Chapter 15 Chapter 15 (revised) Everyone loves beauty, including Nanxu...

When Liu Hui heard that Nanny Jiang was coming, his face immediately fell. He forced a smile and went to greet her, but he saw that Nanny Jiang just handed him a food box.

"Madam heard that the uncle still had some official business to attend to, so she asked the kitchen to prepare it. Madam said that official business was important, and the uncle also had to take care of his health."

Liu Hui took it and promised to deliver it to Duan Wenpei. Only then did Nanny Jiang leave with peace of mind.

The lights in the study were bright. Liu Hui tentatively handed over some tea and asked Duan Wenpei if he wanted to have something to eat.

The food in the palace has always been good-looking but not very tasty, and it's already this late, so it's inevitable to feel hungry.

Duan Wenpei was not a person who cared much about food. Hearing this, he took a sip of tea and said, "No thanks."

Liu Hui turned around and thought for a moment before telling her about the things Nanny Jiang had sent over. "Master, since Madam is thinking of you, I wouldn't want to offend her. Please use some of them."

She? Bring him food?

Duan Wenpei looked up at the food box placed beside him, his heart as calm as water.

Others may not know, but he knows very well what Nan Xu's attitude towards him is. He is afraid that the servant sent it over on his own initiative.

"I don't like the food in Kyoto. Take it away."

Liu Hui knew his taste and was also aware of his picky attitude towards food, so he had no choice but to do as he was told. After taking a few steps, a strong wind blew in from the window that was not closed properly, knocking the lid of the box in Liu Hui's hand to the ground, revealing the contents inside.

Looking closely, they were two snacks from Sichuan and a sweet soup for soothing the throat.

Liu Hui was delighted and quickly placed the food in front of Duan Wenpei, "Master, try it. These are all your favorites."

The candlelight was blown by the wind and the servants hurried to close the window. Duan Wenpei squinted his eyes and brushed away his messy hair, then raised his head from the documents, and a slightly spicy smell came with it.

With saliva in his mouth, Duan Wenpei looked at it for a long time, and finally reached out to take it.

It looked decent, but the taste was just okay. I ate most of it with the sweet soup, and I felt a lot better.

"Did the Madam really send it?"

He thought about what he should say to ease the embarrassment of refusing in front of his subordinates, but what he ended up saying was to confirm the origin of the food again.

Liu Hui nodded hurriedly and explained, "Yes, Madam personally watched them make it before sending it to me."

His wish was simple: the masters and masters got along well with each other so that it would be easy for them to serve them.

Duan Wenpei raised his eyebrows doubtfully, raised his neck and drank the remaining half bowl of sweet soup.

"Send a message to Jingyuan. I'll be there later."

It is indeed inappropriate not to sleep with his new wife on the second night of his marriage. Since Nan Xu is trying to show her goodwill, he doesn't have to be so distant from her.

Besides, he was not resentful of Li Zhan for stopping her, he just disliked this man. In addition, this man's words and deeds in front of the emperor today were deliberately making things difficult for him. Apart from his affirmation of his ability, Li Zhan was a bit petty.

Liu Hui was naturally overjoyed at Duan Wenpei's concession and went west to spread the message.

The door was about to be opened by the strong wind, but it was quickly closed by someone. The person who came in was Yu Rong.

"Master, they've sent someone to investigate the armory, but we were a little too late. Over a dozen members of Lord Liu's family were murdered. Not a single one was spared." He gestured to his throat, "They were all killed in one blow. Their throats were slit."

Liu Chong was the keeper of the armory and an old veteran who had retired from the battlefield. When Emperor Xuanwu ascended the throne, Duan Wenpei had met him. He was a strong and sturdy man.

There are only two possibilities for such a person to die so easily: either the murderer is a martial arts master, or Liu Chong is familiar with him.

During the day, the emperor kept him in the palace for so long because of the theft in the armory that he had discovered earlier.

Since the matter concerned the court, he had concealed something from Nan Xu.

Li Junji's trip to Shu was not without gain. Investigating the assassin was secondary. The more important thing was to find out whether the theft of weapons from the armory was related to the Zhao family and King Yi.

As expected, Li Junji discovered that there had always been a secret firearms trade between Kyoto and Shu. However, Shu had long been a monolithic region with complicated family power. No matter how capable Li Junji was, he could not figure out the key points. Not to mention finding the source, he could not even figure out the upstream and downstream parties in various places. He even caught a few minions but they knew nothing about anything he asked.

Therefore, he had no choice but to send a letter to Kyoto to ask for the emperor's will.

When the emperor asked him what he meant, he said to withdraw first and start from Kyoto.

However, the Right Censor-in-Chief, whose children had just been married to the royal family, was busy expressing his loyalty and swore in a memorial that if he were given some time, he would get to the bottom of the matter.

Li Zhan tried his best to agree in front of the emperor. The emperor was undecided, so he asked the two of them to investigate from Kyoto and Western Shu at the same time. They would definitely find something useful.

Unexpectedly, someone acted faster than him.

Hanging the pen in his hand on the pen holder, Duan Wenpei closed the case file and stood up. "Let's go and check on the man in the dark cell."

*

Even though the wind was howling outside, the dark cell was eerily quiet.

Noticing someone coming in, the figure locked in the innermost part moved slowly. When he raised his head, he saw the corner of Duan Wenpei's pomegranate-red clothes.

“It’s been over a month…”

He kept mumbling to himself, his words incoherent.

Duan Wenpei lowered his head and took a look, then realized that the assassination took place after he was granted marriage. He did not usually wear such clothes, so he could naturally guess that this was the outfit he had just worn after his wedding. He used this to guess the days he had been imprisoned here. He was indeed a smart and careful person.

It's always easier to talk to smart people.

He said calmly, "Tell me, who did the Zhao family send to the capital this time? Or, in other words, what benefits did Qin promise you to get low-ranking 'slaughterers' like you to work for her?"

'Tu Liao' is the Zhao family's in-house assassin organization. They have always been proud and even the lowest-ranking members will not easily obey orders from anyone other than their master.

The assassin was not surprised when he revealed his identity.

All the brothers who came to Beijing died in the assassination, and he was just barely surviving. Keeping him around was just a way to make him useful.

He did not look up and answered Duan Wenpei in silence.

Yu Rong wanted someone to open the prison door. He had plenty of ways to do it and didn't believe that he couldn't pry open the man's mouth, but Duan Wenpei stopped him.

Tu Liao is a tough nut to crack and may not be useful.

Compared to the Zhao family, he always felt some sympathy for this assassin who was taken away from his parents since childhood and trained as a killing weapon.

He squatted down to look the man in the cell at eye level, and said slowly, "Most of the butchers are descendants of the Jin, Yuan, and Zhou families. When I was a child, I also followed two butchers who were from the Zhou family. One was called Zhou Gui and the other was called Zhou Quan." The man in the cell seemed to stir, but Duan Wenpei pretended not to notice and continued, "So, in addition to wanting to keep you alive, I also see the shadow of them in you. You know, if Zhou Gui and Zhou Quan hadn't risked their lives to protect me, I might not be alive today. You people from the Zhou family really are..."

He said the last two words softly, and the prisoner finally reacted. He lunged at the bars, staring intently at Duan Wenpei, who was so close, and said viciously, "What's the Zhou family really like? Stupid? Naive? If you hadn't shown such ambition, why would the Zhou family have chosen you? You said it, Zhao Huaizhou, you said you would lead the Zhou family out of Tu Liao Valley, you would give the Zhou family freedom, and what happened? Hahahahahaha, you can't beat Qin, you can't beat her, why did you make such a promise! It's you who ruined my Zhou family!"

Memories that had penetrated the hustle and bustle of the world awoke before his eyes, and Duan Wenpei was momentarily stunned. The two Zhou family butchers who had stood in front of him at the time gradually overlapped with the figure before him, and when they separated, it was the bloody tragedy of the past.

He lowered his eyes, and when he raised them again, his usual indifference returned.

He stood up and moved a little further away. "Since you are from the Zhou family, you must be from the Zhao family. Of the three sons of the Qin family, the only one who can make you obey orders willingly is probably the fourth son, Zhao Huaijue, who is about to become the young master of the Zhao family."

The man was still accusing, but when he heard Zhao Huaijue's name, his eyes dodged for a moment.

Duan Wenpei curled his lips, turned around and left without stopping.

The roar behind him slowly turned into a desperate wail.

"No, it's not the Fourth Young Master who's coming, it's not him!!"

*

It was a dreamless night. When Nan Xu woke up, it was still dark.

She stretched herself, turned to face outside, and wanted to sleep a little longer, but suddenly she saw a big bulge on the couch by the window.

After rubbing his eyes and pulling his arms a few times to make sure it was not a dream, Nan Xu quickly lifted the quilt and took a look.

Fortunately, my clothes were neatly arranged.

She lifted the bed curtain and looked over there. When did this person come in?

The dim morning light added a touch of tenderness to the deep face, and the thin lips were slightly raised into a beautiful arc.

Everyone loves beauty, and Nanxu is no exception.

If this man wasn't so cold-tempered and didn't have such a fundamental conflict with the Marquis's Mansion, perhaps over time, she could become a harmonious couple with him.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

"What a pity?"

The sudden sound made Nan Xu cover her mouth in surprise. She had whispered it without realizing it, and she didn't expect that the person who was sleeping just now would wake up at this time.

The curtain was lowered, blocking the two people's view.

Nan Xu didn't say anything, but just pricked up her ears to listen to the noise outside.

After a burst of rustling, the room returned to silence. When Nan Xu lifted the curtain and looked out again, Duan Wenpei was no longer in the room.

She patted her chest and said, "Phew, I was scared to death."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"ah!"

Nan Xu fell back onto the bed, leaving only her eyes exposed as she stared at the tall and graceful figure standing in front of the bed.

"No... I'm not afraid. I just didn't expect the uncle to come and rest."

She was not wearing any makeup, and her hair, which had been tied up during the day, was scattered behind her head and covered the pillow, making her face look even more petite and delicate, and her skin smooth and fair.

After lingering on her red, bitten lips for a moment, Duan Wenpei looked away and said, "Get up. Liu Hui is already waiting outside with his men."

While Nan Xu was full of confusion, his tall and straight figure turned through the bead curtain and left the inner room.