inviting trouble
"First, identify the key interests involved."
Xie Lingxi lowered her eyes. "Were those two young men I saw in the temple the Chen brothers? Who is the prince they were talking about?"
Tang Zexue shook her head: "I don't know. But the Chen family is extremely powerful, they certainly won't let this go."
Speaking of which, I'm reminded of someone—
Xie Lingxi looked at Liu Xu, "Do you remember the group of people who came to my house to act as matchmakers before? What were their surnames?"
Mentioning this, Liu Xu looked displeased: "He is the son of Chen Qian, the Vice Minister of Rites. He looks like a down-on-his-luck man, with two holes in his nose, resembling a skull."
After saying that, the three looked at each other in bewilderment: "Could this be the same person?"
The Chen family was originally a fallen noble family that had been devastated during the wars of the previous dynasty. Although they lived in Chang'an, they only began to prosper after Chen Qian entered officialdom.
Chen Liufang was a child from a collateral branch of the Chen family. It is unclear whether the purpose of bringing him to the capital was to increase the family's power or to recruit a pawn.
Xie Lingxi didn't know much about this, but he heard Liu Xu say, "When I was on duty in the Mingguang Hall, I heard His Majesty mention the case of the students being attacked. It seems that the investigation by the Dali Temple was fruitless and will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for joint trial."
"Isn't the suspect Ling Shuang?"
Liu Xu shook his head: "I don't know what their agreement was, but the memorial submitted by the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review did not mention Ling Shuang's name."
They simply stated that "the investigation is still pending and the interrogation was ineffective."
“Speaking of which,” Liu Xu suddenly remembered, “from what you’ve said, Chen Liufang is tyrannical and his cousin is treacherous, so is Lord Mo still safe right now?”
!
How could I have forgotten about that!
As if past and present lives were connected, Xie Lingxi began to suspect that Mo Shen's death in his previous life was because he was involved in this matter and was thus murdered.
Xie Lingxi calmly said, "These are turbulent times, they wouldn't dare to be so arrogant."
Inside the Liu residence, soft light bathed everyone, while at this moment, an uninvited guest arrived at Mo Shen's home.
Xiao Zixuan, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, sat at his desk, took the teacup from Mo Shen's hand without any ceremony, drank it all, and after warming himself up, smiled and said, "Lord Mo, how have you been?"
Mo Shen's forehead was covered in cold sweat: "I'm sick, I'm sick..."
Why isn't anyone sleeping tonight? What does that Demon King Xiao want with him?
This Xiao Zixuan was the son of the eldest princess who lived in seclusion in Jiangnan and her husband, Xiao Jue. Ever since he became the head of the Dali Temple, although he solved many strange cases, he often came to bother him deeply, which was truly—
"Has Lord Mo seen a handsome young man covered in blood?"
Mo Shen knew him very well, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but grumble, "What kind of young man have you let out this time? Do you expect me to clean up your messes every time?"
Seeing someone approaching, Mo Shen stopped him, saying, "What's that smell on you? Stay away from me."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zixuan took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood splattered on his face and smiled nonchalantly: "Just now, a few thieves were searching in front of your house. If I hadn't acted quickly, your old man's head would have been on the ground!"
"Go away! I'm still young."
As Mo Shen spoke, he entered the inner room, took out a stack of Xuan paper from under the wardrobe, and found that the ink on the paper was splattered with black blood, indicating that the writer was in a bad state.
Xiao Zixuan took a look and, sure enough, it was just as he had expected. He slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "What a capable man! Relying on Yan Sheng's influence, he's done everything he can! He even dares to interfere with the examinations of the three departments of the Ministry of Rites!"
Mo Shen: "I will go to the palace tomorrow and impeach them!"
Xiao Zixuan thought for a moment, still feeling lingering fear: "Brother Jueqian, please have mercy. Please don't go to the Emperor and say anything bad about me. I don't want to be surrounded by them and lectured."
Mo Shen smiled smugly: "I can't handle you!"
As the two were talking, suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached the door. Xiao Zixuan's eyes sharpened, and he flew out like a cold blade.
A priceless sword was suddenly placed against Xie Lingxi's neck.
In a flash, the blade grazed their faces. Xie Lingxi saw clearly, skillfully dodged, and used her hairpin to slash Xiao Zixuan—
"Xiao Yin".
Xiao Zixuan touched the bloodstains on his face, then smiled brightly at the newcomer: "Lingxi! What brings you here?"
Turning his head to see Liu Xu behind him, he sheathed his sword and said mockingly, "Chengzhi! Your wife hurt me! When are you going to treat me to a drink to apologize?"
His sword flashed too fast. Liu Xu quickly stepped forward and examined Xie Lingxi from all angles. Seeing that she was unharmed, he turned to Xiao Zixuan and said, "She was protecting herself. But what are you doing here?"
This man was very outgoing. Liu Xu had only brushed past him once in the palace, but he came up to him and called his name without asking.
Liu Xu looked at Xie Lingxi, who still had her usual indifferent expression, but with an added air of distance.
They knew that what happened yesterday was not over, but they couldn't make a scene because there were outsiders present.
As he pondered, Xiao Zixuan said, "I'm here on official business. What, is Chengzhi aware of this major case that's been dragging on for months?"
——
Xie and Liu came here for this very reason.
They didn't let Tang Zexue go out, hiding him in a secret room. The couple took a shortcut and made their way safely to Mo Shen's house.
Liu Xu asked in confusion, "Lingxi, how did you know about this path?"
Xie Lingxi had clearly lost some of her tenderness towards him and remained silent.
Liu Xu grabbed her helplessly, "Lingxi, I was wrong yesterday. I shouldn't have exposed your secrets."
Xie Lingxi chuckled softly.
What will it take for you to forgive me?
In the darkness, a crow cawed, and Xie Lingxi, with her "useless" eyes wide open, slipped and was caught by Liu Xu.
—"When the truth comes out."
Liu Xu pulled himself out of his memories and found Xie Lingxi increasingly incomprehensible.
She knew everything about Chang'an; not a single tile, a road, or a flower out of season could escape her notice.
Just like now, Xie Lingxi gave a cold smile: "Official business?"
"I'm afraid it's just something you pretend to do."
Xiao Zixuan was not annoyed and welcomed the two inside. Inside the room, Mo Shen stared wide-eyed, his legs trembling as if he was about to faint.
"You...you guys are here again?!"
When Mo Shen later heard that Xie Lingxi and Liu Xu had gotten married, he thought to himself that Xie Lingxi's judgment was indeed correct. He remembered that when he fell into the stone cave, he felt that the two of them had a chance.
Compared to Xiao Zixuan, he found these two to be more terrifying. After all, who would have thought that a gentle and frail young man and a delicate and beautiful wife could kill someone without batting an eye?
He shuddered: "What brings you two here?"
Xie Lingxi sized him up, then stood tall with her arms crossed, exuding elegance. Her words, however, were directed at Xiao Zixuan: "What are your plans regarding Tang Zexue's matter?"
Xiao Zixuan: "Let Brother Jueqian go and remonstrate with his life first."
Mo Shen jumped up, but fearing he would wake his wife next door, he covered his mouth and growled, "Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Don't be afraid," Xiao Zixuan patted his shoulder, "When have I ever failed to protect you?"
"That's true, but... that's the Third Prince's faction. Since the Chen family dared to do this, who knows how many people and factional struggles will be involved... The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. The game is not yet over. How do we know if we are the oriole or the insect that gets preyed on!"
After hearing this, Xiao Zixuan sneered: "The world is in chaos, who dares to stop me?"
Since Xiao Zixuan became the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the title given to him by the world has changed from "Jade Prince" to "Jade-faced Yama".
Xie Lingxi coldly replied, "Do as you please, but don't drag the Xie family into this."
Xiao Yin was fearless, but Xie Lingxi had to be careful. Besides, the most important thing was not Yan Sheng and his group. In her previous life, the Lu family was uprooted by Yan Ji, and it was not impossible for them to do the same in this life.
However, Mo Shen cannot die, and Tang Zexue cannot die, otherwise the Xie family will once again fall into the abyss.
At this moment, Liu Xu, who had watched Xie Lingxi and Xiao Yin chatting and laughing for a while, slowly spoke with a tense face: "Everyone thinks they are hiding in the shadows. Now that the culprit has been found, why not shift the blame and let them fight it out like dogs?"
Seeing everyone looking at him, he took out the Left Guard token given to him by Xie Lingxi and said, "I have several friends who are also on the list of those attacked. They are all men of great integrity and are willing to help us put on a big show."
"Then I will trouble Lord Xiao to send a few men to pose as assassins, spy on the area in the dead of night, and feign an attack to kill the target. Make sure it's a big commotion, so that everyone in Chang'an knows about it. Then, stain this token with blood and fingerprints and place it inside, and just observe what happens."
Xie Lingxi was startled when she saw it, thinking to herself, "This sign is for you to stir up trouble between Yan Ji and Nan Ya, why is it being used here?"
But he remained silent, tacitly approving of this behavior.
Xiao Zixuan took the token, his eyes lighting up as he weighed it in his hand. "This token from the Southern Court is quite rare. Chengzhi has given me a wonderful surprise."
Liu Xu simply said, "This item was obtained by my wife; you flatter me, sir."
For some reason, the word "wife" was pronounced with unusual emphasis, causing Xie Lingxi to look up and stare at it repeatedly, wondering what kind of explosive motive Liu Xu had taken.
She thought for a moment and added, "Our dynasty has a long tradition of 'reporting matters based on hearsay.' I think that when the whole of Chang'an is in an uproar, Lord Mo should show his face before the Emperor, and at the right time, bump into the dragon pillar and draw some blood. If he can provoke the Emperor's wrath, then this matter will be settled, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone stared at Mo Shen, who was standing to the side making a partridge-like gesture.
Mo Shen tugged at his clothes and wailed, "Thank you, Madam! You're the one who's really going to kill me!"
Xie Lingxi comforted her, "Don't be afraid."
"Sir, you are a seasoned veteran, and you must know how to handle things well. If something really happens, my father will come to your rescue."
These words made Xiao Zixuan burst into laughter.
He had been cooperating with the Censor for a long time. Whenever there were unclear cases or uncertain injustices, he would have Lord Mo go to the palace to make some random inquiries, and then he would always be able to find some clues.
Mo Shen's reputation as "the most upright and incorruptible ruler of the Great Yan" originated from this.
However, despite his often outspoken and reckless remarks, he was an extremely frugal person.
Injustices should be addressed! Corrupt officials should be investigated! But his head must be protected, and must never be allowed to fall!
...
Flowers fall in the dead of night.
When Xie Lingxi and Liu Xu returned home, they were both silent and their steps were not as light as when they came.
Xie Lingxi looked at him several times and saw that the man's jaw was cold and hard, his teeth were clenched, and his eyes were red. She wondered what he was holding back.
Since the argument yesterday, and then the matter of Tang Zexue, she has had many thoughts on this, and she has not yet figured out how to handle her relationship with Liu Xu.
Are they allies, or has a hint of affection been subtly mixed in without anyone noticing?
She recalled Liu Xu's words during the day: "At Lanting and Xiangshan, I first met Yangliu Cottage." Going back further, she had first heard of the scholar's elegant demeanor on the banks of Qujiang. It would be hard to believe that she was not moved at all.
Xie Lingxi was not a coward. Even though she had been betrayed by her husband in her previous life, it was nothing more than a passing cloud.
Born proud, she only grew stronger with each setback. Just as she was about to speak and make a proper plan, she heard Liu Xu looking like he was about to cry—
"Lingxi, do you still love Xiao Zixuan?"
"You want to...divorce me?"
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