Chapter 215

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

In the moment their eyes met, the boy with gloomy, cold, and stern brows and eyes spoke slowly, word by word: "Replying to Imperial Uncle, your Child Minister wishes to……"

Guo Shi lost his breath, his body stiffened silently, feeling as if he had become prey unable to escape.

But in the next instant, Liu Qi suddenly broke into a radiant smile, facing the Emperor: "Child Minister has not yet decided what to ask for; I dare to first request Imperial Uncle to record this debt."

The Emperor made an "oh" sound and opened his eyes: "It seems I have indeed incurred a debt."

"Imperial Uncle, a ruler does not jest in vain," Liu Qi said. "Such a fine opportunity, your Child Minister naturally must seize well, so as not to betray this vast imperial grace."

The Emperor adjusted his reclining posture against the table, his tone casual: "Then you must think quickly; my memory is not good these days, and I might forget one day……"

Liu Qi smiled and raised an eyebrow: "Would Imperial Uncle reneging on a debt not lose dignity? To ensure Imperial Uncle's dignity remains unharmed, today I ask the Middle Attendant to serve as a witness, to remember this matter for Imperial Uncle——"

Speaking thus, he looked at Guo Shi again: "Middle Attendant, how do you find this proposal?"

The youth had a handsome and robust appearance, fair complexion and dark eyes, with superior bone structure, a strikingly handsome look; when his brows and eyes did not smile, they were like a heavy ink painting of gloom, but when he smiled freely as now, they were like brilliant stars, shining brightly.

But being stared at by such smiling eyes, Guo Shi felt malice as deep as an abyss.

Calculating the ruler's heart, seizing the timing, occupying the position closest to the Sovereign Father's side, not allowing this close attendant, stripped of his greatest use, to discover new uses again, until gradually sidelining him; clearly he could try to advance further, yet now facing this prey, holding the blade, he did not lower it.

A malevolent relic ghost, threatening and toying with the prey, unknown what schemes he harbored, unknown what he was waiting for, nor when he would open his mouth to demand this debt……

The greater mockery was making him serve as this witness, letting him personally hold this blade that would one day kill him.

Guo Shi couldn't help but laugh, laughing until his eyes disappeared: "Thanks to the Sixth Prince's favor, a lowly and base slave like me dare not make such a great guarantee!"

The youth also laughed, counter-questioning: "What does the Middle Attendant dare not do?"

As Guo Shi's smile faltered slightly, Liu Qi laughed even more openly, appearing as a carefree and unrestrained mischievous boy: "Does the Middle Attendant think Imperial Uncle would renege, afraid that I would one day turn to demand the debt from you, Middle Attendant?"

Guo Shi let out an "aiyo" helplessly and fearfully, laughing and begging for mercy: "……Your Highness! Your Highness, please stop breaking this slave!"

The Emperor let out a laugh.

The palace maid standing by also lowered her head and covered her mouth, laughing.

The atmosphere within the palace interior seemed rare and relaxed and harmonious; not long after, an inner attendant came to deliver a message, and Guo Shi, laughing, withdrew from this place.

The autumn breeze was only slightly cool, but through the clothes, pouring onto a back full of sweat, it was like being in the depths of winter.

Guo Shi carried a scroll of an edict of commendation, left Jianzhang Palace, and went to Yong Lane.

Xiangzhi had already entered the palace; she was of family-born servant origin, belonging to palace personnel, and rewards for commendation were all given here.

As a family-born servant bestowed upon the Liang Prince, after accepting this bestowal, she should also rightfully return to her position in the palace.

Guo Shi, accompanied by attendants, laughed as he proclaimed the edict, while sizing up the girl who knelt before the other family-born servants, head bowed to listen to the edict.

He had an impression of this Xiangzhi; before she left the palace for the Liang Wang Fu, he had instructed them according to the rules that even after leaving the palace, they must not forget they were people of the palace.

This girl had indeed taken it to heart; at the critical moment, she actually countered the Liang Prince and established this not-insignificant merit.

Though gentle and quiet, she possessed a rare tenacity, quite surprising and delightful.

Guo Shi, lately unsettled in mind, couldn't help but think: if he praised her a few words in the Emperor's ear and took this woman to serve beside His Majesty……perhaps it could be of some use.

While proclaiming the edict, he had already been calculating; once the woman accepted the edict bestowing gold, silver, cloth, fields, houses, and treasures, Guo Shi smiled and personally helped her up, offering further praise.

The woman glanced at the envious family-born servants behind her, then softly requested: "Middle Attendant, may we step aside to speak……"

These words exactly suited Guo Shi's mind; he smiled and led her aside to speak, but unexpectedly the woman opened her mouth to request, asking to petition for removal of her family-born servant status and return home.

"Why think so poorly of it?" Guo Shi wondered, then softly persuaded: "You have established such merit; even His Majesty has taken note of you—what glory is this? ……Not to mention these rewards; in the future, having you serve before the Emperor would also be fitting. Why must you leave the palace?"

Hearing that she would serve before the Emperor, Qingwu was even more terrified; having finally sent the Liang Prince away, why must she now serve another old and sickly person?

She certainly had thought of living well, wearing beautiful clothes and shoes, applying cosmetics that wouldn't ruin her face, but the premise was to live peacefully with her family……She was not close to the Emperor, her identity was false, and she did not want nor dare to go to the Emperor's side to live in fear.

Thinking thus, true tears appeared in Qingwu's eyes: "Thank you, Middle Attendant, for your favor, but this humble girl has no great ambition; having experienced a life-and-death danger, now I only wish to serve by my parents' side……"

Guo Shi smiled and lightly patted her trembling shoulder: "I see, you are still unable to settle your mind after the fright……"

"Middle Attendant……"

Qingwu wished to plead further, but Guo Shi laughed and interrupted her: "Very well, what you requested today, I have noted……but you are different from ordinary family-born servants; you are registered before His Majesty, and I cannot arbitrarily decide to let you leave the palace. Otherwise, if one day His Majesty remembers you, yet I say you have left the palace, would that not make me incompetent in my duties?"

"We must wait for an opportunity to request instructions from His Majesty." Guo Shi patted Xiangzhi's shoulder again, his smile kind: "These few days, you may take this edict and leave the palace at any time, and see the house and fields His Majesty has bestowed; soon bring your family to the Capital to live well……"

Having seen it with her own eyes and known the weight of the benefits, being helped up by her family, she naturally would not want to leave.

How could Qingwu fail to hear the delay and evasion in this? This Middle Attendant, though full of smiles and not at all stern, simply did not take her words to heart; clearly, he was determined to keep her.

But Qingwu said no more.

The other side had delay tactics; she also had her reassurance.

Younger sister Shaowei had said that if she could additionally petition to leave the palace, that would be best; if not, her sister would naturally think of another countermeasure.

With her sister guarding, there was nothing to fear.

Seeing her nod, Guo Shi thought she showed signs of understanding, so he spoke kindly again, painting some pies to lure her, weaving some nets to entangle her.

After Guo Shi left, many family-born servants gathered around Xiangzhi to congratulate her, speaking all at once to ask about the process of establishing merit, their words friendly and respectful, wanting to draw closer and gain protection and support.

Until evening, the people around Xiangzhi finally dispersed completely; she returned to her original lodging to make the bed, and the companion who had entered the Capital with her asked from behind: "What did you and that Guo Shi say alone?"

Qingwu paused in making the bed and answered in a low voice: "I asked him about my arrangements afterward, so I can prepare early……"

This companion had some skill; her status among the watchers was higher than Qingwu's, she knew more, acted more maturely, and to some extent served the duty of monitoring her.

Shaowei had said that even if she successfully petitioned to leave the palace today, she only needed to privately claim it was a palace arrangement, temporarily placate this watcher, and Mother's side, calculating the time, had already extricated herself.

The companion stepped closer and asked again: "You have stayed in the Shen Ci these days, neither going out nor transmitting messages; why is that?"

"I, I was frightened……always worshipping the gods and offering incense in the Shen Ci; I fear that once I show my face, I will suffer retaliation from the remnants of the Liang Prince." Qingwu turned around, her eyes uneasy; lying indeed made her uneasy.

Her companion looked at her and nodded: "Being cautious is for the best."

"You have rendered great merit this time; the Master is already aware." A rare affirming smile appeared on her companion's face: "In the future you will be able to serve the Master even further, investigate and obtain more useful intelligence."

"Therefore the Steward in charge of Capital affairs wishes to see you." Her companion produced a strip of cloth: "Tomorrow when you leave the palace, go to this place and see this person."

As Qingwu received it, she heard her companion add: "You are not as you were before; perhaps you can discuss terms with this person, have them send your Mother to the Capital as well, so you can set your mind at ease and do your work."

Qingwu was overjoyed: "Truly possible?"

Her companion nodded: "Status and value differ, so treatment naturally differs too; you may try bringing it up."

Qingwu was delighted beyond measure: "Good, many thanks for the reminder..."

Her companion's smile had already been put away, and she then admonished her not to lose composure: "Remember, go alone to the meeting, do not alert anyone else, otherwise the consequence of leaking the secret you know very well."

Qingwu dared not treat it lightly and nodded.

That strip of cloth unfolded between Qingwu's fingers; written on it was the name of a Taoist Temple.

The next afternoon, Qingwu stood before the Taoist Temple, carefully verified the temple name, and stepped into this inconspicuous Taoist Temple.

She held the imperial edict to leave the palace and inspect the granted estate; the estate came with four servants, and today an additional eunuch accompanied her driving the carriage. After viewing the estate, on the pretext of offering incense she came alone to this place.

After offering incense in the Front Hall, Qingwu left through the Taoist Temple's Back Door and arrived before a dense forest, where she saw the person waiting in the forest depths.

The Two People exchanged the countersign; that ordinary-looking middle-aged man sized her up, revealing a satisfied smile: "Not bad... done very well."

"Asking you here today is to privately explain a few matters." The man seemed very amiable: "But no rush; I have recent news of your mother here; it won't be late to speak after you've read it."

Because they were speaking in low voices, only three steps separated the two; at this moment the man smiled and reached into his sleeve to pull out a letter.

His hand probed into his sleeve; the man slightly raised his eyes, only to see before him this weak woman with no martial skill to speak of wearing a tense, expectant expression.

The hand in his sleeve suddenly shot out; no letter was seen, instead it gripped a sharp short knife.

The man's smile vanished, his eyes filled with killing intent already rehearsing eliminating this uncontrollable spy after the fact, taking all her jewelry, binding stones to the corpse and sinking it in the river not far away, disguising this murder and silencing as a common robbery and cover-up.

The instant he drew the knife, the woman retreated in terror; he stepped forward to pursue, one hand holding the knife, one hand wanting to seize her.

The man possessed martial skill; his steps were steady and swift; he had absolute confidence to prevent this startled bird-like woman from flying out of this dense forest.

However right at this moment, a short and narrow flying blade suddenly shot toward him head-on, wrapped in astonishing speed and power, allowing no reaction, cleanly severing and slicing off the hand gripping the knife at the wrist!

The bloody palm flew from his body together with the short knife; a deep green shadow accompanied his fear and struck through the air.

That green shadow was fast as lightning; unknown when it had lain hidden in the forest; he was not without guard, yet he still detected nothing!

What astonishingly peerless guard is this, simply never seen before... how could it be commanded by this spy, this supposedly farmer-born weak spy — what mysterious origin and background does she actually conceal!

Everything happened in the space of a breath; the man's flying knife had not yet fallen; only to see that fierce green shadow already closing in; the green shadow blocked before that spy while simultaneously its left sleeve swept up to shield the person behind from the spraying blood mist, its right leg raised and together with its hem swiftly traced a half-circle in midair, precisely stomping that wildly flying short knife beneath its foot in an instant, its left leg kicked out, one kick sending him flying!

The man went "thud" crashing five paces away, his back hitting a large tree; for a moment autumn leaves fell wildly, obscuring his vision; he fundamentally could not see the comer's face, nor hear any sound from the comer; at once he vomited a mouthful of blood, dizzied and fainted unconscious.

"Shaowei..." Qingwu clutched Shaowei's left arm in a death grip, frightened pale, even whiter than if coated in layers of white lead powder.

"A Jie, don't be afraid!" Shaowei pulled down her face veil, eyes bright, voice low and fast: "Since they want to kill and silence, it shows in their eyes A Jie is already uncontrollable; most likely Aunt has already been successfully stolen out — they got wind of it a step earlier, so they rushed to act, lest once Aunt is in hand, A Jie has no more scruples and will expose them."

These past days Shaowei was waiting for her subordinates' news of going to Liu Guo to steal Aunt; to avoid alerting the enemy, and to guard against these people moving against Qingwu, she had kept the person hidden in the Shrine, reducing unnecessary contact.

Hearing this, Qingwu felt both joy and fear: "Then... then what should we do next?"

"Since A Jie wants to stay in the Capital and let Uncle and Aunt live peaceful good days, the hidden danger must be eliminated." Shaowei gripped A Jie's arm in return, looking at the unconscious man: "Moreover they dared to bully and use A Jie for so long; this account must be settled."

Qingwu originally first encountered water bandits, then was passed around and presented to the Liu Guo ruler, turned into a spy with constant fear for her life and sent into Chang'an, treated like an ant object, a journey of hardship and danger, suffering humiliation and fear — such experience made it absolutely impossible for Shaowei to stop at merely stealing back Aunt and calling it a day.

Even if Qingwu habitually wanted to smooth things over, fearing more conflict, she still clutched Shaowei's arm tightly, nodding in panic, willing to follow Shaowei's claims entirely.

"A Jie, I'll take you to see a person."

Shaowei's tone was crisp and calm, as if taking Qingwu to see the neighbor uncle in Taoxi Township.

That very night, Qingwu was brought by Shaowei into Jianzhang Palace, kneeling before the Emperor.

The guards in Jianzhang Palace only knew that Marquis Lingxu brought a person dressed as a Wu Nu to request an audience, carrying a heavy mysterious large box, saying they wanted to present a gift to His Majesty.

At this moment in Danghu Hall, Guo Shi looked at that Xiangzhi disguised as a Wu Nu, then looked at that large box carried down by the combined efforts of guards, containing a half-dead person, rarely feeling surprised shock.

Xiangzhi who was still gentle and weak requesting to leave the palace from him in daytime, turned out to be a spy planted by Liu Guo, and moreover an old acquaintance of Marquis Lingxu... the pawn he wanted to cultivate, actually had this many layered identities!

No time for further investigation, Guo Shi withdrew along with that box, ordered to go keep close watch listening in on the interrogation of the person in the box.

Guo Shi withdrew; several eunuchs were also dismissed.

The Emperor behind the Dragon Case looked at the two girls kneeling in the Palace Interior; Xiang Gong sitting cross-legged at the case side looked at one of them, his eyes faintly smiling, his heart secretly thinking: Tonight this humble place shines with splendor, the Mountain Lord presents a gift, bringing a giant rat in his mouth.

?? Updated a bit early today, everyone good night^