Chapter 109 - 11: Still Too Kind, Even Cats and Dogs Dare to Act Up

Shi Sheng didn’t understand.

Shi Chong’s father, Shi Xing’an, should’ve just been promoted to Lord Thousand Households—they shouldn’t be this strapped for cash, right?

"You don’t get it!"

Si Nan, standing off to the side, clearly knew something.

Seeing Shi Sheng so surprised, Si Nan took the opportunity to pat his shoulder and started explaining.

"I just found this out in the past two days—everyone knows Shi Xing’an could only get that Lord Thousand Households post by handing out gifts, but do you know how much he sent?"

Shi Sheng shook his head, curiosity written all over his face.

Even Ye Liuyun started listening in.

As expected, gossip is human nature; no one can resist a bit of juicy news.

"I don’t know the exact number either, but I do know that Shi Xing’an used to live in a big fancy compound like everyone else, but now he straight moved into a straw hut!"

",,,"

That’s pretty much betting the entire family fortune away.

No wonder.

Ever since getting the Lord Thousand Households title, Shi Xing’an went all out trying to rake in more cash from day one, and his son’s been busting his ass right alongside him.

What else could they do? They really are broke as hell.

"A ruthless bastard!"

He was willing to gamble every last thing his family owned just for a shot at promotion. Did he really think he couldn’t lose?

Shi Sheng nodded in agreement.

Definitely a ruthless guy. Shi Sheng himself could never do that kind of thing anyway.

No, wait—he wasn’t the type to bribe in the first place. If someone did ask him for a bribe, Shi Sheng thought, he’d probably just let his fist do the talking.

Still want my money?

Here, have a punch first.

"Smack!"

Right then, while Ye Liuyun and the others were chatting,

Inside the room, a loud slap sounded out, followed by Shi Chong’s cursing.

"You bitch! How dare you hurt me!"

The sudden commotion made even the Embroidered Uniform Guard, busy moving stuff in the courtyard, freeze mid-action.

Everyone looked toward the house, curiosity piqued.

"What the hell’s going on now?"

Ye Liuyun and the others had just been chatting, but now their attention was pulled straight to the noise.

The next moment—

"Bang!"

The closed door was suddenly kicked wide open with a bam.

And then, a slim, delicate woman was directly thrown out of the room.

The woman’s hand was clutching a small dagger, the blade streaked with blood.

Shi Chong’s figure stepped out from behind her into view.

He touched the scratch on his face—small injury, but it still made his features twist with rage as he stared murderously at the woman.

"Bitch, it’s a blessing for you to get fucked by me. Anyway, when you get sent to the Imperial Music Bureau you’ll be ridden by thousands—so tonight, I’ll be the first to break you in."

Imperial Music Bureau?

The name made Ye Liuyun raise his eyebrows in surprise.

Then he noticed the woman lying on the ground.

"Target: Ye Qinzhen.

Level: None.

Talent Entry: Peerless Lyric (Blue), Mage’s Potential (Blue),"

"Peerless Lyric (Blue): Exceptional talent in music and instruments."

Double blue talents—not bad at all.

With that musical talent, even getting sent to the Imperial Music Bureau, she could probably work as a pure entertainer, playing music not selling her body.

But what surprised Ye Liuyun was, she actually had mage potential, and it was blue quality, which wasn’t low at all.

On second thought, it made sense.

The Great Qian Dynasty worships martial arts; everyone trains as a warrior. But it doesn’t mean nobody’s born with mage talents. They’re just rare, is all.

Plus, given the Great Qian’s customs, even if someone is born with mage skills, they have no chance to learn spells. So of course, they never become mages.

This just proves—

Talent is important, but finding it is even more so.

That’s why they say there are plenty of swift horses, but few who recognize them.

"Sir."

At that moment, Si Nan’s voice sounded again beside Ye Liuyun’s ear.

"This girl is in fact the daughter of the official whose house we’re currently confiscating."

"Mm!"

Even if Si Nan hadn’t said, Ye Liuyun could’ve figured that out from the situation.

These kinds of guilty officials’ daughters—after their family’s been raided, they all get sent to the Imperial Music Bureau. No wonder the women there are so high-quality.

It’s because they’re all originally noblewomen, after all.

,,,

As for Ye Qinzhen—

Staring at that half-bloodied, twisted face coming her way,

her body shook, forced to stumble backward.

"No—no, please!"

She gripped the dagger in a death hold, desperate to keep Shi Chong away at all costs.

But—

Her frightened reaction only made Shi Chong feel more triumphant inside.

These past days, his mood was already shit—even if his father’s been promoted to Lord Thousand Households,

the family’s gone flat broke. He used to live in luxury, now he’s gotta sleep in a thatched hut. Worst of all, he’s not even allowed to complain about it.

Well, at least being a Lord Thousand Households makes it dead easy to scrape together cash. The house might not have changed,

but life at home was slowly turning decadent again.

Was thinking—

...that if he could rake in some extra loot from this family seizure, he might as well fatten his own pockets too.

It’s been ages since he last went to the Imperial Music Bureau.

And right at that moment—

Shi Chong had noticed Ye Qinzhen among the confiscated family’s womenfolk.

Ye Qinzhen’s looks weren’t exactly breathtaking, but she had the youthful charm of a sheltered lady. That quiet, frail exterior hiding an unyielding core—Shi Chong liked that even more.