The Second Princess lived in 'Shao Yin Palace', a spacious and elegant courtyard.
The captain of the guards brought Xu Qi 'an over the high threshold and bypassed the screen wall. In front of them was a courtyard filled with the innocence of a young girl.
There were swings hanging on the grapevine rack, broken clay figurines piled up in the corner and many strange things were piled up in the East pavilion.
At the edge of the flowerbed on the West side, the Second Princess, Lin An, was kicking embroidered balls with a few maids. Amidst the chatter of the females, there were sometimes Princess Lin An's bell-like laughter.
"Your Highness, I have brought Xu Qi 'an." The captain of the guards cupped his fists and said loudly from afar.
The Second Princess stepped on the embroidered ball and turned around to look over. She stared at Xu Qi 'an for a few seconds before her lips hooked up and kicked the embroidered ball.
Peng!
The embroidered ball flew and the hem of Princess Lin An's skirt suddenly exploded into a circle, like a blooming flower.
Xu Qi 'an, who had suffered a show of strength the moment they met, felt a chill in his heart. Just as he was about to dodge, he suddenly endured it. The embroidered ball missed its target and bounced far away.
"… I will spare you this once." The Second Princess forcefully maintained her dignity and walked towards the front hall, "Xu Qi 'an, follow BenGong in. The rest wait outside."
In the luxurious front hall, the Second Princess sat on the big chair and Xu Qi 'an stood in the middle of the hall. Both of them looked at each other silently.
The Second Princess tried to use her status as an Imperial Princess to force Xu Qi 'an to admit defeat with her gaze.
She knew that when Huaiqing was young, there was a period of time when she tamed an eagle. The eagle's eyes were the sharpest like a knife and ordinary people could not look at it for a long time. Thus in the process of taming the eagle, one must use a sharper and calmer gaze to suppress it.
Once the person taming the eagle looked away, he would lose the qualification to be the owner of the eagle.
The purpose of Huaiqing taming the eagle was to train her sharp eyes. Until now, the Second Princess did not dare to look at Huaiqing for a long time.
It was a pity that her watery peach blossom eyes did not have any lethality and when she stared at people, there was a kind of sentimentality.
Xu Qi 'an looked at the Second Princess. Her face was round and somewhat similar to Chu Caiwei's. However, the latter hid her sweetness and had big, two-dimensional eyes.
The Second Princess, on the other hand, was a domineering beauty. Her peach blossom eyes were full of affection for everyone she looked at.
"Xu Qi 'an, I heard that you are Huaiqing's loyal dog. The Second Princess saw that her fiendish gaze was unable to subdue Xu Qi 'an, so she sneered and turned to words to attack him.
"Yes, my name is Duke Ba," Xu Qi 'an said sincerely.
"Ba Gong?"
"A loyal dog."
"Are you playing with BenGong?" Princess Lin An raised her eyebrows.
"I don't dare," Xu Qi 'an said in a tone that was neither servile nor overbearing.
Princess Lin An scoffed delicately, "BenGong will give you a chance. Immediately rely on me and get rid of that Huai Qing woman. . "
I have already hugged Princess Royal's jade thighs and Wei Yuan's thighs. If I were to rely on you … Wouldn't I become a slave to three families? Xu Qi 'an shook his head, "Sorry, this lowly official has vowed to work like a cow or a horse for Princess Royal, and even sacrifice one's life."
Xu Qi 'an shook his head. "I'm sorry, I've already sworn that I will do anything for the Eldest Princess."
The Second Princess immediately said, "Then I also want you to work like a cow or a horse for me."
Then will you give me grass? Xu Qi 'an understood the situation. The Second Princess saw that he was appreciated by Princess Royal and was a henchman by Princess Royal's side. He was handsome, knew how to write poems and spoke well, thus she was jealous and wanted to snatch him away from Princess Royal's side.
"Second Princess must not force others against their will." Xu Qi 'an sternly refused. One must have the spirit of a contract. Since he had agreed to work for Princess Royal, he could not rely on others.
"If you are not willing." The Second Princess widened her eyes and sneered before threatening, "I will now shout indecent assault and tell the guards that you are trying to molest Ba Qi 'an."
"This one is willing to sacrifice one's life for Second Princess and work like a cow or a horse." Xu Qi 'an sincerely said.
The Second Princess suddenly became happy, "A wise man submits to circumstances. You are a talent … En, in the future after noon, you will come here to see Ba Qi 'an and be dispatched by Ba Qi' an."
"Your Highness, this lowly official has an errand to investigate the Sampo Case." Xu Qi 'an sighed.
"… That is also true." Princess Lin An thought about it, "Then forget about it tomorrow. Wait till Ba Qi 'an wants to order you then you can come again."
Xu Qi 'an understood that this woman was just messing around and did not really want him to do anything. It was purely to find fault with Princess Royal.
The threat just now did not have any lethality. A dignified Princess' reputation in exchange for his little gong's dog life, it was a blood loss!
It was because he understood that he changed his attitude and agreed to the Second Princess. He would treat it as playing with a child and casually deal with it.
"You may withdraw." The Second Princess was in a good mood because things were progressing smoothly.
"Yes."
"Wait." The Second Princess called out to him and took off the jade pendant on her waist, "This is Ba Qi's token. You can use this to enter the Palace and the guards will not stop you. But you can only come to Ba Qi's place and cannot go to other places."
So generous? You must be a hammer. Xu Qi 'an's eyes brightened and kept the jade pendant, "In the future this lowly official will do his best to be loyal to Your Highness."
Xu Qi 'an left the Imperial City before dusk and rode his horse back to the yamen for the night watchman.
The yamen had already dispersed and only the night watchman and officials were left. It was much quieter than during the day.
Xu Qi 'an just entered the yamen when a Jinluo man with a high nose and wide forehead walked towards him. He was Zhu Chengzhu's father, Zhu Yang.
When enemies met, there was no jealousy. They just looked at each other gloomily.
"Zhu Jinluo, how is your son's injury?" Xu Qi 'an smiled as he took out his waist token and tied it on his waist.
Zhu Yang glanced at the token and said calmly, "He is lucky. He won't die. I'm afraid your excellency Xu has to go first. "
Xu Qi 'an waved his hand and smiled kindly, "I will wait for him on the road. After all, we are acquaintances."
Zhu Yang stared at him for a few seconds and nodded, "Investigate the case well."
"Have a safe journey, Zhu Jinluo."
Entering the side hall of Spring Breeze Hall, Li Yuchun's gong and several constables of the yamen were still there.
Li Yuchun heard footsteps and came out of Spring Breeze Hall. He said, "There are some clues about the death of Zhao County Magistrates. Hmm, it may not be the doing of Taoism."
Xu Qi 'an nodded. He did not enter the side hall but followed Li Yuchun into Spring Breeze Hall.
"This afternoon, Governor Chen invited the Celestial Commissioner's white robe to interrogate the prison guards and petty officials who were on duty at night. They confirmed that there was no problem with them and further confirmed that Zhao County Magistrates did die silently in the prison in the early hours of the morning."
Li Yuchun poured a cup of tea for Xu Qi 'an who was both a subordinate and a superior. He continued, "Taoism's Yin spirits can do this. They can also bypass the guards and prison guards silently. But after looking through the information today, I found that there is another system that can do this. "
Xu Qi 'an drank his tea and listened patiently.
"Shamans!" Li Yuchun said.
"Shamans?"
"Have you heard of the Witchcraft Cult?"
"I've heard of the Witchcraft Cult from you, boss. Witchcraft Cult is a cult founded by the Witchcraft Cult?"
Li Yuchun nodded. "The Witchcraft Cult is the god that all the countries in the Northeast believe in. The Witchcraft Cult has supreme power in the Northeast, just like Buddhism in the West Region."
Daibun had supreme imperial power, so did the northern tribes.
But in the West Region and the Northeast, divine power was supreme, and the cult was the real ruler.
"Can the shamans be compared to Taoism in the Primordial Spirit field?" Xu Qi 'an asked humbly.
"No, no system can be compared to Taoism in the Primordial Spirit field." Li Yuchun shook her head and said, "But the fourth-grade shamans are also called dream shamans. They can weave dreams and kill people in them.
"Seventy years ago, the northern demons and the Witchcraft Cult had a war over territory. According to the information sent back by the night watchman's spy, a group of two thousand demon soldiers died silently in the military camp. They didn't have any wounds on their bodies. Everyone was resting on their weapons and fell asleep, but they never woke up. "
Fourth-grade shamans … How did the shamans get involved … This case was too difficult.
Renzong was now the state religion of Daibun, and the Taoist Master was the supreme honor. What was the benefit of helping the King of Zhenbei usurp the throne?
There was no way it could go any higher. It was already at max level.
Therefore, it was more likely that the Witchcraft Cult was involved. If the person who killed the Zhao County Magistrates was dream shamans, then the forces behind the Sampo Case were: the mastermind (King of Zhenbei), the northern demons, and the Witchcraft Cult!
Xu Qi 'an took a sip of tea, unable to hide the tiredness in his eyes.
"It's not that we didn't find anything. At least we can rule out Renzong, and there's some progress in the case," Xu Qi 'an said.
"Boss, let's report this to Duke Wei."
Li Yuchun nodded, his face full of worry. "I have a feeling that the end of the Genzi year will be the beginning of chaos."
"Let's just focus on solving the case. Don't worry about the country." Xu Qi 'an patted his shoulder and left the yamen.
It was already dark when he returned home. He had been starving for a whole day, and his stomach was rumbling. He ate the food cooked by the cook and drank the milk served by Lingyue. Then, he went back to the courtyard and fell asleep.
On the third day, Xu Qi 'an arrived at the yamen on horseback at dawn. He saw Chu Caiwei, dressed in a yellow dress, rushing toward him on horseback.
She held the reins in one hand and a paper bag in the other. Half of a white bun was exposed, trying to jump out of the bag as the horse jolted.
"Do you want some?" Chu Caiwei generously handed him a bun and added, "It's meat."
Xu Qi 'an was touched. It was as if Xu Lingyin had only eaten a bowl of porridge because she was worried about him. This foodie thinks of me as one of her own.
Xu Qi 'an took the bun and put it in his mouth. He threw the reins to the official at the door.
He walked in while eating and asked, "Any clues?"
Chu Caiwei said, "I've asked. Senior Song Qing said that apart from some of the artifacts in the palace and the Celestial Commissioner's artifacts, only Buddhism has artifacts that can block the Aura Divination Technique. Hmm, it's not the Buddhist temples of mortals. It's the Azure Dragon Temple. "
Azure Dragon Temple?!
The inheritance left behind by the Pagoda Temple … Xu Qi 'an was both surprised and not surprised.
As expected, the Buddhists were inextricably linked to the Sang Po case.
The Celestial Commissioner, the Imperial Family, the Witchcraft Cult, the Northern Demon Tribe, the King of Zhenbei, Buddhism … It was just a small Sampo Case, but it involved so many powerful forces.
