Chapter 31 I want to use him. Sweetie excitedly: "Use, use where??...
Since the truth-telling voice message bar was introduced, Ying Xi has become somewhat convinced that Xie Qianli is not the mastermind behind it all.
However, Xie Qianli was unaware of the emperor's intelligence sources. How did Ying Xi know about Pingling Village?
In an instant, Xie Qianli could only think that the emperor had a meticulous intelligence network around him.
Could it be that the emperor had prior contact with Fengze? Was the assassination attempt at the flower viewing banquet staged by himself?
The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
No matter the reason, it cannot fully explain why Ying Xi is here.
He was about to put down his sword, but then he gripped it tightly again.
He looked around to see if there were any other royal guards around Ying Xi, and was surprised to find that Ying Xi was alone. Ying Xi's female attire made him even more confused.
Xie Qianli was stunned.
Ying Xi felt awkward and wary.
Even though their silver armor and long spears, along with their slender and elegant figures, complemented each other beautifully at both ends of the long alley, the two of them wished they had never met here. Their relationship had eased slightly yesterday, but today they were wary of each other again.
But then Sweetie appeared online, apologizing inappropriately, "Your Majesty, I'm so sorry, I was so scared just now. What happened? Did I miss the big wolfhound's heroic rescue? Why is the big wolfhound here?"
Sweet Tong's understanding can only be categorized in this way.
Ying Xi wouldn't go along with it, so she changed the subject, asking, "Has the return-to-base function been restored?"
"It's restored!" Sweet Leader said apologetically. A flash of light appeared, and Sweet Leader generously said, "This was my mistake. I will compensate Your Majesty with five thousand charm points."
The number five thousand shocked Ying Xi.
Before he could stop it, he felt an unprecedented lightness and his eyes met Xie Qianli's.
In that instant, the system's effects created endless contradictions for Xie Qianli, like a ferocious beast pacing restlessly, both fearing and wanting to approach humans.
Sweet Tong: "I guarantee that when the big wolfhound sees you, it'll be like seeing a delicious bone that it wants to tear apart and devour."
Ying Xi did not understand the implied meaning of this food.
But these 5,000 charm points came at the right time, at least ensuring his personal safety and a brief period of peace with Xie Qianli.
Ying Xi praised, "You did a good job. I want to use him."
Sweetie exclaimed excitedly, "Use it...where?"
Sweet Tong also failed to grasp the meaning behind Ying Xi's words.
Ying Xi replied, "Xie Qianli is more suitable to serve as my guard in Pingling Village."
Then Tian Tong was stunned and felt extremely regretful.
The sudden application of 5,000 charm points to a single target caused Xie Qianli to doubt Ying Xi, a mixture of torment and resentment at Ying Xi's unparalleled beauty.
This wasn't the first time Xie Qianli had seen Ying Xi dressed as a woman.
On the day they first met, and on the day they met again, they spent many times alone together, avoiding everyone in the palace... In their childhood, Xie Qianli mistook Ying Xi for a girl, and this misunderstanding created a connection between them that lasted for several years.
He always thought that the reason he was mistaken for Ying Xi was because Ying Xi's gender characteristics were not obvious when she was a child, and even more so because Ying Xi concealed it from him and deliberately deepened the misunderstanding.
Now we realize he was wrong. Utterly wrong.
Ying Xi, dressed like this again, still appeared before him in that seemingly fragile and vulnerable manner, and Xie Qianli clearly realized that he was more resistant when he was a child.
The other party is androgynous, of unparalleled status, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Even though he clearly knew that the other person might be an enemy, a bad person who had deceived him, or the most unapproachable person in the world, he still had the urge to surrender and abandon his principles.
Ying Xi is trying to kill him!
Xie Qianli was powerless to help.
Ying Xi deliberately obscured the source of the intelligence, turning the tables and saying, "The latest developments in the British public Fengze case are being withheld by the British public, and I am being asked to investigate personally. What is the meaning of this?"
The emperor's questioning, emanating from his high position, gave Ying Xi an air of mystery.
The restoration of the recall function made Ying Xi even more fearless.
Ying Xi was determined to make Xie Qianli accompany her to investigate the case tonight, using both whip and candy.
Xie Qianli was first rebuked by the emperor, turning his reason into injustice. He explained, "I did not conceal anything, but I do not know whether Pingling Village is related to the assassination attempt."
Ying Xi gave a cold, noncommittal laugh.
Xie Qianli: "Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation."
One must firmly stand on the moral high ground, and once established, never step down.
Ying Xi understood this principle well, so she confidently dusted off her sleeves and pressed down on the wooden gate at the end of the alley behind her: "The children in the village say that Feng Ze once lingered here. Your investigation leads us in the same direction, so come with me to take a look. If you do a good job, I will spare you this time."
Ying Xi issued the order to cooperate.
Xie Qianli naturally complied, unaware that this was like swallowing the candy hidden behind the whip.
Ying Xi wasn't worried that he wouldn't do his best: "Clear the way."
Xie Qianli knocked on the door with the hand that wasn't holding the Youlong E and said, "I'm Feng Ze's comrade-in-arms. Is anyone home?"
He knocked three times, introducing himself each time.
He received no response from inside the house. His handsome face showed a hint of confusion, and he apologized from outside.
then--
With a deafening roar, dust billowed down as the Dragon-Edge cleaver shattered the door panel!
A small courtyard appeared before Ying Xi's eyes.
In the center of the courtyard was a black and red "囍" character.
The offering table was split in two, broken porcelain was scattered all over the ground, the red cloth on the table was tattered, and wilted red dates and longans were scattered all over the ground.
These houses have been robbed countless times! All the windows are broken.
But it's clear that this was once a wedding venue.
Ying Xi suddenly remembered that Feng Ze had rejected a marriage proposal. Could it be that he came to Pingling Village not to meet with his superior, but because he had someone he loved and wanted to see his sweetheart?
Xie Qianli clearly shared the same idea.
Xie Qianli led the way, followed by Ying Xi, as they tacitly searched each room.
As a result, every room was in a mess, and the only recognizable items in the rooms—broken cups, bowls and plates from the kitchen—were all in pairs, proving that two people had once lived in the house.
It turns out that Fengze had already married a woman in Pingling Village!
“But how is that possible?” Xie Qianli said in a low voice.
Ying Xi was equally astonished.
Since Feng Ze was, after all, the deputy general of the Duke of Ying, he had no parents to object to him, no family ties to him, and he was not marrying a noblewoman, so why would he go through all the trouble of secretly pledging his life to someone else?
For a moment, the thought of a widow hiding in the house sparked far more associations than anything else.
This conjecture was completely confirmed in the bedroom.
Among those piles of ruins, Xie Qianli poked around with the tip of his gun and found half an ivory comb.
Xie Qianli's brows trembled as he squatted down and picked up the comb from the pile of rubble. The ivory gleamed in the moonlight with a cold, lustrous sheen like jade.
Ying Xi: "You recognize me?"
Xie Qianli stared at his palm and said in a hoarse voice, "Fengze was caught in the trap at the night market."
He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
If Feng Ze is hiding his wife in Pingling Village, and if his wife has given birth to children, then they will soon be accomplices in the assassination case.
Xie Qianli's steps were heavy, as if filled with lead, and his search became slow.
His thoughts did not escape Ying Xi's notice at all.
Ying Xi said, "Thank you, Minister. I will make sure to investigate Fengze thoroughly on this trip."
"If he has a wife, perhaps his wife knows the truth; if he has children, you should also know whether I will leave behind any trouble."
No emperor could resist the allure of a general like Xie Qianli.
He had tolerated the other party, but Xie Qianli was still relatively loyal and could still contribute to the Qin Dynasty.
But if he dares to show mercy to the rebels and waver between two sides... he will be courting death!
Xie Qianli pursed his lips tightly!
How could they not understand the emperor's warning?
Xie Qianli replied in a hoarse voice, "Your subject understands."
Ying Xi nodded. The two then left the bedroom and searched the next room.
But upon seeing the man's back, Ying Xi sensed an indescribable loneliness, which made his heart sink and his steps slow. He thought of how Xie Qianli had once told him without reservation many trivial matters about the Duke of Ying's mansion.
He knew that Feng Ze and Xie Qianli were like brothers.
He also remembered that when he was a child, Xie Qianli used a silver helmet to carry water and brought two goldfish to visit him. But the goldfish died for no reason. They held a funeral for the goldfish and buried them under the magnolia tree. They were both sad for a few days.
If the two of them felt pity for the goldfish, how much more so for Fengze's children?
Having a heart of stone, Ying Xi made the biggest concession in a cold and resolute manner: "If the child is no more than two years old, send him far away."
Xie Qianli suddenly stopped. He was like a frosty white statue, stunned. Beneath his snow-white helmet, his eyes flickered.
However, the strange hesitation only lasted for a moment, and Xie Qianli continued to clear the way.
Ying Xi was unaware of why he stopped abruptly, and nearly bumped into Xie Qianli's back. Fortunately, she stopped in time, otherwise, hitting a metal wall would not have been a pleasant experience.
After searching the last room, they found no one.
Logically, given their thorough investigation, it's likely that either the Fengze family died from the epidemic, or they were abducted and murdered by bandits, or they hid in a more secluded place and temporarily found peace.
These are not the answers Ying Xi wants!
He had already seen the light at the end of the tunnel in the Fengze case, so how could he tolerate the clues being cut off and the case becoming shrouded in mystery again?
Ying Xi stood back in the courtyard, feeling annoyed, surrounded by the ruins of the wedding venue.
He had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
Thinking about it carefully, I couldn't quite put my finger on it; my chest felt very tight.
Xie Qianli then used the Youlong E to probe the base of the courtyard wall, searching carefully inch by inch, tapping it with the tip of the spear as if listening for any hollow sounds inside.
Ying Xi refrained from pressing the matter further.
He knew that since Xie Qianli had done this, he must have found something.
Sure enough, just as it struck the corner of the courtyard wall, a flash of silver light appeared, and the tip of the Dragon-Edged Spear smashed through a pile of debris!
After a series of crashing and shattering sounds, the scattered rubbish revealed a small, narrow doorway that had been completely blocked off, slightly larger than a dog hole. Ying Xi didn't recognize it at all and thought it was a secret chamber.
Sweet Tong has a little common sense; she's seen it in rural romance dramas: "A cellar, huh?"
It wasn't until she heard the scientific name that Yingxi realized: it was for hoarding vegetables.
Weiyang Palace has no cellar.
The Prince Yongning's Mansion might exist, but he was spoiled by his parents and busy with his studies in his childhood, so he never saw it in person.
Xie Qianli was quite knowledgeable.
But for some inexplicable reason, Ying Xi thought of the Xie family's finances—
How difficult it must have been for Princess Huining to personally do needlework, for Xie Ji to be reluctant to part with firewood, and for His Highness the Heir Apparent of the Duke of Ying to personally go down into the cellar to stack cabbages and build a wall of potatoes!
Yingxi did not think it was shabby.
He himself was able to reduce the size of the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution) to the point of near abolition, which was no less impressive than this family's efforts.
There was a ladder inside the cellar, right next to the earthen wall. Xie Qianli straightened the dragon-slaying sword, picked it up, and went down first, followed closely by Ying Xi.
Ying Xi staggered for a moment when she landed.
His body touched his armor; the metal shell was icy cold.
Suddenly, Xie Qianli supported him, lifting his wrist with his palm. However, Ying Xi disliked the other's palm being too strong, hot and hard, and he instinctively felt a huge sense of intimidation.
He then deftly pulled away the dragon sleeve and stood up straight.
—The cellar was much more spacious than he had imagined!
Although it was pitch black inside and his eyes were not yet able to adjust to the light, he could sense that the surrounding space was vast. This place must have been a refuge deliberately carved out by Feng Ze, and he already had a premonition to uncover the motives behind Feng Ze's actions.
Xie Qianli took out a tinderbox. He blew on it, and with a hiss, a flame lit up.
The orange-red firelight illuminated the interior of the cellar, and the first thing you saw was an offering table, right against the wall, with two memorial tablets on it, one large and one small.
"May the spirit of Xie Ji, Duke of England, live on forever."
"May the spirit of Vice General Feng Ze live on forever."
The bed was inside the altar, and there was a person lying on it. He was so thin that he was covered by a blanket and his outline was almost invisible, and his face was also unclear.
There were pots and pans piled up beside the bed, and the smell of medicine was strong.
Xie Qianli shielded Ying Xi behind him and tried to approach the person on the bed to investigate the situation. At this moment, he keenly sensed that there was still a living creature in the cellar. He subdued the person and pinned him against the earthen wall to interrogate him about his identity.
"Who's lying there? What's your relationship with Feng Ze?"
However, the latter did not resist at all.
Ying Xi looked closer and saw it was a young servant. Although he was in excruciating pain from being pinched, he only groaned a few times and didn't struggle. She said sadly:
"Are you a general sent by the Duke of England?"
"I've been guarding this body for a long time, waiting for you."
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