Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 44 South Yamen and North Yamen
The sparrows outside the window were still chattering, and the two people in the room were very close.

Gu Jingnian almost touched Feng Niang's forehead and wanted to pull out her hairpin.

He held back, looking away, his gaze falling on a guqin in the corner.

Feng Niang thought the young man was shy, so she smiled and followed his gaze, saying leisurely, "I like music, and I play the zither in my spare time to entertain myself."

In fact, Gu Jingnian saw from her diary that she had only studied piano a few times. Half a month ago, she was annoyed that learning the piano was too difficult, but he was not in a position to expose her.

“So elegant.”

"Take off your clothes."

"Ok?"

"Your clothes don't fit you well. I'll make some for you." Feng Niang seemed to be teasing Gu Jingnian on purpose. Her beautiful eyes flickered as she said, "The lunchbox hit you. I want to apologize to you."

"It's presumptuous."

As he spoke, his belt and sword were taken off and thrown aside.

Gu Jingnian let her take off the brocade robe.

She reached into her pocket and took out her official badge, token, and a purse containing several dozen coins. Feng Niang did not find her belongings, but smiled sweetly and asked, "Who embroidered this purse for you?"

"I bought it at a stall in South Market."

"It's very pretty. Sit down for a while."

Feng Niang then took out a pair of scissors, needle and money and slowly altered the clothes. Gu Jingnian was only wearing a single layer of clothes, so he had to sit there and wait.

They had tested each other in all the ways that needed to be tested, and the topic began to move from shallow to deep.

"Last time, Inspector Gu mentioned what happened in Wanchun Palace. It was really dangerous."

"Yes, speaking of Liu Heng faking his death and escaping, I once cut Liu Heng's face with a knife, but the knife on his body was fake. He may have taken out the Viper Heart and hid himself."

Feng Niang looked very interested and asked, "How do you know if someone else took it?"

"When Huang Hu and I arrived, the giant snake was about to sneak into the swamp. We were driven away by the winged people under Liu Heng. So who else could have gotten the snake's heart except him?"

"Was the giant snake still alive at that time?"

"Yes."

"I heard that when the Third Prince led his troops to the scene, Liu Heng had not yet found the giant viper in the swamp. Could it be that the Third Prince succeeded?"

"I remember that it was Wang Qinghe's men who found Liu Heng..."

"No." Feng Niang was very sure, "The Third Prince arrived first and surrounded and killed Liu Heng, and was only found by Wang Qinghe's people afterwards."

Gu Jingnian was silent for a moment.

This was the first time he heard of this. Since he and Lu Yanning separated, the two had never seen each other again, nor had they ever communicated about it.

Originally, he wanted to push the blame on Liu Heng, but now he knows that there are other suspects.

"I don't know. At that time, Huang Hu and I had already been driven away by that feathered man."

"Lu Yanning didn't tell you?"

"No, my brother-in-law is not someone who can hide things. His expression is the same, so he definitely doesn't know anything." Gu Jingnian said: "In my opinion, it is more likely that Liu Heng took the Viper Heart."

Feng Niang was thinking to herself while sewing clothes with her head down.

There were only a few people who could take away the Viper Heart, either Gu Jingnian or Huang Hu, but even Luoxia said it was unlikely for them to do it in such a short time; either the old man kept it for himself; or Wei Xie took it away; another possibility was that someone got it before Luoxia arrived.

Among them, the strongest and most opportunities are indeed the old guy and Wei Xie.

"You just said that you cut Liu Heng's face with a knife?"

"Yes."

"What else do you know?"

"That's all." Gu Jingnian said, "If I'm not mistaken, you asked me to enter Kaiping Division to track down Kui Xin."

Feng Niang laughed at herself and said, "Who am I? I am just a chess piece like you."

Gu Jingnian pointed at the brocade robe in her hand and asked, "So I am also a caged person like you?"

"You're dreaming. Without going through all the tests, you're just a first-time candidate."

Gu Jingnian asked, "Is the person in the cage the Bei Ya?"

"I can only say that Bei Ya is keeping an eye on the caged man. I can't tell you anything else."

"So, Liu Heng is also a caged man?"

Feng Niang smiled but did not answer.

Gu Jingnian said: "Okay, it seems that 'Liu Heng' is not Liu Heng, then who is he?"

"I don't know. His position is much higher than mine. My bird can't fly over anywhere he is. But you guessed right. The caged man suspected that he had secretly hidden the Viper Heart and wanted to use you to test him."

"In that case, where can I find him?"

Feng Niang said: "Don't worry, you will meet him sooner or later. Maybe he will come to you first when he sees you enter Kaipingsi."

“Why should I help you?”

"what do you want?"

“Simple and peaceful.”

"Okay, once I find the Viper Heart, I will give you peace."

"You have the final say?"

Feng Niang asked back, "Do you think I am living a stable life?"

Gu Jingnian thought of her diary again. This woman usually looked elegant and calm, completely different from the upset look in her diary.

"I do not know."

"I dare not say anything else." Feng Niang said, "I can make you live as peacefully as I do..."

"Bang!" The attic suddenly shook violently for a while.

The two people in the house pushed the door open and saw that a large beam in the yard had collapsed to the ground.

The ferocious man whose nose was cut off was holding up the entire house which was almost collapsed with his hands. The strange thing was that he looked much taller than before.

"Feng Niang, Xiong Li was repairing the house and pushed down the pillar!"

The fierce man who was holding up the house hastily explained: "The pillars were almost broken by the fire!"

Feng Niang threw the brocade robe in her hand to the ground and complained unhappily.

"Every day, they earn ten cents a day and spend tens of thousands of dollars a day. They are all money-losing goods!"

After saying that, she raised her eyes and glanced at Gu Jingnian.

The young man looked stunned, as if he was not used to her sudden aggressiveness.

It doesn't look like he has read her diary.

So, she smoothed the hair by her ears, pursed her lips and smiled gently, saying leisurely: "I'm sorry to have frightened Inspector Gu."

"It's okay." Gu Jingnian bent down to pick up the brocade robe.

"I'll do it." Feng Niang quickly pulled him and said softly, "Go in quickly, don't catch a cold."

Gu Jingnian saw that she was being pretentious, and became aware of it, so he turned around.

Sure enough, Pei Nian was standing in the courtyard of the theater, with his arms folded, watching coldly as he, wearing only a single piece of clothing, quarreled with Feng Niang at the door of the boudoir.

Behind Pei Nian, You Gui saw the awkward atmosphere, his face turned serious, and he shouted, "Put on your clothes and come down."

"Yes."

Gu Jingnian picked up the brocade robe, but his arm was grabbed again.

Feng Niang ignored the others and leaned close to his ear, parted her red lips, and whispered softly, "Let's find a day to go for an outing outside the city."

Gu Jingnian thought that maybe she had some clues about "Liu Heng" to give him in private, and nodded.

He put on the brocade robe again, only to find that it had been sewn up at the waist. It looked the same as if it had been altered or not, and there were even some ugly stitches.

Feng Niang's craftsmanship is not even as good as his.

Walking down the stairs, he nodded to You Gui and Pei Nian.

"Haven't you seen the police yet?" You Gui reminded, "Also, they usually address you by your official title."

"I've seen the police."

Pei Nian always had that stern expression, and said calmly: "It's always an official title."

"Yes."

Gu Jingnian followed her in her pretentious manner and stood silently behind You Gui.

Pei Nian went up the stairs and went to see Feng Niang.

Yu Gui then turned his head slightly and whispered, "The leech disaster has not been suppressed. There have been sporadic changes outside the city recently. The detective is not in a good mood."

It seems that the fire in Wanchun Palace that night did not burn away all the evil after all.

Some people want to raise a peerless giant viper, but four or five are not enough, and one or two small leeches that escape would be a disaster for ordinary people.

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Facing Pei Nian, the look in Feng Niang's eyes was subtly different. Although she was still smiling, she looked less enthusiastic and more businesslike.

"Pei Ji Shi, do you have anything to ask?"

"good."

Pei Nian entered the room, closed the door, and said, "Half a year ago, Concubine De died suddenly, and more than a hundred palace maids and eunuchs died overnight. It was you who gave me the clues that pointed the case to the imperial physician Liu Heng. I investigated and found that the evidence was conclusive, but looking back, Liu Jikun was very eager to close the case at that time. He knew something, so this time you borrowed my hand to silence him, right?"

"Pei Jishi has said such bad things about me." Feng Niang said in a nonchalant tone, "These matters are not my decision. I am just a bird that delivers the message."

"It seems that the caged man is behind this." Pei Nian asked, "Is the caged man Bei Ya?"

"All I can say is that the caged man is under the watchful eye of the Northern Yamen. Pei Ji Shi is not qualified to know about other matters."

As Feng Niang spoke, she took out a token from the drawer and played with it casually. From time to time, the lifelike Bi'an carved on it appeared.

This time, Pei Nian did not back down. He stepped forward, snatched the Bi'an Order, threw it on the couch, and strangled Feng Niang's neck.

"What exactly is your conspiracy? Haven't you killed enough people?!"

"Pei Jishi knows what he is doing. Don't forget how Liu Jikun died."

"Say!"

"Okay, since you have the guts, I'll tell you. It's actually very simple. The Southern Court is responsible for mundane affairs, while the Northern Court is responsible for extraordinary people. The organization of the caged people, the sudden death of Concubine De, the shocking changes in the western suburbs, and the conspiracy in Wanchun Palace were all done by extraordinary people. The Southern Court only needs to calm public opinion. Liu Jikun stretched his hand too far, so he must die."

Pei Nian didn't let go and asked, "Anything else?"

"Liu Heng was a traitor who trapped people. Although he is dead, he has refined the Viper Heart. Now all parties are looking for him. The Northern Court is also keeping an eye on this matter. It may require the cooperation of the Southern Court, but the situation cannot be allowed to escalate further. Do you understand?"

"So you let Gu Jingnian enter the Southern Court? What is your relationship with the Pacification Envoy?"

Feng Niang struggled twice but failed to break free. She said, "Let go now. I won't tell anyone else what I said today. I want to live like an ordinary person and don't want to see aliens wreak havoc on living beings. That's why I chose to deliver the letter to you among all the people in the Southern Court... The mission of the Southern Court is to protect ordinary people like us. Pei Jishi is a smart man. Do you think I'm right?"

Pei Nian heard the hidden warning in her euphemistic words and finally let go of her hand.

Feng Niang sat down, looked at the pinch marks on her snow-white neck in the bronze mirror, bit her lip, and cursed in a very low voice.

Pei Nian said: "Don't cross the line again, Nan Ya is not someone you can easily mess with."

"Oh? I crossed the line by talking to Gu Jingnian for a few more words? You really like to stand up for him."

"It has nothing to do with it."

Feng Niang couldn't help but laugh and said, "Is it unrelated? Then may I ask who bit Pei Jishi's neck?"

Pei Nian frowned slightly, folded his arms again, and said, "It was bitten by a dog."

(End of this chapter)