The Dengyun Building was in chaos tonight.

The actor’s tune was out of key, and the singer’s voice turned into a piercing, shrill scream.

The staff tried to maintain order, the guards rushed in, restraining Mr. Fan and pinning him to the ground.

The Shopkeeper sent someone to report to the government and was busy calling for a doctor. The previously lively atmosphere of Dengyun Building had now turned into a terrifying crime scene.

The government officers arrived quickly. Fan, Ning, and their companions were all ’invited’ to leave.

Only Liu Ji, at some point, found himself standing among the onlookers, watching the group of noble sons being taken away by the officers, his eyes filled with worry and anxiety.

Who could blame him for dressing so poorly; the officers didn’t consider him one of them.

It wasn’t until the innkeeper apologized, compensated, and dismissed all the customers that Liu Ji finally walked away alone, treading slowly under the silver moonlight of the night.

He did not return directly to the He Family.

Even though he knew that returning to the He Family at this time would be the best choice.

He still risked the chance of being taken back by the officers, bought a bowl of wonton for a midnight snack, and two skewers of sweet and sour candied hawthorn, happily heading towards the inn where Qin Yao was staying.

"Knock knock," two light taps on the door, "Wife, wife, please open the door."

The door opened quickly. Qin Yao leaned lazily against the door frame, arms crossed, watching him with a slight smile, wearing his shabby scholar’s robe in moonlit white.

Not being taken away by the officers together, it seems his skills have improved quite a bit.

For some reason, Liu Ji’s heart tightened, feeling as if he were stripped bare, completely seen through by the other.

He laughed at her, lifted the food he brought, put it down himself, and returned to gently close the door.

The corners of his mouth, which he had suppressed all the way, finally couldn’t hold back anymore, "Wife, I’m so happy! Those two mad dogs finally got what they deserved!"

Having witnessed the whole scene and just returned to the inn, Qin Yao wasn’t surprised. She calmly walked to the table, picked up the food he brought, and curiously asked:

"What was the secret that made Mr. Fan go so mad?"

Hearing this, the bright smile on Liu Ji’s face froze instantly. He glanced suspiciously at Qin Yao, "Wife, how did you know Mr. Fan went crazy?"

Did news in the Prefecture spread that fast?

Qin Yao took a bite of candied hawthorn, her tone indifferent, "By coincidence, I was also at Dengyun Building. The position of the wine pot was placed quite delicately; Mr. Ning wanted to hit someone and grasped it immediately."

Liu Ji laughed awkwardly; he certainly wouldn’t admit that he deliberately moved the wine pot to another position!

Sitting down heavily opposite Qin Yao, he changed the subject, "Wife, is the candied hawthorn tasty?"

Qin Yao glanced at him from under her eyelashes, "The question I asked you, you haven’t answered yet."

Liu Ji groaned, "Oh, you shouldn’t ask. I’m completely innocent. Your look at me makes me feel like I’ve done something terribly wrong."

Qin Yao gave a cold snort, suddenly tossed aside the candied hawthorn from her hand, and spoke in a low voice, "This morning, before you left, my advice didn’t get through to you at all!"

There’s already bloodshed; it might lead to a life being taken.

If the government investigates this matter thoroughly, the mastermind behind the scenes will eventually be exposed.

Liu Ji thought she was complaining about him spending ten taels of silver on wine, but it turns out it was because of this.

He confidently said, "Wife, don’t be angry. Haven’t you known that in my lifetime, I always listen to you the most? Naturally, I’ve taken care of the loose ends, so you don’t need to worry."

He said as he pushed the steaming hot wonton in front of her, "Try it; this place’s wontons are delicious. Usually, by this hour, it’s all sold out. Today, it’s luck. Everyone went to the Dengyun Building for the commotion, so they had leftovers."

Qin Yao didn’t move, prompting Liu Ji to quickly ladle some to her lips, being very solicitous, "Try it, it’s really fragrant."

Qin Yao didn’t open her mouth. Liu Ji coaxed her again, and seeing no effect, sighed in lament, opening his mouth wide to eat it all in one bite himself.

He quickly glanced at Qin Yao’s fists, clenched so tightly they made a cracking sound; Liu Ji, no longer acting casually, swiftly put down the fragrant wontons, and sat upright, ready to come clean. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He recounted how he had planned it, detailing the entire process from beginning to end.

This matter began over more than half a month ago.

At that time, thanks to the cake recipe, he had smoothly entered Guangwen Book Hall; on the first day, he was already verbally harassed by Ning and Fan.

The seed of hatred was sown then.

Liu Ji never claimed to be a gentleman, so petty revenge starts from morning to night!

That day, he began collecting information on Ning and Fan, successfully gathering their likes and dislikes with the help of Senior Brother Qi Xian’s men.

The Ning Family held slightly better status than Fan, proud and arrogant, loved stealing the limelight, and hated anyone stealing his spotlight; not even a blood brother was an exception.

Fan appeared dignified but was actually narrow-minded. Jokes among friends, he’d take seriously and be unyielding, acting extreme.

After mastering crucial information, Liu Ji, with a glib tongue, flattered and ingratiated himself with the two, enduring humiliation to learn each other’s weaknesses from them, sowing discordin their daily lives.

Finally, after endless efforts, he learned from the drunken Mr. Ning the biggest secret about Mr. Fan.

Turns out he was an illegitimate child; his mother was the humblest courtesan. Only because his father and the main housemistress were childless was he brought back to the house for upbringing.

This secret had only been confided to Ning by Fan.

Unluckily, Liu Ji got wind of it too.

Before Qin Yao arrived at the Prefecture, he had already been pondering how to exploit this secret to make Ning and Fan fight like dogs.

Since not only did they share brotherly affection, but they also shared women, Liu Ji naturally thought of the beauty at Red Sleeves Hall.

Quite coincidentally, to show off, Ning had taken him to meet the beauty.

Soon, a plan emerged in his mind.

Everything was ready, except for the silver.

Liu Ji, excited, looked at Qin Yao and said, "Wife, you arrived just in time. If it wasn’t for you, I’d have been tormented by those two dogs for a long time."

After receiving the silver from his wife the night before, he left the inn in the morning and immediately spent it to pass Mr. Fan’s background secret through seven or eight hands, eventually delivering it to the beauty at Red Sleeves Hall.

As for why he knew Mr. Fan would go to Red Sleeves Hall today, he had deliberately arranged for someone to lure him over.

Of course, Liu Ji wasn’t so divinely prescient; he couldn’t be sure that Fan would come rushing to Dengyun Building today.

It’s just that these courtesans always bend to silver, not emotions, and he was certain she would sooner or later bring it up.

So even if Fan didn’t kill today, the friendship between him and Ning was over.

Once the seed of suspicion is sown, with someone else adding fuel to the fire, the two of them would surely erupt into conflict, starting to rip at each other’s throats.

By then, when the two of them are both defeated, he naturally wouldn’t have to swallow any more anger.

Noble scholars cherish their reputation; these two who acted brotherly turned against each other over a courtesan.

As the prefectural exam results were yet to be released, these two with such misconduct would never be allowed by the school officials to make the list.

Invisibly, it also eliminated two strong competitors!

Qin Yao quietly watched Liu Ji conscientiously recount the story, her emotions suddenly complicated.

This renowned ruffian from Liu Family Village was evolving into something unspeakably more insidious!