apprentice

In the study of the Third Prince's Mansion in the capital.

It was almost noon by the time all other matters were discussed and arranged.

Finally, Zhao Zejin spoke up to announce the end of today's meeting.

"The rest of you can go back now. Mingyu, you stay here for a while."

Mingyu was a little confused, wondering what he had done to deserve being left alone, but he still stood there obediently waiting for Zhao Zejin to speak.

After everyone else left and they were the only two left in the room, Zhao Zejin started to mention something he had not mentioned during the morning court session.

"At court this morning, Lu Ruonan mentioned something. He said he was looking for his successor, the next disciple of the Wuzhu Hall. I thought you might know something, so I wanted to ask what you think."

Was it because she was brought into the palace by her master? But firstly, she was still young and didn't remember much about what her master had said to Emperor Dewen. Secondly, during the reign of Emperor Dewen, the Wuzhu Hall had never been publicly displayed.

Mingyu frowned. She didn't understand what Lu Ruonan wanted to do.

"Master only mentioned that the inheritance of witchcraft depends on the guidance of heaven. When the right person appears, heaven will guide us to find him, but I have not received any will from heaven." Mingyu could only answer according to what he knew.

"Could it be that his inheritance method is different from yours?" Zhao Zejin guessed.

This is also possible. After all, she only knows that Lu Ruonan has made achievements in voodoo, and she knows nothing else.

"I don't know."

Zhao Zejin pondered for a moment and said, "I understand. Let's put this matter aside for now and continue to see if he is really doing anything for the next heir or for this purpose."

"Yes." Mingyu responded quickly this time. After all, it was none of her business. No matter how much she paid attention to this matter, the responsibility would not fall on her.

Mingyu was about to leave when Zhao Zejin spoke again.

"By the way, have you visited your residence?"

Mingyu didn't understand. Wasn't she currently living in the residence provided by the Third Prince? Why did he still ask if she had seen it?

"I don't quite understand."

"Your mansion, Gu Mansion." Zhao Zejin explained.

To avoid the homophony of "Nether Palace", her residence still retained her master's surname and became Gu Mansion. However, after her return, due to her limited mobility, she never visited it again.

"I haven't had time to see it yet."

After Mingyu was wanted, the Gu Mansion was also searched by the Ministry of Justice, and all the items were confiscated or disposed of.

Thinking of this, Mingyu felt a little depressed. After her master passed away, she always hesitated to go into the master's study, always thinking that she would have time to slowly read through the books and reminisce. Now, everything her master left behind is gone, and she is afraid that she will never have the chance again in the future.

"I received news that your house will be sold in the next two days. Do you want to go back and take a look?"

Mingyu was already "dead". The destruction of her house was something Mingyu had expected and anticipated. But when she heard it, her mind went blank for a moment.

Her home was gone, and the first time she felt it so clearly was the first New Year she spent alone after her master's burial; the other time was now.

Mingyu searched for a long time before finding his own voice.

"...Everything in the mansion is gone, right? There's no need to take the risk of going back."

They didn't know whether Zhao Ruihua had continued to arrange people to monitor her. Now it was the final moment. If she was caught at this time, the Third Prince would not protect her.

No need, no need.

Mingyu clenched his fists and tried to convince himself.

"That's right." Zhao Zejin nodded and comforted Mingyu, "After we get rid of Prince An, I will arrange a new residence for you."

Mingyu twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "I thank the Third Prince."

Mingyu did not feel relieved as usual after leaving the study. He returned to his residence silently, sat in the chair, and felt that his breathing was not smooth.

"What are you doing? Or are you thinking about something?" Wu Ren interrupted her as he brought the food. "Nothing is more important than eating. Let's have lunch first."

Mingyu listened to Wu Ren's words obediently. In fact, she didn't think about anything. She couldn't think of anything. Her mind was blank.

She was just a little confused.

Mingyu was always very quiet during meals, but this time he was so quiet that he barely moved his chopsticks before letting Wu Ren take the table away.

"Did the Third Prince scold you?"

The Ming fish cannot be denied.

Wu Ren understood, and said with a disdainful look, "You're so worried about such a trivial matter!" "The fact that you can sit here peacefully proves it's not a big deal. That's just how young masters are. They make a lot of noise but don't do anything. If I really blame you, you've already been punished."

"I want to be alone for a while." Mingyu smiled, but still didn't give a reason.

"Okay." Wu Ren's face was full of disapproval. He just reminded Mingyu, "Remember to write a reply to the young master. I don't know when it will be sent out."

After Wu Ren left, Mingyu stood up and walked to the desk.

There really wasn't anything she could do.

Mingyu opened the drawer and saw it was full of things. She felt tears dripping onto the back of her hand, and she knew they were her own tears.

The Ming fish whimpered softly.

She just felt very aggrieved, but when asked to explain, she couldn't quite articulate it.

The emotion came suddenly, but when it left I was reluctant to leave, and it lingered in my heart for a long time.

Mingyu sniffed and wiped the tears from her face. The last time she cried seemed to be the Spring Festival she spent alone.

wrong.

Mingyu remembered that she cried in front of Yu Tongan when she was in Sulou County. The other party looked more uneasy than her.

Mingyu picked up the pen and paper, her eyes still a little sore. She remembered that Yu Tongan said he would take her traveling around. She decided to give him a chance to see if he could handle it.

…

Mingyu spent the entire afternoon trying to calm down.

I fell asleep with some emotions lingering at night. Perhaps for this reason, Mingyu woke up later than usual the next day.

Mingyu washed his face and slowly regained consciousness. He suddenly realized how emotionally explicit the letter he wrote yesterday was.

Mingyu was stunned, holding the towel in his hand, and his ears slowly turned red.

I felt inexplicably ashamed.

It's better to change the wording. There's no need to write some things to Yu Tongan, so as not to add to his burden. Yu Tongan is having a hard time now.

Thinking of this, Mingyu put down the face towel and walked to the desk, but the letter he had written yesterday was nowhere to be found.

Mingyu paused and immediately called out, "Wu Ren."

"What's wrong?" Wu Ren walked in immediately.

"Where's my letter?"

"The one on the table?"

Mingyu nodded.

"I've already sent it off." Wu Ren didn't understand why Mingyu was so anxious. "The Third Prince had something to tell you, young master, so I sent it off along with the letter you wrote to him."

Mingyu gripped the edge of the table.

Seeing Mingyu's unhappy expression, Wu Ren guessed, "Isn't this a letter for the young master?"

"It's for him."

"Then why are you..." Wu Ren looked puzzled.

"It's okay. I hadn't finished what I wanted to say." Mingyu waved his hand and let him go out.

I saw quite a few, haven't you finished yet? Something important? Wu Ren muttered to himself as he walked out.

It's not a big deal, don't panic.

Mingyu comforted himself that he had intended to reply to the letter anyway, and the words in it were not out of the ordinary.

But apart from her master, she had never complained to anyone about her grievances and asked for anything.

Mingyu closed his eyes.

It really looks like acting like a spoiled child.

…

Yu Tongan sat in his study with some documents piled in front of him. Just like in the past, he lived a boring life, but he was a little absent-minded. He still had energy but did not devote himself to the complicated affairs.

Judging from the time, his letter should have reached Mingyu. I wonder how she will view this letter and how she will reply.

Will she agree to it? Has she noticed his little trick?

If it were usual, Yu Tongan would never think that Mingyu would not understand the implication of his words, but now he felt a little uneasy.

Will Mingyu pretend not to understand and reject him?

Yu Tongan glanced at the box on the table. Inside was a sword tassel crocheted with silver threads. He wondered if Mingyu would like it.

Yu Tongan picked up the box, opened it and looked at it. Suddenly he sighed and showed some complaints.

Is this letter too infrequent?

Especially for him, the wait was a bit anxious.

"Sir, there is a letter from the capital." Wu Pi walked in quickly and placed a letter on Yu Tongan's desk.

Yu Tongan stood up, picked up the letter and opened it. He found that the handwriting inside was not Mingyu's. He sighed inwardly, and then laughed at himself after realizing it belatedly.

Yu Tongan calmed down and looked at what the third prince said.

Is Zhao Zejin finally going to take action?

He had previously transferred marching supplies such as food to Xibei Town in batches, so it was not difficult for Zhao Zejin to move now.

Yu Tongan wrote a letter, notifying the mobilization to continue transferring supplies to Xibei Town as usual.

"Give this to Yu Yao, and have him tell Uncle Yu that if Yu Boyan's business trip is complete, transfer him to the south, the farther the better."

Yu Tongan did not wait for the ink to dry, but folded another piece of paper on top of the letter to prevent the ink from sticking together. After sealing it, he handed it to Wu Ren.

"Yes, sir."

After Wu Pi took the letter and left, Yu Tongan took the envelope and looked to see if there was anything else in it.

Has Mingyu really not replied to him yet?

Then a letter was found stuck at the end of the envelope.

Because the envelopes of the two letters were of the same specifications, the letters inside were stuck tightly and could not be poured out for a while.

Yu Tongan cursed inwardly. This couldn't have been done by Mingyu. It was obviously done by Wu Ren, who was very careless and violent.

His hands moved quickly and gently, with a hint of anticipation on his face, he lowered his head and looked carefully.

After a while, Yu Tongan finally put down the paper.

"This makes me feel a little sad and I can't be happy." Yu Tongan murmured softly, his eyes lingering on the letter, as if he was missing someone through the paper book.

…

Back in the capital, Lu Ruonan was sitting in the Witch Hall. The once old Witch Hall had been completely renovated, and there were many more attendants.

"Sir, they are all ready and are just waiting for your order." A man knelt in front of Lu Ruonan to report.

Lu Ruonan stood up slowly.

"Okay, then help me select my apprentice."