After Transmigrating, My Younger Brother Always Tries to Seduce Me - Chapter 16

Zhu Zhenzhen blurted out all her questions at once. Combining Elder He’s account with the City Lord’s, she pieced together the full story.

It turned out that the so-called Capital forces were none other than the Son of Heaven’s own brother, Prince Jin.

Prince Jin was the mastermind behind the entire catastrophe, having brought the city to ruin for his own selfish desires.

He had secretly maintained a private army, using them to carry out his dirty work.

The day they breached the city gates and began rounding up civilians, their arrogance knew no bounds. Yet Magistrate Li’s impeachment memorial never reached the Capital, having been intercepted en route.

It was precisely this memorial that drew Prince Jin’s wrath, leading him to slaughter every living soul in the City Lord’s Manor.

Magistrate Li was captured, imprisoned, and tortured separately. But the imprisoned citizens rallied together to help him escape. Though he returned to the city by the skin of his teeth, he could only bring back grim news.

Later, Elder He led most of the townsfolk to flee Changding City and establish a fortified settlement outside its walls. For those unwilling to leave, he could only warn them to hide well and avoid detection.

Changding City became a ghost town, its residents either fled or in hiding. Prince Jin, still desperate for a cure, turned his attention to Bian City.

Prince Jin sent agents to bribe Li Jiadong into stirring up trouble in Bian City, secretly abducting people to Changding for medical experimentation.

Prince Jin, ever suspicious and fearing Li Jiadong’s incompetence, appointed a nominal City Lord to Changding.

This thankless task fell to the Yan Family. The Yan Family’s sons knew full well that the title of City Lord was merely a cover for acting as Prince Jin’s eyes and ears.

Thus, the order was repeatedly passed down through the ranks, until it landed on Yan Guiyun, the Yan Family’s illegitimate daughter. She had a younger brother named Yan He.

By a strange twist of fate, Yan Guiyun’s maternal family were wealthy merchants in Changding City. On the day the crisis erupted, Elder He, Yan He, happened to be visiting their maternal uncle in the city. Amid the chaos, their uncle had already fled by boat, having paid a hefty sum for his escape.

Perhaps driven by youthful impulsiveness, Yan He hadn’t fully grasped the gravity of the situation at the time. He volunteered to stay behind and guide the fleeing civilians.

Yan Guiyun rushed from the Capital to Changding, only to find Yan He had already fled the city. When they finally met, they immediately agreed to rescue the people from their dire straits and secretly executed a plan to replace the crown prince with a substitute.

However, women were scarce among the ruthless criminals, leaving the numbers mismatched. They were forced to fabricate a story, claiming the women had been sold to brothels.

As for the supposed silver earned from these sales, Yan Guiyun secretly subsidized the funds herself.

Zhu Zhenzhen understood the situation now, but lingering doubts remained.

She frowned slightly and asked, But if that’s the case, why are there two extremely peculiar individuals in Elder He’s camp who clearly aren’t from Changding City? Could they be Prince Jin’s men?

She was referring to the two individuals with exceptionally sharp senses.

Yan He gave her an approving look. Precisely.

Why would Prince Jin’s spies be in your camp? Has our operation been discovered?

Upon further reflection, this seemed unlikely. If Prince Jin had learned of their scheme, given his callous disregard for human life, he would have had them killed long ago to vent his anger.

Yan He suddenly turned secretive, leaning forward slightly. Prince Jin only sent his men into the stronghold this month, he said, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

One would expect anger or panic upon discovering their hiding place had been compromised. Why the look of satisfaction?

Yan He’s next words made everything clear.

Magistrate Li’s corpse lies on the path you took to get here.

Zhu Zhenzhen couldn’t help but wonder if this was the true reason Cheng Jiuxiao had led them down this route.

The revelation struck like a bombshell. Song Heng, who had been listless moments before, snapped his head up, his gaze fixed intently on Yan He.

Song Zhen remained oblivious, but Song Heng knew that Magistrate Li’s gruesome death would undoubtedly serve as crucial evidence to bring down Prince Jin.

In their previous life, Prince Jin had petitioned the Son of Heaven to place Changding City under his jurisdiction. This made him Magistrate Li’s superior, allowing him to fabricate any narrative he pleased should the Son of Heaven inquire.

In their past life, Song Heng had never fully grasped the intricate web of affairs in Changding City, nor had he ever investigated Magistrate Li’s death. Now, however, he had finally seized a damning piece of evidence against Prince Jin.

Zhu Zhenzhen, unaware of the terrifyingly bright glint in the young man’s eyes behind her, continued, So, Prince Jin planted spies in the mountain stronghold to guard Magistrate Li’s corpse.

But how could Prince Jin be certain there was a stronghold in this exact location, and that its inhabitants would be willing to serve his purposes?

A faint fragrance drifted from the incense burner—the delicate scent of plum blossoms, a scent beloved by women.

As the wisps of smoke curled upward, a conclusion slowly formed in her mind.

If Yan Guiyun had volunteered to inform Prince Jin about the stronghold, mentioning that it was led by her own younger brother…

In that case, she could gain Prince Jin’s trust while also learning the location of Magistrate Li’s corpse, thus obtaining leverage over him.

Truly a brilliant plan—killing two birds with one stone.

Yan Guiyun noticed her gaze drifting, finally settling into an expression of understanding. Her delicate eyebrows arched slightly.

She raised her teacup to conceal the faint smile curving her lips.

Zhu Zhenzhen’s eyes swept over the two unconscious figures on the ground. Seeing her concern, Yan He followed her gaze and said, Don’t worry, it’s just a mild sedative. They’ll wake up shortly.

Zhu Zhenzhen moved forward to untie the two men. Despite her movements, neither stirred, a testament to the sedative’s potency.

There was still one thing Zhu Zhenzhen couldn’t understand.

If Yan He had arrived in Changding long ago, Yan Guiyun must have known of their destination. Why then had she gone to such lengths to injure Song Heng?

Although his wound had been bandaged, the bloodstains seeping through the cloth clearly indicated he had been injured. The wound appeared quite deep.

City Lord Yan, Zhu Zhenzhen asked, if you knew we were coming, why did you harm my brother?

Song Heng’s ears twitched, and he leaned forward slightly.

Yan Guiyun swallowed her tea, her voice clear and crisp, refreshed by the liquid. Yesterday, I received a letter. Would Miss Song care to know its contents?

Please tell me.

Zhao Lin wrote, instructing me to treat you well. Miss Song, I am in Changding, with eyes and ears everywhere. I have no choice but to follow orders. If you were in my position, what would you do?

As Yan Guiyun spoke, the silver chains dangling from the butterfly hairpin in her hair remained perfectly still, her every gesture radiating the composure of a noble lady.

Yan Guiyun’s words rang true. Keeping their group alive and avoiding being treated as prisoners for medical experiments was already the best possible outcome.

She continued, My original intention was merely to knock him unconscious and transport him out through the underground passage. But your brother proved quite resourceful. Even after sending a team to capture him, I lost two lives before he was finally brought back.

Zhu Zhenzhen glanced sideways at Song Heng.

When he noticed her gaze, Song Heng turned to face her, his back straightening instantly, his eyes fixed on her with unwavering focus.

Could Song Heng really kill someone? Zhu Zhenzhen wondered skeptically.

Although it was said that men in ancient times matured quickly, both physically and mentally, the boy before her was only fifteen, and he always looked at her with such a docile, obedient expression.

She couldn’t imagine this quiet, well-behaved youth possessing such lethal skills.

Unless… he was hiding something.

As Zhu Zhenzhen looked away, Song Heng lowered his gaze and pressed his lips together.

For some reason, Song Heng suddenly spoke, addressing her directly They cornered me in a dark alley, crossbows aimed at my chest. If I hadn’t fought back, I’d be dead now.

He deliberately positioned himself to expose his injured left arm, lowering his voice to a barely audible whisper, conveying an air of pitiful vulnerability, as if he had suffered a grave injustice.

Zhu Zhenzhen thought she glimpsed a fleeting coldness in his eyes, quickly suppressed.

Song Heng’s performance left the Yan siblings speechless.

Not that they had any intention of harming him in the first place, but what was with this pathetic act?

Especially Yan He, who had been among the black-clad men and witnessed Song Heng kill two people with flawless precision. Even after examining the bodies, he couldn’t figure out how the boy had done it.

When Song Heng was first brought in, he was extremely restless, refusing to believe anything they said and seizing every opportunity to fight.

He had turned Yan Guiyun’s room into a chaotic mess, smashing an entire set of tea utensils and an incense burner. Out of desperation, they took him through the secret passage, and only then did he finally calm down.

The silver butterfly in Yan Guiyun’s hair fluttered its wings.

Zhu Zhenzhen glanced at the wound but remained silent, deep in thought.

She had found the uninjured corpse on the way here suspicious from the start. At the time, she had wondered who could possess such skill.

Now, it seemed likely that the other mangled corpse had also been killed with the same technique before being used as a human shield.

To be honest, in all her years, even in a technologically advanced world, she had rarely seen unnatural deaths without any visible wounds.

Though she didn’t know the exact method, if Song Heng was truly responsible, it was quite remarkable.

It was almost like the unique martial arts techniques practiced by various sects in wuxia novels.

Song Heng, noticing her gaze never once landing on him, remained unaware of the slight panic in his expression.

Zhu Zhenzhen understood his reluctance to reveal the truth, but simply replied, Sister knows.

Song Heng pressed his lips together, knowing Song Zhen had undoubtedly seen the corpse.

If only I’d left a clue earlier.

The two fell silent.

The tense atmosphere that had hung over them before entering the city now lingered, though Lu Yin remained unconscious and unable to diffuse the tension.

Breaking the heavy silence, Yan He asked, By the way, why did you come to Changding? Now that we’re here, you can finally tell us the reason, right?

Zhu Zhenzhen’s attention snapped back to the conversation. She withdrew a flute from her sleeve and gently placed it on the table.

Yan He showed only a moment’s surprise, but Yan Guiyun froze at the sight of the flute. The ice in her eyes melted instantly, as if she were seeing a long-lost friend. She murmured, …Jade Xiao Flute.

Her gaze fixed on the flute, she slowly reached out to touch it, treating it like a precious treasure.

Zhu Zhenzhen added, Cheng Jiuxiao insisted we personally deliver this Jade Xiao Flute to City Lord Yan.

She turned to Yan He with an apologetic look. Back at the stronghold, we didn’t know about your relationship with the City Lord, so we couldn’t explain the situation…

They had even briefly suspected Yan He.

Yan He waved his hand dismissively, smiling. It’s nothing. Even without the flute, I would have come to Changding to retrieve you.