Princess Yiran, however, looked indifferent. She glanced at Qiu Yi, then glanced at Wen Lingjiao with her peripheral vision, and said lightly, "Didn't I make it clear enough? There were two people following us, and we couldn't get rid of them even after circling around for a long time. I was upset, so I asked a few of my men to beat them up and throw them into the toilet."
Qiu Yizhi was relieved after hearing her say that. He let out a long sigh and said, "You scared me! It doesn't matter now, but you are being targeted after all. It seems that you can't go back to Siyi Pavilion for now. Just stay here for now and don't move around easily."
Yiran was unwilling and said, "Don't bother with my business. If they want to come, just come. No matter how many come, I will beat them out!"
Qiu Yizi frowned and rebuked: "This is not Guangyang, nor is it Bohai, this is the capital Luoyang! This is not a place where you can do whatever you want!"
Yiran had never been scolded so harshly by Qiu Yizi since she came to Guangyang from Bohai a few years ago and met him. She felt embarrassed and her nose was sore, and she was about to cry.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi was also panicked, fearing that the lawless Princess Yiran would make trouble and be difficult to deal with, so he quickly comforted her and said, "I know your ability, Princess Yiran. How can a few spies from the Persuasion Department do anything to you? But your foster father has always treated you as his own child. Now his life depends on us. You must not be careless, don't you think?"
Yiran still felt resentful, but after listening to Qiu Yizi's reasonable explanation, she could no longer lose her temper. She just stood there stupidly, with a circle of red around her two eyes that were as blue as the sky.
Wen Lingjiao walked gently to Yiran, handed her a Suzhou embroidered handkerchief, and said, "It's okay. Although this place is a bit simple, it's still comfortable to live in. As for changing clothes, I have a few new ones here, you can use them. If you don't like them, I can send someone to buy them."
Yiran didn't appreciate it. He reached out and knocked the delicate handkerchief out of Wen Lingjiao's hand. He stared at her and said, "They are just a few pieces of clothes. Don't I have money to buy them? Is it your turn to be a good person here?" After that, he didn't dare to go out. He turned around, pushed open a room, slammed the door, and never came out again.
Qiu Yizhi saw that Yiran had entered her room and knew that although she was willful, she was not a person who didn't know the big picture. So she shook her head, picked up the handkerchief from the ground, handed it back to Wen Lingjiao and said, "Princess Yiran is just like that. She doesn't mean any harm. Just let her vent her anger. Please don't take it to heart, young lady."
Wen Lingjiao's fingers touched Qiu Yizhi intentionally or unintentionally, then she put the handkerchief back into her sleeve and said, "What I envy is the princess's personality. There is nothing that cannot be expressed openly, whether it is what she likes or dislikes. Only in this way can she live in vain!"
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi deliberately raised her voice and said, "Miss Wen is right. When you live your life, you should be like Princess Yiran, who doesn't hide anything and is happy to take revenge. I am just the adopted son of the King of Youyan, but I can't be there, but I yearn for it in my heart!"
Yiran was originally a childish person. After hearing Qiu Yizhi's deliberate flattery, her mood improved a little. She snorted and said, "Don't think that I will forget this grudge just because you praise me casually. When this is done, I will see how I will settle the score with you!"
Qiu Yizhi knew Yiran's personality best. Just by listening to her tone, he knew that her temper had calmed down a lot, so he breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to speak when he saw Yelu push the door open and asked, "Brother Yelu, how is the matter going?"
Yelu nodded vigorously and said, "It's done! Young Master, you are really lucky. There happened to be a family who bought a new house here. I tried my best to persuade them and increased the silver by 500 taels and 1,000 taels. Only then did they give me the house. Although it is a little far from the Ministry of Justice, fortunately there is no one living there, so we can move in now. But I have almost spent all the silver that His Highness Yi gave me."
Qiu Yizi reached out and patted Yelu on the shoulder, saying, "This money is nothing. As long as we can get the job done, it's worth spending ten times more!" He added, "I have another unreasonable request right now, and I hope Brother Yelu can help."
"Sir, please speak."
"Could Brother Yelu please accompany Princess Yiran to stay here? There is a tunnel digging expert who is packing up his tools and coming here. Brother Yelu can help take care of him when the time comes. I still have some things to do with Miss Wen and Zhao Chengxiao." Qiu Yizi replied.
Before Yelu could agree, Yiran came out of the room and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Qiu Yizi sneered: "I'm going to see Mr. Zhongli, do you want to go with me?"
In essence, Yi Ran was just a hostage sent by the loyal and obedient Dali Khan to the Youyan Palace, but she was given the title of learning Han culture, and her teacher was none other than Zhongli Kuang. Zhongli Kuang was a cunning and mean person, and he always had a serious expression. He treated everyone equally, regardless of whether you were a child of the Han royal family or a prince of Bohai. If you made a mistake, you would be punished. Therefore, if Yi Ran was afraid of someone in the Central Plains, it would be Zhongli Kuang.
Therefore, when Yiran heard that Qiu Yizhi was going to see Master Zhongli, he immediately lost interest and said, "You can go if you want. If you come back late, don't blame me for leaving without saying goodbye!"
Qiu Yizi agreed twice, and asked Wen Lingjiao and He'er to sit in the carriage canopy. He and Zhao Chengxiao walked, one while the other drove the carriage. After leaving the courtyard, they headed towards Dongyang Gate.
This carriage was borrowed by Zhao Chengxiao from Zhou Cijing of Guangyang Guild Hall to transport saltpeter. It looked very old and simple. Qiu Yizhi and Zhao Chengxiao had been running around all day without a good rest and washing, and they were covered in dust. Therefore, the two of them drove this broken carriage, just like the coolies transporting fruits, vegetables or other sundries in the capital, but they were not noticeable at all.
However, the Dongyang Gate was far away from the Tianzun Sect's residence, and after walking for a long time, they still couldn't see the towering city tower of the Dongyang Gate. Just then, the carriage passed by a tea stall, and the stall owner steamed a few baskets of pork-filled buns and placed them at the street corner. The steaming aroma drifted everywhere and rushed into Qiu Yi's nostrils.
When Qiu Yizi smelled the delicious food, his stomach growled. It reminded him that he had rushed out without even having lunch. He walked outside the carriage and asked, "Miss Wen, I'm treating you. Would you like to buy some buns to fill your stomach?"
Wen Lingjiao had not eaten either, and was also very hungry. She said softly, "Then I'll have to trouble you, young master."
He'er on the side said, "Sir, you are so generous. When has my young lady ever eaten such crude food?"
Qiu Yizi ignored He'er and walked straight to the tea stall. He asked the stall owner to pick out fifteen or sixteen meat-filled buns and wrap them in paper. Just as he was about to reach into his sleeve to take out money to pay the bill, he suddenly remembered that he only had a handful of gold bars, which would be absolutely inappropriate to use to buy a few buns.
Qiu Yizhi was stunned for a moment. Just when he was about to ask Zhao Chengxiao if he had any copper coins or loose change, a man approached him, handed the stall owner a stack of copper coins, and said, "I'll pay for this young man's buns."
Qiu Yizhi turned around and saw his sworn brother Yuchi Lianghong standing beside him with a smile on his face. Qiu Yizhi was surprised and delighted to see the top martial arts master. He said, "Brother is really fast. I just sent someone to look for you yesterday, but you're here today."
"Oh, so you are really looking for me." Yuchi Lianghong said, "However, I am not here because you summoned me, but..."
Yuchi Lianghong was halfway through his words when Qiu Yizi raised his finger to his lips as a gesture for silence and whispered, "This is not the place to talk. You and I, brother, can talk while we walk." After that, he put a bag of meat buns into the canopy and walked side by side with Yuchi Lianghong.
It turned out that after leaving the palace that day, Yuchi Lianghong went back to his hometown. Unexpectedly, within a few days, he heard the news of Wang Zhonghai's death, and a few days later, the emperor also passed away. Yuchi Lianghong felt that this matter was very strange, so he left home and rushed to the capital to ask Gu Erniang, who had traveled with him that night, for clarification.
Hearing this, Qiu Yizi hurriedly asked, "Brother was there that night, did you see Gu Erniang commit the murder?"
Yuchi Lianghong frowned, thought for a while, and replied, "I didn't see it with my own eyes. But I remember that not long after my brother, Gu Erniang, and the maid of the Saint entered the house, Gu Erniang came out alone. I asked her what she was doing, but she said she was going to relieve herself. I couldn't follow her and watched her, and I wanted to protect my brother, so I ignored her. After half a cup of tea, Gu Erniang came back, so I didn't take it seriously at the time. But now I think about it, if she really wanted to kill the king, she should have done it at this time."
Qiu Yizhi savored it carefully and said, "Brother, your analysis is indeed very thorough. However, finding the murderer is not the most urgent thing at the moment. My adoptive father, Prince Youyan, was framed by a traitor and is now trapped in the prison of the Ministry of Justice. I believe that brother knows about this, right?"
Yuchi Lianghong nodded and said, "I already knew about it last night. The people in and outside of Luoyang said that the Prince of Youyan was wronged and that we should not allow the tyrant and treacherous ministers to run rampant, so they were planning to join forces to rescue the prince from the execution ground. I thought that this matter was of great importance, so I suppressed this group of heroes. I also thought that with my brother's loyalty, I must be in the capital after such a big thing happened, so I rushed here, but I didn't expect to meet you next to this tea stall..." At this point, Yuchi Lianghong smiled, "Brother, you have said many times that you would treat me to a meal, but this time, I have treated you twice!"
Qiu Yizi smiled after hearing this, but he was still full of worries. He said with a tense face: "I have a way to rescue my foster father. Now that I have my brother to help me, my chances of success have increased a bit. God is really helping me!"
Yuchi Lianghong said: "Prince Youyan's reputation for kindness is known all over the world. Even if you don't say it, I will find a way to rescue the prince. Now that you are the mastermind, then this matter is halfway to success. If you have any instructions, I will not say no!"
Yuchi Lianghong's words made Qiu Yizhi feel a little relieved, and he said, "Now is not the time to trouble you. But I just want to meet the chief counselor of my adoptive father. Are you interested in meeting him?" (To be continued)