Chapter 695 Arrogance (First Update)
Tianqiong Academy is closed today. Gu Jiao overheard a passing merchant saying this while she was buying groceries at the market: the Grand Preceptor returned to Shengdu in the middle of the night, and a long line of people seeking an audience with him had formed outside the Grand Preceptor's Hall early this morning.
"Are so many people eager to meet the Imperial Advisor?"
The vegetable vendor asked the merchant sitting at the next stall drinking soy milk, "Ten knife coins."
Gu Jiao handed ten coins to the vegetable vendor and put two fresh gourds into the small basket on her back.
The merchant gulped down half a bowl of water before saying, sweating profusely, "Of course! The line stretched for three miles! Even the carriages could barely get through! If I weren't in a hurry to leave the city for business, I would have joined the line too!"
The last time Gu Jiao went to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall to inquire about the Imperial Preceptor's whereabouts, his eldest disciple Ye Qing told her that the Imperial Preceptor would return at the beginning of the month if things went well, and at the latest by the end of the month.
It would be best not to wait until the end of the month, since Gu Yan's condition would become more serious the longer it was delayed.
Gu Jiao returned to the house with the groceries she had bought.
"You're back." Seeing the beads of sweat on her forehead, Madam Nan quickly took her small basket and said, "I didn't expect Shengdu to be so hot this year. You must be feeling suffocated!"
It refers to Gu Jiao's binding of her chest.
Gu Jiao has grown so much in the past two years that she has to wrap herself up tightly in layers to cover her body, which makes Nan Shi Niang feel hot for her.
Gu Jiao said, "It's alright."
I can tolerate it.
Mrs. Nan said with concern, "You've really gone to so much trouble. I've made some mint water; it'll be ready in a bit."
"Madam Nan, I'm not drinking anymore. I need to go into the inner city," Gu Jiao said. "The Imperial Preceptor is back."
Nan Shi Niang's eyes lit up: "Really?"
Gu Jiao nodded: "Yes, that's what I heard at the market just now, so I thought I'd try my luck and see if I could meet the Imperial Advisor."
Looking at Gu Yan listlessly basking in the sun under the eaves, Madam Nan realized that Gu Yan's condition could not be delayed any longer: "Isn't the earlier the surgery, the greater the chance of a cure?"
"Yes," Gu Jiao said. If it drags on too long, the surgery might be useless.
Nan Shi Niang did not try to stop her any further and asked Master Lu to prepare a carriage for Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao retrieved the tokens of the Six Kingdoms Chess Saints from the room and rummaged through them on the table: "Huh? Where are the tokens? I clearly put them here."
"here."
Mr. Meng appeared at the door, holding a brocade pouch with a token inside.
"Oh." Gu Jiao walked over and took the brocade pouch. "Oh, you took it."
Mr. Meng said casually, "I just grabbed it. Are you planning to go into town alone?"
“Yes,” Gu Jiao said.
Mr. Meng cleared his throat: "Aren't you taking me?"
Gu Jiao looked at him strangely: "Why did I bring you along?"
Old Master Meng then said, "To the Imperial Preceptor's Hall?"
Gu Jiao said seriously, "The Imperial Advisor knows the chess masters of the six countries. If you go there, the secret will be exposed."
The true Six Kingdoms Chess Saint, Master Meng: "..."
Thinking of something, Gu Jiao said, "No, you still have to go, otherwise you won't be able to get into the city later."
However, Mr. Meng really needs to go into the city today. He is going to see someone near the Imperial Preceptor's Hall, and he will be going the same way as Gu Jiao.
Master Lu had prepared the carriage. He originally planned to use another horse, but the horse king beat up Master Lu and his companion together, and then it came out proudly to pull the carriage!
It even remembered to carry Gu Jiao's small medicine box and basket onto the carriage, which shows that it provided very thoughtful service!
After Gu Jiao got into the carriage, Mr. Meng also got in.
Gu Jiao lowered the curtain and said to Ma Wang, "That's enough, let's go."
The horse king grinned, raised its front hooves, and galloped away with a whoosh!
Caught off guard, Mr. Meng leaned back and crashed into the car wall with a thud!
Horse King runs incredibly fast!
The wind blew in from the front, making the carriage curtains fly high and crash against the carriage walls with a crackling sound.
Mr. Meng was so overwhelmed by the wind that he felt utterly hopeless. He lay there with his arms outstretched against the car wall behind him, completely powerless to resist. He felt like he couldn't even open his eyes, and that the wrinkles on his face were about to be blown away.
What a crazy little horse this is!
The carriage sped along the streets, overtaking any other vehicle it could find, and raced forward!
By the time they stopped to pass through the inner city gate checkpoint, Mr. Meng had been blown into a mane of puffed-up hair.
This time, Mr. Meng wasn't forced to say shameful lines by Gu Jiao because the guards on the city gates let him pass directly upon seeing the token of the Six Kingdoms Chess Saint.
Mr. Meng breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though King Ma had never been to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall, he still needed to give directions.
After entering the inner city, Gu Jiao sat in the outer seat of the carriage.
The capital was exceptionally congested today, and the carriage got stuck halfway after only a short distance.
In a teahouse on the street, on the second floor facing the street, a man in his thirties dressed in black sat by the window, looking at the traffic jam that was making it impossible to move.
One of the carriages caught his attention.
The carriage itself wasn't anything special; it was the horse that was the main attraction.
All the other horses stayed put, but this one couldn't stay still; it kept looking around, trying to catch butterflies.
"What a stupid horse!" the man muttered. After a moment, his gaze followed the horse to the coachman.
The driver was a young man in a blue robe with a red birthmark on his left cheek.
"It's him?" The man's lips curled slightly. "He actually got into the inner city."
Han Shizi followed his gaze and quickly spotted Gu Jiao in the carriage. He frowned and asked, "Xiao Liulang? Master, do you know him?"
The man whom Prince Han called "Master" was none other than Qi Xuan, Nan Shi Niang's former senior brother.
Qi Xuan looked leisurely at the young man in blue robes sitting in the carriage, looking miserable from the traffic jam, and smiled faintly: "I told you, I ran into my junior sister from the Tang Sect last time. There's something else I haven't mentioned, my junior sister has met someone interesting."
"Is that Xiao Liulang?" Han Shizi asked in surprise.
Qi Xuan laughed and said, "I think I've guessed who killed Nangong Li."
Han Shizi frowned and said, "You don't mean to say that the murderer is Xiao Liulang, do you?"
Qi Xuan smiled and swirled the teacup in his hand: "Besides him, I can't think of anyone else."
Han Shizi shook his head: "How could he possibly kill Nangong Li with his martial arts skills? Nangong Li has lost an arm, but even so, Xiao Liulang is definitely no match for Nangong Li."
Qi Xuan said, "He defeated several Shaolin monks who practiced body tempering last time. I remember that the use of internal energy is prohibited in your polo matches."
Han Shizi said, "That's right."
Qi Xuan laughed, "To defeat a Shaolin body-refining monk without using internal energy, how many people in Shengdu do you think can do that? Besides, didn't the autopsy results come out? Nangong Li didn't suffer any internal injuries; he was killed by someone using a tree branch as a spear to pierce his heart. As far as I know, only the Xuanyuan family's spear technique can do that."
Prince Han was horrified.
Qi Xuan looked at the boy in the carriage: "When I went to see my junior sister, I fought with this Xiao Liulang. Although he only made one move, I can confirm that he used the Xuanyuan family's spear technique!"
Han Shizi frowned deeply: "Two suspicious points: First, why did he want to kill Nangong Li? Second, how did he know the Xuanyuan family's spear technique?"
Qi Xuan took a sip of tea: "I don't know. This young man seems to be hiding quite a few secrets. Didn't you mention that the Han family discovered that Nangong Li had secretly gone to Zhao Kingdom not long ago? Not long after he returned, several people from Zhao Kingdom came to Shengdu. Don't you think there's a connection between these events?"
Han Shizi said, "My second uncle guessed that those Zhao people were experts brought by Nangong Li from Zhao, with the aim of dealing with our Han family. However, if what Master said is true, that Nangong Li died at the hands of Xiao Liulang, then Xiao Liulang and the Nangong family are not in cahoots."
Qi Xuan laughed and said, "Relationships between people are not limited to friends; they can also be adversarial. Perhaps Nangong Li offended someone in Zhao Kingdom."
After a moment of contemplation, Han Shizi said solemnly, "If Xiao Liulang is really that capable, then the Han family might be able to set aside past grievances and consider taking him under our wing."
Qi Xuan calmly put down his teacup, picked up a piece of crab roe pastry from the plate, and said, looking at the exquisite and delicious crab roe pastry, "I'm afraid you can't bribe him."
Han Shizi asked, puzzled, "Why do you say that, Master?"
Qi Xuan gestured with his eyes, "Do you remember when someone put a sack over your head on the street? Look, that's the guy who did it."
Prince Han was utterly shocked: "How could it be...him?"
Qi Xuan said, "I found half of a crabapple blossom needle that was broken into a crack in the wall where you had the accident. That's my junior sister's favorite hidden weapon. It couldn't have been my junior sister who ambushed you. My junior sister is over thirty years old, and her figure is still different from that of a young person."
Crown Prince Han recalled, "The one who ambushed me that day... was indeed a boy."
Qi Xuan exclaimed, "This kid is really something else. He knows the Xuanyuan family's spear technique and has also learned our Tang Clan's hidden weapons."
Han Shizi's expression was complicated: "To dare to offend two major families at once, they are indeed not simple."
Qi Xuan looked at the streets that were beginning to clear, his smile gradually fading, and said seriously, "Offend? No, he simply doesn't take the aristocratic families seriously."
(End of this chapter)
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