Chapter 12 Paying the debt of love "Mrs. Luo, do you dare to do it but not take responsibility for it?"
At noon, at the corner of the Si hour, in the streets of the capital.
"Have you heard that the poor scholar who came from a poor family died when he was named on the list of successful candidates!" A man wearing a fu hat and cloth clothes sat in front of the stall, drinking a mouthful of porridge from a copper bowl.
Across the table, another man, similarly dressed, tsk- ...
"Brother Feng, you're wrong," the man said, raising his chin towards the waiter's back, signaling the speaker to pay attention. "In previous years, the Imperial Examinations were all decided by the Ministry of Personnel. Without a recommendation from the Ministry, how could anyone expect to make the list? It's only because of that unkind person this year that they were able to select a group of truly talented and learned people. It's a shame for that number one scholar, Du."
The speaker did not control the volume deliberately, and the cloth curtain of the stall happened to be no soundproof, so the sound was carried into the carriage parked on the street. Luo Qingling took a sip of tea and remained silent.
She had just arrived in the capital and did not know Qin Yanheng's reputation in the capital. She only knew that this young prince had always been willful and did what he said. From what the man at the stall had said just now, if Qin Yanheng had not been in charge of this imperial examination, the group of children of officials would probably have filled up the spots on the list again.
Come to think of it, Qin Yanheng has always hated people who try to get close to him for personal gain, so how could he "recommend" someone?
Now the cause of death of Du Yubai, the top scholar from a poor family, is unknown. People are saying that Qin Yanheng cut off the way for candidates to be "recommended", which affected the interests of many people and led to Du's death.
Some even claimed that the young prince Qin Yanheng was too young and did not understand the affairs of the officialdom, which indirectly caused the death of someone.
This situation is also a reputational threat to the imperial court. Luo Qingling heard last night that the saint had specially dispatched the Dali Temple to assist Qin Yanheng in thoroughly investigating the matter, and she naturally wanted to find out who killed Du Yubai.
"Go to the Taoist temple..." Luo Qingling suddenly stopped talking. But what reason could she have to go to Qin Yanheng? That person already thought she had some ulterior motive by getting close to him. Although that was indeed the case, wasn't she being a little too hasty this time? Not right, not right!
The white porcelain cup spun around her fingertips. She had a plan. Luo Qingling pursed her lips and smiled softly. After lowering the curtain and sitting down, she said loudly, "Uncle Zhao, let's go in a different direction. The farther the better!"
Didn't Qin Yanheng say that she was deliberately getting closer to him? Then she would walk in the opposite direction. She didn't believe he could resist catching up.
Luo Qingling casually played with the Golden Dragon Sword, the smile on his face deepening. He felt the carriage turn around and slowly head out of the city.
*
Taoist temple.
Xu Sheng, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, frowned and walked around the corpse on the ground, holding one end of the hemp rope in each hand. From time to time, he moved closer to the corpse to compare it, making a clicking sound. He secretly glanced at the person sitting in the hall, then shook his head and looked puzzled.
It's strange, really strange. Although this new top scholar has not yet put on court robes, he is still a new official in the court. Who is so bold as to blatantly murder an official under the feet of the emperor?
The Chief Justice threw down the hemp rope, stood aside with his hands behind his back, and nudged the attendant beside him with his elbow, signaling the latter to report - after all, he didn't dare tell the attendant that he couldn't see any clues, for fear that His Highness would call him a good-for-nothing again.
The attendant beside him took a step back silently. The man in the hall leaned back in his chair, looking a little impatient. He supported his elbows on the armrests and lightly supported his chin with the back of his hands. He raised his eyes and looked straight at the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, with no emotion on his face.
"Sir Xu, the Saint ordered you to investigate the murderer, not to put on a show in front of me." Qin Yanheng's voice was calm, but there was a hint of displeasure hidden in it. Xu Sheng was so scared that his shoulders trembled and he hurriedly stood up to explain.
"Your Highness," Dali Temple Minister Xu Sheng clasped his fists and bowed, saluting Qin Yanheng. "I was just wondering, every household has this rope. How can we know the murderer with just this little clue?"
After saying that, Xu Sheng dared to look up at the little prince. The latter remained in the same posture as before, motionless, with a smile on his lips and a gentle expression. But Xu Sheng always felt that this person was a smiling tiger. He looked smiling, but would suddenly say something sarcastic.
As expected, Qin Yanheng grinned, tilting his head slightly and saying, "You, the dignified Dali Temple Minister, can't you even find a clue in the face of evidence? What are you doing at the Dali Temple? Do you think your salary is too high? Tomorrow when I return to the palace, I will report to the Saint and reduce your rice allowance by two liters next month."
Why file a complaint if you can’t catch the murderer?
Xu Sheng was so upset that he wanted to cry but he was helpless with this little prince. It was because the current saint had doted on this youngest son the most in the past twenty years. This... this youngest son had been spoiled to the point of lawlessness!
"Your Highness, I dare to speculate that this newly crowned number one scholar must have hanged himself!" Xu Sheng picked up the hemp rope from the ground and compared it to the corpse's neck. He twisted his head and said, "Your Highness, the scar is only on Mr. Du's Adam's apple. The skin on the back of his neck is smooth and without any scars. If he hanged himself, then everything makes sense."
Hearing this, Qin Yanheng nodded and smiled, his eyes fixed on the hemp rope on the corpse. Xu Sheng assumed that the young prince had listened and continued his analysis with great interest.
"Furthermore, after the incident, I sent people to the Jinbao Inn where Du Zhuangyuan was staying to conduct a thorough investigation. They found that the beams in Du Zhuangyuan's room were not high enough to tie a hemp rope to. Doesn't this perfectly satisfy the conditions for hanging?"
The more Xu Sheng spoke, the more he felt that it made sense. Unconsciously, he even straightened his back and looked up, waiting for Qin Yanheng's praise.
"Master Xu is absolutely right," Qin Yanheng waved his hand slightly, then held his forehead with his hand and laughed lazily, "Let's reduce Master Xu's salary next month. I think it's a bit of a waste for him to be the Dali Temple Minister with his level. I will go to the restaurant myself one day to find a storyteller position for Master Xu."
"Your Highness?" Xu Sheng could hear that the little prince simply disagreed with what he said!
"If you say Du Yubai hanged himself, then why would such a proud newly minted Jinshi hang himself on the day of his success? Moreover, Du Yubai was the only son of a humble family, having studied diligently for ten years to finally become the top scholar. There's no reason for him to choose to end his life at this moment. Lord Xu's hypothesis was untenable from the beginning."
Qin Yanheng put away his playful smile and spoke coldly to Lord Xu. He really didn't understand how these good-for-nothings had gotten into the Dali Temple. He would definitely not allow the Ministry of Personnel to "recommend" candidates in the future. What kind of people would be admitted?
"This, this..." Xu Sheng was choked and dared not say more. He was about to open his mouth to flatter, but he saw that the young prince in the hall suddenly trembled for some reason. He thought that Qin Yanheng was angry, and wanted to step forward to support him, but was scared back by Qin Yanheng's cold look.
"Your Highness?"
The scroll on the table suddenly fell to the ground as if it was swept away by an invisible hand.
The commotion was quite loud, and several attendants in the hall looked up simultaneously, their faces filled with confusion. Normally, no matter how angry the young prince was, he would never sweep anything away. Why was he doing this time?
In the hall, Qin Yanheng unconsciously clenched his fists beneath the table, using all his strength to barely resist the force. Luo Qingling…what was she doing again!
He thought the power would disappear soon, but Qin Yanheng frowned and waited for a long time, and the power became stronger and stronger. If he had not used his internal strength to fight it, he would have been dragged out of the door in front of everyone.
What on earth is she doing!
His internal energy was suddenly dispersed by that force. If he didn't leave, he didn't know what would happen next.
Qin Yanheng immediately lost his temper, tilted his head and sneered, then placed his hands on the table, stood up resignedly, and left, leaving the ministers looking at each other in bewilderment.
*
On the mountain road, the sound of the wheels turning was particularly clear.
Luo Qingling leaned forward, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked out. This place was deep in the mountains, and it should have been more than ten miles away from Qin Yanheng's Taoist temple. Why hadn't this person arrived yet? Could it be that the Golden Dragon Sword was no longer effective?
This shouldn't be the case... Didn't Qin Yanheng say that as long as she was more than ten miles away from him, the Golden Dragon Sword would pull him over? It's almost twenty miles away now, so why is there still no sign of him?
Luo Qingling turned the Golden Dragon Sword in his hand, thought for a moment, and called for a stop.
"Uncle Zhao, please stop by the roadside." In case Qin Yanheng was already on his way, she might as well wait for him.
"Alright, my lady," Uncle Zhao immediately reined in his horse, turned around, and parked the carriage securely under a tree. He then raised his voice and asked, "Who are you waiting for, my lady? Why did you meet in such a deserted place?"
Her movements paused, and Luo Qingling didn't know how to respond for a moment. She was indeed waiting for someone, but Uncle Zhao's words made it sound like she was planning a secret meeting with Qin Yanheng. It made her feel completely off.
"Old man, please stop teasing my wife," Aunt Zhao had also come along today and was sitting outside the car with Uncle Zhao. She interrupted with a smile, "My wife is now old enough to be seen by others. If there is a good candidate, we can see him with our own eyes and help General Luo to screen him, right?"
The more she talked, the more she got carried away! She had no intention of meeting Qin Yanheng. That man had such a bad temper. If she really married into the palace, she would be pissed off by him every day.
Luo Qingling was about to open his mouth to refute, but he heard the sound of horse hooves rising from a distance. The horse was approaching at a very fast speed, which could only be the sound of a Ferghana horse.
It must be Qin Yanheng.
The sound of horse hooves stopped beside the carriage, and the figure of the person coming was reflected on the curtain. The young man was tall and thin, with his black hair tied up high and a golden crown shining in the sun. Even through the curtain, one could tell that his attire was expensive.
Luo Qingling put away the Golden Dragon Sword, raised her hand to straighten the golden hairpin, then placed her hands on her knees, sat upright, and waited for Qin Yanheng to speak.
After all, she couldn't just take the initiative to admit that she did it on purpose, right?
There was silence for a long while, and then the person behind the curtain chuckled. He stretched out two fingers and tapped the window sill, then spoke to her in a gentle voice, "Madam Luo, what are you hiding from?"
"Dare you to do it but not to take responsibility?"
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