Liu Lingyin was a child with extraordinary talents. This morning, while her mind was still asleep, her body woke up on its own and shook awake the maid who took care of her.
Then, with her eyes closed, she let the maid help her dress, wash her face, and brush her teeth. Afterward, she was led to the front hall.
Smelling the fragrance of rice porridge and meat buns, Liu Lingyin suddenly opened her eyes, happily discovering that while sleeping, she had somehow arrived at the dining table.
By this time, the sky had brightened, and only Second Uncle Liu was sitting at the table eating breakfast in the front hall.
Aunt and Liu Lingyue were still sealed by their quilts.
“Where’s Big Brother?” Liu Lingyin looked around. At this time, her gluttonous big brother should have already been sitting at the table, coveting her meat buns.
“Don’t mind him,” Second Uncle Liu said.
“Big Brother’s meat buns are mine now,” Liu Lingyin’s little face blossomed with an innocent smile.
Just as she finished speaking, she sniffed, “It smells so good.”
“If it smells good, hurry and eat,” Second Uncle Liu urged.
“It’s not the smell from here…” Liu Lingyin looked up, seriously telling her father.
Second Uncle Liu didn’t understand, but soon, he saw an oval-faced girl in a yellow dress enter. Her almond eyes swept across the hall: “Where’s Liu Ningyan?”
“Probably sleeping,” Second Uncle Liu thought to himself, wondering why this girl had come uninvited.
“He’s not there,” Chu Caiwei shook her head, “I just came from his courtyard.”
As she finished speaking, she saw the chubby little girl, deeply attracted by the breakfast in her arms.
Today, Chu Caiwei had bought donkey meat fire-roasted buns, fried fish balls, crystal cakes, and braised pork trotters, packed them in her arms, and was eating while hurrying on her way.
She had urgent business with Xu Qi An.
“Do you want some?” Looking at those watery eyes full of innocence, Chu Caiwei softened her heart again.
Liu Lingyin nodded vigorously.
“Then sister will share some with you,” Chu Caiwei said.
“Ahem…” Second Uncle Liu glared at his gluttonous young daughter and said earnestly, “Lingyin, sister is a guest. You should wait until she finishes eating before you eat.”
“Okay.” As long as there was food, Liu Lingyin was very easy to reason with.
“Such a good girl.” Chu Caiwei patted her head, thinking about last night’s events while satisfying her hunger.
A few minutes later… she was surprised to find that the three to four jin of breakfast she had brought had all disappeared.
Did the little girl steal it when I wasn’t paying attention? She looked suspiciously at Liu Lingyin, who was standing beside her, her head not even reaching the table.
Liu Lingyin’s eyes were filled with tears, on the verge of crying: “Sister, are you teasing me?”
“…”
Second Uncle Liu felt like he had seen a glimpse of grown-up Liu Lingyin.
…
At Haoqi Tower, Wei Yuan nodded after listening to Jiang Liuzhong’s report: “I see. Any progress on the Yazi organization you were ordered to capture?”
“We’ve been investigating secretly, without alerting any yamen or factions. After Earl Pingyuan’s death, they’ve gone into hiding, but because they haven’t been suppressed, they’re still in the capital for now. We can round them up at any time,” Jiang Liuzhong said.
“It seems that Earl Pingyuan’s eldest son inherited the Yazi organization,” Wei Yuan chuckled lightly, with the calmness of having everything under control, and instructed:
“While they still don’t know Earl Pingyuan’s eldest son has been killed, round them up.”
Jiang Liuzhong saluted and accepted the order, but hesitated to speak.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“When Earl Pingyuan’s eldest son was killed, Xu Qi An was also present. Although I don’t know why he sneaked into Earl Pingyuan’s mansion, he should have seen the killer,” Jiang Liuzhong shared his deduction.
At this moment, footsteps were heard from the stairway, and a black-robed clerk came up, whispering a few words to his colleague guarding the stairs.
The clerk guarding the stairs immediately entered the tea room and bowed, saying: “Sir Wei, Bronze Gong Xu Qi An requests an audience.”
Wei Yuan smiled, “Perfect timing. Bring him up.”
The clerk went downstairs to carry out the order. Soon, Xu Qi An, dressed in a Watchman’s uniform, climbed to the seventh floor. He glanced at Jiang Liuzhong and saluted: “Greetings, Sir Wei.”
“Gold Gong Jiang says you went to Earl Pingyuan’s mansion last night?” Wei Yuan asked with a smile, his voice gentle, without any hint of interrogation.
“I went there to investigate a case, the Sangbo case,” Xu Qi An answered frankly.
Jiang Liuzhong was stunned, his brows furrowed tightly. He suspected Xu Qi An was lying. Earl Pingyuan had died long before the Sangbo case, and besides the Yazi organization, there was no evidence linking Earl Pingyuan to the Sangbo case.
“What did you find out?” Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes.
Xu Qi An didn’t answer, his gaze lingering slightly on Jiang Liuzhong.
“Gold Gong Jiang, you may leave first,” Wei Yuan was used to this young Bronze Gong’s request to clear the room.
Jiang Liuzhong gave Xu Qi An a deep look, leaving reluctantly.
After the footsteps could no longer be heard, considering the hearing abilities of high-level martial artists, Xu Qi An waited for a long while before saying:
“Sir Wei, I did indeed see last night’s attacker, and I’ve confirmed his identity.”
Wei Yuan raised his teacup and took a sip, asking without showing any emotion: “Who was it?”
“The monk Heng Hui from Qinglong Temple, the one who stole the temple’s magical artifact and eloped with Princess Pingyang,” Xu Qi An didn’t hide anything and continued:
“I suspect he has the sealed object from Sangbo on him.”
Wei Yuan looked at him: “What makes you think so?”
Xu Qi An said: “The manner of Earl Pingyuan’s eldest son’s death was identical to that of the Imperial Guards who died that day.”
Wei Yuan smiled: “You’ve done well. This is a very useful clue.”
“Then this subordinate will take his leave,” knowing that Papa Wei wanted to “keep” him, Xu Qi An no longer insisted on his help.
Some bosses are like that, seeing a pretty girl join the company, they immediately think about secretly keeping her, telling her not to come to work in the future.
That kind of personal secretary is not safe, because there are too many rumors.
Xu Qi An resisted such behavior, thinking, “I just want to work quietly in the yamen.”
As he went downstairs, Xu Qi An saw a clerk hurriedly running up.
Leaving Haoqi Tower, he saw Jiang Liuzhong waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Old Jiang approached him, frowning: “What’s going on?”
Xu Qi An’s heart stirred, and he saluted: “Is Gold Gong Jiang handling Earl Pingyuan’s case?”
Jiang Liuzhong immediately felt a bit depressed: “Father and son, this official handles them all.”
“To be honest, Earl Pingyuan is involved in the Sangbo case…” Xu Qi An immediately told Jiang Liuzhong about monk Heng Hui, making the Gold Gong’s eyes light up.
“Gold Gong Jiang, we should work together on this matter. This way, not only will you solve Earl Pingyuan’s case, but you’ll also be involved in the Sangbo case…” Xu Qi An said sincerely:
“And I’ve almost finished investigating this case. We can share the credit.”
Jiang Liuzhong nodded slightly: “Well said.”
Xu Qi An smiled genuinely, thinking he had successfully recruited a high-level martial artist to his side. If Wei Yuan wouldn’t help him, he’d find helpers himself.
As they were talking, they saw Wei Yuan in green robes walking down the stairs. Seeing the two still standing at the door, he said: “Liuzhong, come with me to the palace.”
“Yes!”
Watching their retreating figures, Xu Qi An stroked his chin, thinking it must be the news of Earl Pingyuan’s eldest son’s death that had angered Emperor Yuanjing.
…
Xu Qi An left the yamen and rode his horse toward the imperial city, not moving fast because he needed time to organize his thoughts.
“Perhaps my assumption is wrong, and the mastermind behind this isn’t the Northern King. The Northern King is trying to rebel, so he colluded with the northern demons and the northeastern Wushen Cult, blows up the Sangbo seal, and releases the first-generation Supervisor, intending to throw the capital into chaos…
“But now, I’m starting to doubt whether what’s sealed is the first-generation Supervisor. Moreover, if the Northern King is the mastermind, the monk Heng Hui’s involvement doesn’t make sense.
“Heng Hui is involved in the conflict of interests between the civil official group and the noble group… It seems a bit far-fetched to pin this on the Northern King…
“The current priority is to find Heng Hui, capture him, and all the mysteries will be solved. To capture Heng Hui, finding the Number Six is key. Number Six is Heng Hui’s senior disciple, and the latter probably wouldn’t kill him to silence him.”
As the outline of the imperial city appeared in his vision, Xu Qi An’s ears twitched, hearing someone calling his name from behind.
“Liu Ningyan…”
Looking back, he saw the oval-faced beauty in a goose-yellow long dress, with particularly large eyes, bright and lively, giving an immediate impression of vivacity and cuteness.
“I went to the Liu mansion to look for you this morning, but you weren’t there. Then I went to the Watchmen’s yamen, and you weren’t there either. Song Tingfeng said you might have gone to the Courtesans’ House to fool around with Fuxiang,” Chu Caiwei caught up on horseback, riding alongside him, complaining in a rush.
“He’s slandering my character,” Xu Qi An said seriously. “I never go to places like the Courtesans’ House… Hey, don’t use your qi-observing technique. Although I’m a gentleman, I don’t like being stared at with that technique.”
Chu Caiwei tilted her head and said: “They say Fuxiang is your lover.”
“She’s not.”
“Not?”
“Mm, Fuxiang is a friend I just made, not a lover,” Xu Qi An answered sincerely, without the slightest deception.
Chu Caiwei made an “oh” sound and got back to the main topic: “The Astronomical Bureau has detected demonic qi, the same as the day of the Sangbo case explosion. I came specially to inform you.”
“I already know about this matter. I almost died at the hands of the perpetrator,” Not wanting to say more about Daoist Jinlian’s involvement, Xu Qi An changed the subject: “Do you have any more of those strength pills?”
“Another day, I don’t have them with me.”
“I don’t want another day, I want today.”
“Alright, I’ll come to your mansion before dusk.”
Chu Caiwei was here to see the Grand Princess. Although she had been assigned to assist Xu Qi An in solving the case, Xu Qi An didn’t want to use her.
It wasn’t that Chu Caiwei was useless, but Heng Hui had an artifact that concealed his qi, rendering the Astronomical Bureau’s qi-observing technique completely ineffective.
It was better not to keep her tied to his side, letting her enjoy herself at the Grand Princess’s mansion or in taverns.
The two parted at the imperial city gate. With his gold token, Xu Qi An had unimpeded access to the imperial city and soon arrived at the legendary Lingbao Temple.
It was a very grand Daoist temple with red walls and black tiles, and a tall, wide entrance.
Two young Daoist acolytes stood at the door, scrutinizing Xu Qi An as he approached on horseback.
“I am Xu Qi An, from the Watchmen’s yamen. By imperial order, I am investigating the Sangbo case thoroughly and wish to seek an audience with the National Preceptor. I hope the two Daoist masters can announce my presence,” Xu Qi An spoke first, showing his gold token.
The two acolytes showed a solemn expression and bowed: “Please wait a moment, sir.”
The acolyte on the left quickly entered the temple. Xu Qi An waited for over ten minutes before the acolyte returned, shaking his head:
“The Sect Leader is practicing cultivation and won’t see outsiders. Please come back another time, sir.”
Won’t see… It seems the emperor’s gold token doesn’t work. I’ll have to reveal the existence of the ground book… Xu Qi An continued: “Could the two Daoist masters help me convey another message…”
The acolyte on the right interrupted impassively: “Not seeing means not seeing. Even if you talk until your lips fall off, the Sect Leader won’t see you.”
Xu Qi An silently let out a breath, dismounted, looked around for a moment, and took out two prepared gold ingots from his bosom.
At this moment, silence was more effective than words.
The acolyte went inside again.
“Hey, come back, I haven’t finished speaking…” Xu Qi An called him back and whispered something in his ear.
After the acolyte went in, he returned about ten minutes later with a warm smile: “Sir, the Sect Leader invites you in.”