Ci Jinzhi

  Chapter 19 Secret Assistance

   "My lord, are you okay!" The two Jinlin guards immediately stepped forward to protect He Qingxiao.

   "It's okay." He Qingxiao looked up at the restaurant on the second floor, then scanned the surrounding pedestrians, and finally looked down at the broken flowerpot.

  That day, the girl's words suddenly sounded: "I see that the seal of the martyr is black, and there may be **** disasters. It is best not to walk downstairs on the street recently, so as to avoid disasters that fall from the sky."

   Yintang turned black—He Qingxiao raised his hand and pressed the center of his eyebrows.

  What he thought was absurd at the time, actually happened today.

  That girl is really proficient in physiognomy?

   While He Qingxiao was meditating, a Jinlin guard rushed into the restaurant and brought out the perpetrator.

   "My lord, it was these two **** who fought and made trouble and threw the flowerpot down!"

  He Qingxiao looked over lightly.

  The two drunken rioters recognized that it was Jin Linwei who had arrested them, sobered up and plopped on the ground begging for mercy.

  Even the shopkeeper who came out turned pale with fright, trembling and apologizing.

   "There is no need to kneel down and beg for mercy, but you almost hurt people's lives by throwing things around after drinking. To avoid making such mistakes in the future, let each person be fined ten taels of silver."

   "Ten, ten taels?" One of them was shocked.

  The shopkeeper wanted to cover the man's mouth: "Besides the king, ten taels is just a few banquets for you..."

  Is this a fool? This is Jinlinwei. If you don’t hurry up and pay some money to send the Buddha away, do you want to send yourself in?

  Another drinker responded much faster: "Yes, yes, not much at all. It is the adults who are magnanimous and don't care about us, so they only let us lose some money to grow our memory."

   As he spoke, he quickly tore off the money bag, took out two silver bills with a denomination of ten taels, and offered them with both hands.

  A Jinlin guard took the banknote and glanced at it, then handed it to He Qingxiao: "My lord."

  He Qingxiao stuffed the banknotes into her purse, walked around the broken flowerpot and walked forward.

   The two subordinates followed immediately.

  The two drinkers and the shopkeeper of the restaurant were left behind for a long time without daring to move.

  He Qingxiao was silent all the way, until he passed a deserted bookstore in front of the door, and then stopped.

   "What are your orders?"

   "Go and find out what happened to the cousin girl in Duan Shaoqing's residence in Taipu Temple."

"yes."

  He Qingxiao walked into the bookstore alone, walked to a familiar corner, picked up a travel book and started to read it.

  The man's fingers are long and slender, with well-defined joints, and they don't move when they turn them over.

  That day when Xiaolian was crying on the road, He Qingxiao had already left, so naturally he would not have any guesses, but today's encounter made him too curious about that Kou girl.

  Curiosity itself won't make him order his men to investigate a woman, but since the girl is proficient in physiognomy and can calculate that he will be injured by a falling object, why can't she calculate the startled horse?

  If physiognomy is just an excuse, how did she know what happened today?

  He Qingxiao didn't want to think about the complexities of that girl with clear eyes, but in this position, he had to be cautious.

  The two subordinates came back earlier than he expected.

   "My lord, there are many rumors about that girl in the city today. The most outrageous one is that the Shaoqing Mansion covets the wealth of the Kou girl's family and wants to kill her..." a Jinlin guard said what he had heard.

  Another Jin Linwei added: "In addition to this cousin girl, there is also a cousin girl who occasionally goes to Shaoqing Mansion for a short stay. That girl's surname is Qiao—"

  He Qingxiao interrupted his subordinate lightly: "There is no need to say anything else."

  The two Jinlin Guards looked at each other, and they guessed correctly, what your lord wants to know is the cousin girl who is deeply involved in the whirlpool of public opinion.

  He Qingxiao pondered for a moment, then ordered: "Go and check Duan Shaoqing's whereabouts."

   It’s past the time to go to the public office, and the officials either go home at this time, or go to drink and socialize.

  Duan Shaoqing is the latter.

   It was this entertainment that made him feel that something was wrong.

  It is a restaurant that I often come to, and the owner of the restaurant is also familiar with the waiter. Why does the waiter who serves the food look at him strangely?

   There was another wave of people eating wine when they came in. They looked familiar, and they seemed to be from Honglu Temple. I don’t know if it was an illusion, but those people always took aim at him.

  Duan Shaoqing was suspicious in his heart, but kept his face calm. He found an excuse to go conveniently and ordered the chief follower to go out and inquire.

   After drinking for three rounds, the long follower came back.

   Duan Shaoqing knew it was not good when he saw Chang Sui's expression, so he took the initiative to end the drinking session.

  The sky was already dark, Chang Sui walked ahead with a lantern in hand, Duan Shaoqing was slightly behind, and asked in a low voice: "Is there something wrong?"

  Chang Sui slowed down his pace: "Master, I just heard some rumors about our Shaoqing Mansion..."

  After listening to Chang Sui, Duan Shaoqing's face was ashen, and he said angrily: "A pack of nonsense! These people—"

  The following words came to an abrupt end, Duan Shaoqing looked at the man in Zhu Yi who was gradually approaching, and stopped unconsciously.

  The man in red clothes walked up to him, with a fair face and delicate eyebrows, even if he met someone he had seen often, he still couldn't help but sigh in his heart about the injustice of creation.

  The newly appointed Jinlinwei Zhenfu envoy is not only famous for his embarrassing life experience, but also for his appearance.

   "Master He." The sudden appearance of He Qingxiao made Duan Shaoqing's heart beat, but he didn't dare to offend, so he took the initiative to say hello.

  He Qingxiao did not say hello and walked over as Duan Shaoqing secretly expected, but stopped: "Master Duan, I wonder what happened to Miss Kou?"

  Duan Shaoqing's eyes widened, and he stared at the other party in astonishment.

  Jinlinwei Zhen Fu envoy inquired about his niece?

What does it mean? Could it be that He Qingxiao heard about those rumors and used this to trouble him?

  Duan Shaoqing's mind was spinning rapidly, but he couldn't think of anything to offend the governor, and then his heart sank.

  Jin Linwei really wanted to trouble someone, so why offend him.

   "Master He—" Duan Shaoqing spoke after considering it.

  He Qingxiao explained at this time: "When I went out to do errands that day, I encountered a frightened horse on the road. After stopping the frightened horse, I realized that the person in the carriage was Ling's niece. I ran into Mr. Duan today, so I'll ask."

"So it was Mr. He who saved my niece." Duan Shaoqing bowed deeply, his face full of shame, "I only knew that my niece was saved by a righteous man who passed by on horseback so she was safe, but I didn't know it was Mr. He. It's really rude. I will come to thank you tomorrow."

   "It's a little effort, Mr. Duan, you don't have to be polite, as long as Miss Kou is safe and sound." He Qingxiao cupped his hands, "Master Duan, do as you please."

   "Master He is good to go." Duan Shaoqing cupped his hands in return.

  Jin Linwei, who was following He Qingxiao, turned his head to look at Duan Shaoqing, who was maintaining a posture of returning the salute, feeling curious.

  My lord, is this intentional to help that Kou girl?

  With the words of your lord, if the Shaoqing government really harbored evil intentions towards Miss Kou as rumored, it would be honest.

   I don’t know what that Kou girl looks like?

   Duan Shaoqing, who stayed where he was, didn't slowly put down his hand until Chang Sui reminded him.

  (end of this chapter)