According to Qiu Kongkong's account, Nanfang Nan was also someone the Emperor had been secretly trying to capture. It involved matters from the previous dynasty, but this person was extremely cunning, possessing many false identities; the two he captured were not the real Nanfang Nan.
After a long silence, Qiu Zeyu asked probingly, "Tell me the truth, how much were you involved in this?"
Qiu Kongkong has always been seen by his family as a womanizer who neglects the family business and only enjoys gatherings of beautiful women. The sudden revelation from him that he is secretly working for the Emperor is hard to believe.
Qiu Kongkong didn't hide anything, "Brother, you and Father and Mother always think I'm not doing anything productive. I admit I was a bit playful before, but people always change. I also want to make a name for myself and impress you. Besides, following the Emperor is doing good for the country and the people, there's nothing wrong with that, right?"
Qiu Zeyu asked him out of concern, without a trace of jealousy. However, the fact that the two brothers had both become the Emperor's secret guards was something their parents couldn't accept. So he sighed and said, "Now that things have come to this, it's probably too late to back out. Once the fake silver case is resolved, we'll express our feelings to the Emperor, and then we can go home and run the manor properly."
Qiu Kongkong was puzzled. "A good man should have ambitions beyond his hometown. We are upright men who should serve our country. How can we be afraid of death? Staying in our little mountain village and living our carefree lives is too selfish!"
"Enough! I'm here to serve the country! Why don't you go home and be with your parents?" Qiu Zeyu suddenly roared.
Qiu Kongkong was startled and remained silent for a long time before looking at her brother with disgust in her eyes.
Lan Yamei was also startled, having never seen him lose his temper like this before, and didn't know how to persuade the two of them. The air froze for more than ten seconds before Qiu Zeyu sighed heavily and explained gently, "Don't blame me, I'm doing this for your own good. Some things are beyond the control of ordinary people like us."
"For my own good? I think you just look down on me! I'm only fit to be a good-for-nothing who just loafs around and waits to die! You're a great hero, a shining star in the family!" Qiu Kongkong poured out all his grievances against his brother.
"Listen to your brother, what's the rush!" For some reason, Lan Yamei suddenly scolded Qiu Kongkong loudly with displeasure. Deep down, Qiu Kongkong was indeed not mature and steady enough, and she had a bad impression of him before.
This caught the two brothers off guard, and they both calmed down a bit.
Qiu Zeyu then said, "I don't want to get involved in this mess either, but the rules of the martial world apply, and our manor is no exception. Martial arts practitioners need to do something for the imperial court in order to get some benefits. But the secret guards have to sign a life-or-death contract, and I'm a little worried about your martial arts skills."
Hearing that her brother had this in mind, Qiu Kongkong felt a little ashamed and said, "Brother, I understand. I'll listen to you. After I finish this job, I'll ask to go home and manage the villa."
The two brothers opened their hearts to each other, and their relationship became even stronger than before.
Lan Yamei breathed a sigh of relief and got back to the main topic, asking, "Could Hua Manlou be connected with Nan Fangnan?"
"It's not impossible! Since Daoist Xuyu works for Nanfang Nan and came to Hua Manlou at this critical juncture, and was treated well by Hua Yuhe, it seems the two must have some dealings. But, since they are family, why would they turn on their own people and assassinate Daoist Xuyu?" Lan Yamei couldn't understand.
“I know that!” Qiu Kongkong didn’t plan to fight alone for the reward anymore. He shared the clues and said, “Nanfang Nan met Hua Yuhe at Hua Manlou. The two have maintained a special relationship over the years. Based on this, I guess Hua Manlou exists as a contact point. That old Taoist must have come to Hua Manlou to seek protection. But for Nanfang Nan, he is a useless pawn that must be removed.”
Upon hearing this, both Qiu Kongkong and Lan Yamei were startled!
Lan Yamei said quietly, "I didn't expect Hua Yuhe to be so interesting! She has connections with the government and the remnants of the previous dynasty. There's really no one she's afraid of! No wonder she can walk around like a madwoman in Longyang Town and even Lin'an City! No wonder Aunt Guan is no match for her!"
"Does His Majesty know about this?" Qiu Zeyu was more concerned about the stability of the country. If Hua Yuhe had any connection with former officials of the previous dynasty, it would be a capital offense!
"I haven't had a chance to report it yet! Mainly because I don't have any solid evidence! These are all just my guesses," Qiu Kongkong said truthfully.
"Then how dare you make such a hasty conclusion?" Qiu Zeyu rebuked.
"But I saw them being intimate in their bedroom with my own eyes, and Hua Yuhe called him Nanfang Nan! How could that be fake?" Seeing that the two didn't believe her, Qiu Kongkong simply told them what she had seen a month ago.
"So you saw it with your own eyes? What did he look like?" Qiu Zeyu asked.
“He was wearing a golden mask, so I couldn’t see his face clearly, but I saw that he had a plum blossom tattoo on his arm and was wearing a black brocade robe with a golden dragon pattern. I found that strange! Who in the world, except the Emperor, would dare to wear a dragon pattern? I overheard their conversation and found out that the two of them had been together for seven or eight years!” Qiu Kongkong got so excited that he jumped up onto the crooked tree and sat down to talk. “I just don’t know if the masked man was really Nanfang Nan, since no one has ever seen his true face.”
Lan Yamei seemed to be thinking about something, and muttered to herself, "A plum blossom tattoo?"
"Yes! I have a plum blossom tattoo on my arm near the Neiguan point," Qiu Kongkong said truthfully.
With such a specific location, Lan Ya Mei suddenly had a flash of inspiration and exclaimed, "Oh no!"
"What's broken?" The two of them looked at her at the same time.
"Do you remember those thieves who assassinated Butterfly and Murong Bai at the villa? They also had plum blossom tattoos on their collars," Lan Yamei said in one breath, then guessed, "And a dragon-patterned dagger was also retrieved from the lake, which Murong Feng ended up with. If Nanfang Nan is a former official of the previous dynasty, he should still have loyal followers! The plum blossom tattoo might very well be their mark! Since he dared to wear dragon-patterned clothing, he must also dare to use a dragon-patterned dagger. So the assassins who wanted to wipe them out must have been sent by Nanfang Nan, not the Emperor! But why did he kill Murong Bai? Was it to sow discord or was there some other hidden reason? By the way, was that dragon-patterned dagger ever presented to the Emperor?"
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