Chapter 6 Even if the inkstone were shattered to dust in a peaceful year, it would still be him...

Feng Huaihe replied to Zhu Qing, "Tian Lingzi lost a secret letter. Today, the person who might have stolen the letter appeared and sent troops to capture him. The letter was urgent, and even though we were assisting him, the Shence Army didn't have time to recognize you, which is why we offended you."

Zhu Qing thought about it and realized that the man who had been running amok just now was probably the person the Shence Army was looking for.

Feng Huaihe added, "But Tian Lingzi suspects the shogunate because that letter was sent out from here."

"Huh?" Zhu Qinggang paused, his hand holding the teacup still. Tian Lingzi had always been a ruthless man. Originally just a lowly stable boy, he later accompanied Emperor Xizong of Tang and gained the emperor's trust in spirit, eventually rising to become the head of the eunuchs.

To climb so high from the bottom, it takes more than just intelligence; it also requires ruthless and decisive methods. In any case, Tian Lingzi is definitely a tough person.

If he suspects you...

Zhu Qing, remembering her job as a secretary, looked nervously at Feng Huaihe and asked, "Was this letter delivered by me?"

Feng Huaihe assumed she was simply frail and sickly, and had forgotten some things, so he didn't suspect anything: "Yes."

"ah……"

This is so frustrating! The letter she delivered was lost, and Tian Lingzi is going to operate on her first, isn't she? It's bad enough that she transmigrated to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, but even without the fall of Chang'an, she might still lose her life.

I really want to start over.

Zhu Qing cautiously probed, "Do you know roughly when Tian Lingzi will come to take over the shogunate?"

Feng Huaihe said, "Of course I don't know. Tian Lingzi is just as cunning as I am. If he easily revealed his thoughts and decisions, he wouldn't be in this position."

Zhu Qing was on the verge of tears, feeling that she didn't need to wait for Chang'an to fall; she had to run away now.

But the inkstone was broken, and she didn't have much money, not even enough to run away. Besides, where could she run to? During the Five Dynasties period, there was no peaceful place.

Zhu Qing stared longingly at the broken inkstone again.

Feng Huaihe kept a close eye on her gaze and noticed that she was paying attention to the inkstone again. But this time he learned his lesson and didn't expect anything, because Zhu Qing wouldn't give it to him for his studies; she was planning to sell it.

But how could he allow this inkstone to fall into someone else's hands? Even if it were broken into powder, it would still be his.

Feng Huaihe said in a deep voice, "I'll buy this inkstone."

"What?" Zhu Qing looked up blankly, wondering if his friend had lost his mind. "It's in such a broken state, what are you going to do with it?"

Feng Huaihe was silent for a moment, then said, "Just tell me if you're selling or not."

"Sell!"

Selling it would be a profit. Zhu Qingyuan originally planned to sell it for only one or two taels of silver, but the guy in front of him seemed to be crazy. Maybe he could rip him off. "Five taels of silver!"

Feng Huaihe scoffed, "Ten taels then."

"?" Zhu Qing's eyes widened: "Really?"

Feng Huaihe glanced at her, got up, walked to the bookshelf, took out ten taels of silver from the drawer, and when he came back, he took Zhu Qing's hand and put the silver into her uninjured palm.

“Real money,” Feng Huaihe said.

Zhu Qing picked up the silver and examined it carefully. "It's real silver!" She thought he would offer some thin silk or cloth in exchange, or some low-quality Kaiyuan coins.

A big leader is indeed a big leader.

But Zhu Qing knew that with so much silver, she couldn't possibly spend it all given her status.

She returned the silver, saying, "Give me some coins instead, and exchange the rest for silk, grain, or something similar."

After a moment's thought, Feng Huaihe understood Zhu Qing's concerns. He nodded in agreement but did not accept the money: "I will personally deliver the silk and grain, but this money may be useful to you."

Zhu Qing thought for a moment, then stopped refusing. She carefully put the silver away and, feeling that it was about time, got up and said, "I'll go to the office to change my clothes, then I'll go copy the official documents."

Sometimes, the secretaries had to stay on duty and would spend the whole night in their rooms. The shogunate had rest quarters for the junior staff on duty. Some, who didn't have homes, would live directly in the rest quarters.

Zhu Qing had a spare set of clothes there.

She walked outside, and Feng Huaihe's gaze followed Zhu Qing closely. She never mentioned studying from beginning to end, and her words were somewhat different from those in her previous life. In her previous life, Zhu Qing had never called him "brother."

Dude, is he treating him like an older brother?

Feng Huaihe didn't want to be her brother.

After confirming that Zhu Qing had left the courtyard of the chief secretary, Feng Huaihe sat down on the bamboo mat and gently lifted his trousers.

Beneath his shirt were a pair of knees, a bloody mess, with blood like winding red snakes clinging to his calves.

For the past two days at Chongde Garden, Feng Huaihe had been kneeling on broken pottery shards. Taoist Jingwan was dissatisfied with his refusal to return to the Feng residence and punished him by making him kneel for two days and two nights.

It has always been this way, even in his past life. Whenever Feng Huaihe did not do as Taoist Jingwan said, he would inevitably be punished.

So much time has passed that Feng Huaihe has become numb and doesn't feel much pain anymore, but the wound still needs to be treated.

He picked up the medicinal powder he had just used to bandage Zhu Qing, sprinkled it on the wound, and haphazardly wrapped it with gauze, considering it done.

After bandaging his wound, Feng Huaihe looked out the window at the lush summer scenery, but the absence of a forsythia made him feel empty inside.

He couldn't help but think that the superstition that Tian Lingzi lost in his previous life had also happened.

Apart from Zhu Qing's pursuit of education, everything else in this life is proceeding smoothly. If something goes wrong only regarding Zhu Qing, then the problem must lie with Zhu Qing himself.

A terrifying thought suddenly popped into Feng Huaihe's mind: Had Zhu Qing also returned?

She knew she would die by her own hand, so in this life she wanted to avoid him, keep quiet about studying, and perhaps even resign from her job, so as to stay far away from him and find Zhang Yin as soon as possible to continue their past relationship.

After all, I've come back, so there's nothing that's impossible.

If that's really the case, he has no way to keep Zhu Qing by his side except to forcibly keep her by his side.

Feng Huaihe jolted awake, feeling a sudden, burning pain in his numb knees.

-

Zhu Qing arrived at the women's quarters, found her bed by memory, took out a clean jacket, and prepared to change out of what she was wearing.

He was knocked to the ground, and his gray-white jacket tore open, making it unwearable.

Zhu Qing untied the hidden belt of his jacket, and just as he took it off, a letter fell out of his clothes with a thud.

Zhu Qing suspiciously tossed aside the jacket and bent down to pick up the envelope.

The dark yellow seal had no words on it. Could it be something that the original owner carried with her? Could it contain some new information that she didn't know about?

Zhu Qing thought for a moment, then quickly opened the envelope and walked to the candlestick to read it by candlelight.

As Zhu Qing watched, her face gradually turned pale.

This, this... it's actually the secret letter that Tian Lingzi lost!

A note from the author:

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