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Chapter 70: Swallows and Geese

  At the hour of Xu, the door was knocked. Huai Yu cautiously opened the door a crack and saw that it wasn't Jiang Shen outside, so she let out a sigh of relief.

  Jiang Xuanjin's gaze was unkind as he looked at her: "Something that was agreed upon, can Your Highness also forget?"

  "Huai Yu smiled wryly: 'Something came up, it wasn't intentional on my part to stand you up.'"

  "What's wrong?"

  With a difficult expression, she glanced back and said: "A woman's family matters are also not suitable for detailed discussion with Your Excellency."

  The daughter's house close to her also brewed. Jiang Xuanjin recalled the scene he saw today and stepped forward to press the door.

  "Ah, there shouldn't be anything urgent these two days, let's postpone the discussion?" Huai Yu leaned against the door and didn't budge.

  Jiang Xuanjin gave her a stern look: "No discussion."

  "What are you doing here if you don't have any business?" Yuexi muttered, "Avoiding suspicion!"

  You also know this word? Jiang Xuanjin was extremely angry but forced a smile, hugging his arm and looking at her: "When you're with Lu Jinghang, why don't you avoid suspicion?"

  "That's different," said Hua Yu. "Lu Jinghang hasn't married a daughter-in-law yet, if he did, I would avoid it too."

  The words sounded inexplicably comforting, Jiang Xuanjin's expression was calm and gentle, he beckoned to her with his finger: "Come out."

  Li Huaiyu hesitated for a moment, then stepped out of the doorway and closed the door tightly.

  "Do you want to help her out?" asked Jiang Xuanjin.

  "Holding jade and raising an eyebrow: 'How can you intervene in someone else's family affairs with a clear conscience?'"

  "You still have times when you feel embarrassed?" He chuckled lightly.

  Li Huaiyu hesitated for a moment, thinking that it was indeed the case. Since she didn't care about her own face anyway, if she could do something to make Chunniu happy, that would be great.

  Then she asked: "What lofty views does your lordship have?"

  Jiang Xuanjin hooked his lips and took her back to his own room, closing the door behind them.

  "Second Brother is not necessarily heartless towards Second Sister-in-law, it's just that he has been a rascal since childhood and always has beauties by his side." He slowly inserted the door bolt and said, "Second Sister-in-law has never been one to fight back, as the legitimate wife, she is always suppressed by the concubines."

  Hua Yu's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing this: "Does Jiang Shen not care either?"

  Jiang Xuanjin shook his head: "The beauties in his courtyard are all treasures."

  She narrowed her eyes and said in a low voice: "This kind of dissolute rogue really wasted the first brew."

  "Your Highness wants to help her, there are two ways." He sat down beside her and said, "One is to teach her a method, let her get rid of the concubine, and monopolize the favor alone."

  "Another option is for Second Brother to hand in his resignation letter."

  As soon as these words came out, Huai Yu glared at him with a tongue-tied expression: "You also agree that they should divorce?"

  Jiang Xuanjin shook his head: "Just speak out the way, let Your Highness decide."

  How should she make a decision? This is the lifelong event of the first fermentation. Huaiyu was very depressed and thought with her chin: "I don't know them too well, why don't you tell me more?"

  "Good." His eyes flickered slightly as Jiang Xuanjin nodded his head.

  The room was warm and cozy, with incense burning, and the pillowcases and sheets had been changed to her own. The person spoke softly about Jiang's past, their voice lingering, and she couldn't help but let out a long yawn after a while.

  "The stool is a bit hard, Your Highness can go sit by the bed." Jiang Xuanjin said very politely.

  The bed looked very soft, and Li Huaiyu didn't stand on ceremony with him, went over to touch it, then sat down, shifted his buttocks comfortably, and continued listening to him speak.

  Half an hour later, Jiang Xuanjin stopped talking.

  The person by the bed half leaned against his pillow and fell asleep soundly, eyelashes closed under his eyes, motionless.

  The corners of his mouth curled up, and he finally got up, like a fisherman collecting nets at dusk, straightened the clumsy body in the net, and covered her with the quilt.

  Jiang Xuanjin didn't like the room in the inn at all, and he hadn't planned to sleep here from the start. There were still many documents sent by Ziyang from various places on his side, and he sat quietly on the bed, flipping through them, listening to the familiar breathing sound, feeling very good.

  Jiang Er Gongzi had no idea he was being sold out by his own brother. He sat in Gu Lian's room, not reaching out to hug her as he usually did, but instead stared blankly at a certain spot.

  "Does the young master have something on his mind?"

  Jiang Chen paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Is my heart's concern all about you?"

  The lonely swan smiled slightly, wrapped her arms around his neck and gently kissed him on the face, then cleverly let go and looked at him obediently.

  Such a considerate and sensible beauty, Jiang Shen is the one he likes the most, but today, he didn't praise her, instead asked: "Gu Luan, if I get close to Cui Xue in front of you, will you be unhappy?"

  A lone wild goose was stunned, and a pair of autumnal eyes shone with moving colors: "I am content to be by your side, Master, how could I not be delighted about this matter?"

  "Then..." Jiang lowered his eyelids, "If you're unhappy, what would it be because of?"

  The lonely swan smiled and shook her head: "Young master doesn't have to worry, I won't be jealous or make you troubled."

  Is it sour and vinegar? Jiang Shen looked at his fingertips in confusion.

  Her thin body trembled slightly, like a dying cicada at dusk. He lightly touched her, and she even narrowed her pupils.

  He had never liked women who were jealous and made a fuss, but Xu Chuyan's appearance actually moved him to pity.

  It's really heart-wrenching, like fine needles stirring up slightly bitter water, piercing to the point of making one's eyelids sour.

  Propping himself up against the edge of the table, Jiang Shen slowly got up and took a step forward.

  Gu Lian was taken aback and asked in a soft voice, "Young Master, are you still going to look for your wife?"

  "......Nothing." Jiang thought for a moment, "I'll go pay respects to the old master."

  It's so late, the old man should be resting. What is he asking for peace? Gu Lian'ou's eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and she gently shook her head: "This place is a bit strange, I'm really a little scared..."

  As she spoke, she reached out and gently grasped his sleeve: "Will you accompany me?"

  Jiang Shen hesitated, and Gu Lian continued with a magnanimous tone: "If you really miss your wife, why don't I go talk to her for you? After all, it's easier for women to communicate with each other."

  "Who wants to mention her?" Jiang Shen's face turned black, "It was said that they went to pay respects to the old master."

  The lonely goose was startled by his shout and blinked its eyelashes, with tears welling up.

  Feeling a bit out of sorts, Jiang Shen reached up and rubbed his brow: "Forget it, it's getting late anyway, go to sleep."

  "Good." The lonely swan lowered her eyes, wiped away tears, and helped him change his clothes and rest.

  Xu Chuyi sat alone in the house, still lost in thought.

  She's really easy to coax, every time Jiang Sheng hurts her, as long as he coaxes her gently, she'll act like nothing happened and won't hold a grudge at all.

  The old master had praised her temperament before, saying that she was gentle and virtuous, a talented lady.

  But this kind of nature seems to have spoiled him instead, knowing that she is easy to coax, so he hurt her again and again, apologized, and Jiang Shen never felt heartbroken.

  Gū yáng and Cuī xuě are both treasures, but only she, this ordinary-looking person, is a wild herb.

  He let out a low, muffled laugh, and Xu Chuyan took a deep breath, wiping away the tears on his face.

  He doesn't cherish her, so she must cherish herself. Life is given by parents, it can't be wasted on him.

  Just as I was thinking about it, there came a knock at the door.

  Hua Yu is back? Her eyes lit up and she hurriedly went forward to pull the door open.

  "Sir." The shop assistant smiled and looked around the room, carrying a basin of water inside, "You have been ordered to wash your face. There are many mosquitoes here at night, and there is also a plate of incense to drive them away, you can put it by your bed."

  "Thanks."

  The fellow smiled and slung his towel over his shoulder: "If you have any further orders, just call out; I'll take my leave now."

  See him out, Xu initially felt a bit strange, but couldn't quite put his finger on what was strange about it.

  The fragrance of incense wafted out in a white mist, she sniffed for a while and felt dizzy, so she extinguished it and continued to wait with her eyes closed.

  After two sticks of incense, the door was knocked again.

  Xu Chuyan heard the "thud" sound, but for some reason, her eyelids were very heavy, and her body was weak. She opened her mouth for a long time, but couldn't speak.

  It's all over!

  She struggled to open her eyes and glanced at the incense stick on the bedside table that had long been extinguished. She knew in her heart that something was wrong, but she couldn't even move, and it took a lot of effort just to keep herself from fainting completely.

  The door was bolted, but someone pushed it open a crack, and small hooks from the outside reached in to hook the wooden bolt. With a slight lift, the door was pushed open. The fellow who had just delivered the incense came in, looked at her, and asked the person next to him in a low voice, "Is that her?"

  The person next to him said suspiciously: "It looks a bit strange... but this room is correct, take it away first."

  The fellow responded with a grunt and came over to grab her arm.

  Xu Chuyi was shocked and raised her hand to shake him off, but no matter how hard she tried in her heart, she couldn't make a single move with her hands.

  She fell off the bed, and with her half-closed eyes, she could only see the boots of these two people. As the room spun around her, her forehead bumped against the leg of a stool beside her, and a wave of pain finally made her come to her senses a bit.

  "Save... save me!" Xu Chuyan shouted with all her might, but her voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum.

  "This guy is still awake!" The fellow was startled and looked around, seemingly looking for something to knock her out again.

  It's all over. Xu Chuyan closed her eyes and didn't dare look again.

  However, after waiting for a while, the expected pain did not come down. The partner who was just fierce and evil suddenly shut up for some reason.

  Xu Chuyan was taken aback, and with great effort, she opened her eyes to see Chi Jin standing beside her, a long knife pressed against the wrist of that thug, just a slight movement away from drawing blood.

  "Hit him?" Qing Xuan leaned against the door frame, smiling slyly, "Don't be afraid, it's just an arm. Hitting people is a big deal."

  Yu Wutui pushed Qingxuan away, and first helped Xu Chuyan up. He took a look at the bulge on her forehead and his expression turned somewhat unsightly.

  "It's done." He muttered, "You figure out a way to explain it to His Highness yourselves."

  I knew this store wasn't quite right, everyone was being cautious, the incense sent from the inn wasn't lit, except for the dishes made of red gold, they didn't touch anything else. If the owner of the store hadn't taken action, tonight would have passed like this, but once they took action, they wouldn't be at an advantage.

  It's all about experience; everyone has it. Just now I heard some noise and restrained myself, planning to catch the right moment before speaking up.

  As a result, Jiang Xu's wife was injured.

  Chi Kung kicked the thug away with one foot, pulled down the bed curtain's hanging rope and bound his hands and feet. Qing Xuan moved quickly too, picking up a stool to smash on the back of the other man's neck.

  "Don't kill him yet." Wu said as he helped Jiang Xushi onto the bed, "Leave him for His Highness to question."

  The fellow saw things were going against him and shouted out of the window: "Strong wind, sail..."

  "Pull your grandma's leg!" Qing Xuan slammed a stool over, "Still want to run? Dream on!"

  The several ruffians resting downstairs had already taken in everyone who entered the house. At this moment, they didn't know the situation on the side of the Jiang family, but they had already started searching around to see how many stolen silver treasures were hidden in this inn.

  The movements were swift and smooth, the process was familiar, and the shopkeeper's eyes widened in amazement.

  "Which way is your brother going?" The shopkeeper asked.

  Several people exchanged glances and tacitly imitated the long princess's gesture of putting their hands on their hips: "Li Danyang, the Little Overlord of Kyoto, have you heard of him?"

  The shopkeeper shook his head in terror.

  "Then you'd better remember it from now on." Bai Jue patted his shoulder heavily, "Otherwise, you'll suffer a great loss!"

  As he spoke, he took out his silver box from behind the counter, counted the silver notes and put them all in his pocket.

  Xu Chu was half-reclining, her heart still racing with lingering fear, the remaining effects of the anesthesia made it hard for her to open her eyes, but she just didn't dare fall asleep, propping herself up until her face turned pale.

  "Sleep well, Second Mistress." Chi Jin stood five steps away from her, cupping his hands in respect, "I'll be standing guard outside the door."

  Having said that, he turned around and went out, closing the door for her.

  The lanterns in the outer corridor were lit, and the light shone on the door, casting his silhouette. Xuchu looked at it and finally felt relieved, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

  Just then someone knocked on the door to pay respects, Jiang Sheng was woken up and impatiently asked: "What's going on?"

  He glanced at her and said with a wave of his hand: "The second lady's room has been burglarized, I've come to ask if there are any problems elsewhere."

  He suddenly woke up with a start, Jiang Shen furrowed his brow and pushed him out.

  Encountered a thief? Xu Chuyan was a timid person, she would be frightened by loud voices, how could she not be scared to death when seeing the thief entering the house?

  A few steps led to the door of that room, Jiang Shen raised his head and saw Chi Jin holding a knife.

  "Please stay." Chi Jin blocked his way.

  Jiang Shen looked him up and down, sneering: "What are you? Daring to block me?"

  Chi Jin Gong Shou: "I'm just following orders, I hope Second Master Jiang will understand."

  "By order?" Jiang narrowed his eyes, "My wife is inside, what can you do with your imperial edict?"

  Chi Jin stood silently, his body blocking the door, not giving an inch.

  Everyone in the inn was awakened one after another. Bai Xueji heard the news and immediately went to Jiang Xuanyin's door.

  "Long live the king! Long live the king!"

  Jiang Xuanjin paused for a moment, his first reaction was to cover Li Huaiyu's ears on the bed.

  "Second sister, don't make a noise." The servant came over and frowned, "The master wants to rest."

  Bai Xuanji anxiously said: "It's all said that this inn is infested with thieves, I must ask if you are unharmed."

  "Second sister worries too much." Cheng Xiao said, "The lord is fine, there's nothing seriously wrong with him."

  "How would you know if you didn't go in?" Bai Xueqi refused to give up.

  The noise was incessant, and Li Huaiyu, who had been sleeping so soundly, was woken up with a scowl on his face. He opened his eyes to find Jiang Xuanjin sitting at the edge of the bed with a dark expression, while he himself was shamelessly occupying someone else's bed.

  "Ah, how did I fall asleep again?" He quickly got out of bed and put on his shoes. Seeing that he was obviously angry, Huai Yu said awkwardly, "Sorry about that, it wasn't intentional."

  She didn't know that Jiang Xuanjin was angry. Fortunately, Zi Yangjun's upbringing wasn't bad, and even though she was infuriated, he didn't throw her out.

  Jiang Xuanjin got up and walked forward to open the door of the house.

  Bai Xuanji was startled, and then looked at him again: "Your Majesty, I am very worried about you!"

  She was startled by her own words and Jiang Xuanjin said: "Please be more careful with your words, Second Miss."

  Bai Xuan'er pursed her lips, pretending not to understand, and said: "I'm afraid my clothes are a bit disheveled, but it's because I was worried about you, Your Majesty. In my haste, I didn't have time to tidy up. If Your Majesty thinks I'm being too forward, then I'll go back and change first."

  Having said that, he bowed and turned around to leave.

  Jiang Xuanjin looked at her back, his eyes slightly cold.

  Hua Yu emerged from behind him and asked in puzzlement: "What's going on?"

  "It's said that there's a thief in the store..."

  "What's going on in this desolate place? It must be the owner of the store who is cheating!" Just now, Li Huaiyu was still a bit sleepy, but after hearing these words, she woke up and walked out with her skirt, "The net has been collected! The net has been collected!"

  She walked very quickly, Jiang Xuanjin followed for two steps and then stopped, watching her disappear around the corner of the corridor like a flying bird.

  Rather than rushing to watch the excitement, it's more like they're fleeing.

  Hua Yu was indeed running away, she felt that her emotions were not quite right. Wasn't it just a word "concubine"? In the past, she didn't want to call herself that, now she felt disgusted with what?

  Don't be so stubborn, just forget about it.

  Li Huaiyu cursed herself for two sentences and returned to the door of her room, only to see that everything was already in a mess.

  Jiang Shen grabbed the red gold, and for some reason, they started fighting together. Next to them were two delicate girls trying to persuade them, but instead, they stood aside watching the commotion, occasionally whispering: "Take down the plate."

  The corner of his mouth twitched, and with a swift kick, he said, "Don't you hurry up and open it?"

  At the sound of Wu Qingxuan's shout, he immediately changed his expression to a conciliatory one and stepped forward to separate the two people with a left and right movement.

  Jiang Shen's face was covered in bruises, and he was caught by Yu Wu, who also gave him a mouthful of scolding: "Do you really think that when a rabbit is anxious, it won't bite people?"

  "Even if I bite you, it won't hurt."

  "You!"

  Hua Yu couldn't help but laugh, and pulled Jiang Shen's collar to send him back into the hands of the two maids, who supported him. Then she said: "Second Master is so talented, always using his brush to conquer the world, how come today he also did something as coarse as a street fight?"

  "He's blocking my way."

  "Really?" Huai Yu leaned over to take a look at Chi Jin, saw that he wasn't hurt much, patted his shoulder and laughed, "Good job!"

  Jiang Sheng: "......"

  "How's the first brew?" she asked.

  Several people looked at each other, pushed Chi Jin forward, and Chi Jin pursed his lips, saying in a low voice: "I was poisoned with anesthesia, fell asleep, bumped my head, and nothing else is seriously wrong."

  Are you still hurt? Huai Yu glared and led them inside.

  Xu Chuyan was still asleep, his complexion had returned to normal, but there was a lump on his forehead, looking a bit disheveled.

  Huai Yu stared for a moment, then went to the luggage and took out some ointment to stuff into Chi Jin's hand. Then she beckoned to Zhuo and the others: "Follow me."

  Eight faces opened the way, Kyoto's Little Overlord Li Danyang stormed down towards the building with a fierce momentum.

  When Jiang Xuanjin arrived, the hut where people were detained was already a scene of wailing and howling.

  "Auntie! Auntie! We're just trying to make a living!" The battered henchman begged for mercy, "You look like someone with great power and influence, we didn't dare lay hands on you, but someone offered us a huge sum of money and forced us to sell the goods!"

  "Huh?" Li Huaiyu raised an eyebrow and swung her leg back and forth, "Just the people in my room are affected?"

  "Hey, we don't know you, old lady! It's this guy! He's the one who asked for 'White Pearl'."

  Hua Yu glanced over and reached out to turn the still unconscious man over, but before her hand could touch him, it was blocked by someone.

  "The people in the palace." Jiang Xuanjin said calmly.

  He looked at him in surprise and then glanced at the ordinary-looking Han on the ground. Huai Yu was curious: "How did you know?"

  Jiang Xuanjin gazed at her with a foolishly loving expression: "Apart from the people in the palace, who would dare to bully Bai Zhuiji?"

  These two days on the road were smooth sailing, and they really did relax a bit, thinking that within the borders of Ziyang, the Emperor's reach wasn't that long, but in the end, they still couldn't guard against it.

  Hua Yu shook her head: "That's it, he knows I'm with you on the same road, and your suspicion of rebellion can't be washed away."

  He gave her a cold glance, Jiang Xuanjin pulled her out of the woodshed and turned to order Cheng Xu: "Clean up."

  "Yes." He nodded and clasped his hands together.

  He led himself in the direction of his room again, and Huai Yu hesitated: "What are you doing?"

  Jiang Xuanjin glanced at the sky: "There's still an hour left, you can sleep a bit longer."

  Huai Yu really wanted to say that she could also sleep in her own room, but thinking that Chu Nian was still there, she said: "Let Rou and Qing Xuan squeeze a bit, I can sleep on their side too."

  He stopped in his tracks and Jiang Xuanjin turned around: "Their beds are more comfortable than mine?"

  "It's not that...," said Yu, shrugging her shoulders, "It's just not very convenient for you."

  The devil knows when "your humble servant" will pop up again.

  Jiang Xuanjin looked at her steadily and said, "I'm going to see Second Brother. You sleep in the room, there's nothing inconvenient about it."

  Having said that, he turned around and went in another direction.

  Hua Yu stood still, watching his back, feeling that this person seemed to have changed a bit, although he was still insincere, but seemed to be much gentler.

  That night, except for Li Huaiyu, no one had a good rest. The next day, as soon as the sky brightened, everyone set off and hastily left the inn.

  Xu Chuyi woke up to find Guan Luan waiting by her bedside.

  "Madam," she said expressionlessly, "No matter how angry you are, it's unreasonable to make the young master lose face in public."

  She looked at her dazedly and Xu Chuyan's voice was hoarse: "When did I let him lose face?"

  "It's clearly the young master's legitimate wife, yet she sleeps in someone else's room and has an outsider guarding her?" Gu Lian furrowed his brow, "The young master is magnanimous and tolerant, but you think it's justified?"

  Xu Chuannan listened calmly and then asked her: "In your opinion, what should I do?"

  Gū Lán replied: "Go with Master Zǐ to apologize, he hasn't had his breakfast yet."

  This lady has always been good at grasping the situation, she repeatedly offends, but doesn't see her getting anxious or red-eyed, and even less likely to report to the authorities, so Gu Lian puts on airs in front of her.

  However, after hearing her words, Xu Chuyan didn't respond as usual, but instead propped himself up with his elbow and leaned against the soft pillow, smiling lightly.

  "A sparrow in front of a swan's eyes, its wings are probably not long enough."

  The solitary wild goose was taken aback and didn't understand: "What does it mean?"

  "Flattery will get you nowhere." Chūnǎo nodded, "Thanks for your kind intentions."

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