Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 72 Shobunkan

That night, Wei Xie gained a lot from his meeting with Gu Jingnian.

Although he did not show it, he must have been very curious about the art of alchemy and had been listening attentively.

In the end, he began to feel more and more inclined to win over Gu Jingnian.

People of royal birth are generous. Wei Yu was in a good mood and decided to give Gu Jingnian a gift and asked him what he wanted.

In this case, Gu Jingnian simply said, "I want to go to Zhaowenguan to look at the books that were copied from Chongjing Academy."

"You can't go." Wei Yu immediately shook his head and said, "The rules of Zhaowen Hall are strict, not ordinary people can enter."

As someone who was used to being in a high position, he did not give Gu Jingnian a chance to raise any more conditions. He made the final decision and said, "How about this? Change your request. I will talk to the Kaiping Division and promote you to the rank of Lieutenant."

Gu Jingnian had no choice but to stand up and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

At this moment, Yi Yan accidentally knocked the wine jug in her hand onto him, and the full jug of wine immediately splashed all over him.

"Sir, I know I was wrong."

Yi Yan quickly apologized, stretched out her hand to wipe Gu Jingnian's clothes, and said: "I will go back to the mansion to get clothes. It's cold at night. If the young master catches a cold..."

"No need." Wei Yu instructed the maid behind him, "Go get me a set of clothes."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for the clothes."

"There is no need to see each other between you and me."

So, when Gu Jingnian came out of Wei Xie's private residence, he was wearing a silk robe. Although it did not look gorgeous and luxurious, only people who knew the value of things could see the extraordinary nature of this dress.

Soon, he and Yi Yan were sitting in the carriage.

The carriage was prepared by Yi Yan. There was no coachman. The horse had long ears like a rabbit's ears, and it seemed to be able to understand its owner's mind. It circled around the city by itself.

"Do you remember what it looked like?"

"Well, close your eyes."

Yi Yan didn't turn on the light. She took out a black box from under the cushion and opened it. Inside was a night pearl.

She used the bead to shine on Gu Jingnian's face and said, "You are so good-looking."

"Not as good as Wang Jishi."

It was a rare occasion that Gu Jingnian wanted to say something that would make Yi Yan happy.

He really didn't know how to repay her.

But this flattery had no effect. Yi Yan did not respond to him, but focused on disguising himself for him and occasionally teaching him a few words.

The mushy creature moved on his face again. Sometimes Gu Jingnian opened his eyes and saw Yi Yan's clear black and white eyes. When the two looked at each other, he closed his eyes again.

"Okay, open your mouth."

After being busy for more than an hour, Yi Yan prepared a bottle of voice-changing medicine and asked Gu Jingnian to drink it.

The carriage also arrived near the northern city, and Feng Niang arranged for someone to pick up Gu Jingnian.

"Thank you very much."

When Gu Jingnian spoke, it was already Wei Xie's voice.

He was about to get off the car, but was pulled back.

"I almost forgot. Give me your hand."

Yi Yan quickly drew another scar on his hand, picked up the mirror and asked, "Don't you want to see it?"

"Oh."

Only then did Gu Jingnian look into the mirror and saw Wei Xie's face.

He then praised: "Sir, your technique is excellent."

Yi Yan smiled and said, "Go ahead, be careful."

Gu Jingnian picked up a bamboo hat and put it on, got off the carriage, walked into the darkness, and knocked on the back door of a small shop. Soon, the door was opened. Gao Changgan stuck his head out and was stunned.

Gu Jingnian, who wanted to enter, was stopped and had to ask, "What?"

"You're not the one I'm waiting for."

"I'm."

"you are not."

No wonder Feng Niang always calls them "money-losing goods". Leaving Zhongzhou with such idiots will inevitably increase the risk.

After a long explanation, Gu Jingnian finally convinced Gao Changgan that he was the person to be picked up.

The small shop had only a table with a pile of chicken bones on it and a gong next to it.

"Give me money."

Gao Changgan picked up the gong and said, "I will lead the way. I will eat chicken for one hundred coins."

Gu Jingnian then took out a piece of broken silver and put it on the pile, which made Gao Changgan very happy. He touched and bit it, then carefully put the silver away, muttering, "People who wear good clothes are different."

"Lead the way."

"Stand still and close your eyes."

Gu Jingnian then closed his eyes, and Gao Changgan put his hands on his shoulders.

This stop lasts for a very, very long time.

Just when Gu Jingnian was about to fall asleep, suddenly, he felt that the environment around him changed. He seemed to have fallen into nothingness, and countless voices whizzed past his ears.

A moment later, he felt the wind.

Looking up, I saw a high palace wall in front of me and a bright moon hanging above it.

This is outside the palace, a rather secret and dark place. There is a luxurious carriage parked nearby with a coachman sitting in it.

Suddenly, he smelled the scent of roast chicken. Gao Changgan took out another roast chicken from somewhere, peeled off the lotus leaf that wrapped it, and started eating it without asking Gu Jingnian whether he wanted to eat it or not.

Soon, there were a few clean chicken bones on the ground. Gao Changgan wiped his mouth and squatted down.

Gu Jingnian thought he was relieving himself, so he walked towards the carriage. When he reached the carriage, he turned around and saw that Gao Changgan was gone.

The old black man, who was dressed as a rickshaw driver, stretched out his hand and said, "The rent of the rickshaw is one thousand coins, and the rickshaw driver is one thousand coins."

"On credit."

Gu Jingnian had just given too much and he had no money left.

He really didn't expect that these money-losing guys would ask for money twice. They were quite smart.

When Lao Hei saw that he didn't give it to him, he panicked and said, "I can give it to you at a lower price."

"I don't have much money, I'll give it to you next time." Lao Hei became increasingly unsure and asked tentatively, "How about two hundred coins?"

Gu Jingnian had nothing to say, so he got on the carriage and closed his eyes to rest.

At dawn, he smelled a burning smell. He lifted the curtain and saw that Lao Hei had also fallen asleep with a whip in his hand. The burning smell came from the whip.

"Wake up."

"Oh."

Lao Hei woke up, wiped his saliva, and with a "hiss", smoke came out.

Gu Jingnian was a little afraid of his palm, so he moved away. He looked at the carriage seat with holes burned in it and knew that he would have to pay for it himself.

Finally, the palace gate opened. He asked Lao Hei to drive the car to a place not too far from the palace gate and got off.

"Is that it?" asked Lao Hei.

"Ah."

"It's so expensive to rent this car, why do you just deliver it here?"

"Go back."

Gu Jingnian walked towards the palace gate alone, feeling a little nervous but with a calm expression on his face.

He had no badge to enter or leave the palace, only this face and an arrogant temperament, so he glanced down at the guard at the palace gate.

"Your Highness."

"Take me to Shobunkan."

"Yes."

The palace is divided into "front court and rear bedroom". The front is where court meetings are held and ministers work. Zhaowenguan is located to the northwest of the Zhengshitang where the prime minister works.

There was no morning court today. Officials from the Council of State were filing in. Gu Jingnian walked among them, afraid that someone would greet him.

Finally, he turned around the Council of Government Hall and saw an independent palace in front of him.

This was Zhaowenguan. The towers were majestic, but it was not as heavily guarded as Fengniang had said. There were not even any imperial soldiers at the door. There were only a few eunuchs standing there chatting in the sun. One of them was holding a snow-white cat in his arms.

Gu Jingnian walked forward alone. The eunuchs on guard turned around, looked at him, smiled flatteringly, and bowed respectfully.

"The Third Prince is coming down."

"Ah."

Judging from their tone, Wei Xie seems to come here often.

Yes, he is someone who is so interested in alchemy.

Gu Jingnian walked through the eunuchs without stopping. Suddenly, the white cat called to him.

"Meow."

This is obviously a cat that can bite birds, and there is a kind of spirituality in its eyes that other cats do not have.

Gu Jingnian reached out and scratched the white cat's chin through his sleeve, letting it smell the scent of the clothes. The white cat then closed its eyes comfortably and rubbed his hand.

After climbing up the stairs, we finally entered Zhaowenguan.

It was several times larger than the library of Chongjing Academy. When the eunuchs pushed open the door, they could see the endless bookshelves inside.

Gu Jingnian paced there and felt the solemnity brought by the sea of books and learning.

Unfortunately, he was not a studious person. He ignored the entire floor of classics, history, and miscellaneous books and looked around hesitantly.

After passing through the maze-like halls, he did not find the "Fengwuzhi" nor saw any books related to alien creatures or alchemy. However, he found the stairs and walked up without hesitation.

There was nothing on the second floor either, so he went up to the third floor, but still nothing.

This seems to be just an ordinary library, no wonder the security is not strict... It is also very different from what Gu Jingnian expected.

He walked around for a long time and was feeling disappointed when he suddenly saw a long corridor between two rows of bookshelves, leading to a flying bridge to another small building. An old eunuch was sitting on the corridor and taking a nap.

Gu Jingnian took a few breaths quietly and walked towards the corridor calmly.

"Your Highness."

Gu Jingnian stopped and felt inexplicably nervous because of the old eunuch's aura.

"You forgot again." sighed the old eunuch.

Gu Jingnian didn't know what he had forgotten and was thinking quickly.

It was not until he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the corridor was covered with a thick carpet and a pair of women's palace-style embroidered shoes were placed in front of the carpet that he understood.

So he took off his shoes and walked calmly down the corridor.

He was alert in his heart, but this time, the old eunuch said nothing.

On the other side, there is a small library with only five rows of bookshelves, and the books on them begin to be related to aliens.

Gu Jingnian looked at the volumes of books, walked slowly, turned around the bookshelf, and suddenly, he felt he stepped on something.

Looking down, I saw a pair of feet wearing silk stockings and with delicate ankles.

"Hey."

A woman exclaimed and said angrily: "Third brother, you stepped on me."

It’s Wei Chan.

She was not wearing the red hunting suit today, but a light apricot palace dress. Her temperament was much softer and she looked more girlish and innocent.

She was sitting on the carpet, leaning against the bookshelf, reading a book called "Monster Record" in her hand. After being stepped on, she glared at Gu Jingnian in annoyance.

Gu Jingnian glanced at her indifferently, ignored her and continued walking forward.

Wei Chan stretched out her foot and tripped him.

"You want to leave after stepping on someone? What are you looking for? I heard that you met Gu Jingnian last night. What new information did you get?"

Gu Jingnian guessed that she was also interested in alchemy, so he openly told her some information.

"We have found the great pharmacist, his name is Chu Danqing, he has set up the Gentlemen's Society in Chongjing Academy."

Wei Chan stood up and asked, "So what are you looking for today?"

"The Records of Scenery."

"and then?"

"I'll tell you when I find what I want to see."

"Okay." Wei Chan raised her chin and said, "Let's go."

(End of this chapter)