Chapter 55: The King's Little Slave Girl Wen/Ji Jin

  "Never mind."

  He growled again.

  Scorching and labored breathing, as his powerful arms came around from behind.

  My ears felt hot, as if I had been suddenly bitten by a mosquito. Xia Zhi's mind went blank in an instant, and for a moment, he was completely at a loss, his body stiffening up.

  She's a woman with a man's heart.

  She often quarrels with others like a tomboy on weekdays, usually she swallows her anger and can't vent it out, so she has to hold back and leave.

  But at this moment, on the river surface that had no light, only coldness and darkness, the physical contact was so sensitive. His fiery chest pressed tightly against hers, their wet bodies stuck together, and with his intense embrace, she suddenly felt as if her skin was set on fire.

  Whether it was cold or shocking, she involuntarily shuddered suddenly.

  Her face turned red, the scolding stopped, and her eyes couldn't help but turn back to look at him...

  Unparalleled beauty in her time, unmatched by anyone else.

  The man who entered her line of sight, with just one glance from him, only these eight words can describe it.

  If he were to become a flying creature, all things under heaven could be transformed into walking beasts.

  As Xia Chuqi with a modern mature woman's soul, it is difficult to describe this shocking and earth-shattering gaze.

  A blurry face, as beautiful and noble as a sculpture, with an unknown emotion on his face, like danger, like evil, and like anger, but every inch of expression is like a sharp arrow that can pierce the heart, so beautiful, unparalleled in the world! It made her brain suddenly feel like fireworks were going off, swallowing up reason in a dazzling opening. Even more, she foolishly produced an illusion - the two words "don't make trouble" just now seemed to be the kind of intimate and spoiled tone that only a man would use towards his beloved woman.

  "Have you had enough? If you keep looking, I'll have to charge you."

  Maybe it was being stared at by her that made him furious, a cold voice fell from the top of his head, startling her back to reality, only to discover that she had fallen into infatuation again and had absurd associations.

  Her lips moved slightly, and she felt embarrassed for a moment.

  "Who do you think loves to watch you?" She teased him, and was about to push him away, but her body was tightly wrapped in his arms again. Then she was swept up horizontally by him, and quickly jumped onto the riverbank. With a "thud", she was flung onto the wet grass.

  "Ow, my butt, that's going too far..."

  She clutched her sore butt, all her romantic fantasies shattered. "Ow!" she yelped in pain, scolding him, but he stood calmly before her, his expression still unreadable as he gazed down at her.

  "How dare you?"

  "Of course not." Regaining her composure, Xia Chuyi's mouth also suffered a loss, "Your IQ is pitiful enough, it's unlikely you'll give me another chance like this, right?"

  She was also damaging her own intelligence, and she knew it was just to find an excuse for her earlier loss of composure.

  This guy's mouth is also not good.

  I thought he wouldn't let him off so easily.

  After all, it's not an easy thing for ordinary people to push someone into the river in the cold winter.

  If she hadn't drunk too much, she wouldn't have been so despicable.

  In short, even if she were to replace herself, she couldn't let others off lightly.

  But unexpectedly, Zhao Zun merely let out a heavy hum, seemingly sighing in exasperation, and then picked her up from the ground like a fallen chick, one hand easily wrapping around her waist. He went to the large rock, took down the fox-fur cloak, but instead of wearing it himself, unexpectedly wrapped it around her body.

  "Next time, I'll skin you alive and pull out your tendons."

  Although he said it harshly, Xia Zhong Qi was left speechless by his actions.

  She had many brothers in her past life, and they treated her well, but it seemed that her self-protection consciousness was too strong, so few people felt that she also needed a man's pampering. No one had ever treated her like this before, hugging her, wrapping clothes around her cold body, then hugging her onto the horse, holding her in front of him, shielding her from the cool wind.

  This lifetime's fool treated her extremely well, but that kind of goodness was mostly like an underage child treating their own mother, with dependence and affection far exceeding the feelings between men and women...

  Between men and women?

  Thinking of this word, her tomboy heart was racing, but her ears were still burning.

  Two people rode together on horseback, his breath almost touching her ear.

  Her body was extremely sensitive, and even the slightest touch could make her tremble all over, with goosebumps covering her entire body, feeling like there wasn't a single place that felt comfortable. After a long while, she finally found an excuse to break the silence.

  "You don't have to be so cruel, do you? Keeping me around is useful, I can still treat you, right?"

  The horse leisurely walked back and forth along the riverbank, but this time, Zhao Zhuo didn't respond for a long while.

  At the beginning of summer, Qi'er was originally a chatterbox, but because of the tight hug in the river before, and the fantasies that floated in her mind when she was in his arms, plus the ambiguous feeling when she wrapped his cloak around him, made her slightly more awkward, and she became much more reserved, and it had been a long time since she last chattered.

  One horse, two people, a field of moonlight.

  The river breeze carried a faint scent of night dew and drifted over slowly.

  It seemed like an eternity before he finally heard his voice faintly coming from behind his ear.

  "Is that kind of freedom really that great?"

  Taking a deep breath, Xia Qi's ears were once again scorched by his breathing. As his arm reached across her waist to grab the reins, she felt a numbness in her body or was it her heart that had melted? Her mind kept singing "Rise up, those who refuse to be slaves", a chaotic jumble of thoughts, her heartbeat racing wildly, and she couldn't quite grasp what he meant. She merely hummed softly in response.

  "In my opinion, the most important thing for a person to be alive is freedom. A man named Beck said that those who are willing to be slaves do not know the power of freedom. Another man named Ingelhart also said that freedom is to humans what light is to eyes, air is to lungs, and love is to heart."

  She was just confused and spouted a bunch of nonsense quotes.

  He didn't say anything else.

  Her muddled brain was also having trouble keeping up.

  That evening, she spoke little and he didn't say much either. Yet she felt that the rustling sound of the grass by the river being trampled by large birds was very beautiful, although they were not free and could only passively endure it. The moon in the sky had been watching her with an unprecedented brightness since ancient times.

  Only he, the man behind her, always had a kind of ethereal unreal feeling.

  And there's more of her embarrassment.

  An awkwardness completely different from teasing him as usual.

  Even more embarrassing than when she was first caught threatening to touch him there.

  No matter how awkward she felt in her heart, the fact was that this was also the most harmonious evening she had spent with him since they met. It was so harmonious that several times she wanted to tell him that the small golden tiger she had stolen from him by the Qingling River had inexplicably disappeared. But in the end, she didn't want to ruin the brotherly affection that had finally been established, so she didn't say anything again.

  "Oh no, Master, what's...what's wrong?"

  "Yu'e, hurry up and get your clothes."

  "You, you, and all of you, what are you standing there for? Don't you hurry over to serve the master?"

  As soon as the horse entered the city gate, Zheng Erbao hurriedly came to greet him. At a glance, he saw that Zhao Zhu was drenched from head to toe, and his heart ached as if his own son had been drowned in water. He hastily ordered someone to bring clothes, someone to make ginger soup, and someone to prepare hot water for bathing, running back and forth like a busy servant.

  Zhao Zun didn't care.

  It was on the seventh day after his death that he wore a large mourning cloak and suffered many cold glances.

  The master is catching a cold, but she seems very comfortable?

  There are countless eyes that want to kill her, circling around her.

  Unfortunately, Xia Zhiqi's mood was too complicated today, and he couldn't calm down his emotions. He rarely got to tease the cat and dog. Pretending that he didn't have eyes, he didn't look at others' expressions, and as soon as he dismounted his horse, he took off the precious fox-fur coat on his body and handed it over to Zhao Zun.

  "Thank you."

  Her unusually polite response seemed to make Zhao Zun very uncomfortable.

  "He narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly, 'Put it back on.'"

  As soon as he heard this sentence, Xia Chuyi was moved in his heart, but the next sentence was what he had just said.

  "Remember to clean it up thoroughly before returning it."

  This guy never has a moment to make people feel at ease, a perfectly good sentence that could have been a sincere concern, but with just this one addition, it immediately becomes disdainful.

  She admitted that he was indeed a real-life atmosphere killer.

  She casually agreed, and Xia didn't know what else to say to him at this point. Seeing that he was being attended to by people in front of and behind him, it seemed like he no longer needed her either. So she didn't decline the large cloak again; after all, taking it off would make her cold again. Regardless of whether she had to wash or iron it later, she wouldn't have to do it herself anyway. If she said it was Zhao's thing and gave it to Ying Ge, wouldn't that just make her laugh to death?

  Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives.

  She walked all the way with a muddled mind, her feet unconsciously heading towards the West Courtyard. But before she even reached her residence, she saw someone else walking in through the courtyard gate. It was none other than Ying Ge, whom she had just been thinking about.

  It's already this late, but she still dresses up so elegantly and charmingly. A tassel hangs from her hair, and with that red and green outfit on, one might think this is the Qinhuai pleasure house.

  At the beginning of summer, when I saw her for the seventh time, she was alone, twisting her slender waist, seemingly unaware that there was a big living person like me watching her.

  "The Oriole's Song."

  She made a sound and called out, the woman seemed to be startled, and suddenly turned her head.

  "What...are you doing here?"

  Puckering up her mouth in amusement, Xia Qi Qi suddenly looked puzzled, "Why am I not here?"

  The oriole's song seemed to have just brought her back from her own thoughts, and she saw that she was wearing a fox fur coat that was too large, almost dragging on the ground. In an instant, her face turned from surprise to doubt, from doubt to jealousy, and then from jealousy to laughter, changing extremely quickly.

  "Is this... from Grandpa's place?"

  It was on the seventh day of summer when she found her reaction strange tonight. "And you? Which man's place did you come back from again?"

  Ying Ge suddenly looked embarrassed and awkward, "Chu Qi, don't talk nonsense. Ying Ge is our family's person when she's alive, and our family's ghost when she's dead. What other master would she be looking for at this late hour? You're ruining my reputation by saying that. In the future, which master will still dare to want me?"

  "The Oriole's Song."

  At the beginning of summer, she pulled up the collar of her big coat and walked over.

  Her voice is not as good as the oriole's song, but her momentum is not small, and the words that come out of her mouth are even more hateful.

  "You're just pretending to be a phoenix by holding onto a chicken feather, and trying to look elegant with a millstone on your head. I'd say it's 80% likely that your reputation is already ruined. Even if your reputation isn't ruined, I'm not sure Grandfather would want you anyway?"

  That "neh" sound, she learned from the oriole's song, dragged out so long and high-pitched, only to disgust herself with a shudder, while the oriole's face was unable to hold back its smile.

  "Chu Qi, you still like to joke around."

  Is telling the truth really something nobody believes?

  Xia Qiuli rolled her eyes as she gazed at the front gate of Xi Pei Yuan.

  "Alright, let's go. I'm a person who never jokes with strangers."

  The noise outside was so loud that Mei Zi, who had already fallen asleep, was woken up. She got dressed and lit the lamp, while Ying Ge's attitude today was surprisingly good. After being scolded by her, she didn't say anything else and followed her silently, even helping to fetch hot water for her and doing chores like a maid.

  Plum blossoms yawned several times, and she finally became spirited, also following the oriole's busy work. But her mouth was restless, like a bee buzzing around her ears, changing clothes for her while holding back her curiosity.

  "Chu Qi, where did Grandpa take you? How did you get soaked like this?"

  In a small cottage where only two people lived, there was no one else around.

  Unlike usual, Xia Zhiqiu was a person who could make jokes and didn't mind about the distinction between refined and coarse language, and might even say a few off-color jokes to tease Mei Zi.

  But now she doesn't know what's going on, she always feels that there is a small cat's paw in her heart, constantly scratching and making her mind wander. That one heart has been pounding since the Qingling River, and it's even more strange than any of her blind dates in her past life.

  She also said it was not good for this mood, so she just mumbled something vague.

  Nothing much, I was feeling down today and wanted to find someone to drink with, so I accompanied him. Then we got a bit drunk and the two of us ended up rolling into the river.

  "I'm so envious of you, Chu Qi! Alas! When will I ever get such an opportunity?"

  Plum's envy was all expressed on her mouth, and she didn't stop talking for a moment.

  The jealousy of the oriole's song was hidden in her eyes, but it wasn't well concealed.

  That sultry gaze that kept turning back and forth almost scorched Xia Chuqi.

  "Chu Qi, our master has truly been good to you. Look at all these girls, none of them have had the fortune that you've had. Not to mention me, who's just started serving by his side, even Yue Yu sister, who has served him for over ten years, hasn't even gotten close... Chu Qi, you really are a person with great good fortune..."

  At this point, the oriole's song changed its tone, a pair of eyes staring at her were full of hope, lowering their voice, even the monotony softened, looking like it had a few hints of pleading.

  "Considering I've been serving you wholeheartedly all these days, Chu Qi, can't you teach me? What kind of girls does he like? And also, what about the intimate things, how does he like to be served by others? Can't you share some experience with sister?"

  This girl is so annoying, from the moment they met, Xia Qi thought that a woman like her who had received professional training in the brothel system was truly suitable for serving men. But now she's asking about this topic instead, and as someone of the same sex, she can't adapt to such an annoying tone, every sentence makes her feel itchy all over.

  "Attending to Master's affairs, aren't you more skilled at it?" She spoke the truth.

  The oriole's song has a pair of charming eyes that dimmed slightly, was choked but didn't get angry, and couldn't help but ask again.

  "Chu Qi, just be kind and teach me, will you? Ying Ge thinks of Master day and night, look at how much weight I've lost. But Ying Ge... my belt is getting looser but I won't regret it, for her I'm willing to wither away, who made me willingly infatuated like this? Chu Qi, can you bear to see your sister waste away her love in vain?"

  “……”

  The seventh day of summer is speechless.

  How does it sound like Zhao Zun became a scoundrel, she's gone!

  This ancient woman is even bolder than modern women.

  "Otherwise, tell me about Master Zǐ's hobbies, okay?"

  That girl was so anxious that she almost came over and shook her wrist in a tantrum.

  It's really strange, Mei Zi often gossips about Zhao Zhu in front of her, and sometimes she even looks at him with starry eyes like a little girl looking at her idol. Xia Chuqi thinks she is lovely to death. But every time this Ying Ge girl makes a move as if she is ready to devote herself to Zhao Zhu, Xia Chuqi feels like she has swallowed a fly in her heart, and no matter how she thinks about it, she feels that Ying Ge is being too forward with Zhao Zhu, which is an insult to Zhao's noble and elegant demeanor.

  Of course, she doesn't remember herself being so promiscuous either.

  "Want to know?" She raised the corners of her mouth and smiled at Ying Ge.

  Ying Ge's eyes lit up, and she smiled slyly, "Chu Qi, you're so good, quickly tell sister all about it."

  Staring at her with a fake smile for half a day, Xia Chuqi hooked up the corner of his mouth, and his smile was retracted. His eyes turned cold, "You're so eager to know, why not go ask him now? He's currently idle, who knows, he might just keep you here to serve him in bed?"

  After finishing speaking, she let out a not-so-elegant yawn, and then lay down on the wooden bed, closing her eyes. "Remember to clean up the house and go to sleep early, get enough rest and sleep, you'll have the beauty to seduce him. Otherwise, your little face won't be beautiful anymore, and all your efforts to make yourself look good for him will be wasted."

  Her sharp tongue was too impolite, and her words made Yingsong feel embarrassed for a while.

  "Chu Qi, I just admire your father, why are you so wary of me..."

  Listening to her speak so sincerely, Xia Chuyi suddenly opened her eyes and smiled at her.

  "Actually, I can help you if you want."

  "Really?" Ying Ge's face lit up again.

  "On the seventh day of summer, she looked at him slantingly and said, 'There is one condition.'"

  "Chu Qi, you said it, anything is fine."

  Looking at her eager appearance, Xia Chuyi couldn't help but sigh, it was indeed true love.

  "As for my lie-detecting medicine, I've just mixed it up and need to find someone to test it on. If you take my lie-detecting medicine and then answer some questions from me, I can help you out. How about that? Fair enough?"

  Liar's medicine?

  Ying Ge's face changed color, and she gave an awkward smile.

  "It's not that I'm afraid of the swallow song, it's just that Chu Qi said that medicine is so scary, I...I feel a bit uneasy in my heart, how about we change to another one?"

  "That's it for today, take care of yourself, and don't forget to lock the door."

  She closed her eyes again, and Xia Qi Qi murmured something, indeed feeling a bit tipsy. Her head was spinning, and she didn't have the mood to bicker with Ying Ge anymore, nor did she care what the other thought. After all the commotion that night, from drinking to jumping into the river and then swimming, hadn't exhausted her to death.

  It wasn't until she heard the sound of the door closing that she opened her eyes and took a look.

  To be honest, she felt a little sympathetic towards Zhao Zhu.

  Seeing Tian'er being fantasized by various women, I guess that feeling wouldn't be too great either?

  But thinking carefully, she sympathized with herself more. Originally not his "true love", but inexplicably became his "true love", had to be forced to innocently and pitifully block the rotten peach blossoms that came from all directions for him, being regarded as the number one romantic rival by woman after woman, wanting to eliminate her every minute, and she wouldn't even know if she was killed off someday.

  "Ghost! Where can our family look up to her? Thinking of climbing into our bed every day? Hmph, reincarnate and become a human again in the next life."

  Meizi muttered a curse and Xia Chuqi couldn't help but want to laugh.

  She let out a weak hum and sighed to herself.

  "Others have the capital of having a demon, I want to become a demon but can't."

  ……

  ……

  On the seventh day of summer, she thought she was very sleepy, but strangely, she who used to fall asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow couldn't sleep soundly that night. Her heart felt like it was suffocating for no reason, and her body felt extremely soft. As soon as she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with memories of her frantically searching for him in the river, and his sudden appearance from behind, embracing her.

  As soon as she thought of this, her body felt like it had fallen into a cotton pile.

  That flavor can't be described...

  She never had a romance in her past life, always hanging out with guys and didn't know what it's like to have a crush on someone. Good heavens, could it be that she's never been hugged by a man before, so when Zhao did, it felt different and subconsciously thought he was special?

  A pair of big eyes stared in the darkness, she was annoyed.

  No! No way! Get out of her mind quickly, Zhao Zianren!

  It's all the moon's fault!

  One hand stroked the large black scar on her forehead, and the ten fingers inserted into her hair, stirring it up. She, who had always been a bit more tomboyish, suddenly had the worries that belonged to girls. His chest was really hot, and the hands holding hers were also very strong, perhaps this was how men treated their beloved women?

  The more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

  At the same time, that heart is even more stuffy.

  Tossing and turning, she first tasted the flavor of insomnia amidst the occasional snoring sounds of Mei Zi, not knowing when she fell asleep herself. When she woke up again, it was due to hunger and a headache from last night's drinking.

  Hey, why didn't the reveille sound today?

  She thought silently for a moment.

  With a thud, he sat up...

  She is not in a modern barracks, but in an ancient post station.

  This realization made her scratch her head in annoyance, and she finally came to her senses.

  Why didn't Na Ying send breakfast over for her today?

  Plum was no longer in the house, she stretched her waist and moved her body, but before breakfast arrived, she touched her rumbling stomach, tidied up and opened the door, looked around, just about to shout for Yingge, when a sudden loud cry startled her.

  "Idiot?"

  That's indeed the cry of fools.

  The fool lived not far from her, also in the west wing of the station, but between the living quarters of the girls and the small servants, there was a large courtyard, and another door. When she rushed over in surprise, the people who came to hear the noise had already surrounded the ear room where the fool lived in the west wing.

  Because the fool is a fool, nobody likes to live with him.

  So he lived alone in this small attic room.

  At this moment, the son was seen sitting on the bed with only his upper body exposed and wearing only a pair of pants below, looking stupidly hurt and staring wide-eyed, as if he had lost his soul.

  And there was another one lying on his bed, a naked woman. She lay quietly, her body twisted like a white shrimp, not making any movement at all. At first glance, wasn't she just a corpse?

  That woman is no other person.

  It was precisely the song of the oriole, showing off its charm and wanting to entice Zhao Yu.

  "Heavens, what's going on here?"

  "Can't you see? Isn't it that fool who took the girl's..."

  "Ying Ge, this little girl, normally looks like she's not a thief, such an honest fool, how could she do something like this? She must have thought that the fool was born lucky and rushed to come, but the fool didn't comply, so she lost her chance..."

  "Can't say for sure, but even if he's honest, he's still a man..."

  The onlookers, including the servant girls and the young men, had already begun to discuss the matter among themselves, but no one dared to step forward to intervene. One of them had gone to report the incident to Zhao Zhu at the Jade Emperor's Pavilion, while the fool stood there with his upper body exposed, shivering and stuttering, staring blankly at Ying Ge's body, unable to react normally.

  At the beginning of summer, I had a headache and felt dizzy. But when I saw this scene, I was stunned for a moment, and then came back to my senses.

  She pushed away the onlookers and let out a snort, then flew into a rage.

  "What's wrong with you? Haven't seen a dead person before? Scram!"

  She didn't have time to think much, her first thing was to check Ying Ge's body.

  "Grass... grass..."

  But as soon as her hand touched his, that big fool Lan heard her voice and scrambled out of bed in a flash. Apparently startled beyond measure, he didn't care about the crowd of onlookers, nor did he care that he was only wearing one pant leg and had bare feet; he rushed towards her like a son seeing his own mother, and suddenly wrapped Summer Seventh in a tight hug.

  "Not me, not me, I don't know, what do I not know......"

  He hastily explained, but his words were incoherent.

  At this time on the seventh day of summer, he had already calmed down from the shock, comforting and patting the fool's back, his gaze swept towards the naked Ying Ge on the bed, comforting with a thoughtful expression.

  "I know, I know, don't be afraid, stupid, it's none of your business."

  "She's dead, she's dead, it wasn't me, it wasn't me."

  This silly man is so honest and naive, waking up early in the morning to find a dead naked person lying on his bed. It's imaginable how great the impact was on him. Xia Zhiyu felt sorry for him but couldn't think of anything comforting to say at that moment.

  "Come on, silly, let's put our clothes on first, or we'll catch a chill."

  She wanted to pry open the fool's arms wrapped around her arm.

  What's wrong with this fool?

  Especially at this time, he was like a drowning person who found a lifeline, and not only couldn't dress himself, but also lost all logical language, only knowing to hold Xia Chuqi tightly and not let go, no matter what she said. He just kept crying, his words incoherent.

  "Grass, grass, let's go home... this place is no good... no good..."

  For a moment, the atmosphere was indeed eerie.

  The people around pointed and whispered, and Mei Zi, who had rushed over at the sound, was so anxious that she didn't know what to do. She didn't dare go near Ying Ge's body to get clothes for the fool to wear, so she just stood by and fretted.

  "What's going on around here? Looks good."

  Yuè Rù came in while the fool was still holding Xiā Chū Qī and trembling with fear.

  She was the big maid beside the princess, and she had always been somewhat majestic. However, she was usually gentle and rarely lost her temper, so when she did yell, many people immediately quieted down.

  "Chu Qi, let the fool put his clothes on properly, with so many people around, what a sight."

  Furrowing her brow, Yuè Yù glanced at Ying Ge on the bed, then walked over to pick up Zhāi's clothes and handed them to Xià Chū Qī. The worried look in her eyes was genuinely without a hint of pretence.

  Xia Chuqi was strangled by the fool, and it was impossible to get out of his body. It was still that person, Yue Yu, who could handle things, and he didn't even bother with the dead Ying Ge on the bed. He didn't say a word, silently taking the clothes from Xia Chuqi's hand, pursing his lips, and gently coaxing the fool.

  "Come on, silly, put your clothes on first, don't let people laugh at you. Even if you really did something wrong, I'll take responsibility for you, don't be afraid..."

  What does this sentence mean? How could Xia Zhiqiu not hear it?

  She snatched the clothes from her hand and laughed, "Sister Yue, you can't say that. What did my fool do wrong? Are you the head of the yamen or the county magistrate? How this person died has not been explained yet, but you're in a hurry to convict him, don't you have a guilty conscience?"

  When she gets angry, people especially become fierce.

  Yu'e was taken aback for a moment, and then apologized awkwardly.

  "Chu Qi, look at how anxious I am, and my words are not chosen carefully. Don't be angry with me, that's just what I said. This servant girl is nothing but a maid, no matter whether the fool did anything or not, and no matter how the person actually died, your father will definitely have to take responsibility for it, even if it's just for your sake."

  Hmph...

  This is getting more and more like what happened.

  Isn't the implicit meaning of her words that even if it's really proven that the fool is innocent, it's because Zhao Jun protected her that the servant girl's life was belittled and the fool was acquitted?

  "Big sister Moon, don't talk nonsense, and you can't just splash dirty water around. This is a big country with laws, and there will naturally be an official explanation for how Ying Ge died. The coroner hasn't even performed the autopsy yet, what's your hurry?"

  "Chu Qi, I..."

  Her eyes reddened in an instant.

  "It's not that my sister can't speak, it's just that the more I hurry, the more incoherent I become. What I mean is, don't worry about it, let's wait for Grandpa to come and then we'll talk."

  Her wronged look made Xia Chuyi reluctant to bother her again.

  It seems like she's being even more overbearing than usual today.

  Moreover, Yue Yu has always had a good reputation?

  So, she just glanced at Yuè Yù and shut her mouth. Besides, at this moment, she was too lazy to argue with her about right and wrong, regardless of whether she intentionally or unintentionally wanted to guide the public's thinking. She could retort back, but arguing would be pointless and wouldn't bring justice to fools; first and foremost, one had to put on their clothes.

  She turned her head and was about to dress the fool, but hesitated for a moment.

  Only then did she see a large elliptical pale red birthmark on the back of Landa's waist, which was not particularly round in shape. Originally, Landa had never exposed his upper body in front of her, and she had never paid particular attention to his body. Suddenly seeing such a big birthmark, she was indeed surprised.

  "It's really lively here."

  At this moment, another charming and warm voice echoed from outside.

  No need to think deeply, even if the nerves are dull at this time on July 7th, I know who that person is. She didn't even lift her head, but carefully took care of the silly fool, dressing him up until her brain was about to be pierced by that gaze and she finally tied the last button on the fool's collar.

  As expected.

  The man standing at the door, surrounded by many people, was as beautiful as a gorgeous flower.

  A crimson cheongsam adorned her slender figure, delicately lifting the corners of her smiling lips. Standing tall and still, yet as if a seductive fairy was dancing with every movement.

  "Who would have thought that even a great commander like you would be so interested in the dead?"

  Patting the trembling back of the fool, Xia Qiuzi couldn't extricate herself from him, so she simply let him hold her. She knew that when people are afraid, they especially need a comforting hug, and for someone like the fool, it was even more necessary.

  "I heard early this morning that someone had died in the Western Courtyard, so I naturally came to take a look."

  Dongfang Qingxuan still had that stunning and captivating demeanor, with a warm tone that subtly conveyed her arrogance. Her red dress was elegant and resplendent, making her look even more noble than Ning Wang, the imperial nobleman who appeared at the door with his big belly, looking rather stout and prosperous.

  It's really lively.

  Did Prince Lian Ning come too?

  After bowing to King Ning with the crowd, she finally looked towards that big demon in the east.

  "Oh, then I ask you, Commander-in-Chief, what have you figured out?"

  The tone of Xia Zhiqi is not very polite, but this impoliteness does not contain any grammatical errors.

  Sharp teeth and a sharp mouth! Dongfang Qingxuan's gaze deepened, but he just smiled, "Since the person died in this fool's house, naturally I should take this fool back to interrogate him thoroughly."

  What's the news?

  As soon as he said this, Xia Chuqi's suspicious gaze cooled down a few degrees.

  Isn't this warbler's death also related to this demon?

  Intentionally bringing up this matter, wanting to get rid of the fool and then blackmail her?

  But would she be willing?

  Nowadays, who doesn't know about the thunderous methods of Jin Yiwei and Dongfang Qingxuan? Even innocent people can be interrogated to confess a crime, let alone a foolish and honest person like him. If he were to go through the ordeal in Jin Yiwei's hands, it would be a miracle if he came out alive.

  Xia Chuqi subconsciously hugged the fool back, like a mother hen protecting her chick, and ground her teeth with a cold gaze.

  "The Grand Commander's jurisdiction might be a bit too broad, the victim died at Qinggang County Post Station, so it should naturally fall under Qinggang County Government to conclude the case. Don't make a fuss over trivial matters, or you'll shorten your own lifespan."

  Taking two steps forward, a sleeve of bright and beautiful clothes fluttered, Dongfang Qingxuan walked towards her step by step. The coldness in that beautiful smile made the gazes of those people on the sidelines shift from Chui Zi and Ying Ge to him.

  "Does Chu Xiaolong have some misunderstanding about me? However, I'm in a good mood today and won't bother to argue with you. As the Jin Yiwei, we are entrusted by His Majesty to oversee inspections and arrests, and have the power to investigate, arrest, judge, and imprison independently, no matter what kind of crime it is, the Jin Yiwei will always be able to take action."

  In the beginning of summer, hatred is born in the heart.

  Such a stunning beauty, yet she didn't become a concubine but instead joined the Brocade Guard. What a waste! Unfortunately, although she was angry, she wasn't very familiar with the Grand Marshal's laws and couldn't think of anything to retort, so she could only use her small body to block the fool in front of her, speaking slowly and deliberately.

  "Great Commander, is this the territory of the King of Jin? The one who died was a man of the King of Jin. I'm afraid you shouldn't overstep your bounds either?"

  Dongfang Qingxuan smiled faintly and gazed at Xia Chuyi, opening her lips lightly, but didn't argue with her.

  "Come on, take that fool down and bring him back for questioning about the rape and murder case of Ying Ge."

  "Yes, Grand Commander."

  Several imperial guards stepped forward to seize him.

  At the beginning of summer, Xia Qi didn't dare to let go. Once the fool was taken away by them, who knows how much suffering he would have to endure. It's better to take a risk and drag it out until Zhao Zun arrives. She believed that with Zhao Zun's temperament, he absolutely wouldn't allow Dongfang Qingyun to run amok on his turf.

  As expected, just as she had finished thinking about it, a careless voice suddenly came from the doorway.

  "Who dares?"

  Zhao's tone was not too heavy, but his voice was intimidating enough.

  The people blocking the doorway soon parted to make way for him.

  Zhao Zun walked in from the crowd, with a hint of impatience on his face and a pair of apathetic eyes that clearly hadn't had enough sleep. His eyes were also slightly red from last night's hangover. As he entered, he first glanced at the fool who was still holding onto Xia Chuqi tightly, then turned to Dongfang Qingxuan with an inscrutable expression.

  "The Eastern Lord governs heaven and earth, and even manages the affairs of this king's inner palace?"

  Dongfang Qingxuan smiled, "Your Highness's words are different. All the people of our Great Yan Kingdom must accept the supervision of the Brocade Guard. Now that I, Qingxuan, am here, there is someone under my nose who dares to kill people. Can I just sit back and do nothing, betraying the trust of the Emperor?"

  "Oh, so that's how it is. You're quite reasonable." Zhao Zun said lightly, then looked at Xia Chuqi with a very deep gaze, "Just hand the person over to Lord Dongfang, I'm sure he'll give an explanation."

  The anger in my heart on the seventh day of summer.

  Can this person be trusted? Who is Dongfang Qingxuan anyway?

  One mistake is made, and you're still not done being a fool?

  "Grass, grass......" The fool seemed to have sensed something too, and was so scared that he held Xia Chuzi tighter and tighter, until she almost couldn't breathe. He took a look at the ruthless Zhao Zhenren, whose small face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

  "Your Highness, Duke of Jin, I think this matter is not as simple as it seems."

  She rarely calls him like this.

  This respectful voice of King Jin's palace, obviously pierced him.

  Zhao's face was calm as usual, but when he looked at her small face full of annoyance, he suddenly let out a soft sigh and said to Dongfang Qingxuan with great helplessness, "Dongfang sir, you see, this little slave of mine is really spoiled. She has a strong temper, can't be scolded or reprimanded, and as soon as she's spoken to, she wants to fight with me. What can I do?"

  "Dongfang Qingxuan slightly raised the corners of his lips, 'That is Your Highness's family matter.'"

  A spark flashed in his black eyes, and Zhao Zhen seized the conversation to ask, "Oh, so you knew this was my family's affair? Whether it's the dead Ying Ge or this fool, they're all my people. Even if I were to kill Ying Ge today, that would still be my business, what does it have to do with you, East Lord?"

  Dongfang Qingxuan's face stiffened slightly.

  According to the system of the Great Yan, slaves and servants were not equal to ordinary commoners. The fact that Ying Ge voluntarily became Zhao Zhu's slave was also a well-known event in Chongning County, which means that whether she lived or died depended on Zhao Zhu's word, and her master had the final say. Even if Zhao Zhu really killed her, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would not be able to intervene.

  Zhao Zun's words are choking people.

  Can Dongfang Qingxuan be so good with him?

  Her beautiful lips curled up slightly, her elf-like eyebrows arched lightly, and she turned her gaze slightly.

  "Your Highness, King Ning, how do you view this matter? Is it a family affair of the Jin Wangye or should the Imperial Guards take charge?"

  What a scorching hot yam, he threw it really well.

  It was actually his conflict with Zhao Kui that had been passed on to Ning Wang Zhao Xi in the blink of an eye.

  "This..."

  Zhao Xi remained silent, gazing at Dongfang Qingxuan with a hint of hesitation.

  But Zhao Zun seemed to have just discovered him, and he gave him a cold glance.

  "So Third Brother is also here? Didn't you hurt your leg? Why didn't you rest properly and came running here?"

  "Hearing the commotion outside, I came over to take a look. It's just a small matter, Nineteenth Brother, let Master Dongfang handle it." Ning Wang replied, his tone full of conciliatory intentions.

  "Is it a small matter?" Zhao Zun replied very calmly and looked at Xia Chuqi again, "It's indeed a small matter."

  The life of a slave girl is nothing but a trivial matter to them.

  Gently lifting his robe, Zhao Zhu hesitated for a moment, looking very embarrassed.

  "But Third Brother, you also saw that this little slave is quite stubborn. If I don't take care of her today, will she still let me get close to her in the future?"

  This stuff...

  On the seventh day of summer, my ears feel a little hot.

  In such a solemn occasion, not only were Dongfang Qingxuan and Ning Wang present, but also many onlookers had gathered. Yet, he still managed to stir up so much trouble.

  Didn't dare to meet Zhao Zun's gaze, nor did he dare to look at his expression.

  With a faint smile, she only looked at Dongfang Qingxuan, "The Grand Commander is indeed interesting. Who in this relay station doesn't know about your relationship with the Ning King? Earlier, you said that the Brocade Guards were under the command of the current Emperor, but now you want to let the Ning King come and take charge for you? It seems like you don't put our Jin King in your eyes?"

  His sharp tongue, piercing words, and provocative remarks had already stirred up trouble, making King Ning dare not utter another word.

  The smile on Dongfang Qingyun's face became even more stiff and ugly.

  "Hmph, as expected, you're one of the favorites of the King of Jin. The way you speak is indeed different from ordinary people." He then turned to Zhao Zhu, "In that case, it's not surprising that Qing Xuan would act this way. Following procedure, let's take care of this fool first."

  "Your Excellency of the East, must it be so?" Zhao Zun said calmly, with an air of royal nobility.

  Dongfang Qingxuan raised an eyebrow, "The Jin Yiwei's actions are always like this, it is the Emperor's benevolence."

  Zhao You still had a cold face, slowly walking over and sitting on the southern official hat chair that Zheng Er Bao handed over. "That Dongfang gentleman, you'd better conduct an on-the-spot trial to let this king see the majesty of the Brocade Guard. If you can't figure out what's going on today, you'll have to give this king an explanation."

  A smile flashed across Dongfang Qingyun's lips, as radiant and captivating as ever.

  "Qing Xuan then respectfully thanked him."

  At this time, Xia Chuyi's dislike for Dongfang Qingxuan had already reached an irreparable level. Seeing the Jin Yiwei coming to catch the fool, but the fool actually grabbed her and wouldn't let go, her heart was aching so much that it was hard to bear. But since Zhao Zun said they would be tried on the spot, Dongfang Qingxuan couldn't possibly make a sneak attack on the fool, which was also acceptable.

  "Is this a case of mistaken killing due to adultery or intentional murder? You tell me."

  Looking at the foolishly infatuated idiot, Dongfang Qingxuan smiled with a bewitching and enchanting beauty.

  Xia Zhong Qi lightly patted the trembling shoulders of the fool and softly said, "Fool, tell the truth."

  What's wrong with you?

  He was so scared that he hung his head down and leaned against Xia Chuqi, not even daring to lift his eyes again.

  Dongfang Qingxuan smiled, "It seems that you really did kill someone. Otherwise, why would you be so guilty?"

  How dare you! He's an idiot!

  On the seventh day of summer, Qi Nuo was extremely annoyed. "Why doesn't Mr. Dong find a coroner to examine the body? You can just observe people's words and expressions to solve the case?"

  As she said this, she suddenly smiled and looked around at the crowd of onlookers, a cold smile playing on her lips.

  "This reminds me, I developed a new medicine yesterday called the Lie-Inducing Medicine. Once someone takes this medicine, they won't be able to lie anymore, or else their intestines will rupture and they'll die with blood flowing from all seven orifices. Last night, I made a joke with Miss Yingge, asking her to test the medicine, but unexpectedly she died the next day. What do you think this proves, Commander?"

  Zhao Zun's face was cold and expressionless, his eyes always dimly lit.

  Ning Wang also had a look of watching a play, and only Dongfang Qingxuan asked with a faint smile.

  "What does it mean?" asked Chu Xiaolong.

  "This girl knows too much, someone is afraid she'll say something."

  Summer Seventh faintly said, then saw Eastern Qing Xuan a smile.

  "In my opinion, Chu Xiaolong shouldn't be a doctor, he should change his profession to being a detective instead. With just one arbitrary decision, he cleared the idiot's family relations, and the imperial court would also save a lot of trouble."

  She gave him a half-smiling glance, but Xia Chuqi was too lazy to bicker with him.

  "I'm not a catcher, but now the oriole has woken up and is speaking by herself?"

  Everyone was shocked and dared not believe her words, a corpse can speak?

  On the seventh day of summer, she didn't look at anyone else, her gaze swept over Yuemeng's pale face as if unintentionally, and only looked at Zhao Zun.

  "Grandpa, would you mind sending a few people to help me out..."

  Digression

  Sorry, my brain is a bit dizzy. A originally well-designed bridge section was rewritten several times but still not satisfactory, so it's late. After revising and revising, I estimate that after a while when my head clears up, I'll have to revise the details and dialogue again, please forgive me.

  Two Brocades has been updated with over 10,000 characters for the tenth consecutive day. Don't hold back your monthly tickets, come on and give them to me!

  PS: For the sake of Erjin, some big brothers and sisters have spent a lot of money, buying books they don't even read just for the monthly tickets. Erjin thanks you all, but sincerely feels sorry for your wallets, please don't do this anymore, it hurts me to see you spend so much. Monthly tickets are great, but the power of the crowd is still stronger, one ticket at a time adds up quickly. Of course, some big brothers and sisters aren't willing to give their tickets to Erjin, just subscribing is also greatly appreciated, thank you all!

  Dear [Laughing More Expensive] lady, happy new year, a kiss for you.

  Dear [Qinglan00] madam, congratulations on your promotion, love you. Mua mua da.