It was late at night. Yu Shu tossed and turned and could not fall asleep. Her mind was filled with the conversation she had with Xue Rui during the day. It was one thing to know that Yun Hua was not dead, but it was another thing to suspect that he was the culprit behind the two murders in Taishi Shuyuan.
In Yu Shu's understanding, Yun Hua, the eldest senior brother whom she had never met, was a person with a good reputation when he was alive. When he was dead, he was also a legend. He was definitely not related to the murderer at all.
If it was really Yun Hua, then Yu Shu could only praise him for being ruthless. In order to stop the Daan calamity from losing his life, he could even lay his hands on his own son, Jing Chen. He beat him half to death and threw him into the river. It was fortunate that she picked him up and brought him back. Otherwise, she would have fed him to the fish.
If it was not Yun Hua, then if he did not die twenty years ago, where was he hiding for the past twenty years?
Yu Shu thought for a night. The next day, she had a pair of black eyes. When Xue Rui saw this, he was quite regretful. He thought that he should not have told her before he found out the truth. He comforted her and said, "It's just a speculation. Don't take it to heart."
Yu Shu shook her head. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Jing Chen's murder and the murders in Taishi Shuyuan had something to do with Yun Hua. The biggest possibility was that Yun Hua exposed his purpose of destroying the Book of Mystery Woman's Six Rens and was killed by the royal family of Daan. After he escaped, he concealed his identity and secretly made arrangements. He waited until Jing Chen, the calamity of Daan, came down from Mount Longhu before he took action.
Jing Chen told her that Da Tidian once said that the Da An Calamity only appeared once in a hundred years. It was fate, but it was also a predestined fate. According to the time, Jing Chen should be the third Calamity that appeared since the founding of the Da An Kingdom. However, the Fate Breaker did not seem to appear together with the Calamity. Only the Calamity could see the Fate Breaker from the Imperial Tombs.
Therefore, Yun Hua must have known that Jing Chen's son was a troublemaker when he was born. He could not destroy the Book of Mystic Maiden's Six Rens, but he knew the secret of this book, so he changed his goal to stop the troublemaker from destroying his life. He could not bear to kill his own son, so he could only wait for the day Jing Chen found the person who would destroy his life, and then he would make a move against the person who would destroy his life.
Thinking about it this way, the most crucial part of the Book of the Mysterious Maiden Liu Ren should be the Great Calamity of An Dynasty, it was related to the fate of An Dynasty, it was related to the peace of the world.
Qing Zheng's obsession with destroying the Book of the Mysterious Maiden Liu Ren was very deep. Otherwise, he would not have sent his eldest disciple to take the risk to go to the capital. After twenty years, he accepted her as his disciple and sent her to the capital again.
"My master, Daoist Qing Zheng, knows fortune and misfortune, and can judge life and death. Then, he must be able to predict that Yun Hua is not dead. However, from his tone at that time, he and Yun Hua have been separated for many years and have not been able to meet again. That is to say, after Yun Hua was in danger that year, his whereabouts were unknown, and he did not go back to find master."
Yu Shu talked to herself. She always felt that Yun Hua's obsession was somewhat inexplicable. He was ordered by his master to go to the capital to destroy the book, but he did not destroy the book. Instead, he lost his own son. Under the situation where he was surrounded by enemies on all sides, shouldn't he try to find a way to reunite with Daoist Qing Zheng?
Yun Hua was different from her. Qing Zheng said that he accepted this eldest disciple thirty years ago, which meant that he had taught him for at least ten years. With such a master-disciple relationship, she did not believe that Qing Zheng would wash his hands of Yun Hua like how he treated her. He would definitely leave him a way out and would not let him not be able to find her.
However, after Yun Hua "died" twenty years ago, he did not return to Qing Zheng's side. Instead, he chose to live in seclusion alone. The feeling he gave her was that he was deliberately avoiding Qing Zheng and did not want Qing Zheng to interfere with him.
"You seem to have mentioned that before Yun Hua came to the capital in the past, he already had a wife?" Xue Rui asked out of the blue.
"Yes, my master mentioned it in front of me. He said that my eldest senior brother had already married and had a child." Yu Shu recalled that when Qing Zheng mentioned Yun Hua, he had a proud look on his face. Unfortunately, she drank a few mouthfuls of spicy wine at that time and fell asleep, so she did not hear the whole story.
"Then … where are Yun Hua's first wife and child now?"
Yu Shu shook her head and said casually, "Maybe they are living well somewhere. Otherwise, they are dead —"
Her words were stuck in her throat, and she bit her tongue. Suddenly, a vague idea came to her mind, and her eyes drifted around.
She did not notice that Xue Rui, who was sitting opposite her, had a stern look on his face, and his eyes were slightly closed.
There was a short silence between the two of them. Xue Rui said, "You have seen Yun Hua's exam paper when he participated in the Grand Yan Examination. Do you still remember where he came from?"
This happened more than half a year ago. Yu Shu used one of Yun Hua's Astrology exam papers to trick the Ji family. Now, that exam paper had been destroyed. Fortunately, she had a good memory, so she did not forget it. "I remember that it was written on that exam paper that he was from Changzhou."
All the examinees of the Grand Yan Examination were given an exam notice. There was no student number. All the exam papers were distinguished by their birthplace, name, and handwriting.
"Changzhou?" Xue Rui muttered to himself. His heart was moved. He thought, 'Changzhou and Yiyang are adjacent to each other, less than a hundred miles apart. Yun Hua came to the capital with an ulterior motive, so his name and birthplace can be fake, but his accent and customs can't be too far from the truth. Could it be that he is actually from Yiyang? Didn't Shu also become his disciple in Yiyang City? '
"Although that is what he wrote, who knows whether it is fake or not. Even the name Yun Mufeng might not be real." Yu Shu slightly twitched her mouth.
She judged Yun Hua from a woman's point of view. She felt that he was really a scumbag. He left his wife and child to go to the capital and became famous overnight. He became the son-in-law of the emperor, and he was in love with Princess Luyue and had a child. He had let down two women.
Of his two sons, one was unknown whether he was alive or dead, and the other was cheated here and there. He was a terrible father.
In comparison, Yun Hua and Jing Chen were really a pair of father and son. They both abandoned their own good lives for the sake of those incorporeal morality.
"I will send someone to Changzhou to investigate as soon as possible. I will let you know when there is news." Xue Rui came back to his senses and said to her, "After breakfast, I will send you to the Celestial Commissioner's office."
Yu Shu stayed at Wang Ji Tower yesterday and did not leave. Lu Hong and Xu Qing were sent away by her. When she went out, Xue Rui had to personally send her off before she could rest assured.
Because the speculation that Yun Hua was the culprit was too scary, Yu Shu forgot to tell Xue Rui that she went to the palace and met Imperial Consort Xue.
Xue Rui sent Yu Shu to the main entrance of the Celestial Commissioner's office. Before they parted, he reminded her, "You are in charge of the official marriage approval. If you see Jin Xun's Eight Words Calligraphy, temporarily suppress it. Remember to inform me."
Yu Shu naturally agreed. She wanted to ask more, but Xue Rui had already closed the car door, turned around, and left.
Lu Hong and Xu Qing were waiting at the entrance of the official office. They followed her inside. The three of them split up in the courtyard of the Kunling Bureau. Yu Shu went to work, and the two guards were ordered to stroll elsewhere and listen to the news.
After entering the courtyard, Yu Shu raised her head and glanced at the window of the east building. Seeing that it was open, she knew that Jing Chen had arrived first. So, she went upstairs first.
In the same department, the lower officials had to report to their superiors in the morning and evening. This was the rule of the officialdom.
"Good morning, Right Commander. Do you have any instructions today? If there is nothing else, I will go."
Jing Chen sat by the window and flipped through a book. A corner of his silver gauze robe hung to the ground. The embroidery of the Big Dipper Palace on his shoulder was illuminated by the morning light. His long hair was tied up, and he wore no black gauze. His brows were like distant mountains, and there was a small shadow in his eyes. When he looked back, it was like autumn water.
Such a pleasing man could only be watched from afar. Yu Shu sighed in her heart.
Jing Chen looked at her, put down the scroll, and said, "When I entered the palace yesterday, His Majesty was drafting an edict. The golden book and seal of your title have already been made by the Ministry of Rites. In the morning, someone from the palace will come to announce the edict. You should prepare."
On the day of the Water and Land Conference, although Emperor Zhao Qing had personally conferred the title of Miaoling Messenger to Yu Shu, the imperial edict had not been written. It would take some time for the book and seal to be made. This was considered fast.
"Thank you for telling me."
Yu Shu smiled and turned to go downstairs.
Jing Chen waited until she had disappeared before looking away. He looked at the book in his hand again, but he could not concentrate on reading it. These days, the only things that he looked forward to every day were the mornings and evenings. Even if he did not have anything to say, it was better than her ignoring him.
Yu Shu went downstairs and found Xie Lan. She had him inform all the officials of the Kunling Bureau so that they would not be flustered when the imperial edict arrived.
When it was almost noon, someone from the palace came to announce the imperial edict. The people of the Kunling Bureau all came out to receive the imperial edict at the door.
The head eunuch holding the imperial edict read something in a genteel manner. Yu Shu did not understand, but she heard two key points.
First, the title that Emperor Zhao Qing had given her was equivalent to a third-rank vassal. In other words, she had an additional allowance. In the future, when she saw officials below third-rank, she could stand with her head held high.
Second, other than this title, Emperor Zhao Qing also rewarded her with a hundred taels of gold, a number of fine silk cloths, and the flag that she had used to summon the rain that day with the True Dragon's command personally written on it.
Yu Shu was extremely happy. Seeing the real benefits, she felt that the title was well-deserved. It was no longer a title that could not be used for eating and drinking.
"This subject thanks the Emperor for his great kindness. Long live the Emperor." Yu Shu knelt down to receive the imperial edict. She raised the silk cloths above her head. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
After two guards brought the gold and silver into the building, Yu Shu approached the head eunuch who was announcing the imperial edict. She stuffed the silver notes that she had prepared into the other's sleeves. With a smile, she made friends with this chief eunuch of the Bureau of Rites, Wang Fengtai, Eunuch Wang.
After the eunuch left, the people from the Kunling Bureau came forward to congratulate Yu Shu. Someone asked when Yu Shu was going to hold the banquet so that they could prepare a congratulatory gift and come to visit.
Yu Shu thought about how the layout of the residence on Baochang Street was almost the same. She calculated the time of relocation and said to the crowd, "Find a good day in the middle of next month. Wait for me to send out an invitation."
The circle of people dispersed in satisfaction. After a while, only Yu Shu and Jing Chen were left in the courtyard.
"If you are going to hold a banquet, will you invite me?" Jing Chen asked.
Yu Shu was in a good mood. When she heard this, she said, "Of course, I will invite you up the mountain to do me the honor."
Jing Chen smiled and nodded, gesturing for her to enter. "Go in."
Yu Shu walked behind him. She could not help but think, 'If Yun Hua is really the mastermind behind the scenes, how will Jing Chen face him in the future?'
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