In Chang 'an, handmaiden Sangsang only had two friends she could talk to. One was Li Yu, the princess of the Tang Empire, and the other was Xiaocao, Mistress Jian's personal handmaiden.
The status of the princess of the Tang Empire and the handmaidens of the brothel were worlds apart. However, Sangsang's attitude towards them was the same. She was always silent and played the role of a listener.
Xiaocao gently patted the railing twice, looked at Sangsang beside her, and asked curiously, "I've heard of the Calligraphy Addict. I think she's one of the three addicts in the world. Since I've heard of her, she must be very famous. Is she beautiful?"
Sangsang nodded.
Xiaocao angrily said, "Men are really bad."
Sangsang looked at her in confusion.
Xiaocao emphasized and explained, "I mean your young master."
Sangsang was even more confused.
Xiaocao looked at her and said anxiously, "Now everyone in Chang 'an knows that Ning Que brought back a beautiful woman from a long journey. Aren't you worried at all?"
Sangsang looked at her and asked seriously, "What should I worry about?"
Xiaocao held her hand and said worriedly, "According to what you usually say, you often sleep with your young master, so it's definitely impossible for you to marry someone else. In the future, you will definitely become his concubine. In the end, he didn't even tell you before bringing a woman home. It seems that he doesn't have any feelings for you. In the future, if that woman marries your young master and becomes the mistress of the household, what will you do?"
Sangsang looked down at her hands that were tightly holding the railing. After a long silence, she said softly, "Young master is getting old and needs to get married. When I first came to your brothel with him, we had been discussing who is suitable to be the mistress. So even if he wants to marry Miss Calligraphy Addict, I won't feel anything."
…
…
"You want them dead? Which part of them are you thinking about? Or do you want them dead? After struggling in the Wilderness for more than half a year, you come to the brothel instead of studying in the Academy after returning to Chang 'an. I really don't know how the Headmaster and Eldest Brother have taught you. Are you really going to live in the mortal world for the rest of your life? "
Mistress Jian stared at Ning Que in front of her with dissatisfaction written all over her broad forehead.
Ning Que stood there obediently and did not dare to argue. The woman in front of him was not an ordinary woman. Not to mention that she controlled the rules of the brothel in Chang 'an, which was equivalent to controlling his sexual happiness, he did not dare to be the slightest bit presumptuous because of the vague relationship between her, Youngest Uncle, and the Academy.
After the trip to the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine and listening to Lian Sheng's memories, he was sure that the girl named Xiaoxiao who died tragically in front of the Lanke Temple had something to do with the House of Red Sleeves. Youngest Uncle had destroyed the Devil's Doctrine because of the girl's death. Second Brother had said that Youngest Uncle and Aunt Jian were close. What had happened between them? He could have asked Mistress Jian about the girl named Xiao Xiao, but he thought that it was a sad story of the past. He didn't want to make the elders sad again, so he didn't mention it.
He suddenly thought that Aunt Jian should be very interested in the news of Youngest Uncle, so he said, "I have inherited Youngest Uncle's legacy."
Mistress Jian was slightly startled and asked in a trembling voice, "Haoran Sword?"
Ning Que nodded and answered, "Yes."
Mistress Jian looked at him in disbelief and then frowned deeply. She leaned forward slightly and stared into his eyes. She asked very seriously, "Only the Haoran Sword?"
Ning Que was startled and then nodded again.
Mistress Jian suddenly felt relaxed when she got his confirmation. She leaned back tiredly and said, "That's good."
Ning Que looked at her expression and thought that maybe Aunt Jian also knew the truth of Youngest Uncle's joining the Devil.
"I don't want you to follow his old path."
Mistress Jian looked at him and said earnestly, "If you want the world to admit that you are qualified to represent the Academy and enter the human realm, you have to go through a lot of training. When he entered Chang 'an on a little black donkey, he was just a little scholar in a green robe. But because he couldn't control his mind, he caused a lot of trouble in the world and finally died without a burial place. So you must remember to keep a low profile this time and don't offend too many people."
This was the second time that Ning Que heard Mistress Jian seriously mention the word "enter the human realm" in today's conversation. He couldn't help but feel confused and wondered what it was. Then he heard that she used Youngest Uncle to warn him, so he couldn't help but smile and replied, "Don't worry, I'm not as strong as Youngest Uncle. If there is any trouble, I can just hide in the Academy."
"Don't think that the Academy is really the best in the world. If the Academy can really solve everything in the world, how could your Youngest Uncle end up like that? What's the point of cutting all the peach blossoms on the mountain afterward? "
Mistress Jian said coldly, and the wrinkles at the corner of her eyes were full of resentment.
That was resentment against the Academy and even against the Headmaster of the Academy.
…
…
According to the law of the Tang Empire, students of the Academy were not allowed to join the army after graduation. Therefore, unlike most of the officials in the imperial court who came from the Academy and had a close relationship with the Academy, the military of the Tang Empire had always been estranged from the Academy.
Especially recently, the powerful figures in the military, represented by the Defender-general of the State Xu Shi, had even developed a strong vigilance against the Academy, especially those supermundane people in the back of the mountain of the Academy.
What made this vigilance a reality was a memorial from Tuyang City.
In the memorial, the Defender-general of the Military, Xia Hou, who had made great achievements in the war, earnestly requested to retire. His words were full of fatigue and discouragement. After seeing this memorial, many generals in the Military Ministry felt sad, especially the bigwigs at the top. They knew that before Xia Hou decided to retire, Mr. First and Mr. Thirteen of the Academy went to Tuyang City and had a long talk with Xia Hou in the Winter Courtyard. Therefore, they became even angrier.
Many people in the military of the Tang Empire did not like Xia Hou, but they insisted that it was the military's own problem. Even if Xia Hou was to be punished, it should be handled by His Majesty or the imperial court, and not by the Academy. As for Xia Hou being a visiting professor of the West-Hill Divine Palace, it was not a big deal in the eyes of the Tangs who were also believers of Haotian.
Of course, no one dared to suspect the Headmaster of the Academy. It was just that the Headmaster of the Academy had not appeared in the human world for many years, and even His Majesty had not seen him for a long time. Therefore, the military thought that it was the fault of the back of the mountain of the Academy.
"I believe that if the Headmaster of the Academy knew about this, he would not allow those people in the back of the mountain to act so unscrupulously."
Xu Shi said coldly, "Cultivators should cultivate and not interfere with the politics of the court. Just like the two Unknown Places, deep in the mountains or the Wilderness, those outside the world return to the outside world, and those inside the world return to the inside world. Why should they be connected? Why should they enter the human world? "
"How is the investigation of that case?" He asked.
"There is indeed an iron nail in the head of censor Zhang Yiqi. The Chang 'an Local Government protected the evidence well, but they did not continue the investigation at that time. When Xuanwei General Chen Zixian died in the iron shop, the Old Brush Pen Shop was not open that day. "
"In the early morning after the death of the former Military Ministry document appraiser Yan Suqing, the Yulin Royal Guards found a piece of cloth deliberately left by the murderer and found a coat in another yard. Because it was a ready-made garment from the Lan Embroidery Workshop, this clue could not be traced. However, according to the investigation of the murder scene and the wound on the coat, it can be confirmed that the murderer was seriously injured."
A Military Ministry official said, "Two days after Yan Suqing's death, it was the semester examination of the Academy. According to the student's memory, Ning Que had made an appointment with Xie Chengyun, a scholar of the South Jin Kingdom, to bet on the result of the examination. However, he asked for two consecutive days of leave at that time. This matter caused an uproar in the Academy, so it could not be faked."
Xu Shi said coldly, "Of course he had to ask for leave when he was seriously injured."
The military of the Tang Empire was extremely powerful. Once they started a comprehensive investigation of something, they would instantly show extremely strong action and high efficiency. It did not take them a long time to find out so many clues, which was really terrifying!
These seemingly inconspicuous clues were like a net, faintly pointing to a vague figure. It seemed to indicate that Ning Que, a student of the Second floor of the Academy, had something to do with those murder cases.
"Nothing can stand up to suspicion, because once you start to suspect, you can seek evidence. As long as you seek evidence, you can find a lot of evidence. Otherwise, who would believe that the core disciple of the Headmaster of the Academy turned out to be a cold-blooded murderer."
Xu Shi said expressionlessly, "I don't want to know the connection behind these murder cases. I don't want to know who Ning Que was and what kind of hatred he had with the deceased. I just want to confirm that he did not violate the law of the Tang Empire."
After thinking for a moment, the official shook his head and said, "The existing evidence is not enough to prove anything."
Xu Shi frowned slightly and seemed to be a little worried.
The official looked at him in confusion and asked in a low voice, "Actually … even if we really find evidence of Ning Que's involvement in the case, can we really go to the back of the mountain of the Academy to arrest him for trial? General, in my humble opinion, let's just forget about this matter. "
Xu Shi looked at the winter sun outside the window and said slowly, "The Headmaster of the Academy once said that the law of the Tang Empire is the most important. Our Tang Empire is strong and prosperous according to this principle. If the Academy breaks the law, it will be the same as the common people. Even if we can't find evidence of Ning Que violating the law of the Tang Empire, we have to let the Headmaster of the Academy know about this matter and make Ning Que unable to be the Wayfarer of the Academy! "
After a moment of silence, he said coldly, "Now it seems that my vigilance towards Ning Que is indeed right. If the future Nation Master is such a villain, how can the Tang Empire be at peace? If those foreign cultivators have already entered Chang 'an, tell them to provide convenience for them. Tell the Yulin Royal Guards not to easily try to stop the battle between the two sides. "
The official from the Military Ministry trembled slightly and expressed his opposition without hesitation. He said, "I object. Even if Ning Que is a villain, he is after all a Tang man. How can we deal with him by using the hands of foreign people?"
Xu Shi turned around and looked at him with slight mockery. He said, "Do you think I am such a shameless fool?"
The official from the Military Ministry was fearless and replied, "I dare not, so I don't understand the meaning of your words."
"Since we are going to enter the human realm, we have to be tempered. Ke Haoran was like this in the past, and Ning Que is the same now. I just want this kind of tempering to be fairer. I believe the Academy will not have any objection to my arrangement."
Xu Shi said coldly, "If Ning Que is guilty, of course he should be punished by the law of the Tang Empire. But now there is no evidence that he has violated the law of the Tang Empire. So I really want him to lose, again and again, until he finally loses all his courage and edges!"
…
(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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