In times of emergency, one can kill.
He grew up in Lanling Hall, where it was common for his fellow disciples to engage in wits and battles. His master treated everyone equally, never relaxing his requirements just because someone was a woman, nor teaching him to give way to women just because someone was a man.
However, his master had always taught that men should be considerate and courteous to women in terms of manners and etiquette, and Gongyi Xiu had always been steadfast in doing so, bringing the elegance and refined demeanor of the Lanling strategist to its fullest extent.
In the capital, Right Chancellor Gongyi Xiu was extremely famous for his love of flowers and his respect for women. Whether it was the singers and actresses in brothels or the noble ladies and wives of powerful families, they all had a very good impression of him. This was the "true teaching" he received from Wan Qiqing.
Therefore, he could hardly imagine that the lower levels of the music bureau would have such a situation as oppressing and poisoning the entertainers.
Wan Qiqing said calmly, "It's not a recent thing. It's always been like this. I once heard that someone sent a palace dancer to the Divine Hound Camp, and in the end, all that was left was a mangled corpse sent to a mass grave outside the city."
Upon hearing this, Gongyi Xiu's expression immediately changed, and he said, "Luckily, A Qiu was chosen as a flute player, not a dancer!"
Wan Qiqing stroked the word "not good" with his hand, seemingly without any emotion, and said: "Among the various music bureau selections, the dance department has the highest requirements for appearance, which is also the reason why the dance department suffers so much. With A Qiu's appearance, she might very well be selected for the dance department."
Although he spoke calmly, Gongyi Xiu, who knew him well, could already detect a hint of coldness in his tone.
Wan Qiqing was not unaware of the treacherous nature of the lower classes in the Yuefu (musical bureau) and had repeatedly warned A Qiu about it.
Even with his intelligence, he hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly.
A Qiu has only been in the palace for two days. This shows how corrupt and filthy the Music Bureau has become.
Gongyi Xiu recalled the scene last night when A Qiu broke into the front court and called out to him from the top of Xianyang Hall with a Lanling whistle. He immediately turned pale and said, "There is no one in our inner palace to take care of her. What should we do? Although I am the Right Chancellor, my reach cannot extend to the women in the inner palace, and it will arouse suspicion!"
Wan Qiqing pondered in silence, yet knew that what his disciple said was not unreasonable.
Gongyi Xiu pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Or, I may sneak into the palace tonight and kill someone."
A Qiu's codename was "Jing Ke," while Gongyi Xiu, ranked third on the list of banished immortals, was known as "Marquis Liu" because of his elegant demeanor and outstanding appearance. Unlike A Qiu, he rarely acted as an assassin, but rather as a strategist, though this did not mean he lacked the ability.
Now, inside and outside the palace, there is only one person who can support A Qiu, and he is also the person in the hall who is most familiar with the palace environment. Therefore, if it is necessary to enter the palace to kill someone, he is indeed the best candidate.
Wan Qiqing tapped the table lightly with his fingers, his expression thoughtful and undecided.
Gongyi Xiu knelt down and said, "Please make a decision quickly, Master. If Aqiu is forced to kill someone in front of everyone in the palace, not only will her mission fail immediately, but she will also be surrounded and killed by a group of enemies. If I go, there may still be a chance to turn things around."
He pondered for a moment and said, "Moreover, this matter cannot be delayed any longer. Because of A Qiu's intrusion into the palace and the Lanling Howl, the imperial city is now under double the security measures. Most importantly, His Majesty is furious because of the Lanling assassins' intrusion into the palace and has decided to reopen the Flying Phoenix Guard. Soon, four new generation of young masters will be stationed in the palace, making it even more difficult for us to act!"
Upon hearing the name "Four Flying Phoenix Guards," Wan Qiqing's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said with a flourish, "Back then, 'Golden Goblet Under the Moon,' 'Silver Saddle on a White Horse,' 'A Masterful Pen,' and 'The Delicate Hands of Yama' gathered in the palace and stood before the Emperor, what a magnificent sight that was! I never imagined that in my lifetime I would witness the court summoning the 'Flying Phoenix Guards' twice. This game of vying for supremacy will surely become even more exciting with the addition of these young heroines."
A slight smile appeared on his lips as he casually remarked, "Everyone knows that the imperial court has the 'Four Flying Phoenix Guards,' but they don't know that the Lanling Hall also has the 'Four Beauties,' and we are not afraid of them."
Gongyi Xiu was utterly astonished upon hearing this. He thought his count was accurate and counted several times in his mind. Among the disciples of Lanling Hall of this generation, those who had already made a name for themselves and could stand alone as heroes of their time were only himself, the one-man show of the Yi-Yan Hall, his junior brother Mo Yi of Xingfeng Hall, and A Qiu, the master of Shenbing Hall.
He wanted to ask his master who the last of the "Four Beauties" was, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.
Wan Qiqing already sensed this and smiled, "You also have a senior sister, whose code name in the hall is 'Gao Jianli,' but she has never been in this hall, so none of you know her. It seems that it is time for her to come out of seclusion."
Lanling disciples have always been known to have countless incarnations, hiding in various sects. Gongyi Xiu was not too surprised to hear of this. However, such an important figure, whose ranking in the sect was even higher than his own, had never been mentioned by his master before, which suggested that his identity was extremely important and required strict secrecy.
Wan Qiqing pondered for a moment and said, "As for A Qiu... there are people in the inner palace who can look after her. And that person has probably already seen her. It's just that that person is in a similar situation to you, with a high status, making it inconvenient to reach out, and we cannot easily use this person."
Gongyi Xiu understood his master's meaning: the higher the position and power of a person, the more important a pawn that has been painstakingly cultivated over many years. He should not let them make a move until a fatal blow is dealt, lest their identity be exposed and he suffer a greater loss for a small gain.
He said respectfully, "Then let this disciple take action tonight and kill someone at the music hall!"
Wan Qiqing shook his head with a smile and said, "There's no need for that." His gaze fell on Gu Yi's "handwritten original" and he said casually, "Judging from the person who relayed the message for A Qiu, we can tell that A Qiu may not be as bad as we thought."
Gongyi Xiu was speechless. The fact that A Qiu could get the Junior Tutor Gu Yi to relay a message meant that A Qiu's abilities were certainly extraordinary.
For some reason, he intended to keep this matter a secret for A Qiu, but he was always extremely loyal to his master and felt that he could not deceive his master. So, conflicted, he brought Gu Yi's handwriting to Songxue Hall in its original form.
Wan Qiqing asked, "Do you have anyone who can relay a message to A Qiu?"
Gongyi Xiu immediately discerned his master's intentions: it was merely a message to be relayed; the person need not be a trusted disciple of the sect, nor someone who understood the crux of the matter. In fact, the less one knew about the sect's core affairs, the better, so that in case of trouble, one would not be implicated and dragged down by a web of connections.
But they must be trustworthy people.
In an instant, Gongyi Xiu went through all the connections of the court and the martial arts world in Yiyantang in his mind. The name of a person he had known for a long time but had never met in person unexpectedly appeared in his mind.
This is just a small favor for that person, and it won't harm them, so he should be able to help.
He then replied, "I have a suitable candidate."
Wan Qiqing didn't ask who the person was, but said leisurely, "Don't underestimate A Qiu's abilities. She was just a little hesitant because she was repeatedly warned by me. But what kind of people are we Lanling Assassins? Can a mere Jianzhang Palace, built on a foundation of a thousand layers of decay and oppression and rotten to the core, really trap my disciple, Wan Qiqing's disciple!"
By the last sentence, his voice had become increasingly impassioned. Gongyi Xiu could also sense from his tone that powerful confidence, as strong as the midday sun, and his faith in A Qiu.
After saying this, Wan Qiqing's expression suddenly turned cold:
“I always told A-Qiu that when you’re in someone else’s territory, you have to follow their rules and you can’t kill people in the palace.”
He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing casually at the sky, and said:
"As for now, Hugh, go and send me a message."
Gongyi Xiu saw his master's hand, which was as clear and lustrous as jade due to the cultivation of innate true qi, emerge from the sleeve of his plain white robe, extend in front of him, and make a downward slashing gesture.
Wan Qiqing said solemnly:
"In an emergency, one must act expediently. He may be killed."
A tremendous wave of emotion surged within Gongyi Xiu's heart.
With his master's permission, A Qiu, the head of the Divine Weapon Hall of Lanling Hall, is sure to stir up a storm in the palace and cause further turmoil in the political situation.
He felt he could never truly understand his junior sister's abilities. She was always smiling, yet her potential seemed limitless. He suspected he was destined to spend his life cleaning up her messes.
He accepted his master's instructions and was about to leave to carry them out when he suddenly heard Wan Qiqing's voice behind him:
"This person has excellent calligraphy, but for some reason, none of his works have ever been passed down. Xiu'er, do you know who he is?"
Gongyi Xiu, who was about to leave, turned around as if struck by lightning.
Seeing his master, Wanqiqing, intently examining the two characters "not good," seemingly becoming more and more amazed with each glance, his admiration overflowing.
Gongyi Xiu was sweating profusely. He lowered his head, not daring to look directly at his master's face, and replied, "This person is... Junior Tutor Gu Yi."
An awkward silence filled the air.
Wan Qiqing sat in the folding chair, remaining silent for most of the day.
For Gongyi Xiu, who was kneeling, it felt like an eternity. Only then did he hear his master's emotionless voice say, "Why didn't you report before entering?"
Gongyi Xiu was sweating profusely and his face was pale as he said, "This disciple has no conclusive evidence. It's just that last night, A Qiu fought Sikong Zhao on the top of Xianyang Hall, and this morning, those two characters were posted on the bulletin board outside the Ministry of Personnel. Some colleagues said it was the calligraphy of Junior Tutor Gu Yi, but no one in the court mentioned this matter, and this disciple cannot go to Gu Yi to confront him."
What he said was, of course, the truth. Even if everyone believed it was Gu Yi's handwriting, if Gu Yi himself didn't mention it, everyone else could only pretend it wasn't true. He certainly couldn't take the note to Gu Yi and question him about why he was relaying a message for A Qiu. That would be tantamount to revealing that he himself was the Lanling disciple who received the letter.
Although one could check Gu Yi's handwriting in the official documents of the Ministry of Personnel, it was true that Gongyi Xiu rushed to Songxue Hall to deliver the message immediately after court, and did not have time.
Gongyi Xiu knew that these words could not be hidden from his master. He was indeed deliberately concealing the truth for A Qiu, because the matter was too strange. A Qiu had only been in the palace for two days, and there was no way she should have such a deep connection with the Junior Tutor Gu Yi. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding.
But if Master finds out that A-Qiu entrusted the secrets of this hall to an outsider she had only known for less than two days, it's hard to say how Master will deal with her.
After all, the word "bad" connects A Qiu, the head of the Divine Weapon Hall in the deep palace, with Gongyi Xiu, the right prime minister of the outer court and the senior brother of Lanling Hall, on the other hand. It is truly a matter of great importance, and there is no room for error.
He only knew that A Qiu shouldn't trust Gu Yi so much, but he didn't know that Gu Yi had even given A Qiu the "Junior Tutor's Order," which allowed him to freely enter and leave the inner palace and the outer court.
He heard Wan Qiqing say in a deep voice above him, "You protect her like this, but do you really think it's good for her?"
Gongyi Xiu hurriedly said, "This disciple only knows that A Qiu has his own methods of handling things and would never act recklessly. When Master instructs his disciples to enter the martial world or the imperial court, the principle has always been the same: 'act according to one's own discretion.'" He thought for a moment and then added, "A Qiu would never side with outsiders."
He added, "Neither I nor Junior Brother Mo Yi know how to do it."
Wan Qiqing sighed, looked out the window, and said softly, "Only today do I realize that you have all grown up."
Gongyi Xiu was increasingly alarmed, truly unsure how to respond.
He had witnessed his master's ability to turn things around at will, and he had also seen how his master treated traitors.
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