Frosty old trees
Pei Yu's mother, Mu Huaying, was known as "the Yama with the White Hands" ten years ago. Every time A Qiu faced her, she never got the better of her, so she became wary as soon as she heard her voice.
After all, she and Madam Pei had a feud involving the murder of her husband.
At the dungeon entrance, a long, dark figure slowly walked in, silent yet exuding a chilling aura.
A Qiu didn't understand why Madam Pei had suddenly appeared here, nor did she know what her purpose was in following her in like this. Her hand was already on the hilt of her sword, and she became even more wary.
Lie Changkong, however, clasped his hands in a respectful bow and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I did not expect that the use of this place by the Junior Master would alarm Madam. I just do not know that the Court of Justice's men are still so obedient to Madam's orders. It seems that they report to Madam on everything, big or small."
His words were sarcastic, implying that these temporary prisons had long been handed over to the Junior Master of the Imperial Guard, yet now, with a slight mobilization, they could summon Madam Pei from the Marquis's residence in the capital. This showed that although Madam Pei had nominally retired, she had never given up cultivating her power.
Despite Lie Changkong's mockery, Mu Huaying's haughty and aloof face remained expressionless as she coldly swept her phoenix eyes across the stone chamber. Because of its small size, the entire space could be seen at a glance.
She said coldly, "You shouldn't have come here in the first place. Now that you're here, you might as well leave."
She spoke as if it were perfectly reasonable, as if not pursuing their unauthorized use of the prison was already a great act of leniency.
Although Mu Huaying had long since retired, she had always been aloof and arrogant. She was regarded as the eldest sister of the emperor and the wife of Pei Yuanli. She had always been arrogant. A Qiu and Gongye Fusu were well aware of this and did not find it strange.
Lie Changkong, however, would not accept her imperious attitude. He frowned and said, "So that Madam may know, since this prison has been handed over to the Junior Master Yu Zhe, we have the right to use and inspect it. Madam, you would not suddenly intend to take it back now, would you?"
Mu Huaying glanced at him coldly at this point, but her answer was unexpected: "This dungeon does not belong to the Court of Justice; it is my private prison. At the time, I did not intend to hand it over to the Junior Master of the Imperial Guard. It was the successor who took it upon himself to add it here."
Her words left A-Qiu extremely surprised.
If this were a farm or a villa, that would be one thing, but a hastily constructed dungeon, so small and rudimentary, why would Mu Huaying, the wife of the Marquis of Dongguang, want to contest it?
The thought that this dungeon was so shabby, yet it was marked as second only to the Heavenly Prison in importance on the original file, made her even more puzzled.
If she really wanted to argue with Mu Huaying about right and wrong, given her current status as the successor of the Junior Tutor, it wasn't impossible. But A Qiu was always pragmatic and never engaged in pointless arguments. Seeing that there was nothing important here, and that Mu Huaying insisted that this place was her private property, she agreed, saying, "Since Hulü Guang escaped from here, we came here to look for clues about who rescued him, but we haven't found anything yet. Could we examine the place for a little longer?"
Although A Qiu and Mu Huaying had a personal feud, A Qiu never doubted Mu Huaying's loyalty to Dayan.
A person whose hands were stained with blood for the establishment of a new dynasty, and who resolutely withdrew after achieving success, if she had anything else in her heart besides the country, no matter how important those other things were, they would not shake her loyalty to the country.
Therefore, although the fact that Hulü Guang was captured here and then escaped caused her great embarrassment, she did not hide it from Mu Huaying.
Upon hearing this, Mu Huaying's expression of surprise flashed by, but she did not press for further details, saying, "Then you can investigate."
Having said that, she gracefully stepped back and stood in a corner of the stone chamber with her back to them, waiting for them to examine her.
A Qiu was surprised that "Delicate Hands Yama" Mu Huaying was so easy to talk to today. She first exchanged a surprised look with Gongye Fusu, and then said, "Then I'll take my leave." So, one after the other, they lit tinder and began to examine the wall and the ground one by one, not even letting go of the mud marks on the moss.
Gongye Fusu kept sniffing the air to see if there was any lingering scent of the incense.
Although Mu Huaying stood with her back to them, it was as if she had eyes in the back of her head. She mocked, "Even if they used sleeping incense or poisonous fog when they rescued people, it would still take half an hour to get from here to the palace by fast horse. By the time they did, no matter how strong the sleeping incense or poisonous fog was, it would have dissipated long ago. I'm afraid the head of the Gongye family came here for nothing."
Gongye Fusu, with his excellent composure, smiled and replied, "Even knowing that there has been no merit, one should still do one's best to serve the court. How can one return simply because there has been no merit?"
Mu Huaying was slightly taken aback by his answer, and after a moment replied, "I have never heard of the King of Wanxiang, who is so wealthy, being so close to and supportive of the court."
Gongye Fusu seemed taken aback upon hearing this. After a long pause, he replied, "Perhaps it is because of the Southern Dynasty now that I feel a greater sense of national responsibility. There are... trustworthy people with whom I can entrust my business honestly. After all, the most important thing in business is trustworthiness, and if you entrust your business to the wrong person, you may lose money."
Although the Gongye family traveled to all countries through trade routes and had always been a guest of honor in the Southern Dynasties, during Gu Yi's time, they outwardly flattered the court but in reality maintained a polite and distant relationship with it.
But now, this relationship has undergone a subtle and gradual change. And all of this, more or less, is related to A Qiu, the current successor of the young master.
Perhaps it was because A Qiu's origins were shrouded in mystery. Perhaps it was because Gu Yi's unconventional choice of A Qiu as his successor made Gongye Fusu keenly aware that beneath the aloof and indifferent mask of the Southern Dynasty's rulers, there was still a heart full of genuine feelings.
This is precisely the most valuable quality of a ruler.
Perhaps it's also because Ah Qiu, to some extent, reminds him of that person.
Mu Huaying snorted and said, "For the sake of the King of Wanxiang, I might as well tell you juniors something: The Divine Hound Camp reported that a group of mysterious guests from the north came to the West Market yesterday and purchased a batch of firearms and arrows from the Han people through the merchants' associations of the Jie, Qiang and other Hu tribes. I wonder if this news will be of any help to the Grand Master of Music."
Only now did A Qiu truly appreciate the benefits of the changed relationship with the Divine Hound Camp.
Not only did the Divine Hound Camp no longer regard her as an enemy, but even Mu Huaying, who had a considerable grudge against her, no longer hid useful information from her regarding state affairs.
Seeing that the place was simple and the situation was completely exposed with no clues to follow, A Qiu seized the opportunity and said, "Thank you, Madam Pei, for providing this information. It is very useful. We have already checked this place, and we will go to the West Market immediately."
Before she could finish speaking, Gongye Fusu exclaimed, "Huh? What's this?"
The four men in the dungeon all looked toward Gongye Fusu, who was prying aside several uneven wooden planks leaning against the cell wall. Over the years, the planks had become rotten and decayed.
Mu Huaying glanced at it and said indifferently, "Those are just a few pieces of firewood left over from when someone lived here to keep warm."
Immediately afterwards, a piece of emerald green branch was seen entwined between Gongye Fusu's fingers. To be precise, it was a vine, as it was winding and soft in shape and covered with green buds.
It is unusual that such vibrant plants could exist in this dark, damp dungeon where sunlight never shines.
Mu Huaying glanced at it once, and her expression changed drastically. She immediately flicked her sleeve, and a strong wind swept away the several pieces of firewood in the corner, revealing the original wall surface.
On the wall, where it was originally covered by firewood, now hung fine, bullet-sized green leaves, which were now fluttering in the wind after Mu Huaying struck them with her palm.
To be precise, it was a vine that grew from the ground and coiled around a corner of the wall, thus creating the scene we see today.
Mu Huaying was stunned at first, her eyes revealing a strange look, then she shouted angrily, "Don't move!" and raised her palm to strike Gongye Fusu.
The reason was that Gongye Fusu was pinching the vine off the mother's body and holding it to his nose to sniff it.
Before Mu Huaying's renowned "fair hands" could reach Gongye Fusu, they were blocked by a sharp and cold sword light.
Ah Qiu raised "Louyue" to counter, and calmly said, "It's just a vine branch, Madam, please don't take someone's life."
Mu Huaying's attack was thwarted, so she immediately withdrew her palm and landed on the ground, saying in an icy tone, "You all get out of here at once."
Despite her unfriendly expression, Gongye Fusu remained unmoved. He calmly straightened his clothes, stood up, and held up the vine branch in his hand, saying indifferently, "It's just a frost-flower vine. Why is Madam so agitated?"
Before A-Qiu could ask, he continued, "The Frostflower Vine grows in the Central Plains. In the past, it was commonly seen in famous gardens and mansions in Luoyang. Its fragrance is delicate and far-reaching, but it's not particularly rare. If there's anything special about it, it's that it grows extremely slowly. From planting to sprouting, it takes three years. After that, it takes a year to grow even an inch. Because it grows so slowly, the vine is extremely sturdy. After drying, its texture is comparable to gold and jade. Some women in the common folk also use it to make bracelets to wear."
A Qiu thought quickly and immediately replied, "Then judging from the growth of this Frost Vine, although it still looks like a seedling, it was planted here at least more than ten years ago."
Upon hearing this, Mu Huaying's face turned deathly pale, and she shouted angrily, "I told you to get out! Didn't you hear me?!"
At the same time, she exerted force with her hands, and her "fair hands" conjured up a vast array of demonic shadows, their murderous aura sweeping towards A Qiu and the other two.
Lie Changkong had already drawn his golden whip "Ce Lin". The whip flashed like lightning, creating circles of golden shadows that completely neutralized Mu Huaying's attacks. He laughed and said, "I wonder who that person who was imprisoned here more than ten years ago was. He was so thoughtful as to plant the Frost Vine here to give news to future generations. He must have suffered a great injustice, which is why he died unwillingly."
In fact, with Lie Changkong's skill, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to withstand the fierce attack of the former Flying Phoenix Mu Huaying with just a single whip.
Although Mu Huaying appeared powerful on the surface, her heart was in turmoil, and she had lost her usual composure. Her furious attacks were more like an expression of her anger than a means to kill. Therefore, although each move was powerful, they were all open battles, which allowed Lie Changkong to accurately counter and deflect them.
Mu Huaying, who was originally furious, suddenly calmed down upon hearing Lie Changkong's words and said in a deep voice, "You just said that the person who escaped was previously imprisoned here, Huli Guang, the Prince of Ning of the Northern Qiang?"
Seeing that she could calm down immediately after being told to, A Qiu admired her and said, "That's right."
Mu Huaying suddenly became unusually calm, staring at the Frost Vine on the wall, and said, "Then, the message that person wanted to convey through the Frost Vine ten years ago has already reached the person she wanted to deliver it to."
At this moment, it was A Qiu, Gongye Fusu, and Lie Changkong who exclaimed in shock, "What?"
Mu Huaying said calmly, "The one I imprisoned here ten years ago was Senior Sister Bishuang. The Frost Vine should be her token. You must already know that she works for the Northern Qiang."
She then looked at the frost-covered vines growing in the corner of the wall and said, "I remember there weren't these pieces of rubbish here before. It must have been Hulü Guang who found them and casually covered them up to cover them up."
A Qiu looked solemn and said to Lie Changkong, "Tell me again what happened after Huli Guang was thrown into this place."
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