Chapter 55: Secret Struggle

  Xiao Zhiqing inquired about the origin of the mud wax, and Min An originally told him about his search for evidence at the Luangang Hill. He stated that he had narrowed down the source of the mud wax to a certain area on Nan Street, and asked Xiao Zhiqing to quickly dispatch someone there. Xiao Zhiqing dropped the fire sign and ordered the yamen runners to send hunting dogs on an errand. To be cautious, she also summoned the sword-bearing guards to follow along, commanding them to capture the suspects on the spot, and if they encountered resistance, to execute them immediately.

  Min An gazed intently at Xiao Zhi's actions, increasingly admiring her bold methods. He thought to himself that to sit in a fourth-rank official position, one indeed needed some courage. He retreated to the outside of the warm pavilion, obtained some leisure time, and stared unblinkingly at her, when suddenly Nai Yi, sitting opposite him, lightly cleared his throat, drawing Min An's attention over.

  Min An Chao stepped up to the high platform, bowed his head and paid his respects. After completing the formalities, he quickly walked to the back of Fei Yi's chair and asked, "What's wrong?" He was mindful that the King of Chu Nan was still in the public hall, so he stood at a distance that conformed to etiquette, and then spoke with Fei Yi.

  Fei Yi slightly turned his body and said: "The king has just taken a good look at you, if he wants to ask you questions later, be more cautious with your words."

  "I see." Min An replied extremely quickly, his heart slightly surprised. Why did both princes mention that he should be careful in dealing with the King of Chunan before one night had even passed? Was the King of Chunan really that frightening? He quietly raised his head to glance sideways and happened to meet a pair of autumn frost-like eyes. The person only swept a glance over him before looking away, gazing at Peng Yinxin who was silently standing by. That gaze was extremely cold, treating him and Peng Yinxin as if they were no different, just like a god looking down on the mortal world.

  Min An's heart was even more astonished, and he couldn't help but lower his head to look at himself, wondering what had caused Chu Nan Wang's dislike. Fei Yi spoke in a low voice again: "When I returned to Changping Fu those few days, there were rumors circulating from the Crown Prince's residence that the king had already found out about the inn taking you in... and also those bad reputations."

  He didn't finish speaking, but Min An still understood. He thought to himself that the King of Chunan must have heard rumors about Tu'er Ye before arriving in Qingyuan County, no wonder he looked down on him. It's probably because nothing like this has ever happened in their royal family... Min An was sweating at the thought, and suddenly felt regretful of his own shabby clothes, which made him lose face as a subject in front of the King of Chunan.

  Min An's heart was racing, and she heard Fei Yi say "I'll take you to wash up later", and she nodded hastily. At this time, Xiao Zhi ordered the withdrawal of the hall, and respectfully invited Li Peinan to rest in the inner courtyard. Li Peinan walked towards the second hall without saying a word, and didn't even greet Fei Yi. Fei Yi bowed to her father's back, looked at Min An and said "Let's go".

  Xiao Xiaoyi stepped forward and said loudly in front of the public case: "Please, young master, lend me a word."

  Fei Yi saw the situation and sat down again, while Min An walked to the front of the desk to listen for orders. Xiao Zhiqing looked at Min An with a pair of bright eyes, smiled slightly and said: "Just now, young master was staring at me, but are you satisfied?"

  Min An's face turned red as he said: "I was momentarily careless and offended Lord Xiao, I hope Lord Xiao will forgive me."

  Xiao Zhiqing sat up straight, looking down at Min An from a high position, and said calmly: "Let me remind you of one thing, Young Master. If you continue to look at people with such disdain in the future, forgetting your manners, it's likely that others will see it and tarnish the reputation of the Duke's Manor."

  Min Anxiu's face turned bright red, and he bowed his head, saying, "Lord Xiao is right to teach me." In his heart, he thought that next time he saw her, he really needed to pay attention to the occasion. Even if she was Xiao Bao'er's sister, he couldn't let himself have any improper thoughts of getting close to her. He stood with his head bowed, a section of his white neck exposed outside his robes, several strands of black hair slipping out from under his hat and falling onto his slender shoulders. Added to this, his pose of not speaking for a long time gave people the feeling that he was enduring humiliation while listening to a lecture.

  Xiao Zhiqing saw the gaze of Fei Yi and smiled, deciding to solve the trouble in front of her. She knocked on the table, causing Min An to look up, and said: "Just now when I sent the yamen to search for Mud Wax's whereabouts, Peng Da Ren's face was very calm, it can be seen that he already knew we couldn't find anyone. Do you have any other ideas?"

  Min An's attention finally returned to the case. He thought for a moment and replied, "If we can't catch the suspect, we can't accuse Lord Peng; if we can't accuse Lord Peng, we have to let him go back to the palace. Why not buy off one of his trusted followers and have him follow Lord Peng all the way? This time, things didn't work out, and Lord Peng must be anxious. Later on, he might still want to find that suspect to discuss things. If Your Excellency gives him a bit more freedom, he will eventually reveal his true intentions."

  Xiao Zhi hesitated: "This method may be feasible, I'll discuss it with the prince." As Li Jingzhuo's confidant and the left arm of the crown prince's mansion, she naturally knew about the series of cases that had occurred in Qingyuan Town before. She and Min An could both guess that Peng Yin Xinquan, who had just come out of the palace, did not have time to personally carry out the murder, and there must be someone behind him directing everything, making arrangements from behind the scenes. No matter who this person was, they were bound to be connected to the account book and the Chu State corruption case. If they linked it to the disappearance of Zhu Jiazhai's military advisor, they could even conclude that it was someone from Zhu Jiazhai who was secretly causing trouble, only that person had hidden deeply and had not been caught in the act yet.

  Before Xiao Zhiqing left the public hall, she revealed a message to Min An, which made Min An's mind flutter and couldn't be put down. She said seemingly unintentionally: "Bao'er is in my inner courtyard, but every day he follows Wu Mei out to play and have fun, without thinking about returning. If you see her, help me persuade her. A girl can't ignore her reputation, just following a scholar around outside, not even listening to her sister's words?"

  Min was stunned, standing in front of the desk for half a day without being able to say a word, only thinking in his heart: Could Bao'er have fallen in love with Wu Mei? That rascal Wu Mei, taking advantage of my absence from Bao'er's side, actually dug a hole under my wall.

  Of course, he understood that digging the wall was referring to the fact that his thoughts of living next door to Bao'er's house had been cut off, and Wu Mei had taken the lead. After all, if Bao'er liked Wu Mei, he wouldn't be able to go to her doorstep every day, making the young couple dislike him. He stood up, scratching his red ears, still feeling a bit resentful in his heart, as if a treasured object he had liked for a long time had been taken away from him, or like corn being snatched away, leaving him with an itchy and uneasy feeling.

  Fei Yi walked over and asked, "What did Xiao Zhiqin say to you?" Min An cried with a sad face: "Bao'er has fallen in love with someone else." Fei Yi looked down at him with a smile, his raised mouth corners unable to fall for half a day. He pushed him towards the bathroom, urging him to wash up.

  The hot water was already prepared in the government office, and Fei Yi said outside the door: "I'll keep watch for you, there's a set of clean clothes on the table, hurry up." Min An didn't decline either, jumped into the bathtub to quickly wash himself, combed his long hair with a tooth comb, applied some tea flower hair cream, tied his hair into a bun and stuffed it into a cloth hat. He sat in the bathtub and took a glance at his reflection in the water, seeing that he also had a white and neat face, only then did he feel a bit more confident, thinking that when he met Chu Nan Wang, Xiao Zhiqing and other high-ranking officials later, he wouldn't appear so disheveled, and could still show some Confucian elegance.

  Min An put on the clothes that Shu Yi had prepared for him every year and walked out of the door, carrying a refreshing air after bathing. He fumbled with the silk ribbon at his waist, intending to tie a knot, when Fei Yi saw him and said: "Is your hand injury serious? I'll help you." Min An hastily retreated a step and replied: "I can do it myself, after we arrive at Changping Prefecture, I will ask Master to apply medicine for me." Fei Yi held him down and calmly said: "I have already ordered the guards to prepare the medicinal paste, there's no need to rush, let me first apply a dose for you."

  Fei Yi blocked the entrance of the government office, not letting him pass, with a faint expression on his face, making Min An very embarrassed. Min An remembered his master's teachings, that whether it was a man or a woman, one should never easily show their body to outsiders, not even an arm. Just as he and Fei Yi were at a standoff, the guard came over to deliver a message: "The prince requests your presence in the flower hall."

  "Leave now, I know. " Fei dismissed the guards, not at all anxious, still standing at the door looking at Min An, lightly saying, "I have plenty of time."

  Min An reluctantly walked back to the house, rolled up his sleeves and tied them tightly with a belt to ensure that not an inch of skin was exposed. He then called out for Fei Yi to enter. Fei Yi opened the medicine box, took out the hot poultice and carefully applied it to Min An's arm. Min An bit his lip to endure the pain, looking away from his arm as Fei Yi tried to distract him by asking, "Who is Xuan Xu?"

  "Min An hummed and spat out air: 'How can you still remember him?'"

  "Someone you're concerned about, I naturally want to ask more questions."

  Min suddenly thought of Xiao Bao'er, who had been on his mind earlier, and his expression turned gloomy. He muttered to himself: "What's the use of remembering? Even if you remember, when you start thinking about someone else, aren't you still happy?"

  Fei Yi smiled: "Can't bear to part with someone else? Then you don't have to think about him anymore, turn your head and take a look, maybe the person beside you is even better."

  Min An shook his head listlessly: "Xuan Xu is different... Don't even ask about Fei Yi, I don't want to talk."

  He clenched his teeth and swallowed the name "Xuan Xu" into his belly, thinking to himself that even if he turned the entire Qingquan County upside down, he would still want to find out what made Min An so infatuated with him, to the point of changing the subject twice. After making up his mind, he continued to do his work as usual, without revealing any unusual behavior or expression.

  Min An sat at the table with a worried look, thinking about Old Master Bi's unjust death, Xiao Bao'er's "transfer of affection", the rumors of his own indecent reputation spreading in the Crown Prince's mansion, and when he would see Xuan Xu again, among other trivial matters, and for a moment, he didn't feel like speaking.

  They stayed in the official residence to quietly nurse their wounds, but didn't know that they had already caused Li Jingzhuo, who was waiting in the flower hall, to become impatient.

  Two quarters of an hour ago, Li Jingzhuo got up and walked towards the second courtyard, deliberately choosing a quiet flower hall to rest. Li Peinan was right next door, with a leopard crouching at his feet, more calm than him. After drinking a cup of tea, he saw that Li Peinan still didn't intend to come and pay his respects to this king, so he simply got up, kicked open the door next door, and walked in with a cold face to question: "What kind of etiquette is this, actually making your father come see you?"

  Li Peinan stood up slowly and bowed, then sat back in his chair, saying: "Bring tea for the king."

  The guard walked in and served hot tea, then whispered to Li Peinan: "The second young master took the little wife to the government office for a bath."

  Li Peinan nodded and thought to himself that it was a good thing he had done something right for once. He instructed, "Go and hurry them up."

  Li Jingzhuo said coldly: "What can he do? He is more likely to spoil things than accomplish them!"

  Li Peinan turned to look at Li Jingzhuo: "This matter has nothing to do with him, he is also implicated, the king's mouth should be more secure, don't let outsiders see the joke."

  Li Jingzhuo's face turned even colder: "From young to old, I've only heard you speaking well of him. Has he made any progress?"

  Li Peinan sneered: "If even his father can't make progress, how can I expect him to?"

  Li Jingzhuo said in a low voice: "Is this the attitude you use when speaking to your father?"

  "The sound is too loud and woke up my leopard."

  Li Jingzhuo picked up a cup of tea and threw it at the leopard, which had just been startled awake. The leopard was caught off guard by the sudden hot tea pouring down on it, and it got completely drenched. It immediately arched its back, let out a low growl, and prepared to counterattack. Li Jingzhuo had anticipated this and quickly flipped his sleeve, sweeping his palm across the cup of tea in front of Li Peinan. He picked up the cup again and heavily slammed it onto the leopard's head. Li Peinan swiftly caught the hot tea, whistled softly, and held off the leopard before gently putting down the teacup.

  All this was done in a flash, Li Jingzhuo's martial arts were not to be underestimated, and Li Peinan's response was timely. Li Peinan had originally wanted to anger his father again, but thinking twice, his father's cold temper usually targeted the people around him and his family pets, if he angered his father again, the next punishment would fall on Min An's head, which wouldn't be good.

  Li Peinan thus collected his demeanor and said calmly: "If Father King wants to vent his anger on me, I'll take it all, just don't touch the people around me."

  Li Jingzhuo gazed coldly at Li Peinan: "Do you really think your wings are hard enough that I can't do anything to you?"

  Li Peinan smiled faintly and stopped responding. At this time, Xiao Zhiqin walked in with a solemn expression and bowed to them.

  Li Jingzhuo sat upright as before and said with a slight wave of his sleeve: "No need for formalities, sit down."

  Xiao Zhiqin retreated to the chair beside Li Peinan and said respectfully: "In front of the king and the prince, I am not qualified to sit upright. I feel extremely honored that I can enter this room and listen to your teachings."

  Li Jingzhuo couldn't help but say to Li Peinan: "Among the people around you, Zhiqing is the most understanding and sensible. You should learn from him too."

  Li Peinan leaned back in his chair with his hand supporting his chin, and replied indifferently: "If the king can make progress, I naturally can too. Let's start from the king."

  At this time, with a third person present, Li Jingzhuo's demeanor was different. He looked at Xiao Zhi and said coldly: "The Min An in the Hangguan is after Min Chang, you bring him into the government office to train, let him be an apprentice official."

  Xiao Zhiqing stood behind the chair and bowed: "Yes, sir."

  Li Peinan said calmly: "Min An has to go to the Young Master's mansion for martial arts training, nowhere else can he go."

  Li Jingzhuo pretended not to hear and only said to Xiao Zhi: "Please don't move, I'll send an officer to invite him. If he still doesn't move, I'll dispatch the Imperial Guard for you."

  Xiao Zhixin became even more respectful: "I promise."

  Li Peinan finally diverted his attention to look at his father, the king. Li Jingzhuo's face was cold and stern, with his eyebrows furrowed tightly, like an arrow that had been drawn back for a long time, ready to be released. Li Peinan knew he was controlling his temper, and couldn't afford to be lightly provoked. If one word went wrong, it would inevitably lead to another round of the same old thing - even if he himself avoided the western border, his father would still send envoys over to read out imperial decrees, bestow gifts, and lavish praise, making him unable to have a comfortable day for half a month. What's more, this king of his would seize the leopard and tiger slaves in the crown prince's mansion and interrogate them, resulting in the subsequent neglect of the precious pets, which would even lead to the death of two of them.

  Li Peinan thought for a moment and decided to keep Min An at a distance, best not to let him fall into the eyes of his father. He called the guard to clean up the tea cup fragments on the ground, and then continued from where he left off earlier, saying that Xiao Zhi was a clever person, immediately stood out and brought up another matter, saying that the case of Bi Si Na would definitely not be able to pursue responsibility with Peng Yin Xiu, it's better to let Peng Yin Xiu return to the palace. She originally wanted to make it clear that this was Min An's idea, seeing Li Jingzhuo's face was not good, she endured and did not continue speaking.

  When the guards were sweeping up the pieces, Li Peinan asked: "Where is the man?"

  The guard said in a low voice: "Give medicine to the young master."

  Li Peinan could no longer care about anything, got up and walked out of the flower hall. Li Jingzhuo followed behind and asked the guard for the reason. The guard did not dare to hide it and briefly told him about the matter of Fei Tuyi changing the medicine for An.

  Li Jingzhuo's face was cold and he didn't say anything, but in his heart, a subtle disgust arose, and he also thought of the phrase "birds of a feather flock together", without considering whether it was suitable or not.

  Xiao Zhiqin's gaze followed Li Peinan's lithe back as he walked out, and after suppressing a hint of bitterness, she slowly turned back into the flower hall. Li Jingzhuo seemed to understand her intentions, and said coldly: "A small child is nothing, as long as you're willing to put in the effort, the position of mistress of the Shizi manor will be yours."

  Xiao Zhiqin said in a low voice: "Thank you, Your Highness. I will definitely do my best." His eyes involuntarily shone with light.

  Li Peinan walked hastily towards the government office, with the guards following behind him unable to keep up. His footsteps were a bit heavy, and the noise was transmitted into the ears of Fei Yi inside the house. Fei Yi remained unmoved, carefully examining the scars on Min An's white arm, which had been cut by rough wooden boards, and deliberately wrapped them with cloth on medicinal wooden boards, and then carefully dressed them again.

  When Li Peinan kicked the door and walked in, Min An, who was preoccupied with his thoughts, slightly shifted his attention. He saw that Li Peinan's gaze kept falling on his arm, his face seemed a bit cold, and he didn't know what had happened, so he wanted to hastily get up. Fei Yi pressed his shoulder, indicating for him to sit down, and said without lifting his head: "You're thinking of coming now, where did you go before? And were you busy teaching Lord Xiao hand in hand that you didn't have time to leave?"

  Li Peinan said coldly: "Father Wang is waiting for you."

  "Having the young master by my side is enough. Min An's injury is not light, he is the most important one." He said this while gesturing to Min An to hold his arm, waiting for him to bring over a cloth strip to secure the splint.

  Li Peinan didn't respond, and with a flick of his sleeve, he slapped the table, causing it to jump up and separate the two people sitting on either side. He used force in his hand, and Min'an, who had a weak foundation, was about to fly out, but he was prepared and quickly slid over to grab onto Min'an's waist with his left arm, careful not to touch his injured arm. Min'an couldn't get a word in edgewise and didn't know what Non Yi was mocking the young master about, but when he finally managed to dodge the attack and clear his head, he found himself in Li Peinan's arms. He tried to struggle free, but Li Peinan's arm held him firmly in place, while he coldly stared at Non Yi with an air of being in control of everything.

  Fei Yi's face turned cold, and she chopped her palm towards Li Peinan. Min An shouted, "Young Master, don't move!" Li Peinan turned around and shielded Min An with his chest, still not relaxing his grip. At the same time, he kicked out a foot, shattering the wooden table into fragments that flew towards Fei Yi like flying daggers. Fei Yi rolled up her sleeves and absorbed all the shattered wood, her figure flashing as she counterattacked with a palm wind that struck Li Peinan's right arm. To avoid Min An getting hurt, Li Peinan endured the blow. Seeing Min An's pale face in his arms, Fei Yi's heart softened, and she relaxed her stance, withdrawing her hand.

  Li Peinan released Min An and said in a low voice, "Step aside." He had just received half of Fei Yi's palm strength and his pale face had not yet recovered. His mouth twitched, and he spat out a mouthful of blood without leaving any marks. Although Min An did not understand why the two young masters suddenly started fighting, the consequences of their mutual defeat were predictable. Therefore, he took advantage of the situation to wrap his arms around Li Peinan's waist with one hand and stood behind him, shouting, "Fei Yi, leave! The young master is already being held back by me!"

  Fei Yi looked at Li Peinan's unyielding eyes and coldly said, "For his sake, I'll swallow this anger for now." After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked out of the county government office, jumped onto the top of the gate tower, puckered up his lips and whistled.

  In an instant, dozens of dark guards wearing black clothes rushed from the county government street in the distance and knelt down under the gate.

  Fei Yi Xia Ling Dao: "Turn over Qingquan County and find a dentist named Xuan Xu."

  The author has something to say: Thank you for supporting v chapters, dear readers!

  Thank you for Ava's shallow water bomb (*^__^*)

  Thank you very much, reader No. 15549918mm Deepwater Torpedo (*^__^*)

  Kowtowing in gratitude, good water threw a landmine

  After the rain comes fair weather threw an landmine

  threw a rocket launcher

  threw a landmine