Chapter 39: Exchanging Blows

After Cheng Yunjian and his sister left Jingdu, Cheng Xi's days became leisurely again; the Demon Suppression Pavilion stopped causing her trouble, and it was said that the Regent was bringing the Little Emperor back to Jindu.

Cheng Xi knew then that they had no time to spare for her; the Empress Dowager had built the Demon Suppression Pavilion while the Little Emperor and the Regent were away, and she would have to provide an explanation upon their return.

Furthermore, the mother-son relationship between the Little Emperor and the Empress Dowager was distant, and whether or not Grand Concubine Li had instigated it, this was an indisputable fact.

The Empress Dowager had indeed cherished her sickly youngest son more in the past, neglecting the Emperor.

Now, the sickly child was not her own, but the newly recovered son made the Empress Dowager feel even more guilty; feeling she owed him, she naturally paid extra attention to this son.

Cheng Xi did not care about these court affairs, as they had nothing to do with her; after the Demon Bone at home was used up, she went to Ghost Street again, intending to visit Liang Popo first, then go to Lao Wutou next door to buy more Demon Bone.

Liang Popo was very happy to see Cheng Xi and muttered to her, "A batch of good goods arrived at Lao Wutou's place, reserved by someone else in advance; go see if there is any left over."

Being able to make Liang Popo call them good goods, Cheng Xi pivoted on her toes and immediately went next door.

The moment Lao Wutou saw her, the smile at the corners of his mouth drooped; even a dog's nose wasn't as sharp as hers!

"Uncle Wu, I heard from Popo that you have good things here; I knew you were thinking of me because you know my body is weak."

Lao Wutou had never seen a young woman with such thick skin; his eyelids drooped, and with a dark face, he opened a drawer and threw a pitch-black box over.

Cheng Xi reached out to catch it, and her palm sank instantly; with a look of surprise, she carried the box and placed it on the table, "Anything that can be kept in a Black Jade Gold Box must be a good thing."

Lao Wutou said without even lifting his head, "There is only this one portion; if it weren't for seeing that your body is truly weak..."

He didn't say the rest, but Cheng Xi knew what he meant.

She opened the box, and a wave of moist vapor rushed toward her face; then, what came into view was a palm-sized piece of bone, pitch-black all over, glowing with a lustrous sheen and faintly carrying a strange fragrance.

"Black Dragon Bone?" Cheng Xi was truly shocked, "Judging by the bone age, it is an adult dragon; this bone is indeed extremely rare. Uncle Wu, thank you; with this piece of bone, I can live a dozen more years."

"Hurry up and go." Lao Wutou waved his hand, not wanting to see her and be annoyed.

Cheng Xi smiled and took out the incense she had made, placing it on the table, "A little token of my filial piety."

Cheng Xi carried the dragon bone and walked out; the palm-sized dragon bone weighed several dozen catties, tiring her until she saw stars; if she had known there would be such a good opportunity, she should have brought Zhao Kang along to act as a coolie.

Suddenly, her wrist felt light; she looked up to meet Li Zhi'an's cold face, and the item in her hand was taken by him, followed by the other party saying in surprise, "What is so heavy?"

He thought Cheng Xi's body was so weak that she couldn't even hold a box.

Cheng Xi caught her breath; it was better to have someone helping, so she leaned against the poplar tree by the street to straighten her back, "Dragon bone."

Li Zhi'an's hand holding the box paused, "Dragon bone? This thing is worth more than a thousand gold." As he spoke, he looked back at Lao Wutou's shop.

He didn't expect that such a place would actually have a shop that could obtain this kind of thing.

"Why would Lord Li appear here?" Cheng Xi asked instead of answering.

"Investigating a case."

Cheng Xi nodded in understanding, "I see; then I won't disturb you, Lord. Could I trouble you to send this to my carriage? My carriage is right over there."

She pointed to the carriage across the street.

Li Zhi'an's peach-blossom eyes flickered, and he then strode forward with the item.

Cheng Xi followed behind him, and seeing him put the item into the carriage, she smiled again, "Many thanks, Lord."

Li Zhi'an turned back to look at Cheng Xi, seeing the faint smile on her pale face; it seemed that no matter the time, she could always be at ease, "Cheng Xi, do you know that the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had an unpleasant falling out today over the matter of the Demon Suppression Pavilion?"

Cheng Xi looked at the other party with a face full of surprise, "How could I possibly know such things? You hold me in too high regard, Lord."

Li Zhi'an could not see any abnormality on her face, "I still have official business to attend to, so I shall take my leave here."

"Go slowly, Lord."

Cheng Xi watched Li Zhi'an's departing back and felt it was very strange; what did he mean by asking her that?

Should she have known?

Cheng Xi drove the carriage back to the Du Mansion and saw the carriage bearing the emblem of the Demon Suppression Pavilion hanging outside the gate; she was instantly somewhat enlightened.

Zhao Kang had been waiting outside the gate; seeing Cheng Xi's carriage, he immediately ran over and whispered, "Eldest Miss, Pavilion Master Yan has been waiting for you for nearly half an hour."

Cheng Xi nodded slightly and said to Zhao Kang, "Send the box in the carriage to the backyard, and avoid people."

Zhao Kang immediately understood the Eldest Miss's meaning; watching the Eldest Miss enter the mansion gate, he then lifted the carriage curtain and saw a box inside the carriage; it was a palm-sized thing, so he reached out to take it, but was shocked when he couldn't move it at all.

He immediately got onto the carriage and lifted the item in his hand; weighing it, it was at least several dozen catties.

After thinking about it, he put the item back on the carriage, went back into the mansion to get a bamboo basket, put the item inside, covered the basket, and only then carried it on his back, sneaking into the mansion through the side gate.

At this time, Cheng Xi had already met with Yan Yu.

Yan Yu and Yan Shengyu were siblings born of the same mother, but the two did not look much alike.

"I failed to welcome you from afar for Pavilion Master Yan's grand arrival; please do not take offense." Cheng Xi said the words of welcome, but her tone was indifferent.

The last time the people from the Demon Suppression Pavilion came to her place, they were not very polite.

Yan Yu wore a dark blue robe with a circular flower pattern, his black hair tied high, wearing a jade crown; he stood tall and upright, looking refined and dignified.

His gaze fell on Cheng Xi, and he spoke slowly, "Last time, Eldest Miss Cheng saved my younger sister, and I have not been able to thank you in person; I hope Eldest Miss Cheng will forgive me."

Unexpectedly, this person looked like he had a face that was hard to talk to, but the words he spoke were very gentle.

Cheng Xi lowered her eyes slightly, then looked up and smiled, "The incident was sudden; it was just a matter of convenience, Pavilion Master Yan need not take it to heart."

The meaning of these words was that she would not use this life-saving favor to make the Yan Family do anything, letting him rest assured.

At Cheng Xi's words, a flash of surprise crossed Yan Yu's eyes, and he then added, "Regarding the matter of the Cheng Family last time, Shu Tong was somewhat offensive; I have already reprimanded him."

The smile on Cheng Xi's face had gradually faded, and her gaze toward Yan Yu became serious, "Acting according to the law, Lord Shu was merely following orders."

Yan Yu heard Cheng Xi's prickly words and smiled faintly, "I know that Eldest Miss Cheng is a person of some ability; would you be willing to join the Demon Suppression Pavilion to work?"

Cheng Xi had no interest in going in circles with him; the Little Emperor had just returned to Jindu and had an unpleasant falling out with the Empress Dowager, and Yan Yu had come knocking on her door.

She did not believe that this had nothing to do with it.

Recalling the encounter with Li Zhi'an, she could finally be certain that Li Zhi'an was not investigating a case on Ghost Street at all; he was looking for her.

She just couldn't understand why these people were all staring at her.