Traveling through various miniature worlds with a small restaurant

Upon hearing that Wan Chou was dead, Xiao Qi was taken aback, then looked sharply at Su Hezhou: "Is this matter confirmed?"

Su Hezhou nodded solemnly: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely true."

Xiao Qi's brows furrowed slightly: "How did he die?"

"Your Majesty, Wan Chou is unharmed, except for a small hole in his head with traces of gunpowder."

Su Hezhou looked up at Xiao Qi and said, "The marks are exactly the same as the marks that Miss Jiang made on the assassin this morning."

Xiao Qi leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

The death of an insignificant person is not a big deal, but the woman named Jiang Shuang is quite decisive and ruthless, and is a formidable character.

Xiao Qi's gaze was deep as he said in a deep voice, "This Jiang Shuang actually has some courage and ability; I underestimated her."

At this moment, a young eunuch rushed in to report: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Cao requests an audience."

Xiao Qi frowned slightly: "Summon."

After entering, Eunuch Cao knelt down and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this old servant has important matters to report."

After all, he was a servant who had once served him, so Xiao Qi was willing to give him some face.

Moreover, he guessed that Cao Qianxiang's visit was most likely related to his deceased godson.

Xiao Qi was curious to know whether Cao Qianxiang had come to apologize or what.

Eunuch Cao's eyes were a little red, but he spoke with righteous indignation: "Your Majesty, this old servant wants to report that the Imperial Guard is suspected of illegally possessing gunpowder and secretly developing firearms."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell into an eerie silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Su Hezhou stood to the side, eyes downcast, not uttering a sound.

Xiao Qi glanced at Su Hezhou, then asked, "What proof do you have?"

Eunuch Cao pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped away tears from the corners of his eyes: "To be honest, Your Majesty, after becoming a eunuch, I deeply felt that I had no sons and would be lonely in my old age, so I adopted a godson to bring me joy. However, a few days ago, my good-for-nothing son got into a conflict with the owner of a small shop. The shop owner actually had a weapon with gunpowder and injured my son's men. Today..."

Eunuch Cao gasped, then stammered, "This afternoon, my godson suddenly died. The wounds on his body are exactly the same as those on his men. It's obvious that the shop owner used a firearm. But the shop owner was just two ordinary women in their early twenties; how could they possibly have gotten their hands on gunpowder? I heard that the Minister of Works of the Imperial Guard spoke favorably of the shop owner."

Then he looked up at Su Hezhou and said, "Even Lord Su has been to that little shop a few times."

Then he bowed deeply and knelt down, pleading, "Your Majesty, please thoroughly investigate the Imperial Guard Bureau, arrest the murderer, and give my son justice."

Eunuch Cao was absolutely certain about this.

His men sent word early in the morning that Su Hezhou and Sikong Zhenyue, along with one of the women, had secretly gone outside the city to test the firearm.

The Imperial Guard has always been arrogant and never accepted his attempts to curry favor, which he has always hated.

Even if we can't kill Su Hezhou and Sikong Zhenyue this time, we'll make them suffer.

Su Hezhou glanced at the old eunuch kneeling on the ground out of the corner of his eye, inwardly cursing his stupidity.

Even if the Emperor didn't know what had happened, the Imperial Guard is directly under the Emperor's jurisdiction. How many guts would you, old man, have to interfere with the Imperial Guard?

It's only because the emperor still cherished old friendships that you were beheaded.

Xiao Qi looked at Eunuch Cao with a somewhat cold expression: "Cao Qianxiang, I am already aware of this matter. You may leave now. I will make my own judgment on the matter of the Imperial Guard."

Eunuch Cao was taken aback upon hearing this. Shouldn't the Emperor be furious and issue an order to thoroughly investigate the Imperial Guard?

But the thing that got him to this position is his greatest skill: reading people's expressions and moods.

Although he had some doubts, Eunuch Cao accepted the imperial decree, expressed his gratitude, and left the main hall.

Before leaving, she secretly glared at Su Hezhou.

After Eunuch Cao left, Xiao Qi suddenly fell into deep thought, and the hall fell silent.

A moment later, Xiao Qi came to his senses and glanced at Su Hezhou, who was standing upright to the side.

He said with a smile, "Minister Su, you don't even bother to defend yourself."

Su Hezhou bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise. The Imperial Guard originally belonged to Your Majesty. Everything I have comes from Your Majesty. I believe Your Majesty has a clear understanding of my character and there is no need for me to say more. Moreover, I have acted uprightly and have a clear conscience."

Xiao Qi was very satisfied with Su Hezhou's obedience and respect.

He smiled and sighed, "This Cao Qianxiang is old and his mind is muddled. He has just lost his son and I'm afraid he doesn't have the energy to manage the trivial matters in the palace. Let him leave the palace and live out his days in the garden. It will be a way to honor his loyalty."

With a single sentence, Cao Gonggong was dismissed from his position as Grand Eunuch and banished from the palace.

Then, changing the subject, he added, "However, there's some truth to what that old man said. Gunpowder isn't something ordinary people can easily obtain. How did two women who are completely defenseless manage to get their hands on it?"

Su Hezhou replied, "Your Majesty, I heard from the surrounding merchants that the shop seemed to appear out of thin air in the capital a few days ago. It opened suddenly, and no one knows its origins or background. Not even anyone in the martial arts world recognizes them."

Xiao Qi pondered for a moment, then waved his hand: "Alright, let's just go ahead and exchange it according to their request."

Let's get the weapon first, and then we'll talk about what happens after we get it...

Previously, Xiao Qi had given Su Hezhou about seven or eight Heaven-level martial arts manuals, which was only enough to exchange for a pistol.

To acquire all the guns in Jiang Shuang's possession, 250 Heaven-level martial arts manuals are needed.

But the entire palace only had seventy-five Heavenly-level secret manuals.

However, there were quite a few Earth-level and Profound-level martial arts manuals. Xiao Qi asked Su Hezhou to leave the palace and talk to Lin Xiaoqian and the other woman about the price of the Earth-level and Profound-level martial arts manuals, hoping to exchange all the guns they had for them.

When Su Hezhou arrived at Lin Xiaoqian's shop, the braised meat that had been simmering all afternoon had just come out of the pot, and the whole house was filled with the aroma of braised meat.

Su Hezhou took a deep breath, composed himself, and said, "Miss Lin, Miss Jiang, I'm here to bother you again."

Lin Xiaoqian greeted him with a smile, "Lord Su, you've come at the perfect time. Would you like a bowl of braised pork trotter rice? The braised pork is fresh out of the pot and still hot."

Night had fallen outside, and Jiang Shuang observed Su Hezhou's arrival with wariness in her eyes.

Su Hezhou twitched the corner of his mouth: "Then one is fine."

I've been to this shop three times in one day, and I've only managed to grab a few snacks to fill my stomach. I haven't had a proper meal all day, but now that the food is right in front of me, I have to sit down and have a proper meal.

Lin Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Okay."

Then he said to Jiang Shuang, "Sister Shuang, let's give one to the old man on the street corner too."

Since yesterday, the old beggar has refused to come into the shop to eat, so Lin Xiaoqian has been taking the initiative to deliver braised pork trotters rice to him.