Chapter 127 Lighting a Lamp of Fate with Jin Shu
Before her, Li Qian looked at Li Jin, whose eyebrows were uneven, raised her hand and coughed lightly, unable to hide her smile: "I will go back and report everything that happened to my father. My father said that I have the people of the world in my heart and that I did the right thing."
She leaned forward and smiled mischievously: "I was specifically ordered to come back to supervise you two in solving the case and make sure to give the people an explanation."
Li Jin snorted coldly and said irritably, "You're the one I'm ordering to supervise?"
That intense gaze made Li Qian's cheeks twitch: "What? Would I lie to you?"
She raised her hand and nudged Zhou Zheng beside her with her elbow. Zhou Zheng, looking embarrassed, nodded and cupped his hands, saying, "It was personally delivered by Eunuch Lin; it is indeed His Majesty's decree."
“That’s right!” Li Qian drawled, “Father said that we should report back to him in detail how the case was handled!”
"Oh dear!" Li Qian grinned broadly, leaned close to Li Jin, and whispered, "Third Brother, your playboy image is in jeopardy!"
Li Jin snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, "It's fine if we don't protect it."
He knew that Li Yi was warning him.
In the past, he chose to lie low in the court to preserve his strength and develop his own power, which he could keep secret from the officials, but not from Emperor Li Yi.
The reminder is merely a warning that his recent success in solving cases in the capital has caused a stir in the court and attracted the attention of the Crown Prince.
Moreover, rather than having Li Qian supervise the entire case, it would be more accurate to say that she was tasked with observing Jin Shu.
What Li Yi wanted to hear was not some strange tale of a young boy dying suddenly or two generations of three corpses, but rather to find out just how capable Jin Shu was, who had been taken in as a closed-door disciple by the chief coroner.
What he wanted to hear was whether this person could truly shake the foundation of Crown Prince Li Jing, and whether, in the current delicate tug-of-war, he was worth protecting.
"Judging from your worried faces, you probably still don't have any clues, right?" Li Qian took two steps forward and walked beside Li Jin. "But it's okay, now that I'm here, things will definitely be much easier."
Li Jin stopped in his tracks, glanced at her inexplicably confident expression, then swept his fan open and laughed, "It's already broken, what are you doing here?"
"What?" She was stunned.
Behind Li Jin, the county magistrate of Tangxia Village bowed respectfully.
On the other side, Jin Shu buried herself in her work, taking advantage of the still fresh memory to write case notes while correcting two erroneous protective manuals from three years ago.
Li Qian's mouth opened and closed, and it took her a while to recover from the shock. With a mournful face, she said, "Oh dear, what happened to you guys? How come it broke after only one night?!"
Seeing her tear-streaked face, Li Jin smiled and took two steps forward to stand beside her, asking softly, "How is the palace?"
Li Qian paused, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye: "Hmph, what else can I do?"
She raised her hand to cover half of her mouth, leaned close to Li Jin's ear, and solemnly said, "I heard that Jin Shu can even determine the cause of death of a corpse that has been dead for three years. Several old guys in the Ministry of Justice were in a panic and went to the Crown Prince's residence overnight."
At this point, Li Qian lowered her hand, and a playful smile returned to her face. She patted Li Jin's shoulder with an air of seriousness: "As for the rest, your people know better than I do."
Upon hearing this, Li Jin nodded.
In just one day, the Crown Prince was able to know his and Jin Shu's movements so clearly.
He turned around, glanced thoughtfully at the Tangxia Village magistrate standing respectfully to the side behind him.
Li Jin lowered her eyes, and after a while, she turned back to look at Li Qian, her expression much more relaxed: "Since you've come all this way, you'd probably be unwilling to go back like this."
Li Qian paused for a moment: "Isn't this obvious!"
She could only leave the palace a few times a year, and when she finally did, she encountered this case. She didn't get anything done and was sent back.
She finally made it out, but she's too late. If she goes back now, Li Qian is afraid she'll really cry.
"Hmm." Li Jin nodded, a slight smile playing on her lips. "So, are you still going to Xiangji Temple to light those lanterns?"
This question left Li Qian speechless.
She opened and closed her mouth, glanced at Li Jin, then at Jin Shu, and said with a crooked mouth, clearly dissatisfied: "I'm going! And both of you are coming with me!"
This is unbelievable! Why is it so difficult to be the matchmaker?!
Li Jin closed his fan and said with a light laugh, "I'll take you there once Mr. Jin has finished writing the protective copy."
On the second day of the hottest period of summer, the crowds and vehicles in front of Xiangji Temple had dwindled considerably.
The carriage stopped directly in front of the stone archway.
"I, Zhou, have never believed in such things. As long as the princess has fun, that's all that matters." Zhou Zheng said twice, then drove the carriage to a stop in the shade of a tree, waiting for the three of them to return.
At noon, the scorching sun baked the earth, sending up waves of heat.
Li Qian was at the forefront, spending the most money and burning the thickest incense.
Only at this moment did Jin Shu see the image of a royal princess in her.
With the most devout heart, she prayed for favorable weather and a good harvest this year, her eyes shining with unwavering determination.
This boisterous young girl, who usually wears a smile on her face, is now kneeling wholeheartedly before Buddha, praying with a heart ready to die for her country, that Heaven will have eyes and protect the Great Wei.
That was a look Jin Shu had never seen before.
After the bowing, the abbot brought out the lotus lamp stand that Xiangji Temple prepares every year.
"Please make a wish, gentlemen," he said with a kind smile.
Seeing Jin Shu struggling with the money, Li Jin chuckled and said, "This trip is on official business, so it's paid for by the company."
"If you're after wealth, go for the biggest!" Jin Shu said without hesitation.
Li Jin had long anticipated this outcome. He nodded knowingly and walked towards the place where people could donate silver to receive lampstands.
But this turn of events immediately disheartened Li Qian; this wasn't the effect she wanted!
"Hey Mr. Jin, we've come all this way, and you're only asking for money?" Li Qian said anxiously as she watched Li Jin walk away. "You really don't want to ask for a marriage partner or anything? They're very effective!"
Jin Shu looked surprised and said, "Marriage is preordained; praying won't help."
Goodness, that makes so much sense that Li Qian couldn't find a word to refute it.
She walked alone toward the donation table, looking dejected, and hesitated for a long time.
Well, the idea that marriage is preordained makes a lot of sense.
"I also want a lamp for praying for wealth, the most effective kind!"
When she returned carrying the lotus lantern, Jin Shu's large lotus flower was already on the table.
In terms of specifications, this size is indeed worth the money Li Jintao paid.
"Look at the abbot's tearful face. You must have sold out all the stock he's accumulated over the years." Jin Shu stood there, looking at the largest flower in the garden, her brows furrowed.
Li Jin shrugged it off, saying as she dipped her brush in wax, "You want the biggest one? What? If you regret it, you'll have to pay for it yourself."
"No, no, no," Jin Shu said solemnly. "Thank you, Your Highness. I have no way to repay you! When I become rich and powerful in the future, I will never forget Your Highness's great kindness today."
As he spoke, he took two steps forward, intending to take the small stick dipped in wax from Li Jin's hand, but the man did not let go. Instead, he pulled Jin Shu's arm and together they lit the largest lotus lantern.
"No need to thank me, just share half of your fortune with me." He smiled faintly, looking at the flickering flame in front of him, and patted Jin Shu on the shoulder. "The young master just said that this lamp can only be lit once in a lifetime, and it won't work if you do it more. For the sake of your grand ambition of getting rich, please bear with it and do not light it again in the future."
Jin Shu nodded knowingly: "There's such a saying, I'll remember it."
A gentle breeze stirred, causing the donation book to turn softly. The ink on the small characters that Li Jin had just written was still dry.
Under Jin Shu's name are three neat small characters: Marriage Lamp.
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