Shen Yun inside saw nothing.
Su Xiaoqi outside, however, saw it all.
When it was Huang Yuanxiang's turn to be searched, a small cheat sheet was found in his sleeve.
"This guy's trying to cheat," Su Xiaoqi teased Du Yiyi, who had poked her head out to watch the commotion.
"I remember him trying to make trouble for Brother Shen just now. I didn't expect the one with unclean hands to be him. But he surely didn't know he'd face retribution so quickly. It's like karma striking instantly."
When Du Yiyi had heard Huang Yuanxiang report Shen Yun, her heart had nearly leaped out of her chest.
Her mind had turned into a muddled mess.
It took her a while to realize, "Wait, how could Brother Shen and Sister Xiaoqi, such powerful people, be harmed by this rat excrement-like fellow?"
As she continued to watch, Huang Yuanxiang's accusations were purely false.
Du Yiyi thought the matter was over.
She didn't expect the real excitement was yet to come.
"Exciting, exciting," she laughed heartily, clapping her hands.
Su Xiaoqi chuckled softly.
Shen Yun, Shen Yun, how could such a deep-thinking person easily suffer a loss!
"Alright, finally sent him off safely," Su Xiaoqi said, feigning relief.
Du Yiyi, however, was still holding her breath. Seeing Su Xiaoqi so relaxed, she couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you worried about how well Brother Shen will do on the exam?"
Su Xiaoqi chuckled, "Do you think he looks like someone who wouldn't do well?"
"How can you tell?" Du Yiyi asked Su Xiaoqi humbly.
Su Xiaoqi thought to herself: She certainly knows the subsequent plot.
Shen Yun not only did well on the exam, he did exceptionally well.
But she couldn't say that. After a moment's thought, she invoked Mr. Gu to bluff, "Mr. Gu has full confidence in him, so we shouldn't worry."
Du Yiyi nodded, "Sister Xiaoqi's words make so much sense."
Uncle is an unparalleled great scholar of Daliang.
He became the top scholar at such a young age.
Even her own father was half his student.
His record of becoming the top scholar at eighteen years old remained unbroken to this day.
Su Xiaoqi glanced at the sky. The commotion had taken up so much time; it was almost dusk.
Du Yiyi escorted her back to the inn and again warmly invited her to stay at her home.
Shen Yun had also mentioned this, worrying that Huang Yuanxiang might instigate some minor trouble. However, Su Xiaoqi wasn't afraid.
Unable to persuade her, Du Yiyi simply escorted her into the room.
Su Xiaoqi reluctantly agreed.
However, before the room door was even opened, she noticed something amiss.
The strand of hair she had placed in the lock before leaving was gone.
She had clearly tied a knot; it wouldn't have broken unless the door was forced open.
She made a "shush" gesture to Du Yiyi.
Du Yiyi blinked her eyes, asking with a glance: Is there something inside?
Su Xiaoqi nodded, signaling her with her eyes to leave first.
But Du Yiyi was more excited than ever. She refused to leave and whispered to Su Xiaoqi, "I'll protect you."
Su Xiaoqi didn't want to cause too much of a commotion and alert the person inside.
So she pretended nothing was wrong and opened the door.
Upon entering, she saw that even the position of the teacup had been changed.
The smell of sweat still lingered in the air. She quietly closed the door, her expression highly vigilant.
As she turned to bolt the door, she suddenly felt a gust of wind behind her.
She ducked and rolled to the left.
Half-kneeling on one leg to steady herself, she saw two burly figures lunging at where she had just stood.
They had missed.
The two cursed and turned to pounce again.
As Su Xiaoqi rose to counterattack, she saw Du Yiyi had already drawn her whip and lashed out at the two strong men.
"Ah... Damn it."
"Ah, it hurts, it hurts like hell."
Du Yiyi sneered, "Hmph, it's supposed to hurt. The real pain is yet to come."
As she spoke, her whip continued to strike, making the two cry out in pain and unable to fight back.
Su Xiaoqi stood stunned, watching Du Yiyi single-handedly subdue the attackers.
She beat them until they were rolling on the ground, clutching their heads and faces.
She watched with growing excitement and even applauded when Du Yiyi glanced her way.
"Yiyi, you're amazing! With the whip in your hand, it's like divine guidance."
Du Yiyi proudly tilted her head and smiled at Su Xiaoqi, as if to say, "See, I can protect you."
Her whip continued to lash out at the two men on the ground as if it had eyes.
She whipped them about twenty times until her arm ached, then stopped.
By then, the two once fierce strongmen had collapsed on the ground, weak and begging for mercy.
They no longer had the strength to cry out in pain.
The barbs on the whip had torn their skin and flesh, leaving them bleeding and on the verge of death.
The commotion here attracted the innkeeper.
Su Xiaoqi opened the door and, ignoring the plump innkeeper Zhou, left him standing awkwardly at the threshold.
She directly pulled Du Yiyi to sit down, poured her a cup of hot tea to help her calm down.
In front of Innkeeper Zhou, she interrogated the two strongmen, asking for their names, who sent them, and what they intended to do.
"My name is Wang Li, and his is Wang Hong. We are brothers, from Mianzhou City.
You, you've offended Young Master Huang. He wants to deal with you.
He told us to... to tie you up and send you to his residence in Yaoji Alley to be... cut up."
Wang Li cried profusely, saying as he spoke that they were wrong and shouldn't have targeted her.
Who knew she had such a formidable person by her side?
The whipping sounds of "ouch ouch" were unbearable, and later, the pain was so intense that they couldn't even cry.
"Innkeeper Zhou, did you hear? It's not that we wanted to do anything, but they first had wicked intentions to harm me. I was merely defending myself."
Innkeeper Zhou heard everything. Looking at the two unrecognizable figures, all his sympathy had flown away.
Now, he was filled with resentment.
They didn't know, but he was very clear that this person staying in Heavenly Room Number Five was not of simple origins.
Her scholar husband had told him before leaving.
She was the adopted daughter of Great Scholar Gu and a close friend of the Prefect's daughter.
Furthermore, that Master Shen had warned him that if anything happened to his wife in his inn, he would hold this inn and his family accountable.
Thinking of that seemingly gentle scholar, his eyes were as cold as icicles.
It made him believe his words without question.
And at this moment, remembering it, he trembled all over, goosebumps falling like raindrops.
Seeing that she had subdued him with just a few words, Su Xiaoqi's mood improved greatly. She gestured, "Please trouble Innkeeper Zhou to report this to the authorities, and this floor, the broken tables and chairs..."
"No, no need, no need. It's our inn's poor service; we failed to take good care of our guests," Innkeeper Zhou quickly declared.
He had been running this inn for many years, and its success was always due to his adaptability.
He never bothered with petty profits, nor did he contend with people of noble status.
Moreover, he had gone to watch the excitement at the Gongyuan gate today and hadn't been at the inn, allowing such irrelevant people to enter. It was indeed his dereliction of duty.
Innkeeper Zhou not only took all the compensation but also moved Su Xiaoqi to Heavenly Room Number Ten.
He also gifted her a banquet as an apology.
Su Xiaoqi naturally did not refuse and invited Du Yiyi, who had exerted herself greatly, to dine together.
The excuse was to "calm their nerves."
At the banquet, Su Xiaoqi praised Du Yiyi so much that she beamed and repeatedly humbled herself, "Oh, Sister Xiaoqi, please stop praising me.
I don't have any real skills. It's all from fooling around with my maternal grandfather and uncles in the capital."
Hearing Du Yiyi mention the Yu family, Su Xiaoqi understood.
It was true; the Yu family was a distinguished lineage.
However, to reassure the late emperor, they had married their two daughters to civil officials.