"Who is it?"
It was a snowy winter night. Xu Buling took off his Bamboo Hat and knocked on the door.
"Miss Ning, it's me."
Clang —
Disorderly footsteps came from the courtyard. The bench seemed to have fallen to the ground. There were also whispers saying, "What should I do, what should I do … Don't open the door …"
Creak —
The courtyard door opened.
Ning Qing Ye stood elegantly at the courtyard door. Her expression was neither warm nor cold. She nodded slightly and bowed.
"Young Master Xu, you're here …"
Xu Buling had an easygoing expression. He walked into the courtyard and tilted his head to size her up.
"After resting for a few days, are you feeling better, Young Master Ning?"
"I'm fine now. I was a little harsh with my words last time. I hope you won't take it to heart, Young Master."
Ning Qing Ye grew up in the dojo on the mountain. She was not good at the ways of the world and did not have much contact with young men. Last time, they were angered by each other's bad mouths and chased Xu Buling out. After that, she felt that she had gone overboard in treating her benefactor coldly.
After all, Xu Buling had asked about her period out of concern. Perhaps the young masters of aristocratic families did not treat this as a taboo.
Ning Qing Ye had always wanted to apologize, but Xu Buling did not come. She thought that Xu Buling was overthinking things, and only now did she have the chance to speak.
"We're all children of the world. Being straightforward shows your true nature. You don't have to be so particular."
Xu Buling chuckled and turned to look at the courtyard. He saw Zhu Manzhi squatting by the wall with her back to him under the eaves. She hugged her knees and curled up into a ball. She carefully moved toward the door with an expression that said, "You can't see me, you can't see me".
Xu Buring slowly walked up to him and lowered his head to size him up.
"Man Zhi, what are you doing?"
Zhu Manzhi's face was so red that it looked like blood was about to drip out. She hugged her knees tightly and squatted on the spot, refusing to get up. She raised her face and put on a forced smile.
"Young Master Xu, you're here! What a coincidence … "
"What a coincidence. Didn't you ask me to come?"
Xu Buling squatted in front of her and looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Zhu Manzhi hurriedly turned around with her back facing Xu Buring. She said anxiously,
I'm just squatting to keep myself warm. It's okay … "
After a while, Zhu Manzhi felt a warmth on her shoulder as a piece of clothing was draped over her body.
Zhu Manzhi hurriedly wrapped herself up. The clothes were very big and wrapped herself up tightly. Only then did she heave a sigh of relief. Looking back, Xu Buring had taken off his outer robe and was standing behind him, wearing only a single shirt. He had a smile on his face.
"Not cold?"
Zhu Man Zhi's eyes were filled with embarrassment as she stood up. Because her robe was too long, the hem of her robe touched the ground.
It was a windy and snowy winter day. The weather was very cold.
Ning Qing Ye saw that Xu Buling was wearing an unlined shirt. She untied the rope around her neck and prepared to take off the fox fur coat.
But Xu Buling raised his hand. "Don't take it off. I won't freeze to death." He sat down next to the stove.
Seeing this, Ning Qingye had no choice but to give up. He sat quietly beside the small stove, not saying a word.
Xu Buling rubbed his hands and looked at Zhu Manzhi, whose face was red.
"You called me here? Is there any good news?"
"Yes, there is."
Zhu Man Zhi finally remembered what she was here to do and raised her hand to search inside her robe. She felt something was not right and turned her back to Zhu Man Zhi as she searched inside her robe.
Even with her back facing him, she could guess what she was doing from her movements.
Xu Buling and Ning Qing Ye raised their eyebrows at the same time. There was a strange look on their faces.
Perhaps it was hidden quite well. Zhu Manzhi lowered her head and searched for a long time before she found the small paper scroll that was under pressure.
"Here, I found it in the document warehouse."
Zhu Manzhi turned around and crouched beside Xu Buling. She opened her palm like she was presenting a treasure.
Xu Buling blinked. He didn't have the nerve to ask "where did you get it?" He raised his hand and accepted the small paper scroll. It was still a bit warm.
Ning Qing Ye couldn't take it anymore. She turned her head to look at the falling snow and tightened the fox fur coat around her body.
Xu Buling was not made of stone. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't distracted. He coughed and opened the paper. He only glanced at it before his expression suddenly changed.
"On the eighth day of the first month in the second year of Zhaohong, I escorted the Dragon Lock Parasite from Chang 'an to Youzhou. Before I left, I checked with the palace treasury manager, Jia Yi. There was nothing strange. This was found in the document warehouse?"
Zhu Manzhi nodded like a chick pecking at rice. She said with a smile, "Yes! Crown Prince Xu, why aren't you happy? "
Xu Buling's face was ashen.
Ning Qing Ye sat up straighter. Her expression was solemn.
"The palace treasury is the treasury of the government. It's in the palace."
Zhu Manzhi nodded. "Yes. This means that the Dragon Lock Parasite is really in the palace. We finally have a clue."
Ning Qing Ye was, after all, a slightly famous wanderer. Xu Buling had also told her about these things, so she naturally understood the meaning of this news.
"Master Xu was ambushed by the Wei River. We never knew who the murderer was. The government has been investigating, but there is no news. Now, we found information about the Dragon Lock Parasite in the document warehouse, and it came from the palace. It must be the emperor who did it. If he can kill someone once, he can do it a second time. Master Xu will not live to leave the capital. "
"Ah!"
Zhu Manzhi's joyful expression froze. She cast a weak glance at Xu Buling.
Xu Buling looked at the note in silence for a moment. When he snapped out of his daze, he forced a smile and raised his hand to pinch Zhu Manzhi's face.
"Good job. You have done a great service. It's good that there is news."
When Zhu Manzhi heard the pros and cons, she naturally could not be happy. She squatted beside Xu Buling and whispered, "Good job.
If the emperor wants to kill you, you will definitely not be able to escape. What should we do now? "
Xu Buling shook his head. "There are two hundred thousand soldiers in Western Liang. If I die in Chencang, they can blame it on the people of Jianghu. If I die in Chang 'an, the imperial court will not be able to clear their names even if they have a hundred mouths. The emperor will not dare to kill me. But it is impossible for me to return to the state in one piece. I might go back lying down, or I might not be able to go back at all. "
Ning Qing Ye frowned. "Can I escape?"
Xu Buling sighed. "Let's not talk about the Dragon Lock Parasite first. There are eight passes from Suzhou to Chang 'an. There is also the Qianyang Pass, the first pass in the northwest of the previous dynasty. The imperial court has stationed more than a hundred thousand soldiers along the way. They say it is to prevent the Northern Qi from coming south, but in fact, it is only to prevent me and my son from the Xu family. If I can make it there alive, the imperial court will be blind. "
Ning Qing Ye's expression became more and more solemn. People of Jianghu came and went without a trace. It was only because there were too many people that the imperial court could not control. If they really wanted to use the power of the whole country to deal with one person, there was no place in the world to hide.
Ten years ago, the Iron Eagles Hunting Deer was a living example. Many martial arts families with hundreds of years of history were exterminated. No matter how skilled they were in martial arts, they were only slightly stronger than ants in front of hundreds of thousands of cavalry.
Zhu Manzhi was born in the streets and was young. Naturally, she did not know so many twists and turns. At this moment, she could only mutter,
"I have experience in sneaking. If I really can't escape, I will definitely protect you, young master …"
Xu Buling chuckled. He pondered for a moment before he frowned.
"Man Zhi, where did you find this information?"
Zhu Manzhi thought about it carefully. She seriously recounted the process of her receiving the errand, entering the Records Warehouse, and looking through the files. Then, she mumbled, "There's a lot of dust on the chest. I should have forgotten about this booklet when I was cleaning up the traces …"
Xu Buling rubbed his fingers and thought about it carefully for a long time before he shook his head.
"That's not right. You didn't find anything when you snuck into the Records Warehouse last time. Now that you've just formed a connection with me, you found this information. It's too much of a coincidence …"
Zhu Manzhi thought about it. "But no one knows that I snuck into the Records Warehouse to gather information. The booklet doesn't seem to be fake either …"
"The imperial court is full of deceit and deceit. Even faces can be faked. It's too easy to tamper with a few traces. If someone tries to shift the blame to someone else, it'll be a big problem … But regardless of whether it's real or fake, at least it gives us a direction. Let's verify the authenticity of this information first …"
Zhu Man Zhi replied with an 'oh' and did not say anything else.
Xu Buling threw the note into the stove. As a wave of smoke rose, it turned into ashes …
