Chapter 97 A Kiss: The Gloves Are Dirty

After that parting, the Pingding Marquis's mansion returned to its former desolate state.

In order to make better use of the money at hand, the steward of the Marquis of Pingding’s mansion went to the streets every day to negotiate prices with various merchants. The steward was originally a shrewd merchant’s wife, and she was tricked by her husband and concubine and driven out of the house.

The merchant's wife was furious and spread rumors throughout the city that her husband had married into the family. Her husband was also furious and hired someone to harm her. Unfortunately, they ran into Gu Daifang, who was passing by buying wine, and he dragged the man in front of the general.

Xun Suihuang didn't concern herself with worldly affairs, so she had Gu Daifang take her to report to the authorities. In the end, the merchant's wife took her family property and went to the Marquis's mansion, where she became the mansion's steward.

She didn't consider herself the steward of the Marquis's mansion at all, nor did she feel that her status was particularly important. She carried an abacus with her and used it to make quick and easy calculations, driving down the prices of merchants across the street who wanted to inflate their prices to the most suitable level.

His excessive fussiness became the talk of the town, eventually reaching the palace, which made Emperor Jianxing laugh in exasperation.

"This Xun Chengzhi, she asked me for so much money, and now she's so stingy about building a mansion?"

The eunuch serving him knelt down and tied his belt, saying, "This Marquis of Pingding is always up to no good; he's nothing like the old Marquis of Pingding."

It's unclear which of those words struck a chord with Emperor Jianxing, but his smile widened as he shook his head and said, "Indeed, my aunt grew up in the palace; how could she have raised such a shameless person?"

Several days later, the steward of the Marquis of Pingding's mansion was still haggling over prices everywhere, and Xun Suihuang even accidentally dropped the account book when he went to court.

She said she couldn't quite understand the accounts, but she was trying to learn how. After all, it was a house being renovated for retirement, so she definitely needed to put more effort into it.

These remarks left the ministers speechless.

Emperor Jianxing, however, could not stand it any longer and sent a group of craftsmen to repair the Marquis's residence.

Xun Suihuang, who had successfully feigned poverty all day long, simply became a hands-off manager, lying at home looking at the account books. She wasn't sincere at all; she would fall asleep as soon as she looked at them.

No matter how much the nearby craftsmen banged and clanged, swishing their hammers and sending sparks flying, it didn't budge an inch.

A few days later, Emperor Jianxing's rewards came down: Deputy General Gu Daifang was granted the title of Zhenwei General and a mansion.

The rewards bestowed upon Xun Suihuang, the commander-in-chief, had already been given—just the few boxes of gold he had requested from the emperor that day, and nothing more.

Emperor Jianxing had originally heard that the mansion was empty and there was no one to serve him, and wanted Consort Wan to send some people to quell the Marquis's mansion. However, the steward took the initiative and bought a few servants to take home.

Xun Suihuang naturally refused these maids, saying that her family could not afford to support so many people and begged His Majesty for mercy.

All of the above was not only rumored in the public, but also personally told to Xi Congshuang by someone.

That man was Prince Xin. He was always unhappy whenever the topic of Marquis Pingding's refusal of the maidservant bestowed upon him by Consort Wan came up.

Not only could he not be unhappy, but he had to embellish the story and tell it to Xi Congshuang, firmly believing that this person was guilty and had nothing to hide, otherwise why would he be so panicked and so eager to refuse?

Xi Congshuang continued, "Although the Marquis of Pingding is also a member of the imperial family, the people serving him in his household are from the palace, which will only make her more vigilant."

"If someone really gets in, the guilty-hearted Marquis of Pingding will be trembling with fear every day, seeing ghosts everywhere. Now that the military tally is still in her hands, I'm afraid she might make things worse."

Prince Xin was still unhappy: "How could I not know? It's just that I can't stand that she refused in front of Father Emperor, making my mother lose face."

"..." You and your son have planted spies right under people's noses, and you still want to save face.

It's impossible to have it all; you can do shameless things and still expect people to respect you.

Did they expect the Marquis of Pingding to open the gates, sweep the mats of his maids, and joyfully welcome him inside?

Not only Xi Congshuang thought so, but the other guests in the room also picked up their teacups, all keeping their eyes down and drinking their tea.

Even though everyone was a retainer of Prince Xin, there was no way to comfort him on this matter. They had already said enough insincere things just to make a living, so let's just let this go.

Xi Congshuang suddenly spoke up: "A few days ago, the Prince said that he ordered people to investigate the case of Wu Wangmu's family embezzling money during road construction. Is there any progress now?"

Upon hearing this, the tone shifted, and all the retainers gathered there were single-mindedly focused on bringing down their ultimate opponent, King Wu, so that everyone could rise to power.

As for the Marquis of Pingding, that was a problem that even Emperor Jianxing himself found difficult to solve, so how could they have a better solution?

"Yes, Your Highness. Recently, the Prince of Wu has been neglected by His Majesty because of the Prince of Wu's heir. This is a good opportunity."

“He usually flaunts his power by relying on the alchemists around His Majesty; we must not let him continue like this.”

Fortunately, Prince Xin still had some focus on important matters and stopped talking about the previous incident. He had someone bring him a letter and showed it to his retainers.

After the matter was over, Xi Congshuang returned to the Xi residence.

Hongdou went out to greet her, asking her what she wanted to eat that night as they walked inside.

The house was not large, but it was serene and pleasant with trees planted in the courtyard, and there were several servants sweeping and cooking inside.

Xi Congshuang knew from her evasive question that she wanted something to eat, so she told her to tell the kitchen. Hongdou cheered and ran to the kitchen after receiving the order.

She is also very honest and straightforward. She will only do anything if the sect leader approves, otherwise she will never overstep the bounds.

Not long after, Hongdou, whose wish had been fulfilled, returned. Xi Congshuang was reading a letter in the corridor and did not turn around.

Hongdou exclaimed in surprise, "Who are you? What kind of scoundrel are you? Why are you climbing over my wall?"

Another person said, "What do you mean 'your wall'? Look carefully, this is my wall, wait a minute..."

The two exclaimed in unison, "It's you!"

Xi Congshuang turned around and saw Hongdou standing in the courtyard with her hands on her hips, head tilted back, arguing with someone: "What do you mean 'your house'? This house has been uninhabited for years."

Following Hongdou's gaze, they saw a person perched on the wall, about nineteen years old, with wheat-colored skin and a high ponytail with several braids, interspersed with thin hair ribbons.

This person was Gu Daifang, who started arguing with fifteen-year-old Hongdou without any restraint: "Isn't it a coincidence that no one lives here? I just happened to live here. I just accidentally jumped too high and didn't find a good place to grab my weight. I was about to leave when you started calling me a lecher."

Hongdou retorted without hesitation: "Even if it's your house, you can jump as high as you want. Looking at other people's houses is a despicable act!"

Gu Daifang found the child unreasonable: "If I want to get down, how can I do it if I have nothing to lean on with my back to the courtyard wall? I'll break my leg."

Red Bean: "...You!"

The two were about to argue again when they were interrupted by the people around them.

"What's wrong? Why are you arguing?"

Hongdou pointed to the courtyard wall, and the figures on the wall pointed down, saying in unison, "It's this person who insisted on arguing with me!"

Xun Suihuang: "Let me put in a good word for you."

She then used the momentum to jump, and there was another person on the wall.

As expected of a general who commands soldiers of his caliber, none of the many people noticed anything amiss in the situation. If they wanted their "elders" to step forward, they should have paid them a visit, not climbed over the wall together.

Looking down, Xun Suihuang was also stunned and remained silent for a long time.

A person was standing in the courtyard planted with pear trees. The afternoon sun was gentle and shone on her. She looked up and met the gaze of the person on the wall.

Xi Congshuang was surprised to run into Xun Suihuang here. She suddenly smiled and waited patiently for what Xun Suihuang wanted to say.

"..." Xun Suihuang suddenly wanted to leave.

If it were anyone else, it wouldn't matter, but she's been feigning madness quite a bit lately, and Emperor Jianxing can't do anything about it.

But that person was Xi Congshuang, so she was the one who had no choice.

However, oblivious to the general's feelings, still clinging to the idea that the general was wary of this person moving into the general's residence, suspecting she was gathering information, she hurriedly said, "General? Tell me about her!"

Xun Suihuang: "..." Talk to you my foot.

The idea of ​​leaving was just a lie she told for a moment. After not seeing her for several days, and finally being able to openly and honestly meet her face, she might not actually want to leave.

Not to be outdone, Hongdou quietly tugged at Xi Congshuang's sleeve, and Xi Congshuang indeed moved. She walked towards the courtyard wall and said, "It's quite a coincidence that this mansion is back to back with my house. When I moved here, it was empty. I didn't expect that General Xun would move here."

Xun Suihuang had no choice but to say, "It's not me who's staying here, it's this person who's staying here."

Unexpectedly, the residence of Xi Congshuang was right behind the Zhenwei General's Mansion bestowed by the Emperor. The gates opened into different alleys, and no one thought that they were actually next to each other, separated only by two walls.

Xi Congshuang understood and nodded: "Since it's just in time, why don't you come down for a cup of tea before you leave, so I won't neglect your hospitality?"

Gu Daifang was still wary of Xi Congshuang and instinctively wanted to refuse: "Who wants... um? Where did the general go?"

Before she could finish speaking, the person next to her had already jumped down, leaving Gu Daifang dumbfounded on the courtyard wall.

Seeing the general feigning politeness with her and walking further and further away, she became a little anxious.

This woman is cunning and scheming; she is a capable assistant under Prince Xin. The general is probably deliberately getting close to her to spy on some information.

She couldn't let the general risk his life alone. She originally wanted to go, but she wasn't good at it and would only implicate the general, so she reluctantly decided not to go.

Gu Daifang skillfully released her grip, landing steadily. As she walked inside, she thought: It's not that I don't want to go, but that I really would be a hindrance.

Besides, there's a sick person, a child, and several servants in the house. If things really get out of hand, it's hard to say who will suffer.

wrong.

Gu Daifang paused, almost forgetting that this was a master of poison.

Even if you can't beat her, you can still use your advantage to spread poison!

General, you are in grave danger!

Hongdou, however, didn't think that way; she didn't think that much about it.

She felt that the sect leader was having a very pleasant conversation with her, and was obviously extremely happy. She didn't dare to cause trouble, so she held her breath and went to ask someone to make tea.

Since returning, she knew that her tea-making skills were particularly poor, so she reluctantly gave up her position as the sect leader's tea-making master, allowing someone with better skills to take over.

The two, who were seen as diametrically opposed by their respective subordinates, were walking together. Xun Suihuang asked, "Is this the pear tree you told me about before?"

The pear blossom season has passed, the flowers have all fallen, leaving only lush green leaves to provide shade.

Xi Congshuang shook her head: "It's not this one. This one doesn't like to bloom. It's the one in my backyard that likes to bloom. There are still a few pear blossoms left. Do you want to go see it?"

Since they've already said that, there's no reason to refuse.

Xun Suihuang was a little curious: "Then let's take a look."

Leading people deeper and deeper, the bitter herbal scent that often lingered on Xi Congshuang became more and more pronounced.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, there was indeed a pear tree in the courtyard. There were a few pure white petals on the blue brick ground. Since most of the pear blossoms had fallen, the fragrance was also faint.

"Chengzhi, would you like to come in and take a look?" Xi Congshuang stepped into the door first and reached out to the person outside.

Xun Suihuang steeled her heart and said, "What's there to be afraid of when we look at the flowers?" She placed her hand in Xun Suihuang's palm and was pulled inside.

After Xi Congshuang came in, she finally saw what the pear tree, which she hadn't looked at properly for a long time, looked like. All the flowers had fallen, and many green leaves had grown on the branches.

If you call people over to look at the flowers, and it turns out that the inside is just as green as the outside, it will probably be disappointing.

Xi Congshuang said apologetically, "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Chengzhi today. I was wrong. The flowers have all fallen."

There was no response from beside her. Xi Congshuang thought she was angry, so she tightened her grip on her hand through the fabric and turned back to say, "It was my fault. How about we wait until next year..."

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly fell silent. Xi Congshuang's gaze met that of the person beside her. The other person had not expected her to turn around suddenly, or perhaps she was so engrossed in looking that she did not react in time.

After being caught, she blinked, seemingly intending to dodge.

Xun Suihuang seemed to want to say something: "I..."

But the next moment, he couldn't finish the sentence. He pulled her hand slightly and drew her over.

A similar scene, a similar undisturbed atmosphere, invisibly easing the regrets of that day.

Xi Congshuang lowered her head and leaned closer, clearly seeing her reflection magnified in the other's eyes. Finally, their breaths mingled, and they touched each other with restraint and forbearance.

The cool, soft touch sparked a strange flame between their hearts. Xun Suihuang, with her eyes closed, trembled slightly, not daring to open them.

Then the bitter medicinal scent came closer again, kissing her lips, then her nose, her cheek, and finally her forehead.

Xun Suihuang closed her eyes and experienced the whole process. During the journey, she secretly opened her eyes a crack and met the other person's slightly lowered gaze. A smile appeared in her eyes.

His lips, no longer pale in color, came close to her ear and whispered a few words, instantly turning Xun Suihuang's earlobe red.

The person being asked hesitated, and Xi Congshuang softened her voice, saying softly, "You're unwilling? Why are you unwilling? Just because I am..."

Xun Suihuang hurriedly interrupted, "I'll help, stop talking."

If she keeps talking, she'll say anything and everything. Is she a fox in disguise?

She had mistaken people for rabbits before; rabbits don't act pitiful like that.

Xun Suihuang didn't even look at their clasped hands. She slowly stepped back, quickly removed the bindings, and let her white gloves fall to the ground.

Today she wasn't wearing a tight-fitting outfit that tightly bound her wrists; it was more like the style that ordinary women in Yongdu would wear. She always walked very fast, and her sleeves seemed to flutter in the wind.

The loose fit of the straight-sleeved upper garment made it convenient for Xi Congshuang. Her slightly cool hands were no longer satisfied with just holding each other. The person who had been trying to restrain herself was tempted by Xun Suihuang to remove the restraints from her hands and brazenly move her hands up to her knuckles.

Just as they were about to deepen their kiss, someone's voice came from outside. Hongdou couldn't stop them and followed them in.

Hongdou said, "Keep your voice down. The sect leader doesn't like people shouting."

Gu Daifang, not seeing clearly inside, shouted, "General, Zhong Shuren is dead!"

After a long silence, Xun Suihuang, with a strange expression, came out and asked, "Who said that? How did they die?"

Gu Daifang was not a meticulous person and did not care. She simply told what she knew: "The steward just sent someone to say that when she was shopping, she passed by the residence of Zhong Shuren and saw people going in and out. There was a coffin outside the door. She paid attention to it and later found out that it was used to put Zhong Shuren in."

"But not long after, a palace eunuch came and said that commoners were not worthy of being buried in the imperial mausoleum. A straw mat would suffice; they should be wrapped up and thrown out."

Zhong is the imperial surname, and Zhong Shuren refers to the deposed King of Qin, who was demoted to a commoner five years ago due to witchcraft allegations.

The emperor, out of consideration for his own son, spared his life but ordered him to be confined to his residence for life. Now that he is dead, he cannot even have a coffin.

But being confined in the palace, with all supplies provided only by palace staff who would give a little bit each year when they remembered, was worse than being dead; it was clearly torture.

So many years have passed, and now that Zhong Shuren is dead, the emperor is so petty that he won't even provide a coffin. A storm is brewing in Yongdu.

If we were to say what Emperor Jianxing cared about most, it would be two things: first, the use of witchcraft to curse his empress and eldest son; and second, the military tally in Xun Suihuang's possession.

That was the Xuan Yan Talisman, personally bestowed by the Holy Ancestor Emperor. It could command the thirteen battalions of Northern Yan, and was granted amnesty without needing to be returned; it would only be returned if the soldier died in battle.

Unless presented by the Northern Yan commander-in-chief himself, the military tally has always been held by the Northern Yan commander-in-chief during the war.

If Xun Suihuang refused to hand over the military tally, Emperor Jianxing would truly be helpless. Moreover, the war had only just ended; if he were to force someone to surrender the military tally so hastily, how would the people and historians view him?

Moreover, the Pingding Marquis's family was indeed somewhat related to the deposed empress's mother's family. Back then, the emperor was furious and ordered the empress to be executed on charges of treason, and her mother's family was also exterminated.

The Pingding Marquis's mansion has no connection with the main branch of the deposed empress, but it has some connection with a collateral branch. Marquis Pingding, Xun Suihuang, once pleaded for his teacher.

Emperor Jianxing was already furious. Disregarding the bond between husband and wife, he ordered the Empress to be executed. Not to mention the pleas of all the civil and military officials. Even if the Holy Ancestor Emperor had come, he still couldn't control his anger.

The Grand Tutor bravely faced death, telling Xun Suihuang to rest assured that she had drunk poison and that her body would be intact so that she could be properly disposed of.

Ultimately, the collateral relatives were all sentenced to death, and the extremely noble Grand Tutor did not have a good end.

Xun Suihuang subconsciously wanted to return to the Pingding Marquis's residence, but suddenly remembered the person behind her and turned around to look: "I'm going back."

Xi Congshuang nodded, her restless longing had subsided, and she comforted him instead, saying, "I'll treat you to tea next time."

"Okay, I'll come again next time." Xun Suihuang said, and strode away.

Xi Congshuang leaned against the door, watching her back as she walked away. She followed for a distance, watching the two nimbly climb over the wall and disappear in a hurry.

Hongdou's voice came from behind: "Sect Master, why did your gloves fall on the ground? They're a bit dirty... You'll have to discard them."

Sure enough, not long after, the palace sent an imperial eunuch to deliver the emperor's oral decree, summoning the Marquis of Pingding to the palace for an audience. Emperor Jianxing was ill and had ordered someone to come to the palace to attend to him.

He not only addressed them as Marquis of Pingding, but also as Prince Xin, Prince Wu, and their two heirs.

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[Rainbow farts][ ...]