Minglong

Chapter 159 Heartbroken (Seeking monthly votes or 2)

"Frost falls on the courtyard, golden chrysanthemums bloom, the moon is full, and a faint fragrance lingers on the secluded path..."

The gentle melody of a young girl of sixteen or seventeen echoed in the quiet courtyard.

Linghu Qingmo silently peeked out from the rooftop, glanced around the alchemy room, and frowned slightly upon discovering that Xie Jinhuan was not there.

Coal Ball seemed to know its way around well. It raised its head to indicate the west courtyard, then flapped its wings and flew to the window of the alchemy room, opening its beak to beg for food.

"Hey? Coal Ball! Come here, come here, help fan the fire..."

"Guji?!"

Coal Ball was utterly shocked, but when he saw the snacks that were subsequently pulled out, he quickly fanned himself...

……

Fearing discovery, Linghu Qingmo withdrew his gaze, drew his sword, and moved along the roof ridge. He quickly arrived at the courtyard where his young mistress resided. He could see that the doors and windows were tightly closed, but he could hear sounds:
"Look at yourself, look at how badly you're injured! There's not a single uninjured spot on your body..."

"It's not that serious..."

"Don't move..."

……

Xie Jinhuan is injured?

Linghu Qingmo's heart tightened, and he immediately leaped up and landed at the door, pushing the door open directly.

wow~
Then a sharp, explosive sound came from the room:
"what--?!"

……

Linghu Qingmo looked anxiously toward the source of the sound, only to be stunned.

On the embroidered bed, Xie Jinhuan, with her well-proportioned figure, lay upright on the pillow. Large bruises covered her bare shoulders, back, and arms, which were shiny and smooth, indicating that medicine had been applied.

Meanwhile, the plump, bespectacled woman sat in a duck-like position, massaging her shoulders and back with medicated oil in her hands.

In this situation, it could only be considered a case of treating the injury without paying attention to details.

However, the bespectacled woman was disheveled, with her arms crossed over her chest, a jade bracelet on her wrist, and wearing only a light purple 'phoenix silk robe'.

This item was produced by the Danyang Academy; it's very precious and beautiful—garter stockings paired with a Southern Hemisphere-themed top, creating a hazy, alluring effect…

"what--!"

Linghu Qingmo belatedly realized what was happening, and after a moment of stunned silence, he cried out in surprise, his face flushed red as he slammed the door shut.

"Miss Lin, what are you doing?!"

Lin Wanyi thought it was her mother's daughter who had come, and almost fainted from fright. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was that brat Linghu, and quickly put her skirt on.

"I treated his injuries, what else could I do? You... why didn't you knock before you came?"

"Healing injuries?"

Linghu Qingmo stood outside the door, his eyes filled with suspicion:
"Why aren't you wearing clothes while you're treating your injuries?"

Lin Wanyi's face flushed red as she fastened her belt, forcing an explanation through gritted teeth:

"Am I not wearing anything? Why would I wear so much at home?"

You might as well not have worn anything at all...

Linghu Qingmo thought this older sister was incredibly flirtatious, but this was Lin Wanyi's boudoir, and she couldn't very well meddle in what other people did at home. So she simply waited outside the door with her sword in hand.

rustling...

squeak~
A moment later, Xie Jinhuan, impeccably dressed, emerged from the room, his expression resembling that of a detached, otherworldly master.

"Momo, why are you here?"

Lin Wanyi blushed and hid inside the room, clearly too scared to come out.

Linghu Qingmo pretended not to have seen anything and first checked Xie Jinhuan's injuries:

"The matter in Yunling County has had a huge impact. Even the Princess is not allowed to leave the house. The Prince's Mansion is without a leader, so I came to find you. Hmm... I hope I haven't bothered you?"

Xie Jinhuan shook his head and smiled: "I'm just here to heal my injuries. It's broad daylight, what could I possibly be bothering me about?"

"Humph~"

A faint groan came from inside the room, indicating that the person was still upset about being stuck under the desk and being wantonly groped by the big jerk.

Linghu Qingmo felt that flirting in front of Doctor Lin's door was a bit too sarcastic, so he turned his head and said:

"Let's go back to the Prince's Mansion first and then talk about it."

Upon seeing this, Xie Jinhuan greeted Wanyi and they left the Lin residence together...
-
into the night.

Imperial City, Royal Study.

In his extreme grief, Emperor Qian's hair turned almost white overnight. In addition, he had to stop taking his medication for a pre-existing illness, making him look as if he had aged twenty years.

At this moment, Emperor Qian sat behind his desk, his face expressionless, looking at a document drafted by the Council of State Affairs.

The document is an official document concerning the "He Family's Confession to Demons" case. To prevent public opinion from escalating, it will be made public in a few days. Its content is roughly as follows:

The emperor's father-in-law, He Xiu, coveted immortality and colluded with demons and bandits, secretly committing major crimes such as the "Haunted Palace Case, Huaijiang Bay Bloodbath Case, Mummified Corpse Case, Ye Shirong Blood Slave Case, Black Cat Assassination Case, and Yunling County Bloodbath Case." According to the law, the entire He clan was executed as a warning to others.

Empress He had lived in seclusion in the palace for many years. Although she did not participate, as the eldest daughter of the He family, she failed to fulfill her duty of admonishment and was deposed and imprisoned in the cold palace.

The crown prince himself was innocent. However, court officials such as Fan Li of the Imperial Academy and Hou Jiye, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, jointly submitted a memorial to advise him to remain in his position as crown prince and to confine him to the Eastern Palace to reflect on his actions.

The emperor was responsible for failing to supervise the case since the maternal relatives had committed such a heinous crime. He issued a decree throughout the country to punish them and ordered that silver be taken from the imperial family's private treasury to cover their funeral expenses and compensate the victims.

The Imperial Observatory failed in its oversight, so Lu Wuzhen was demoted to deputy director and also appointed as deputy director of the abbot of Tiantai Temple, Zen Master Wuxin.

Additionally, Xie Wen, Xie Jinhuan's father, was wrongly accused in the case of the haunting of the imperial palace and was attacked and killed by the He family on his way to Ruizhou. He has now been exonerated.

Xie Jinhuan solved the Huaijiang Bay massacre, the mummified corpse case, and the Ye Shirong blood slave case on his own. He made the greatest contribution in the case in Yunling County, saving the Great Qian Dynasty from chaos. He was rewarded for his many merits and was enfeoffed as a county marquis.

For his meritorious service in slaying the demon at Zihui Mountain, he was awarded ten sets of Qingyuan Pills; for his meritorious service in slaying the demon at Danyang Academy, he was awarded a set of precious armor…

The official document was very long, and even though it had tried its best to remove Emperor Qian himself and conceal the specific casualties, it was enough to severely damage the emperor's prestige.

Before this incident, Emperor Qian might have been considered a passable emperor, but after this incident, he would basically become a negative example in history books.

However, Emperor Qian was no longer concerned about the evaluation of later generations. According to the inspection by the Imperial Observatory, there was nothing wrong with the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the Prince of Dan. Although he had lost everything, he still had a few family members who had never betrayed him.

Although after this day, the empress who loved him all her life may be heartbroken, and the crown prince who respected him for half his life may be devastated, he will at least not have to commit the crime of killing his wife and children again.

For him right now, this is the greatest blessing.

Cao Fu'er stood behind him, holding a whisk in her arms. Knowing that Emperor Qian's days were numbered, her eyes were filled with sorrow, but she still fulfilled her duty as his "chief attendant," offering words of comfort:
"Your Majesty hasn't slept for two days. Why don't you take a rest? Even though things are chaotic now, it's still much better than during the Jian'an Rebellion."

Emperor Qian's eyes flickered, and he picked up his brush to make corrections on the official document:

"The Jian'an Rebellion was more dangerous than it is now, but it was not as difficult to endure as it is now."

"Fortunately, the culprit has been found. If Xie Jinhuan hadn't relentlessly pursued the matter, the He family might have survived until Jinghuan ascended the throne. At that time, almost no one in the court could restrain them, and Jinghuan would not have ignored the advice of his maternal grandfather and He Man. With the sorcerer in power, the world would inevitably be in chaos, and the Zhao family would surely perish. Xie Jinhuan was originally a young master from an official family, intelligent, quick-witted, and of excellent character and learning. His family was destroyed and his family perished because I misjudged people."

"Now, with your single-handed courage, you have saved the dynasty from collapse. I would feel it is not enough to merely grant you the title of County Marquis. Therefore, I hereby bestow upon you a mansion, ten acres of land, and ten thousand strings of cash..."

……
-
Qin Tianjian.

The moonlight, as white as frost, spilled onto the white stone square in front of the Bafang Tongming Pagoda, where celestial officials could be seen coming and going, reporting on their affairs.

Inside the council hall of the tower, seven Taoist priests with ethereal bearing sat in chairs, with Lu Wuzhen at the head of the table, convening an internal meeting of the Dan Ding Sect:
"The predecessors of various sects bestowed upon me the name 'Wuzhen' (meaning 'without truth'), intending that the three thousand great paths lead to the same destination, and that I should not exclude those who disagree with me. However, cultivation is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind..."

All seven were leaders of the Dan Ding Sect in the Central Plains region, including Li Chimo of Xuanhu Temple and Qing Yazi of Qinglian Palace.

Zihui Mountain benefited from the turmoil caused by the witchcraft cult, and the merits made by Master Qixia ranked second in the Dan Ding Sect.

For this reason, Nangong Ye was ranked second in cultivation among the seven patriarchs. At this moment, he sat upright in a black and white Taoist robe, listening to Lu Wuzhen's meeting. His expression was as cold as the stars and moon in the sky, but his heart was occupied by that touch of immorality...

After returning home during the day, she did nothing but spend the entire day taking baths at her secret base by the Fengyi River, changing the water countless times.

As a practitioner of the immortal path, in order to achieve a state of purity and break through to the highest level, she has eaten very little in recent months, relying on "Bigu Pills" to maintain her physique, and at most drinking a little alcohol. She is clean inside and out.

But for some reason, I felt guilty today, and I was very afraid that a certain Taoist friend with profound Taoist skills present would be able to judge what she had done through details.

But this was clearly just her psychological effect, or rather, the work of her inner demons.

The six Dan Ding Sect immortals present obviously couldn't have imagined that the cold and aloof leader of the Dan Zhou Dao Sect, who was blindfolded and beating up Huang Mao in the car on the way here during the day, was now just talking about the general situation and the predicament.

Although Taoism emphasizes "believe it or not, get lost," believing in a religion requires no cost, but spiritual practice does.

Now that it has suddenly been downgraded and placed on equal footing with Buddhism, its cultivation resources and even fresh blood will inevitably be greatly reduced. This is obviously a loss that the Dan Ding Sect cannot afford.

Lu Wuzhen's main topic today is 'the infiltration of demonic sects, the sinister intentions of witchcraft cults, the alteration of Buddhist scriptures, and the ambitious aspirations of martial arts sects'.

To put it simply, of the five major cultivation schools in the Great Qian Dynasty, four wanted to bring down the Daoist sect.

In the path of cultivation, one either progresses or regresses. Lu Wuzhen demanded that all sects find ways to maintain the current status of the Dan Ding Sect, and even issued annual tasks.

For example, Zihui Mountain subdued Fanyun Temple to prevent 'Ziyun Temple' from actually being built in Danzhou.

Given Nangong Ye's current situation, she couldn't handle Fanyun Temple, but in the path of cultivation, one must rely on strength to maintain one's status. She couldn't very well admit that she was incapable, so she confidently promised to complete the task.

After the internal meeting, the various sect leaders left one after another, and Nangong Ye also left the Imperial Observatory alone, intending to go home and have some peace and quiet.

But halfway there, he wanted to see what his good disciple was doing and how Xie Jinhuan was doing.

Therefore, Nangong Ye first went to the Lin family mansion and found that the Lin family, one big and one small, were busy refining pills, while the big coal ball was fanning the fire and working nearby. So he went to the Wang Mansion on Zheng'an Street.

The Prince's mansion was brightly lit, as the Prince of Dan's mansion had not yet been fully investigated, and the Crimson Guards were still on guard outside.

Meanwhile, in the eastern residence, Zhao De was confined to the bare study, meditating with the monk Jingkong, the two of them rambling on about nothing:

"Master Jingkong, do you think I have any wisdom or innate qualities?"

"Everyone has the potential for wisdom; the Crown Prince simply hasn't shown it yet."

"Oh... Brother Xie is so capable, has your innate talent already been revealed?"

"Young Master Xie has great potential."

……

?

Upon hearing this discussion on Zen, Nangong Ye secretly shook his head and crossed the Prince's Mansion to arrive at the West Residence.

The western residence was Princess Changning's territory, and at this time, many maids were waiting obediently outside the boudoir.

Meanwhile, in her boudoir, Duoduo was playing the pipa as accompaniment, while Princess Changning, dressed in a magnificent kimono skirt and accompanied by a Daoist nun, was...

"One, two, three, four..."

The Daoist nun was Jing Wu Niang, Lu Wuzhen's grand-disciple. According to the seniority of the Dan Ding Sect, he should call her Grandmaster Uncle. However, they were about the same age and had even exchanged skills during internal exchanges before.

Nangong Ye glanced at them briefly and thought that Dan Wang's two children were truly unconventional, while his own disciple was much more obedient. So he went to the guest room in the west wing.

Upon entering the room, one sees a cold and aloof young man dressed in white sitting on a daybed, with one side of his robe undone, revealing his muscular arms. The room is adorned with a plaque that reads "A Gentleman of the Righteousness".

The aloof girl, dressed in matching outfits, held a bottle of wound medicine and carefully applied it while saying:

"You're really bold. He Hai is the most beloved grandson of the Imperial Father-in-law. You smashed his head and threw the jade pendant in front of him. The fact that the Imperial Father-in-law wasn't aroused to the point of immediately reaching the Super Grade level is just because his cultivation is a little lacking..."

"Hehe~ I was startled too. I reacted like a mad dog, chasing me and making me run for my life. It's a pity you weren't there..."

"You didn't even think of taking me with you. The first thing you did after coming back from outside was run to the Lin family..."

"Sigh~ This opponent was quite formidable; I could only follow behind the seniors and assist them. Next time, I'll take you with me..."

"Humph……"

The aloof girl seemed indifferent, but the occasional glances she gave the man still revealed admiration and tenderness.

The seated man, perhaps noticing the gaze that held a hint of affection, turned and launched a surprise attack.

"Ugh?!"

……

When Nangong Ye saw this scene from afar, it was like a mother going to pick up her daughter from school and finding her being forcibly kissed by a blond-haired man. Her beautiful phoenix eyes immediately darkened.

But she soon discovered that her aloof and ethereal disciple, who seemed untouched by worldly affairs, was being hugged and kissed. Her face flushed red, and she raised her hand slightly, as if she wanted to hit the lecherous man, but she didn't actually do it.

After kissing for a while, she belatedly pulled away, her eyes slightly fierce.
"Speak quickly! Don't be angry!"

"Hehe~" The young man in white was unfazed and even pulled out a small box from his clothes: "I was passing by Chang Le Street today, so I bought you a bracelet on the spur of the moment..."

"You...did you buy one for Dr. Lin too? I saw it..."

"I'm not just doing this half-heartedly. I know you like white, so I picked it out specially. Try it on and see if it goes with your skin tone..."

……

The obedient disciple, his face slightly flushed, looked a little embarrassed, but when his hand was being pulled to put on the bracelet, he ultimately didn't pull away...

Nangong Ye's veil fluttered in the wind, her beautiful phoenix eyes reflecting the two people inside. Her eyes remained sharp, but a hint of complexity crept into them.

Qingmo really likes this kid...

What happened today was the only and last time; there can be no more compromises after this...

This kid is coming to deliver medicine tomorrow. We must be firm and clearly draw a line, and absolutely not let him have any ulterior motives...

Thinking of this, an unwavering resolve appeared in Nangong Ye's eyes, and he quietly left the palace...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)