The next day, Xu Qi An squatted under the eaves, brushing his teeth and washing his face. He called out in his mind: “Master Shenshu?”
There was no response.
“Master? You said yesterday that you and I are the same kind of person. I just wanted to ask, does Ning also pick up silver every day?”
Still no response.
He was usually in a dormant state, after all, he was a sealed object… I’ll try summoning him again later. If there’s still no response, then warming his cold body with my hot, soft, and delicate body is something I can reluctantly accept… Xu Qi An secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Donning his dashing official uniform and tying up his long hair, Xu Qi An hung the black-gold long saber at his waist. He vaulted over the ten-foot-high wall to eat breakfast at the main residence.
With his hand on the saber hilt, he suddenly thought about whether the Supervisor’s gift of this saber could be considered a gesture of goodwill.
“…I’m getting ahead of myself. How could a first-rank expert show goodwill towards me? However, this saber matches my ‘Heaven and Earth Single Saber Slash’ perfectly. Thanks, Supervisor.”
Hm?
Xu Qi An suddenly stopped in his tracks, stunned.
The black-gold long saber was given by the Supervisor, and the ‘Heaven and Earth Single Saber Slash’ was sent by the Bureau of Astronomy and Geography, the black-gold long saber perfectly matched the ‘Heaven and Earth Single Saber Slash’, and the Supervisor knew about my strange luck… In the cold morning breeze, Xu Qi An slowly shuddered.
At this moment, he had a sense of urgency, feeling that “the otherworldly plot is deep, I want to return to Earth.”
“Sigh… Let’s take it one step at a time. First, improve my strength and status, and worry about the future later.”
Composing himself, Xu Qi An arrived at the front hall. The sky was just beginning to brighten. Aunt and Second Uncle were sitting at the dining table eating, and Lü’e was also seated at the table with a little bean on her lap.
“Big brother!” Xu Ling’yin greeted enthusiastically, secretly moving the meat buns and youtiao closer to herself.
It’s such a superficial sibling relationship. Xu Qi An sat down, ladled himself a bowl of porridge, and glanced at the beautiful mature woman:
“Aunt, you’re up so early?”
The early-rising aunt was in a bad mood and didn’t feel like talking to her nephew. Her slender, fair fingers twirled the porcelain spoon, stirring the rice porridge as she said indifferently:
“Ling Yue is unwell. I just went to check on her.”
“What’s wrong?” Xu Qi An frowned, as he cared about his graceful and ethereal younger sister.
“It’s a girl’s matter…” Aunt muttered softly, not wanting to explain.
Oh, her period came… But if it were just her period, it wouldn’t warrant Aunt visiting. So, is it menstrual cramps?
Detective Xu Qi An came to his conclusion.
After finishing breakfast, Xu Qi An said, “I’ll go check on Ling Yue.”
Second Uncle and Aunt had no objections. The advantage of a military family was the absence of the complex rules found in scholarly households.
For instance, between siblings, there had to be a fixed distance when speaking, they must bow first when meeting and private interactions couldn’t exceed a certain time unless several siblings were gathered together.
And so on.
Otherwise, Xu Ling Yue would be in an awkward position right now, and the elders should refuse.
“Big bro, big bro… I want to see sister too.” Xu Ling’yin jumped down from Lü’e’s lap and tugged at Xu Qi An’s clothes.
Xu Qi An found her too slow, so he tucked her under his arm. They quickly arrived at the door of Xu Ling Yue’s boudoir. He knocked and said:
“Sister? The aunt said you’re not feeling well?”
Xu Ling Yue’s weak voice came from inside: “I’m… I’m fine…”
“Can Big Brother come in?” Xu Qi An thought to himself, should I tidy up the cloth for wiping wounds?
“Creak…” The maid opened the door, welcoming Xu Qi An and the little bean inside.
Xu Ling Yue lay on the bed, turned to her side, clutching her stomach. Her delicate brows were tightly knitted, and her pretty face was somewhat pale.
This looks a bit serious… Is it really that painful… Xu Qi An comforted her: “Your period came, right? Have you taken any medicine?”
Xu Ling Yue was startled for a moment, two patches of red flushing her pale cheeks as she shook her head: “Mother said to just endure it…”
There was a hint of grievance in her tone.
After all, she was just a young girl, lying in bed enduring the pain, all alone with only her maid for company.
In this era, menstrual cramps were generally endured, as it wasn’t considered an illness and would naturally pass after some time. For most lower and middle-class commoners, if it wasn’t life-threatening, there was no need to see a doctor.
I remember brown sugar ginger tea is supposed to help with menstrual cramps, right? Never mind, I’ll ask Chu Caiwei to come and take a look later…
Xu Ling’yin walked to the bedside, stretching out her short fingers to smooth her sister’s furrowed brow, looking pitifully at her big brother:
“Is sister going to die?”
Xu Ling Yue: “…”
“Sister won’t die,” Xu Qi An reassured her.
“Then what’s wrong with sister?” Xu Ling’yin asked fearfully.
You don’t understand menstrual cramps… You don’t understand periods either… Xu Qi An pondered for a moment, then he had an idea. Patting Xu Ling’yin’s head, he explained in simple terms:
“Sister is too well-behaved and doesn’t know how to cause mischief, so she’s not feeling well. When she becomes a little troublemaker in the future, her tummy won’t hurt anymore.”
For matters like menstrual cramps, they often ease or disappear after marriage. So Xu Qi An’s explanation could be considered precise, easy to understand, and rarely seen in the world.
Even a child as silly as Xu Ling’yin understood, nodding her head in sudden realization, her little face very serious: “I want to be a troublemaker too, so my tummy won’t hurt in the future.”
“Big… big brother… what are you telling her?” Xu Ling Yue couldn’t understand, she just felt that what Xu Qi An said was strange.
“You rest well,” Xu Qi An gently pinched his sister’s cheek and left with the little bean.
On the way back to the front hall, he saw the little bean run to the garden, grab a handful of dirt, and sneakily hide it in her little hands.
What does she want to do? Xu Qi An was puzzled.
Back in the front hall, Second Uncle and Aunt were still eating. The former asked, “Is Ling Yue feeling better?”
“She’s still in pain…” As Xu Qi An was speaking, he saw Xu Ling’yin climb onto a chair. Her small frame leaned against the table edge, and right in front of her parents, she threw the black soil into a large pot of porridge.
Then, standing on the chair, she let out a relieved sigh. This way, she wouldn’t have a stomach ache.
Aunt and Second Uncle’s faces stiffened, turning their heads inch by inch to look at their young daughter: “What… are you doing?”
“I’m causing mischief!” Xu Ling’yin said proudly. “I’ll cause a lot of mischief in the future, not like a sister who always troubles father and mother.”
After saying this, she put her hands on her hips, waiting for her parents’ praise.
Aunt remembered the cockroach incident, and for a moment, old and new grievances surged in her heart. She grabbed her daughter by the neck, put her on her lap, and started spanking her bottom.
The little bean wasn’t convinced. She cried while trying to explain: “Mother, why are you hitting me?”
Aunt’s palm continued to rain down: “You throw dirt into the porridge and still act so righteous?”
“Big brother taught me. Big brother said as long as I cause mischief, my tummy won’t hurt… Ow ow ow…”
Aunt was furious, her willow eyebrows standing on end: “Xu Ning Yan, what nonsense have you been teaching her again?”
“The weather is nice today. Second Uncle, I’m heading to the yamen first,” Xu Qi An scurried away.
…
At the Night Watchmen yamen, in the dungeon.
As a temporary prisoner, Heng Yuan was fortunate enough to avoid severe torture. He only received two lashes from the jailer when he first arrived, the reason being that even a miser wasn’t as clean as him.
A penniless, stinking monk.
“Clang…” The cell door opened, and the jailer shouted at the burly monk wearing shackles: “An official wants to question you. Come out.”
Heng Yuan opened his eyes, stood up, and followed the jailer to the interrogation room.
In the slightly dim interrogation room, a masculine and handsome Bronze Gong sat majestically in the big chair, his gaze sharp as he stared at him.
Heng Yuan recognized this Bronze Gong. When the kind-hearted Number Three helped him infiltrate and avoid the search, he had seen this Bronze Gong. At that time, he stood on the roof ridge, one hand on his saber, his back straight, with an extraordinary demeanor. He looked like a dragon among men at first glance.
“Please sit, Master. This official has a few questions for you,” said Xu Qi An as he scrutinized the square-faced monk with rugged features.
At first glance, he seemed like a brute, but upon careful observation, one would notice his bright, calm eyes and a deep, reserved temperament.
Heng Yuan put his palms together, bowed, and then sat down.
“Name,” Xu Qi An lowered his head to drink tea.
“A monk does not speak of names. This poor monk is Heng Yuan.”
“Age.”
“Thirty.”
Xu Qi An raised his head in surprise and looked at him. He remembered a joke: “Old man, how do you stay so young?”
“By staying up late.”
“So how old are you this year?”
“Twenty.”
Heng Yuan looked to be in his forties, almost fifty… Do you also stay up late every night… Xu Qi An complained inwardly.
“Origin.”
“Warrior monk from Qinglong Temple.”
“What’s your cultivation level?”
“Eighth-rank warrior monk.”
Xu Qi An frowned, his fingers tapping on the table: “Don’t play games with me.”
How could an eighth-rank warrior monk break into Marquis Pingyuan’s mansion at night to kill, easily injure two Qi Refinement realm Bronze Gongs, and leave without a scratch?
Heng Yuan said in a deep voice: “This poor monk is indeed an eighth-rank warrior monk.”
Eighth-rank warrior monk… I remember there’s something odd about the Buddhist cultivation system. The next rank after the ninth-rank novice is the seventh-rank dharma master, skipping the eighth-rank warrior monk entirely.
Does the Buddhist sect have two systems? If there are two systems, why are they merged? Also, what’s the next rank after warrior monk?
Xu Qi An voiced his doubts. Heng Yuan shook his head: “Qinglong Temple doesn’t have the corresponding supreme skills. Only by traveling west can one know.”
Only by traveling west can one know. Then the records in the yamen’s archive probably don’t have relevant information either… These are all trivial issues… Xu Qi An said:
“Heng Hui has already entered nirvana, and Princess Pingyang’s remains have been found. Today, His Majesty issued a decree. Marquis Pingyuan, Minister of War Zhang Feng, and Vice Minister of Revenue Sun Zhongming, for conspiring to harm imperial relatives, will have their entire clans executed. You can rest easy now.”
“Amitabha,” Heng Yuan closed his eyes and chanted the Buddha’s name softly.
“Originally, you just stumbled into this case by chance. The Night Watchmen wouldn’t have held you responsible for anything. But shouldn’t you explain to this official what this is?”
Xu Qi An took out a small jade mirror from his bosom and dropped it on the table with a clang.
This small jade mirror was found at the bottom of the well. It was the sixth fragment belonging to Heng Yuan.