Chapter 11 Chapter 11 You take the opportunity to explore again
Qiu Zhu excitedly lay on the door crack, standing on tiptoe to look around from time to time. After all, he was the future emperor. Crown Prince Xiao Mao was not yet thirty years old and had a good appearance. He usually stayed at home in the East Palace, so everyone was inevitably curious.
"What do you think the Crown Prince looks like?"
"Just a nose and two eyes."
"Don't talk nonsense, be careful someone might overhear you."
"Stop making noise, people are coming."
His forehead throbbed with their excited noises, and while no one was paying attention, Lu Suizhu sneaked out of the side door of the courtyard.
Sure enough, the familiar black shadow appeared again at the right time. She lowered her head slightly and looked around to see that there was no one around, so she hurriedly followed it. She walked all the way to the abandoned courtyard where she burned paper for Master Li last night, but the figure was gone.
This place is in the shade and almost no one comes here on weekdays. The accumulated snow water has rotted the base of the wall, and moss has spread all the way and intertwined with a little white.
She stood there and looked around, wondering if she had seen it wrong, and Xiao Mao didn't come here to cause trouble for her?
Suddenly a gust of wind blew past my ears, bringing with it a hint of bloody smell of someone who had just been killed.
The man in black appeared with a sword in his hand and a nimble figure. Lu Suizhu was forced to step back by the powerful force, and his back was pressed against the pillar. In an instant, his throat hurt so much that he had difficulty breathing.
The big hand tightened around her throat, her face flushed and she was on the verge of suffocation. In front of her eyes, golden shadows appeared like overlapping hills.
Ying then tilted his head slightly and let her go.
For a moment, Lu Suizhu almost collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, she grabbed the dusty beam behind her in time. She bent down and greedily breathed in the fresh air, like a fish that had been dying for many days swimming back into the water.
She looked slightly angry and wanted to ask harshly, but her words came out weakly and were stuck in her throat.
"This is a lesson the master is giving you."
Ying Yi was dressed in black, even his face was covered tightly, leaving only a pair of eyes with scars under his eyebrows. His voice was hoarse as if his throat was burned.
Hearing this ridiculous statement, Lu Suizhu burst into laughter: "What did I do wrong? Why does he punish me like this?"
"A body was found outside the capital yesterday. You went there with Minister Pei. Whose body was it? Why didn't you report it?"
Hearing Ying Yiping's questioning, Lu Suizhu swallowed his saliva and stood still with the sound of the wind, his lips moving as he seemed a little at a loss.
It seems that the prince is not sure now that the corpse is Tutor Li.
So is he here to test Pei Zhiji today?
But Pei Zhiji is a cautious and tactful person, and she will definitely make this matter go away, so Xiao Mao wants to hear the truth from her.
"say--"
The wind from the unsheathed sword swept across her cheek.
"Yes, it's Master Li."
The sharp sword wind subsided for a moment, and there was no pain. It was not until he heard the sword being sheathed that Lu Suizhu opened his eyes. He subconsciously looked around and saw that Ying Yi had disappeared.
At some point, a note appeared in her palm. She gently spread it out and saw only four words written on it: List of Candidates.
This is the new task Xiao Mao assigned to her.
Xiao Mao traveled light this time with only two servants. When he entered Pei's house, Prime Minister Pei was not at home, so he gathered with everyone in Chunhui Hall. He had nothing much to say to these women, so he exchanged a few casual pleasantries and followed Pei Zhiji to the study.
Carefully pour tea for the prince, wake up, roast, grind, sieve and boil the water to make the tea guide. When the water in the pot is about to boil for the third time, stir it counterclockwise to form a vortex, then slowly pour the tea guide into the pot to adjust the tea soup, and finally add it to add fragrance.
The slender fingers moving up and down are a delight to the eyes.
Xiao Mao took a sip and praised it generously: "Rich and fragrant, Zhiji's tea is still the most heartwarming."
Pei Zhiji smiled slightly, his left hand slightly holding up his wide sleeves, while his right hand continued to add tea to Xiao Mao's cup: "When we were in the mountains, the master had a very picky taste and ordinary tea was hard to drink. I was forced to drink this."
"Your Highness is in a good mood to visit the Pei Mansion today, but it's a pity that my father is not here, so I can't drink with Your Highness."
Xiao Mao waved his hand nonchalantly: "It's good that Prime Minister Pei is not here. Drinking will cause trouble. The Crown Princess will be unhappy later."
"Is the Crown Princess in good health?"
"Everything is fine, but I miss my family very much."
"When my third uncle's sister comes back, let her go to the Eastern Palace to accompany the Crown Princess. It will also add some fun to her life." There are many inconveniences for men to enter the Eastern Palace. Logically, the Crown Princess is the daughter of the Pei family and the cousin of Pei Zhiji, but for the royal family, rules are always more important than reason and cannot be exceeded.
"Family, there's no need to be so particular. Your eldest sister is always thinking about you. The Queen Mother gave her a fox fur coat as a reward, and she specifically asked me to bring it to you, saying that you are weak and can't stand the cold."
After a few small talk, Pei Zhiji thanked Xiao Feng and asked him to put away the fox fur coat. Seeing that Xiao Mao didn't want to leave for the time being, he simply asked someone to set up a chess table.
After lighting a stick of incense, Xiao Mao won two out of three games. He also played the last game casually and loosely. He chatted with Pei Zhiji in a random manner and couldn't help but sigh.
"I also heard an interesting story. While you were in the suburbs of Beijing, you encountered Wang Miaoyin, who had fallen into the water. She threatened to marry into the Pei family. Even Lord Xu was there. The suburbs of Beijing are so remote and rugged, I never thought there would be such a bustling scene."
At this point, Xiao Mao smiled heartily, but his eyes were fixed on Pei Zhiji, his expression dark and difficult to discern.
The incense burner emanated a faint fragrance. Pei Zhiji held a chess piece in his hand, rubbing it repeatedly for a few times, as if considering it again. Finally, he made his move, a faint smile on his face. "Your Highness, I appreciate your concession."
Xiao Mao went to see, and found that he had indeed lost. He was stunned for a moment and then listened to Pei Zhiji speak. His voice was a little lazy, but there was a smile on his face.
"It's just that an unclaimed corpse was found in the wild, and Lord Xu asked me to join in the fun. As for why Miss Wang appeared there, I have no idea."
The sky was getting dark, and soon snowflakes began to fall. Fearing that the wind and snow would make it difficult to travel, Pei Zhiji accompanied him all the way.
"Teacher Li was a rare good official, but unfortunately he was too old-fashioned. Now that he is old, he accidentally fell into the water and died. I am heartbroken."
"Everyone has their own destiny. Your Highness, there is no need to be too sad."
Xiao Mao patted Pei Zhi on the shoulder and stopped him.
In just a blink of an eye, his expression became fierce and ruthless, and a hint of sneer appeared at the corner of his lips.
In the spring of the 15th year of the Zhenji era, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory had two reports: first, at dawn, purple clouds and auspicious mists appeared in the eastern sky, which was an auspicious sign for the birth of the Sixth Prince and the hope for prosperity in the world; second, observing the stars at night, Mars was near Shinjuku, but if a family reached its peak, it would be a sign of chaos in the country.
Xiao Mao looked up at the skylight, letting the cold white snow cover his face.
Now the sixth prince born to the imperial concubine is already six years old, he is really not young anymore.
I’m afraid the tall building of Pei Mansion is about to collapse.
When Lu Suizhu was walking back from the broken yard, she happened to meet Xiao Mao coming out. Pei Zhiji had his back to her and had not walked far away.
Sensing her presence, Xiao Mao's eyes seemed to glance to the side. Lu Suizhu's heart sank, and she lowered her head and took two steps back with the maids and servants.
The look in his eyes was cold and harsh, like the icy moment when a poisonous snake releases its venom. If you were to touch it, you would be frozen to death. It was so numb.
Thinking of this, Lu Suizhu got goosebumps and the tiny hairs on her arms shrank. She couldn't help but feel a little scared.
If she had insisted on hiding it today, she would probably have become a corpse now.
After the prince walked away, Xiao Feng came out and held an umbrella for Pei Zhiji. His cloak was covered with snow, his hands were red from the cold, and his knuckles were bluish-white.
"The prince is so bored." Xiao Feng muttered in a low voice, with some anger in his words.
"He's not idle at all. He's clearly testing me. Find a few people to keep an eye on the East Palace. If there's any news, let me know immediately."
A storm was about to come, and it looked like he was about to devastate the country. He looked up at the snowy sky, and his eyelashes were covered with frost.
Lu Suizhu was filled with resentment and read the note over and over again, trying to find other useful information from it. In the end, he found nothing and simply burned it completely over the candle flame.
Any court official could search for the list of successful candidates, so why should she look for it? It would only cause trouble.
In two days, she would go to the palace to play the piano for the Queen Mother. Time was running out and she was worrying about how to get the list of candidates requested by the Crown Prince in such a short time.
She heard a bustling commotion in front of the courtyard gate. She stood up to open the door and saw several ministers of the court heading towards Pei Zhiji's courtyard.
She grabbed Xiao Feng who was behind her and asked, "What happened? Why are there so many guests?"
"I don't know why, but the government office caught fire in the middle of winter. The officials from the Ministry of Rites can only hold meetings at Pei's residence. I still have to keep an eye on the government office, and Lord Pei needs people to serve tea and water here. Those officials are very cunning."
"I see. Young Master Xiao, please hurry to the government office. Putting out fires is a big deal. Leave the serving to me."
Xiao Feng thanked her and left in a hurry. Lu Suizhu had a forced smile on her face. It seemed that the fire in the government office was an opportunity created for her by Xiao Mao.
At this time, Lu Suizhu really had to thank Pei Zhiji for his quirk of not liking to be served, which allowed her to act as the maid serving tea and water.
Seeing that it was Lu Suizhu who opened the curtain, Pei Zhiji was a little surprised but did not show it on his face. He seemed to be urging her to let her go: "Let her go."
"Hey! Isn't this lady Master Lu from Louyue Pavilion?"
"She was also at the Crown Princess' birthday banquet last time. I heard that she was appreciated by the Empress Dowager."
She had never thought that she would attract so much attention. Facing the officials' words, Lu Suizhu did not respond. She just lowered her head and smiled slightly, put down the tea tray, and followed Pei Zhiji's words to leave.
The teasing voice inside came into her ears intermittently.
"Master Pei is truly blessed with a beautiful woman. He actually hid her in the Pei Mansion. Does he want to fall asleep to the sound of the zither every day?"
"My lords, official business is important." Pei Zhiji had excellent manners when sitting upright, but his voice was as cold as usual, and he obviously didn't want to joke with them.
Taking advantage of the fact that they were chatting and relaxing, Lu Suizhu slipped from the front door to the small window at the back door. There was a screen with a lush bamboo forest pattern blocking the window. She could vaguely see the blurry figures without being discovered, and she could also hear most of the conversation inside.
After squatting here for a long time, until her feet were numb, Lu Suizhu finally heard someone discussing people's names. She quickly changed her posture and pricked up her ears to listen.
"A few days ago, the Ministry of Rites held a small examination at Xiyuan Temple. Xu Zhidong from Luanhe, Zhang Lingxiu from Luochuan, Su Jiangyu from Yingzhou, Xu Jun from Ningding, and Shen Wenjian from Fanxi all performed well in the exam. They may become successful in the future. If anyone is thinking of recruiting a son-in-law from the list, they should keep a close eye on them."
Because she was familiar with them and they pronounced the names very quickly, Lu Suizhu had to use her hands and ears to copy these complicated names onto paper, and she didn't know whether she wrote the names correctly.
When she wrote Shen Wenjian, her pen paused. She inexplicably felt that the name was somewhat familiar, like something faintly buried deep in her memory. After thinking it over again and again, she finally crossed out the name.
The next day, Lu Suizhu went to Shoukang Palace to present her zither as usual. After coming out, Yingyi took her to the East Palace to meet Xiao Mao. She handed over the paper with the list of candidates with both hands, with a hesitant look on her face.
"May I ask, Your Highness, what is the purpose of wanting these people's names?"
"Lu Suizhu, you've overstepped your bounds."
"Never mind, it's alright for me to tell you. This is just to pave the way for the Marquis of Ri to ascend the throne and appoint talented people in advance. Don't worry, it's not your turn to take the blame for someone's death."
Lu Suizhu took a deep breath and felt relieved. As long as this matter was not detrimental to the candidates for the imperial examination, she would feel more at ease.
"It will take time to repair the government office. Recently, those old men from the Ministry of Rites have been frequently coming in and out of the Pei Mansion. You can take this opportunity to investigate again. Remember not to let the incident with Grand Tutor Li happen again. Otherwise, you know the consequences."
Xiao Mao swept his eyes over with a cold look, as sharp as a knife.
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