Ning Que remembered that Little Sangsang had also stared at the Xie Family Head in a daze when the results of the Academy's entrance exam were released last year. Only then did he realize that this girl was just like him, a mortal who valued appearance above all else. But why had she never stared at him in a daze? That was naturally because his appearance was too ordinary. Thinking of this, he looked at her and said gloomily, "Men who are too good-looking are usually not smart, such as that Prince Long Qing."
Sangsang rested her little black face on her slender arms and said absentmindedly, "Young master, I just want to see how his face is made and why it is so good-looking. I don't know which cosmetics brand he uses, Chenjinji Cosmetics Store or Yuzhiyuan Cosmetics Store. Alas, it would be great if I could have a chance to see him up close, and it would be even better if I could touch his eyebrows."
Ning Que looked at her absent-minded look and suddenly realized that his little handmaiden seemed to have no hobbies or pleasures over these years, except for running the household chores. He felt a burst of pity in his heart. After a moment of silence, he said with a smile, "Prince Long Qing will enter the Second floor of the Academy. If you want to see him up close, I can take you there and you can cheer for me on the way."
"Great! Great!" Sangsang clapped her little hands and sat up straight. Then she looked at Ning Que's face and very seriously corrected him, "But I will definitely go there to cheer for you that day, young master, and just to see him on the way."
"That's more like it, good girl."
Ning Que smiled and rubbed her head. Then he walked to the back of the house with his hands clasped behind his back, thinking that no matter for his own life or for the little handmaiden's dream, he had to climb to the Second floor.
…
…
Another spring came. Willow catkins flew all over the sky, drifting over the market wells, the quiet and secluded residences in Southern City, the lively Vermilion Bird Avenue, and the high vermilion palace walls. They naughtily twitched on the tips of the beast noses on the eaves, and then gently fell to the ground, sticking the wet ground of the laundry office into a thin piece of felt.
"I was wrong, I was really wrong. If I had been a little more courageous when His Majesty asked me last year and agreed directly, I wouldn't be so hesitant now. I'm looking at a mountain of treasures, but I don't dare to reach out to touch it."
The rich Hebei accent reverberated in the sky full of willow catkins. The slightly plump Deputy Commander of the Tang Imperial Guards, Xu Chongshan, stood under the railing of the side hall with his hands tucked in his sleeves. He looked at the officials who walked out of the Imperial Study with joy and pride on their faces. He looked at the copies in their hands as if they were treasures. The disdain and contempt in his eyes gradually turned into bitterness and regret, as if he missed his first love in his hometown.
"Tell me, why does an uncouth fellow have to learn from those ministers and play tricks? Now, he had screwed up, hadn't he? He hurt his instep so much. Now the more His Majesty likes it, the more trouble it will cause, and the more I dare not to admit that I lied to His Majesty at that time. This is really a big mistake. "
The little eunuch Lu Ji raised his head and glanced at the Commander's expression. He lowered his voice and suggested, "Sir, we have been watching for several months. No matter how well Ning Que hid it, the imperial court will dig it out one day. At that time, not only will we be punished for lying to the emperor, but our bodyguard office will also not get any benefits. Why don't we … just take a gamble?"
"What gamble?" Xu Chongshan snorted coldly and said, "His Majesty likes it, Her Majesty likes it, and I don't know whether those ministers really like it or not. But anyway, His Majesty has been disappointed for so long. When he finally finds out that we have been hiding it from him for so long, all his disappointment and liking will turn into anger towards you and me. At that time, Ning Que won't have any trouble, but you or me will bear the responsibility?"
When it came to serious business, the Deputy Commander's Hebei accent became much lighter. He did not say "Er" but "I". Lu Ji did not dare to answer. He rolled his eyes and thought, "If there really comes a day, I, a little eunuch, will be the one to take the blame. This matter … I have to find a way to break out of this situation."
"Lu Ji … Who do you think His Majesty trusts the most in the palace besides Her Majesty?" Xu Chongshan suddenly said.
Lu Ji was shocked and understood that the Deputy Commander had seen through his thoughts. He bowed with a sad face and thought for a long time before he tentatively said, "The Master of Nation?"
"I don't care what you do about this matter, but you have to do it properly. Through the Master of Nation, let His Majesty know who wrote that calligraphy is, but you have to get the bodyguard office out of this matter."
Xu Chongshan said lightly and then walked towards the palace gate.
Lu Ji had taken over such a hot potato. How could he just watch his Lord leave without getting involved? With an anxious face, he followed up and said in a low voice, "Lord Commander, it's easy to talk about it, but how are we going to pick it?"
"If I knew how to get rid of it, why would I let you think about it!" Xu Chongshan looked back and glared at him. He said angrily, "I'm busy with official business every day. How can I have time to do these little things?"
"It's not some magic weapon or talisman. It's just a piece of lousy calligraphy. How could it make such a big noise? That Prince Long Qing is also a trouble. He even needs me to send troops to Peach Alley to suppress him. He's just a lousy and beautiful young man. Why are all the girls in Chang 'an crazy? "
The Commander flicked his sleeves and left. He faintly heard his complaining voice among the catkins, "The world is so messy!"
…
…
The peach blossoms in Peach Alley in Chang 'an had not yet bloomed. The peach blossoms outside the Jingyuan Cemetery in the suburbs of the city had just borne numerous pink buds. The Jingyuan Cemetery was located among the green forests and secluded mountains. Those who were qualified to be buried here were basically officials of the Tang Empire or wealthy businessmen and celebrities. It was the season to go hiking and sweep graves. The cemetery was surrounded by smoke that could not be blown away by the wind. The ashes of paper money that were still warm were piled up in front of the fire screen at the edge of the forest.
A tall and thin middle-aged man in a gray robe stood on the top of the cemetery and looked down quietly. He waited for the people in front of the stone grave to leave before he slowly walked down.
Looking at the glorious resume of Zhang Yiqi, the censor of the Tang Empire, on the tombstone, the middle-aged man in a gray robe was silent for a moment. Then he walked to the side of the grave and slowly stroked the freshly pulled grass with his right hand. The surface of his palm was very close to the fresh grass and stubble, but did not completely touch.
The tall and thin middle-aged man in a gray robe was Lin Ling, a master in the Northeast Border Military of the Tang Empire. He was a Psyche Master in the Seethrough State. He arrived in Chang 'an at the beginning of last winter and began to secretly investigate the death of Zhang Yiqi and others. In the past six months, he had read many files about the three murder cases through his acquaintances in the Military Ministry. He had gone to the blacksmith workshop in the east of the city and the small building by the lake in the south of the city several times. As for the Jingyuan Cemetery, this was the fourth time he had come.
There were some doubtful points in the files about the last two murder cases. The most doubtful point was that the real murderer had not been caught. However, this master of the border military did not find any connection between the two files. Moreover, he was secretly investigating under the order of General Xiahou. Before he found conclusive evidence, it was inconvenient for him to communicate with the relevant departments of the imperial court. Naturally, there was no way for him to get help from those departments, such as the Chang 'an Local Government.
As for the file about the death of censor Zhang Yiqi, he had read it many times. However, he did not find any problem at all. It seemed that an old censor who was afraid of his wife had a traffic accident when he ran out of the brothel in a hurry. He did not know that because the censor's wife did not let go of the House of Red Sleeves in the beginning, the Chang 'an Local Government had made a very solid record of this file. Not to mention him, even if the imperial court sent professionals to read it, they could not find any problem in the file.
If it was an ordinary person, he might directly leave Chang 'an and return to the Northeast Border Military Camp to submit his own judgment after several months without finding anything strange. However, Lin Ling was not only a master in the Seethrough State, but also a soldier of the Tang Empire. Before he was completely sure, he had enough perseverance and patience to persist. Moreover, he knew better than anyone else that General Xiahou and Military Counselor Gu Xi would never accept any ambiguous conclusion.
Before he left, Military Counselor Gu Xi had told him that the death of censor Zhang Yiqi was the most critical of the three murder cases in Chang 'an City. The general did not need him to find out whether there was any connection between the three murder cases. He only needed him to confirm whether censor Zhang Yiqi really died in a traffic accident and there was no other doubt.
"The suburbs of Chang 'an City, the tombs of the dignitaries …" Lin Ling quietly looked at the tombs in front of him and slowly frowned. He sighed in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible. "Since we can't ask the Chang' an Local Government to open the coffin and examine the corpse, and we can't open the tomb by ourselves at the risk of the imperial court's investigation and anger, then how can we find out whether the censor died in the coffin or not?"
Although he found nothing and seemed to be in a dilemma, he still did not choose to leave. Instead, his face gradually revealed a determined expression. He took a few steps back, lifted the front lapel of his green robe and sat on the ground.
What he was going to do next would cause great damage to his cultivation, and it was similar to looking for a small stone in the haystack. What was more troublesome was that he did not know whether the small stone was in the haystack or not. But he still decided to do so, because only by doing this could he convince himself to leave Chang 'an City.
In this way, the powerhouse in the Seethrough Realm from the Northeast Border Military of the Tang Empire sat down among the tombs. He let the willow catkins gently fall on his lapel, and let the new green peach buds look at him mockingly on the branches. He sat there from morning to afternoon. His shadow became slanted and shrank, and his face became paler and paler.
After an unknown period of time, Lin Ling slowly opened her eyes and looked at the tomb of the censor not far in front of her. Her face revealed an extremely shocked expression, but her eyes were filled with doubt and some relief. It was as if she had confirmed something, confirmed a certain speculation, and felt relieved.
He raised his sleeves and gently wiped the sweat that was about to drip down from his eyebrows. He struggled to stand up, held his tired waist, took a deep breath of the air mixed with the smell of smoke over the tombs, and slowly walked towards Chang 'an City.
The next day, the tranquility of the tomb of the censor Zhang Yiqi was disturbed again. The person who came was not the fierce wife who cried yesterday, nor the plump concubines who cried but had no tears, but Lin Ling and several runners of the Chang 'an Local Government.
Today, Lin Ling did not wear the green casual clothes, but the military uniform of the Tang Army, which made him look particularly neat and strong. He turned around and bowed to the runners of the Chang 'an Local Government, and said softly, "Your Honor, since I am willing to use my head as a guarantee, may I ask when we will open the coffin?"
The runners separated, and the prefectural magistrate of Chang 'an City, Shangguan Yangyu, frowned and walked out.
…
…
(The person is on the journey, updated regularly) (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it and vote monthly. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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