Chapter 44 Mutual Harm: She also tried to seduce Xu Congjing, attempting to win his heart. ...
On the fourteenth day, an envoy from the Pyu Kingdom presented tribute, including fresh lychees, which was counted and stored by the Court of State Ceremonial.
The tribute items were moved into the storeroom, and Lou Yanxu recorded them one by one. When she closed the paper, she felt inexplicably flustered. She glanced at the expressions of the officials but saw nothing unusual, so she had no choice but to suppress her thoughts for the time being.
But she remained suspicious and didn't leave until it was very dark. However, as soon as she stepped out the door, she inexplicably took a long detour to check on the warehouse. Halfway there, she smelled a burning odor and saw a ball of fire rising in the distance.
Fortunately, some officials remained inside the temple and rushed out with water upon hearing the commotion. The fire spread rapidly and fiercely, continuously shattering wooden furniture and tiles, shooting out in all directions like sharp arrows, accompanied by cries and shouts for help.
Lou Yanxu avoided the fire path and rushed in, ordering people to move the offerings out first. Thick smoke hit her face, making her eyes water, so she had to close her eyes and blindly drag the large boxes. After only moving one box, her arm muscles were trembling so badly that she could barely lift it.
She would be held accountable for destroying the offerings, so she dared not delay for even a moment and immediately ran inside, only to be pulled back by a hand. Turning around, she saw Xu Congjing with a stern face and a low growl, "Get out, I'll move them."
Without waiting for her reply, he rolled up his official sleeves and rushed into the fire.
Lou Yanxu was worried and wanted to follow him inside, but a charred beam fell down in front of her, blocking her way. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared.
A fiery dragon swept through, enveloping everyone and making their bodies feel as if they were on fire. The thick smoke stung their noses and throats, causing a tearing sensation. She stood in the center watching as the offerings were carried out box by box, but no matter how much she looked around, she didn't see Xu Congjing again.
"Xu Situ!" she cried out, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Xu Congjing!"
All I could hear were panicked shouts, but no one answered.
Is he dead?
Is he dead?
Lou Yanxu's heart pounded, her tongue felt like it was stuck to her palate, she wanted to shout again but couldn't, she had already taken this life upon herself.
"I'm here." A familiar voice came from behind her. She froze on the spot, not daring to move. Xu Congjing turned around and hugged her, gently stroking her hair and comforting her softly, "Wanwan, I'm here."
"Don't be afraid."
A deep, resonant voice rang in her ears, and she finally snapped out of her daze.
Afraid?
Why be afraid?
I was already planning to take revenge on him, so wouldn't it be perfect if he died?
Her eyes were empty, her expression calm. She pushed her hands away from her sides and staggered away without saying a word.
The fire flickered for nearly an hour that night. It didn't go out quickly, but fortunately, most of the offerings were saved.
The next day at court, Emperor Xiaokang was indeed furious and questioned him about the matter.
The incident occurred at the Court of State Ceremonial, and Xun Mian, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, was the first to be affected. He stepped forward with an ivory tablet in his hand and reported to His Majesty, "Last night, the fire was caused by a candle being accidentally knocked over while the night watchman was counting the tribute items. The thief has now been arrested and handed over to the Court of Judicial Review."
Lou Yanxu lowered her head to listen intently, her chest hunched and brows furrowed. She heard the emperor murmur, "So it is..."
The damage to the tribute was a matter of great importance to the relations between the two countries, and it was not something that a minor official on night duty could easily cover up. However, the emperor remained silent for a long time, which made all the officials very anxious.
Unable to fathom the Emperor's intentions, Lou Yanxu decided to strike first. Holding her bamboo tablet, she stepped forward with her chest puffed out and spoke in a clear voice, "Your Majesty, the fire started in the center of the storeroom at 9 PM, but I ordered the candles to be removed at 7 PM. This must have been done intentionally to sabotage the friendly relations between our two countries; such a person deserves to be punished." Fortunately, she had been flustered yesterday and had secretly moved the candles, which allowed her to easily expose the lie.
After hearing her words, some people were already sweating profusely, their eyes glaring with anger, wishing they could kill her on the spot.
Emperor Xiaokang rested his hands lazily on his knees, sitting high and surveying the expressions of all the officials. He raised his eyes slightly and pointed at the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, "Minister Xun, what do you have to say?"
Xun Mian was turning his head slightly to look back when he heard the voice. He immediately turned back, his hands trembling as he lowered his waist even further. "It is my fault in managing my subordinates. I beg Your Majesty to punish me. I only ask that you allow me a few days to investigate the truth."
Emperor Xiaokang tapped his knees repeatedly with his fingers, neither agreeing nor refusing, causing everyone to secretly wipe their sweat. Lou Yanxu glanced around and saw Lu Hengzhi step forward gracefully. "The rebellion of officials in the court is the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel. I humbly request Your Majesty to entrust this matter to me for investigation."
I almost forgot that Lu Hengzhi had already risen to the position of Minister of Personnel, and was responsible for overseeing all officials.
Upon seeing this, Xu Congjing was afraid that he would lose face in front of Lou Yanxu. Moreover, he already had a suspect in mind, so he immediately said, "Your Majesty, this matter concerns the friendship between our two countries. It would be better to let me investigate it myself."
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the Six Ministries and has always been in charge of the overall situation. Logically speaking, this matter should not have fallen to him. Now that he has taken it upon himself, it has made those shrewd people suspicious for a while, and they all look at each other and wink.
Lu Hengzhi, however, knew the situation perfectly well and immediately responded with a cold and sharp retort, "Minister Xu is always busy with many matters, so there's no need to trouble yourself with this. You can leave it to me."
"How could you..."
The two almost got into a fight in court, but then an imperial envoy standing next to Emperor Xiaokang noticed something was wrong and spoke up to stop them, so both sides had to fall silent.
"Let the Minister investigate this matter," Emperor Xiaokang said in a deep voice, lifting his eyelids slightly. "However..."
He narrowed his eyes, paused for a moment to intimidate, and only after a moment of silence did he slowly speak, "The tribute from Pyu Kingdom was originally under the supervision of the Director of the Bureau. Now that the supervision has been inadequate, he shall be fined two months' salary as a warning."
Lou Yanxu looked up in surprise. She had been prepared for the worst—dismissal—but Emperor Xiaokang had shown leniency. Not only her, but everyone present was puzzled, and one couldn't help but add, "Your Majesty, this matter concerns diplomacy. Isn't a two-month salary penalty a bit too lenient…?"
Emperor Xiaokang clearly left no room for rebuttal, casually tossing the memorial beside him down from the hall, saying, "If you have nothing else to say, then you may leave the court."
Two words silenced a whole host of officials.
Lou Yanxu walked in the center, ignoring the malicious gazes. As she walked, she understood many things. Emperor Xiaokang's choice to protect her meant he was aware of the underhanded tactics of his subordinates; as a result, those people should not dare to be too arrogant.
It is unknown how Xun Mian quelled the matter, but he became increasingly dissatisfied with her. Fortunately, he did not make things difficult for her, and all was well.
Life returned to normal. If there was any change, it was probably that after the fire at the Honglu Temple, she no longer rejected Xu Congjing's advances, even though she had her own thoughts about him.
That day, he invited her to the theater to watch a play.
"You've arrived." Xu Congjing stood up to greet her, pushing the newly served pastries in front of her. He had only casually asked her out, expecting to be rejected, but she had agreed. Now he wished he could bring her the moon and stars as well.
Lou Yanxu did not refuse, but her smile did not reach her eyes.
After waiting for so long, Xu Congjing was finally told that she intended to reconcile. He was so excited that he didn't notice anything unusual about her. He just smiled and watched her, taking only a small bite of the cake in his hand. Seeing that she was eating happily, he also took a bite.
She took everything in, her mind working ingeniously, and she knew the fish had taken the bait.
His gaze was fixed on her, tracing her delicate features, but when he reached into her hair and saw the jade hairpin, his expression changed. "Did he give this to you?"
After gently stroking it for a moment, he asked ingratiatingly, "How about you don't wear it anymore?" His words were questioning, but his actions left no room for argument. In a flash, he had removed the hairpin and placed it on the table, then took out an exquisite pear blossom hairpin from his pocket and inserted it into the hair. He had bought it a few days ago, and he hadn't expected to be able to give it away so soon.
Lou Yanxu didn't know whether the "he" Xu Congjing was referring to was Yun Bing or Lu Hengzhi. In any case, she had misunderstood and was jealous. Helplessly, she glanced at him twice and quietly took the hairpin back from the table.
Seeing how easily he succumbed to her charms, and thinking about her own plans, she felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
The opera was melodious and full of a heavy story. She was watching it intently when she was suddenly interrupted by a male voice, "A woman as rude as you will never get married in this lifetime."
Looking in the direction of the voice, one could see that in a side room with an open window, the speaker was Qin Zi'an, the heir of the Duke of Qin, who was originally engaged to Qing'an by the Wan family.
Lou Yanxu's mind raced, and she stared intently at that direction, poised to strike.
Wan Qing'an kicked him to the ground, then gave him a final kick in the waist, looking down at him and saying, "Even if I can't get married, I will never marry a rotten person like you!"
Qin Zi'an hissed and stood up, clutching his waist. He declared, "You dare hit me! You'll be begging to be my concubine!" Now that he was enraged, he didn't care whether the person in front of him was male or female. He raised his hand high, as if to strike her.
Wan Qing'an was not afraid of him at all. She stiffened her neck and met his slap, but the slap did not fall. Instead, her other hand blocked it. She stared blankly as Wen Jie shook off the hand and said coldly, "If the young master does not leave, the young master's wife will come looking for him."
The reputation of the newlywed wife of the Duke's heir was known to everyone in Chang'an. Whenever she caught her husband out having an affair, no matter the occasion, she would give him a good beating, making him lose face in front of his cronies. Besides, Wen Jie had followed Xu Congjing for many years, so he had to give him some face.
Thus, no matter how indignant Qin Zi'an was, he had no choice but to slink away.
Lou Yanxu breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and vaguely heard Wen Jie scolding her, "This man is used to fighting, why bother arguing with him?"
Wan Qing'an hated his lecturing tone the most, so she ignored him and said, "You are my husband, not my father. You are meddling too much."
Knowing her temper, he didn't make a big deal out of it. He then noticed a bruise on her elbow, rubbed it a couple of times, and asked, "How did you hurt your hand?"
"It's none of your business." She shook her hand, patted her dress, and prepared to leave.
At that moment, a sharp, drawn-out opera tune rang out, and Wen Jie pulled her into his arms with one hand behind her knees and buried her handsome face in his chest with the other. Wan Qing'an screamed and pounded on her chest, not daring to show her face, shouting to put her down, completely drowned out by the surging applause.
With Wan Qing'an's martial arts skills, she shouldn't be unable to defeat Wen Jie. Lou Yanxu, seeing that the danger had subsided, turned her attention back to watching the play.
After the performance, Xu Congjing escorted her back to her residence. As they reached the corner of the alley, Lou Yanxu spoke up, "Do you think Qing'an and Wen Langjun will hold hands?"
How did he know that? Xu Congjing didn't say anything, but instead had a mischievous idea and teased her, "Give me a kiss, and I'll tell you."
She glanced at him sideways, then turned her head away, saying, "Who cares what you say!" With that, she turned to enter the mansion.
"Come back!" He took her hand and pulled her back, pinning her against the wall. He stroked the newly adorned pear blossom hairpin, his eyes tender and loving, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "May you have sweet dreams tonight."
Lou Yanxu stared blankly into his eyes, then suddenly crouched down and slipped away from under his arm, seemingly fleeing in embarrassment.
However, when she entered the mansion and turned past the screen wall, she stopped, pulled out the brand-new pear blossom hairpin, threw it on the ground, and stepped on it.
She had learned almost all of Xu Congjing's methods of deception.
She wanted to see how he would handle it.
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