Only when Yun Qulai came did Jiang Yuanjun take a closer look at him...
It was past dusk, and the city was nearing curfew. Luo Ling, carrying a pearl lantern, stood guard outside the mansion gate with Tao Qingyun, who was pulling a sudden gust of wind.
Even though Luo Yuan had already informed them about Jingyun Temple, they were still somewhat surprised to actually see the Chu family's carriage.
“If you don’t come back soon, your brother will go looking for you. It’s not good to disturb the palace at this hour. I thought some scoundrel had stolen my eighth sister.” Tao Qingyun descended the stone steps, and seeing that the carriage was steady, she tapped the carriage wall with a finger. Then she handed the cloak from Luo Ling’s hand into the carriage.
Inside the carriage, Luo Zhaoxing tied a knot in his cloak, lifted the curtain, and was about to get up and get off. Suddenly remembering his sprained ankle, he smiled and said to Luo Ling behind Tao Qingyun, "Brother, I accidentally sprained my ankle."
"What's going on? Did you two go hunting in the wild? I think you didn't catch any wild animals, but you did learn something—" Tao Qingyun held a folded fan in her hand and shook her head mysteriously.
“Then let me carry you.” Luo Ling pushed him behind her and helped her up with one hand.
Luo Zhaoxing said, "No need, I'm much better now. Brother, just help me up."
Upon seeing this, Chu Yening jumped off the carriage, only to hear Luo Ling behind him ask, "Yening, have you had dinner? How about I ask Uncle Gu to make you a bowl of noodle soup? You can eat before you leave."
Chu Yening shook his head and said indifferently, "No need." He turned his head slightly to glance at Luo Zhaoxing and said quietly, "This eighth sister is much more clever than before."
At this moment, Tao Qingyun suddenly handed him the traction rope of the sudden wind and muttered, "How much food have you eaten from my household over the years? Quick, take it away."
The sudden gust of wind, panting heavily, looked up at him.
Tao Qingyun said, "What? Don't you want to leave?"
Chu Yening grabbed Zhou Feng's hand, hesitated for a moment, and bowed to Luo Ling on the stone steps. Then he glanced at Tao Qingyun and asked, "Have you taken a bath?"
"What do you mean?" Tao Qingyun was momentarily confused, but still asked with her head held high.
Chu Yening remained calm and composed: "When I return to my Chu family, I must not be tainted by your scent." He then raised an eyebrow at Tao Qingyun, uttered "black-beaked grouse," and leisurely departed.
Tao Qingyun flew into a rage: "Chu Yening!" Her face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Luo Zhaoxing and Luo Ling walked towards the mansion together, their lips pursed. Luo Ling smiled but shook her head helplessly.
Luo Zhaoxing said, "You're saying one thing and meaning another."
Tao Qingyun hurriedly chased after her: "What do you mean?"
"Isn't Third Brother worried that he would feel lonely after returning to the capital and sent Zhoufeng back to keep him company? Just now I saw Third Brother almost shed tears when he looked at Zhoufeng."
Tao Qingyun's face was still angry, but the dark clouds gradually dissipated, and she explained, "The wind blew it into my eyes."
Luo Zhaoxing said, "Stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside!"
Tao Qingyun, with a stern face, flicked her sleeve as if to leave: "Sharp-tongued!"
Luo Zhaoxing called out to him, "Third Brother, please wait."
Tao Qingyun waved his hand behind his back to the two of them: "Don't worry. I know there's a curfew in the city. Do you think they'd dare stop my Cheng Yi Earl's carriage? Now that I know you're back, this big weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Wait, wait. Your third brother is off."
"Third Brother, I have something to tell you."
Tao Qingyun paused for a moment.
The vermilion gate closed, and the two only saw Luo Zhaoxing walking lightly towards Tingyu Pavilion. Upon returning to Tingyu Pavilion, Luo Ling dismissed the servants, leaving Luo Yuan to guard outside. Feng Hua and Pu Niang, knowing she had returned and seeing that the young master of the Cheng Yi Marquis's mansion hadn't left, understood that the three of them had something to discuss. They silently brewed a pot of Da Hong Pao tea, brought out a plate of pastries, and then withdrew.
Seeing that the doors and windows were tightly closed, Luo Zhaoxing's previously bright expression suddenly turned as cold as frost, like summer flowers covered with a layer of frigid winter snow.
She said, "Brother, I saw the wooden boy."
It's not a question, it's a statement.
Tao Qingyun's expression suddenly changed, and even the mature-beyond-his-years Luo Ling showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Who? Who did you say?"
Tao Qingyun walked to the door, opened it, and looked outside. He saw Luo Yuan holding a sword in his arms, his eyes full of vigilance. Only then did he feel a little relieved and turned back into the house.
In the winter of the third year of the Kang Le reign, Qin Shuoguang, the heir apparent of the Duke of Dingguo, massacred the inhabitants of Penglai Xiaoding. Liang Xu, the eldest son of Liang Shuwen, who was serving in the Northern Garrison at the time, led a group of men to Penglai Xiaoding on the Emperor's orders to capture Qin Shuoguang alive and immediately escort him to the palace. However, Liang Xu, on the grounds that the heir apparent of the Duke of Dingguo was "stubbornly resisting," shot him dead at Penglai Xiaoding, and then took his head, the jade crown, and the jade pendant from his waist to the palace to complete his mission.
That jade pendant was a gift from Emperor Taizu himself during the celebration of the death of the Duke of Dingguo's heir, Xuanhu, in the twelfth year of the Wantai era. It was crystal clear, seemingly containing the essence of heaven and earth. But at that time, it had been shattered in two and was covered in blood.
My childhood friend overcame numerous obstacles, but all he saw on the small peak of Penglai was the traces of battle, covered only in snow and moonlight, with no sign of life.
The group of young men, barely twenty years old and full of fighting spirit, were shocked to hear of their friend's sudden death. Tao Qingyun returned from Penglai in a fit of rage, her eyes bloodshot, and strode forward to deliver a powerful punch to Liang Xu's face.
Liang Xu retreated again and again, wiping his mouth and sneering, "Your grandfather and my father were equals, both loyal to the sage. What right do you have to hit me?"
Back then, Tao Qingyun was furious and enraged to the extreme. She couldn't listen to his rambling and could only throw another punch at his face.
Liang Xu, however, used the excuse that "the emperor's favor is great, and the subject must be loyal to the utmost" to challenge Tao Qingyun to a fight.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yuanjun strode forward, took the long sword from the waist of a palace guard, drew it from its sheath, and with a flash of lightning, knocked the crown off Liang Xu's head and lightly slashed his neck.
Bright red blood immediately seeped from Liang Xu's neck.
Jiang Yuanjun's eyes were as deep as ink, and the image of A Bao's miserable state and her old friend who was now in eternal sleep flashed through her mind. She said coldly, "He can't do it, I will!"
Jiang Yuanjun swung her sword in her right hand, the tip of which went straight to Liang Xu's throat, and Liang Xu's throat moved almost imperceptibly.
Mu Tong was one of Qin Shuoguang's two close followers. Back then, when Xiao Penglai was littered with corpses, the two followers died protecting their master. Their deaths were so tragic that their original appearances could not be recognized.
Luo Zhaoxing's face was deathly pale, and he felt as if his heart was stopping intermittently. A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead.
She said, "On the night the Star Gazing Tower collapsed, a few of us were drinking at the Shuiyun Tower. It was dark in the Star Gazing Tower that night, and I vaguely felt that someone was watching me, but it didn't seem real. I thought it was because I was drunk that night, but now that I think about it, besides Li Sheng and the others on the top floor, there were two other people downstairs."
"One of them should be Mu Tong. He must have known about the Li family's affairs back then and discovered Li Sheng upstairs. Then another person appeared, and the two of them disappeared into the building together."
Luo Ling poured her a cup of tea and said softly, "Little sister."
Luo Zhaoxing looked up at him.
Luo Ling smiled gently, as if encouraging her to calm down.
She took the cup of tea and smiled, "Brother, I'm fine."
Luo Ling said, "Luo Yuan has told me that he heard strange noises inside the temple, but since you are still on the mountain, he did not make any rash moves."
Tao Qingyun asked from the side, "When you went to the palace today and saw your aunt, did you mention what happened that day?"
She shook her head: "Empress Tao didn't ask me anything today." Then Luo Zhaoxing rolled up her sleeves and took off the bracelet that had been bestowed upon her by the emperor.
Tao Qingyun lowered her eyes to look: "Did your aunt send this?"
"Your uncle is confused! You will never be able to enter the imperial family."
Seeing that her complexion had gradually regained its rosy hue, Luo Ling gestured for Tao Qingyun to sit down, and then asked about what had happened at Jingyun Temple that evening.
Tao and Luo listened quietly as she began to speak.
Tao Qingyun suddenly said, "I just find it a little strange."
"How is it strange?" Luo Ling asked.
He shook his head: "I can't say." He sighed again: "Does this mean that the eight of us are really going our separate ways?"
Luo Ling remained silent, and Luo Zhaoxing also lowered her eyes, but Tao Qingyun noticed that one of her hands, which was resting on the edge of the table, was quietly exerting force.
"How is Miao?" he asked Luo Ling.
“Ah Jun absolutely forbids me from getting involved in this matter. I think he’s afraid that if things come to light in the future, I’ll be implicated.”
Tao Qingyun smiled enigmatically: "But I still maintain the same point: has any of us been able to calmly and peacefully get through these ten years as if nothing had happened?"
"What happens after that is hard to say."
"If it can truly be as the little nun said, breaking all obstacles and granting wishes, then all our years of planning will not have been in vain."
The three of them conducted a secret investigation by the flickering lamplight, and it was late at night when the moon was high in the sky.
Luo Ling and Tao Qingyun stood up one after the other. Luo Ling said, "Little sister, it's a good thing that you're alive. It's a good thing for all of us." He looked at the girl in front of him, her eyes seemingly brimming with tears, yet her face remained resolute and unyielding. He asked, "Do you still remember your wishes for each year after you turned eight?"
She wanted everyone around her to live safely, because as long as they were alive, there was hope.
The Imperial Guard Prison in the capital.
The dimly lit prison was filled with the smell of decay and dried blood. Perhaps the emperor had given him a final act of dignity, allowing him to have a few candles to light his way in this perpetually dark room and a decent set of clean clothes.
Gao Jian stared blankly at the rats crawling freely on the ground. These past few days, he'd been having dreams during his short sleeps, dreams of the past, dreams of his youth.
Suddenly, a pair of brocade boots stopped in front of his prison cell. He looked up and first saw a white jade pendant hanging from his waist, then a pair of clean hands, with a palace lantern held in the right hand. Then, he was so blinded by the white robes covering the lantern bearer that he could hardly open his eyes.
The man stood before the fence, his eyes filled with indifference.
He was terrified, but blurted out, "Your Highness!"
From the shadows, Ah Xiao demanded sharply, "Gao Jian, do you know your crime?"
Gao Jian was stunned for a moment, then knelt down on the ground: "Your subject deserves to die."
Jiang Yuanjun said, "Gao Jian! I won't beat around the bush with you anymore. I'll ask you, do you still remember the first day of the Lunar New Year fourteen years ago, when you and Li Yuanda were singing in unison, and you said, 'The Qin family is now as prestigious as the Big Dipper.'"
Gao Jian was stunned again, his mind going blankly as he silently recalled what had happened on New Year's Day fourteen years ago. He had been drinking and having a great time with his colleagues. Later, they left the palace. Suddenly, his breath caught in his throat, and he involuntarily remembered the incident at the Star Gazing Tower on Gulou Street.
He suddenly realized something and abruptly raised his head.
"Your Highness, I am innocent!"
At this moment, Jiang Yuanjun carefully examined him, her eyes filled with sorrow. "Gao Jian, are you innocent?"
Gao Jianli immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I was confused! I was drunk that day and spoke nonsense. The Duke of Dingguo did indeed kill General Chu Lanzhe, and Li Mou can testify to that!"
Jiang Yuanjun threw a blade.
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