Chapter 73 Li Daoxuan's throat rolled...
After doing all this, Chen Qing suddenly realized what she had done subconsciously. Without bothering to delve into why she had subconsciously done this, she was quite at a loss and said hurriedly: "My hair is a bit of a hindrance. How about, how about I find a headband to tie it up-"
"No need." Li Daoxuan stared at her solemnly, and a red light suddenly flashed in his pupils.
Qiu Ren emerged from the sword, lightly bounced to Chen Qing's shoulder, and then used the tail of the sword to knock off the veil covering Chen Qing's head.
Chen Qing looked at Mi Li who fell tragically, with confusion in his eyes.
Finally, there was nothing in the way. Li Daoxuan raised his head and said, "There's no one else in the room. Mi Li is just an eyesore."
“……” problem.
This episode completely dissipated the remaining anxiety in Chen Qing's heart.
Since the two of them are "brother and sister" on the surface, they must abide by etiquette. Even when taking care of their own brother, they still have to be on guard. That's why Chen Qing casually took out a veil to cover himself and pretend to the outside world.
Now that Mi Li was taken away, she was happy and at ease. She simply put the bowl to his mouth and poured the medicine into him, then told him everything about his current situation.
"Since you left, the entire family of the Dali Temple official has been exterminated, and your fake mother is also dead. The most prevalent rumor now is that you forcibly detained the Liu family's wife with malicious intent. Unexpectedly, your plan was exposed, and Liu Siyuan's family was killed by a demonic attack. Everyone in the capital's Datong District is saying you're fleeing under the guise of exorcising demons."
"Yet the Sage made no mention of your intentions, and only sent the Three Judges to investigate the case. Precisely because of the Sage's laissez-faire attitude, nearly half of the court's censors submitted memorials impeaching you."
The Imperial Censor spent the entire day reading these impeachment memorials before the Emperor, his lips already smoking before his shift ended. These memorials were submitted by the most trusted ministers and required the Emperor's personal review. Meanwhile, Chief Censor Gu Ze was ordered to investigate the Liu family massacre case, leaving him overwhelmed. Censor Feng felt overwhelmed and his life was about to end.
It can be said that Li Daoxuan is still suspected of being a traitor, and he will be hated by everyone if he returns to Chang'an.
He frowned, staring at the calm Li Daoxuan, and asked sincerely, "Sometimes, you could just be more tactful and low-key. Why do you have to resort to the most offensive method? Are you really going to sit back and watch your reputation completely ruined without trying to save it?"
Li Daoxuan smiled scornfully and said, "Reputation, to me, is only something that those stubborn censors value. I only seek to be efficient and effective in my actions, so I don't have the time to worry about reputation."
The words were extremely uninhibited, but Chen Qing always felt that this was not what he really thought. After all, it was none of her business, so she said no more and only said:
"My senior brother has been ordered to investigate the Lishan Underground Palace case and is currently unable to find me. You should take good care of your injuries during this period. I only hope that you can clear your suspicion as soon as possible upon your return to Chang'an, otherwise my Shen family will be dragged into trouble by you."
After finishing, he put down the bowl, held out his hand to him and said, "Antidote."
Li Daoxuan didn't understand what she meant by dragging him into the water, but when he saw her pair of bright eyes, he remembered that they were still engaged.
Counting the time, there are less than two months left.
He lowered his eyes, trying to suppress the bitter taste in his mouth, and said, "Bring me my leather belt."
Hearing this, Chen Qing went to the wooden tray and took out the leather belt.
His robe was soaked in blood, dirty and torn, and had been taken away by the servants for disposal. Only his arm guards and leather belt were left by Chen Qing and placed on a wooden tray prepared by the servants.
The leather belt's strap was made of cowhide, and the inlaid buckle was made of smooth white Hetian jade. A layer of silver sheet was pasted on the surface, and the silver sheet was inscribed with many intricate patterns. Chen Qing could vaguely make out a few of the patterns were the legendary mythical beast Qilin, but the rest were unrecognizable.
Li Daoxuan slowly took the leather belt and asked solemnly, "Is the medicine hidden inside? How about I take it?"
Li Daoxuan said without even looking up: "You won't."
Chen Qing was dissatisfied with what he said and said, "It's just a medicine. Why don't you just take it? Are you afraid that I'll take the medicine and run away?"
"That's not the case," he said.
After he finished speaking, he found the four claws of the Qilin with slow but skillful movements, pressed them one by one, and used his fingertips to push away other lines along the silver sheet. Finally, he found the Qilin's head and pressed it, and the silver sheet at the Qilin's tail immediately lifted up.
The more Chen Qing watched, the more surprised she was. These movements were in perfect order, with hidden tricks. Even if Li Daoxuan told her in person, she wouldn't be able to do it. She couldn't help but admire him.
Li Daoxuan handed the leather belt to her and said, "Pull it out." His current injuries prevented him from doing such delicate work.
Shen Qing took it and did as he was told.
She pulled up the Qilin's tail and heard a very slight snapping sound. The Qilin immediately opened its mouth, revealing the elixir inside.
Seeing this, Chen Qing was amazed and poured out the black pill. As soon as the pill entered his hand, there was another snap, and the Qilin's mouth returned to its original shape, and the originally raised tail also stuck back. At first glance, it seemed to be just an ordinary decorative pattern.
No wonder he'd left the jade belt unused, insisting on affixing a layer of silver to it. Jade is hard but easily broken, unlike the flexibility and softness of silver. For example, if the Qilin's tail had been raised, if it were made of jade, it would have required a thick layer of glue and meticulous attention to detail at the joints. Silver, however, is different; it bends with a simple twitch.
In this way, the weight of the leather belt is greatly reduced and the storage space is increased, which is a win-win situation.
Chen Qing could no longer hide her thoughts and swallowed the pill whole. With bright eyes, she asked him, "What kind of mystery is this? Why have I never seen it before?" If she could get a leather belt like this, or make similar jewelry using this method, she would be able to carry a few more antidotes for poisons when she goes out in the future, just in case.
Li Daoxuan looked at someone with a face full of curiosity and whispered, "There's an aide in the palace who used to be the Chief Inspector of Military Equipment. After he retired, I hired him to my palace with a large salary. He loves to study these mechanical devices all day long."
The aide once entered the Military Arsenal with a sincere desire to serve the country. However, at that time, the Li Dynasty advocated heavy weapons and emphasized strength and power in killing the enemy. However, the aide was obsessed with studying light and portable hidden weapons, which was contrary to his behavior. Therefore, his colleagues regarded him as a freak and alienated themselves from him.
Although the Military Equipment Inspectorate was one of the five inspectors, its establishment was unstable, and it was sometimes established and sometimes abolished.
This unstable situation, coupled with the lack of any close friends and comrades to accompany him, made the staff feel frustrated and resigned, returning home to work as a blacksmith. Li Daoxuan heard of this man while traveling with his master, and he paid a large sum of money to recruit him under his command.
Shen Qing was not familiar with the affairs of the imperial court, and had no idea that there was anything wrong with Li Daoxuan openly recruiting skilled craftsmen. He only said, "That man is really amazing."
Li Daoxuan continued, "This leather belt appears to be made up of sixteen pieces of jade, but in reality, each piece has been broken into pieces and then pieced together. As for why the jade appears intact, you're so clever, guess?"
"Could it be that a mortise and tenon mechanism is used?"
Chen Qing thought about how a "small secret room" popped out when the Qilin's tail was pulled, which was somewhat similar to the leaf spring structure in a lock that was deformed by elastic force. After taking the pill, the Qilin's tail automatically curled back. It seemed that there was some load-bearing mechanism. Once the weight was reduced and the mechanism was pulled, the Qilin's mouth and tail would naturally return to their original positions.
However, the elasticity of the leaf spring alone wasn't enough to restore the jade leather to its original state; it likely involved a mortise and tenon mechanism. The tail was the tenon, and when the tenon pulled out of the mortise, the previously tightly connected components instantly loosened, causing the mouth to open under the elastic pull. Once the elixir was removed, the "small dark room" lost its resistance and instantly changed, causing the Qilin's tail to retract under the tension, restoring everything to its original state.
After telling him this conjecture, a hint of praise flashed in Li Daoxuan's eyes: "You can think so thoroughly. Yes, it is the exquisite coordination of the mortise and tenon and the similar reed mechanism that creates the wonder of this jade leather." He, who has always been taciturn, rarely uttered so many words in one breath.
This kind of mechanism is common, mortise and tenon mechanism, lock reed is more common, but the combination of the two and the delicate and light mechanism is rare, and it can be cleverly integrated into this small piece of jade leather, which shows the ingenuity of the staff.
Chen Qing couldn't help but ask, "Are your arm guards like this as well?"
Li Daoxuan: "My arm guard is impervious to water and fire, swords and spears, and can even shoot poison needles from it, but it can only shoot three needles. I usually use it for self-defense."
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing couldn't help but say, "It would be great if we could launch the talisman paper. When facing an attacking demon, we could also strike it by surprise."
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Li Daoxuan seriously considered it for a moment, and then said, "Let me go back and ask him." After saying that, he looked at the solemn and lively face and was stunned for a moment.
Chen Qing was still happy, lying beside his bed and excitedly said: "Then when you find this kind of hidden weapon, you can give me some!"
Before he could answer, he was suddenly hit on the head by a heavy hammer. Li Daoxuan felt a dull pain in his head and felt that his brain would burst in the next moment. He stared at Chen Qing, veins suddenly popped up on his forehead, and the whites of his eyes were covered with bloodshot.
"go out."
Shen Qing was startled by his appearance, "What's wrong with you?"
"go out!"
Before Chen Qing told him about the unusual situation in Zhou Mansion, she felt as if a bucket of cold water was poured on her head. The joy in her heart disappeared without a trace. She glanced at the person who closed his eyes calmly, picked up the veil and walked out.
What she didn't see was that Li Daoxuan was gritting his teeth, sweating profusely, and looked like he was in unbearable pain. On the back of his hand, a bean-sized bulge was moving under the skin, occasionally drilling into the flesh and swimming freely.
Every time it moved an inch, Li Daoxuan's pain increased.
Until the end, Li Daoxuan endured the pain and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood that had accumulated for many days. When he opened his eyes again, his vision was clear and his body was covered in sweat.
Because he had sucked Chen Qing's blood as an exception, the poisonous insect attacked extremely violently this time. Li Daoxuan had no time to turn back and did not dare to gamble that he still had some rationality to refrain from hurting innocent people. So he found a cave where there were few people, made preparations to drive away the insects and beasts, and without caring about the injuries on his body, he decisively cut his own tendons and veins, and then leaned quietly against the stone wall to wait for the poisonous insect to attack.
I thought the poisonous insect would stop killing me after these three days, but I didn't expect that the girl would still arouse my primitive desires today.
As soon as I closed my eyes, all I could think of was her appearance.
Today she was wearing a goose yellow skirt, which made her already fair skin look even more delicate. Her cheeks were lightly pink, her hair was combed high, revealing her smooth forehead, with a few strands of hair hanging down on the side of her forehead. With a pair of bright almond eyes, she looked like a goose yellow flower bud in the winter snow, lively and bright.
Just one look at her can make people feel influenced by her, as if their whole body is full of vitality and energy.
Every time her hand got close, the tip of his nose would be rushed to by the sweet fragrance, making one want to split it into pieces and swallow it.
Li Daoxuan's throat rolled, and he closed his eyes to calm the surge in his heart.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com