Chapter 18: Xing'er, tie it tighter, maybe it will feel...

"Yes, all feelings come from the heart. Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, all have different experiences."

"Is that so?"

Yin Xing responded without much thought, looking at Xuan Yizhen, who looked a little cold and elegant because of the gorgeous sunset. Her slender eyelashes were long and narrow and upturned, and there was a hint of faint charm in her coldness, which was just the right beauty. However, at this moment, her dark pupils were covered with a thin blood-red glow, which was a bit awe-inspiring.

But Xuan Yizheng's expression was as focused and honest as a child's, as if he was looking at something that made her curious, and he did not hide his straightforward gaze at all, which made Yin Xing feel a little embarrassed.

Xuan Yizhen's gaze slowly moved downwards, landing in front of Yin Xing through his robes. His gaze was direct and clear, and he asked thoughtfully in a soft voice, "Is your heart beating so fast because you're afraid?"

Yin Xing blinked to avoid the gaze, and replied honestly with a warm face: "No, my heart beats fast when I'm happy."

The fingertips resting on the side of his face gently flicked Yin Xing's chin, forcing him to look into Xuan Yizheng's dark eyes as dark as the night. Even though there was some light reflected in them, they still seemed extremely unfathomable, like a pool of stagnant water that never flowed.

But Xuan Yizhen's expression was so peaceful and gentle, the changes in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows were subtle. He opened his thin lips and asked, "Are you happy to be touched by me?"

Yin Xing quickly stepped away and explained, "Ah, no, this may be because the weather is getting hotter!"

If I didn't know that Xuan Yizheng was quiet and gentle, I would have thought I was being teased!

Seeing this, Xuan Yizhen slowly withdrew his hand from the air and looked outside the boat again. As the last ray of sunset light faded, he said lightly, "Is that so? It's getting dark. It's time to go ashore and return to the garden."

Soon after he finished speaking, the big ship slowly turned, and ripples appeared on the lake. In the dim night, Yin Xing put on his dried shoes and socks and went ashore, only to find that his horse was missing!

"Oh no! It seems Xiaoguai was cheated by that treacherous boatman!"

"Don't worry, it knows the way and will return to the yard by itself. Let's get on the carriage first."

Yin Xing looked at Xuan Yizhen in disbelief and murmured, "Wow, is Xiaoguai so amazing?"

"Of course, it's a BMW that I picked out from thousands of miles away for you." After he finished speaking, Xuan Yizheng looked at the guards outside, and then led Yin Xing into the carriage.

Several personal guards then moved quickly and disappeared into the night in a moment.

The sound of horse hooves clung to the air, and Yin Xing felt embarrassed to look at Xuan Yizhen who was sitting upright. She always felt that the words she said inadvertently were a bit embarrassing.

But considering Xuan Yizheng's noble status, Yin Xing felt that maybe she was just stating the facts in a normal way.

The glazed lamps hanging inside the carriage cast a dim light, making Xuan Yizhen's expression look particularly gentle, her beautiful eyes soft and peaceful, completely different from her previous dangerous look.

Perhaps Xuan Yizhen is more like a colorless, invisible jade face. She herself has no form or color, but only reflects different colors as her surroundings change. It is fleeting and cannot last forever. Yin Xing's heart tightened, and he spoke out anxiously and thoughtlessly: "Yizhen."

"how?"

"No, nothing. I just wanted to say thank you. If I hadn't met you today, I would have been finished."

Xuan Yizhen nodded and replied calmly, "That's true. Then you should resign from your official position and move into the other courtyard as a reward."

Yin Xing listened to these ambiguous words and nodded shyly: "Well, I will complete the investigation documents for the Third Princess' fireworks accident as soon as possible."

After saying that, Yin Xing started to wrap the dried red silk wristband around himself, a little clumsily.

Unexpectedly, Xuan Yizhen leaned over, her jade-white fingertips lightly tied the silk knot, her beautiful eyes lowered, letting her eyelashes cover the sparse shadows, making her look more gentle and graceful.

In the quiet place, Yin Xing smelled the familiar fragrance of herbs. His eyes wandered from Xuan Yizhen's beautiful face. He let her tie the intricate and beautiful red silk knot on his hands. He muttered in a trance, "Yizhen, you are so clever and skillful."

Xuan Yizhen lowered her eyes as she tied the knot, her fingertips lightly fiddling with the red silk. Her gaze shifted from Yin Xing's slender wrist, and she silently gazed into her clear, star-like eyes, which were far more blazing than the scorching summer sun. She said, "This is a new knot I've learned. I can teach you."

"..." Yin Xing was silent. This was not what he wanted to express just now.

But since it seemed like Xuan Yizhen really enjoyed tying knots, Yin Xing couldn't refuse and nodded, saying, "Okay, then let me practice tying knots with Yizhen."

Xuan Yizhen lowered his eyes to look at Yin Xing's sincere expression, but in the end he acquiesced to her boldness and rudeness, and said slowly: "If you want, you can try."

Yin Xing untied a red silk ribbon around his wrist, his eyes falling on Xuan Yizheng's slender white wrist. He wrapped the red silk ribbon very carefully to avoid tying it incorrectly.

When the layers of red silk ribbons gradually wrapped around and stuck to the skin, Yin Xing carefully stopped applying force to avoid leaving red marks.

But Xuan Yizhen, who had been very quiet all this time, suddenly spoke up: "Xing'er, tie it tighter, maybe it will be better."

"It's too tight, it might leave red marks." Yin Xing hesitated and looked up at Xuan Yizhen who was calm and composed.

"It's okay, didn't you say the red mark would disappear? So it seems it doesn't matter if it's tighter." Xuan Yizheng met Yin Xing's gaze with calm eyes, and his other hand rested on the back of her hand to pull the knot, guiding her patiently. His clear voice was unnaturally low and hoarse.

Seeing this, Yin Xing said no more. Her eyes fell on the fair wrist wrapped in red silk. A piece of red silk ribbon hung on her slender and straight fingertips, soft and bright red.

Yin Xing usually saw Xuan Yizhen wearing simple and elegant clothes, but this was the first time he saw her wearing bright scarlet color, which looked like white snow and red plum blossoms, which was stunning.

"Is it beautiful?"

"Um."

Yin Xing realized what he had said belatedly and was about to change his words in embarrassment, but Xuan Yizhen's eyes flickered with a rare softness. He raised his hand and took hers, muttering, "Then keep it tied."

Yin Xing looked at the red silk ribbons hanging between the two people's wrists, and his original intention to dissuade them disappeared completely.

This looks like the same wristband, who can resist!

The carriage slowly drove through the streets of the capital towards the inner city, while in an alley somewhere in the outer city, a boatman was drunk, staggering, leading his horse into the dilapidated courtyard, laughing non-stop.

"I slaughtered a fat pig, not only did I get rid of that rotten boat, but I also got a great horse for free. The saddle alone is worth dozens of taels, so this horse will definitely sell for over a thousand taels."

"I'll go to the black market tomorrow and sell it for a high price. I'll be rich!"

As soon as the words fell, the wine jar fell to the ground, and the arm holding the reins fell to the ground, splattering blood.

The drunken boatman was slow to notice, but the scream that just came out of his throat stopped abruptly.

In a moment, the boatman fell to the ground with his head and body separated. As his head rolled, he saw those people like demons from hell. The red and blue flying feathers hanging on the hilts of the swords were the last colors the boatman saw.

In the quiet alleys, the sound of horse hooves can be heard, the bright moon hangs quietly in the sky, and the capital's night market is still bustling.

In the morning, as the morning glow fell on the earth, Yin Xing went to look for Xiaoguai with sleepy eyes. He patted the horse's back with his palm like a baby and said curiously, "Xiaoguai, you are so great. You actually know the way!"

Seeing this, Manager Xin, although unable to speak, could tell that the saddle had been replaced. He thought that this BMW might have been retrieved by the master overnight.

This little girl named Xiao Yin is surprisingly favored.

However, if she had not been favored by the Lord, the crime of disguising herself as a man would have been enough to cost her her life.

Early in the morning, Yin Xing rode to the Dali Temple and dismounted. The clerks who were originally in charge of managing the horses made way for other officials and greeted them while leading their horses.

There was a flurry of conversation all around, and many people looked at him with contempt and mocking eyes.

Yin Xing ignored them, holding the reins and following the clerks to the stables of the Dali Temple. He stroked the horse's head with his palm and said soothingly, "Little darling, I'll take you to rest."

Not long after, Yin Xing looked at the crowded and dirty stables. All the clean places were occupied. He suddenly realized that Xiaoguai's working environment was even worse than his.

"Little darling, just bear with it." Yin Xing found a shaded stable, tidied it up a bit, and reached out to tie the reins to comfort him.

Not long after, Yin Xing walked out of the stable and entered the main gate of the Dali Temple. He saw that the place was much quieter today, and he felt a little puzzled.

But Yin Xing knew that they would ignore him, so he went to the offices around him.

Entering from the outer corridor, Yin Xing was surprised not to see Wu Sicheng. He approached the officials sorting the files and called out, "Everyone, where are Wu Sicheng and Chang Shaoqing going?"

Several officials displayed mocking smiles, and one of them laughed out loud, "On the first day after the holiday, officials of the fifth rank and above must be summoned to the morning court. Lord Xiao Yin doesn't even know this. It seems he hasn't received the emperor's favor."

Yin Xing blinked his eyes at the mocking expressions of these people and said calmly, "That's right. Thank you for letting me know."

After he finished speaking, Yin Xing walked towards the archives and ignored them. He knew that the most important thing now was to finish writing the closing documents of the Third Princess' fireworks accident as soon as possible.

Seeing this, most officials in the court did not take it seriously and just regarded this young man as a joke.

At this moment, Chang Tonghai and Wu Shijie, who were attending the morning court in the main hall, knelt on the ground trembling with fear, as if they were trying to pull a chestnut from the fire, and did not dare to look at the bright yellow figure on the high platform.

"It's been over a month since I ordered a thorough investigation, and the Dali Temple still hasn't figured out the cause of the Third Princess' boat accident. You're truly incompetent!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. The night light incident resulted in over a hundred casualties. Rescuing and questioning the injured will take a lot of manpower and time. We also need to salvage the wreckage of the cruise ship and piece together the details of the fireworks accident. It is truly too complicated. I beg for your forgiveness."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell into silence. Chang Tonghai and Wu Shijie looked ashen, with cold sweat running down their foreheads.

Jiang Zhengming, the Grand Court Judge, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this case involves the Third Princess's boat party. We should have asked her for details, but she has refused to show up since she was injured, leaving us helpless."

The eldest prince frowned and said, "Your Majesty, I believe Lord Jiang is trying to shirk responsibility for his subordinates. Although the Third Princess is seriously ill, he has already sent people to the Dali Temple to cooperate with the inquiry."

"Your Highness, you may not know this. The Third Princess did send someone to the Dali Temple, but she never revealed the number of fireworks or where the raw materials were produced. She only said someone deliberately caused the fire and explosion. However, the commotion that night was so devastating. If there really was someone behind this, I'm afraid no one would be alive."

"So, Lord Jiang, do you think the Third Princess is lying?"

Jiang Zhengming, the Grand Court Judge, did not answer. Instead, he looked up at the platform and spoke, "Your Majesty, the Third Princess' boat accident has caused panic in the capital. If this was just a fireworks accident, then there is no murderer. If the Third Princess insists on investigating the culprit, she must first thoroughly investigate the key source of the fireworks. I beg your Majesty to make your decision."

All the officials in the palace were shocked to see Jiang Zhengming speaking so frankly and arguing with the eldest prince.

The second prince and the third prince looked at each other, both waiting indifferently.

"Lord Jiang, your words make sense. I will grant you another month's amnesty. I will also have the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs work with the Dali Temple to investigate. My daughters are a bit hot-tempered, but we must investigate. The court must give an explanation to those nobles who were injured or killed."

"I obey your order!"

Upon seeing this, Chang Tonghai and Wu Shijie hurriedly thanked him, stood up, and returned to the queue.

The two of them originally wanted to make a big deal out of a small matter, but the emperor wanted to get to the bottom of it, and the third princess and the eldest prince might have a feud with the Dali Temple.

There were probably few people in the entire court who knew the details of the cruise ship fireworks accident better than Chang Tonghai and Wu Shijie.

So a cruise ship carrying nearly a thousand people was destroyed to pieces on the spot. It was far from the damage caused by ordinary fireworks. The fire was simply a cover-up. Behind it was probably a huge amount of firearms raw materials that were secretly stored.

If the speculation is verified, at least half of the officials in this hall are involved, and even the eldest prince may not be able to turn things around.

What is even more unthinkable is that if it is discovered that the two princes are involved, it will probably lead to a messy struggle for the throne.

Under the blazing sun, Yin Xing stood on tiptoe in the Dali Temple archives, looking through a drawing of the wreckage of the cruise ship. His gaze fell on it, and he muttered, "It's strange how this ship was destroyed."

The drawing of the cruise ship wreckage has detailed data, which shows that the Dali Temple was indeed serious and rigorous in handling the case, but the scroll is therefore long and heavy.

Yin Xing felt his arms sore and dizzy inside, so he took it to make reference materials for recording the case closing documents.

In the afternoon, Yin Xing had lunch alone in the backyard hall of the Dali Temple.

Suddenly, someone shouted urgently: "Hurry, the archives everywhere are on fire!"

The sun set in the west, and the setting sun dyed the house and the courtyard red. The fire was barely put out. Yin Xing looked at the two charred corpses that were carried out, and he couldn't bear to look at them. But he smelled a strange greasy smell at the tip of his nose.

Wu Sicheng came in from outside, fanning himself with his hand and sighing repeatedly, "Alas, Lord Chang and I just returned to the Dali Temple, and we didn't expect all the evidence from the investigation into the boat fireworks accident to be destroyed. They're the officials in charge of collecting the evidence, so it's a very difficult situation now."

"Actually, I..." Yin Xing was about to say that he had taken the boat cruise scroll away, but he smelled the same greasy smell on Wu Sicheng. His words stopped abruptly, and he felt a slight chill on his back.

"What does Master Xiao Yin want to say?"

"nothing."

As night fell, Yin Xing walked out of the Dali Temple with the scroll in his pocket and rode his horse hurriedly towards the villa, as if there was an evil ghost chasing him.

Beneath the waterside pavilions, flowers swayed, and the starry sky reflected on the surface of the pond. Xuan Yizhen burned incense and bathed, appearing only in a thin gauze inner garment. Her long black hair was lightly tied with a ribbon, elegant and outstanding, like a banished immortal. Her gaze cast towards the dusty Yin Xing, and she raised her hand slowly to make tea for her. The red silk ribbon tied around her white wrist drooped slightly, and she said lightly, "I thought you came to visit me so late at night because you wanted to see me. If it's just an errand, then go back."

Yin Xing's ears felt hot because of Xuan Yizheng's slightly resentful and straightforward words. He always felt that it sounded like he was acting coquettishly.

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