"I never harm the innocent," Chu Yening said calmly from Jingyun Temple.
At this moment, Luo Zhaoxing really wanted to stretch out one of his kneeling legs on the prayer mat, then kick him in the face to shut him up.
Perhaps only Tao Qingyun, who calls himself "Hanqing Jushi," can "counter" this person.
He raised an eyebrow, set down his teacup, looked at her with his bright eyes, and slowly said, "As far as I know, that thief hasn't been found yet, has he?"
She stared at him, then said calmly, "What? Fourth Brother, do you have a good idea?"
Chu Yening glanced coldly at the swing set, and said with a slight parting of his thin lips, "Hmm, there is a way. You just need to tell me if there was anything unusual before the Star Gazing Tower collapsed that day, and what you saw."
"I will find the person who hurt you."
Luo Zhaoxing chuckled helplessly, got up and walked to the magnolia tree, looked up and took a deep breath.
She said, "Fourth Brother, you must have been waiting for me here on purpose, right?"
“But if I hadn’t come here, you would have been waiting for me at the palace gate before me.”
"They even specially arranged for tea to be prepared."
She turned around, tilted her head slightly, her eyes clear, and said, "Fourth Brother, that day I was drunk. I heard a loud noise upstairs, and before I could see clearly, someone fell. Then Fifth Brother came, and something unexpected happened."
"Why don't you ask Fifth Brother, Fourth Brother?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Yening raised an eyebrow and then gave a nonchalant smile.
Luo Zhaoxing said, "I heard that Li Sheng, the son of Marquis Wuding, was tortured in the imperial prison. I guess a few days ago, there were rumors that Li Sheng invited the youngest son of the Earl of Qingping to watch the stars. Because of the fire in the East Market, the people on the roof were all frightened. Lu Zhan and Zhao You accidentally fell from the building, which was the work of Marquis Wuding. I accidentally saw the youngest son of the Earl of Qingping and the son of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy fall from the building, which made Li Sheng want to kill me to cover it up. He ordered someone to push me off the roof, which was the work of my fourth brother."
"I must thank Fourth Brother for sparing the Luo family from gossip when I first returned to the capital."
"I never harm the innocent," Chu Yening said calmly.
Luo Zhaoxing was stunned, and it took him a long time to react to this seemingly nonsensical sentence.
Then he said, "The Luo family treated me well in the past."
She smiled slightly, sat back down on the cushion, picked up the cup, and drank the remaining tea in one gulp.
It has a mellow and refreshing taste, and the tea soup is clear and bright.
"Guzhu Zisun tea, a fine tea."
It's just a mystery why he would drink such a cup of tea ten years later.
Just as she never imagined that the Qin family and the Chu family would one day become adversaries.
Chu Yening paused in his hand holding the teapot.
She rose to take her leave, her brows and eyes slightly relaxed, perhaps from the good tea she had just drunk. She then saw him pour another cup of tea and place it on the empty space on the small table, but he didn't drink it.
He stood up: "It's getting late, and the palace gates will be closed soon. Let me take you back to your residence."
Luo Zhaoxing said, "No need to trouble Fourth Brother, Luo Yuan is already waiting for me outside the palace gate."
Chu Yening did not speak again, and the two of them left the palace gate one after the other.
An exceptionally luxurious carriage rattled toward the palace gate, and the driver, Jiuqu, pulled on the reins and jumped down.
"My lord."
As she spoke, Jiuqu shifted her gaze from Chu Yening and secretly glanced at the girl beside him.
It's something new.
Why does it look so familiar?
Luo Zhaoxing noticed the probing gaze and turned around to look.
He's an old acquaintance.
She stared at Jiu Qu, whom she hadn't seen for many years, for a moment. Jiu Qu looked suspicious but grinned.
Luo Zhaoxing returned a faint smile.
After Luo Zhaoxing had walked away, Jiuqu asked with great enthusiasm, "My lord, whose daughter was that? She looks familiar to me. Could it be that you, my lord..." Jiuqu became more and more amused as she spoke.
Chu Yening slightly raised his chin, gesturing for him to look into the distance, then lifted his robe and boarded the carriage.
Turning around, Jiuqu saw Luo Yuan standing beside the carriage, with two maids and servants helping the woman in the pale yellow dress get into the carriage.
Jiuqu opened her mouth: "Ah! Miss Luo."
Along the way, the streets were bustling with activity and traffic.
Jiuqu drove the carriage of the Marquis of Jingning ahead at high speed. Since both residences had to pass through Gulou Street to return to their respective residences, and they happened to exit the palace gate at the same time, the two carriages traveled in the same direction.
Feng Hua was dozing off with his head pressed against the carriage wall, while Pu Niang sat quietly to the side.
Luo Zhaoxing heard the clanging of the copper bells hanging around the carriage and slightly lifted a corner of the curtain. He then caught a glimpse of a middle-aged man in his fifties, with a large belly, dressed in brocade robes, who was leaning on a bamboo cane and was being helped down the stone steps by servants.
The two whispered something to each other. The servant, with a submissive expression, bowed and repeatedly agreed.
Unexpectedly, the man in brocade suddenly glared and swung his bamboo cane, knocking the servant to the ground.
The man in brocade robes roared, "I'm going to drink the wine of 'Floating Life'! What business is it of yours? Are you the master? Or am I the master?"
His rude and domineering attitude, along with his loud shouts, quickly turned the groups of people walking in twos and threes and the street vendors into onlookers.
A group of people pointed at him and whispered among themselves.
The servant, wincing in pain as the cane struck his ribs, slowly got up and said with a fawning smile, "Master is right, I'll buy it right away."
The man in brocade robes glanced at the onlookers, his eyes wide and chin raised. A striking scar ran from his eyebrow to his jaw, clearly visible under the bright lanterns hanging from the eaves of the Water Cloud Pavilion. He roared again, "What are you looking at! What's so interesting! Get out! All of you, get out of here!"
It was with this gesture that Luo Zhaoxing, who was inside the carriage, was able to see the person clearly.
It was Cai Yuan, an old friend of my father's and the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
After being severely wounded by Chu Yening's sword in the Golden Palace years ago, the current emperor dispatched several imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital to treat him. He eventually recovered, but was left with a horrifying scar on his face and chest.
As Liang Shuwen's eldest son, Liang Xu, led a contingent of soldiers to the city gates, where he beheaded Qin Shuoguang, the heir apparent of the Duke of Dingguo, at Xiaopenglai, and the Duchess of Dingguo also perished beneath the Dengwen Drum, Cai Yuan remarked, "This matter is questionable; Your Majesty must consider it carefully. The Duke of Dingguo wields great power, yet remains utterly loyal..."
A flash of sword light, and Cai Yuan was instantly torn open, his face covered in blood.
Cai Yuan turned around and saw who had injured him. He was shocked and retreated hastily. He was also furious and ashamed: "You little rascal, the heir of the Marquis of Jingning!" He turned to face the Emperor and wept, "Your Majesty is benevolent. Lady Xiao is gone, and the remaining women of the Qin family have now opened their gates wide, dressed in mourning, to seek justice for their husbands and their clan. Your Majesty, this matter is questionable!"
Another flash of sword light appeared, and blood seeped through Cai Yuan's court robes. Cai Yuan staggered and fell to the ground, unable to get up.
In the months that followed, Cai Yuan was subjected to public criticism and fell ill with grief and indignation, and began to spend his days drinking. One day, he fell from a roof beam and broke his leg, after which he lived with crutches.
Faced with criticism from the public and guidance from his colleagues, Cai Yuan was filled with grief and indignation. He requested to resign due to illness and resigned from his official post.
The clear sound of copper bells reached his ears, and on the streets at night, two dazzling lanterns with the characters "Chu" hung at either end of the carriage canopy of the Marquis of Jingning's residence. Cai Yuan, who was standing on the street leaning on his cane, quickly noticed something amiss.
Cai Yuan roared, his eyes wide: "You brat Chu!"
However, the person inside the carriage seemed not to hear anything. The lavish carriage, accompanied by the jingling of copper bells, quickly and calmly drove towards the end of the street, carried by the night wind.
Only Cai Yuan remained behind, repeatedly tapping the ground with his crutch.
Luo Zhaoxing lowered the carriage curtain, closed his eyes, and leaned against the carriage wall.
"Huh?" A moment later, Luo Yuan, who was driving the carriage ahead, suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Luo Zhaoxing opened his eyes and asked softly, "Brother Luo, what happened?"
Hearing the sounds inside, Luo Yuan whispered, "I wonder what's going on. It looks like the Marquis's carriage is secretly chasing someone." He paused for a moment, then added, "Now that we've turned the corner and left this alley, it's not the way back to the Marquis's residence."
Feng Hua, still half-asleep, mumbled, "Where can we go this late? Let's go for drinks!"
Luo Yuan shook his head: "Not entirely."
As Luo Yuan approached the alley entrance, he was about to turn his carriage around and part ways with the carriages ahead, one on each side. Suddenly, he heard a clear, low voice behind him.
"Keep up."
"Yes." Luo Yuan replied respectfully. Seeing that the carriage had already exited another alley, he quickly turned the carriage around and sped away.
A moment later, Luo Yuan whispered, "Miss, the carriage has stopped. Song Yang is waiting by the roadside."
Luo Zhaoxing lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and saw Songyang standing under the carriage, bowing respectfully and talking quietly with the people inside. After walking around to the front of the carriage, he could no longer see Songyang. But soon, Jiuqu, who had just been wearing an indigo-colored belted long robe, stepped down from the carriage, bowed to the inside, and walked straight ahead with his back to them.
Luo Zhaoxing stared at that retreating figure in contemplation for a moment, while Jiuqu quickly disappeared into the dim light.
She said, "Follow him."
Jingyun Temple in the west of the city.
The ancient temple was almost abandoned, and weeds grew rampant outside, creating a desolate scene.
After traveling through the temple for a long time, Luo Yuan slowly parked the carriage in a lush forest at the foot of the mountain.
Pu Niang said softly, "I heard that there were still some monks at Jingyun Temple a couple of years ago, but gradually no one came to burn incense and worship Buddha anymore, and the monks couldn't even get enough to eat, so it gradually declined. But at the end of last year, for some reason, there were rumors of ghosts haunting the temple, which left those who traveled all over the country and just wanted to stay, or those poor people who brought their children to the city to play but couldn't afford to stay in an inn, without a place to stay."
Hearing Pu Niang's somewhat sentimental tone, Feng Hua sneered, "Where? Just a while ago, I heard from the servants in the manor that a group of pampered young men from the city, who spend their days teasing cats and dogs and bullying the common people and poor scholars, have taken over this ancient temple and brought women from pleasure boats here to cause trouble." Feng Hua's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, until her ears turned red and she lowered her eyes.
Upon hearing this, Pu Niang's eyes widened, her expression turning indignant: "What? How dare they act so recklessly in front of Buddha! A bunch of audacious brats! If it weren't for the important matter at hand, I would have skinned them alive!" She lifted the carriage curtain and peeked out, spitting fiercely at the ground, cursing silently in her heart.
Seeing that the usually gentle Pu Niang was now livid with anger, Feng Hua covered her mouth and giggled in a low voice.
She turned to look at Luo Zhaoxing, who had remained silent, and leaned closer to whisper, "Miss, why are you following Jiuqu?"
"That's not the Nine Bends."
A note from the author:
----------------------
"Yi Ji" is an euphemism used by officials in ancient China to request to resign from their posts on the grounds of illness.
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