“This rascal is getting bolder,” Jiang Lüzhong exhaled, saying “indignantly.”
“Without such boldness, would he dare to slash his superior?” the sword-wielding Golden Gong laughed.
“It’s a pity Yang Yan benefited. You don’t know, that boy’s talent is…”
Wei Yuan glanced at Jiang Lüzhong, interrupting: “You talk too much.”
Jiang Lüzhong immediately fell silent.
The sword-wielding Golden Gong raised an eyebrow, inquiring: “How’s his talent? What grade? A?”
Jiang Lüzhong deliberately smiled without answering, with a “you’re too naive” expression, maliciously baiting.
Not A? Could it be above A? The sword-wielding Golden Gong suddenly turned his head, staring intently at Wei Yuan: “Lord Wei?”
Wei Yuan drank tea silently.
This attitude made the Golden Gong even more curious, leading to speculation.
If it were A-grade talent, there’d be no need to hide it from me… Could it be above A? Impossible, there hasn’t been above A-grade talent for decades… But doesn’t their attitude just confirm this point… If so, I have no reason not to fight for Bronze Gong Xu Qi An.
Judging from Lord Wei’s intention to conceal, it’s probably to avoid disputes among Golden Gongs fighting over him… Hmm, I can secretly plan to win him over. What do young people value most? Money and women.
The expressionless Yang Yan took the initiative to speak, changing the subject: “Adoptive father, what’s the Emperor’s attitude?”
Wei Yuan rubbed his brow, sighing: “Find Henghui’s whereabouts as soon as possible. During the imperial examination period, even I can’t withstand the massive impeachments.”
The four Golden Gongs wore serious expressions. For Lord Wei to be forced to say such words, showed the situation was extremely critical.
It seemed normal. Putting aside Wei Yuan’s control of the Night Watchmen as a eunuch, put him at odds with the entire court. Just the fact that the culprit could kill freely in the inner city and escape with ease was enough to cause panic among the officials.
“We will do our utmost.”
Wei Yuan nodded: “Don’t just say it. Recently, there have been rumors in the court that the Golden Gongs in the yamen are all useless, and all case investigations rely on a single Bronze Gong.”
An adoptive father is increasingly valuing Xu Qi An… Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou exchanged glances, seeing each other’s thoughts.
This matter must be handled well, and Henghui must be caught soon. Fortunately, this kind of task is beyond Xu Qi An’s capabilities, so there’s no worry about the little Bronze Gong jumping out to steal credit again.
…
Xu Qi An arrived at the Minister of War’s residence with the Sangbo case team. After showing the golden token and being announced, he entered the mansion with Chu Caiwei, Li Yuchun, three Silver Gongs, and Lü Qing, the Chief Constable of the Six Doors.
The main gate and surrounding walls of the Minister’s residence had been destroyed, as if undergoing demolition, a shocking sight.
“The Minister’s residence is truly grand,” Lü Qing sighed softly after entering.
“This estate must be worth at least ten thousand taels of silver…” Li Yuchun guessed.
The servant leading the way sneered upon hearing this. Ten thousand taels of silver? These uncultured bumpkins, thinking ten thousand taels could buy our Minister’s residence.
Crude warriors.
Xu Qi An kicked him in the buttocks, scolding him: “Lead the way properly, you dog servant.”
The servant lowered his head and hurried his steps.
Speaking of “dog servant,” Xu Qi An thought of Biaobiao, the nightclub queen, wondering if she had provoked Princess Huaiqing today and then been beaten up by her.
Xu Qi An met Minister of War Zhang Feng in the reception hall, a calm and serious man with graying hair and a goatee.
Sitting there in silence, he exuded the authority of one long in high office.
“Greetings, Minister,” Xu Qi An cupped his hands.
Zhang Feng nodded slightly: “I heard from the palace eunuchs that Lord Xu solves cases with extraordinary speed and ability, not only making rapid progress on the Sangbo case but also uncovering the true culprit of the Earl Pingyuan massacre.”
“Minister overpraises me,” Xu Qi An sensed something behind his words.
“You want to ask this official what connection I have with that criminal, that he would seek revenge at my door in the dead of night?” Minister Zhang said.
“Indeed,” Xu Qi An hadn’t expected him to be so cooperative.
Minister Zhang looked at Xu Qi An without emotion, then suddenly spoke harshly, slamming the table: “This official also wants to know! This official wants to know even more about why the Night Watchmen haven’t caught the perpetrator of Earl Pingyuan’s murder case after so many days.
“This official also wants to know why the Night Watchmen repeatedly allow criminals to commit crimes.”
Starting with intimidation… Xu Qi An could only cup his hands again and say: “Please calm down, Minister.”
Minister Zhang composed himself and sighed: “Although I didn’t attend court today, I know the aftermath of last night’s incident. I never expected that even with five high-grade warriors working together, they still couldn’t apprehend the culprit. Instead, four Golden Gongs were injured.
“The Night Watchmen’s loyalty to the court is evident to this official. Unfortunately, with the Watcher seriously ill and unable to act, we are left in fear, and you are left running ragged.”
His expression held the seriousness of a superior, but his tone was quite gentle, understanding of his subordinates, inexplicably inspiring goodwill.
Xu Qi An actually felt some goodwill towards the Minister of War, but he quickly caught on… First intimidating me, then suddenly changing attitude, seeking sympathy and resonance, and unconsciously making people feel grateful for being acknowledged.
People who can play politics to the level of a second-grade official are indeed not simple.
Xu Qi An coughed, cleared his throat, and probed: “The true culprit of the Earl Pingyuan massacre and last night’s attacker of the Minister’s residence are the same people.
“He is a monk from the Azure Dragon Temple, dharma name Henghui.”
“Henghui?” The Minister of War frowned: “This official doesn’t know this person. Why would he attack my residence at night? If he’s a monk from the Azure Dragon Temple, why doesn’t Lord Xu go find people from the Azure Dragon Temple instead of coming to my residence?”
“Henghui is just a monk, naturally not worth the Minister’s attention. However, over a year ago, he eloped with a female pilgrim and has been missing ever since. That female pilgrim was Princess Pingyang.”
“Princess Pingyang?” Zhang Feng’s face showed shock as if he couldn’t believe it. “Princess Pingyang eloped with someone.”
Xu Qi An had been observing him, trying to analyze his true thoughts through micro-expressions, but failed.
There were no flaws at all.
After asking a few more questions, Xu Qi An decided to change targets. “Is Young Master Zhang Yi here?”
Zhang Feng sent a servant to summon him. Soon, Zhang Yi, with dark circles under his eyes and looking extremely unwell, came to the reception hall.
…Your dark circles could rival Song Qing’s. Xu Qi An asked: “Young Master Zhang, do you know a monk called Henghui?”
“I don’t,” Zhang Yi shook his head.
“Then do you know Hengqing?”
“I don’t.”
“Do you know Hengyuan?”
“I don’t.”
“Do you know Pingyang?”
“I don’t…” Zhang Yi said, then suddenly realized: “Oh, Princess Pingyang? Of course, I know her.”
Completely perfunctory… Xu Qi An nodded with a smile, “I’ve finished my questions. Thank you, Minister Zhang and Young Master Zhang, for your cooperation.”
Leaving the Minister’s residence, Xu Qi An turned and asked: “During the questioning just now, which words were true and which were false?”
Chu Caiwei, with her oval face, rolled her eyes, “Not a single word was true.”
Xu Qi An was startled: “Who are you talking about?”
Chu Caiwei pouted, “Both father and son… Oh, the last sentence was true, when that kidney-deficient guy said he knew Princess Pingyang.”
I can understand Zhang Feng lying blatantly… but why was Zhang Yi lying too? There’s only one possibility: Zhang Yi was involved in Henghui and Princess Pingyang’s elopement.
Think about it, if Zhang Yi was unaware, Zhang Feng had no reason to reveal such confidential matters to his son. Sometimes, ignorance is the best protection. Moreover, given Zhang Yi’s image as a time management master, he’s not very reliable. If I were Minister Zhang, I would never mention a potentially family-destroying case to an unreliable person, even if he were my son.
Interestingly, when Henghui killed Earl Pingyuan’s eldest son that night, he said: “I’ve come for revenge.”
“This case is getting more and more intricate, and more interesting. I feel I’m getting close to the truth… Well, the truth about Henghui and Princess Pingyang’s elopement. Only by clarifying their affair can we continue investigating the Sangbo case,” Xu Qi An suddenly became excited.
…
After a busy day, at the end of the shift, Xu Qi An said goodbye to Chu Caiwei and Lü Qing. After they left, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao tacitly walked out from the side hall. The three of them tacitly mounted their horses and tacitly entered the Courtesans’ Registry.
After days of intense case investigation and running around, Xu Qi An felt he needed to relax and relieve some mental pressure.
After all, sleeping is sleeping, whether at home or on Fuxiang’s bed, there’s not much difference. Besides, Fuxiang had sent people several times to relay that she missed him and wanted to invite him to the Yingmei Pavilion for tea.
Since that’s the case, Xu Qi An thought, might as well make an appointment.
It wasn’t dark yet, and the yamen was at its peak of end-of-shift. The Courtesans’ Registry had fewer customers, with few people in the alley.
“I plan to sleep with a qingji,” Song Tingfeng said.
“Sleeping with a qingji isn’t worth it, they’re… quite overpriced,” Xu Qi An advised sincerely.
In Great Sui, qingji weren’t selling art without selling their bodies; it was more like hype. The Courtesans’ Registry not only had adult women but also many young girls. These girls would be taught singing and dancing skills as well as techniques to serve men.
As they were gradually cultivated and grew up, those with average looks and skills would become low-level dancers and singers. Those with good looks and skills would become qingji.
When a qingji’s reputation reached a certain level, there would be an exciting “seafood auction” to stimulate men.
“It’s not worth it,” Xu Qi An persuaded.
“I’ve said it before, a man like me isn’t suited for marriage and children. There’s no point in saving money,” Song Tingfeng was very frank.
Xu Qi An suspected this guy had a fear of marriage.
“I’m going to get married,” Zhu Guangxiao said concisely.
However, the prices in Fuxiang’s courtyard were too high, and the courtesan was Xu Qi An’s lover. He stayed in the Yingmei Pavilion and could only sleep with maids.
Guangxiao was now a rich man and wanted to sleep with more beautiful women.
The three parted ways and Xu Qi An entered the Yingmei Pavilion.