Minglong

Chapter 112: Qian Palace Night Banquet
In the afternoon, a red sun appeared on the horizon.

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

The retainer Du Mushan carefully observed the movements on the street. After the carriage started, he jumped onto it and sat beside him.
"According to the people below, the perpetrator is the 'King of Thieves,' but his identity has not yet been ascertained, and no trace of the stolen goods has been found..."

Li Gongpu's study was emptied and the amount of property loss was too huge to report to the police. He could only use his connections to investigate secretly.

But the burglary at Li's mansion, just like Zhou Ming'an's sudden death, left no trace. All the things were inexplicably gone.

Li Gongpu must be a person who loves money like his life to accept bribes. The thought of his precious treasures that he had treasured for many years being taken away by someone like that, and now being played with and comforted by an unknown barbarian, was even more painful than being cuckolded. His face was still green.

"Zhou Ming'an must have been killed by Xie Jinhuan. Killing someone leaves no trace, and stealing something is no different..."

"what?"

Du Mushan felt that Li Gong was a little angry and had lost his mind, so he said quickly:
"Let's not talk about the fact that Xie Jinhuan's chivalrous deeds in the past are still fresh in our memory. Since he went to kill Zhou Ming'an last night, how could he come to Lord Li's mansion to rob treasures?
"He can't just kill someone in Songhe Bay and then rush to Lord Li's mansion to commit a crime, right?
"This is a major case of murdering officials in the capital. Even the most ruthless bandit would not commit such a heinous crime and then not try to cover up his tracks. Instead, he came to Lord Li's house to appraise the treasure in an orderly manner..."

Li Gongpu was actually aware of the situation. If he said that Xie Jinhuan assassinated Zhou Ming'an to avenge his father, the civil and military officials in the court might hesitate. But if he said that Xie Jinhuan's house was looted, the court officials would probably say in unison: "Don't slander me! Even if stolen goods were found in Xie Jinhuan's house, it was you, Li Gongpu, who set it up!"

But if it’s not Xie Jinhuan, who else could this thief saint be?

Li Gongpu was thinking secretly when he suddenly heard a strange voice coming from the street outside the carriage:
"I was wondering who was so arrogant, it turns out to be Eunuch Li..."

?

Li Gongpu was the Imperial Court Minister, a proper civil servant. "Eunuch" was a derogatory term used by court officials. Anyone who dared to call him that in person on the street must be fed up with life.

Du Mushan's face darkened. He opened the car window to look, only to see a luxurious carriage pulled by four horses coming up from Tianjie.

The team was surrounded by more than ten black-armored warriors, and the Prince of Dan was personally carrying the royal flag with the word "Dan" on it and walking in the front.

There were several people accompanying the carriage. The person who spoke was the butler with a pointed chin and monkey cheeks. Next to him was a young man in a white robe with handsome features and extraordinary demeanor.

Li Gongpu frowned when he saw the young man in white with an imposing demeanor.
"Is this person Xie Jinhuan?"

Du Mushan saw that it was the Danwang Mansion's team, so he certainly didn't dare to scold them. He ordered the team to give way and whispered:
"It should be, what should I do?"

Li Gongpu frowned and signaled with his eyes:

"You're going to get rid of him?"

"Ah?" Du Mushan's expression froze. "Mr. Li, this isn't appropriate on the street..."

"You know it's inappropriate, so why are you asking?"

Li Gongpu simply closed the car window and pretended not to see anything.

……

Hoof-tapping hoof-tapping...

The convoy passed by quickly.

Xie Jinhuan rode his horse past Li Gongpu's carriage without paying much attention to it. He just served as the landlady's personal master and paid attention to any movement on the street.

Linghu Qingmo woke up in the afternoon. She changed into a white Hezi skirt and looked like a lily bud about to bloom. She stared blankly at the two people and one bird in the carriage.

Duoduo learned something new today and was very excited. She was holding a sanxian and practicing the "Buddhist Music" tune seriously.

Princess Changning was wearing a gorgeous palace skirt. With her hands raised, she danced with Meiqiu in the spacious carriage. After half a day, her movements had become quite skillful.

Linghu Qingmo didn't know that his male companion had gone out to earn money by drinking with him at noon, nor had he seen Xie Jinhuan dancing in Wuwei Pavilion. When he saw the two of them and the bird, his heart was filled with:
What the hell is this? Am I still asleep?
Is Ling'er's leg cramping? Aren't you afraid grandma will get mad if you jump like that...

The rituals and music have collapsed, what a disgrace...

Brother Jinhuan is still steady, why don’t I go down...

……

Perhaps because he really couldn't understand, Linghu Qingmo couldn't help but push the carriage open a crack and glance outside:
"Xie Jinhuan?"

Xie Jinhuan tilted his head to take a look, and saw the Fat Head Peacock trembling, and then turned his gaze to Mo Mo:
"what happened?"

Linghu Qingmo hesitated to speak, and looked back, meaning - has Ling'er been possessed by an evil spirit?
Xie Jinhuan taught it himself, so he couldn't tease Momo, so he explained seriously:

"This is the 'Butterfly Step', a relatively rare form of dance. It looks simple, but it actually contains hidden dexterity and is very difficult to learn."

Martial arts skills...

Linghu Qingmo had only learned the Taoist 'Tian Gang Step' and didn't know there was such a thing in martial arts. He was half-believing and half-doubting:
"you sure?"

"Yeah. If you don't believe me, why don't you try practicing it?"

"..."

Seeing Xie Jinhuan so confident, Linghu Qingmo was genuinely curious. He stood up in the spacious carriage and followed Ling'er's movements, trying to jump like he had a leg cramp. It wasn't that difficult after all...

When Xie Jinhuan saw Mo Mo's bra swaying, he felt it was majestic and pleasing to the eye!
However, as a close-knit expert, it was clearly against etiquette for him to lean over the car window to peek at the young lady, so he just took a few glances and then closed the window.

Hoof-tapping hoof-tapping...

The convoy continued on like this until it gradually darkened and arrived outside the imperial palace. The city of Luojing gradually turned into a sea of ​​brilliant lights.

Princess Changning was jumping around in the carriage, but as soon as she appeared, she turned into the noble daughter of a prince. Although she had a petite figure, she showed an aura of two meters and eighty. With the court officials who respectfully made way for her on both sides, she felt like an empress.

Xie Jinhuan followed behind through the palace gate and saw the majestic and magnificent palace complex, feeling a sense of novelty in his heart.

Although he had lived in the capital for sixteen years, as the son of a mere county lieutenant, he was certainly not qualified to enter the palace. This was the first time he had come here in his life.

Thinking that one person monopolizes such a huge palace, and there are three thousand beauties in the harem waiting to be favored, one can't help but feel a little bit of "a real man should be like this".

But he does not envy the current Emperor Qian.

Emperor Qian Zhao Jin was an emperor who emerged from the "Jian'an Rebellion". His civil and military skills were not outstanding, but he also passed the passing line. He had many advantages, such as "humbly accepting advice and focusing on people's livelihood, and no major wars in twenty years".

But he also had many shortcomings. The first was that he came to power in a coup and his foundation was unstable. In order to maintain his rule, he expanded the Red Lin Guards to serve as his spies and minions, and made some compromises with the gentry. What he did during his 20 years in power was basically to weaken the power of the gentry and clean up the mess he left behind when he ascended the throne.

Secondly, he was not frugal. He built a large number of gardens and wonders, and often held banquets and entertainments.

There were some special reasons why Emperor Qian was addicted to entertainment.

Emperor Qian had no concubines, only Empress He by his side, and his only son was a son conceived when he was still a prince.

According to public information, Emperor Qian respected his wife who had shared hardships with him, so he did not take concubines or have children in order to prevent another fight for the throne.

But this is obviously unreasonable. According to the rumors that Xie Jinhuan heard, Emperor Qian must have been seriously injured in the Jian'an Rebellion, making it difficult for him to have offspring, which led to the current situation.

Men can no longer play with concubines, so they have to find other ways to entertain themselves to relieve their loneliness, so it is normal for Emperor Qian to be unthrifty.

Of course, some people also made up unofficial history, saying that Emperor Qian was fond of men and Li Gongpu gained favor by selling hooks...

Although the specific circumstances are unclear, it is a fact that Emperor Qian only respected Empress He.

Empress He's birthday was naturally a grand occasion. The banquet was held in the Linding Hall. Not only royal relatives and nobles from all over the country came to celebrate her birthday, but even envoys from allied countries outside the Great Wall came. No less than a thousand people gathered in the three halls.

Princess Changning was the emperor's niece. After arriving at the Linde Hall, she went to pay a visit to the emperor and empress together with Crown Prince Zhao De.

Xie Jinhuan was definitely not qualified to meet the emperor, so after arriving at the place, he followed Mo Mo to the banquet.

Linghu Qingmo had actually only been to the palace a few times, so to avoid being disrespectful, she didn't look around or talk nonsense along the way. She just led the way silently. However, halfway through the journey, she unexpectedly discovered a few people in the aisle outside the palace.

The leader among them was an old scholar in a green robe with a goatee. He looked kind and gentle, and was listening to the younger generation's words.

The person who spoke was Wei Lu from Xueyingling, whom he had met once before. Next to him were young talents such as Zhang Huaiyu from the Imperial College and Deng Tingzhu from the Taiyin Palace.

Xie Jinhuan saw an acquaintance and couldn't help but slow down his pace and asked in a low voice:
"Mo Mo, who is this old gentleman?"

Linghu Qingmo took a closer look and responded:
"He seems to be Fan Li, the Imperial College's chief academician, the senior disciple of the Shuangsheng Ye Temple, and Mr. Mu's senior brother. Do you want to go and say hello?"

Xie Jinhuan had been learning calligraphy from Fan Li since he was a child, and this was the first time he had seen the real person. He had originally wanted to find an opportunity to meet him and ask about the truth of the contents of "The Legend of Jinlan" so as to determine the origin of the ghost daughter-in-law. After all, this book was written by Shuangsheng Yeci, and this eldest disciple must know some inside information.

Now that they had met in the palace, Xie Jinhuan had to recognize him, so he quickly stepped forward:

"Brother Wei, Brother Zhang."

A few days ago, Wei Lu was in the Golden Tower and was completely bewitched by Xie Jinhuan. He went back and practiced the sword-collecting style for several days. When he heard the voice, his eyes lit up with joy and he quickly greeted:

"Xie brother, Linghu girl, you are here too?"

He then introduced him to the dozen or so prominent young men around him:
"This is Brother Xie Jinhuan. I won't go into detail about how powerful he is, as you must have heard of him."

The young people who were able to enter the palace to attend the banquet were not ordinary people. They were all surprised when they heard the introduction, but they were definitely not admiring. When they looked at Xie Jinhuan, their eyes were mostly full of youthful vigor and vitality, suggesting that they were not inferior to others.

Xie Jinhuan didn't pay attention to these 'competitive' looks. When he saw Wei Lu, he remembered the scene of 'Master's Wife and Senior Sister's Big White Ass'. He felt strange in his heart, but he didn't show it. He just smiled and said:

"I followed the princess here to broaden my horizons. Who is this old gentleman?"

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

"Oh?"

Xie Jinhuan quickly bowed:
"So it's Mr. Fan. My apologies. I've been copying Mr. Fan's and Ye Sheng's calligraphy since I was little, but I never imagined I'd meet him in person one day."

Fan Li had heard of Xie Jinhuan's name from Mu Yunling a long time ago. He stroked his beard and smiled:
"My nephew Xie's martial arts attainments are unmatched among his peers. I believe he copied Junior Brother Mu's swordplay since he was young. But to say he copied my calligraphy is a bit too much of a compliment."

Seeing so many famous young men, Linghu Qingmo wanted to compete with her brother Jinhuan. She took out the "Jinhuan Quotations" from her sleeve and turned to the few messages written by Xie Jinhuan:
"He has indeed copied Mr. Fan's calligraphy since he was young. The prince even praised him as 'Fan's muscles and bones'. Please take a look, sir."

(End of this chapter)