Chapter 31: Yama's Poke
"Ah Yao." Zhao Xuanxu saw Wen Yao looking at him, and a natural smile flowed in his voice: "What are you thinking about?"
I'm thinking of you, Miss Zhao.
Wen Yao cleared his throat and pushed the teacup toward Zhao Xuanxu. "The man I arrested earlier was the gatekeeper of the opera troupe. According to the rules of the underworld, the gatekeeper must be a local, smart and strong, so as to intimidate the audience. This kind of loach knows everything about the disturbances in Yanling. And there is only one tea stall outside the lotus tile, and the flag on it says Liu, which means the old man in charge of this place is surnamed Liu."
A smile appeared on her lips. "Just some random jargon. Sounds interesting?"
Just then, a group of servants hurried by, carrying red lanterns. The dim light from their lanterns shone into Wen Yao's eyes, turning them into thin lines. Her clear and crisp features dimmed, imbued with an inexplicable sense of unbridled abandon.
Zhao Xuanxu suddenly withdrew his hand and pressed it on his chest, his expression changing slightly.
"What's wrong?" Wen Yao saw his action and immediately stopped laughing. She whispered, "Are you feeling unwell again?"
"No." Zhao Xuanxu shook his head and sighed, "Just now, when I looked at you, my heart was beating so fast. Ah Yao, could I be more pleased with you?"
…
"Ah." Wen Yao sighed, a hint of sadness in his tone: "You should drink some water and stop talking."
The servants hung the lanterns aside and retreated. A gong sounded startlingly on the stage, and a funny and weird painted face appeared from behind the ink-and-wash screen.
The corrupt official, his winged hat swaying with every step, his official uniform gleaming, proudly stroked the land deeds in the box. Beside him, a wicked official pulled a rope, while below him knelt a tenant dressed in linen, his face smeared with yellow powder, looking particularly haggard and shabby.
The people were driven to starvation by high land rents, and had no choice but to sell themselves into slavery to survive, only to be bullied and humiliated by the officials' subordinates. They were clearly living people, yet they lived like the walking dead, incomparably numb.
This play depicts events from the reign of Emperor You of the previous dynasty, but the seizure of farmland by officials was not uncommon throughout the dynasties. The officials on stage held a banquet of lavish ceremonies, and the audience below felt deeply empathetic, filled with righteous indignation and shouting curses.
The candle flame suddenly went out.
A burly figure stepped steadily out from behind the screen. With his hair crowned high and dressed in a black python robe, he was none other than Yama, the King of Hell.
The figure of Yama, illuminated by lanterns from the audience, loomed even taller on the screen. His eyes shone like bells, and with a wave of his hand, two imps sprang up from the shadows, pinning the official to the ground and beginning to recite a confession of his sins. Finally, Yama sentenced the official to three hundred years of torture in Hell, declaring the previous emperor's incompetence and immorality a reminder that the heavens had taken notice and were preparing to reclaim his authority.
The official lost his hat and prestige, and even though he cried for his parents, the King of Hell still pressed his forehead with his finger, leaving a long and narrow thumb mark, and his life was immediately cut short and he went to hell to be punished by mountains of swords and seas of fire.
These people performed well, and the audience was delighted. They applauded and cheered, and threw copper coins onto the stage. Wen Yao drank the tea in his cup in one breath, took out two copper coins, and nailed them deeply into the stage through the heavy crowd.
"This opera is well-sung." She thought of the murder case at Yushan Villa and said meaningfully, "The singing outside the opera is also good."
"If Ah Yao likes them, bring them back to Prince Yan's Mansion." Zhao Xuanxu immediately said, "We'll watch them at night too."
Wen Yao was speechless. "Are you serious? This play used to criticize the previous emperor You, but after Yushan Villa, it might be criticizing the Zhao family's empire."
Zhao Xuanxu didn't care and said casually, "So what? There are many people who occupy public land. The Supervisory Office conducts a monthly inspection, and they can't kill them all. These people are telling the truth, so it's not an insult."
…
Wen Yao sighed and patted Zhao Xuanxu's shoulder: "You are right."
After the singing of Yan Wangchu was over, the two followed the crowd out of Neiwa. The singing of Jiu Fengchen in Lianhuawa was not over yet, but the seats below were full of people.
Wen Yao saw that it was still early, so since she was already there, she wandered around the market outside and bought a lot of food. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she asked in surprise, "Is that the knife you used to bring us the food?"
Zhao Xuanxu's hands were full of osmanthus candy and flower cakes, and he looked in the direction Wen Yao was looking.
It was indeed Xiaodao, with a little girl riding on his neck. The two, one big and one small, were smiling brightly and gathered in front of the circus stall to watch the fun.
Thinking of the dishes he had stuffed in front of him, Wen Yao took a bag of sweet-scented osmanthus candy and flower cake from Zhao Xuanxu's hand, walked over, and called out, "Brother Xiaodao."
Xiaodao then turned around with the little girl in his arms, and his two pairs of bright black eyes fell on Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu beside her.
"Ah!" Xiaodao said in surprise, "It's Brother Zhao and Sister-in-law."
Brother Zhao, tall and graceful, nodded warmly. "Sister-in-law..." Sister-in-law's expression was a little strange. Xiaodao felt puzzled and wanted to ask Sister-in-law if she was feeling unwell.
Wen Yao was one step ahead of him, and he shoved the thing he was carrying into the hands of the little girl on his neck. The little girl, bewildered, took the paper bag with her chubby hands. As soon as her nose caught the sweet scent of the candy cake, her cheeks immediately turned red. She shyly hugged Xiao Dao's neck and buried her face in Xiao Dao's head.
Perhaps because she was a little excited, the little girl had strong strength in her hands, and she almost strangled the knife to death. She kept shouting for him to let go.
Wen Yao found the two men interesting and laughed, "Is this your sister?"
"Yes, yes."
Realizing she was too strong, the little girl loosened her grip. Xiaodao took a deep breath and replied dazedly, "Ayin, come and say hello!"
The little girl looked no more than five or six years old. She was shy and timid. After saying hello quietly, she lowered her head and refused to speak again.
Wen Yao waved his hand: "Okay, you guys continue playing, we'll go back first."
Xiaodao uttered an "ah" and casually asked, "Brother Zhao and sister-in-law came out of the Lotus Tile after watching the opera? I haven't heard an opera in a long time. What did they sing today?"
Wen Yao smiled: "Saving Fengchen is just a matter of love and affection, it's meaningless."
Xiaodao was a little disappointed, nodded, and pushed his sister to watch the acrobatics.
By the time Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu returned to the courtyard, the moonlight was as cold as water. Wen Yao tore off his mask and threw it on the stone table, sighing with relief: "It's still more comfortable without this thing."
Zhao Xuanxu walked straight to the kitchen, took out a plate, placed the flower cake and osmanthus candy on it, and placed it in front of Wen Yao. Then he sat down beside her and took off his mask. He was extremely impatient to tie his hair, so after sitting down, he also untied the crown, letting his hair, as thick and smooth as green satin, fall down his waist and back.
Zhao Xuanxu said, "Qianying will come over later."
This time, in addition to the thirty Feathered Guards led by Gao Shaoshan, Qianying also brought about twenty people to Yanling. Zhao Xuanxu did not keep them, but told them to disguise themselves as tourists and vendors and spread out in Yanling City.
Wen Yao perked up: "Any news?"
Zhao Xuanxu's eyes darkened as he shook his head, "No, they brought people from the Yanling Supervisory Office to see me."
Oh, so you are here to see the leader.
After a while, footsteps were heard outside the yard. There were four people in total, all breathing slowly, and all of them were skilled in martial arts.
Wen Yao sat at the stone table with his hands propped up, casually stuffing some flower cake into his mouth. He looked up and saw Qianying, wearing a mask, walking into the yard first, followed by three people.
There were two people Wen Yao had never seen before, including a young man who looked somewhat familiar. Wen Yao's gaze shifted downward to the black jade pendant dangling from the young man's waist. After a moment's thought, she suddenly realized, "Ban Chang's apprentice, you're here too?"
"I greet Your Highness and Commander Wen." The frail young man bowed to Wen Yao and smiled politely. "I just arrived in Yanling. My master sent me here to broaden my horizons and help out with some dissections."
The other two unfamiliar faces were from the Yanling Supervisory Office. They looked at Wen Yao sitting next to Zhao Xuanxu with a look of surprise, but then quickly realized that this woman must be the legendary Xingyi Sword Wen Yao, and they also bowed their heads and greeted her.
Qianying was still the cool guy who was ruthless and taciturn. He took a step forward and knelt on one knee at Zhao Xuanxu's feet. He lowered his head and presented a piece of paper: "This is a secret letter from Bianliang, given to you by Prince Yong."
Zhao Xuanxu frowned his beautiful eyebrows, and after a while he condescended to stretch out two fingers to pick up the letter.
He and A Yao had a very happy time today, so happy that he felt unhappy when he saw these people disturbing his and A Yao's life with these things.
He unfolded the letter and scanned it quickly. His expression grew increasingly cold, and a pale, cold, and depressed mood, as pale as mist, gathered at his brows.
Wen Yao was cracking osmanthus candy: "What did it say?"
"Ask me to protect the Xu family and put an end to this matter." Zhao Xuanxu handed the paper to Wen Yao, then stood up from the stool.
He wasn't wearing a luxurious silk robe, just an ordinary black long-sleeved shirt. In the daytime, the human skin mask had given him a sense of grandeur, but now that it was Prince Yan's face, that unpredictable feeling returned, a ghostly, oppressive air.
Wen Yao lowered his head to look at the letter.
The Xu family had many followers and disciples, many of whom served as officials at court, making them a great help to Prince Yong. Naturally, Prince Yong did not want anything to happen to the Xu family. Furthermore, he and Princess Yong were said to be childhood sweethearts, deeply in love. From this perspective, Prince Yong also did not want to see any problems with the Xu family.
Therefore, at the end of this letter, Prince Yong already sounded as if he had discussed with Zhao Xuanxu, and promised that he would vacate several important positions for Zhang Yun's people.
Very good. With this letter and the drama we just watched, it is probably a foregone conclusion that the Xu family is oppressing the people.
Wen Yao was thinking, when suddenly his eyebrows moved slightly, and he raised his eyes suddenly as if he had realized something -
At the same time, a sound similar to silk breaking rang out in the silent courtyard, and the air was quickly filled with a strong smell of blood.
Zhao Xuanxu was like a ghost. He walked up to a man from the Supervisory Office without anyone noticing. He raised his hand and easily pierced through the man's chest.
He killed people so quickly and efficiently and without any warning. The man didn't react until he felt a sharp pain in his heart and heard sticky blood gurgling from his mouth.
His heart was crushed, his eyes were bloodshot and wide open, his whole face was twisted and looked extremely hideous.
Zhao Xuanxu casually pulled his hand away, the flesh and blood from his fingertips splattering onto the ground. The man fell facedown to the ground, dead, and he walked towards another person.
The remaining person came to his senses and looked at Zhao Xuanxu again with shock and fear. It was as if someone had scratched his spine hard. He turned around and tried to run away.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Zhao Xuanxu's slender hands with distinct joints were stained red with blood. When the man turned around and took the first step, he gently placed them on his head.
The blow was as heavy as a thousand pounds, and the man was instantly pinned down, unable to move a single step. His legs trembled, his face suddenly turned pale, and his breathing became shallow.
Viscous blood dripped from Zhao Xuanxu's dangling fingertips, flowing through his eyes, cheeks, and ears. Like blood-red lines, it shattered into pieces with a sense of cold despair.
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