Yao Zizhu and Qin Weixi smiled, got up, and walked over to him...
The capital city has been rather unsettled lately, but Zhou Quan feels that his life is starting to flourish, and his left eye keeps twitching.
As the saying goes, a twitching left eye means good fortune, while a twitching right eye means bad luck. This brings good luck and comfort.
Two days ago, during court, that old scoundrel from the Liang family impeached him for being drunk and ignorant. Today, he was summoned to see the emperor, and on his way out of the palace, he met the eldest son of the Liang family at the Donghua Gate.
That old scoundrel wanted to use the censors' words to bring him down, but little did he know that with his more than twenty years of service in the court, his ability to make friends with colleagues and his willingness to bow down and curry favor, these censors were willing to give him face.
Zhou Quan greeted him with a smile.
“Your Excellency!” Liang Xu slightly bent his right hand, placed his left hand on top of it and moved it to his chest, then bowed slightly and clasped his hands in greeting.
Zhou Quan also bowed slightly, saying, "Commander Liang, my lord!"
The imperial court and the inner palace. The intrigue and power struggles in the court are no less than those in the inner palace. Among colleagues, superiors don't necessarily need to be so polite to subordinates. If it were his father, he would have already been swaggering, and a slight nod would have been enough to greet him.
But his colleagues all call him a nice guy, so why not let them lower their guard a little and get closer to him?
Upon hearing the title "Commander-in-Chief," Liang Xu's eyes flashed, and then he smiled and said, "Going back to the manor? Has the Vice Minister not had dinner yet? How about I treat you to a drink at Shuiyun Tower today?"
Zhou Quan said somewhat embarrassedly, "Today, while playing chess with His Majesty, he rewarded me with a lot of lychees transported from Lingnan, so I'm a little hungry now."
Lychees are precious in the north, and they are especially so at this time of year. And those transported to the capital and delivered to the palace at this time are the first batch.
Liang Xu felt that the Vice Minister was showing off a bit. He wasn't annoyed, and went straight to the point: "I heard that you sent a painting to the palace yesterday. That painting was done by the former Duke Dingguo of the Qin family. Is this true?"
Zhou Quan casually replied, "Ha! It really happened. That day was my wife's birthday, and this whole thing just happened out of nowhere. Isn't that unlucky? By the time I sent the servants to look for him, he had already vanished without a trace."
Liang Xu stared intently at him, then laughed upon hearing this, "Who says otherwise?" He paused, "Ever since Lord Gao died, things haven't been very peaceful in this city." He continued to observe Zhou Quan, "Lord Zhou, you said this happened so coincidentally, how could it be such a coincidence? Did you see what that person looked like that day?"
Zhou Quan: "What else could it be? A mouth under a nose, so many people have seen it, how could I not recognize it!" He then moved closer to Liang Xu, squinting his eyes: "Do you think it's possible someone from his Qin family has come seeking revenge?" He sighed: "After all, it's a large clan, with hundreds of lives lost! There are countless servants and maids in that household. Who knows if there's a switcheroo, or a fugitive who escaped, waiting for the right opportunity to return for revenge?"
Liang Xu's eyes flashed, and he took a small step back, quickly concealing the strange expression on his face: "I just don't know what His Majesty thinks about this matter."
Zhou Quan smiled and said, "How can we presume to know His Majesty's heart?" After saying that, he cupped his hands in greeting and said, "My lady is still waiting for me at the manor to have dinner with me, so I will take my leave now." He then mounted his horse and rode away.
Liang Xu stood beneath the Donghua Gate, watching Zhou Quan's figure gradually disappear into the distance. A servant, limping, stepped forward at the opportune moment and said with a hint of disdain, "Young Master, look at this Zhou Vice Minister's thin arms and legs, so frail. You could crush him with a single move. Why don't you find another opportunity to probe his intentions?"
Liang Xu turned to the servant: "He is a high-ranking official of the third rank in the court. How can he be easily shaken? Over the years, His Majesty's trust in him is no less than that of my father. But then again, do you think what he said is true or false?"
Servant: "Who knows! I heard that in the case of the Duke of Dingguo, this Vice Minister Zhou advised the Qin family, and for the next ten years, they lived a very prosperous life."
Liang Xu sneered: "Fortune's wheel keeps turning, and who knows where it will turn to one day. The Qin family is a perfect example. I think he wants to make a name for himself in history."
The servant nodded and bowed, "Young Master is absolutely right."
Liang Xu's eyes flashed coldly: "Did you find that ivory plaque at the Qin family? Did you find Yao Zizhu?"
Upon hearing this, the servants immediately became somewhat hesitant.
Liang Xu snorted coldly upon seeing this: "How about I told you to keep an eye on the Chu family these days? And that Woxue Pavilion too."
The servant hurriedly and respectfully said, "The theater owner is called Master Fang. There's nothing unusual about him. Perhaps you're overthinking it, young master. Back then, General Chu made many enemies by walking on the edge of a knife. Who knows who this young marquis might have offended now?"
The servant lowered his eyes, somewhat guilty: "This young marquis is more shrewd than the old marquis. I was afraid that too many people would attract attention, so I didn't bring anyone with me. I hadn't even followed him for a street before he spotted me in front of his mansion. That guy with him named Jiuqu almost broke my legs. And the people I sent out a few days ago still haven't returned."
Liang Xu's face was gloomy. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "It would be better if you thought too much. Do you know about Gao Jian, the Minister of Works? Now that the Observatory has collapsed, he will be imprisoned and die. I have a feeling of unease about this." He turned to look at the servant: "Do you think this is a coincidence or an accident?"
The servant pondered for a moment: "Does the young master think that there are still people in the Qin family alive? But the one above is the emperor. The case of treason has been settled. If you want to overturn the case, you have to..." He lowered his voice at the end.
"
Liang Xu turned around and looked at the deep palace under the night sky behind him, his expression changing several times: "The Marquis of Jingning has really returned at the right time."
The next morning.
Qin Weixi sat in front of the bronze mirror as Pu Niang drew her eyebrows and applied powder to her face. Pu Niang inadvertently glanced at her snow-white neck and, recalling her ordeal upon returning to the capital, her brows furrowed into a deep frown. She couldn't help but mutter, "Thank goodness the scar has faded." She then spat out a curse: "That little thief, born in the year of the dog."
Qin Weixi smiled, her eyes crinkling, but her mind was elsewhere. Song Zijin had been secretly searching for Mu Tong without success, and for two days she had been restless, staying by her side at Tingyuxuan without leaving her side. She asked Luo Yuan about Yao Zizhu.
Luo Yuandao said, "Miss, Yao Zizhu's father has been working for the Liang family and is said to be highly regarded by Liang Shuwen. Moreover, Yao Zizhu only has this one living relative now. I think he should come back after the storm has passed. He can't have gone far."
"Besides, Yao Zizhu is used to spending money lavishly; he won't go far without money on him."
Qin Weixi thought for a moment, then subconsciously placed her hand on her neck and frowned slightly.
"Spread the word that the young lady of the Luo family has been bitten by a dog and is looking for a good medicine to remove the scar at all the major medical clinics in the city!"
"If used properly, he could be a great asset."
Bad news always travels fast, and before evening, the news had spread like wildfire throughout the city. When Chu Yening heard the news, he was still painting in his study. Jiuqu said that at first he thought it was just a sudden gust of wind.
Chu Yening suddenly made a stroke with his brush, tearing the meticulously crafted painting in two. He summoned Songyang and whispered something to him.
A few days later, Yao Zizhu indeed appeared in the city. Song Zijin and Luo Yuan went out early and returned late, eating snacks on the street when they got hungry. At dawn, Yao Zizhu disguised himself as a patient covered in sores and went out to buy breakfast with his head covered. Song and Luo noticed something was wrong and followed him for two blocks.
When Yao Zizhu noticed something amiss, he rushed into the bustling market, overturning the stalls on both sides of the street and escaping in the chaos. Song Yang appeared out of nowhere and lent a hand to the two. The three cornered him in an alleyway with passageways on all sides. He still tried to escape, but Luo Yuan sneered. Song Yang drew his sword, and Song Zijin stepped forward with a whip.
Seeing this, his eyes rolled back and he fainted. Song Zijin stepped forward and lashed him hard with his whip. As Yao Zizhu let out a miserable scream, Song Yang shoved the sheathed sword into his mouth. Yao Zizhu felt a sharp pain in his teeth.
Song Zijin coldly said, "You dog mouth! Even if I broke your teeth and fed them to the fish, they wouldn't eat them. Let's see if you still dare to bite people randomly!"
Song Yang came like a ghost and left like a ghost. In the blink of an eye, Song and Luo had already disappeared without a trace.
The two men tied him up and Luo Yuan took him to Qiao Zheng's dowry estate in the suburbs. Song Zijin then rushed back to the Luo residence.
Qin Weixi was giving Zhoufeng, who had been running wildly in the yard for days, covered in dust, a bath. Song Zijin mentioned that Songyang suddenly wanted to help, and Qin Weixi's hand, which was in mid-air, paused, lost in thought. Zhoufeng, looking quite content, nudged her with its mouth when she stopped moving. She absentmindedly stroked Zhoufeng's head and said, "Your master..."
She said nothing more and began to bathe Zhoufeng again.
Song Zijin asked, "Miss, would you like to inform the young master?"
"No need. My brother's world should be in the temple. Don't disturb him."
She can do it herself.
Qin Weixi gave Zhoufeng a bath and dried it off completely. She instructed Fenghua and Pu Niang to let it out of the house to play only after its fur was completely dry. However, Zhoufeng ran off to chase her all the way to the outside of the Luo residence, circling around her incessantly.
"Is this to prevent me from leaving?" she said with a smile.
The sudden gust of wind flapped its claws, moved forward a little, then turned back, as if waiting for her.
"Let me take you with me?"
Finally, she had to wait a long time before taking Zhou Feng and Song Zijin to Luo Amu's estate in the suburbs. Qin Weixi gave Song Zijin some instructions, and soon Yao Zizhu was tied up in a large sack with hemp rope.
Qin Weixi crouched down and stroked Zhoufeng's shiny fur, whispered something to it, and then suddenly let go of its leash. The leash, which had been holding Zhoufeng, fell to the ground. Zhoufeng, tongue lolling out, pounced on the sack, jumping around.
"Ah! What is that! What is that! Get out of my way!"
The wind, its tongue lolling out, stretched into a wide grin, seemingly smiling, and barked twice.
Inside the sack, there was a moment of silence, then Yao Zizhu raised his voice and shouted angrily, "Which bastard... is that...?"
Luo Yuan stepped forward and sternly stopped him from saying anything more, and then untied the hemp rope.
Under the bright sun, Qin Weixi, dressed in a snow-white silk dress, sat casually on a bench, one leg on the ground and the other bent, her foot resting on a stool, smiling radiantly. She was playing with a short dagger in her hand. The dangling beads in her hair swayed with her movements, captivating Yao Zizhu.
"beauty--"
The blade gleamed in the bright sunlight, blinding him. He snapped back to reality and looked more closely; the dagger wasn't covered in the usual blood, but rather a smear of filth. His gaze then instinctively shifted to the large, panting wolfhound beside the beautiful woman.
Yao Zizhu gagged.
"You...beautiful woman! How could someone so pretty do such a despicable thing? Why, why did you tie me up?"
Qin Weixi smiled, got up and walked over to him, but the smile vanished in an instant, and she said indifferently, "Would you like to take another look at who I am?"
"However, since I was bitten by a thief in the Star Gazing Tower that day, it was hard not to do such a despicable thing."
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Author's Note: Two updates today. Thank you for reading.
I'm seriously doubting myself. Am I just prone to making cold comments? [doge emoji]
Please leave your comments, everyone! [Dog head with rose in hand]
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