Wife, Protect Me! - Chapter 23 - Tracking

Early the next morning, when Li Nuo woke up, he found that the bedding on the floor by the bed had been put away, and Song Jiaren was already gone.

After a simple wash, Li Nuo sat in front of the mirror and deftly styled his hair. He also memorized the steps—men’s hairstyles were much simpler than women’s. He believed that even when his ability expired tomorrow, he wouldn’t need to trouble the maids at home.

Another day passed, and the lifespan on the Law Codex was now only twenty-four days.

Li Nuo looked unwell, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. It had to be said, one shouldn’t judge by appearances—Song Qian’s seemingly frail husband had been anything but weak last night.

Li Nuo mentally referred to him as Brother Macho.

As he stepped out of his room, he happened to see two figures emerging from the neighboring room.

Song Qian glanced at Li Nuo with a complex expression, said nothing, and walked straight away.

Li Nuo gave Brother Macho a look of admiration. Though Song Qian’s husband was utterly confused about where that hint of admiration came from, he politely nodded in return before following Song Qian and leaving.

Li Nuo stood in the courtyard, stretched his body, and was just about to leave the Song residence for the Chang’an County Office when someone ran in from outside.

Song Mu’er grabbed Li Nuo’s hand and said, “Li Nuo, my hair is messy. Can you style it for me again?”

After a night, the Feixian bun Li Nuo had styled for her was completely disheveled. Since it was just braiding hair and wouldn’t take much time, Song Mu’er had just sat down on a stone stool in the courtyard when another figure ran in.

Seeing Li Nuo styling Song Mu’er’s hair, Song Ning’er immediately said, “I want one too!”

“I was here first!”

“No, you went first yesterday. Today it’s my turn!”

“Me first!”

“Me first!”

…

The two identical little girls argued endlessly over who should go first. Li Nuo felt a headache coming on and had them play rock-paper-scissors. In the end, Song Mu’er won. Though Song Ning’er was younger, she accepted her loss gracefully, though she sat sulkily to the side and said, “Next time I’ll definitely beat you!””

Two maids from the Song residence stood behind Li Nuo, carefully studying his braiding technique.

If they learned it, they could style the young misses’ hair in the future, so they wouldn’t have to invite the young lady’s husband over every time.

The two maids chatted intermittently, and from their conversation, Li Nuo learned that last night, the Song residence had been investigating the thief who stole the longevity gift, but it seemed they hadn’t found anything.

Li Nuo actually had a way—one that could almost certainly uncover the person behind this. However, since this wasn’t a murder case, it was impossible to go to great lengths, like imprisoning everyone present last night in the county jail, just for two jade Ruyi scepters.

After braiding the two sisters’ hair in order, one of them ran off excitedly without saying a word, while the other stayed behind and sweetly said to Li Nuo, “Thank you, Brother Li Nuo.”

Needless to say, the one who stayed was Song Mu’er.

Although Li Nuo couldn’t tell them apart by appearance, their personalities made it easy to distinguish them.

The sisters were the same age, looked identical, and even dressed alike, but their personalities were quite different.

Song Mu’er was well-behaved, adorable, sensible, and polite, while Song Ning’er was somewhat spoiled and willful. This was Li Nuo’s initial impression of the pair after a brief time together.

Song Mu’er took a soft, sweet pastry from her little bag and personally fed it to Li Nuo as a gesture of thanks. Then, she pulled out a small box from her bag and began applying its contents to her face.

Curious, Li Nuo asked, “What are you doing?”

Song Mu’er raised a finger to her lips and whispered, “Shh, keep it down. This is rouge I managed to sneak from Mother…”

The love of beauty is innate in women, and it knows no age limits.

However, applying makeup is a skill, and she soon smeared it on, turning herself into a little mess.

Watching the little girl dab at her face, Li Nuo felt that peculiar sensation rise in him again.

He had felt it when they were kicking the shuttlecock together and when he was combing her hair.

To test his suspicion, Li Nuo picked up the box of rouge and said, “Let me help you.”

By now, Song Mu’er had absolute trust in Brother Li Nuo. She sat beside him, tilting her face up, and said, “You have to make me prettier than Song Ning’er…”

Li Nuo’s hands moved over her face, dabbing here and there. He borrowed lip rouge and floral decorations from a maid, and soon, a transformed Song Mu’er appeared before him.

No wonder women used so many cosmetics—there really was a difference between wearing makeup and not.

With just a bit of rouge, lip color, and a floral adornment on her forehead, she went from a pretty little girl to a beautiful little princess.

Of course, judging by the maids’ stunned, wide-open mouths, Li Nuo could tell that his seemingly simple application wasn’t something just anyone could do.

This piqued his curiosity about Zheng Yuanwai’s concubine.

Just how many skills did this woman possess?

Not only was she proficient in multiple arts, but she also seemed to have master-level expertise in each. The maids of the Song residence were no ordinary individuals, yet even they looked on in awe.

He couldn’t let it slide. When he went to the county office today, he would have to ask carefully what other talents she had that he didn’t know about.

And it wasn’t just her—from now on, whenever he encountered a criminal whose portrait could be illuminated in the Law Codex, he would have to ask on the spot.

“Young Master.”

Steward Wu’s figure appeared from outside.

It was getting late, and Li Nuo needed to head to the county office to earn his keep—or rather, his life.

With only a little over twenty days left to live, he couldn’t afford to spend all his time playing with little girls here. Song Jiaren had gone off to do something unknown, so Li Nuo asked a Song residence maid to inform her that he had some matters to attend to and had returned first.

After waving goodbye to Song Mu’er, Li Nuo and Steward Wu left the Song residence.

No sooner had he left than Song Mu’er ran to a courtyard. Song Ning’er, who was swinging on a swing in the yard, stared at her blankly. Though the two looked identical, wore the same clothes, identical accessories, and had the exact same hairstyle, she couldn’t help but feel that Song Mu’er was countless times more beautiful…

Song Mu’er looked at her with a grin and said, “Pretty, isn’t it? Brother Li Nuo drew it for me…”

…

At the entrance of the Song residence, the Li family carriage was parked, with Steward Wu seated on it and four old men standing around the carriage.

As Li Nuo stepped out of the Song residence, he glanced back.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he had heard someone crying earlier. When he listened carefully, the sound was gone.

Shaking his head, he decided not to dwell on it. Li Nuo jumped onto the carriage and said to Steward Wu, “To the county office!”

Steward Wu, who had been planning to return to the Li residence, was taken aback. “Huh? To the county office again?”

The young master had been acting strangely these past couple of days—instead of staying home, he kept running off to the county office. Could it be that he wanted to study Legalism?

Though he felt helpless, Steward Wu still turned the carriage around, heading for the Chang’an County Office.

As the carriage made the turn, Li Nuo felt a sudden stir and lifted the carriage curtain to look back.

His gaze fell upon the bustling crowds on the streets of Chang’an.

Seeing him lost in thought, Steward Wu asked, “Young master, what’s wrong?”

Li Nuo shook his head and replied, “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

The repeated assassination attempts had made Li Nuo somewhat sensitive, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that there were eyes watching him from behind.

However, even an expert like Steward Wu hadn’t noticed anything unusual, so it was more likely that he was just being overly tense.

Since the previous two assassination attempts, his security had been strengthened. On the surface, it might seem like only Steward Wu and four other old men were with him, but who knew how many guards were hidden in the shadows? Any passerby near the carriage could be an undercover guard.

Steward Wu flicked the reins, and the carriage slowly moved into the distance.

Meanwhile, not far from the Song residence, at a street corner, a figure wiped cold sweat from his forehead with lingering fear and muttered, “I almost got caught. Damn it, how is this kid’s perception so sharp? It’s almost on par with Butterfly’s—tracking Butterfly wasn’t even this hard…”

A voice beside him asked, “What do we do then? Do we keep following?”

The man waved his hand and said, “Forget it. This kid is too unpredictable. If we get caught and fall into Li Xuanjing’s hands, we’d be begging for death without getting it. That incident was probably just an accident—it’s just Butterfly’s bad luck. Let’s go back…”