Chapter Seventy: Catching an Adulterer

A tantalizing aroma drifted from the small kitchen. Old Zhao frowned, paced over, and saw Chu Bing busy at work. She was ladling soup from a pot; the enticing scent wafted from the bowl in her hands.

"What are you up to again?" Old Zhao’s first reaction on seeing Chu Bing was suspicion.

Startled, she turned and glared at him. "Uncle Zhao, do you have to be so frightening?"

"This is soup I made myself for the young master!"

She had utmost faith in the recipes provided by her system. With this, Li Mohan would surely forgive her!

At her words, Old Zhao’s face darkened immediately. "The young master would never drink anything you made. Are you trying to poison him?"

So unfair!

Chu Bing looked at him helplessly. "Uncle Zhao, what nonsense! If I wanted to poison anyone, I wouldn’t do it right in front of you!"

But Old Zhao didn’t believe her. He’d long decided that Chu Bing was not someone who could be judged by normal standards.

Seeing him blocking the way, Chu Bing circled around, soup in hand. "Please move aside!"

Old Zhao refused. Chu Bing’s eyes flashed; she simply used her teleportation skill to appear behind him. Since he’d already witnessed her strangeness, she might as well stop hiding.

Besides, she wanted to use this chance to test just where Li Mohan’s boundaries with her lay.

Old Zhao stared at the now-empty kitchen, his expression changing. But Chu Bing was already at Li Mohan’s door with the soup.

"Young master."

"Red Sleeve!" Old Zhao hurried out of the kitchen, reaching to grab Chu Bing.

She darted away, teleporting several meters out of his reach. The soup in her hands didn’t so much as ripple.

Old Zhao stood his ground, suddenly drawing the blade at his waist.

Chu Bing froze. Was he really going to get serious?

Anxiously, she said, "Uncle Zhao, I only made a bowl of soup for the young master, nothing more! Why must you be so against me?"

She wasn’t afraid of Old Zhao—she simply didn’t want to fight an old man. After all, blades have no eyes; if she hurt him, she’d have even more trouble explaining to Li Mohan.

"Enough talk. You come from nowhere and have strange abilities—how can I trust you?" Old Zhao flexed his wrist, the tip of his blade pointed straight at her.

At that moment, as the two faced off, the door creaked open and Li Mohan appeared.

His face was tinged with rare irritation. "How long do you two plan to keep this up?"

Chu Bing immediately stood obediently, head bowed, not daring to speak. Though she hung her head, she held the soup high, as if afraid Li Mohan might miss it.

Li Mohan caught her small gesture; a trace of amusement flickered in the depths of his dark eyes, so swift that no one noticed.

Old Zhao spoke up first. "Young master, this woman’s origins are unknown and her motives—"

"Enough," Li Mohan interrupted, waving his hand, a rare impatience on his face.

He walked toward Chu Bing, his tone gentle. "You made this for me?"

She hadn’t expected that, even after seeing her skills, Li Mohan would still trust her so completely.

She pressed her lips together and nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

Li Mohan took the bowl and drank it down in one go.

"Young master!" Old Zhao nearly fainted from shock and rushed over.

Li Mohan turned the bowl upside down—there wasn’t a drop left.

"Uncle Zhao, there’s no poison."

Old Zhao was dumbfounded, hearing only Li Mohan’s calm voice: "Red Sleeve has never wanted to harm me. If she ever did, I’d accept it."

Chu Bing’s heart pounded violently, clear and intense. In that moment, she seemed to understand something, though when she tried to grasp it, it slipped away.

Li Mohan turned and saw a girl blushing crimson. He paused, a smile playing at his lips. "The soup was delicious."

Boom!

Chu Bing’s mind went blank. Without thinking, she suddenly turned and ran.

Li Mohan couldn’t help but let out a soft, amused laugh. "What a foolish girl."

Chu Bing dashed a long way before she finally stopped. In her mind, the system bombarded her with questions. "Have you fallen for Li Mohan?"

Chu Bing patted her burning cheeks, answering with no hesitation, "Nonsense! How could I fall for someone from ancient times?"

The system snorted, "Why don’t you look at yourself right now?"

She huffed, "I’m only pretending for the sake of the mission!"

The bustling street was filled with people. A familiar sedan chair flashed by not far ahead. Chu Bing’s eyes lit up, and she quickly changed the subject. "I think I just saw someone I know! I’ll go take a look!"

If she remembered right, the last time she saw that sedan, Yun Xin was inside.

She quickly concealed her presence and followed.

Sure enough, the sedan stopped at the same courtyard as before. Yun Xin climbed out, greeted by a man who led her inside.

Chu Bing rubbed her chin, considering. A show like this would be far too dull if she were the only spectator.

In a blink, she teleported onto the street, grabbed a young beggar, thrust a handful of coins into his hand, and passed him a slip of paper, whispering, "Go to the county office and give this to the magistrate."

On the paper, she’d written a single line: "With whom does the magistrate’s wife commit adultery?"

The beggar nodded vigorously, clutching the coins, and dashed off at full speed.

Chu Bing grinned to herself, thinking she might soon witness a real dog-eat-dog affair.

She teleported back to the courtyard. Yun Xin and the scholar had already gone inside.

Listening to the commotion below, Chu Bing couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity for the county magistrate.

Soon after, a portly middle-aged man hurried over. Perhaps to avoid public embarrassment, he hadn’t brought a single guard.

The magistrate pushed open the door. The dim room was thick with an illicit atmosphere.

Behind the pink gauze curtains, two figures were entwined.

He walked over step by step and tore the curtains aside.

"Ah!"

"Who’s there?"

The two inside sprang apart, frantically pulling the covers over themselves.

"Wretch!" the magistrate gasped, his eyes reddened with rage. "I treated you so well, and you dare betray me? I’ll kill you!"

He reached to grab Yun Xin’s hair.

She screamed and darted behind the scholar. The scholar, trembling, kicked the magistrate hard.

The magistrate fell to the ground in disgrace, roaring, "You pair of adulterers! I’ll see you both drowned in a caged basket!"

At those words, Yun Xin snapped out of her panic. A cold light flashed in her eyes. "No, we can’t let him leave here alive!"

The scholar stared at her, trembling. "What do you mean to do?"

Yun Xin gritted her teeth, her expression fierce. "Kill him!"

If the magistrate didn’t die, it would be the end of the both of them.