Scourge Messenger

Chapter 39 Interesting Woman

"Shang Xin Tears."

Qian Gongyu's voice trembled as she leaned over to Jiang Shi's ear and whispered, "She's the fourth daughter of the Shang family, Shang Xuanwen's favorite daughter. Her three older brothers hold all the power, and she's ranked eleventh on the Hidden Dragon List, making her one of the most powerful women in Liang State... I thought it was just someone from the Shang family's side branch who came, but it turned out to be her!"

Yan Qing was not as excited as Qian Gongyu. After all, he had seen top-notch white, rich and beautiful women before, such as Ying Rushi, the Duke of Lecheng County, whom he had met in Qi State - and she had even splattered blood on the spot.

The Hidden Dragon List at the back is quite interesting, but now is not the time to ask about it.

"Fourth Miss Shang."

Even though his face was in disarray, Luo Weijin still managed to force out a decent smile: "Is there no need to trouble you with such a small matter?"

"Since it's a small matter, why not just let it go?" Shang Xinlei followed up his words and said, "There's no need to let such a small matter affect everyone's mood for fun."

Luo Weijin was speechless for a moment. It wasn't that he couldn't refute Shang Xinlei's words, but he could hear that Shang Xinlei was determined to protect Qian Gongyu and her bodyguard. If he insisted on pursuing the matter, it would be a disrespect to Shang Xinlei.

Just like Qian Gongyu couldn't turn against Luo Weijin for humiliating her family just now, it is also difficult for Luo Weijin to make up his mind not to give face to Shang Xinlei just because he was punched - faced with unpredictable consequences, people always tend to endure the losses they can bear.

Humans are social animals, even messengers are no exception.

Anyone who can live alone in society is either a god or a madman.

Just when the storm seemed to have subsided, unexpectedly there were still complications.

"It's no small matter."

A young woman in military uniform pushed through the crowd and walked to the front, facing Shang Xinlei head-on. Her slender figure, tight-fitting clothes and long boots made her stand out from the crowd dressed in their finery, but this did not diminish her nobility and pride—or rather, being able to dress however she pleased on such an occasion was a sign of nobility itself.

Because Shang Xinlei was a little taller than her, the girl in military uniform stopped every three or four steps and tried her best to keep her eyes level with Shang Xinlei.

"According to Volume 22 of the Daliang Code, "Laws on Litigation," slaves who assault their masters' relatives or grandparents are to be strangled; those who injure their masters are to be beheaded. Furthermore, according to ritual regulations, the imperial family rules the empire, followed by aristocratic families, then prominent families, and then the humble follow." The girl in military uniform said, "As a humble family of low status, yet harming a more prestigious family, we should be punished."

"We in Daliang govern the world with laws and distinguish between superiors and subordinates with rituals. If the superiors and subordinates are rebellious and slaves can bully their superiors, then what is the difference between us and the barbarians in the north?"

The tent was silent and no one dared to join in the conversation because the girl in military uniform who was arguing with Shang Xinlei had a purple ribbon wrapped around her wrist.

There are only three families in the entire Liang State who are qualified to wear the purple belt, and behind her is a top family with generations of nobles and officials who have lived and died together with the country!

How could they, the noble families of Qing Dynasty, get involved in the friction between the Zhumen family and the Zishou family?
"Jie Yuanshao, you are right."

Shang Xinlei suddenly smiled, spread his hands and said, "I was inconsiderate. Then just push her out and kill her."

Qian Gongyu's face turned pale, his legs weakened, and he nearly fell to his knees. Across from him, Luo Weijin was ecstatic, his entire body filled with pride, and he looked at Jiang Shi and the others with eyes filled with resentment.

"Wait a minute!"

Jie Yuanshao stopped the guards' actions and said, "The Qian family guards were certainly at fault, but that was because you, Luo Weijin, provoked Qian Gongyu first and humiliated their family, causing the Qian family guards to act in anger to protect the dignity of their master. From the perspective of loyalty, the Qian family guards have meritorious service and are innocent!"

"Violation of hierarchy should be punished according to the law; upholding loyalty and righteousness should be rewarded according to etiquette!"

Shang Xinlei suggested, "Why not execute him and give him a grand funeral, erecting a monument to commemorate him?"

"The dead cannot be resurrected, and how can a loyal and righteous man waste his time on such a trivial matter?" Jie Yuanshao slowly shook his head and looked at Luo Weijin. "The Yunfu Luo family is the descendant of a prime minister, but Luo Weijin, you do not have the qualities of a prime minister. Instead, you are brave and aggressive, making enemies everywhere, and have no respect for your subordinates. I, the nobles of aristocratic families, was born not to ride on the heads of subordinates and act tyrannically, but to lead the ignorant common people on the right path. This punch from the Qian family guard is the retribution you deserve. I hope you can recognize your mistakes and correct them, and become a pillar of our Liang country in the future."

Luo Weijin stared at Jie Yuanshao with wide eyes, trying to find clues from the other's expression, but no matter how he looked, Jie Yuanshao's little face was so serious, without a trace of joking. Only then was Luo Weijin really sure - the other party was serious when he said this.

She really thought so!
If the person who said this was from a poor family, Luo Weijin would just ignore him as if it was a dog barking; if the person who said this was from a prominent family of similar status to him, he would agree with them openly but laugh at them in private; but the person who said this now was Jie Yuanshao from the Zishou family, the fifth in line to inherit the Jiangbei Military Town!
"Miss Jie, you're right." Luo Weijin took a deep breath and lowered his head, which was still bleeding: "I know I was wrong."

"But the death penalty can be spared," he said, looking at the expressionless "Jiang Shi": "A servant assaulting a member of a prominent family shouldn't go unpunished, right?"

Even if it might offend Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuanshao, Luo Weijin had to say this. Being slapped in the face by a servant on such an important occasion had already left many people secretly laughing at him. Even if he retaliated now, it wouldn't redeem his lost face. But if he didn't retaliate, it would be even more humiliating, even a disgrace to the Luo family. He would then be forced to spend his entire life as a stud in the family, living a life of idleness and waiting to die.

"Of course there must be punishment."

Jie Yuanshao pointed to the woodland outside the tent. "As everyone knows, the longer you stay in the Mansu Woodland, the higher your individual and overall settlement scores will be. According to the rules of the Mansu Woodland, each person can stay there for a maximum of six hours per day, for a maximum of three days."

"In that case, why not require the Qian family guards to persist in the Mansu Forest for three days, totaling eighteen hours? Any guards who leave early will be whipped, five lashes for every hour they miss. If she fails, she will be whipped. If she succeeds, everyone will share in the rewards, and everyone will benefit."

She looked around and asked, "Do you have any objections to this decision?"

Qian Gongyu immediately said, "The Qian family has no objection!"

Luo Weijin's mouth twitched, but he still said, "The Luo family has no objection."

The farce finally came to an end. Luo Weijin left the tent without looking back. With blood dripping from his mouth, he was too embarrassed to linger any longer. Qian Gongyu also wanted to run, but someone she couldn't afford to offend blocked her path.

"Excuse me," Shang Xinlei said politely as she stood in front of them, "I have something to ask your guard...Excuse me, is your sword a token of your loyalty?"

"Yes." "Huh!?"

Qian Gongyu stared at Jiang Shi in shock, then glanced at the latter's slivered iron blade. Because Jiang Shi had never displayed the power of a messenger, Qian Gongyu naturally assumed she wasn't one. Someone who wasn't a messenger couldn't possibly possess a token. Would-be messengers in Liang State had to fight like dogs to obtain the token. Who could have imagined that an ordinary person could possess one?
Shang Xinlei seemed to have seen it long ago and asked, "Can I take a look?"

"Can't."

Even through the screen, Yan Qing could see Qian Gongyu winking frantically. Her beautiful double eyelids were twitching like Morse code, and her expression seemed to say, "I'm willing to do anything as long as you agree to her."

Morally and logically, Yan Qing shouldn't have refused Shang Xinlei's small request. Morally, Shang Xinlei had just been the first to stand up to defend Jiang Shi; logically, Shang Xinlei had no reason to covet a rank-one ordinary item like the Stainless Steel Straight Knife.

But Yan Qing still had no intention of changing his mind.

For some reason, Yan Qing had a very bad first impression of Shang Xinlei. He felt as annoyed as if he saw a naughty kid from a relative's family standing in front of his Gundam display glass cabinet. He had a strong premonition that "she would cause trouble for me."

Even though they'd never met before, Shang Xinlei presented herself as a good guy, flawless from appearance to family background to attitude, yet he was still annoying. Yan Qing couldn't explain why, only blaming it on compatibility—he hadn't expected there to be a beautiful girl he didn't like.

Despite such an ungracious rejection, Shang Xinlei remained unmoved. Instead, she asked with interest, "Are you truly a guard of the Qian family? If you're worried about the trials in the Mansu Forest, I can exempt you from punishment. I, the Shang family, want to protect someone. No matter how many reasons Jie Yuanshao has, he can't harm you in the slightest. But you have to become one of my Shang family's..."

"She's the Qian family's guard!" Qian Gongyu immediately stood in front of "Jiang Shi" and blushed: "She's my Qian Gongyu's guard!"

Shang Xinlei glanced at Qian Gongyu, who was like a mother hen protecting her chicks, and chuckled, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry for being so presumptuous. After all, your guards are so beautiful and so loyal, it's hard not to be fond of them... I'm Shang Xinlei, and it's nice to meet you."

"Qian Gongyu, her name is Jiang Shi."

"See you tomorrow, both of you. I hope you'll be well-rested for the Mansu Forest Trial tomorrow." Shang Xinlei waved goodbye and smiled, "But my promise still stands. Jiang Shi, you can come find me anytime."

Faced with this act of poaching in public, even though the other party was the fourth daughter of a merchant whom he could not afford to offend, Qian Gongyu still mustered up the courage and glared at the other party very hard...

But even if she just glared at him, she felt a little scared and quickly pulled Jiang Shi back to her carriage.

……

...

Shang Xinlei returned to the second floor of her carriage - yes, as a wealthy family, her family could ride in a double-decker carriage with sixteen horses, and could live in an extremely luxurious palace on the ground even in the wilderness.

She sat at the desk and took out a piece of rice paper to write and draw. After a while, she finished a simple sketch of a tin straight knife. Then she found a book from the bookcase, titled "Knife Language", which recorded most of the knife relics that had appeared from ancient times to the present - of course, it only recorded the relics of the first to third levels.

After a while, Shang Xinlei quickly compared the appearance of all the knife tokens in the book. Not a single one resembled the galvanized straight knife. It could be concluded that the galvanized straight knife was a new type of knife token that appeared in modern times.

A new token often means a new secret realm. If other people investigate this step, they will undoubtedly be ecstatic and start trying to find ways to get the location of the new secret realm from the other party.

However, this was not the first time Shang Xinlei had seen a sliver of iron.

Jiang Shi who was staying in the woods.

An Wu of Anguo Temple in Chang'an.

And...the yellow dog from the thieves' house.

These people appeared from all over the world and had almost nothing in common, but they all possessed tokens from the same secret realm.

"Things...are starting to get interesting."

Shang Xinlei's body trembled slightly, and she bit her nails subconsciously. Although she still knew nothing, just knowing that she 'didn't know' made her so excited that her whole body trembled.

She felt like she had come to the curtain of the world. Although she still could not glimpse the secrets behind the curtain, she already knew how to lift a corner of the curtain.

"However, Jiang Shi's attitude towards me is a bit strange. Could it be that she recognized me?"

Shang Xinlei opened her jewelry box and took out a pair of sunglasses. When she put them on, even though her face was uncovered, the person in the mirror looked completely different. She looked somewhat similar to her, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that she wasn't her.

Everyone else in the Thieves' House thought she didn't take her disguise seriously and just casually wore sunglasses, but in fact her disguise was more perfect than anyone else's.

A token of the first transformation: Mortal Sunglasses.

Although it was only a token of trust, it was obtained by her father in his early years when he accidentally entered a secret realm. The entire Liang Kingdom had only one such pair. The effect was very simple, that is, to make it impossible for anyone to recognize the person wearing sunglasses.

Shang Xinlei had tested the power of the sunglasses many times and was sure that no one else in the Thieves' House could recognize him.

Then the reason why Jiang Shi treated her so badly was simply because he hated her.

"You actually hate me..." Shang Xinlei pushed open the window and glanced at the Qianjia carriage in the distance: "What an interesting woman."

(End of this chapter)