wait a minute

Chapter 437

In the early morning, on the streets paved with blue bricks, from time to time, carriages hanging with the brands of various schools drove into the white stone archway of the Imperial College under the escort of their entourage.

As the highest institution of higher education in the Northern Liang Dynasty, the students studying in the Imperial Academy of Yanjing cover all parts of the Northern Liang Dynasty, and even include foreign students from the Xihai tribes and the Southern Dynasties. The scale is naturally quite large.

Thousands of people are eating, drinking and having fun, which is all business. For this reason, many merchants have gathered in the surrounding area. In the early morning, you can see a nearby small street full of young men dressed as scholars.

At one of the wonton stalls, students could be seen gathering in groups, chatting about some of the strange news that had happened in the capital recently:

"...The fun was quite fancy. It is said that the Marquis from Bell Tower Street was the host. He ordered eight oirans from Suijin Street to add to the fun. After three rounds of drinking, he started to play wine and order. Whoever was lucky enough to draw would get a share of There are three roads, front and back..."

"Hey~! I'm afraid this will cost a lot of money..."

"Don't listen to his nonsense. What I heard is that a few people were drinking together. Master Hua's son found out that Jingyanghou's retainer was strange, so he killed him with one palm. Jingyanghou was furious at first, but afterwards Upon investigation, I discovered that the guest was actually a barbarian from the Southern Dynasties who committed adultery, robbery, and all kinds of evil. I was immediately shocked..."

"Didn't you say Qinglong would kill him?"

"Well, the Hua family doesn't need this to increase their reputation. It must be that Master Hua's son doesn't want to be famous, so he deliberately pushed this matter to the Qinglong Society. The reality is that all high-ranking officials have a clear conscience..."

……

On the table next door, another secret was being discussed:
"In the past two days, a big dragon seems to have arrived in the capital..."

"Brother Li, why did you say that?"

"According to rumors, both the black and white teams are now tracking down a group of people. Does Zhang Laosi of the West City know? He is the one who is known as the 'know-it-all'. It is said that from yesterday to today, four waves of people came to the door to inquire about information. Please be polite. They pay for it with coercion and inducement, they beat you first without asking questions, and they beat you to death if you can't ask questions..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... could it be that the Night Demon from the Southern Dynasties came to Yanjing?"

"No, it is said that they are the 'Five Immortals of the East China Sea'. They have just come from overseas. They have great Taoist teachings and methods. The Imperial Preceptor's Office, the Twelve Institutes, the Criminal Department, the Qinglong Society, the Cao Gang, etc. were all alarmed. Didn't you notice? , there are more police officers patrolling this morning, and there are also a lot of gang thugs hanging around?"

"It's really... eh! Miss Hua is here, hurry up..."

……

On the avenue outside the small street, a large, inconspicuous carriage, with a sign with the word 'Wan' on it, drove slowly towards the grand archway of the Imperial College.

There were four guards on the left and right sides of the carriage. Ye Jingtang was walking in front on the right, chatting with Hua Ning about trivial matters along the way:
"Why are there so many police officers on the street today?"

Hua Ning came all the way from Wanbao Tower and noticed that there were more scoundrels patrolling the streets than usual, but he did not think of it as the whereabouts of Night Terror Hall being exposed.

After all, when the news of the King of Hell's visit to Yanjing leaked out, the imperial court did not just send a few miscellaneous fish to patrol the streets. At least it was a scene of mobilizing the imperial army, sealing the Nine Gates, and summoning heroes from all walks of life to join the King of Beijing.

Hua Ning thought about it for a moment:

"It should be that something happened in Chunmanlou yesterday. The person who died was a retainer of the Hou Mansion. The noise was too big to suppress. The Twelve Institutes are symbolically searching for gangsters to show the common people."

Even the Nine-Aperture Exquisite Heart of Night Terror Hall cannot possibly understand that Yanjing is currently in the bizarre stage of "the black and white are cooperating, and the north and the south are jointly enforcing the law to catch the five snake peak monsters". Hearing this, he also felt that it might be the spring of yesterday There was a lot of commotion all over the building, so I didn't pay much attention to it at the moment, and turned to look at the car window.

In the carriage, Hua Qingzhi put on the Imperial College uniform, which was probably a warm white skirt, covered with a green gauze gown, and her hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin instead of jewelery accessories.

Because Hua Qingzhi herself is not very old, not much different from Yunli, dressed like this, she looks much more immature, like a high school student, but her appearance is still attractive, with a strong bookishness in her youth, and her demeanor is Soft and elegant, she looks like a lady from a famous family.

At this time, Hua Qingzhi was sitting by the car window, looking at the school she had been away from for several months; while Niaoniao wanted to accompany Qinghe and Yunli to the city to find out about the 'Five Monsters on Snake Peak'. Not in the carriage.

Seeing that he was approaching the gate of the Imperial College, Ye Jingtang asked:

"When will the lady return home?"

Hua Qingzhi knew that Ye Jingtang had her own affairs to be busy with, so she wanted to send her to the Imperial Academy, then go and do some private business and pick her up in the afternoon.She responded:
"Sir, if you don't have any arrangements for the afternoon, you can go back home. If you have arrangements, you won't know for sure until the evening. When you get there later, you can go to the city to buy some good fabrics and take them home. You don't have to wait outside. .”

Ye Jingtang understood that this was giving him free time and accepted the order with a smile.

While the two were talking, there was a sudden noise from a side street.

Ye Jingtang turned around and saw a group of young people in student uniforms running directly towards the carriage:

"Junior sister Hua is back..."

"Sister Hua, you brought a lot of luggage, right? I'll help you move it in..."

……

In order to keep a low profile, Hua Qingzhi did not disclose the matter of her granddaughter in Washington, but her talent and reputation surpassed all the beauties in Yanjing, and her appearance was as beautiful as heavenly. Although her legs and feet were a bit wrong, this did not prevent many students in Yanjing from pursuing her.

Hua Qingzhi is not aloof and aloof. She has been taught to be courteous and courteous to others since she was a child. Although it is hard to resist being so kind, she still greets everyone with a smile:
"Senior Brother Wang has gained some weight after the New Year... Junior Brother Zhao, why are your eyes red? Did you sneak out to play again last night..."

……

In the past, Ye Jingtang often escorted Dabenben's car, and basically no strangers were allowed to enter wherever he passed. Not even a passerby who came over to say hello, not even a passerby dared to look up.

Now that Hua Qingzhi was escorting the car, he was suddenly surrounded by a group of young men, some of whom even pushed him to the side. He was really uncomfortable and wanted to draw a knife to scare the rest of the gang away from getting close to the protection target.

But at the gate of the Imperial College, it was obviously inappropriate to draw a knife to scare people. Ye Jingtang had no choice but to use his body as a barrier like Hua Ning and escort the carriage to the gate of the Imperial College.

After the carriage stopped, Ye Jingtang moved the wheelchair out of the car, while Luzhu helped Hua Qingzhi get out of the car. However, a group of followers still did not disperse, following behind and chattering. Some people even talked about these writers. Hua Qingzhi commented on the poems.

Ye Jingtang pushed the wheelchair behind him to prevent others from getting too close. After walking for a while, to be honest, he started to feel confident. After all, "a turtle is as wide as the palm of his hand, with all four feet under it and its head in the sky". He can also get into it. ah.

And Hua Qingzhi is also very patient. She didn’t laugh at these messy things, but she also carefully evaluated and gave advice and made suggestions for modifications.

And just when everyone was busy, Ye Jingtang suddenly found a young man coming from a distance, holding a scroll in his hand. Because he was wearing a student uniform and did not have an entourage, it was difficult to tell his status. As soon as he walked in, he greeted him: :
"Junior Sister Hua, you are here too."

The people following behind raised their heads when they heard this, and immediately greeted them politely:
"Hey, Prince Wang! Are you coming here to study in person?"

"Yes...huh?! You're not talking nonsense..."

……

When Ye Jingtang heard this, he really couldn't stand it any longer. He asked Lu Zhu next to him in a low voice:

"Who is this?"

Lu Zhu obviously recognized the eldest grandson of the Wang family and whispered:

"Wang Guifei's nephew Wang Jiwen has a very high status. He spends his days having fun and rarely comes to the Imperial College..."

Hua Qingzhi obviously recognized Wang Jiwen, because the two families had a good relationship on the surface, and their attitudes had not changed much. She nodded and said:
"Your Majesty."

Wang Jiwen tapped the scroll with his palms, and he felt a bit graceful while walking. When he came to the front, he glanced at the guards in front of the wheelchair, and without asking, he locked onto Ye Jingtang who was standing behind him pushing the wheelchair. His eyes lit up slightly:

"Oh~ Miss Hua, the guard chief is really Zhou Zheng."

How dare Hua Qingzhi push Ye Jingtang to the stage? She said modestly:

"Young Master Wang, you've been rewarded. It's just a servant that the family hired. How can it compare to Prince Wang's case?"

Wang Jiwen came to school today just to see what kind of person Situ Yanfeng was looking for.

When I saw him at this time, although his skin was not very good and was very yellow due to wind and sun, his bones and figure were perfect, and he looked one size larger than him overall. If he met the eldest princess who likes strong men, I'm afraid it would be really difficult. Can't walk.

Since the person he found met his expectations, Wang Jiwen naturally didn't look too closely at him and started to greet Hua Qingzhi.

Hua Qingzhi chatted for a few words, then her target fell on the scroll in Wang Jiwen's hand and asked:

"This painting is..."

When Wang Jiwen heard this, he opened the scroll like a treasure:

"Spring has just begun, and the Xixia Temple outside the city is very beautiful. Many people go there to enjoy spring outings. The imperial concubine stays in the palace all year round. She wanted to go but it was inconvenient, so I wanted to paint a picture and send it to her. Miss Hua is a master of calligraphy and painting. , come and help me control my eyes and see if the imperial concubine will be happy to see it."

While talking, the scroll was fully unfolded, and the scenery above came into view of many students, and the scene became silent.

"...?"

Ye Jingtang stood behind the wheelchair and looked at the 'overgrown picture' on the scroll. To be honest, he was shocked!
After all, after traveling all over the country for so many months, this is the first time he has seen an ink painting that is more scrawled than the "Picture of a Hawker Buying Chicken". What is this?

Birds are painted more neatly than this...

The corners of Hua Qingzhi's eyes twitched as well, thinking that if this painting were given away, it would piss Wang Guifei to death.

She wanted to remind him tactfully, but Wang Jiwen had a special status and would definitely offend others if he lost face. She hesitated for a long time, not knowing how to speak.

Wang Jiwen glanced at the many classmates who had been silenced by being fucked, and seemed to realize his own weakness. He put the painting away and said awkwardly:
"It's so so... I've already said hello to the imperial concubine. I'll send the paintings over tomorrow. This will be troublesome. Well... Miss Hua is an expert in calligraphy and painting. Why don't you help me get one?"

When Hua Qingzhi saw that Wang Jiwen had the upper hand, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Naturally, it was difficult to refuse:

"It's just a trivial matter. I'll go outside the city when I have time at noon to take a look. Once I've finished the painting, I'll send it to Prince Wang."

"Ouch, thank you!"

Wang Jiwen quickly thanked him, said a few polite words, and then said goodbye and left.

Ye Jingtang didn't know why, but he always felt that Wang Dasheng was a bit smart, and it wasn't as unreliable as he seemed on the surface. After walking for a while, he whispered:

"I also want to go outside the city. I'll take the lady with me at noon."

When Hua Qingzhi saw that Ye Jingtang wanted to accompany her on a spring outing, she was naturally very happy. After nodding and smiling, she entered the Imperial Academy's school...
-
At the same time, Shiliping Town on the outskirts of the city.

As long as people walking around the world are not isolated from the world and never come into contact with anyone, it is impossible not to leave any clues, even in the Night Terror Hall.

And when the Twelve Institutes, the Prince's Mansion, the aristocratic families, the Southern Dynasties intelligence agencies, etc. all work together to find someone, the lower-level forces that can be mobilized basically include everyone from the prince to the anonymous disciple of the Beggar Clan.

Under the pressure of his superiors who couldn't find anyone to show up to, not even a chicken could escape, let alone five living people.

After secretly issuing instructions from the Prince's Mansion, there was actually news in the city before dawn.

Because Yanjing is the base of the Beiliang court, the speed is naturally faster than that of Ye Jingtang in the away game. The third prince was the first to receive the news, but the news was blocked and the network was not closed immediately.

It was morning, the sun had just risen over the mountains, the countryside was covered with red flowers and green willows, and from time to time you could see the families of wealthy families going out for an outing in their cars.

In a relatively secluded inn in Shiliping Town, some people from all walks of life were sitting in the lobby, while the old shopkeeper was making calculations behind the counter.

In a room upstairs, there were freshly bought meals. Five men were sitting around eating. There were several black snakes hanging under the table, shaking back and forth and spitting out snake messages.

The person at the head of the table is an old man who is over sixty years old. His hair is somewhat bald and his complexion is sallow and pale. He has been around poisons all year round, so that the whole person looks slightly gloomy, and you can smell a faint smell of medicine when you get close.The old man's name is Huang Ru, and he is nicknamed "Yellow Tail Scorpion". He is the boss of the five monsters on Snake Peak. He is good at using poisonous needles and has a somewhat evil reputation in the area around Tianmen Road. At this time, he was whispering:

"The team transporting stones passes by the official road at noon every day and is sent to the clear water forest twenty miles away. It seems that the people accompanying them are all hard-working, but there must be experts hidden inside. Snow lake flowers and other items should be hidden in the carriage... "

The second child was actually not too young yet. He sat in front of him, holding a bowl, and said doubtfully:
"Building a garden for the old Queen Mother, what are the medicinal materials hidden in the stones?"

Huang Ru was actually quite confused about this.

The "Five Monsters of Snake Peak" usually deal in poisons, because the Beiliang Jianghu is as small as a cloud, and the business is quite prosperous.

But since he killed the disciples of Juntian Mansion in order to grab the scarce medicinal materials, it is obvious that this business cannot continue. No matter how good their skills are, no merchant in the world dares to sell them raw materials. It is still difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice.

Huang Ru needed a lot, so he couldn't go into the mountains to dig it himself, so he had to go to Hudong Road to try his luck.

The capital was the core of the world's commercial trade, and all kinds of medicinal materials could be found. Huang Ru's original intention was to rob a few big medicine merchants, but he never thought of attacking the imperial court.

But when they were squatting on the official road outside the capital, they didn't notice the medicine merchant passing by with scarce medicinal materials. Instead, they saw that the stone transported by the imperial court was not right.

Huang Ru had been playing with poisons all his life, and kept a few snakes in his hands to search for medicinal materials in the nooks and corners that ordinary people could not enter. As a result, every time the team transporting stones passed by, the snakes would react.

Huang Ru couldn't figure out why the imperial court wanted to bring medicinal materials to Bishui Forest, but he knew that the items hidden inside were definitely not ordinary. There was probably the Snow Lake Flower recently brought back from Western Xinjiang.

Huang Ru thought about it for a while and couldn't figure out the reason, so he said:

"No matter what, let's just rob and leave. As long as the body is disposed of cleanly, the court won't be able to find me and others for a while..."

The four accomplices present obviously had objections to this. The second one said:
"In the past, we were far away and not well-known, so the court didn't bother to take care of it. Now if we commit a crime under the emperor's feet and bring big trouble to the Imperial Prefecture and the Twelve Institutes, the court will not let it go. Unless we escape to the Southern Dynasties, we will not survive. No."

Huang Ru is over 60 years old, and he actually knows what things should not be touched when walking in the world. He hesitated after hearing these words.

While the five of them were discussing, Huang Ru suddenly twitched his ears and turned to look next door.

The rest of the people stopped talking at the same time and listened carefully, but they saw the sound of a man and a woman talking, coming from the room not far next door:

"Why did I lie to you? Mrs. Hua brought back a lot of Snow Lake flowers in order to treat her young lady's illness..."

"Can the flowers of Snow Lake Flower also cure dad's hidden injuries in his Qi veins?"

"I don't know, but poison is medicine when used well, and poison when used poorly. The medicinal properties of the flower plant must be greater than the petals, but they come from the same vein, so they should also be able to heal injuries... I have inquired about it, Hua My young lady will go to Xixia Temple to offer incense today. In order to take medicine on time, I will carry everything with me..."

"Hush! You tiger, be careful that the walls have ears..."

……

When Huang Ru heard this, his eyes naturally moved and he looked at the four people on the table.

The second child thought about it for a while and whispered: "The flower plant of Snow Lake Flower is the most poisonous. It is said that the 'cage miasma' is made from this thing, and even the Minglong Diagram can't prevent it. If we can get it A few strains, mixed into a strange poison, can be sold for at least ten thousand taels of silver..."

The other three people also nodded: "The Hua family should be the Hua family of Chengtian Mansion. Mrs. Hua has resigned, and she has no influence now. Taking over the Hua family is definitely much less risky than taking over the imperial court..."

"How about we..."

……

Huang Ru also felt that robbing a rich lady was indeed much less risky than robbing the emperor's things. He hesitated slightly and nodded lightly...
-
It was noon in a flash.

Outside the colorful school building, several guards waiting to take the young master home stood quietly in a secluded area.

In the school building with rolled-up bamboo curtains, more than thirty male and female students sat with their backs straight, listening intently; an elegant old master stood at the front with a ruler in his hand and a smile on his face.

Hua Qingzhi, who had just returned to school after studying abroad in the Southern Dynasties, was sliding in the middle of the school building in a wheelchair, telling her classmates about her experience of going to the South:

"At that time, the Queen of the Southern Dynasty came in and I said, 'When will I leave you? How many cool breezes blow my dreams away.' I didn't think about the Queen, so I replied without thinking, 'Youlong is here now, and three coins of Angelica dahurica will dispel it. Feeling cold'..."

"Oh……"

"What a talent..."

……

As scholars, the students in the school are obviously very interested in literary fighting, just like hearing Wu Kui fighting, and they sometimes let out a few exclamations.

Ye Jingtang leaned against the pillar with his knife in his arms and looked at the scene from a distance. For some reason, he felt a strange feeling in his heart.

It feels like a young gangster who fights all day long and has countless girls, waiting outside the classroom for his little girlfriend who is both good in character and academics to get out of school...

After Ye Jingtang realized that his thoughts were a little off track, he quickly brushed away the distracting thoughts and began to recall what happened last night.

Last night was wonderful, but the process was actually not too smooth.

After all, it was Qinghe's first time to play with flowers, and he was very nervous. It was okay at first to swing around, but then when Qinghe performed the one-word horse, he wanted to sheath the sword, and the problem came out.

Qinghe was originally obedient, but as soon as he lowered himself a little, his arms went limp, and then he fell straight down, sitting full.

Perhaps due to excessive stimulation, Qinghe instinctively pulled the red ribbon. As a result, his martial arts skills were so strong that he caused the roof beam to collapse with a "crack~" sound, almost shaking the tiles down; he also woke up Hua Qingzhi who was not far away. Ask Qinghe what happened.

Qinghe was so embarrassed that he put the pot on the head of the bird watching outside, which dispelled Hua Qingzhi's doubts.

Then Niaoniao became unhappy and knocked on the window for half the night...

Da da da……

The sound is still lingering in my mind...

Night Terror Hall was leaning against the pillars, thinking about messy things. It was unclear how long it had passed before there was a noise in the school building. The students were saying goodbye to their husbands one after another and preparing to go home.

Seeing this, Ye Jingtang quickly put away his distracting thoughts and waited until Hua Qingzhi came out of the school building before he and Lv Zhu came forward to help push the wheelchair down the steps, while the other students returned to the dormitories near the Imperial College.

Hua Qingzhi had been talking in the school for a long time, and her mouth was a little dry. She took a sip from the water glass handed over by Lu Zhu, and then said softly:

"I just said hello to Master. I have nothing to do in the afternoon. The sunset at Xixia Temple is beautiful. Go back and say hello to dad and then go over."

Luzhu thought for a while and muttered: "Miss's paintings can be sold for dozens of taels of silver outside. Mr. Wang will not deceive the lady into selling the paintings, right?"

Hua Qingzhi frowned and said, "How does the Wang family care about dozens of taels of silver for such a large property? Don't say such offensive things."

"Oh……"

Ye Jingtang was pushing a wheelchair behind him. There were also juniors and seniors nearby who came to get close to him. He didn't interrupt. After he was sent to the big archway of the Imperial College, he lifted the wheelchair onto the carriage and followed the carriage back to Wanbao Tower.

Because she had to get to the place before dark, it was inconvenient for Hua Qingzhi to get in and out of the car, and she didn't enter the house. She just asked Luzhu to go in and make an announcement.

After several people waited for a while, they saw Hua Junchen dressed as a scholar and walking out of the house with green beads.

Hua Qingzhi saw this scene from the car window and was slightly confused:

"Dad, I just went for an outing outside the city and will be back in the afternoon. What did you come out to give me?"

Hua Junchen didn't come out to see him off, he shook his head and sighed:

"There have been a lot of twists and turns in recent times. It seems that I have been guilty of Tai Sui. My father is familiar with Master Huineng of Xixia Temple, so I went to the temple to burn two sticks of incense and find an expert to dispel the bad luck..."

"..."

Hua Qingzhi knew that her father was too old, so she stood in front of the carriage. Unless Mr. Ye left, it would not be possible to ask Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to perform the ritual.

However, it was difficult for Hua Qingzhi to talk about these things, so she said:
"Why don't daddy stay in the temple for ten days and a half? This is a pure place of Buddhism, which is good for cultivating one's moral character."

"Dad is not a monk. How can I stay in a temple? Let's go."

Hua Junchen got on his horse and let the carriage set off. Then he walked in front of the Night Terror Hall and asked in a low voice:
"Hua'an, Qingzhi didn't train you last night, right?"

Ye Jingtang shook his head and said with a smile: "Master is worrying too much. He just told me to be more sensible in the future."

Hua Junchen nodded and said:

"From now on, you will say to the outside world that you are the son of my good friend. You don't need to call me master, just uncle. This morning, Li Guangxian came to the door. He said he was visiting me, but in his heart, he wanted to go behind Lu Xingjun's back and explore your talent base. See if I can take on an apprentice.

"Yesterday I patted him, but he dared to hide. I won't give him this apprenticeship. From now on, if you want to learn martial arts, you can come and ask for advice at any time. As long as you are diligent and studious, and become a master before the age of 30, there should be no big problem... …”

"..."

Although Ye Jingtang didn't know how to complain in his heart, he still thanked Uncle Hua for his kindness:
"Thank you uncle for your appreciation. I will definitely study hard and practice hard in the future."

Hua Junchen raised his hand and patted Ye Jingtang on the shoulder:

"Yes. By the way, have you read any books? How is your literary talent?"

"I have never been to a private school, but I have been learning while traveling around the world."

"Then you have to study hard in the future. You can't walk in the capital without some ink in your stomach. I'll test you with a pair, um... the flowers and willows compete in spring, and people compete in beauty."

Faced with such a simple test question, Ye Jingtang did not pretend to be stupid. He thought about it and smiled:
"Am I the first to take the lead in the storm?"

"Ha~ It's quite crazy, I like it..."

……

In the carriage, Hua Qingzhi was sitting at the window. In fact, she had been eavesdropping on her father and Ye Jingtang's chat. When she saw her father laughing heartily, she also pursed her lips and smiled.

But soon, the smile on his face turned into a hint of complexity.

After all, the 'Hua'an' in front of him is not a real guard or nephew, but the Duke of the Southern Dynasty, the most powerful general under the empress, and the prince of the northwest royal court.

Such an identity is destined to stand on the opposite side of Beiliang. On the day when his identity is exposed, the better the relationship between them, the deeper the wound in his heart will be.

If dad really appreciates it and regards Ye Jingtang as his nephew's apprentice, I'm afraid he will be disappointed for several years.

And why isn't she like this...

　Thanks to the boss [Swordsman from a young age] for the 2 reward!Thank you all for supporting or[-] with your monthly rewards!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)