Chapter 062: Caught Red-Handed

"Murong Jingtian, stop pretending to be innocent here. Overnight, several hundred books appeared in Yan City, all claiming that I, Huangfu Xiaoyun, hide women away in golden chambers and abandon them heartlessly. There are even countless shameless, indecent illustrations. Do you dare say you had nothing to do with this?" Huangfu Xiaoyun spoke through gritted teeth, hatred burning in his eyes. "I fear that unless I teach you a lesson, you’ll never admit the truth!"

Murong Jingtian’s expression grew stern. "So you want to fight, is that it? Do you think I’m afraid of you?"

Judging by the scene, the two were about to come to blows in the street. The onlookers sensibly stepped back a few paces, wary of getting caught in the crossfire.

Song Ye had already investigated the cultivation of these two scions of great families. Astonishingly, their cultivation was identical—both at the fifth tier of the Profound Realm. Of course, equal cultivation did not mean equal strength; it depended on how adept each was at employing their techniques. If one was clumsy in his use of techniques, he would be at a clear disadvantage once the fighting began.

The East Market bordered the Magistrate’s Office, so the authorities soon “responded.” Chief Constable Zhao Zhigao swaggered over with a group of bailiffs, shouting, "Who’s causing trouble here?"

But when he saw that the troublemakers were two young men from cultivation families, he deftly stepped aside and melted into the crowd, ending up right beside Song Ye.

After all, matters between powerful cultivators were nothing ordinary bailiffs could interfere with.

"Brother Song, fancy meeting you here!" Zhao Zhigao said awkwardly.

"Just like them, here to watch the spectacle," Song Ye replied calmly.

Zhao Zhigao gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Well then... let’s watch together."

At that moment, both Murong Jingtian and Huangfu Xiaoyun had true energy circulating about them, the air crackling with tension. The crowd held their breath, anticipating a spectacular duel.

But just then came a harsh, metallic scraping sound—not far away, as if some iron weapon was being dragged across the ground. Everyone turned toward the source of the noise and saw a tall woman in a purple Yu robe, dragging a long blade as she walked forward step by step.

The ordinary folk immediately parted to let her pass, instinctively intimidated by the purple Yu robe. In Li Kingdom, the fear of the purple Yu robe was etched deep into the bones of its people.

Song Ye had seen wearers of the purple Yu robe in Yan City before, but this tall woman was new to him, so he used a detection tool to probe her cultivation.

[Qi Shuyu: Profound Realm, Eighth Tier]

Murong Jingtian and Huangfu Xiaoyun both immediately withdrew their energy and dared not make another move upon seeing Qi Shuyu. After all, she was a three-star Purple Yu Guard of the Grand Yu Temple. More importantly, not only was she formidable herself, her family was as well: her elder sister, Qi Shuyi, was a two-star Purple Yu Guard, and her brother, Qi Shuli, was the Deputy Minister of the Grand Yu Temple—the second highest position, surpassed only by the Minister himself. And her father was even more distinguished, serving as the current Minister of Justice in Li Kingdom.

Qi Shuyu dragged her long blade over to the two scions, placed her other hand on her hip, and smirked with wicked charm. "Go ahead, fight. Pretend I’m invisible, carry on!"

But who would dare consider someone from the Grand Yu Temple invisible?

Huangfu Xiaoyun could only murmur to Murong Jingtian, "I’ll let you off this time, but next time we meet, you won’t be so lucky!"

With that, he turned and left.

Behind him, Murong Jingtian let out a cold laugh. "I, Murong Jingtian, am always ready for you!"

The onlookers quickly dispersed. With someone from the Grand Yu Temple present, no one dared to do anything conspicuous.

Once the crowd had gone, Qi Shuyu cast a disdainful glance at Zhao Zhigao and his men. "Hmph, what use is there in the court keeping you lot? Just wasting the treasury’s silver!"

Zhao Zhigao and the other bailiffs didn’t dare retort, only offering forced smiles.

"And you!" Qi Shuyu suddenly raised her blade, pointing at Song Ye. "I’ve been watching you for several days now. As a patrol officer, you take your child along while on duty!"

At that moment, Song Ye was holding Song Yan in his arms. Qi Shuyu had caught him red-handed, leaving no room for denial. He could only speak in a helpless tone, "My sister and I depend on each other. I don’t feel safe leaving her at home alone, so I bring her with me while I work."

This explanation seemed to move Qi Shuyu. Her expression inexplicably softened. She reached into her robe, pulled out a pouch, and tossed it to Song Ye. "Something for the child to eat."

Song Ye caught the item and looked—it was a pouch of preserved fruit. When he looked up again, Qi Shuyu was already walking away.

Duan Ling, seeing that it was getting late and that the excitement was over, took his leave. "Brother Song, I must return to the Xuanqing Palace. I hope that next time we meet, you will have been promoted to Head Constable!"

Song Ye smiled, "May your words bring me luck!"

After Duan Ling left, Song Ye continued his patrol with Song Yan, who now had a pouch of preserved fruits and happily ate as they walked.

During his patrol, Song Ye again encountered Murong Jingtian, who was calling out to a girl in a green skirt, "Have you bought everything yet?"

The girl in the green skirt was Murong Qingyi, carrying bags of purchases. She replied, "I still need to buy Rouge for Sister Jing."

"Hurry up. Once you’ve bought everything, deliver them back to the house!" Murong Jingtian ordered in a tone befitting a master, then turned and walked away.

To him, Murong Qingyi was little more than a maid of the Murong household.

After Murong Jingtian left, Murong Qingyi wandered about like a headless fly, searching for the right stall. Song Ye walked over and pointed her in the right direction. "There’s a rouge shop over there."

Murong Qingyi thanked him and hurried off in the direction he indicated...

...

A month later, Yan City.

Night enveloped the entire city.

The streets were eerily silent, every sound amplified in the stillness. At this hour, nearly every district had closed its gates.

But suddenly, the city gates swung open, and a silent procession entered Yan City. Once inside, all those mounted dismounted and proceeded on foot, furtive as thieves, fearful of being discovered.

Eventually, the procession entered the new Prince Xiang’s palace.