Raiders of the Duke and Duchess

Chapter 962 Thank you
Shangguan Chu's expression eased a little. He knew the value of the rare copy, and he also knew the position of the martial arts secret book in Qingshan's heart... But it was obvious that Ning Xiuyuan also knew it.

He would not doubt Qingshan's loyalty because of this, just like he would not doubt what Qingshan said at this moment. Since he promised to burn the lone copy, he would never break his promise, no matter how reluctant he was. He would not doubt that Ning Xiuyuan would attack him and kill him. Ning Xiuyuan just wanted to let the old man vent his anger - it was just a small fight.

but……

He lowered his eyes to look at Qingshan and said in a cold voice, "Let someone else serve you, and then you go and take the punishment yourself. Don't show up in front of me for a while. Qingshan... always remember, what I want is not a subordinate who can think and make decisions for me." After that, Shangguan Chu never looked at Qingshan again, nor did he untie the ropes that tied him up. He just walked into the house with his hands behind his back.

Qingshan stared at Shangguan Chu who was leaving with his hands behind his back. The man at this moment was completely different from the Shangguan Master who had come in with his teeth bared. The former was the only son of the Shangguan family, the Shangguan Master who was pampered with fine wine, fine clothes and gorgeous clothes. The man in front of him was the Master Chu who held half of the wealth in Jiangnan, the Master Chu who controlled a huge information network with a weak body, and trained more than a hundred elite secret guards and assassins.

Qingshan lowered his head silently. He knew what Shangguan Chu meant... His duty was to protect him, not to decide for him whether he needed protection at the moment.

While weighing the pros and cons, I have already made an unforgivable mistake.

……

Not long after lunch, His Majesty's reward arrived.

It was much more than what had been sent to the post station before. There were countless gold, silver and treasures, as well as a plaque with the emperor's private seal that read "Female Leader". It was carried by four eunuchs, and guards beat drums and gongs along the way as it was delivered in a grand manner.

Zhang Dexian smiled so hard that his teeth were exposed and his address to Ji Wuyan changed from "Miss Ji" to "Miss", which showed that he was much more intimate with her... The main reason was that the little maid quietly stuffed a purse over to him this time. He squeezed it and found a thick stack of wads. He was naturally happy and bowed to thank her repeatedly. He thought that this wealthy merchant in Jiangnan was different. He had never seen small silver or silver ingots as a reward, but always large-denomination silver bills.

Generous!

The generous Miss Ji spent some money and became more casual in her speech. She directly asked Zhang Dexian whether, according to the rules, she needed to change her clothes now and follow him into the palace to express her gratitude?
Zhang Dexian was also happy to make suggestions. He responded with a smile and said, "The reward is nominally for you, but in fact, His Majesty is rewarding the entire Ji family. Of course, you don't need so many people to come to the palace to express your gratitude. Your Majesty is in good health and can't stand this, right? I think you can just bring Mr. Chen with you. It's a good opportunity to check His Majesty's pulse and see how he is recovering. We can also discuss how to treat him in the future. Don't you agree, young lady?"

Ji Wuyan nodded and said, "Manager Zhang is indeed very thoughtful. How about... you sit down and have a cup of tea and wait for a while?"

Zhang Dexian naturally nodded in agreement.

Not to mention that people gave so much reward money, let's just say that Miss Ji is now a guest of honor in front of His Majesty - that plaque is not given casually. The women of the Ji family are always out of tune with the secular world, and there are always some gossips behind their backs. Now that this plaque has been given with such a grand gong and drum, anyone who talks behind their backs will probably have to think twice. As long as this plaque has not been taken down, the Ji family has His Majesty's support behind them.

Of course, this plaque was not on the list of rewards at first. For such things, Zhang Dexian usually chose them according to the convention. He usually chose some beautiful, valuable, and not so unique treasures, considering the other party's status. But yesterday, Shangguan Shou came to the palace to hand in a military token. His Majesty was very pleased and had someone make such a plaque overnight, which was also a "reciprocity" for Shangguan Shou's return of the military token. Therefore, the reward that should have been delivered in the morning was not delivered until the afternoon.

Ji Wuyan was naturally not aware of these things, and she didn't know what the value of the plaque was. It was just a gift from His Majesty, so of course she had to hang it up, and she would have to take it back to Yunzhou in the future... By then, the emperor would be far away, so it was not certain whether to hang it up or not.

She changed her clothes and took Old Chen into the palace. His Majesty was in good spirits and had a recliner brought to the Imperial Garden for sunbathing. When he saw Ji Wuyan, he smiled and waved to ask for the courtesy to be waived. He then personally asked Ji Wuyan to sit beside him, and then said with a smile, "I heard that it was the young lady who used acupuncture and the pills made by Old Chen to cure me. You are really young and promising, young and promising!"

"Your Majesty, you are too kind." Ji Wuyan stood up slightly and bent his knees, looking very reserved.

The emperor seemed to be in a very good mood and didn't care about those empty formalities. He waved his hand and said, "No need to be so polite. I asked someone to move to the Imperial Garden to see you, just thinking that you can relax a little... It just so happens that I have been lying in that bedroom for so long, and I don't like it at all. I will have someone renovate it someday to get rid of the bad luck!"

Ji Wuyan sat on the side, his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, smiling gently and obediently.

The emperor was speechless for a while, but he couldn't help asking, "Did that person...really never show up again? Didn't he say..." The emperor didn't finish the rest of the sentence. Whether it was Lin Yi's name or identity, or the Gu that had tortured him for so long, he didn't want to mention it again.

Ji Wuyan did not mention it, but just shook his head and said, "No. Maybe he knew that my daughter left it with His Majesty, so even if he broke into the Ji family at night, it would be in vain... My daughter was worried for several days, and even asked the third master to help arrange some servants from the Duke's Mansion to guard the house." After saying that, he smiled to himself, a little shy.

The emperor looked at Ji Wuyan's expression and nodded in agreement, "It is possible... I was negligent at that time. I should have arranged some guards to guard the girl... Fortunately, the girl and her family were not hurt, otherwise I would be blamed."

Zhang Dexian stood behind the emperor with his head lowered, pretending not to exist.

Regarding this issue, His Majesty had sent me to inquire about it a long time ago, but it was obvious that His Majesty did not believe that Lin Yi would really disappear, so in the past two days, the palace also sent some people out to investigate, to investigate Lin Yi and the Ji family, but no matter whether it was the former or the latter, they did not get any useful information.

Lin Yi really disappeared, and the Ji family... the Ji family really didn't seem to have made any countermeasures.

Even those people that Shangguan Shou left outside the city were interrogated, but everyone insisted that they had not had any errands during these days and had never been to the Ji family.

This in itself is a very weird thing.