Chapter 5 Her life was so far removed from the Regent's...
Upon hearing this, the man who had initially asked the question suddenly realized and looked towards Wanghe Tower, only to see the woman's slender figure ascending the steps. "It seems that Miss Qin is quite low-key."
Biezhi glanced at the man who had spoken, her eyes scanning him up and down for a moment before etching his features into her mind.
The man's words and actions may seem unpredictable, but upon closer inspection, they seem rather strange.
Who in the world doesn't know that the Li Dynasty currently has only one prince, His Highness Prince Su?
Upon hearing that during the late emperor's lifetime, the maternal relatives had seriously interfered in politics, and that after the late emperor's death, the young emperor was put on the throne by the maternal relatives, Prince Su, who had been sent to the border to comfort the soldiers, immediately returned to the capital.
His Highness Prince Su was swift and decisive in his killings. In less than half a year, all the disloyal relatives of the empress were imprisoned. The prison was filled with cries of agony, and the blood stained the stone slabs red, which could not be washed away with water. The young empress dowager was terrified every day, and in less than half a month, news of her death spread.
With the maternal relatives eliminated, the court officials recommended Prince Su to ascend the throne, but he unexpectedly refused.
At that time, the young emperor was only five years old. Naturally, the court officials did not expect the emperor to make any decisions. Instead, they submitted memorials to Prince Su, using his imperial edicts as their mark. As a result, Prince Su became the rightful regent, and this has been the case for five years now.
It is precisely because of this that people pay great attention to Prince Su, and are especially fond of his childhood sweetheart Qin Wan. It is rumored that the two are in love and have already secretly pledged their lives to each other, but for some reason they have not yet gotten married.
People speculated about when they would get married, and even in black market casinos, some bookmakers used this to attract bettors.
The man in front of him was completely unaware of this.
Even so, Betsugi didn't think about doing anything; these were not things she should worry about.
Her life was far removed from that of Prince Su.
Although both were in the capital, Bessa had little contact with such an important figure, aside from having heard of him.
She subtly withdrew her gaze and said, "My senior brother's cooking is excellent; you're in for a treat."
"Miss, you've been waiting a long time." The waiter hurried over with a kitchen box in hand, handing it to her with a smile.
Before Biezhi could even reach out, Jiran had already taken the kitchen box from Xiao Er's hands. She glanced at him and suddenly felt much better.
She kept Wang Chuan's instructions in mind and took Ji Ran's wrist, leading him back.
Unbeknownst to Biezhi, just a hundred paces from Wanghe Tower, the man was suddenly taken away by guards from the Dali Temple, the noisy music drowning out the gasps of surprise.
Yuehe Courtyard is six streets away from Wanghe Tower. After winding through the secluded bamboo garden, you will see rows of courtyards with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys. Climbing a hundred steps, you will arrive at the entrance of Yuehe Courtyard. Even before stepping into the courtyard, you can hear bursts of noise coming from inside.
Biezhi loosened Jiran's wrist and stepped forward to knock four times.
Fu Huaiqing lowered his eyes slightly, the burning sensation on his wrist gradually dissipated, and he returned to normal. His gaze followed her fingertips as he looked up.
The noise inside quieted down for a moment before returning to normal. The man's crisp and cheerful voice drifted in through the crack in the door: "I told you she couldn't read it. She arrived as soon as she started reading."
The door was pulled open from the inside.
"Junior Sister—" The man's voice paused for a moment, his gaze passing over her figure to the man behind her, "Is he the deaf man Fu Yi mentioned?"
The "Fuyi" the man spoke of was none other than Fang Tingzhi. Fuyi was her alias, and most of her fellow disciples in the sect called her that.
“What deaf? He has his own name.” Biezhi slapped away Mingzhe’s tentative hand, then naturally took Jiran’s hand and introduced him to his senior brother, “His name is Jiran.”
"Alright, alright, I was being unreasonable." Mingzhe could tell at a glance that his junior sister was in a bad mood. After coaxing her, he looked up at Jiran and said, "Seeing is believing. He is indeed handsome."
“That’s right, I have very high standards.” Biezhi raised her eyebrows proudly. If she could, she would love to take Jiran around with her.
A man's looks, a woman's pride.
She glanced inside a few times and asked in confusion, "Where is Master?"
“Master was supposed to come, but he was called away by the master at the last minute.” Mingzhe made way for Biezhi. “Qingshan came in a hurry, it seems he has something important to discuss.”
Biezhi pouted and glanced sideways at the man beside her.
Fu Huaiqing, who was pretending to be deaf, raised his eyebrows slightly.
“I was thinking of taking you to see my master, to see if he knows any renowned doctors who can take a look at you.” Biezhi sighed. If possible, Jiran could also be reborn. “Never mind, we’ll talk about it next time.”
"Junior sister."
Biezhi's words were interrupted by the man's voice.
Fu Huaiqing clearly saw her round almond eyes suddenly light up, and surprise and endless joy overflowed from the depths of her clear pupils.
She turned her head suddenly, and then ran to the man behind her without hesitation: "When did you get back, Senior Brother?"
“Yesterday,” the man’s smile deepened as he reached out and affectionately ruffled her hair, “you seem to have grown quite a bit taller than you did six months ago.”
“My senior brother always makes fun of me about my height.” Biezhi turned her head to avoid his palm, then turned back and waved to Jiran. “He is the Jiran I mentioned before.”
Fu Huaiqing's gaze swept past the other branches and landed on the man.
As their eyes met, the man's wariness was palpable. Fu Huaiqing subtly tapped the fingertip holding the food box, then walked calmly toward another branch, letting the man scrutinize her.
Biezhi didn't care whether Jiran could hear her or not, and said to him, "My dear senior brother, Jingqing."
Although she currently belongs to Qingyin Pavilion and Jing Qing belongs to Youxu Pavilion, they not only entered Xianyun Tower on the same day, but were also personally trained by their master Ling Feng before their affiliations were determined. Their martial arts skills were all taught by their master, so compared to her senior brother Mingzhe in Qingyin Pavilion, Jing Qing can be considered her closer senior brother.
Jing Qing lowered her gaze and looked her over, then reached out her hand: "I've heard Biezhi mention you before."
Upon hearing this, Fu Huaiqing paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on the man's large hand for a moment, then looked at the woman whose expression was full of joy. Under her gaze, he slightly reached out and touched Jing Qing's fist.
The moment their fists touched, Biezhi's eyes lifted slightly.
She took the food box from Ji Ran's hand and handed it to her senior brother, saying, "We specially went to Wanghelou to buy this braised pork knuckle."
Upon hearing this, Jing Qing's eyebrows twitched slightly. She turned to the side, revealing a table full of food. Right in the center of the table was a fragrant braised pork knuckle. "I guessed you wanted to eat it, so I went to buy it a long time ago."
"What a coincidence!" Bie Zhi smiled, her eyes trembling, and took Ji Ran's hand. "Come on, let me take you to try Senior Brother Ming Zhe's cooking."
Seeing this, Jing Qing, who was turning to the side, paused slightly. Her gaze fell on the hand of her junior sister holding the man's hand. The moment her gaze sharpened, her silent palm slowly closed, and her calloused fingertips gently touched the back of his fair hand.
He looked up.
A slight smile played on Ji Ran's lips as his gaze quietly followed Bie Zhi's figure. The moment Bie Zhi's tall figure passed by, his eyes flickered slightly, and the smile in his eyes deepened.
Jing Qing frowned slightly upon noticing his gaze.
Biezhi led Jiran over, greeted each of her senior brothers and sisters one by one, and then casually found a place to sit down.
After taking her seat, she looked around but couldn't see Fang Tingzhi.
Mingzhe, carrying out the stir-fried dishes, didn't even ask any questions, saying, "Your senior brother is in the kitchen, he'll be here in a bit."
"Has Tingzhi not arrived yet?" Biezhi hadn't planned to look for her senior brother, but she hadn't seen Fang Tingzhi for a long time.
"I arrived a while ago," said the senior sister sitting opposite me. "As soon as I got here, I went to steal fruit from the door across the street. I couldn't stop her."
“Nonsense, how can taking things from our own home be considered stealing?” Fang Tingzhi came in carrying a full basket and a bowl of eight-treasure soup. “My mother heard about our gathering and specially asked me to bring this.”
The group stepped forward to take the food from Fang Tingzhi's hands, and one of them asked, "Why aren't Master and Mistress coming over?"
“They said they didn’t want to bother us younger generation.” Fang Tingzhi rubbed her sore arms, glanced meaningfully at the man beside Biezhi, and sat down on her other side. “You really brought him?”
"Why not?" Biezhi asked, puzzled.
Fang Tingzhi shook her head, glancing at her senior brother coming out of the kitchen, and said, "I only found out that Senior Brother Jingqing is back when I got here. It's been more than half a year since the higher-ups arranged for him to go out, hasn't it?"
Biezhi did some quick calculations and said, "One more day and it will be seven months."
Fang Tingzhi clicked her tongue, "This is the first time I've seen a mission last this long. I've never had a spy go out for this long."
"Who knows?" A cup of tea suddenly appeared in front of Biezhi. She recognized the fingertip on the cup at a glance. After taking the cup from Jiran, she muttered, "Our Yama is unpredictable. One minute it's sunny, the next it's cloudy. I can't figure out what he's thinking."
"Sigh—" Fang Tingzhi sighed and lowered her head: "Who says it isn't true? I haven't received a mission for three months. I've watched my senior brothers and sisters leave one by one, and even the junior brothers and sisters who entered the mountain retreat later than me are getting more and more missions, but I haven't received a single one!"
“It’s all pure silver.” Hearing her say that, Biezhi remembered the task of paying ten thousand taels of silver and couldn’t help but slap the table, muttering, “If he didn’t want me to do it, why did he try to tempt me with money? You devil!”
The table swayed, causing ripples to spread in the teacups.
Fu Huaiqing picked up his teacup, blew away the foam on top of the tea, took a sip, and listened to their conversation with an expression of composure, his eyes not changing at all, as if the evil spirits Biezhi was talking about had absolutely nothing to do with him.
"Could it be a test?" Fang Tingzhi thought for a moment, and it seemed to make sense. Her eyes darted around. "Isn't your contract expiring in four months?"
Biezhi: "..."
Her contract is indeed due to expire in four months.
"Oh no, I'm not going to end up on his death list, am I?" Biezhi was stunned, but it was really immoral. "I'm a penniless wretch, and he's testing me with ten thousand taels of silver. How can I possibly resist?"
What poor wretch could resist the temptation of ten thousand taels of silver!
She couldn't stand it.
"Don't worry." Fang Tingzhi patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Just sign another five-year contract with him, and the problem will be solved."
"That's true." Biezhi, being so young, hadn't yet considered leaving Xianyun Tower to live in seclusion. "I haven't even saved enough money for my retirement yet, I—"
'Knock knock knock'.
A sudden knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
Three knocks.
It is the habit of the world, but it is a taboo within the Idle Cloud Pavilion.
Bie Zhi and Fang Tingzhi's expressions hardened, and their fingertips that had been resting on the teacups slowly loosened. The senior brothers and sisters sitting opposite them had already placed their palms on the hilts of their swords.
A short while later, a faint sound came from outside the door, followed by the man's indifferent voice.
"Qin Xiao from the Dali Temple has come specifically to inquire about Daoist information."
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