Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Adding fuel to the fire
Not only was that not the case, she simply didn't care about him at all.
Huang Yu added silently in his heart, and his eyes changed when he looked at Duan Wenpei.
There was an inexplicable tinge of sympathy mixed in with the teasing.
Duan Wenpei felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by the two of them. He put his hand to his lips and coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment. He said in a stiff voice, "You haven't recovered from the cold yet. You should avoid meat, fish, and alcohol. Don't you know that?"
They knew it, but they also knew Duan Wenpei's personality.
Someone who has fought his way out of a sea of blood and corpses, and has a cold temperament, would he be afraid of these things just because of a minor cold?
It seems that the lady of the lord's house, whom they have never met, and their lord have never been close friends.
But even though I think this way, I can’t say it that way.
"I know, of course I don't! My sister-in-law is a kind and thoughtful woman, and she's taken care of you, Huaizhou. We haven't even gotten married yet, so naturally, we don't know the intricacies of this."
He winked at Huang Yu, and Huang Yu replied, "That's right. Madam Bo has good intentions. Master Bo is very lucky."
Watching the two of them singing the same tune, Duan Wenpei felt that the breath in his heart became more and more turbid and stuffy.
He placed the teacup heavily on the table and snorted coldly, "They said they came all the way to visit me, but I don't think that's the case!"
His slender joints tapped the tabletop intermittently. Looking closely, the slackness in his expression had disappeared, leaving only an obscurity that was hard to discern.
The sound of rain outside the window has not stopped, but the room has suddenly become quiet.
The atmosphere is a bit subtle.
"Of course we came all the way here to visit you in Huaizhou."
Xie Jin stroked his chin and gave Duan Wenpei a dry laugh. With a roll of his eyes, he broke the silence and changed the subject. "Ahem, speaking of which, what's wrong with His Majesty? Demoting Li Junji would have been fine, but why did he also dismiss you? Has he forgotten that he originally appointed you to the Ministry of Justice in order to pressure the Yong'an Marquisate and reclaim that golden medal of immunity from death? Now that you're no longer needed, he dismisses you and fines you without a word. How can such a thing be justified?"
"Also," he pointed at the corner of gauze peeping out from under the sleeve of Duan Wenpei's wide robe, "I heard from Liu Hui when I came here that your arm was injured in the palace. What does His Majesty mean by insisting on making you suffer so much? Is he the emperor sitting high in the temple? Or is he a cruel official in the government office?"
Liu Hui, who was waiting outside the door, heard his name being called from inside. He thought it was Duan Wenpei calling him. He glanced at the people standing in the corridor and took two steps forward to remind them, "Master, Chunya is still waiting."
No one in the room expected Liu Hui to speak at this time, and they all looked at Duan Wenpei who was sitting at the upper seat.
It was too early to say those things before.
For someone like Duan Wenpei, if he doesn't want to, even the fairies in heaven may not be able to catch his eye.
After all, it was a gift from Nan Xu's family, and he just forgot about it? He just left it aside?
Xie Jin and Huang Yu silently clicked their tongues, their sympathy mixed with a bit of contempt for him.
Receiving the two people's eye contact, Duan Wenpei paused his finger on the table, glanced at them coldly, and then instructed outside, "Take the gift. Go in person and thank my sister-in-law for her kindness on my behalf."
"Also," he stopped Liu Hui who was about to leave, "Don't tell her what Xie Jin asked her just now."
It's obvious who she is.
Xie Jin couldn't help but say, "Actually, my sister-in-law knows about this..."
"Okay, I'll shut up."
Before Duan Wenpei's piercing gaze like an ice cone came towards him, Xie Jin wisely covered his lips with his hand.
Looking at his funny look, Huang Yu suddenly felt that his leisurely temperament was actually quite good.
After the figure outside the door went away, Duan Wenpei withdrew his gaze, glanced at the two people with different expressions, and talked about what Xie Jin had just asked.
"I refused the imperial order to enter the palace three times in a row. This injury was caused intentionally."
His tone was calm, as if he was talking about a trivial and ordinary matter.
Xie Jin clicked his tongue. What he admired and envied the most was Duan Wenpei's mental state of being ready to use the sky as a blanket.
He didn't have that level of cultivation, but a look of surprise still appeared on his dashing face.
"Why? Could it be to enter Shu?"
Xie Jin is not stupid, and he also knows Duan Wenpei well enough. If there is anything that can make him fight so hard now, it is probably only the matter of the Zhao family in Shu.
Duan Wenpei didn't say anything, which was considered as his agreement.
He stroked a flat, pointed carving knife that he had taken out from somewhere, looked up at the rain outside the window, and instead of answering, talked about something else.
"The Imperial Astronomical Observatory has calculated that this rain will be quite heavy, especially in the northwest. It will last for at least ten days to half a month, and at most more than a month. Shu may appear to be mountainous and treacherous, but its interior is very flat. If this continues, Shu will be in danger."
Huang Yu, who had been silent the whole time, began to understand. "Lord, what you mean is that when the Shu region is hit by floods, the governor of Shu will petition the court for disaster relief. Lord, you can take this opportunity to submit a petition to the court. But, how does this have to do with Lord, you deliberately getting injured?"
"Fool, why don't you understand?"
Xie Jin had already sorted out the whole cause and effect. He picked up the book beside him, rolled it into a tube, and tapped Huang Yu's shoulder to clear his mind.
"Who did Huaizhou marry?"
"Marquis Yong'an's legitimate daughter."
"Whose in-laws are you talking about in the Yong'an Marquis Mansion?"
"Wing King."
"Where is King Yi now?"
"Shu, Shu land."
"That's right!" Xie Jin slapped his thigh. "Your Majesty punished Li Junji, but Huaizhou, the son-in-law of the Yong'an Marquisate, remained unharmed. How could His Majesty feel good about this? He wanted stability in the court and an even balance of power, not a sharp blade in his hand that cut his own hand."
Huang Yu was still a little confused. "That's not right. Even if I calm His Majesty's displeasure and dispel his suspicions, will His Majesty let the Earl get what he wants?"
Outsiders don't know the relationship between Duan Wenpei and the Zhao family, but the people present and the person in the palace know it very well.
Everyone knows why the marriage was granted in the first place.
If Duan Wenpei's wish were fulfilled, wouldn't it be like letting a tiger return to the mountains and releasing a dragon into the sea?
No one knows what kind of monsters and demons are hiding in the Zhao family's deep pool. If everything is a plot planned by Duan Wenpei and the Zhao family, then entering Shu will undoubtedly add a powerful general to King Yi and the Zhao family.
Emperor Xuanwu would not be so easily fooled.
Huang Yu's words hit the nail on the head. Xie Jin had some vague guesses, but he had already made Duan Wenpei a little unhappy because he couldn't control his mouth, so he naturally didn't dare to say anything.
No one answered Huang Yu, and his desire for knowledge grew wildly in the increasingly humid air.
Duan Wenpei fumbled out a piece of wood from the antique display cabinet next to him and tried to carve it with a carving knife. Sawdust fell down and the piece of wood gradually took on an arc.
"Your Majesty will certainly not let me have my wish."
He blew away the sawdust that hadn't fallen off the wood, hiding the blood drops on his fingers from the scratches of the carving knife. "But some things can't be decided by his will. If he doesn't agree, I have plenty of ways to force him to agree."
"Boom", thunder rolled down from the sky and the carving knife flew. At a certain moment, the dazzling lightning coincided with the figure of the person in the house, and the blade with a cold glow reflected a dazzling light.
Just like Duan Wenpei's 'knife', even if it is equipped with a softer and more ancient scabbard, its sharpness will not be diminished in the slightest.
Huang Yu wanted to ask again.
When Xie Jin stopped him, he put aside his usual cynicism and asked solemnly, "What do you want us to do?"
This situation was probably set up long ago.
The assassination in Tianxiang Tower was just a fire starter.
And this fuse has always been in Duan Wenpei's hand.
Silver light danced for a moment, and Duan Wenpei finally stopped the carving knife in his hand. He threw the piece of wood onto the table with a "dong" sound. Xie Jin and Huang Yu took a closer look and vaguely saw that it was in the shape of a bracelet.
"When I escaped from the Zhao family, there was a secret passage leading out of Shu. Times have changed, and while the passage still exists, it's hard to find. It's inconvenient for my people to come forward. Your Xie family's businesses are spread across the northwest. Ask them to help me investigate the current situation of that secret passage."
Xie Jin nodded, this was not a difficult task.
"As for Kyoto," Duan Wenpei walked to the window, his gaze fixed on the corner of the frame where a spider was struggling to get down from its rain-soaked web. "The rumors of discord between Li Zhan and the princess weren't enough, and now someone is adding fuel to the fire."
"What fire?"
Duan Wenpei stretched out his fingers and pulled the spider off the web. "The princess has fallen in love with someone else. She doesn't love the prince consort, but the fourth son of the Zhao family, Zhao Huaijue, whom she rescued from the fire."
"The prince consort was heartbroken. He drank to drown his sorrows, stayed in brothels, and spent a fortune just to win the smile of the courtesan."
The spider finally got out of the web and was about to take shelter from the wind and rain, but unexpectedly the wind direction changed, bringing rain towards the windowsill. The spider was knocked to the ground by the heavy rain and never struggled again.
…
"Master, I have something to report."
Liu Hui's voice came from outside the door, and Duan Wenpei let him in.
Seeing Liu Hui hesitant to speak, Xie Jin and Huang Yu tactfully stood up and said goodbye to Duan Wenpei.
After they passed through the corridor and out of the second courtyard, Huang Yu finally grabbed Xie Jin and asked, "Is what Uncle just said true? How come I've never heard of it?"
Xie Jin glanced around and told him to speak more quietly. "I really don't know that the princess saved Zhao Huaijue, but I have heard that Li Zhan stayed overnight at the brothel."
"Ah? Isn't he the lady's childhood sweetheart? His character doesn't look very good."
Xie Jin rubbed his chin, also feeling a bit puzzled. "All I know is that the Prince Consort had a big argument with Lord Li, and then left the Li Mansion and disappeared. The servants of the Li Mansion searched for him for two days and finally found the Prince Consort, drunk, in a brothel."
"I've met Li Zhan before. He's a modest gentleman. I wonder what got into him after marrying the princess. He even dared to go to Yao Niang's place. I've been there so many times, but I couldn't even get my hands on Yao Niang's lips. And yet, he stayed there for two consecutive nights. I wonder what tricks he used."
Xie Jin took out a mirror and looked at himself. "After looking at each other, I still think I'm more attractive. I'm much better than Li Zhan..."
Seeing his narcissistic look, Huang Yu moved away from him with some disdain, "Isn't Auntie arranging a marriage for you? Why are you still thinking about those prostitutes?"
Xie Jin touched his face with an expression of disbelief. "What do you know? I've walked through a sea of flowers without getting a single leaf on me. Huang Yu, you haven't even been to a brothel, have you? Come on, come on, I'll take you to see what it means to be so fragrant and soft that you won't want to leave..."
"No, hey, Mr. Xie, please let me go..."
*
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the sky seemed to have a big hole in it, with no sign of stopping.
The corridor was mostly soaked by the rain that drifted in slantingly. Duan Wenpei walked in a hurry and slipped several times.
When I was almost at the warm room, I finally heard that familiar female voice.
"I'm not drunk, give me the wine."
"Wow, you are all bad people, bad people who stole my wine... Mother, I feel sad..."
Duan Wenpei paused, and Liu Hui, who was following behind him, didn't notice and almost bumped into his back.
"Master?"
"You wait outside and don't let anyone in."
After saying that, without waiting for Liu to answer, he pushed the door open and walked in quickly.
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