Chapter 113: Night Banquet at the Qian Palace

In the afternoon, a red sun appeared on the horizon.

Li Gongpu, dressed in court robes, ascended the carriage surrounded by servants.

The guest Du Mushan cautiously watched the street activity; only after they set off did he leap onto the carriage and take his seat beside him:

"According to those we sent to investigate, the one who struck is the 'Thief Saint', but their specific identity has not yet been confirmed, nor have any traces of fencing the stolen goods been found..."

Li Gongpu's study was emptied, the financial loss was too enormous to report to the authorities, so he could only use his connections to investigate in secret.

But the theft at Li Fu, just like Zhou Ming'an's sudden death, left not a single clue; everything simply vanished in a baffling manner.

Li Gongpu could accept bribes, so he must be a man who loved money as his life; thinking of his cherished treasures, collected over many years, being packed up and taken away, now unknown which barbarian's hands were playing with and caressing them, was far more painful than being cuckolded, his face remaining green with rage:

"Zhou Ming'an must have been killed by Xie Jinhuan; if killing can leave no clues, stealing must be the same..."

"Ah?"

Du Mushan felt Li Gong was losing his mind from rage and hurriedly said:

"Setting aside Xie Jinhuan's past chivalrous deeds which are vivid in memory, if he went to kill Zhou Ming'an last night, how could he come to Li Gong's residence to plunder the treasures?

"He couldn't have just finished killing at Songhe Bay and then immediately rushed to Li Gong's residence to commit the crime, could he?

"This is a major case in Jingcheng involving the killing of an official; even a ruthless bandit who kills like a madman would not, after committing such great evil, fail to think of covering his tracks, but instead come to Li Gong's home to appraise treasures in an orderly fashion..."

Li Gongpu actually understood the situation well; saying Xie Jinhuan assassinated Zhou Ming'an to avenge his father might make the court officials hesitate, but saying his home was plundered by Xie Jinhuan, the court officials would likely speak with one voice: "Don't you dare slander us with blood in your mouth! Even if stolen goods were found in Xie Jinhuan's home, that would be you, Li Gongpu, setting a trap to frame him!"

But if it wasn't Xie Jinhuan, who else could this Thief Saint be?

As Li Gongpu pondered in secret, he suddenly heard a sarcastic voice from the street outside the carriage:

"I wondered whose official airs were so great; turns out it is Li Eunuch..."

?

Li Gongpu was the Vice Minister of the Yellow Gate, a proper civil official; "Eunuch" was a derogatory term used by court officials in secret, and daring to call him that face-to-face on the street meant he was simply dying to live.

Du Mushan's face darkened; he opened the carriage window to check, but saw a luxurious carriage drawn by four horses galloping up from Tianjie.

Surrounding the procession were more than ten Wu Zu in black armor, with the Wang Shizi of Dan Wang personally carrying the 'Dan' royal banner at the very front.

Several people accompanied the carriage; the speaker was a sharp-nosed, monkey-faced steward, and beside him was a young Young Master in a white robe, with handsome features and an extraordinary bearing.

Seeing the dignified bearing of the Young Master in white, Li Gongpu's brows furrowed:

"Is this person Xie Jinhuan?"

Seeing it was the procession of Dan Wang Fu, Du Mushan certainly dared not scold; he ordered the procession to make way and whispered:

"It should be. What should we do?"

Li Gongpu frowned and signaled with his eyes:

"Go eliminate him?"

"Ah?" Du Mushan's expression froze: "Li Gong, on the street, this恐怕 is not appropriate..."

"Knowing it's inappropriate, why do you still ask?"

Li Gongpu directly closed the carriage window, pretending not to see to keep his eyes clean.

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

The carriages soon passed each other.

Xie Jinhuan rode his fine horse past Li Gongpu's carriage, not casting too many glances, but seriously acting as the landlady's personal bodyguard, watching for any stir on the street.

Linghu Qingmo only woke up in the afternoon; at this moment, she had changed into a white Hezi skirt, dressed like a budding lily, gazing blankly at the two people and one bird in the same carriage.

Duoduo had learned something new today and was very excited; at this moment, she held a sanxian, seriously practicing the 'Buddhist Music' tune.

Princess Changning wore a magnificent palace skirt, raised her hands, and danced the shaman dance with Meiqiu in the spacious carriage; after half a day, her movements had become quite skilled.

Linghu Qingmo did not know her male companion had gone to earn money by accompanying drinks at noon, nor had she seen Xie Jinhuan dancing at Wu Wei Ge; at this moment, seeing the appearance of the two people and one bird, her heart was full of:

What the devil is this? Am I not awake yet?

Is Ling'er having leg cramps? Jumping like this, aren't you afraid of shaking Grandma out...

Rituals are collapsing, music is ruined, what kind of propriety is this...

Still, Brother Jinhuan is steady; perhaps I should go down...

Perhaps truly unable to understand, Linghu Qingmo couldn't help but push the carriage door open a crack to peek outside:

"Xie Jinhuan?"

Xie Jinhuan glanced sideways, and the first thing he saw was the fat-headed Kong Que trembling with waves; he then shifted his gaze to Mo Mo:

"What's wrong?"

Linghu Qingmo hesitated to speak, signaling backwards with her eyes, meaning: Is Ling'er possessed?

Xie Jinhuan had taught it himself, so he couldn't join Mo Mo in teasing; he explained with grave seriousness:

"This is the 'Butterfly Breaking the Cocoon Step', a rare Dao of movement technique; it looks simple, but actually hides cleverness and is very hard to learn."

Martial Dao movement technique...

Linghu Qingmo had only learned the Daoist 'Tiangang Step' and truly didn't know such a thing existed in the Martial Dao; half believing, half doubting:

"Are you sure?"

"Mm. If you don't believe me, try practicing it yourself?"

"..."

Seeing Xie Jinhuan so certain, Linghu Qingmo was actually a bit curious; she stood up in the spacious carriage, followed Ling'er's movements, and tried jumping as if having leg cramps.

It turns out it isn't very difficult...

Seeing Mo Mo's undergarments swaying as she swung, Xie Jinhuan felt only grandeur and delight to the eye!

However, as a personal bodyguard, peeking at the Young Lady from the carriage window was clearly against propriety; after glancing a few times, he closed the window.

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

The caravan proceeded thus; by the time the sky grew dark, they arrived outside the Imperial Palace, and the Jingcheng capital had gradually transformed into a brilliant sea of lights.

Inside the carriage, the Princess of Changning bounced about wildly, but the moment she appeared, she became the legitimate daughter of a Prince, radiating noble aura; petite and delicate in stature, yet projecting an aura of twenty-eight meters, and with court officials respectfully making way on both sides, she felt just like an Empress.

Xie Jinhuan followed behind through the palace gate, gazing at the towering and magnificent palace complex, feeling no small amount of novelty in his heart.

Although he had lived in Jingcheng for sixteen years, as the son of a mere county commandant, he certainly had no qualification to enter the palace; this was his first time here since growing up.

Thinking of one person monopolizing such a vast palace, with three thousand beauties in the harem lining up to await his favor, he couldn't help but feel a sigh of "A great man should be like this."

However, he did not envy the current Qian Emperor.

The Qian Emperor, Zhao Jin, was an emperor who fought his way out of the "Jian'an Incident"; his literary strategy and military prowess were not outstanding, but they passed the及格 line; he had many strengths, such as "humbly accepting remonstrance and valuing people's livelihood, and no major wars in twenty years."

But he had just as many weaknesses; first, he ascended through a coup, so his foundation was unstable; to maintain his rule, he massively expanded the Red麟 Guard to serve as his eyes and claws, and made compromises with the aristocratic families; the affairs he handled during his twenty-year reign were basically all about weakening the power of the aristocratic families and cleaning up the mess left when he ascended the throne.

Secondly, he was not frugal; he built a large number of gardens and wonders, and frequently held banquets for entertainment, and so on.

The Qian Emperor's obsession with entertainment had some special reasons.

The Qian Emperor had no concubines; only Empress He was by his side, and the only son he had was conceived when he was still an Imperial Prince.

According to public information, the Qian Emperor respected his wife who had shared hardships with him, so he took no concubines and wanted no children, to prevent another struggle for the throne.

But this was obviously unreasonable; according to the rumors Xie Jinhuan had heard secondhand, the Qian Emperor should have suffered severe injuries to his foundation during the Jian'an Chaos, making it nearly impossible to produce offspring, which is why it evolved into the current situation.

Since men couldn't play with concubines anymore, they had to find other pastimes to relieve loneliness, so the Qian Emperor's lack of frugality was quite normal.

Of course, some people fabricated wild histories, claiming the Qian Emperor favored men; Li Gongpu gained favor by selling his hook...

Although the specific situation was unclear, the fact that the Qian Emperor exclusively honored only Empress He was true.

Since Empress He was celebrating her birthday, the scale was naturally not small; the birthday banquet was held in the Linde Hall; those coming to offer birthday wishes included not only imperial relatives and nobles from various regions, but even allied nations beyond the passes sent envoys; no fewer than a thousand people gathered in the three halls.

As the Emperor's own niece, after arriving at the Linde Hall, the Princess of Changning, together with the heir apparent Zhao De, went to pay respects to the Emperor and Empress.

Xie Jinhuan certainly had no qualification to face the Emperor; after arriving at the location, he followed Seeing Mo Mo to the place where the banquet was held.

Linghu Qingmo had actually entered the palace only a few times; to avoid improper behavior, she did not look around or speak recklessly along the way, merely silently leading the path; however, halfway there, she unexpectedly discovered several people on the corridor outside the hall.

Among them, the leader was an old Confucian scholar wearing a green robe, with a goatee, looking kind and benevolent, listening to the words of his juniors.

And the one speaking was none other than Wei Lu from Xueying Ridge, whom she had met once before; beside him were Zhang Huaiyu from the Imperial Academy, Deng Tingzhu from the Taiyin Palace, and other young talents.

Seeing an acquaintance, Xie Jinhuan naturally slowed his pace and asked in a low voice:

"Mo Mo, who is this old gentleman?"

Linghu Qingmo took a careful look and replied:

"It seems to be Fan Li, the Director of the Imperial Academy, the eldest disciple of the Twin Sages Ye Shrine, and the senior brother of Mr. Mu. Do you want to go say hello?"

Since childhood, Xie Jinhuan had been practicing Fan Li's calligraphy; this was the first time he had seen the True Person; originally, he had wanted to find an opportunity to pay his respects and inquire about the truth and falsehood of the content of "The Legend of Jin Lan," thereby judging the origin of the Ghost Bride, after all, this book was written by the Twin Sages Ye Shrine, so this eldest disciple must know some inside information.

Now meeting him directly in the palace, Xie Jinhuan certainly had to get to know him; immediately, he quickened his steps and approached:

"Brother Wei, Brother Zhang."

A few days ago at the Golden Tower, Wei Lu had been completely infatuated with Xie Jinhuan; he had gone back and practiced the sheathing technique for several days; upon hearing the voice and turning his eyes, a joy appeared in his eyes, and he hurriedly greeted:

"Brother Xie, Miss Linghu, you are here too?"

While speaking, he introduced the dozen or so young scions of noble families around them:

"This is Brother Xie Jinhuan; I won't repeat how formidable he is; you must have heard his name thundering in your ears."

The young people who could enter the palace for the banquet were no ordinary folk; hearing the introduction, they all showed surprise on their faces, but reverence was certainly out of the question; the gaze examining Xie Jinhuan mostly carried a hint of youthful vigor and a refusal to be inferior to others.

Xie Jinhuan did not mind these gazes full of "male competition"; seeing Wei Lu, he also recalled the scene of "Mistress, Senior Sister, Big White Butt"; his heart felt quite strange, but he did not show it, only smiling and saying:

"I came along with the Princess to broaden my horizons; who is this old gentleman?"

Zhang Huaiyu introduced: "This is my teacher, Fan Li; Brother Xie should have heard of him."

"Oh?"

Xie Jinhuan immediately performed a bow:

"So it is Mr. Fan; my apologies for the disrespect; since childhood, I have been copying the calligraphy of Mr. Fan and Sage Ye; I truly never expected to see the gentleman in person one day."

Fan Li had long heard of Xie Jinhuan's great name from Mu Yunling; he stroked his beard and smiled:

"Nephew Xie's martial arts attainment surpasses all his peers; saying you have been copying my junior brother Mu's sword since childhood, I will believe it; but saying you have been copying my calligraphy since childhood, I fear you are elevating me too much."

Seeing so many noble scions still wanting to compare with her brother Jinhuan, Linghu Qingmo directly took out the "Jinhuan Quotes" from her sleeve, flipped to the few lines of information written by Xie Jinhuan:

"He indeed has been copying Mr. Fan's calligraphy since childhood; even the Prince praised it as 'Fan Tendrils and Ye Bones'; please take a look, sir."

(End of this chapter)