Chapter 8 She just liked men with refined and handsome features…
The roosters crowed loudly.
Accustomed to waking up early, Biezhi didn't open her eyes. Her mind gradually cleared, but in an instant, the pain from the alcohol and the throbbing pain in the back of her neck tore at her thoughts.
She struggled to open her eyes, and was met with a completely unfamiliar environment.
Biezhi suddenly stood up and looked around. The small room contained only a bed the size of one person and a simple, old table and chairs. On the table was a worn-out kettle, and the only cups and saucers had several broken corners.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a neatly arranged brown cloth at the foot of the bed. Despite the pain, Biezhi crawled over and was immediately struck by the crooked characters for "Silent".
Biezhi breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems this should be a quiet dwelling.
She looked around at the scene before her again. The cramped little house made her feel out of place, and with her small stature, she certainly couldn't move around freely.
but--
Why is she here?
Biezhi only remembered that she had gotten drunk last night and wanted to hurry up and send Jiran back before she passed out from drunkenness.
After that, I can't remember anything at all.
She folded the cloth clothes neatly and put them back in their place. As she got up to walk outside, the door creaked open as her palm pressed against it. Suddenly, Ji Ran, holding a bowl of plain white porridge, came into view.
When he saw her, Ji Ran was stunned for a moment and stopped in his tracks.
Biezhi raised her hand and waved it in front of him, then pointed to the back of her neck, "I got hit?"
Ji Ran took a long time to react. He turned around and looked at the big tree in the open space. He pointed to the tree trunk and patted the back of his neck, gesturing for a while.
Biezhi, who had just begun to understand, was taken aback: "You mean, I bumped into a tree?"
Ji Ran looked at her, puzzled, not understanding what she was saying.
Seeing that she didn't explain for a long time, he handed her the white porridge he was holding.
Biezhi accepted the white porridge in disbelief.
How could she have run into a tree?!
Ji Ran looked up at the rising sun and gestured as if to go out.
Biezhi snapped out of her reverie, recalling what the owner of the Five Flavors Shop had told her yesterday, and nodded: "Go ahead, I also have something to do back at the building." She needed to find her master to speak to the master on her behalf, otherwise the task might be assigned to someone else.
After finding a place to wash up quickly, Biezhi finished the white porridge that Jiran had brought her, cleaned herself up, and returned it to him. "Thanks to you for taking me in last night, I'll come to see you in a couple of days."
She waved and quickly left the small bamboo house.
Ji Ran stood still, watching her figure grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared without a trace. He turned around and looked at the bamboo house. In a short while, a figure appeared beside the bamboo house, and he cupped his hands in greeting to the newcomer.
Cheng Jin's gaze passed over his figure and looked down at the empty path. He said to the guards who had come with him, "Tell him to go to the West Market later."
Upon hearing this, the guard raised his hand and gestured a few times.
Jiran finished reading and nodded.
Cheng Jin watched the man's figure leave, then glanced at the guards who had followed him and said, "Send a message to Qing Shan, tell Ling Feng to wait at Sanqing Hall at 11:00 PM, with Bie Zhi with him."
The guard accepted the order and left, and he immediately returned to the Prince's residence.
The emperor held his morning court session, and the Prince Su's residence was quiet and still.
Cheng Jin returned to the palace and secretly entered the palace through a narrow path. He walked quickly towards the Xuanzheng Hall, nodded to Jiang Yue who was guarding outside the palace, and stood beside him.
"Have you taken care of everything?" Jiang Yue asked.
“At 1:15 PM, Ji Ran will appear in the southeast corner of the West Market. You can see him from the second floor of Sanqing Hall.” Cheng Jin deliberately lowered his voice.
Jiang Yue nodded: "Just lead him to another branch when the time comes."
The tranquility they spoke of was not the tranquility of the past, but the true tranquility.
"Although Biezhi doesn't doubt Jiran's identity, we still need to avoid arousing suspicion in others." Jiang Yue tilted his head slightly and glanced at the prince above the Xuanzheng Hall. "Just make sure no one suspects that the prince is impersonating Jiran."
Cheng Jin nodded, "It's just that he suffers. When Biezhi was around, he had to hide here and there. Sometimes she would come suddenly, and he had to find a way to avoid her and have the prince come forward."
“When the prince was disguised as Ji Ran, he never thought he would meet her,” Jiang Yue said. “But it was a lucky accident. Everyone in Xianyun Tower dotes on this junior sister, so it was just right to use her to lure out the mole.”
On the surface, Wuweipu was a tavern for people to eat and drink, but in reality, it was the hideout of the Prince's secret guards. The real Jiran was one of them. He was born deaf, but his sense of smell was sharper than that of ordinary people. He could smell even the slightest thing that was not right.
Two years ago, foreign envoys came to pay homage.
It was precisely because Ji Ran was deaf that people in the tavern would not avoid talking to him, which became one of the reasons why their prince disguised himself as Ji Ran.
Among the secret guards, there was one skilled in disguise who disguised the prince as Ji Ran. Little did they know that on the very first day their prince disguised himself as Ji Ran, he encountered Bie Zhi.
Clearly, when Biezhi saw 'Jiran', her round almond-shaped eyes sparkled with light.
Their prince pretended to be silent for seven days, and then another branch came for seven days.
When Biezhi arrived on her first day, her life story was laid out on the desk in the Prince's study. After the seventh day, Jiang Yue and the others thought that the Prince's disguise as Jiran had ended. However, on the eighth day after court, the Prince still disguised himself as Jiran and went to the Five Flavors Shop.
Jiang Yue later realized that this was just the beginning.
From then on, the Jiran in Biezhi's eyes and the Jiran in their eyes were two completely different people. The reason they were able to deceive everyone was precisely because Jiran was one of the four or five doubles of their prince.
Fortunately, Biezhi wasn't free to come every day; she often had missions to leave the capital, sometimes not having a chance for two or three months. However, whenever she had free time, she would definitely go to the shop.
Even now, Jiang Yue doesn't understand what it was about Ji Ran that attracted Bie Zhi. As he pondered this, he heard the sound of "Dismissal" in his ear, and he quickly composed himself.
Fu Huaiqing stepped down from the high hall.
The ministers in the Xuanzheng Hall all took three or four steps back in unison, bowed and waited for him to leave. When he reached the center, the man standing in front of the ministers straightened up and followed him.
He walked quickly to Fu Huaiqing's side, and only slowed his pace slightly as he stepped out of the Xuanzheng Hall. When he reached Fu Huaiqing's side, he asked, "Are you free today?"
Fu Huaiqing glanced at him sideways, then turned her head slightly to look at a certain place.
The man, puzzled, followed his gaze and looked back, immediately spotting Qin Xiao, who was walking towards them with a clear purpose.
Qin Xiao cupped his hands in greeting to Fu Huaiqing: "Your Highness."
Fu Huaiqing didn't stop walking. "What is it?"
"I heard that Your Highness dispatched secret guards to escort me out of the capital. Now that I have returned safely, I thank Your Highness for your concern," Qin Xiao said, his eyelids slightly lowered, neither humble nor arrogant.
Fu Huaiqing remained silent, but the man beside him spoke first: "Have you taken the wrong medicine today? You're being too formal, and besides, you're only taking one person with you when you go out of the capital to handle a case. That's too reckless. If something goes wrong, the Qin family will suffer as well."
"Brother Su, you flatter me," Qin Xiao said to Su Ci, who was also a court official. However, he couldn't help but think of his mother, who had cried tears of joy after seeing him return safely yesterday. He said, "I only learned last night that it was Wan'er who specifically asked Your Highness for help. I only had time to come and express my gratitude today."
Upon hearing this, Fu Huaiqing glanced at him indifferently and said, "Speak your mind."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony with you." Qin Xiao, who had been respectful and polite for a long time, straightened his slightly hunched back, and the smile in his eyes deepened. When they met, they were still toddlers. In the court, they had to address each other as superiors and subordinates, but in private, they were much more casual. "I would like to borrow the secret guards you sent to accompany me out of the capital."
Fu Huaiqing stopped and looked at him: "What are you doing?"
"Find someone for me." Qin Xiao didn't hide anything from them. "I met a woman the other day and wanted to ask if they remembered her. Could you go back and look for her for me?"
A woman who appears obedient and charming, with a smile that makes people love her, but whose eyes are actually filled with indifference, is like a unique cactus in the desert. She attracts attention when she stands against the wind, but only when you get close do you find that her palm is covered with thorns, making her particularly unique.
"A woman?" Su Ci asked meaningfully, "Has your heart been stirred by spring?"
Qin Xiao remained noncommittal.
Upon seeing this, Fu Huaiqing couldn't help but frown.
His voice turned colder: "My bodyguards are not for you to use to find your sweetheart."
Hearing the rejection, Qin Xiao was not surprised. Otherwise, he would not have thought of going to Xianyun Tower when he returned to the capital yesterday, but would have gone straight to Prince Su's mansion. Today, he was just unwilling to give up and thought he would try again: "Fine, I will think of other ways."
"Finding a needle in a haystack is easier said than done," Su Ci said.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue, who was following Fu Huaiqing, couldn't help but mutter to himself, "It's not that difficult. After all, Biezhi didn't disguise herself when she left the capital. We might run into her around the corner in the capital."
When he caught the prince's casual glance out of the corner of his eye, he straightened up a bit, and understood his master's meaning in an instant.
Fu Huaiqing's eyes darkened slightly.
He forgot that Biezhi only likes handsome men and is incredibly lecherous. If she were to get to know Qin Xiao, she would probably pester him every day, keeping him constantly busy, and sooner or later she would make his ears swell from all the noise.
Fu Huaiqing slightly curled the corners of his mouth and gave a cold laugh.
Su Ci, who was standing closest to him, couldn't help but shiver upon hearing this and asked, "Who's been so blind as to offend you again?"
It looked like they wanted to take advantage of the person completely.
Fu Huaiqing glanced at him but remained silent.
"I heard from Wan'er that you and she agreed to meet this evening?" Qin Xiao asked.
Fu Huaiqing hummed in agreement, "Wanghe Tower."
"What is she going to do?" Su Ci asked, puzzled.
Qin Xiao said, "I'm looking for money. The Imperial Academy is short of funds lately."
"These old officials at the Imperial Academy are really making the most of everything. Knowing they would be rejected if they made the suggestion rashly, they brought in Qin Wan." Su Ci's smile turned cold. "If the Imperial Academy is short of funds, then the Six Ministries are also out of money."
"Wan'er is under someone else's roof and has no choice but to bow her head." Qin Xiao naturally had to speak up for his twin sister. Qin Wan was now a teacher at the Imperial Academy, so she should also do her part for the Academy. He said helplessly, "Who told everyone to think that she is our Prince Su's betrothed?"
Upon hearing this, Su Ci couldn't help but shake her head.
Currently, there is only one female teacher in the Imperial Academy, and that is Qin Wan.
Qin Wan's admission to the Imperial Academy was decided by Fu Huaiqing four years ago, despite the opposition. Since then, rumors have circulated in the capital that she was able to achieve her goal only because she had the backing of Prince Su, completely forgetting that she was once praised as a rare talent in the world.
It is said that rumors can become truths with just three people, and gradually, the rumors have changed their meaning.
It is unknown when it began, but everyone in the capital said that Qin Wan and Prince Su were childhood sweethearts and deeply in love. Prince Su was so angry for his beloved that he first became angry in court because the officials petitioned against Qin Wan's admission to the Imperial Academy. Although Prince Su tried his best to protect Qin Wan, he still had to consider the face of the officials, so they have not yet married.
The rumor intensified because Fu Huaiqing and Qin Wan are still unmarried. The Wang Mansion steward denied it, and the Qin family matriarch also denied it, but to no avail.
When this matter was mentioned, Qin Xiao was also quite helpless. They had done everything they could, but the world just wouldn't believe it. "I'm afraid only when you all get married can the rumors stop."
Fu Huaiqing's expression was indifferent, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
He started walking without saying a word.
"Where are you going?" Su Ci asked.
Fu Huaiqing ignored him and walked away.
Biezhi returned to Xianyun Tower early in the morning and was taken to Sanqing Hall by Ling Feng. The master and disciple waited in Sanqing Hall until noon, but did not see anyone.
Biezhi had lost all patience and asked, "Wouldn't Master change his mind again?"
Heaven knows that when she rushed back to Xianyun Tower early in the morning and heard her master say that the master was going to entrust her with a task, she was so excited that she almost fainted. Now, she had been in Sanqing Hall for half a day and still hadn't seen the master. Her heart sank.
Biezhi suddenly realized that the old man had also backed out halfway through last time, and he might do the same this time!
She widened her eyes slightly, looked at her master, and asked, "Master, do I look like someone who's easy to bully?"
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