Mr. Qi was stunned and confused. He didn't understand why he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right wrist when the blade was about to touch him. It was a burning pain, so clear and uncontrollable that he failed to stab through his heart. He was even more confused. There was only a narrow gap between the blade and his chest. How could Sangsang fit the quilt in her arms?
Because he was shocked and confused by these questions, he forgot to stop the runners of the Chang 'an Local Government from taking Sangsang away. He didn't come to himself until those people walked out of Lin 47th Street. He touched his shaved head angrily, muttered some dirty words, and sat down on the stone steps in front of the Old Brush Pen Shop.
"Mr. Qi, please keep an eye on the things under the bed and the two urns in the courtyard. Don't lose them."
Sangsang left a message before she left. So he decided to sit on the stone steps until Sangsang came back. He could eat, drink, defecate, and sleep like this. Anyway, he couldn't leave.
…
…
On the first day of the 15th year of the Tianqi era, it snowed lightly in Chang 'an.
The snowflakes fell slowly and sparsely on the ground. Some fell on the branches, and some fell on the cracks of the stone slabs. But when the snowflakes fell on the thin shoulders under the thin clothes, they instantly turned into water stains.
Sangsang looked down at the water stains on her shoulders. She lifted the heavy quilt in her arms, which seemed to be a little strenuous. She didn't want to put the quilt at her feet because it would be dirty by the snow water.
The whole Chang 'an Local Government was silent. No advisor came out to give orders, and no chief judge summoned his subordinates to ask about the case. All the officials and runners were hiding in their respective rooms. They would rather take a detour than pass through the gate of the garden if they were in urgent need.
In fact, the officials didn't even allow her to enter the yamen. They asked her to stand on the stone steps in front of the mansion and wait for orders. However, a thin maidservant standing in the wind and snow in front of the solemn yamen attracted many onlookers and discussions.
The people of Chang 'an were the most daring. They even dared to scold the emperor and the prime minister, not to mention the Chang' an Local Government. For a while, there were many dirty words outside the mansion, and there were even many traces of snowballs on the dark gate of the Chang 'an Local Government.
The officials had no choice but to let Sangsang enter the Chang 'an Local Government. But they still refused to question her and only asked her to stand in front of the garden gate.
The officials had no choice but to let Sangsang enter the Chang 'an Local Government. But they still refused to question her and only let her stand in front of the garden gate.
Wang Jinglue had been watching her. Thinking of the scene where Mr. Qi pulled out a knife to commit suicide, he felt a little weird. Could it be that this little handmaiden was a hidden powerhouse? But Qi of Qi in the Chang 'an Local Government was to be taken back to the military to prevent the empire from being damaged. Qi military was forbidden to interfere in the case. Therefore, the Qi military was Chang's Local Government. He thought. and thought. Qi.
Xu Shi, the Defender-general of the State, had ordered to arrest the little maidservant of the Old Brush Pen Shop and bring her back to the Military Ministry for interrogation to find out the real relationship between her and the Divine Priest of Light to prevent the empire from being damaged. However, harboring a fugitive belonged to the judicial category. The sacred and inviolable law of the Tang Empire prohibited the military from interfering in all judicial cases. Therefore, the Military Ministry wanted to ask the Chang 'an Local Government to step in and then send her to the Military Ministry with the charge of treason.
Wang Jinglue had sent the name card and the letter written by the Defender-general of the State to the Chang 'an Local Government. He only needed to wait for the prefectural magistrate to come out and say something to satisfy the requirements of the law of the Tang Empire. Then he could take Sangsang away.
However, the prefectural magistrate of Chang 'an City, Shangguan Yang Yu, seemed to be getting worse.
The advisor looked at Wang Jinglue with a sad face and said, "His Excellency had a fever at noon yesterday and fell into a coma in the evening. He hasn't drunk any water since. Two doctors from the Imperial Institute of Medicine came, but they couldn't do anything about it."
Wang Jinglue looked at the advisor with disgust. He thought that if His Excellency wanted to pretend to be dead, not to mention the doctors from the Imperial Institute of Medicine, even the elixirs from the West-Hill Divine Palace couldn't make him get up.
"When will the prefectural magistrate be able to take charge?"
"Actually … in my humble opinion, if the Military Ministry wants to ask the little handmaiden anything, they don't have to take her to the Military Ministry. To be honest, no one in the Chang 'an Local Government dares to take responsibility for this. You can ask her in this garden."
"Harboring a fugitive … The law of the Tang Empire doesn't say that the Military Ministry can investigate this case."
"It's just a private inquiry, not an official one from the government. It's okay."
Wang Jinglue waved his hand to let the advisor leave. After thinking for a moment, he slowly walked to the front of the garden and looked at the little handmaiden standing in the light snow. Looking at the snowflakes on her yellowish hair, he frowned slightly and asked, "Are you cold?"
Sangsang held the thick quilt in her arms and really didn't feel cold. She shook her head.
Wang Jinglue took out a few documents from his clothes and put them on the quilt in Sangsang's arms. He opened them page by page and pointed at the handwriting on them, introducing himself, "My name is Wang Jinglue. My cultivation sect is from the Dragon Tiger Mountain and is registered in the Imperial Center Administration of the Tang Empire. Now I serve in the Military Ministry. According to the law of the Tang Empire, I have the right to question you."
The Defender-general of the State Xu Shi was undoubtedly the most powerful person in the Tang Empire's military. Even such a big shot had to go through the formal procedures to question a little handmaiden. It was not because of the little handmaiden's background from the Academy, but because he wanted to show an attitude of respect for the law of the Tang Empire and let the Academy see this attitude clearly.
Wang Jinglue had followed Xu Shi to fight in the Southern Border for a long time and was very clear about the old general's stubborn personality. In addition, the Tang Empire valued martial arts and the military had a special status, so he was not worried about the Academy's reaction.
"That old man was involved in a murder case in Chang 'an more than a decade ago. The West-Hill Divine Palace accused him of betraying Haotian and the whole world was searching for him. However, he lived with you in the Old Brush Pen Shop for many days. I want to ask you …"
Wang Jinglue was slightly startled and stopped asking because he found that Sangsang's head was pressed against the thick quilt. It seemed that she had no intention of listening to his question, let alone answering it.
He said with slight annoyance, "You are just a handmaiden. Don't expect your young master or even the Academy to stand up for a handmaiden. I don't want to make things difficult for you, as long as you can clearly explain your relationship with that old man. "
Sangsang looked up at him and said, "I can't say."
Wang Jinglue was slightly surprised and asked, "Why?"
Sangsang said, "Young master warned me when I was young that I can't answer questions from strangers."
Wang Jinglue did not know what to say.
At this moment, a calm and dignified voice sounded in the garden.
"Little girl, there are some questions that you have to answer."
A yellow oiled-paper umbrella appeared in the Chang 'an Local Government. There were fine snowflakes on the umbrella.
The person who said this was not the Taoist under the umbrella, but an official in red beside the umbrella.
Wang Jinglue frowned slightly. In the past, when he was a visiting official in the Prince's Mansion, he did not know much about the powerhouses in the imperial court. On that rainy night, he could not guess the identity of Master Yan Se at all. Now that he was a member of the imperial court, he knew a lot of things, so he easily recognized the identity of these two people.
The official in red was Zhuge Wuren, the highest official of the Imperial Center Administration of the Tang Empire. The Taoist holding the yellow oiled-paper umbrella was He Mingchi, the disciple of the Nation Master Li Qingshan. The appearance of these two people at the same time was enough to represent the cultivators in the imperial court.
Wang Jinglue did not expect that there would be other people in the imperial court who were interested in this thin and dark maidservant other than the solitary and respected General Xu Shi. If they dared to be interested, did they not know who the owner of the Old Brush Pen Shop was?
Zhuge Wuren looked at Wang Jinglue and nodded slightly to greet him. He said, "I don't know what case the Military Ministry wants to investigate that needs to ask this woman, but we do have some urgent things to ask her."
The Imperial Center Administration of the Tang Empire was an institution that managed the cultivators in the empire. It had a very close relationship with the military and the South School of Haotian Taoism. The chief Zhuge Wuren had always been extremely mysterious. It was said that this official did not know how to cultivate at all.
At this time, Wang Jinglue did not feel any aura from him, but he became more vigilant. An official who did not know how to cultivate was able to control so many powerful cultivators in the imperial court and the military. Apart from the power of the Tang Empire itself, this kind of person was undoubtedly a very important person.
He Mingchi closed the yellow paper umbrella and looked at Wang Jinglue. He explained softly, "Lord Zhuge and I went to Lin 47th Street. Only then did we know that this little handmaiden had been brought to the Chang 'an Local Government by Mr. Wang, so we came here."
Wang Jinglue said, "I wonder what Lord Zhuge wants to ask."
Zhuge Wuren said coldly, "Of course it's something you can't listen to."
After a moment of silence, Wang Jinglue laughed at himself and slowly walked out with his hands behind his back. He said, "You'd better hurry up."
…
…
With a swoosh, the yellow oiled-paper umbrella was opened in He Mingchi's hands again. As the umbrella's cover opened, a faintly discernible aura enveloped the garden of the Chang 'an Local Government. The sound from the outside world suddenly became faint.
Sangsang raised her head and looked at the yellow oiled-paper umbrella curiously, probably thinking of her big black umbrella.
He Mingchi thought that the little handmaiden was worried about something, so he smiled gently and explained, "It's just soundproofing. It won't cause any harm to you. Lord Zhuge has something important to ask you. Just answer truthfully."
Zhuge Wuren stared at Sangsang's eyes and asked in a gloomy tone, "Before Master Yan Se and the Divine Priest of Light perished together, you were the only one in the world on that mountaintop. I want to ask you if the master left anything behind."
The official's tone was very cold. He Mingchi could not help but frown slightly. He was probably thinking, "Since Younger Brother Ning Que is a visiting professor of the Imperial Center Administration, why are you so tough with his handmaiden?"
Sangsang looked at the official and said seriously after a moment of silence, "Master Yan Se left that horse carriage for my young master."
Zhuge Wuren scolded with disgust and anger, "You know that's not what I'm asking."
Sangsang was not frightened by the other party's expression at all. She replied very seriously, "Whether it's the horse carriage or anything else, even if there is, it's all left for my young master. So what does it have to do with you?"
Zhuge Wuren took a deep breath and said coldly, "However, some things are too important. Even the person involved cannot give it to others privately, because that thing is related to the future of the entire Tang Empire."
He Mingchi held the yellow umbrella in silence. He disagreed with the actions of the Imperial Center Administration, but he had to admit that Lord Zhuge's words were very correct. The big tactical array of Chang 'an City had protected the Tang Empire for thousands of years. Its array eye could not fall into the hands of a thin and dark handmaiden.
…
…
(Send the third chapter. Try to finish the fourth chapter around 11 o 'clock.) (To be continued.) If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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