Chapter 3 The Secret Old House is on Fire, and the Iron Tree is Blooming
Xue Zhiying felt the heat rising to her cheeks and she breathed softly. She lowered her head and took a few deep breaths.
When he looked up again, Xiao Yunqi had already looked away and was looking towards the door of the hall with his head tilted.
A figure hurried into the door.
The person who came was Mu Yan, Xiao Yunqi's personal attendant.
The atmosphere in the hall was subtle, and no one noticed the figure who suddenly walked in until Mu Yan walked straight to Xiao Yunqi's side.
He bowed slightly, then leaned over and whispered a few words quickly in Xiao Yunqi's ear.
Xiao Yunqi's eyes narrowed slightly. After listening, he stood up and said, "Please forgive me, I have urgent official business to attend to immediately. I will take my leave now."
"Wen Yu, why is it so sudden?" Xiao Ningwang was stunned, obviously not expecting his son to leave so suddenly.
Xiao Yunqi indicated with his eyes that it was not convenient to say more here, then turned around and left quickly.
Only then did Mu Yan show respect to everyone present again.
After he saluted, he was about to stand up when his eyes looked straight ahead from Xiao Yunqi's seat. He saw a girl's face behind the gap in the screen opposite him.
girl?
Xue Zhiying didn't expect that this person would see the gap as soon as he arrived. After thinking for a while, he lowered his head pretending to be guilty.
Mu Yan blinked, somewhat surprised and puzzled. Without time to think about it, he quickly withdrew his gaze and followed Xiao Yunqi's back.
As Mu Yan walked out of the hall, the atmosphere that had been stagnant for a long time instantly relaxed, and faint voices came from each table, as if they were discussing something.
Xue Zhiying no longer concentrated on listening, but just lowered her head and continued to enjoy the soup.
Others didn't know, only she knew that Xiao Yunqi appeared reserved and not interested in women. He refused all his family's urgings for marriage, but in fact he had been having an affair with a woman behind his back, and he was so naive and stupid that he was deceived.
This was the secret of Xiao Yunqi whom she had encountered not long ago.
She saw Xiao Yunqi meeting a woman in a secret place. She didn't know the identity of the woman. She only heard Xiao Yunqi's unclear words saying "take the silver", "don't let my father know", and "don't show up again".
She followed the woman after they separated.
Hearing the woman gloating over her words, "He's so easy to fool," "He's so generous," and "It's clear nothing happened," Xue Zhiying felt like she might be a bit of a bad guy.
She knew about this, but didn't want to tell Xiao Yunqi the truth.
Xiao Yunqi was powerful and held a high position, so such a thing was undoubtedly a scandal for him.
If she asked him for a reward with this truth, she would not get a penny and might even be suppressed by a powerful force.
She was puzzled at first, wondering how such an unattainable man could be so easily dazzled by a woman.
Later I thought that instead of taking credit for it, it would be better to follow his example.
…
"Replace the screen in the hall."
"Yes, young master."
Mu Yan followed him to the outside of Qingqiong Hall and saw Xiao Yunqi giving instructions to the maid in front of the door.
He didn't hear it and didn't ask any more questions.
As the evening breeze blew outside, he suddenly remembered what he had seen through the gap just now. It seemed to be the cousin from Jingshuiyuan.
"What's taking you so long to investigate something?"
After giving his instructions, Xiao Yunqi turned and looked at Mu Yan.
Mu Yan quickly put away his irrelevant thoughts, knowing in his heart that his master was blaming him for being late to the rescue.
But he never expected that today's family dinner would have reached such a point in just half an hour. He was already rushing back without stopping, investigating the case and saving the situation for his master. Now he had to be scolded. There was probably no servant in the world more pitiful than him.
He felt bitter in his heart, but on the surface he remained respectful: "I have failed to perform my duties well, please punish me, Master."
Xiao Yunqi did not mention punishment anymore. The frost on his brows eased a little, and he walked straight towards Yun Mo Zhai.
Mu Yan lowered his head and followed, sighing in his heart.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, both men and women were engaged at the age of fifteen and married at the age of twenty. My master is now twenty-three, but he has never had any woman.
When he was young, the master of the house casually mentioned it to him, considering that his master had a heavy workload in preparation for the imperial examinations. However, after his master politely declined, he never asked any more questions.
Given the Xiao family's status, there is no need to worry about not having a good marriage in the future.
But it has been delayed for so many years, and now the master has become too powerful. If they did not consider the etiquette of seniority, they would not even have the chance to urge him, let alone arrange a wedding for him.
There were naturally some rumors outside, but who dared to really say them in front of the master? Even when urged by the Xiao family, no one dared to talk about the rumors, for fear of angering him and making things worse.
But the master didn't care at all when he heard those rumors, and didn't even have the intention of suppressing them.
Mu Yan found it difficult to understand this. He knew that his master had a bad ending because his parents had married for personal gain, so he was very reluctant to become a pawn of personal gain. However, with his master's current status and ability, there was no need for him to repeat the same mistake. He could marry any woman he liked, no matter how ordinary or distinguished her status was.
like?
Mu Yan shuddered suddenly.
His master doesn't have such feelings.
All he has eyes for is the cold official duties, and he has no idea of a woman's tenderness and charm. Asking him to marry someone would simply be a disaster for the girl, so he should continue to refuse.
As expected, just as Mu Yan paused in his thoughts, Xiao Yunqi walked into the study and asked as he walked in before even sitting down: "Tell me, what did you find out?"
Mu Yan followed him to the desk and said, "Master, the matter of Luo Xian has been thoroughly investigated. The signature on the account book of the military pay he handled was indeed his own. The person who handled it has also confessed that it was he who secretly instructed the interception and falsification of the accounts. The evidence is irrefutable."
Xiao Yunqi sat down at the desk, opened an official document and said "hmm" lightly.
Mu Yan continued, "I followed your instructions and investigated the key points he provided. I wanted to dig deeper into the connections behind it..."
He didn't finish his words.
Xiao Yunqi interrupted, "That's unnecessary. This person came here today, stubborn and recalcitrant, offering all sorts of excuses. We can't squeeze any more out of him. Now that we have the irrefutable evidence, we'll let the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple handle the rest of the matter according to their regulations. There's no need to pursue him further."
Mu Yan understood what he meant. His master had completely lost his patience and interest in Luo Xian. "Yes, Master."
"Step aside." Xiao Yunqi looked at the document and picked up the pen.
You see, even for such a trivial matter, he had to pretend to be extremely urgent and urgently call people away from the family dinner in front of the gazes of everyone in the room.
Mu Yan lowered his head and pouted in dissatisfaction.
Seeing that he didn't move, Xiao Yunqi looked up and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"
Mu Yan came back to his senses and continued to report: "I have one more thing to report. I have found out the whereabouts of the 'Great Zhou Law Commentary'. If you need it, I will send someone tomorrow..."
"No need."
He was interrupted again. This person didn't even listen to the other person finish speaking.
Xiao Yunqi raised his hand and pointed at the bookshelf beside Mu Yan.
Mu Yan looked in the direction he wanted and saw a book appear in the empty space on the bookshelf. It was the "Da Zhou Lu Shu" that had been missing before.
However, he had just found out today that the book had been borrowed by the cousin from Jingshuiyuan. How could it be...
Wait, cousin.
Mu Yan turned his head cautiously and looked at Xiao Yunqi.
Xiao Yunqi had returned his gaze to the official documents. The flickering candlelight cast bright and dark shadows on his well-defined profile, making his expression even more aloof.
This matter may not be a big deal if it happens to someone else, but for Xiao Yunqi, any slight abnormality is extremely worthy of attention.
Something strange happened recently and flashed through Mu Yan's mind.
Before leaving, his master inexplicably mentioned that he wanted to find the "Great Zhou Law Commentary", but who knew that he could recite the laws of the Great Zhou by heart when he was just over ten years old.
That’s not all. After returning home after a long journey of half a month, the first order he received was to look for the "Great Zhou Law Commentary" again, and he seemed to need it urgently.
The book that had been found for unknown reasons and the face of the girl who happened to be seen right across from him at the family dinner were all related to that cousin.
Mu Yan subconsciously wanted to confirm something.
He turned his head uncertainly and saw that the second volume was missing from the place where the other volumes of "Da Zhou Lu Shu" that he had sorted out from the library were placed.
"How long are you going to stay here?"
Mu Yan was so surprised and confused that he quickly bowed and took his leave.
He seemed to have discovered something extraordinary.
*
Afterwards, Mu Yan wanted to find some clues elsewhere, but after more than ten days, he found nothing.
The reason he cared so much about this matter was not because the master had asked him to help persuade his master to look for a girl. The master naturally knew that even the father couldn't persuade him, so how could he, as a subordinate, have any persuasive ability? He didn't have much hope for him.
He cared about this matter purely out of curiosity.
The eldest son of the Xiao family appears to be cold and unfeeling, but secretly has feelings for his cousin who is of low status but truly beautiful.
The old house caught fire and the iron tree blossomed.
Who can remain indifferent after knowing such a thing?
In short, Mu Yan couldn't, he was extremely curious.
But he didn't dare to ask and couldn't ask, so he could only observe secretly by himself.
Finally, the day came when the weather was sunny and cloudless, just when Xiao Yunqi was taking a day off.
Xiao Yunqi acted out of character. After coming out of Yingfeng Courtyard, he did not go straight to Yunmo Zhai, but went to Guanlan Pavilion. He also ordered people to prepare cakes and tea. He did not bring any official documents, but just picked up a book to pass the time.
Mu Yan didn't dare to look around along the way, he could only glance around, trying to see something he shouldn't see.
Xiao Yunqi paused and glanced at him sideways: "Are your eyes uncomfortable?"
Mu Yan's back stiffened, but his expression remained unchanged: "Yes, Master, I didn't sleep well last night."
"Then you step back."
Xiao Yunqi's cold tone didn't show any concern at all, only full of disgust.
Mu Yan: "...Thank you for your concern, Master. I feel much better now."
Xiao Yunqi withdrew his gaze and continued forward. Guanlan Pavilion was not far ahead.
Mu Yan gritted his teeth behind him.
The cousin girl has a gentle and weak personality. She must have suffered a lot when she met such a cold and heartless master.
But as his thoughts turned, Mu Yan came up with another ridiculous idea.
Is it possible that your master is the one who licks your boots in private?
After all, he even has women by his side, so what is impossible?
Many men don’t show it on the surface, but when they really meet the woman they like, they can do anything.
That cousin is so beautiful that she might be able to make people lose their minds with just one look.
After the daring fantasy, Mu Yan respectfully followed Xiao Yunqi into Guanlan Pavilion.
Xiao Yunqi sat down in front of the stone table with a relaxed posture, picking up the book, as if he came here just for entertainment.
Mu Yan stepped forward to pour tea for him, his eyes still carefully watching the several paths leading to Guanlan Pavilion.
Xiao Yunqi was not the kind of person who would allow himself to leisurely entertain himself, but he had looked around several times and found that there was indeed no one around.
Just when Mu Yan was about to look away in disappointment, he suddenly saw a slender and familiar figure among the swaying shadows of flowers not far away. It was walking along the path at the edge of the flowers, hesitantly looking left and right as it moved towards Guanlan Pavilion.
The person who came was the cousin from Jingshuiyuan.
All the speculations were confirmed once again at this moment.
Mu Yan was so surprised that he forgot himself for a moment and stared straight at the figure, waiting for her to come closer.
As soon as Xue Zhiying looked up, she saw the gaze looking straight at her.
She was so frightened that she looked panicked and immediately ducked away guiltily.
Mu Yan was stunned for a moment, then felt a little annoyed.
No wonder the master asked him to leave just now. Look how scared he was.
He looked at Xiao Yunqi again.
His master continued to read without even raising his eyelids, obviously unaware that the person he was waiting for had arrived.
Mu Yan put down the teapot and respectfully reminded, "Master, look at that crape myrtle bush over there."
Xiao Yunqi frowned and raised his eyes, casually glancing in the direction Mu Yan indicated.
The bushes covered with crape myrtle flowers swayed slightly, and half of its head cautiously poked out from behind the green leaves.
Xiao Yunqi's face darkened as he looked at the sneaky figure with cold eyes. He heard Mu Yan's voice rising in his ear: "It's really well done."
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