Chapter 20 (5,000 words) Xuan Yizhen is unscrupulous...
The cicadas were chirping loudly on the summer night. It was quite noisy. Manager Xin watched the movements in the waterside pavilion with complicated thoughts. He remembered that Princess Zhang Hua always hated noise.
And that female official Ji has been very strict in controlling Princess Zhanghua over the years, even to the point of being harsh, to the point that her daily travel is restricted, as if she is a guard who is intentionally on guard.
But it is clear that Princess Zhanghua is extremely talented and has already been in charge of the affairs of the Wanqi family, without any mistakes.
However, Female Official Ji still insisted on waiting for him to return to the Wanqi Family before handing over the family head's talisman, acting very forcefully.
However, due to the reputation and status of Lady Ji in the Wanqi clan, no one else dared to say anything.
Therefore, Princess Zhanghua's late-night visit today was truly unusual, and even Manager Xin was a little surprised.
When the night turned to daybreak, a tall figure stepped out of the pavilion, and Manager Xin followed him out. His eyes fell on the talisman of the head of the family beside Princess Zhang Hua, and he was secretly surprised.
Soon, the rosy glow of the sunset bathed the waterside pavilion, and the sky brightened. Yin Xing buried his head on the bamboo pillow, gazing into the empty space. He raised his hand to touch his face, muttering, "How could I have such a strange yet realistic dream?"
Xuan Yizheng's hands were so cool and soft, like soft jade. He stroked her cheeks gently, as tenderly and patiently as a mother comforting her baby.
Yin Xing's cheeks immediately turned red and she felt even more ashamed, but luckily it was just a dream.
Otherwise, if I grab Xuan Yizhen's hand and touch her, won't she think I'm a pervert?!
After a while, Yin Xing dressed and washed, then walked out and sat down. He ate his medicinal food and muttered, "Manager Xin, Xiaoguai was frightened yesterday. Let him rest more these few days."
The environment in the stables at the Dali Temple is terrible, and the weather is getting hotter, so the smell must be even harder to describe.
Manager Xin nodded and looked at Yin Xing who seemed to be unaware of the situation. He wondered why Princess Zhang Hua didn't wake her up last night. Did she just come to take a look?
Soon, Yin Xing finished his medicinal meal and was about to leave, but Manager Xin shook his head. The maid beside him understood and said, "Young Master Yin, the master wrote a letter asking for leave on your behalf last night, so please rest and recuperate."
Yin Xing stood there in a daze. He didn't expect Xuan Yizheng to be so well-informed. However, his arm was just a little sore, so there was no need to ask for leave.
Besides, if you take leave, your salary will be deducted!
But it was obvious that Yin Xing would not go to Xuan Yizheng to ask for the official seal back unless he wanted to make her unhappy.
Although Xuan Yizhen has always been gentle and easy to talk to, as a princess of the dynasty, her temperament is somewhat difficult to understand.
So Yin Xing decided to write a letter, maybe it would be helpful to say more good things to Xuan Yizheng!
At the time of Si, Yin Xing, who usually came to the Dali Temple early, did not show up today for the first time, and many officials ridiculed and mocked him.
"I said that brat was just pretending. It's only been a short while and he's already slacking off."
"After all, that boy was chosen by Princess Zhang Hua. He won't lose his job even if he doesn't come every day."
"This brat had the audacity to take over the position of Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple. However, Lord Jiang did not assign him any subordinates. Anyone with a bit of common sense would know shame."
The officials were talking incessantly, becoming increasingly excited, but the next moment, they all fell silent due to a light cough.
The reason was simple: Jiang Zhengming, the Dali Temple official on the pavilion, spoke with a dignified expression: "How could I not know that the Dali Temple officials were so leisurely? Do you think they want to be punished with sticks?"
After he finished speaking, all the officials fell silent, with no trace of their previous momentum. They all bowed and went back to their places.
The usual hurried scene in the waiting hall faded away. Jiang Zhengming stood with his hands behind his back and turned to the official beside him and said in a deep voice, "Send Chang Tonghai, who is in charge of the four quarters, over here."
"Yes." The official whispered.
Soon, Chang Tonghai hurried into the pavilion above the main hall, his steps light and his mind full of thoughts.
This Dali Temple Minister, who has been in charge of the Dali Temple for nearly twenty years, has always been low-key and his temperament is difficult to guess, but he dared to openly refute the prince, which shows that he is deeply trusted by the emperor.
"Sir, what do you want to ask me?"
"Such a major mistake has occurred in the Dali Temple, yet you act as if nothing has happened. Don't you really want to be in power?"
Upon hearing this, Chang Tonghai immediately explained, "Sir, I'm already investigating the fires in the archives, but there are spies within the Dali Temple, and this is confirmed beyond a doubt."
Jiang Zhengming's gaze fell on Chang Tonghai, and he said quietly, "I originally had high hopes for you, which is why I entrusted you with the task of the Third Princess's boat trip. But now you just want to shirk the responsibility. If that's the case, then you don't need to be responsible for this case anymore. Please take leave and go home to recuperate."
"My Lord, although I am dull, I have always been loyal to you. Even if I have no merits, I have worked hard for you!"
"You don't even know what you're doing, do you?"
Hearing the sound, Chang Tonghai was frightened and wanted to say something, but he caught a glimpse of a figure entering behind him and was immediately shocked.
Wu Shijie bowed and said, "Master Jiang, I can confirm that Chang Shaoqing went to the archives, killed officials, and set fire to destroy the bodies."
"You, you're slandering me, why would I burn the evidence?"
"I don't know, but I think it has something to do with the mansion and two large boxes of gold that Lord Chang accepted some time ago. Perhaps we can find out by confiscating the documents."
After he finished speaking, the sea surface turned as pale as earth and there was silence for a moment.
Jiang Zhengming, the Dali Temple official, looked at the speechless Chang Tonghai and said, "I don't want to investigate who's behind you, but the Dali Temple serves the imperial court and His Majesty. This is the only iron rule, so you'd better save some face and don't be ungrateful."
Having said this, Chang Tonghai had no choice but to take off his official hat and leave. His eyes fell on Wu Shijie, full of ferocious hatred.
It turns out that he had been lying low and flattering for so many years just to stab someone in the back today.
Wu Shijie calmly admired Chang Tonghai's miserable appearance, raised his hand to adjust his waist badge as the temple secretary, and a flickering fire appeared in his eyes, full of joy.
In the archives that was filled with the smell of blood at that time, Wu Shijie personally killed people, moved corpses, and poured kerosene.
"Don't dawdle, hurry up and set the fire." Chang Tonghai urged in a low voice.
"Oh no!" Wu Shijie frowned because his sleeves were stained with kerosene and had to step back.
In the end, Chang Tonghai had to prepare a torch and enter the archives himself, while Wu Shijie retreated to change clothes.
As the footsteps faded away, Jiang Zhengming raised his hand and flipped through the letter on the desk. He said to himself, "You will temporarily serve as the acting Shaoqing and be responsible for all matters. If you can properly complete the investigation paperwork for the Third Princess's boat accident, I will request that you take over Chang Tonghai's position."
Wu Shijie leaned forward, suppressed his ambition, and responded gratefully, "Thank you, Lord Jiang, for your guidance and support. I will never forget it."
"This matter depends on your own ability. Also, the son of the Marquis of Xizhou has asked for leave. Do you know the details?"
"I don't know."
Jiang Zhengming looked at Wu Shijie meaningfully, raised his hand and handed him the letter, saying, "Take a look."
Wu Shijie took the letter in confusion, his brows slightly startled. He hesitated and analyzed, "Master Jiang, this letter of leave is written with sharp and abrupt strokes. The ink is fragrant and translucent, with a rich, lustrous luster. The paper is smooth and has a fine texture. It must be a fine tribute from the imperial court."
Except for members of the royal family, few ministers in the court are qualified to use this kind of court tribute unless it is bestowed by the emperor.
It was even suggested to be used as a letter of leave, which is really a waste of resources.
Jiang Zhengming lifted the teacup from the table, lowered his eyes to look at the tea, his graying temples reflected in it, and warned calmly, "This letter is from Princess Zhanghua. It seems you should be careful about serving that insignificant son of the Marquis of Xizhou. Don't be as foolish as Chang Tonghai and serve others in vain."
Upon hearing this, Wu Shijie's expression changed slightly. He bent over to return the letter and replied cautiously, "Yes, I thank you, Lord Jiang, for your advice."
After leaving the house, Wu Shijie let out a long breath, wondering whether the old fox was playing tricks or already knew something, and he couldn't help but feel anxious.
No wonder the Dali Temple has been firmly controlled by Jiang Zhengming for so many years. It is really impossible to understand his thoughts.
At noon in summer, when it is the hottest time, pedestrians on the street gradually return home, and most peddlers and hawkers take shelter in the shade of tea stalls and alleys to cool off.
Outside a spacious garden in the outer city of the capital, there was an endless line of people waiting for free porridge on the street in front of the gate, and the crowd was filled with endless voices of gratitude.
In the garden, dozens of maids dressed in rich clothes burned incense and chanted scriptures. The sound of wooden fish could be heard clearly, and the sandalwood incense in the incense burners filled the air, making it look like a sacred temple.
A large screen embroidered with gold Bodhisattvas vaguely reflects a human figure, which, illuminated by sunlight, reveals a hint of golden light, adding to its divinity.
As the sound of Sanskrit chanting filled the quiet place, a maid hurried in from the corridor and knelt down, her breath unsteady as she reported in a panic, "Master, Yin Xing has taken sick leave today, but none of those people have returned since last night."
"It doesn't matter. They're all deadly warriors. Even if they were left alive, we wouldn't be able to find out anything." The figure within the screen remained motionless, the sound of a wooden fish incessant. The fingertips of his other hand fiddled with his Zen beads, his voice leisurely and comfortable. "But I didn't expect that a young master of the Marquis of Xizhou could actually make Xuan Yizhen mobilize the Wanqi clan's secret guards to hunt down the murderer. Those two future princes-in-law didn't receive such treatment. This is even more interesting."
"Master, the Wanqi family is very powerful, and their soldiers are highly skilled in martial arts. You should be on guard."
"If the Wanqi clan could truly cover the sky with one hand, they wouldn't have allowed the Xuan clan to become the emperor of the dynasty. I guess she's just a paper tiger hiding under a great reputation."
As the words fell, laughter began to rise. When the maid was about to speak, she suddenly frowned and lowered her eyes to find that her clothes were stained with blood and the arrow looked very familiar.
This is actually the weapon used by those Deadpools!
In a moment, the sound of the wooden fish in the hall stopped abruptly, and arrows were shot out, like stars passing by, wood chips flying, and the noisy sound filled the air.
The vase shattered, the teacups flew everywhere, and the maids around fell to the ground and died before they could even scream. The beams and pillars of the tea table were covered with dense arrows, like a swarm of bees.
When a hanging red and blue flying feather arrow sank into the center of the Bodhisattva's eyebrow on the screen, the feather swayed gently like dripping blood, and silence returned to the hall.
The screen with the golden statue of Bodhisattva was now stained with blood and became filthy.
"Master, are you okay?" A maid came forward injured to check.
"Damn it, this is the emperor's capital. How dare she retaliate so unscrupulously? She is simply a lunatic!" After the words were spoken, the figure who supported himself from the ground pushed the maid away. The veins on his palms bulged, and his whole body trembled slightly. He let the Zen beads on his wrist scatter all over the ground, red as blood, and there was no trace of his previous calm demeanor.
The scorching sun was setting in the west, and the heat had dissipated a lot in the morning and evening. Yin Xing in the courtyard raised his hand to support his chin, but he had not received a reply from Xuan Yizheng.
After dinner, Yin Xing took a shower and washed up, then boredly practiced calligraphy in the waterside pavilion. However, his mind was thinking about the complicated record of the cruise ship scroll, so he turned to draw the exquisite pattern that looked like a trademark.
Alas, large cruise ships are usually manufactured in the imperial shipyards. If you want to blow them into pieces, there seems to be no other possibility except that there is something wrong with the fireworks.
However, the third princess refused to reveal any clues about the manufacture of the fireworks, so it was impossible to close the case hastily.
Yin Xing felt that the third princess might be looking for trouble. With such a rude and irrational personality, it was reasonable for someone to harm her.
After a while, Yin Xing collapsed on the couch. He would really go crazy if he didn't have a mobile phone network to recover from his illness!
If it really doesn’t work, go find Xuan Yizheng tomorrow!
The candlelight flickered as Yin Xing folded a stack of paper he had used to practice calligraphy and casually threw a paper airplane out of his palm.
Unfortunately, the night wind outside blew the paper airplane into the waterside pavilion, and no matter how many times it tried, it couldn't fly out. Yin Xing then folded some paper boats instead.
Suddenly, there were footsteps behind him in the silence. Yin Xing thought it was Manager Xin, so he turned his head and asked in surprise, "Yizhen, why are you here?"
Manager Xin, why didn’t they remind us?
"What? Can't I come?" Xuan Yizheng looked down at Yin Xing, holding a strange-shaped origami in his fingertips, and his eyes casually fell on the origami scattered on the ground.
The culprit is undoubtedly Yin Xing.
"No, I'm just a little surprised." Yin Xing reached out and hurriedly gathered up the pile of papers, then hurried to pick up the scattered paper planes, his face embarrassed. "I'm usually very clean, not always this messy."
Xuan Yizhen casually sat down beside the couch, not stopping Yin Xing's movements. His eyes fell on her busy figure and he said, "But when I came here last night, your place wasn't very tidy either. Didn't Manager Xin tidy it up for you?"
"No, I just felt that Manager Xin was too hardworking in tidying up, so I didn't put her in charge of this." After saying that, Yin Xing paused, looked at Xuan Yizheng in disbelief, and then reacted slowly.
Wasn’t last night just a dream?
"Yizhen, why didn't you wake me up when you came last night?"
"You were sleeping too deeply, and I just looked at your injuries."
Yin Xing sat aside, holding a paper airplane, looking at the calm Xuan Yizhen with sparkling eyes. He said with great emotion, "I'm fine. It's just a scratch on my arm."
I didn’t expect Xuan Yizheng to come to visit in person. She is such a nice person!
Xuan Yizhen awkwardly avoided his scorching gaze, his eyes lowered to the paper folded between his fingers, and asked, "What are you folding?"
"An airplane is a form of transportation in our world. People can sit in it and fly into the sky at very high speeds."
"It's so dangerous, aren't you worried about falling from the sky?"
Yin Xing was stunned and scratched his head. "Normally not, but it's possible, but it's a very small possibility."
Xuan Yizhen lowered his eyes to look at the paper airplane between his fingers, and said thoughtfully: "Although it sounds like a small possibility, you are not allowed to try it."
"Don't worry, we usually take the high-speed rail, which is safer and more convenient."
"What is high-speed rail?"
Yin Xing suddenly felt that his knowledge was not enough to explain this concept clearly to Xuan Yizheng, an ancient man.
Yin Xing then took out a piece of paper he'd been practicing calligraphy on, folded it, and formed it into a long snake shape. He described it vividly, "This thing is hard on the outside and hollow on the inside, and it has different seating areas. It runs very fast on certain routes."
Xuan Yizhen responded calmly, "That sounds a lot like a series of iron boxes connected by a horse-drawn carriage traveling on a street where no one is allowed to pass, right?"
This is the logic, but the facts do not seem to be like this. Yin Xing did not know how to explain it for a moment.
"Can this paper airplane fly?"
“Yes, but it’s hard to fly.”
Yin Xing picked up a paper airplane and demonstrated by flying it towards the open area outside the pavilion. However, not long after the paper airplane left his hand, it turned and hit Yin Xing's head, causing the plane to crash.
I was careless, it actually hurts a little?!
Xuan Yizhen smiled faintly and replied, "It seems that paper airplanes are not safe either."
Yin Xing looked innocently at Xuan Yizhen who was teasing him. He saw her raise her jade hand slightly, but she did not immediately let out a paper plane. Instead, she closed her eyes very calmly, like an extremely devout believer. The lights were dim and fell greedily on her skin.
Suddenly, the paper airplane flew away from his hand, as if riding the wind and waves, flying out of the water pavilion and taking off gracefully towards the water lily pond.
Yin Xing opened his eyes wide in amazement and said in disbelief, "Wow, Yi is really amazing!"
Xuan Yizhen opened his eyes, his brows clear, and replied calmly, "This paper airplane relies on the wind to move, so you have to observe the changes in the wind direction through the candlelight curtains, and listen to the wind's movement to predict it. That way, you can fly far enough."
"But the wind comes and goes without a trace, it's ethereal and difficult to catch." Although he said so, Yin Xing's actions were extremely honest. He raised his hand to choose a new paper airplane and prepared to avenge his previous shame with concentration and calmness.
Yin Xing watched the flame of the lamp swaying and changing rapidly, and he couldn't make up his mind for a moment.
Just as Yin Xing hesitated, his wrist was suddenly grasped by Wenliang's fingers. Xuan Yizhen moved very close behind him and said softly, "Don't always passively observe. It's easy to be distracted. It's also important to predict the situation."
Yin Xing felt inexplicably nervous, thinking to himself that he had just wanted to have fun.
How did this suddenly become like an exam?!
Soon, Yin Xing was led by Xuan Yizhen's hand. He swung his arm and released a paper airplane from his fingertips. A clear voice fell beside his ear: "Why are you so nervous?"
Yin Xing looked at the paper airplane that had been released from his hand. This time, it finally didn't return to the waterside pavilion, but flew out of it. His eyes lit up and he said with relief, "Hehe, I wasn't just worried about not having fun."
After saying that, Yin Xing turned her head and found that Xuan Yizheng was very close to her. She subconsciously remembered that she had grabbed her hand and kissed it, and she felt ashamed!
"I didn't expect you to like playing this kind of childish game."
“…”
Yin Xing felt even more embarrassed by what he said, so he wanted to step away and pour tea for Xuan Yizheng.
But Xuan Yizhen's hand remained on her wrist, not letting go. Yin Xing couldn't move, so he could only explain stiffly, "I don't really like playing these games. I'm just bored and want to kill time."
After he finished speaking, Xuan Yizhen lifted up Yin Xing's sleeve with his fingertips and replied nonchalantly, "Is that so? Did you change the medicine on your wound today?"
"Well, Manager Xin has helped to treat it. It should scab over soon." Yin Xing obediently rolled up his sleeves to reveal the wound wrapped in gauze, even though he couldn't see anything at the moment.
"In that case, you can go to the Dali Temple after your wounds are healed and the scars have faded." Xuan Yizheng's eyes passed over the knot of the gauze with some regret, and he held Yin Xing's hand with his jade-white fingertips and said calmly.
Hearing the voice, Yin Xing stared blankly at Xuan Yizhen, who took it for granted, and almost doubted his ears.
I always feel that in Xuan Yizheng's understanding, asking for leave is easier than taking leave.
Didn't Xuan Yizhen know that taking leave would result in salary deductions?!
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The author has something to say: The second update is over, thank you for your support [laughing][poor][red heart]
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