Search the government office
It was past midnight, but the Marquis of Wu'an's residence was still brightly lit.
Outside the mansion gate, Marquis Wu'an, Quan Xiangyi, personally confronted Xiao Liao.
Standing atop the high platform, he swept his gaze across the dozen or so patrolling soldiers behind Xiao Liao. His face, weathered by countless battles, was filled with rage. He pointed at Xiao Liao and shouted sternly, "Prince Qin, what do you take my Marquis of Wu'an's residence for? What is the meaning of barging into my residence with troops in the dead of night?"
Xiao Liao politely explained, "My lord, you misunderstand. I only wanted to go in and see if your grandson had been injured by the thieves; I had no other intentions."
Quan Xiangyi sneered, "Do you think I'm old and blind? These soldiers came to my mansion to admire the moon?"
Xiao Liao stepped up the stairs and approached him a few paces, saying with difficulty, "My lord, I had no choice but to do this. I was about to behead Zuo Wenzhong tomorrow, but then someone broke into the prison, and the criminals have disappeared. I had no choice but to seal off the city and search for them."
Quan Xiangyi refused to back down, "You can investigate all you want, what does it have to do with my manor? My grandson is neither skilled in martial arts nor has he had any dealings with Zuo Wenzhong. Do you suspect him? Does he need your permission to see a doctor when he's sick?"
Xiao Liao explained repeatedly, "I was really worried that the thieves might wander here and hurt your grandson, so I came to check on him. How about I go in alone? As soon as I see that your grandson is safe and sound, I will leave immediately and will not linger."
He spoke politely, but his body was already moving forward, showing no sign that he had to go in.
Having spent half his life navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom, Quan Xiangyi knew Xiao Liao's true colors all too well. He acted under the emperor's name, but his arguments were always twisted and fallacious. If things escalated, Quan Xiangyi would be the one to suffer before the emperor. It was better to give in a little, so he could seek redress from the emperor later.
Thinking of this, Quan Xiangyi spoke up, "Prince Qin, you have entered my Marquis's residence without His Majesty's decree. Tomorrow I will definitely question His Majesty about this."
Xiao Liao was not afraid and readily agreed, saying, "Today's events were urgent, and I was somewhat abrupt. I should take full responsibility before His Majesty."
Quan Xiangyi could no longer stop him, so she conceded, "Only you may enter the mansion."
When Xiao Liao entered Quan Zichu's courtyard, the first thing he saw was bloodstains all over the ground. The smell of blood mixed with the summer heat filled his nose.
There were many servants standing in the courtyard, their faces covered in dust and dirt, and several of them had cuts all over their bodies.
Inside the house, the doctor had treated Quan Zichu's wound and instructed the servants to change the dressing frequently in the next few days and not to touch the poultry again to avoid contracting fowl plague.
As the doctors were about to leave the house, Xiao Liao stopped them and asked, "Young Master Quan, what caused your injury, and how is it?"
The doctor replied, "Young Master Quan was injured by poultry. Although the wound is not large, poultry is not clean and can easily aggravate the wound, so we need to pay more attention and heal the wound as soon as possible."
Before leaving, the doctor instructed the injured servants to clean their wounds thoroughly.
"poultry?"
Such ridiculous remarks are laughable. What kind of poultry could cause such harm?
Just as he was wondering, Xiao Liao was shocked to see a white chicken lying on its deathbed in the corner of the wall, with a large patch of blood on its neck that stretched intermittently across most of the courtyard.
The blood on the ground was chicken blood!
Xiao Liao strode into the room and saw Quan Mingxiao standing by the bed, his hands behind his back, his face ashen.
He snapped at Quan Zichu, who was lying unconscious on the bed, "Still not awake? How long are you going to keep up this act?"
When his strict father spoke, Quan Zichu obediently opened his eyes, knelt down on the ground with a thud, and begged for forgiveness, "Dad, I know I was wrong, I won't do it again next time."
Kwon Myung-hyo questioned, "What's wrong with that?"
Quan Zichu answered truthfully.
"I shouldn't have secretly kept the cockfighting and kept it in the house. I never thought it would hurt people."
Quan Mingxiao asked, "Where did the chicken come from?"
Quan Zichu confessed, "Last time at the Princess's residence, my cousin's fighting rooster killed Princess Anning's beloved dog. I saw how powerful the fighting rooster was and got itchy, so I secretly switched it with another one."
"You bastard!"
Quan Mingxiao roared angrily, and Quan Zichu lay on the ground trembling.
Quan Mingxiao berated, "Your trickery and substitution were your first mistake. Your obsession with cockfighting, eating and sleeping with chickens, was your second mistake. If you were to die from a cockfight, causing my Quan family to be ridiculed, that would be your third mistake. You caused your mother to faint from fright, that would be your fourth mistake. You committed so many mistakes in one day, tell me, how should you be punished?"
Quan Zichu repeatedly admitted his mistake, "Dad, I know I was wrong. I will never fight cocks again. You can hit me or scold me as you please, I will have no complaints."
Quan Xiangyi felt sorry for him and came over, saying, "Oh dear, Zichu was quite frightened just now, don't scare him anymore. He should be punished, but once he's healed, you can punish him severely."
"Dad, he's been spoiled by you. Today he dares to raise fighting cocks, tomorrow he'll dare to raise vicious dogs."
As soon as Quan Mingxiao finished his reprimand, he saw Xiao Liao was also there and hurriedly bowed, "Your Highness Prince Qin, please forgive me. My son is a troublemaker who caused trouble without even realizing it and alarmed Your Highness. I am ashamed."
Xiao Liao sensed the sarcasm in the words but ignored them.
He observed the path and saw bloodstains all the way from the doorway to the window frame and table, with some also on the window. The chicken coop on the table lay on its side, with chicken feathers and scraps scattered all over the floor, and the room was in a mess that had not yet been tidied up.
He casually opened the cabinet, where the clothes were neatly arranged, and the cockfighting props were still hidden inside.
Quan Xiangyi asked intentionally, "King Qin, have you figured anything out? You rebellious grandson, why don't you quickly tell the King Qin what's going on here, lest His Highness misunderstand and think you've been fighting bravely against the enemy?"
Quan Zichu covered his arm and replied, "I don't have that skill. I just won money from cockfighting recently and was so excited that I couldn't sleep, so I was playing with the chickens by the table. Who knew that the chicken would suddenly go crazy and rush at me, cutting my arm and causing a lot of bleeding."
"I was terrified and quickly hid by the window. The chicken tried to pounce on me, so I dodged and ran out to call for help. The chicken injured quite a few more people, and it only stopped after we slit its throat."
“I don’t know why it suddenly went crazy. Maybe I’ve been making it fight too much lately, and it couldn’t take it anymore and retaliated.”
After Quan Zichu finished speaking, he kept apologizing to Quan Mingxiao.
In front of outsiders, Quan Mingxiao couldn't really punish him, so he ordered him to quickly go back to bed and lie down.
Xiao Liao listened to Quan Zichu's words and saw that he was injured on his right arm, which did not match the right shoulder injury of the thief. In addition, there was nothing wrong with the traces at the scene.
It's strange for a chicken to hurt people, but this chicken killed Anning's Snowball, so it's not surprising that it hurt people.
The Quan family and Zuo Wenzhong had never had any dealings. In fact, Quan Xiangyi, a military general in his youth, was extremely disdainful of the conduct of civil officials and often clashed with Zuo Wenzhong and other civil officials. The Quan family and Zuo Wenzhong were simply unrelated entities.
Xiao Liao thought to himself that he had been overthinking things. Quan Zichu, an incompetent son of an official, was no different from Sun Xianzhu. He wouldn't dare to break into the prison even if he had ten times the courage.
At this moment, Quan Mingxiao realized what was happening and asked, "Your Highness, what brings you here so late at night? Has my son offended you in any way?"
He glared at Quan Zichu and said fiercely, "Tell me, have you gotten into trouble again outside?"
Quan Zichu waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no. I spend all my time in the arena, how could I offend His Highness Prince Qin?"
Quan Xiangyi said yin and yang, "Our King of Qin is here to catch a thief. I wonder if this thief has ever visited my Quan family?"
Xiao Liao was embarrassed and bowed to Quan Xiangyi to apologize, "I have troubled you, Lord Marquis. I will leave now. Young Master Quan, please take good care of yourself."
Quan Xiangyi followed and said, "This chicken that my rebellious grandson stole, could the King of Qin please send it to Princess Anning? The child is ignorant and does such a petty thing as stealing chickens. I am really ashamed."
Xiao Liao pretended not to understand the meaning behind his words and replied, "Keep the chicken for your grandson to vent his anger. I have other important matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
Xiao Liao practically fled the Quan residence at breakneck speed. His search for the mansion yielded no results, and he was met with a rebuff, which only fueled his growing dislike for the Quan family.
Quan Mingxiao asked curiously, "Father, what exactly is the purpose of the Prince of Qin's visit?"
Quan Xiangyi spat and said, "He's just got a little power and he's acting like a dog relying on his master's influence. What a piece of trash!"
Inside the house, Quan Zichu heard Xiao Liao leave, clutched his chest, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was absolutely terrified just now; he hoped his cousin was safe and sound.
The candles in Wangning Pavilion burn eternally.
Xiao Heng'an sat by the window for nearly two hours, until he was getting restless and about to lose his composure, when the door finally opened.
"I'm back."
Xiao Heng'an put down the black chess piece that had been squeezed until it turned white, and quietly looked at the person behind the door, his heart churning with turmoil.
Gu Jinning was surprised to see Xiao Heng'an there, and slightly flustered, asked, "What are you doing here?"
Xiao Heng'an approached step by step, his gaze sweeping over her wounds inch by inch, his eyes gradually tightening.
"He's badly injured; looks like he's off to do something big," he said, suppressing his anger.
Like a child who had done something wrong, Gu Jinning lowered her head to avoid his scrutinizing gaze, and said guiltily, "Don't scold me, I'm so tired. Really..."
Gu Jinning's voice grew softer and softer, her eyelids became so heavy she could barely keep them open, and she slowly fell down into a comforting embrace.
When Gu Jinning opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in bed, her clothes had been changed, and her wounds had been cleaned.
It was still quite dark outside the window.
Xiao Heng'an sat upright on the edge of the bed, wringing a towel in his hand.
Gu Jinning asked guiltily, "How long have I been asleep?"
Xiao Heng'an placed a towel on her forehead and replied, "Not long, just the time it takes to change clothes."
Gu Jinning sat up in shock, the wound on her shoulder tearing at her, and she gritted her teeth in pain, "You changed it?"
Xiao Heng'an supported her and said, "Given the current situation, I'm the only one who can make the change."
Gu Jinning was speechless and unable to refute him for a moment.
"You already know."
Xiao Heng'an said, "I don't know everything."
Xiao Heng'an hoped that Gu Jinning would tell him everything on her own initiative, so he did not expose her.
Gu Jinning retorted, "I was the one who broke him out of prison. I can't stand seeing my father's mentor being used by a villain like Xiao Liao."
Xiao Heng'an sighed helplessly, "So you knowingly walk into the tiger's den, even though you know there are tigers in the mountains."
"Anyway, the outcome is good. Even if he searches the entire capital, he won't be able to find Zuo Wenzhong."
Gu Jinning was smug and completely forgot about her injuries.
"And what about you?" Xiao Heng'an questioned, "Do you think you can get away with it just because you've done something flawless? Tonight, Xiao Liao will really search the entire capital."
Gu Jinning wasn't afraid at all. "So what? You're here. You've been waiting here for a long time, haven't you? What would you do if I didn't come back?"
Her eyes lit up again, with a hint of amusement.
Xiao Heng'an didn't find it funny at all; his face was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water. "What do you think?"
Gu Jinning immediately stopped laughing and changed the subject, "Oh dear, I've put medicine on my body. What if Xiao Liao comes and notices?"
Xiao Heng'an put away the towel and said, "These military medicines are colorless and odorless. Unless you have a dog's nose, you won't be able to detect them."
Just then, Qinglian hurried into the pavilion and stood under the corridor to announce, "Princess, Your Highness, Prince Qin has arrived."
Gu Jinning jumped off the bed, put on a collared outer dress to cover her wounds, then neatly folded the bedding, and then tacitly sat with Xiao Heng'an at the chessboard under the window.
Gu Jinning pushed open the window, holding a white chess piece in one hand, and leaned out to ask, "What wind is blowing tonight that has attracted the Prince of Qin to come to my door so late at night?"
Seeing that Gu Jinning was safe and sound, Qinglian calmed down and replied, "Your Highness, His Highness Prince Qin said that there were thieves in the capital today, and they are searching everywhere. They have now found your residence and have come to explain to you in person."
Gu Jinning yawned and said reluctantly, "Alright, then please ask him to wait in the pavilion while I finish this game of chess with His Highness Prince Jin."
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