Chapter 1042 Bait
The copper bells on the eaves rang softly, breaking the moonlight in the courtyard. From the window where the candlelight flickered, a whisper spread into the night watch: "Does Yun Che know? You have already given me the entire starry sky."
The carved wooden bed swayed slightly. Xiao Zhan held her in his arms and stroked Jiang Xue's slightly furrowed brows with his fingertips: "Xiaoxue, do you know that you gave me the entire galaxy?"
His voice was wrapped in the scent of pine resin: "You taught me to understand the value of love and gave me a treasure that is connected to me by blood. This is such a great favor..."
The last word turned into a chuckle and fell into her ear: "It's like I owe you for the rest of my life."
The twin lotus flowers embroidered on the brocade quilt glowed softly under the candlelight. Jiang Xue had just stood up when she was held down by the waist again.
"Do you want to listen to "Floating Life" or "Nan Ke Lu"? "
Xiao Zhan pulled out the unfinished folk legend from under his pillow, with dried osmanthus flowers sandwiched between the pages.
When he recited "The depth and shallowness of the eyebrows are invisible in time" in a chanting tone, the breathing in his arms had merged with the sound of the night watch.
In the South Alley of Zhuque Street, Jiang Xiaoan was grinning foolishly at the red seal of "Yongchang Money House" on the silver note.
Suddenly remembering something, he grabbed the gilded pot filled with Western wine and ran to the princess's mansion.
When turning around the Chuihua Gate, he almost bumped into the guards holding spears, but saw Fu Dong wiping his scimitar under a ginkgo tree.
"Thirty-six hidden agents in West Market were arrested last night, but did the young lady place a piece on the chessboard to give a warning?"
Jiang Xiaoan shook the wine jug, and the amber liquid made a crisp sound when it hit the glass wall.
The blade of Fu Dong's knife reflected the golden leaves on the tree: "The gambling house is like a carbuncle, it should have been removed long ago."
As he spoke, he suddenly chopped off the falling ginkgo leaves with his sword, and the wind from the sword swept across the wine pot in his hand: "It's like cutting off the greed of some people."
Jiang Xiaoan took a half step back to stand firm, only to see the leaf that was split in half fall into the wine jug.
“Great swordsmanship!”
He raised his head and drank the autumn wine. "Tonight at 3:15 pm, you can see the newly discovered comet from the Imperial Astronomical Observatory from the top floor of the Moon-Lancing Tower."
Seeing Fu Dong raise his eyebrows, he quickly added: "Just consider it as... a reward for you protecting my family business for me?"
As dusk deepened, Jingzhao Prefecture officials escorted hundreds of gamblers through the long street.
Amid the sound of prisoner cart chains, a child from an unknown family was singing a newly composed nursery rhyme: "The black iron knife breaks the dark tide, and eight thousand pieces of silver become the magpie bridge..."
"What's up?"
Jiang Xiaoan paused as his fingertips held the teacup suspended in the air, his words stuck in his throat.
He looked at the black-robed woman who was wiping her sword across from him, her black jade hair crown reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun: "Miss Fudong, how do you know what I am going to say?"
"Every time you try to order a drink, your fingers drum on the edge of the table."
Fu Dong's scabbard lightly tapped his right hand, which was tapping the stone table unconsciously: "Today at the hour of Xu, I need to accompany Jingzhao Yin to visit the Jiaofang Division.
The three vice ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Minister of Works have been lingering in Pingkangfang recently, and His Highness asked me to personally watch before lifting the curtains of those private rooms. "
"That won't work!"
Jiang Xiaoan stood up suddenly, his sleeves overturning the teacup: "Let the playboy from Minister Chen's family accompany Jingzhao Yin. He just smashed Zuixianlou last month..."
"Mr. Jiang."
Fu Dong interrupted the conversation, the red tassel of the sword hanging in front of the table without moving: "If you can convince His Highness to replace Minister Zhao with you, I will go to Jinming Lake to prepare the boat now."
The young man immediately lost his temper. How could he dare to let the newly married Princess Zhenguo know that her husband was going to a place of brothels?
The fragrance of locust flowers wafted in from the window, mixed with the faint scent of agarwood on Fudong's body, which reminded him of the Lantern Festival last year!
"take me."
He suddenly grabbed the woman's wrist as she put away her sword and said, "Last month, when the Dali Temple was investigating a case, I used a drug to knock out everyone on the pleasure boat. When those officials saw you bringing a man who was good at using poison with you, they would definitely show their guilt."
Fu Dong raised the corners of his eyes slightly, and suddenly lifted the young man's chin with his scabbard.
The dark iron with gilded patterns reflected the tip of his ear, which suddenly turned red. "I heard that when Master Jiang was in Jiangnan, he often prepared perfume for the girls in Hongxiuzhao?"
"That's for developing tracking incense!"
"Just right."
She suddenly smiled and threw out a gilded waist badge from her bosom: "At 15:30 on the evening of the 11th, change into peacock silk clothes and go to the Vermillion Bird Gate. Remember to use your favorite goose pear tent incense."
"really?"
Fu Dong dragged out the last word: "Master Jiang, please think twice!"
She circled the jade tassel around her waist with her fingertips and said, "When you see the red sleeves, don't cry and beg me to let you go back home."
Jiang Xiaoan felt an inexplicable tightness in his heart.
The day before yesterday, when this girl said she wanted to take him to investigate a case, she was clearly smiling like a cat that had stolen some fish.
At this moment, he looked at the silver butterfly hairpin swaying in Fudong's hair, and suddenly felt that this ornament looked like a thin blade hanging above his head.
"At three o'clock in the afternoon, Hongxiu beckons me at the door."
Fu Dong slapped the gilded invitation card in his palm, his scarlet robe swirling like a flowing cloud. "By the way, has Lord Jiang read the "Memorial on the Application of Poor Men to Officialdom" presented to His Majesty by Prime Minister Zhao yesterday?"
Looking at the receding figure, Jiang Xiaoan smiled bitterly while holding the gold-embossed post.
Who doesn't know that Hong Xiu Zhao is the number one den of brothels in the capital?
Normally, even carriages passing by have to take a detour, but tonight I have to lead the Jinwu Guards to break into the house and investigate the case.
Well, just take it as a chance to see the ridiculous faces of those playboys.
Inside the Zichen Palace, wisps of green smoke rose from the gilded Suanni censer.
Jiang Xue gently placed the book on the table, and her jade-like fingertips stroked her slightly bulging belly: "I heard that Jiang Xiaoan wants to go with us?"
"He said he would protect me."
Fu Dong knelt in front of the futon and ground cinnabar: "I think Lord Jiang is afraid that we will lift the glazed tiles of Hong Xiu Zhao."
Jiang Xue picked up her pen and wrote on the secret memorial: "I'd like to ask him to be a witness. Half of the twelve noble sons who were impeached by the Censorate last month should be at Hongxiuzhao tonight, drinking and listening to music."
She dipped cinnabar in the paper and wrote an annotation at the end: "Tomorrow morning, this paper and the wanted list of the Jinwu Guards will surely silence those stubborn old men."
As dusk fell, Jiang Xiaoan stopped under the gilded plaque of Hongxiuzhao.
The smell of frankincense wafting from the building, wrapped in the sound of the pipa, reminded him of what Jiang Xue said in the imperial study three days ago.
Although the imperial examination system has been implemented for many years, the power of the aristocratic families is deeply rooted, and the poor students' hard work for half a lifetime is not as valuable as a jade pendant on the waist of a playboy.
"Master Jiang, what are you thinking?"
Fu Dong suddenly jumped down from the eaves, the black iron token in his palm glowed silver: "The Jinwu Guards have sealed the back alley, we should go meet those 'pillars of the country'."
The shadows of the bamboos swayed between the window frames. Jiang Xue tapped the table with her fingertips. "Since he is proficient in poison techniques, it's okay to follow him."
The hot steam from the tea on the table blurred her thoughts.
Ever since Fudong said he would protect her forever, she had been secretly planning to pave a way out for this stubborn girl.
The title deed to the Jiangnan Embroidery Workshop had already been prepared at the bottom of her dowry, and she would be sent there to live the life of an ordinary woman, taking care of her husband and children, as soon as the time was right.
There was a slight sound of silver armor behind the screen, and Fu Dong came out holding his sword: "Your Highness, you are overthinking. I don't need him to protect me."
The black iron scabbard made a clear sound on the floor tiles: "I'd like to trouble Master Jiang to be the bait tonight."
As she spoke, she took out a gilded waist badge from her bosom, which was still stained with the scent of rouge she brought back from Zuixianlou last night.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
