Ping Zhao Lu

"...You and I were destined to be together in our previous lives. Our first encounter was unforgettable. The words are short, but the meaning is long and lingering..."

On the three-foot-high tower, stringed instruments and pipes interweave and the singing is melodious.

The woman has a rosy face and rosy cheeks, and her sleeves dance like smoke and mist. With her clear, graceful and soulful voice, she interprets the fickleness of life, the joys and sorrows of life.

Her moving singing voice, full of tears, resentment and longing, moved the audience in the audience.

Tears welled up in the eyes of many people, and they couldn't help but clap and cheer along with the rhythm. For a moment, the applause sounded like thunder, resounding throughout the theater.

In an elegant private room on the second floor, Xu Zhouye and Zhuang Yan sat opposite each other, enjoying fine wine and delicious food while chatting leisurely.

The sound of opera coming from outside the door was clear, loud, and melodious, like the sound of nature. The two of them were unconsciously attracted by the wonderful opera and gradually became intoxicated by it.

Xu Zhouye closed his eyes and listened, unconsciously humming along with the actor: "You laugh at me, a prostitute, for being low-class, and I laugh at those scholars for being frivolous..."

Zhuang Yan, who was standing by, was listening intently. He couldn't help but applaud the outstanding actor, praising him repeatedly, "Wonderful! It's truly wonderful!"

As he said this, he stood up excitedly, wanting to open the door of this private room so as to catch a glimpse of the beautiful face of this actress.

However, at this moment, the person outside the door was one step faster than him and pushed the door open suddenly.

Xu Zhouye and Zhuang Yan were stunned for a moment.

The man was dressed in a purple brocade robe and a black gauze hat. He had a serious and rigid face and was stern. He gave people a sense of awe without anger, and there was murderous intent between his brows.

"why you!"

Shang Jiu looked displeased.

Zhuang Yan was startled, as if he had seen some monstrous beast. He turned away with a complicated expression and muttered softly, "I was just about to ask! Why is he here? Is he here specifically to make sure I'm doing my job properly?"

Shang Jiu ignored his little trick and said expressionlessly, "The thief you lost track of a few days ago has now disguised himself and broken into Fangfei Pavilion. Since you have nothing important to do right now, come with me to apprehend that thief."

Hearing this, Zhuang Yan's eyes widened, turned around and retorted angrily: "Who said I'm fine! Didn't you, sir, ask your subordinates to pay attention to the behavior of certain officials here! Besides, look, there are people here waiting for me to accompany them!" As he said that, he turned his head abruptly and gestured in the direction behind him.

Upon hearing this, Shang Jiu looked in the direction Zhuang Yan pointed, and saw a man sitting by the window. He was wearing a white veil hat, and his face could not be seen clearly.

Xu Zhouye slowly turned his head and looked at him through the curtain.

At this moment, Shang Jiu seemed like a different person.

His eyelids drooped slightly, and he didn't dare to look directly at Xu Zhouye. Even when he spoke to Zhuang Yan, his tone unconsciously became more respectful: "In that case, then you can stay here."

Seeing this scene, Zhuang Yan was so surprised that his eyes almost popped out.

You know, he had always been submissive and humble in front of Shang Jiu in the past, so why was the situation completely reversed today? Please, the person in front of him was his immediate superior - the Minister of Justice!

However, Shang Jiu ignored Zhuang Yan's astonishment and just nodded slightly to Xu Zhouye. Then he left the room at a very fast speed and carefully closed the door gently.

Zhuang Yan realized it belatedly, "Could he...have discovered your identity?"

Xu Zhouye remained silent, but changed the subject by asking, "What kind of thief is this? He needs the Imperial Court to personally arrest him?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yan folded his arms, curled his lips, and said, "Humph, he's mocking me for not being able to do my job well!"

A few days ago, the originally peaceful and harmonious city was suddenly in turmoil when a thief with mysterious whereabouts appeared.

What is incredible is that the thief had no interest in gold, silver and treasures. Instead, he set his sights on all kinds of medicinal herbs, no matter whether they were priceless precious herbs or common herbs that could be found everywhere.

In just a few days, dozens of drugstores had fallen victim to the attacks, suffering heavy losses.

The Supreme Court attached great importance to this matter and immediately sent Junior Justice Zhuang Yan to capture the thief.

After receiving the order, Zhuang Yan did not dare to delay at all and immediately led his men to investigate and track down.

After several days of hard work, we finally found some clues.

So he made careful plans and arranged for his men to set up an ambush at a suspicious location, ready to catch the turtle in the jar.

However, the development of things far exceeded Zhuang Yan's expectations.

When they thought they had victory, the thief appeared like a ghost and displayed amazing martial arts skills.

His figure was erratic and his moves were fierce and brutal. In a blink of an eye, many of Zhuang Yan's men fell to the ground.

What is even more surprising is that although the thief's attack seemed fierce, he actually did not harm anyone's life. It was obvious that he just wanted to escape from the pursuit.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhuang Yan personally went into battle to give chase, but no matter how hard he tried, he always kept a distance from the thief, and in the end he could only watch the other party disappear without a trace.

In desperation, Zhuang Yan had to return to the Court of Justice to report to his superiors with a feeling of resentment and frustration.

As expected, Shang Jiu, who had been waiting for a long time, saw Zhuang Yan return empty-handed. His face suddenly darkened and he mercilessly mocked him: "With your limited ability, how did you climb to the position of Junior Minister of the Court of Justice? It's really shameful!"

Facing Shang Jiu's rebuke, Zhuang Yan was furious, but he knew that he had failed in this mission and was in the wrong first. So he could only suppress his anger and bow his head to admit his guilt, saying, "My subordinates failed to perform their duties well, which led to the escape of the thieves. Please punish me severely!"

Shang Jiu stared at Zhuang Yan coldly. After a moment's silence, he said coldly, "Go and fill all the water tanks in the yard with water. You won't be allowed to eat until you finish!"

Hearing this, Zhuang Yan was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but on the surface he still responded respectfully: "Yes, I will follow your orders!" After that, he turned and walked towards the yard, secretly swearing in his heart that if he had the chance to meet that hateful thief again, he would definitely catch him and avenge today's shame.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Yan clenched his fists.

"What's wrong with you?" Xu Zhouye, who was standing by, noticed something was wrong with Zhuang Yan and asked with concern.

Zhuang Yan suddenly came back to his senses, took a deep breath and said, "Nothing."

His eyes suddenly became extremely firm, flashing with a gleam of determination, and he gritted his teeth and said, "That bastard actually dared to fall into my trap today. Humph! I will teach him a lesson today. I will not stop until I catch him!" After saying that, he exuded a fierce aura.

Seeing this, Xu Zhouye couldn't help but smile lightly, everything was said without words.

He naturally understood what Zhuang Yan was thinking at the moment. He must be competing with his boss.

Xu Zhouye picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip leisurely, then slowly put it down, looking at Zhuang Yan with a smile.

"Then you have to move quickly. If Shang Tingwei catches that bastard before you..." Before Xu Zhouye finished his words, Zhuang Yan didn't hesitate at all. He flashed and rushed out of the door as fast as an arrow.

His movements were clean and quick, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only a gust of wind echoing in the room.

Xu Zhouye looked at the direction where Zhuang Yan left, shook his head helplessly, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.