan, take care.”
Lin Ting didn’t try to keep him, as she needed to find Jin Anzai later.
As for kissing Duan Ling… even if she insisted on Duan Ling escorting her back to the Lin family, the chances of kissing him today were slim.
As soon as Duan Ling left, Lin Ting told Tao Zhu to take the Duan family’s carriage back to the estate,
“I’ll be back later, probably in about half an hour. Think of a way to keep it from my mother, don’t let her know.”
Tao Zhu was used to this but was still worried,
“Be careful in everything.”
Lin Ting watched Tao Zhu enter the carriage and lower the curtain, then said to the coachman, Old Li,
“Just take her back, thank you.”
“Alright.” Old Li was a servant and had no right to question his master’s a airs, let alone a guest’s.
He would do as she said.
She turned and went to find Jin Anzai.
Jin Anzai was sitting in front of a wonton shop and stood up when he saw her coming,
“Dealing with a drunkard is enough for me, why are you getting involved? This isn’t business, and you’re not getting paid.”
Lin Ting unceremoniously kicked Jin Anzai,
“I’m afraid you’ll act recklessly and get caught by the authorities, then no one will help me earn money.”
He glanced at her sideways.
Actually, Lin Ting could sense that Jin Anzai wasn’t quite himself.
When someone is emotionally unstable, no matter how skilled they are, they can easily be ambushed.
She was afraid that if he went alone to teach the drunkard a lesson, something might happen.
Jin Anzai was silent for a moment, “I forgot to sprinkle tracking powder on the drunkard.”
In the past, he would never have been so careless.
Lin Ting patted the spot on her waist where the tracking powder was stored, a hint of pride in her tone,
“I sprinkled it. See, I can help you.”
The tracking powder, along with the knockout drug and poison, were all given to her by Jin Anzai before.
A flicker of surprise passed through Jin Anzai’s eyes, but he didn’t give Lin Ting a chance to gloat, not praising her at all.
He raised his hand and released a small flying green beetle, letting it follow the tracking powder to find the drunkard.
Lin Ting didn’t hear the praise she wanted and punched Jin Anzai’s back from a distance, then kicked him, complaining about his coldness while following him,
“Wait for me, will you die?”
What they didn’t expect was that when they found the drunkard, he was already dead.
In a secluded alley, the walls on both sides were splattered with foul-smelling blood.
The drunkard lay on the ground in a strange posture, his eyes gouged out, leaving two bloody holes, blood streaming from the corners of his eyes.
His ten fingers were severed, and his wrists were cut down to the bone.
The flesh that had been cut off was neatly arranged beside the body, the cuts smooth, the thickness almost identical.
It was clearly done with a single stroke.
This was enough to prove that the person who did this was very skilled with a knife, having developed their own style, and understood human anatomy, knowing how to cut the flesh without hitting the bone.
It couldn’t have been the woman the drunkard had taken away.
Lin Ting wasn’t seeing a corpse for the first time, but she still felt a bit nauseous and didn’t look closely.
Jin Anzai, accustomed to life and death, walked over and looked down at the still-warm corpse,
“He hasn’t been dead long.”
She pinched her nose to avoid the smell of blood, “Was he killed by his enemies?”
He stepped over the bloodstains on the ground, walked to the side of the corpse, and squatted down to examine the wounds, thoughtfully saying,
“Perhaps. Someone like him has no shortage of enemies.”
Jin Anzai didn’t feel much about the drunkard’s death.
He lifted his foot and stepped on the cut-off flesh, grinding it a few times, coldly saying,
“But it’s better that he’s dead, so he won’t keep causing trouble.”
Lin Ting noticed someone at the end of the alley-the woman who had been beaten by the drunkard.
The woman looked at the drunkard’s corpse expressionlessly.
After a long time, she slowly walked towards the drunkard, her pupils gradually focusing, leaning in to stare for a moment, as if confirming whether he was really dead.
Suddenly, she grinned, laughing until her face turned red, a few tears falling from the corners of her wrinkled eyes, crying and laughing, nearly hysterical, muttering something under her breath.
Lin Ting faintly heard a few words,
“Heaven has eyes, you’re finally dead, and you died in such pain, hahahahahaha.”
Jin Anzai slowly walked to the woman’s side, “Did you see who killed him?”
The woman looked up at him, recognizing the young man who had helped her on the street.
Her lips moved, but only uncontrollable “hehehe” laughter came from her throat.
Then she stood up and left.
Lin Ting and Jin Anzai didn’t stay long, leaving the place without touching the corpse.
The woman was severely injured and weak, so she shouldn’t be considered a suspect by the authorities.
After all, the knife skills weren’t something an ordinary person could possess, and the coroner in the authorities wasn’t just for show.
Once out of the alley, Lin Ting didn’t return to the Lin family but went to the bookstore with Jin Anzai.
Jin Anzai told her the reason why the client hadn’t shown up that day—it wasn’t that he wanted to break the contract, but something had delayed him, and he hadn’t had time to notify the bookstore.
The client initially wanted them to escort him and his sister out of the city, but now he had changed his mind and wanted them to help rescue his sister.
Prince Liang had taken a fancy to his sister’s beauty, abusing his power to forcibly take her away.
He was just a merchant who had come to the capital, relying on his sister.
He had no power or influence, only money.
But Prince Liang didn’t lack money, so naturally, he wouldn’t release his sister for silver.
Prince Liang wanted beauty and amusement, enjoying torturing women in bed, and had already been killed.
Authorities couldn’t and didn’t dare to intervene, as he was the emperor’s beloved son.
After explaining the whole story, Jin Anzai took out a new contract.
“The client said he knows it’s difficult to rescue his sister from Prince Liang’s hands, so he can double the transaction amount, from three hundred taels to six hundred taels, paying half as a deposit first.”
Lin Ting pondered.
Jin Anzai understood her concerns and, for once, spoke humanely,
“This deal involves Prince Liang. If discovered, it’s very dangerous. You should think carefully, and it’s okay to refuse.”
She immediately said,