Wife, Protect Me! - Chapter 9

Li Nuo finally understood where his elegant calligraphy came from.

He stared at the floating Law Codex before him. It seemed he could unconsciously acquire one skill from the criminals recorded in the codex – such as the female assassin’s calligraphy or the goateed thief’s pilfering technique – even using them without any prior awareness.

While calligraphy was acceptable, what kind of ability was this seamless pickpocketing that even Steward Wu and Niangzi, both top Martial Arts experts, failed to detect? Even without external True Qi release, their perception should far surpass ordinary people.

If he were ever arrested for unconscious theft, how unjust would that be…

Uncertain whether this skill was permanent or temporary, he resolved to be more cautious from now on. Being caught stealing in public would bring unbearable shame.

With these thoughts, Li Nuo glanced at the Law Codex and noticed the numbers on the cover had refreshed.

“Name: Li Nuo.”
“Lifespan: Ten Days.”

His remaining lifespan had decreased from eleven to ten days. Though unsure of the exact time, Li Nuo guessed it must be past midnight. Apparently, the codex’s timer reset at midnight daily.

Li Nuo extinguished the lamp and climbed into bed.

In his previous life, midnight was still early for sleep, and all-night work sessions were common.

That’s probably why he ended up here.

Starting now, he would reject staying up late.

Exhausted from the day’s events, Li Nuo quickly fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in another courtyard of the Li residence, a lamp still burned in one room.

Steward Wu placed a package of pastries on the table, smiling as he said, “Heaven truly blessed us. That knock on Young Master’s head actually made him smarter. He can instantly solve thousand-plus-thousand calculations, and his demeanor at the county magistrate’s court today resembled the Lord’s youthful bearing. Pity the Lord didn’t witness it…”

Before the room’s desk stood a middle-aged man.

The man stood tall and straight, with dignified handsome features and sharply defined facial contours. Between his brows emanated authority and wisdom, while three neatly trimmed strands of beard on his upper lip and chin added composure and steadiness.

Picking up a pastry, he slowly chewed without expression, a faint weariness between his brows. Only when Steward Wu mentioned the young master did a rare softness flicker in his eyes.

Steward Wu suggested, “Young Master has truly changed. Would the Lord like to visit him?”

The middle-aged man gazed toward the darkened courtyard and gently shook his head. “He’s already asleep. No need to disturb him. Let him rest well.”

“The master returns home rarely, and when he does, it’s always late. He leaves early too, so it’s been a long time since he last saw the young master…” Steward Wu sighed and said, “But the young master did experience quite a shock today. It’s good to let him rest properly.”

The middle-aged man asked, “Have the assassin’s identity been verified?”

Steward Wu fell to his knees with a thud and said self-reproachfully, “She is the daughter of Gu Wenhan, the former Qinghe County Magistrate whom the master sentenced to execution a year ago. It was entirely due to my negligence that she managed to infiltrate the residence and nearly caused a disaster. Please punish me, master!”

The middle-aged man personally helped him up and said, “You needn’t blame yourself. There are as many people in this world who want me dead as there are fish in the river. No matter how careful we are, oversights are inevitable. This isn’t your fault… It’s getting late, go and rest.”

The old man nodded and reminded him, “Master, you should also retire early.”

As he reached the door, the middle-aged man suddenly asked, “The residence shouldn’t be short of maids. Who recruited her into the household?”

Steward Wu was taken aback and said, “A month ago, three maids in the residence had saved enough redemption money and wanted to leave. Since the master had said not to make things difficult for servants coming and going, I gave them their contracts of servitude and let them go. With three maids gone, we were short-handed, so I recruited three more from outside. I never expected the female assassin to be among them. She had no Martial Arts foundation, and I wasn’t on guard…”

The middle-aged man stroked his long beard and asked, “Did you personally go to recruit them?”

Steward Wu shook his head and said, “At that time, I was accompanying the young master catching crickets, so I entrusted Madam Wang to select them from the labor agency.”

“How long had the maids who left been in the residence?”

“Let me think… It seems two had been here for three years, and one for four years.”

The middle-aged man said slowly, “When maids enter the residence, they come penniless. Their monthly allowance is one tael of silver, twelve taels a year. With minimal expenses in the residence—aside from cosmetics and occasional outings to buy pastries or candied fruits for treats—they hardly spend anything. Even if we estimate they save ten taels a year, three years would be thirty taels, and four years forty taels. The redemption fee is one hundred taels… Have you ever wondered where their redemption money came from?”

Steward Wu was stunned, scratched his head, and said, “I truly never thought that much about it…”

The middle-aged man shook his head and asked again, “What about Madam Wang?”

Steward Wu said, “She should be asleep by now. Speaking of Madam Wang, I don’t think I saw much of her today…”

The middle-aged man sighed softly and said, “Madam Wang, ah…”

Steward Wu finally realized something, looked up sharply, and said, “Does the master mean that someone gave those three maids the redemption money to create a shortage of hands in the residence, then took the opportunity to have Madam Wang recruit the assassin to sneak in and wait for the chance to assassinate the young master?”

“..”

He slapped his thigh abruptly, realizing it belatedly, “Damn that Madam Wang! No wonder she was so eager that day. She had it all planned, that two-faced wretch! I’m going to find her!”

With that, he rushed out like the wind.

The middle-aged man stood by the table, picked up another piece of pastry, and unhurriedly put it in his mouth.

A moment later, Steward Wu returned, muttering, “Madam Wang is gone. That damned woman, she ran away…”

The middle-aged man’s expression remained unperturbed, as if he wasn’t surprised by this outcome. He slowly paced over, took three incense sticks from the cabinet beside the desk, lit them with the candle flame, and inserted them into the incense burner. With a mix of emotion and regret, he said, “If I recall correctly, Madam Wang has been with the family for ten years, hasn’t she?”

Steward Wu said angrily, “Exactly ten years. Ten years raising an ungrateful wretch—even raising a dog would have been better!”

The middle-aged man shook his head slightly and said, “In this life, many things are beyond one’s control.”

Watching the three incense sticks burn slowly in the incense burner, he bowed toward it.

Steward Wu asked curiously, “Three incense sticks, Master—who are you offering them to?”

The middle-aged man did not explain, merely saying, “It’s getting late. Go and rest.”

…

That night.
By a river outside Chang’an City.

The small boat rocked gently, causing ripples on the water’s surface that spread into the distance.

A plump middle-aged woman carried a chest into the cabin. A man who had been waiting there couldn’t resist opening it. Moonlight shone into the chest, reflecting glints of gold that turned his eyes golden as well.

A greedy expression appeared on the middle-aged woman’s face as she said, “So much money… enough for us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives…”

The man said fearfully, “What if your master finds out? If we’re caught and brought back, we’ll be skinned alive…”

At the mention of her master, the woman’s face instantly paled, but she forced herself to remain calm. “What’s there to be afraid of? We just won’t let him catch us. Tonight, we’ll leave Chang’an, leave Great Xia, and go to Great Chu or Great Qi. His reach can’t extend that far… Wh-what are you doing?”

Before she could finish, her voice suddenly turned sharp and pained. She looked down in disbelief at the dagger plunged into her chest, then lifted her head with difficulty to stare at the man across from her.

The man pressed the hilt with his palm, forcefully driving the dagger deeper into the woman’s heart until the blade was completely buried. He then grinned and said, “Who said anything about spending the rest of my life with you? With this much gold, I can find any beautiful woman I want. Why settle for someone old and faded…”

The woman’s eyes widened, filled with unwillingness, as her hands gradually went limp and dropped.

Just as the man finished hiding the wooden chest and prepared to push the woman’s body into the water, a voice suddenly sounded by his ear.

“You men really are all the same. She risked her life to earn this gold, all for the sake of running away with you, and you had the heart to kill her? Are you even human…”

“Who’s there?!”

The man was startled and spun around, only to discover a slender figure standing at the bow of the boat—he had no idea when they had appeared.

In the hazy moonlight, he couldn’t make out the person’s features clearly, but their voice was soft and somewhat ambiguous, though likely not a woman’s.

The man’s throat moved as he prepared to speak, but suddenly he saw a flash of white light. Then, the world seemed to spin—the moon appeared above, below, to the left, to the right…

Splash!

Something seemed to have fallen into the water, and then he knew nothing more.

Clang!

The slender figure at the bow sheathed the long sword and, looking at the two corpses, said indifferently, “This is a rather quick end for you. With your abilities, there was no way you’d escape anyway. If you’d fallen into that man’s hands, dying wouldn’t have been nearly this easy. You should be thanking me…”

Afterward, he stepped over the headless corpse of the man and the woman’s body with unclosed eyes, entered the cabin, picked up the blood-stained wooden box with some distaste, lightly tapped his toes, and left the small boat, disappearing over the water’s surface that rippled in his wake.

Not long after, the small boat burst into raging flames, devouring everything in its embrace…

Late at night, in an underground chamber beneath a secluded mansion in Chang’an.

Two figures were whispering in secret discussion.

“Didn’t you say it was already done?”

“It was done. I infiltrated the Li residence, personally used a secret technique to destroy his heart meridian, confirmed he had no breath or pulse, and then falsely instructed that little maid to carry out the deed that night. By then, no one would suspect us—even that sissy master would likely think it was their doing. When the time comes, we’ll leak the information and let Li Xuanjing fight them while we watch from the sidelines, playing the hidden orchestrator…”

“But he’s still alive.”

“Damn it all!”

“How are we going to explain this to His Highness? Should you go assassinate him again?”

“You go if you want! After this incident, that Li fellow is bound to be on guard. If I go now, wouldn’t I be walking right into a trap? You know Li Xuanjing’s methods—I’m warning you now, if I fall into his hands, don’t blame me for exposing you…”

“Forget I said anything.”

“Hiss… I still can’t figure it out. How did that fool come back to life? He clearly had no breath or pulse at the time. Could it be that I’ve gotten rusty from not using the secret technique for so many years…”