A raincoat wind and snow to the small garden

Chapter 30: Liangzhou Ghost Soldiers (I)

Chapter
Xie Yunxue was going to the palace to meet the emperor. Although Xiang Xiaoyuan wanted to go with her, she knew that she was not qualified. Not only would she not be able to see the emperor, she wouldn't even be able to enter the inner court.

I got off the car near Xiaoyuan and went back to the school to see the donkey first.

The little black donkey was living a good life. Apart from wanting to bump into Xiang Xiaoyuan whenever he saw her, there was nothing else wrong with him.

As Xiang Xiaoyuan was rubbing the donkey-hide gelatin and feeding the winter vegetables, he muttered to himself, "Is there any way I can see the emperor more often without so many ministers watching?"

"Yes, wouldn't it be nice to become the Crown Princess?"

Hearing this, Xiang Xiaoyuan suddenly understood: "That makes sense."

Then she was shocked: "Who? Who?"

Xiang Xiaoyuanhu looked around and glared at Ah Qi on the roof, "You eavesdropped on me!"

"How can sitting on the roof in broad daylight be considered eavesdropping?"

Ah Qi knelt with one hand and broke off a carrot with the other, crunching it. "But your idea isn't very good. How could it be so easy to marry into the Eastern Palace? With your background, the position of Crown Princess is out of the question. Even a Crown Princess would have to beg His Highness for mercy! The worst-case scenario is that you'd become a little beauty in the harem, only favored for a night or two. By then, not only would you be able to see the Emperor for a reward, even seeing the Crown Prince would be as difficult as ascending to heaven. If you really want to see the Emperor, you might as well..."

Xiang Xiaoyuan: "What's worse?"

Ah Qi smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth: "It would be better to marry Huai Yu!"

Xiang Xiaoyuan showed no trace of womanly shyness. Instead, she asked earnestly, "Why?"

Ah Qi looked at her as if he had seen a ghost. She didn't really want to get married, did she?
Ah Qi coughed and said, "Huai Yu is the head of the secret guards. He sees the emperor and the crown prince every day. It's only natural for him to take time out to bring his wife to the palace to express his gratitude and ask for a reward."

Xiang Xiaoyuan thought about the feasibility of this path for a while, but quickly shook his head and rejected it.

If she married Senior Brother Huaiyu, her assassination of the emperor would implicate her husband's family. What would she do if she harmed Senior Brother? No, Huaiyu was a good man. He didn't deserve such a crime.

Xiang Xiaoyuan quickly said, "No, I won't marry Senior Brother Huaiyu."

Ah Qi narrowed his peach blossom eyes, as if he had seen something amusing. He smiled like a cunning little fox and asked, "You can even consider marrying His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so why can't Huaiyu? He can't be that bad, right?"

How could Xiang Xiaoyuan possibly reveal the secret of her assassination plot? She lowered her head and said dejectedly, "It's just not possible. I can marry anyone except Huaiyu."

Ah Qi laughed heartily. He threw down half a carrot and said gloatingly, "Huai Yu, did you hear that? It's no use protecting that young lady. She won't marry you!"

After saying that, Ah Qi turned over, jumped off the roof and ran away.

After she finished speaking, Xiang Xiaoyuan's body trembled, and she immediately guessed that there was someone behind her.

Sure enough, when Xiang Xiaoyuan turned around, he happened to meet the boy's cold and dead face.

Huai Yu glanced at her, his eyes were cold, his lips were tightly pursed, as if he wanted to say something, but finally he kept his mouth shut.

Xiang Xiaoyuan knew that her words had hurt people's pride, and she didn't know how to explain: "Brother, that's not what I meant. I..."

Huai Yu was in no mood to listen to her. He sneered, "Who you marry is none of my business. Why bother explaining?"

However, the young man already understood: Xiang Xiaoyuan really still liked Xie Yunxue... He was still thinking that his father was not free today and could not meet the prince, so he would return to the school as soon as possible to remind Xiang Xiaoyuan that Xuanqi Division would have a trial for new disciples in a few days.

Now it seemed he had come here specifically to cause trouble. Before he could say anything to Xiaoyuan, Huaiyu had already used his Qinggong skills to step on the snow and climb onto the eaves.

In a flash, the boy disappeared.
-
The Penal Department Prison.

Zheng Sirou wore a veil on her head and carried a steaming hot flower cake in her hand.

She handed a purse filled with silver to the jailer and said pitifully, "I'm going to see my brother and will be out soon. Please understand that I miss my family."

The Ministry of Justice Prison allows outsiders to visit prisoners, but they are not allowed to bring sharp weapons. Seeing that Zheng Sirou was just a delicate girl, he did not make things difficult for her.

Zheng Sirou wiped away her tears and followed the guards to the cell where Wang Qinghao was imprisoned.

As soon as Zheng Sirou saw her brother, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Seeing that they wanted to exchange pleasantries for a while, the yamen runner took the good wine that Zheng Sirou had given him and naturally gave in. He let the brother and sister talk about some personal matters while he himself retreated to the torture room to drink.

After the man left, Zheng Sirou wiped the tears from her face and asked him seriously, "Brother, why did you take the blame for me? You knew I was the one who killed my father."

Wang Qinghao gave a bitter laugh. "It's understandable that I killed my enemy, and His Highness will give me a light sentence. But you're different. You're a girl. If you go to jail, how are you going to live?"

Zheng Sirou really didn't understand why Wang Qinghao wanted to protect her again and again, when it was obvious that she and he had no blood relationship, and they were just family members who met halfway... But would a brother with no blood relationship risk his life for a fake sister?
There are so many things Zheng Sirou doesn't understand.

But before she could resolve her confusion, Wang Qinghao grabbed his sister's hand and pleaded with her, "Stop it, sister. You know the dead are gone. You can't afford to lose your life again."

Hearing this, Zheng Sirou chuckled softly, "Brother, I can't stop just because I want to. I don't live for myself alone. I bear the blood debt of 30,000 soldiers of the Wang family army on my shoulders...Brother, I have no way out."

The light in Wang Qinghao's eyes gradually dimmed, he opened his mouth, but was speechless.
-
Three days later, another murder occurred in the Zheng family.

This time, the one who died was Zheng Huai, Duke of Zheng.

Duke Zheng spent his entire life in military service, working hard and making great contributions. However, in his later years, he was assassinated and died at home.

The emperor was furious and ordered Xuanqisi to take full charge of the case and make sure the murderer was brought to justice.

Crown Prince Xie Yunxue recommended the recently famous coroner Xingren Xiang Xiaoyuan to take over the case on behalf of his father, and also asked Mr. Chu Daofu from the Ministry of Justice to provide guidance.

Everyone was initially dissatisfied with a young girl taking on the responsibility alone, but when they found out that she was actually Chu Daofu's last disciple, they all gave up their protests...

Many veteran officials in the officialdom came to their senses and thought that Mr. Chu's trick was brilliant... If Xiang Xiaoyuan had extraordinary ability to solve the case, then it would be a case of a great teacher producing an outstanding student. If she was not capable enough, there was also Chu Daofu who would take over the case and not delay the official business.

Regardless of whether Xiang Xiaoyuan succeeds or not, it's a foregone conclusion that Xiang Xiaoyuan is Chu Daofu's apprentice, and in the end, isn't it all Chu Daofu's fame? Tsk tsk, it really is true that the old ones are the wisest.

Lin Qiyu was scared to death when he heard that someone had died in the Zheng family again.

He hurriedly dragged Yan Yun to the temple to pray for talismans and gave them to Xiang Xiaoyuan to ward off evil spirits: "The Zheng family's feng shui is not good, Xiaoyuan, you must be careful..."

Xiang Xiaoyuan looked at the stack of yellow paper talismans, frowning. "But the cinnabar yellow talismans are clearly Taoist techniques. Is it right for you to ask for them from a monk?"

Yan Yun: "Forget it, no matter which method it comes from, just be careful! I find it strange. Aren't Fifth Lady and adoptive brother Wang Qinghao already imprisoned? Then why did Duke Zheng die?"

As soon as these words came out, the three of them looked at each other, and suddenly felt horrified...

Could it be that the Zheng family’s demon-subduing formation was broken, and some evil spirit was really released?
(End of this chapter)