Ji Huaishan recounted what had happened. In Yu Shu's ears, there was only one meaning — — they were the ones who found Jing Chen.
Seeing that Jing Chen was safe and sound, Ren Qiming was overjoyed. He couldn't help but treat Ji Huaishan in an amiable manner. "His Majesty was anxious because of this matter. Fortunately, the Right Judicial Judge found Daozi. I will report this to His Excellency Ming and ask for a reward for you."
Ji Huaishan smiled. "This subordinate is an internal official of the Supreme Court. I am only doing my duty and dare not claim credit. I am ashamed to say this. If it weren't for my granddaughter being nosy and running off to find him, we wouldn't have coincidentally found Daozi."
Hearing this, Ren Qiming looked at Ji Xingxuan. His gaze didn't conceal his admiration. "Xingxuan, I have been busy all year and didn't have the time to ask you. How did you do in the Dayan Examination this time?"
Because Ji Huaishan was the Celestial Commissioner, he would occasionally bring Ji Xingxuan to the prison. Ren Qiming ran into her a few times. Seeing that this woman was talented and intelligent, he occasionally gave her pointers. He often went to the Right Judicial Judge's Residence to drink tea. Every time, Ji Huaishan would call Ji Xingxuan over to greet him. Thus, they weren't strangers to each other.
Ji Xingxuan stepped forward and bowed. She answered politely, "Replying to Your Excellency's question. I took all six subjects. Apart from the mathematics subject, I didn't miss any of the other five subjects. Among them, I was more confident in Yi Li, physiognomy, and astrology. If there are no accidents, I should be able to pass two."
When Ren Qiming heard 'astrology', he secretly frowned. His expression didn't change. "Yes, there are more questions in mathematics this year. It stumped many people." Pausing, he looked at her and continued, "You have been studying in the Taishi Library for three years. If you are able to become a Great Yi Master this year, this fu will recommend you to the higher authorities. Next year, you can take up a position in the Imperial Censorate. The Imperial Censorate is currently lacking a scribe. Although it is only a seventh-ranked scribe, you will be able to learn much better than anywhere else.
The selection of officials for the Celestial Commissioner was different. As long as it was approved by the Senior Supervisor and the Junior Supervisor, even the Emperor wouldn't interfere. It wasn't easy for a woman to become an official. Today, with Ren Qiming's words, Ji Xingxuan would be appointed to the Celestial Commissioner's post.
Hearing this, Ji Xingxuan paused. Then, her beautiful eyes brightened. She was overjoyed. Ji Huaishan was even more overjoyed. Fearing that Ren Qiming would take back his words, he hurriedly said, "Xingxuan, hurry up and thank the Junior Supervisor for his appreciation."
"Xingxuan will not disappoint Your Excellency."
On one side, they were 'giving gifts'. On the other side, Yu Shu was watching coldly from the sidelines. Everyone else who witnessed this scene had different thoughts.
Xue Rui sneered because he knew a lot of inside information. He could see through this grandfather and granddaughter's ploy. It was nothing more than using a knife to hurt someone and then sitting back and enjoying the fruits of their labor. It was a pity that the little girl in his arms had worked so hard to protect a 'noble' to the capital. In the end, she had made a wedding dress for someone else. She had to suffer in silence and couldn't say anything.
Jing Chen looked thoughtfully at the old and young pair who had brought him here. He suddenly said, "Did you know that I was hiding in that small courtyard?"
Others might not understand what Jing Chen was saying, but the grandfather and granddaughter of the Ji family understood. Ji Huaishan's smile froze. Ji Xingxuan frowned and asked, "Why do you say that, Daoist?"
Jing Chen pointed at her and said suspiciously, "You've seen me before. Last October, at the Qiyun Temple in the south of the city. At that time, I was with Xiao Yu and you met me. You recognized me. Today, you pretended not to know me. You deliberately used Xiao Yu as an excuse to bring me here, didn't you?"
Jing Chen was not worldly. However, he was born sensitive and meticulous. He could often sense the changes in people's hearts. That was why he did not hesitate to hand over a treasure like the Yellowfrost Stone to Yu Shu in Yiyang City. He believed it because he knew it. Reality proved that he did not trust the wrong person. In the future, not only did Yu Shu save his life, but it was also because of her that he could stand here safely today.
Xue Rui looked at Jing Chen in surprise. He thought to himself that this person was not stupid.
Ren Qiming looked at Ji Xingxuan meaningfully and asked, "Xingxuan, Daoist said that you've seen him before. Is that true?"
Ji Xingxuan hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice, "Yes, I've seen Daoist at the Qiyun Temple before."
"Xingxuan?!" Ji Huaishan was shocked. He did not understand what she was doing.
Xue Rui also looked at Ji Xingxuan strangely. He did not know what trick she was playing.
"Grandfather," Ji Xingxuan clenched her hands in front of her abdomen. She smiled bitterly and said, "Did you forget? Last October, I accidentally broke your treasured painting of the Nine Plum Blossoms and was punished by you to copy books at home? Coincidentally, you were not in the fu, so I sneaked out with Yun He. I wanted to admire the plum blossom forest near the Qiyun Temple. When I came back, I drew a plum blossom painting to make you happy. I was afraid that you would blame me afterwards, so I did not mention it again. Coincidentally, I met Daoist at the temple. Now that I've seen him, how could I recognize him? I could only pretend not to know him.
Who would have known that he was the Daoist you were looking for? This was indeed a coincidence and caused Daoist to misunderstand. "This explanation was flawless and immediately dispelled everyone's suspicions. Ji Xingxuan had made it very clear that she had seen Jing Chen before. However, at that time, she did not recognize Jing Chen. Today, she pretended not to know him because she was afraid of bringing up the matter of her sneaking out.
Jing Chen only had suspicions. In the end, there was no evidence to prove that Ji Xingxuan had tricked him to come here.
Xue Rui was a little shocked. He thought to himself that this Ji Xingxuan had a deep mind. She was quick-witted and meticulous. She was practically invulnerable. On one hand, he was lucky enough to break off the engagement with the Ji family that day. On the other hand, he was worried for Yu Shu. Now that she had provoked such a difficult character, her days in the future would not be stable.
"Are you done?" Yu Shu, who had been resting on Xue Rui's body, suddenly spoke up. Her hissing voice was very attention-grabbing.
Ji Xingxuan shifted her gaze and saw a weak-looking Yu Shu holding onto the armrest of the chair. She barely managed to sit up straight. Her pair of reddened eyes stared straight at Ji Xingxuan, making Ji Xingxuan feel a sense of foreboding.
"If you're done, it's my turn."
Yu Shu didn't care what they thought of her. She retracted her gaze from Ji Xingxuan and shifted it to Junior Eunuch Ren. She held back her cough and slowly said, "Jing Chen and I, oh, the Daozi that you guys call him, met him a year ago in Jiangnan's Yiyang City. I was indebted to him, so I felt grateful and befriended him. Last April, he suddenly bade farewell to me and left Yiyang City. I thought that we wouldn't be able to meet again, but who knew that two months later, when I took a boat north to the capital, I actually met him again. However, at that time, he was severely injured and was abandoned in the river. He was fished out of the water as he was on his last breath. He almost lost his life. I recognized him and in order to repay his kindness, I naturally took good care of him. Who knew that after he woke up, not only did he lose his voice, he also lost his memory. Jing Chen, you never lie. Tell them, is there a single lie in what I've said? "
Most of the people present were flabbergasted when they heard about Jing Chen's thrilling experience. Ren Qiming's expression was the worst, while Liu Tan's expression was one of shock and anger.
Ji Huaishan and Ji Xingxuan, on the other hand, didn't expect this. They looked at each other and felt that something was wrong. They had originally thought that Yu Shu and the Daozi were good friends at most. They didn't expect her to be his savior.
Jing Chen looked at Yu Shu and said, "It's true. What Xiaoyu said is absolutely true. If she hadn't saved me on the river, I would have become a pile of bones in the river. Later, when we were hijacked, she was the one who helped me escape and saved my life."
Ji Huaishan was a sly old fox. Seeing that the situation had changed, he sighed and said, "I didn't expect that the Daozi would have such an experience. You're really lucky. In this way, you can be considered to be affectionate and righteous. You know how to repay kindness."
He came to play the good guy. With one sentence, he minimized Yu Shu's' life-saving grace 'into' repaying kindness'.
Yu Shu knew it in her heart. She secretly sneered. This old thing, did he think that she said all this for this little credit?
At this time, Ren Qiming already knew that he had wronged Yu Shu and had her finger broken. There was a little embarrassment on his dark face. He felt guilty in his heart, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize. He said in a stiff tone, "If you had told me the truth from the beginning, I wouldn't have misunderstood. I wouldn't have thought that you had ulterior motives and deliberately concealed the whereabouts of the Daozi."
"Daren didn't misunderstand. I did deliberately conceal his whereabouts." Yu Shu's words shocked everyone. She noticed that Xue Rui had fallen on her shoulder. Her arm moved. She raised her head and shamefully faced the man who wholeheartedly protected her: "Big Brother, I'm sorry. I hid it from you these days. In fact, on the ninth day of the New Year, I went out of the city to find Jing Chen and saw him in the woods."
In the face of her apology, Xue Rui smiled bitterly. Could he say that he had already guessed it?
Yu Shu ignored the other people's attitude. She lowered her head and coughed twice. She continued to say to Ren Qiming: "What happened after we entered the capital is what big brother said to you just now. There's nothing wrong. It's just that these two days, I let Jing Chen hide in the small courtyard in the south of the city. I always knew where he was. When you interrogated me, I deliberately concealed it."
Ren Qiming furrowed his eyebrows: "Woman, you didn't report what you knew and hid a Daoist. What is your intention?"
"Alas," Yu Shu let out a long sigh: "Daren didn't you understand? Jing Chen is a member of the royal family and a noble Daoist. He is the descendant of Yun Hua Yi and Princess Lu Yue. It was the first time he left the mountain. Firstly, he didn't have anything valuable on him. Secondly, he didn't have any enemies in Jianghu. Thirdly, he was highly skilled in martial arts and couldn't be plotted against by small fries. However, he was killed on the way. They used silver needles to make him lose his voice and memory.
Before this, I didn't know his identity. I just couldn't figure out who would want to kill him. "Yu Shu stopped to catch her breath. Everyone held their breaths in rapt attention. They were afraid that they had misheard the main point." Later on, Jing Chen regained his memory and told me that when he left the mountain this time, someone from the capital came to pick him up. He was framed when he went to the welcoming party. When I heard this, I suddenly realized that the person who wanted to harm him had obviously planned this and was probably hiding in the capital. Unfortunately, he lost his memory and couldn't remember who the killer was. In this kind of situation, with so many dangers, how could Jing Chen show himself? "
Looking at Ren Qiming's changing expression, Yu Shu took a deep breath. She used all her strength and stood up shakily from her chair. She resisted the dizziness and with red eyes, she angrily accused: "Let me ask you, Daren, you captured me to interrogate me and used torture to threaten me. If I wanted to protect myself, I would betray Jing Chen's whereabouts! Isn't this selling a friend for glory? Shameless and cheap! Although I, Yu Shu, am a woman and don't have the backbone of a man, I still know how to write the word 'righteousness'! "
The sound of "qiang qiang" made everyone's ears ring. Her words made people's hearts beat fast. In front of everyone, Yu Shu changed from hiding Daozi's whereabouts with "ulterior motives" to protecting Daozi's safety in the blink of an eye. No one would doubt her intentions!
A strange expression flashed in Xue Rui's eyes, and as he looked at Yu Shu's pale and cold face, he suddenly came to a slight understanding in his heart. Why did she endure patiently and tightly clench her teeth even after her fingers were twisted off?
Ji Xingxuan frowned. Unexpectedly, she had set up a series of obstacles, but she still managed to turn the tables. In the end, she still looked down on her.
"Pa, pa, pa!"
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