Chapter 34

Little Bird was truly furious.

With Pei Du deliberately standing by and watching, Sui Ziming spent a full hour trying to coax Shen Jiujiu, but he couldn’t soothe the little bird at all.

It wasn’t that Shen Jiujiu was hard to placate.

It was just that Sui Ziming’s mouth could be infuriating at times—right in the middle of his apologies, he’d slip in one or two snide remarks, ruffling the feathers of the little bird who’d only just begun to calm down.

He was no good at coaxing birds, but a champion at provoking them.

Tired from flying after chasing Sui Ziming, Shen Jiujiu perched on a branch as a plump gray-white bird ball, ignoring everyone.

Sui Ziming stood beneath the tree with his arms crossed, admiring how the branch swayed back and forth under the weight of the bird ball, turning into a natural swing. A spark of genius from earlier ignited in his mind once more.

He glanced around, confirming that the head of the household—the one who might put a stop to his antics—was nowhere in sight. With only Jia Shisan in the courtyard, Sui Ziming cleared his throat.

“Jiujiu?”

Shen Jiujiu ignored him.

“Jiujiu~ Chirp chirp~ Listen to me. I’ve got a brilliant idea you’ll absolutely love.”

Shen Jiujiu’s tail twitched.

Tsk!

What kind of brilliant idea could you possibly have?

I’m still mad!

Don’t bother Little Bird!

With a light tap of his toe, Sui Ziming borrowed force from the trunk and effortlessly leaped onto the branch, curling his legs as he sat down. “Come on, at least hear me out before you decide?”

Shen Jiujiu eyed the ground-walker who’d flown up so casually without warning. His claws scraped against the branch twice. “Chirp.”

Fine, say it.

Sui Ziming lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Are you stressing over that turtle grandson Shen Yuan refusing to step out of the house?”

Shen Jiujiu was actually sulking over the ache in his heart from unspoken feelings of love, but Shen Yuan’s situation was indeed a pressing matter. After all, it directly affected whether Little Bird could become his benefactor’s housekeeper bird.

Sigh… If he couldn’t be the male master of the house, being a housekeeper bird would be fine too.

“Chirp chirp?” Shen Jiujiu shot Sui Ziming a doubtful look.

You have a way?

Sui Ziming cleared his throat, a flash of smugness crossing his face. “I can’t meddle in court affairs, but when it comes to the shady dealings of the city’s underbelly—the thieves and scoundrels—I know it all like the back of my hand!”

Shen Jiujiu: “…”

Little Bird’s gaze turned utterly speechless.

Is that something to brag about?

Sui Ziming leaned in close to Shen Jiujiu at the edge of the branch. “Want to drag Shen Yuan out of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion, stuff him in a sack, and give him a good beating?”

Little Bird, here’s an invitation to mischief.

Do you accept?

Shen Jiujiu: “!!”

To be clear upfront, Shen Jiujiu was a thoroughly kind, pure, and beautiful little bird, and Shen Xinian had never so much as committed a single misdeed—he was the picture of obedience.

And yet…

Sui Ziming’s invitation to villainy held a fatally tempting allure for Shen Jiujiu.

Who hasn’t, in the dead of night, fantasized about cornering someone they despised and giving them the thrashing of a lifetime?

Whoosh—Shen Jiujiu darted right in front of Sui Ziming, his wings flapping against Sui Ziming’s palm in what looked like restraint but was actually brimming with excitement.

Let’s go!!

Jia Shisan watched with an incredibly conflicted expression as the man and bird—Little Bird perched on Sui Ziming’s shoulder, one wing slung around his neck in perfect bro fashion—headed toward the rear garden to scale the wall and slip away. After a moment’s hesitation, he followed.

His master’s orders were to shadow Young Master Shen.

So… if Young Master Shen wasn’t running into any real trouble, lending a hand shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Jia Shisan silently tailed them, flipping over the wall with practiced ease. When Sui Ziming and Shen Jiujiu both turned to look, he flashed a dimpled smile full of affable charm.

It was just a sack over the head and a beating—not killing him or anything. No big deal.

“Chirp—!”

Standing tall and proud, Shen Jiujiu announced the official launch of their two-man-and-one-bird sack squad.

“Shh, we’re sneaking around like thieves! Keep it down!” Sui Ziming clapped a hand over the little bird’s head. “Sacking someone has to wait till nightfall. For now, we scout the area and gather intel.”

Jia Shisan: “What kind of intel do you need?”

Shen Jiujiu pecked Sui Ziming’s finger, his gaze full of exasperation at the other’s denseness. His wingtip jabbed straight at Jia Shisan. “Chirp!”

What is this?!

Can’t you see we’ve got a full-fledged dark guard right here?!

Who could possibly be better at gathering information than one of them?

~~~

Night had fallen, the perfect time for sneaky birds.

Shen Jiujiu flitted to the top of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion’s wall and let out a soft chirp.

Under the cover of the tree shadows, Sui Ziming and Jia Shisan vaulted over the wall with crisp efficiency, landing without a sound.

The scouting sentry, Shen Jiujiu, hopped onto Sui Ziming’s head for a better vantage point.

From the intelligence Sui Ziming and Jia Shisan had gathered through various channels, not only had Shen Yuan grown overly cautious lately, refusing to leave the mansion, but even Shen Mingqian and Madam Zhou were holing up inside, rarely venturing beyond the gates.

Shen Mingqian did hold a noble title, but with no skills or connections, he had no official post—making it all too easy for him to shrink away quietly within the estate.

“I can’t shake the feeling this family’s hiding from some enemy,” Sui Ziming muttered as they hugged the wall, dodging servants to slip into the back courtyard of the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion.

But no sooner had the words left his mouth than Sui Ziming realized his mistake. He shot Shen Jiujiu an apologetic, sincere look.

Shen Jiujiu, however, didn’t catch on at first. Only when he realized Sui Ziming was sorry for calling them “this family” did he flap his wings helplessly against Sui Ziming’s cheek.

What’s there to apologize for? Jiujiu hasn’t been part of their family for ages.

Truth be told, with no memories of many things, Shen Jiujiu didn’t feel much emotional attachment anyway.

Maybe Shen Xinian would feel sad?

…No, that wasn’t right either.

Shen Xinian had never truly been part of their family.

Shen Jiujiu shuffled closer to Sui Ziming on his shoulder, pressing his body against him and stretching his neck to nuzzle Sui Ziming’s earlobe.

“Chirp chirp.”

There, there. How’d you get so sensitive at such a young age?

Sui Ziming: “…”

Experience and instinct told him not to dwell on whatever that little bird dumpling had just chirped.

Chirp-speak was never anything good!

Jia Shisan knocked out the servant boy guarding the door, then turned back to them.

Sui Ziming and Shen Jiujiu dropped their act—one staying outside on lookout, the other slipping in to gag, sack, and bind the target.

The operation flowed seamlessly, their teamwork swift and flawless.

Sui Ziming looked utterly familiar with this sort of business. He hoisted Shen Yuan—sack over his head—onto his shoulder and led Shen Jiujiu and Jia Shisan through a labyrinth of twists and turns into a secluded alleyway so dim and narrow that no passerby could glimpse what was happening inside.

Shen Jiujiu couldn’t help glancing at Sui Ziming.

Come to think of it, Sui Ziming didn’t hold any official post.

So what on earth did the man do with his days besides raising birds?

Sui Ziming pretended not to notice Little Bird’s stare and shot Jia Shisan a meaningful look.

Jia Shisan turned and stationed himself at the alley mouth to keep watch.

Sui Ziming clenched his fist and shook out his hand before striding forward. Without a word of questioning or bothering to yank the belt-strip from Shen Yuan’s mouth, he landed a brutally direct punch right into flesh.

Shen Jiujiu: “!!”

Little Bird’s eyes lit up in an instant.

Violence was hardly advisable, of course, and thrashing Shen Yuan solved nothing in the long run—but

Little Bird knew all the rational arguments. Still, beating Shen Yuan felt incredibly satisfying, pure bliss!

Little Bird loved it!!

Shen Jiujiu fluttered into the air, struggling to stifle any sound as he jabbed his sharp beak viciously into Shen Yuan’s head.

Claws would leave telltale marks. Plenty of Capital nobles trained birds, but few as tiny as Shen Jiujiu—too easy to trace back.

A beak was different. The pecking wounds mimicked blows from a sharp implement: agonizing, yet nowhere near lethal. Sui Ziming knew from personal experience—it was foolproof.

“…Woo! Mmph woo!!”

Shen Yuan finally worked the belt free from his mouth amid the mounting pain and let out a howl, begging for mercy.

“Who are you people! Woo! Hiss… stop hitting me! I was wrong, I was wrong! Money, right? Name your price—anything! Don’t hit me, I’m the Heir of Zhenguo Marquis Mansion! Please, no more!”

Sui Ziming pulled his kicks just enough to sting without real harm.

No one knew better than a trained martial artist how much force yielded what kind of injury—or how to maximize pain without risking a life.

Sui Ziming glanced at Shen Jiujiu.

In the murky alley, Little Bird’s eyes gleamed with unbridled excitement and delight.

Sui Ziming broke into a sudden smile at the sight of the little bird darting ecstatically up and down.

Now that was more like it.

He and his cousin saw things very differently. Past or present, man or bird, what mattered most was living with joy.

The world brimmed with enough frustrations already. Why hold back from anything that felt good?

To hell with it—satisfaction first!

Shen Jiujiu pressed himself enthusiastically to Sui Ziming’s cheek, nuzzling left, then right, darting back and forth as his tail feathers carved joyful arcs through the air.

Ziming was a great hero!

Little Bird worshipped him!

Shen Jiujiu landed proudly atop Sui Ziming’s head, hopped twice in delight, and ruffled his hair with a wing.

Sui Ziming barely suppressed another laugh.

With Little Bird content, Sui Ziming turned to the matter at hand.

He pitched his voice into something utterly different: “Truth is, I got no beef with you young lords. Just been indulging in some rare hobbies lately, and my purse is running light—”

Shen Jiujiu: “!”

What a talented all-rounder—even voices!

Shen Yuan babbled desperately: “I’ll pay! I’ll pay! Whatever you want! Just let me go!”

“How? Hand over banknotes so the Money House can nab me?”

Sui Ziming’s pockets truly jingled with emptiness, and his sour gripe at pampered young masters rang utterly genuine.

“You power players have more schemes than a fox has tricks.”

Shen Jiujiu’s beak parted in a silent chirp of laughter at the man’s personal dig.

“I’ll give silver!” Another punch landed, and Shen Yuan amended in a rush: “No—gold! Paintings, antiques—name it!”

“Hmph. Very well.”

Sui Ziming rattled off the location Shen Jiujiu had suggested earlier, feigning reluctance.

“Tomorrow at noon, then. Bury the gold yourself under the biggest crooked-neck willow on the south side of West Market. Try any funny business… and I’ll hunt you down for a daily beating!”

Shen Yuan agreed in a frantic babble before Sui Ziming clubbed the back of his head with a stick, knocking him cold.

That done, Sui Ziming and Jia Shisan erased every trace of their presence, slung the sack over a shoulder, scooped up Little Bird, and slunk away from the scene.

~~~

Two streets over, from the third-floor window of a tavern, Pei Du had watched the alley’s drama unfold in perfect clarity: “…”

The man across from him nearly bent double with laughter. “Heavens, whose little rascal has been unleashed?”

Pei Du’s wine cup never wavered in his steady hand, his tone mild. “Just a beating. Does the commander of the Five Cities Garrison concern himself with such trifles?”

The Capital’s daily peace fell to the Five Cities Soldier and Horse Division, and the man before Pei Du was their very commander: Lu Mu, a solid sixth-rank officer.

“No one’s dragged it to my desk. Why should I fret?”

A soldier through and through, Lu Mu commanded the Capital’s garrisons—his eyes missed nothing.

He pulled back his gaze and hefted the wine jug to fill his cup brimming. “That fluffy bird trailing the Sui boy—was that the one His Majesty granted you?”

“Mm,” Pei Du affirmed. “The bird is very cute.”

Lu Mu froze, cup hovering short of his lips.

Cute? The bird?

What had Pei Du just called it?

Those exact words?

Lu Mu even craned his neck to eye the moon, double-checking for blood moons or eclipses.

Pei Du poured with refined grace, every motion the picture of noble poise. “In exchange for that imperial tribute, I granted His Majesty’s wish to appoint Consort Shu’s brother to office.”

“So now, he’s simply my bird. Nothing to do with His Majesty.”

“Wait just a moment.”

Catching the edge in Pei Du’s voice, Lu Mu set his cup down undrunk.

“…What did His Majesty do to cross you?”

Lu Mu sensed it keenly: this wasn’t Pei Du’s usual wry detachment. No, this carried a perilously frayed patience.

Lu Mu and Pei Du were confidants of the deepest sort.

Brothers forged in shared peril, their bond a courtly secret—stolen cups of wine their rare indulgence.

Should the Emperor, Empress Dowager, or Prince Wu learn that the Capital’s garrison chief answered to Pei Du, sleep would evade them that night.

Lu Mu had known Pei Du since their youth and was well acquainted with his temperament. As fellow officials in the same court, he understood Pei Du’s precarious position all too well—and he knew that Pei Du truly harbored no intentions of rebellion.

If Pei Du ever did develop such ambitions, no one in the court could stand against him.

The reason Pei Du served as the Chief Cabinet Minister, assisting the emperor and managing state affairs, was nothing more than the weighty legacy of those two characters—”Fuguang”—entrusted to him by the Great Zhou Dynasty, carrying the Pei family’s century-old reputation.

The Late Emperor had struggled to produce heirs and passed without naming a crown prince. Thus, the imperial princes turned on one another in a brutal struggle for survival, leaving only a mediocre prince who stumbled into the throne by sheer luck.

By the time Pei Du seized control, it was too late to alter the past. He had once hoped to properly guide the New Emperor, but alas… no chisel could sculpt jade from a stubborn rock.

Pei Du could tolerate fools, but he despised those who were not only foolish and venomous but also deluded enough to fancy themselves clever.

And when such a person was the very sovereign he was bound to serve…

Pei Du lowered his gaze, slowly draining the wine from his cup.

The empty cup clinked lightly against the table.

“In a mere month, His Majesty has exhausted every trick to insert the families of Consort Shu, Consort An, Noble Lady Ning, and other consorts into the court.”

Pei Du had claimed illness and absented himself from court for that entire month.

On the surface, the emperor pressured him to return and handle affairs of state. In secret, however, he schemed to plant his own cronies throughout the bureaucracy.

That was the true purpose behind the emperor’s gift of the bird—a warning for Pei Du not to overplay his hand.

It wasn’t so outrageous in itself. Emperors naturally craved power. But the worthless nobodies he chose—barely qualifying as in-laws—had bungled every task in that month, offended countless people, stirred up disasters, and left Pei Du to clean up the mess.

All to prevent ambitious ministers from seeing the emperor’s incompetence and defecting straight to Prince Wu.

Yet Pei Du had endured it all.

Until the day Sui Ziming was ambushed, when the emperor deliberately kept Pei Du tied up in the palace, delaying him.

Pei Du refrained from immediate retaliation only because he hadn’t yet uncovered the mastermind.

Of course, the lack of a suitable replacement emperor was another factor.

Lu Mu sighed. “…Sigh.”

He clearly knew the New Emperor’s true colors. “When will His Majesty finally produce a prince?”

It wasn’t just the Empress Dowager waiting. Many ministers were watching closely.

Prince Wu was advanced in years, and his heir lacked renown. Unless pushed to the brink, no courtier would back a king whose claim lacked legitimacy.

Scholars and old officials prized orthodoxy above all.

But the emperor simply wouldn’t—or couldn’t—father a son.

Lu Mu stole a glance at Pei Du.

Truth be told, he was far more eager to learn Pei Du’s current stance and intentions.

After all, Lu Mu had an entire family depending on him. If things truly came to a head… he had to think of them.

Pei Du didn’t rise to the bait or reveal his thoughts. Instead, he rose to wash his hands, scrubbing away the scent of wine before drying them meticulously with a cloth.

Lu Mu blinked in confusion. “Where are you off to? No more drinking?”

“No more.” Pei Du straightened his sleeves. “It’s getting late, and a storm is brewing. I’m going to fetch my family and bring them home.”

“Wait—the matter you wrote to me about? I’ve got some leads.”

Remembering something, Lu Mu called out to Pei Du, who had already reached the door.

“That fellow called Shen Xinian, right?”

“It wasn’t some major case, but it took real effort to dig into.”

“The Zhenguo Marquis Mansion retrieved his body from Dali Temple Prison, but there’s been no funeral. No servants or pages hauling it off to a mass grave or anything like that.”

“It sounds absurd, but… I think the Marquis buried his own son in the backyard?”

Even as Lu Mu said it, he found it outlandish. But after years as commander of the Five Cities Garrison, he’d seen his share of the bizarre in the capital. This city teemed with powerful nobles—and people far more terrifying than any ghost.

“Ha, or maybe he’s stashed in an ice cellar.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Lu Mu sensed a long-absent surge of baleful aura from Pei Du.

He was about to press further when Pei Du spoke.

“Understood. My thanks.”

His voice was steady, betraying no ripple of emotion—let alone chill or menace.

~~~

Guided by the foresight that a good first strike was best served swiftly, with no need to complicate a second, they stuffed Shen Yuan into a burlap sack and tossed him over the back wall into the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion.

The two men and their bird sauntered homeward, their steps light and buoyant with satisfaction.

Shen Jiujiu hopped back and forth across Sui Ziming’s shoulders and head, letting out chirps that sounded suspiciously like stifled giggles.

Sui Ziming grinned. “Having this much fun? We should’ve done it sooner—might’ve gotten in a few more… uh.”

Sui Ziming’s feet ground to a halt.

Hearing his words cut off, Shen Jiujiu curiously peered ahead along his line of sight.

Shen Jiujiu: “!!”

There stood Prime Minister Pei, the master of the house, hands clasped behind his back at the mansion gate, looking for all the world like he’d been waiting quite some time.

Stirred by the noise, Pei Du turned his gaze their way and spoke in a low, eerie tone: “Finished with the beating?”

Jia Shisan, trailing behind, was silently whisked away by the other Dark Guards.

Sui Ziming ducked his head on instinct. “…Yeah.”

Eyeing the situation, Shen Jiujiu promptly mimicked him, drooping his little bird head. “…Cheep.”