Scourge Messenger

Chapter 90 Heaven takes its course
Qian Gongyu was still peeling shrimp, getting her hands all oily.

“I don’t have a photographic memory, so even if I study from a manual, it will probably take me several months to get the hang of it.” She dipped her food in chili rings and soy sauce, and said while eating, “Since you exchanged a walking manual for me, Xinlei, it means I’ll be staying here for a long time.”

Shang Xinlei did not refute, but nodded silently.

"Even you can't prove my innocence..." Qian Gongyu's voice was somewhat dejected.

"The three judicial authorities have now determined that Lin Yuan is the murderer of Luo Weijin," Shang Xinlei said. "Lin Yuan was a guard of the Qian family and has been on the run ever since. As the head of the Qian family, you are legally... guilty."

"Before Lin Yuan was arrested, you were considered an accomplice and, according to the law, you should have been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice prison."

"How long will I be imprisoned? Does that mean I'll be locked up forever if Uncle Lin isn't caught?"

"Of course not. According to the law, if a servant commits murder and flees, depending on the severity of the incident, the servant shall be sentenced to one to three years in prison. Although the verdict has not yet been handed down, Miss Jie and I will do our best to get you the lightest possible sentence."

"That's good." Qian Gongyu breathed a sigh of relief: "It's only for a year... that's alright. After the verdict, will I be locked up in the Ministry of Justice's prison?"

Shang Xinlei tilted her head: "If you're willing, I can help you apply."

"Of course I don't want to! Who wants to go to jail!" Qian Gongyu immediately said, "Do I get to choose where I'm locked up?"

Shang Xinlei cleared her throat: "Do you know why you're being held in Shuiyue Pavilion? It's because the Shang family has the right to guardianship of prisoners. When a Shang family member or friend commits a crime and goes to jail, the Shang family can apply to have them imprisoned in Shuiyue Pavilion, thus saving prison space for the imperial court..."

"Sister Xinlei!" Qian Gongyu hugged Shang Xinlei: "As long as you let me stay here, I'll do anything you ask!"

"Then hurry up and wipe your hands! Don't hug me after peeling shrimp!"

Almost all the food Shang Xinlei brought was eaten up, and even the last bit of rice was eaten by Qian Gongyu with some sauce. The two of them lazily leaned against each other in their chairs, like two happy little pigs. After a while, Shang Xinlei stood up to clear the dishes, and Qian Gongyu helped her, but she kept talking: "Tomorrow I want to eat roast goose, ginger and scallion chicken, crispy roast pork, and fish skin salad. For breakfast, I prefer congee and fried dough sticks..."

"Stop, stop, stop! What do you take me for? A maid who delivers vegetables?"

"If you like, I can treat you like the fourth young lady who delivers the vegetables..."

After a commotion, Shang Xinlei picked up four food boxes and prepared to leave. Qian Gongyu suddenly said, "Actually, Xinlei, you don't need to come and eat with me every time. You can just send a servant to deliver the food."

“But I need to eat too. I’m just free to have meals with you these next few days. Once I’m not free, I’ll be a servant.” Shang Xinlei snorted. “Xiaoyu, know your place. You’re a prisoner in my house now. I can have meals with you whenever I want, and I can make you do belly dancing whenever I want—but you need to lose weight before that. I don’t want to see a chubby little belly.”

"Okay, okay, I'll work out." Qian Gongyu scratched her head. "I just feel like... you're trying to make it up to me on purpose. But my current situation isn't your fault, so you don't need to blame yourself."

Shang Xinlei was slightly taken aback and subconsciously turned her head away: "I just... I clearly made you trust me, but in the end I couldn't help you."

“You’ve helped me so much. I can stay here and eat so much good food. You even helped me get the Advanced Steps Manual…” Qian Gongyu counted on her fingers: “Luckily, Xinlei, you come to see me often, otherwise I would have panicked a lot. It’s because of you that I can stay here and read the Messenger’s Handbook with peace of mind.”

"Meeting you, Yuan Shao, and Jiang Shi in Mansu Forest is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me," she chuckled, but then let out a burp right after she finished speaking, instinctively covering her mouth as her face turned bright red.

Shang Xinlei stared at her blankly for a while, not knowing why she dared not look the other person in the eye, and left the room as fast as she could: "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Heart Tears!"

The moment she stepped out the door, Shang Xinlei reverted to her expressionless and indifferent demeanor, as if she had left all her enthusiasm, joy, and sincerity behind in the room behind her.

She walked quickly out of Shuiyue Pavilion, and when she reached the entrance of the courtyard, she suddenly stopped and looked at the shadowy area where the brazier did not reach.

"I thought the monk my father brought must be a highly virtuous monk, but I never expected him to be a frivolous monk who eavesdropped on girls' secret conversations."

From the shadows, a tall, robust, and dignified bald monk emerged. Although they hadn't introduced themselves, the news spread like wildfire among the merchants, and Shang Xinlei already knew he was the guard her father had brought back that day, named Rat Monk.

Why is he here? Did Father send him to spy on her? He even took the token; is Father still worried that Xiaoyu will run away?
Why was she framed?

Unexpectedly, the Rat Monk asked Qian Gongyu's question: "If you are really friends with her, as the fourth young lady of the Shang family, can't you protect her?"

"Master, you're quite the gossip," Shang Xinlei said calmly. "In the business world, knowing too much and saying too much never ends well."

Hearing Shang Xinlei's words, Yan Qing thought she wouldn't say anything, but Shang Xinlei didn't leave. Instead, she walked into the shadows and hid herself in the darkness.

"Because of the legendary token."

Perhaps it was the sense of security brought by the darkness, or perhaps it was because she had wanted to say it for a long time, but Shang Xinlei spoke the truth without any concealment: "Xiaoyu obtained a rare token from the Mansu Forest, which was later upgraded to a legendary token. Up to this point, things were fine, but because reporting the detailed information of the token could earn family points, she directly reported the general effects of the legendary token to the imperial court."

It was clear that Shang Xinlei harbored some resentment; it seemed Qian Gongyu hadn't consulted her beforehand. "What's worse, her token was a pair of boots, a legendary pair that could greatly increase speed. In the secret realm... Master, do you know the significance of speed in the secret realm?"

This wasn't a problem. Without waiting for the Rat Monk's reply, Shang Xinlei continued, "In the secret realm, speed is life. With these legendary boots, the imperial court will not only be safer conquering the third-tier secret realm, but can even use kiting tactics against the Demon King, reducing the casualties to zero—if that's truly possible, the frequency of conquering the third-tier secret realm can be increased to once every seven days or even once every three days!" Yan Qing wasn't surprised to hear this. He had already noticed that unlike players who valued output-oriented attributes, the messengers of this world valued survival-oriented attributes more. Staying alive was paramount; for safety, they were even willing to spend several days conquering the secret realm. Compared to 'defense,' which only took effect after being attacked, 'speed,' which allowed them to escape the killing range directly, was naturally more favored by the messengers.

"In order to misappropriate Xiaoyu's keepsake, they used the murder case in Mansu Forest to implicate her." Shang Xinlei's voice was full of sarcasm: "Using a murder case to deal with two people... they really made the best use of her."

"Doesn't your father care?" Yan Qing asked. "Your father is the Prime Minister, and you are his daughter—"

"Who do you think is the mastermind behind this?" Shang Xinlei's voice suddenly rose, and she stared straight at the Rat Monk, her eyes seeming to shoot out a venomous light: "It's my father!"

"It was he who found the law to drag Xiaoyu into this mess, it was he who suggested that Xiaoyu be locked up in the shop, it was he who misappropriated Xiaoyu's keepsakes, it was he... who sent me to appease Xiaoyu."

Yan Qing blinked.

"You didn't resist him?"

“My father is very good at suppressing rebellions.” Shang Xinlei calmed down: “Before I spoke, he said two things. First, the token will only be used for one year; second, the second secret book produced in half a year will be given to me to deliver to Xiaoyu.”

"Resisting or running away will only cause Xiaoyu to lose her family name and become an unregistered fugitive. But if Xiaoyu can change jobs three times within a year, the token will be returned to Xiaoyu, and Xiaoyu will be promoted to the position of military garrison general to guard a secret realm. The Qian family can also leap to the status of a prestigious family, only one step away from becoming a noble family."

"And this favor will be bestowed upon Xiaoyu entirely by me. Whether it's the learning manual, the secret technique book, or the promotion, I will take care of it all, while others will be responsible for the evildoers."

"As long as I'm willing to cooperate, Xiaoyu will become my best friend and my best subordinate. She won't lose anything; she'll only gain more."

The firewood in the brazier seemed to explode, and the flames suddenly rose high, illuminating half of Shang Xinlei's face.

Indifferent and sorrowful.

"But if I refuse, Xiaoyu's fate will no longer be in my hands."

A cold wind blew, stirring up the withered leaves on the ground. For some reason, Yan Qing moved the screen away and focused on the brazier in front of her, as if she didn't want to disturb Shang Xinlei's mood.

After a long silence, he asked, "Why not lend it to me? Why resort to such methods?"

Shang Xinlei gave a bitter laugh.

“Even without the murder in the woods, my father could still find evidence against Xiaoyu or the Qian family and put them in jail.” Her tone was intriguing: “It’s better to make mistakes than to do good.”

"Under the nine-rank system, aristocratic families are prone to arrogance, and local officials usually turn a blind eye to their corruption and abuse of power. Most of the time, their crimes are indeed not serious, but if the Ministry of Justice needs them, their crimes can be punished severely."

"Master, you must have made some mistake that your father has used against you, which is why you became a bodyguard, right?"

Yan Qing was stunned.

He rubbed the buttons on the handheld console, thinking to himself that it was a good thing he hadn't gotten involved. The cunning and scheming people outside were not someone like him, who had only played visual novels, could handle.

"And what about you, Fourth Miss? What do you think?"

After a long silence, just as Yan Qing thought she wouldn't answer, a bitter voice rang out from the darkness: "I... actually agree with Father's actions."

"After Xiaoyu reported the information about the legendary token, she was destined to become the prey of the major families. Putting her in prison at this time, misappropriating the token for a year, and giving her the secret book to quickly advance her to the third job is both protecting her and cultivating her. After a year, the token will be returned to her, and by then she will have the strength to protect herself... This is indeed the best way to take care of her."

"Xiaoyu is not qualified to possess a legendary artifact. The Great Liang is not merciful enough to allow the weak to possess such a treasure."

"I am the child of a merchant, born into wealth and privilege. Now, my father is asking me to help the merchant recruit a future third-tier messenger and a legendary token owner, without harming my interests. What right do I have to refuse?"

"Moreover, as the emperor grows older and his time to assume personal rule draws ever closer, the Shang family, though seemingly at its peak, has already reached the point of utter ruin. If we can firmly bind Qian Gongyu to the Shang family's chariot, we will have more leverage in future competition with other powerful families."

"My father made the best arrangements for both the merchants and Qian Gongyu."

"only……"

Yan Qing waited for a long time, but Shang Xinlei didn't say anything more. She only heard her pick up the food box and walk outside.

But after taking two steps, she turned her head and said, “My father is that kind of person. He arranges other people’s lives on his own initiative. Even if the people he arranges are full of resentment, they will eventually obediently follow the path arranged by my father and even feel that this is the most suitable life for them… Master, if you do not want your fate to be arranged by anyone other than Buddha, you should leave the Shang family as soon as possible.”

"The way of heaven is constant, and each thing has its own function." She seemed to be speaking to the rat monk, or perhaps to herself: "But what is most suitable may not be what you can accept."

(End of this chapter)