Su Xiao Ke Lian
A gentle breeze blows, and the sunlight casts dappled shadows.
After a moment of silence, under Su Feng's almost tangible gaze, Jie Xiangsi dropped a palm-sized leaf, her dark eyes filled with sincerity, and replied earnestly, "Yes, Lord Su."
After staring at her for a while, Su Feng hummed in agreement, then subtly rubbed his arms to wipe away the goosebumps that had risen on them.
He was terrified; he'd been afraid of these folk tales since he was a child!
Zhou Yanzhi, who witnessed the whole thing, was speechless. He didn't know why, but he just wanted to laugh.
Zhou Yanzhi coughed lightly, his eyebrows twitching slightly, and said, "In that case, I will soon send people to search for He Yun's whereabouts, and also instruct the northern regions to strengthen their defenses against the Northern Barbarians and keep an eye out for any suspicious individuals crossing the border."
"Okay." Su Feng nodded.
"Oh, right." Thinking of something, Su Feng raised an eyebrow and suddenly said, "Ce'an, you've been investigating cases these past two days, why are you staying at Nanfeng Inn? It's not like the Dali Temple doesn't have a place for you to sleep."
After all, a place like the Nanfeng Pavilion wouldn't allow overnight stays, even if it was necessary for an investigation! At best, one wouldn't get enough rest; at worst, their homosexuality would become known throughout the capital. Even though Su Feng prided himself on being a romantic, he knew he couldn't do it.
But Zhou Yanzhi actually stayed there overnight to handle the case. Although I knew he couldn't just swagger in, he probably let someone in first and then climbed in through the window to take his place.
Su Feng was still a little curious. In a place like that, where business was at its peak at night, could one really get a good night's sleep?
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi's eyebrows twitched slightly. After a moment of silence, his face suddenly flushed slightly, and his tone became somewhat unnatural: "I was ordered to investigate the Moon Gazing Powder in the capital and found that from the middle of last year to the present, most of the Moon Gazing Powder was purchased by the Nanfeng Pavilion, while brothels did not use it much."
Furthermore, our people discovered that Nanfeng Pavilion had purchased enough Wangyue Powder last year, enough to last until the end of this year without any problems.
Unfortunately, our people couldn't find any place within the Nanfeng Pavilion where this Moon Gazing Powder was stored. Furthermore, within the Nanfeng Pavilion, the Moon Gazing Powder was only for guests and never sold to the public.
Upon hearing the last sentence, Su Feng and Xie Xiangsi exchanged a glance. This unique gimmick was sure to attract a large number of people. Nanfeng Pavilion was truly adept at making money.
“Therefore, there must be something wrong with Nanfeng Pavilion.” After a pause, Zhou Yanzhi’s eyes gradually sharpened, and his tone unconsciously became serious. “But it is absolutely impossible for the manager of Nanfeng Pavilion to hide such a large batch of Wangyue Powder by himself.”
Having also been involved in officialdom, Su Feng immediately understood the key point: "Therefore, there must be someone helping Nanfeng Pavilion, for example..."
Xie Xiangsi suddenly added, "Powerful ministers in the court."
Zhou Yanzhi nodded, agreeing with their assessment. It seemed there were indeed quite a few who wanted to disrupt the court; no wonder His Majesty's poisoning had been so quiet.
There are people in the palace, and there are people in the court. There are open and covert attacks; where can one hide?
Meanwhile, Xie Xiangsi fell into deep thought. His Majesty ordered Zhou Yanzhi to find the mastermind before the Flower Goddess Banquet. Shouldn't he have focused on investigating Yingge and that woman first? Why is he so concerned about a mere Moon Gazing Powder?
Could it be... that His Majesty has also been poisoned?
Upon hearing this idea, Jie Xiangsi herself was startled.
After a moment of contemplation, she tapped her knuckles lightly on the stone table twice. As the other two approached, she whispered, "His Majesty... has he also been poisoned?"
...
In an instant, the sound of the wind seemed to stop, leaving only the sound of the three people's breathing becoming heavier.
After a long silence, Zhou Yanzhi nodded slightly, raised his eyes to meet Jie Xiangsi's probing gaze, and said in a calm tone without a trace of emotion: "Yes."
Upon hearing his admission, Su Feng, who was standing to the side, suddenly grabbed his arm forcefully, widened his eyes, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Are you crazy?"
Only two or three people in the capital knew about His Majesty's poisoning. Although there were similar speculations in the court due to His Majesty's long-term illness and absence from morning court, those were just speculations. As long as no concrete news came out of the palace, those who knew the inside story were not allowed to reveal a single word. Otherwise, losing their official hats would be a minor matter; they might even lose their lives.
He didn't believe that Zhou Yanzhi, as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, wouldn't know this principle.
Zhou Yanzhi turned his head and met Su Feng's serious gaze, explaining, "You and I both know that the best time to answer has already passed. Not answering just now was already an indirect answer to the question. Besides, since my cousin already has suspicions, lying to her will only intensify her suspicions, doing more harm than good."
He paused for a moment, then said firmly, "Besides, my cousin won't tell anyone."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi, who was standing to the side, subtly curled her lips and nodded in agreement. She then earnestly said to Su Feng, who was looking on warily, "Lord Su, rest assured, this concerns the foundation of the nation, and Xiangsi will certainly not divulge it."
Su Feng said irritably, "How can I believe you if you just talk the talk?"
“But you can only trust me now.” Xie Xiangsi raised her eyes.
Su Feng laughed angrily, "Aren't you afraid I'll capture you and tell His Majesty?"
Jie Xiangsi raised an eyebrow, not responding, but turning to look at Zhou Yanzhi, "Cousin!"
Su Feng, not to be outdone, also turned to stare at Zhou Yanzhi and shouted, "Ce'an!"
The air suddenly fell silent. Su Feng stared at Zhou Yanzhi, and Zhou Yanzhi stared back at Su Feng, just staring straight at him until Su Feng's eyelashes began to flutter. Then he raised an eyebrow slightly and said softly, "Yunyun."
Suddenly, Su Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he had a feeling that he couldn't listen to what he was about to say.
As expected, Zhou Yanzhi gave him a slight smile and slowly said, "Do you know why I was injured by His Majesty?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi immediately guessed that it was probably related to Song Baiyu.
Su Feng shook his head, but his intuition told him that this matter was related to him, making him inexplicably want to escape.
Seeing him shake his head, Zhou Yanzhi's lips curled up, and he said, word by word, "Because I kidnapped Song Baiyu." Seeing Su Feng's face freeze for a moment, he lifted his eyelids, staring intently at Su Feng, his tone flat and indifferent: "But, it was you who truly kidnapped Song Baiyu..."
Hearing the implication in his words, Su Feng gasped and shouted angrily in a low voice, "Didn't you tell me to tie him up?!"
"Really? Where's the evidence? You know, if I told His Majesty, wouldn't he smash you too?" Zhou Yanzhi smiled gently.
Upon hearing this, Su Feng gritted his teeth inwardly. The evidence... he had naturally burned it, after all, he couldn't leave any evidence behind when kidnapping a close minister of the emperor.
Since being poisoned, His Majesty has become increasingly suspicious, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free. As a member of the royal family, Zhou Yanzhi was also struck by an inkstone and almost became a one-eyed hero. As an outsider, he was lucky to have been struck by an inkstone; he was afraid his head and neck would separate.
That's ruthless, really ruthless.
Pinching his brow, Su Feng sighed, as if he were about to become a monk, his tone ethereal, "I believe you, I won't arrest you, okay?"
Zhou Yanzhi smiled with satisfaction and patted him on the shoulder. "Of course, it's a pleasure to work with you."
Su Feng slapped Zhou Yanzhi's hand down with a bit of force, making a loud, crisp sound, and Zhou Yanzhi's hand immediately turned red.
Seeing this, Xie Xiangsi tried to smooth things over, saying, "Don't worry, Lord Su, Xiangsi really won't reveal a single word. Besides, even if you don't admit it, I can guess what I should guess."
Su Feng chuckled weakly twice, "Well, cousin, you're really something."
"It's not that I'm particularly skilled, it's because I've also been poisoned." Meeting Su Feng's fleeting gaze, Xie Xiangsi sincerely said, "If I'm not mistaken, it should be the same poison His Majesty was poisoned with."
Hearing her say that, Su Feng turned to look at Zhou Yanzhi beside her. Seeing him nod, she felt slightly relieved.
After a long pause, he asked again, "Is there any hope for you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Feng frowned suddenly, a sharp pain shooting through him. After regaining his senses, he turned sharply to look at Zhou Yanzhi, who met his gaze without batting an eye and calmly said, "There is hope."
Upon hearing this, Su Feng clenched his fists, suppressing the urge to throw a punch.
This person is way too...too protective! They actually stepped on his shoes! He was wearing gold-embroidered Shu brocade shoes today!!!
Newly made!!!
These shoes are absolutely top-of-the-line!
Jie Xiangsi's eyebrows twitched slightly, she smiled, and instead of answering, she asked, "Does Lord Su hope I am salvageable or not?"
This is a potentially disastrous question.
If Su Feng answered "there is hope," he wouldn't be able to quell his anger. But if he answered "there is no hope," since Jie Xiangsi and Emperor Zhaowen were poisoned with the same kind of poison, saying she was hopeless would be tantamount to saying Emperor Zhaowen was hopeless. Did he think he had lived too long and wanted to take his whole family to be reincarnated early?
So, Su Feng replied resignedly, "There's hope. I really hope there's hope for you."
But to resolve unrequited love, one must also destroy one's heart. With a smile as beautiful as a flower, she said, "Then thank you for your kind words, Lord Su. I knew that you were not a petty, narrow-minded, sycophantic, sharp-tongued, and heartless person."
—Yeah, right!
Su Feng silently added the last two words for her in his mind. How could he not hear that she was praising him in a veiled way?
At that moment, an old saying suddenly popped into his mind: "Only petty men and women are difficult to deal with!"
She seems like such a gentle and kind girl, so how come she speaks so sharply and bitingly? Yet, Ce'an is still completely devoted to her, and won't even let her say a single bad word about her, even though they've only known each other for a month or two!
Thinking of this, Su Feng couldn't help but turn to look at Zhou Yanzhi, her expression sorrowful: "Ce'an, we've been best friends since childhood..."
Zhou Yanzhi remained unmoved and said calmly, "But my cousin is also the wife I want to spend my life with."
Upon hearing this, Su Feng was utterly devastated; he was truly terrified of the two of them.
That's good, that's good.
On the surface, she is gentle and virtuous, but behind the scenes, she is unruly and prickly.
On the surface, he appears upright and dignified; behind the scenes, he is a tyrannical king.
They are a perfect match.
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