World of Chessboard

Compared to the new sect, a sect called the Beggar Gang and a sect called the Hua Shan were naturally famous existences.

Martial arts spars between disciples from various sects were not that rare either.

It is interesting that the eldest disciple of Mount Hua should beat up the eldest disciple of the Beggar Gang, but it is not well-known.

Known for his efficient and nimble actions, the imperial bodyguards mustered up a large number of people to chase them to the surface of the lake, only to find nothing.

The person who had gone to the Wind Cloud Pavilion to buy news had actually seen a young man walk out of the residence of the Grand Hall Master in the middle of the night.

Chief Escort Li, who was quite famous in the dart business, was exterminated by the Poison Hall. His methods were clean and incomparably arrogant.

The young master of the Beggar Gang, Wen Qishua, who had lost miserably today, was scolded by his master in front of hundreds of beggars, causing his face to turn green.

This had happened overnight, and it was a very, very small part of it …

Unlike the chaos in the martial arts world, there was a place where people with money and power gathered. That place was called Liangliang — the present capital of the Great Song. His family was well-off, and he had the authority of a father. This was an essential condition for a free and leisure young master. And the person that Senior Xia was preparing to meet seemed to meet all these requirements. He was the foppish young lord among the foppish young masters.

Xia Fan followed behind a maid and walked in big strides, his eyes sizing up the scenery along the way.

The Qi King Manor was definitely one of the most luxurious mansions among the officials of the imperial court. It was filled with pavilions, song and dance, and all the pavilions and pavilions were extremely elegant and exquisite. The maid leading the way was around 13 or 14 years old. Her face still had a hint of childishness to it, and her big black eyes were embedded into her face, giving her a unique purity. Although she was still young, the beauty of her facial features could already be seen. He was wearing a light yellow long skirt and it was made out of high quality fabric. Anyone who could use this cloth to make clothes for their female servants would have a great status within their family.

However, when Xia Fan entered the mansion, he noticed that apart from the main hall and a few other special places, many of the rooms in the luxurious mansion did not have or only had extremely low doorsteps. It was no wonder that there was no door to the study where the Crown Prince was staying.

"Young master, a few royal guards are here to seek an audience." The girl who was leading the way pushed open the half-opened door, and said with a faint smile to the young man in the study.

"Your subordinate pays his respects to the young prince." Xia Fan walked in with a few people behind him, bowing and bowing. Logically speaking, as the only son of the Qi King, the prince should have been addressed as the prince's wife. However, everyone called him young prince, and even "young prince" had become his exclusive title.

The youth looked at the clothes they were wearing and warmly smiled: "Are you here for errands?" "Get up."

Xia Fan stood up and was slightly startled when he saw Zhao Qingyan. He shifted his gaze away and lowered his head, "Yes, your subordinate is Xia Fan. We have been ordered to track down the Cyan Robed Pirates." He was still surprised.

The person in front of him had yet to reach the crown. His skin was snow-white and he had a beautiful appearance. At first glance, he looked like a young girl, but upon closer inspection, he was definitely not a feminine person. His thick black eyebrows seemed as if they were drawn with a brush, his slender eyes were black and white, and his deep black pupils gave off a smile as gentle as the spring wind. The straight bridge of his nose had a distinct curve, as if it was carved out of jade. Her red lips were filled with a faint, warm and clean smile. She had a jade hairpin stuck in her hair, and her uncombed long hair was scattered on her light green clothes like ink. She seemed a little lazy and unhurried, but more of her was naturally leisurely, graceful and bright without any makeup.

There was a black chess piece between the fingers of his right hand. His wrist was slender and his fingers were long. The well-maintained palm was thin and weak without any dirt or scars. It was as exquisite as a work of art. There was no signs of the cold-blooded killing intent that came from practicing martial arts. He was like a piece of warm jade that was slowly carved out of a fine sculpture. He scooped up a handful of snow that was pure and free of any impurities, and a stalk of ethereal orchid that was light and ethereal.

The Qi King had only married one person in his entire life, and he had never taken another concubine. As for his son, he was also the only one that Qi Wangfei had given birth to in her early years. This crown prince of Qi, who was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, had interpreted the word 'extravagant' to the extreme. There was no need to mention how much the Qi King couple loved their only son. Even the current prince and the other two princes doted on their nephew.

The one who was as interesting as he was should be the engagement he made with the "number one beauty" recognized by the imperial court of Jianghu. Even though he had long heard of Crown Prince Qi's gentleness and elegance, Xia Fan was still unable to relate a foppish young man who lived a luxurious life to the words of everyone else – the Young Master Qi, Zhao Qingyan.

When he thought about the figure that he met in the distant Marquis Mansion a few days ago that was peacefully gazing into the sky under the moonlight, like a celestial fairy that was unstained by the smell of smoke and fire, and saw the young man that lived quietly in front of him that didn't fight in the world, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Zhao Qingyan did not mind his blanking out. After a moment of thought, she put down the chess piece in her hand and asked, "May I ask why Sir Xia is looking for me? If you find anything, you should report it to Thirteenth Uncle, why are you looking for me? "

Xia Fan snapped out of his daze. "This subordinate is useless. I'm only a step away from meeting the envoy."

"A mistake?" Zhao Qing muttered to herself before saying, "Sir, there is no need to make things difficult for me. I will pass the message to Thirteenth Uncle on my behalf."

Xia Fan was stunned. He knew that he had made the other party misunderstand, and quickly replied, "I did not come down here for this. That... May I know where Young Marquis is ten days ago? "

Zhao Qingyan smiled, "I am truly sorry. I have always enjoyed peace and quiet. I have spent more than half a month in a solitary courtyard studying and playing with the zither. My personal maid sends me food and water every day. I'm afraid I don't know where I was ten days ago. " The young prince had a serious illness and would often lie in bed to rest. Prince Qi had specially expanded the mansion and brought it to a natural hot spring for his son to recuperate. Even King Qi and Princess Qi would not enter that place. If it wasn't for the fact that the young prince had the intention to take a breather today, Xia Fan probably wouldn't have been able to see him.

"I don't doubt you," Xia Xiong said embarrassedly.

Zhao Qingyan laughed without a care. "No worries, it's just an investigation. It's nothing." He then asked, "Where was it stolen this time?"

Xia Fan said, "To reply the young prince, this is the Manchu Mansion."

"How did the young prince know that the Qing Yi Pirates had succeeded?" The moment the words left his mouth, he felt like he was being interrogated. He couldn't help but feel awkward, but he didn't know how to explain it.

Zhao Qingyan was stunned for a moment, but he did not make a fuss about it. He smiled and said, "It must be some kind of special skill. Seeing Leader Xia like this, I can guess that it was nothing." There was no dissatisfaction in his tone. At most, he was just criticizing his subordinate's manners.

Xia Fan blushed slightly. "This subordinate has misspoken, please forgive me young prince."

Zhao Qingyan said nonchalantly, "It's alright." He picked up the chess piece and looked at it calmly.

Xia saw him holding one son in each hand, which was obviously a game of black and white. However, the ink stone on the table was placed to the left and could not help but ask, "Does the young prince usually use his left hand?"

Zhao Qingyan looked at his hand and asked with a hint of amusement, "You don't know? Even if you were directly recommended as a first class imperial bodyguard and had been sent out to investigate, it's not like you don't even know my special habits, right? "

Xia Fan was about to open his mouth, but the young prince suddenly stopped smiling, his eyes were stern, and he swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue.

Zhao Qingyan said, "Even though I can tell that you are being rude, I think that is what you're here for. As an imperial bodyguard, you don't even know the basic situation of a secret envoy. Asking about the situation without even carrying out a preliminary investigation is a bit arbitrary. "

Chai kept his eyes closed and did not answer. It wasn't because Zhao Qing's words were wrong, but because his words were true. He had indeed said something that was out of line, leaving him speechless and unable to refute for the moment.

Zhao Qingyan suddenly sighed and lightly shook his head, "Forget it, it's not important. Senior Xia, is there anything else that you need to ask? " He turned to the servant girl beside him and said, "Pei'er, put away the chess board."

Pei'er looked at the chess piece and asked, "Young Master, are you not going to stop? Do you want to keep the game? "

Zhao Qingyan shook his head, "There's no need. It's just passing the time. There's nothing new. If I'm not talented enough, no matter how hard I try, it'll all be in vain."

Pei'er gave a faint smile and said: "Young Master must always talk about talent. The Heavens must let Young Master have all the materials he wants, it is too unfair." Two small dimples appeared on her cheeks, exceptionally adorable.

Zhao Qingyan smiled and said, "Talent is a shortcut. Walking far away is too tiring. We can only walk slowly when we have time." He picked up the teacup and took a few sips. Then, he gently put it back and looked at Xia Cheng once more.

"What does the young prince know about the Cyan Robed Pirates?"

"Not much." Zhao Qingyan rolled her fingers in her sleeve and said, "I heard some rumors about the martial arts world, so I paid attention to the records as well." The man was high-profile and meticulous, with distinct and vague features. He's only been here for a year, so it's already hard to find him. It's not incomprehensible that you can't find him. "

Xia Fan, hearing the meaning behind his words, thought that Zhao Qingyan was ridiculing him, but seeing Zhao Qingyan's expression, he knew that he was speaking with sincerity, so he put his thoughts aside and asked, "Young Prince, what do you mean by that?"

Zhao Qingyan lowered his eyes to the table, his fingers fiddling with the brush in the pen holder. "He came and left in a strict place to leave a letter, but he didn't leave a mark on the paper or ink, nor did he show himself in front of anyone. For example, Qing Yi, the person who does not covet wealth and loves to collect precious calligraphy and paintings, these are the most obvious characteristics. Compared to their usefulness, I think they are more misleading. " He was clearly not interested in the matter, but merely expressed his opinion on the basis of politeness in the most concise terms.

"Young Prince, what do you mean?"

Zhao Qingyan glanced at him but did not express any emotions, "He left too many trump cards behind. As long as we change the characteristics he showed, no one would be able to find him. "Right now, it seems like I have gained a lot of clues, but in reality, I haven't been able to get anything out of it."