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墨書 Inktalez
When Su Peijiu woke up, she found herself alone. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and realized it was almost dawn.
Looking at her intact clothes and feeling no discomfort in her body, she sighed in relief, put on her shoes, and pushed the door open to step outside.
This was the first time Su Peijiu saw Qi Mo practicing swordplay against the rising sun. The sword energy was like a rainbow, flowing like clouds and water, lacking the harshness of the battlefield and instead exuding a sense of leisurely ease. She could sense the smile at the corners of his lips.
"You’re awake? Why didn’t you sleep a little longer?" He noticed her, set down his sword, and walked toward her, enveloped in the morning's dampness, appearing quite hazy.
Su Peijiu's lips moved as she struggled to find words for him; her throat felt constricted as she managed to say, "I’m leaving." Turning away, she focused on the ground ahead, observing the green grass sprouts with a complicated heart.
Qi Mo stood behind her, his hair damp with mist, his dark eyes sparkling with joy. Has she finally started to care about him?
"How about having breakfast before you go?" he spoke slowly.
Upon hearing this, Su Peijiu quickened her pace and soon disappeared beyond the fence in front of the house. Qi Mo merely smiled silently, watching in the direction she had left for a long time...
Frustrated, Su Peijiu walked far down the path when she suddenly spotted someone in white clothing awkwardly sprawled over a rock ahead. The figure looked somewhat familiar, so she approached and tapped the person's shoulder.
She heard a pitiful male voice say, "Master of the Building, you finally came back..."
Su Peijiu froze, looking at the disheveled young man whose outer garment seemed to have vanished. His face was covered in dirt, with bruises all over; he looked nothing like the boy who had brought her here before.
"What happened?" she asked in shock.
The young man wiped away his tears: "That Desolate King's subordinate named Leyang is too powerful. I wanted to save Master of the Building, but I didn’t even get a word out before I ended up like this..."
Su Peijiu: "..." Veins began to bulge on her forehead.
"Damn Qi Mo, actually allowing his subordinates to bully my people! I risked my life to save that wooden-faced Leyang last time, and this is how he treats me at Nan Xie Tower?" The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she wanted to run back, but was stopped by the young man.
"What’s wrong?" His tone was unfriendly.
The young man hesitated, his expression awkward: "Master of the Building, you don’t have martial arts, going there would just be..." The last two words were automatically muted by Su Peijiu's dark expression.
"Just put up with this?" Su Peijiu took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the young man's face: "Don't you feel wronged?"
The young man shook his head: "It's fine." He was quite touched by Su Peijiu wiping his face.
Su Peijiu shook her head helplessly, suddenly realizing she didn't even know this young man's name, so she asked, "What’s your name?"
"My name is Yan Bai."
...
The emperor remained in a deep sleep, and the Desolate King had been demoted to a commoner. In an instant, all the important responsibilities in the court fell on Qi Rong, who was busy to the point of dizziness. Just when he finally had a moment to rest, he was called by his own Empress Dowager to the harem to select beauties.
"Son, what do you think of this girl? She is the daughter of Lord Zhang, from a Scholarly Family. A daughter raised in such a family must be good..." The Empress pointed at a beautiful woman's portrait on the table.
Qi Rong rubbed his aching temples and squinted: "Empress Dowager, why are you doing this kind of thing at this time?"
The Empress shot him a glance and said, "This throne will eventually be yours. Doesn't the Empress Dowager have to prepare concubines for your harem soon?"
Qi Rong looked at the piles of beautiful women’s portraits with disgust. When he saw the eunuchs and palace maids holding stacks of them, his temples throbbed suddenly.
"It's too early to discuss this now; let's talk about it later." He stood up, preparing to return to the palace to review memorials, but the Empress was unwilling and stepped forward to grab him.
"Which type of girl do you prefer, my son? The Empress Dowager will choose for you."
That type of girl...?
Qi Rong didn't know why a delicate and ethereal face suddenly appeared in his mind. She was naturally beautiful; no matter what expression she wore—joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness—she looked stunning beyond words.
What was wrong with him? Why had he been thinking about that woman who didn’t know her place these past few days?
Feeling inexplicably confused, Qi Rong broke free from the Empress's grasp. "Let the Empress Dowager choose for herself. I still need to review the memorials; I’m leaving now." With that, he flicked his sleeve and left, not giving the Empress a chance to call him back.
What was wrong with him? Why was he thinking about Su Peijiu's face?
As he walked through the Imperial Garden, he kept pondering this matter.
Suddenly, someone approached him and whispered in his ear, "The Su Family has been imprisoned."
Qi Rong was startled and turned around, exclaiming loudly, "What?"
"Su Family has been broken out of prison," one of the subordinates reported.
"Immediately send someone to pursue them. You come with me to see if there are any clues in the prison," he said, frowning, with his hands clasped behind his back, pushing aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
Su Peijiu... you truly are a calamity for me.
In the dungeon.
Qi Rong looked grimly at the jailers lying on the ground, each one dead in a tragic manner.
He slowly crouched down and took a bloodstained Jade Bracelet from one of the jailers' sleeves, holding it up to his eyes, a cold light flashing within.
"Find out the origin of this Jade Bracelet. I want the news by tomorrow morning."
"Yes!" The subordinate went to carry out the task.
"When did you discover that Su Family had been broken out of prison?" Qi Rong asked, his voice low, but in the current silence of the dungeon, even breathing felt cautious.
Fearing that His Highness would blame them for negligence, the jailers all tightly shut their mouths, planning to say nothing. If it were known that they had thought it was just a few people going out to have fun, they would surely face severe punishment.
Qi Rong narrowed his eyes, a chill gradually spreading from him: "Is that so? If not, then you all can accompany these dead brothers."
With this statement, the four jailers who were still alive immediately knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.
"Your Highness, please spare us... It's not that we didn't, it's just that we didn't know."
"I understand, today was supposed to be your watch, but why weren't you present? Who was the first to discover that the Su Family had been rescued?"
A thin jailer spoke through tears and a runny nose, "It was a passerby who first noticed. A few of them went out to gamble tonight, and when they returned, they smelled blood... When they went in to check, they were so scared they nearly wet themselves; the sight was truly horrific..."
"Enough with the nonsense." Qi Rong frowned impatiently.
"Yes, yes... of course..." The jailer immediately nodded submissively.
"So when you discovered it, the Su Family had already been broken out, right? Did you not see anyone?"
The jailers all shook their heads. Qi Rong grew angry at these cowardly men and waved his hand coldly, saying, "Take each of them out and give them twenty lashes."
The jailers dared not plead for mercy and expressed their gratitude. Fortunately, it wasn't a death sentence; just twenty lashes—though dangerous, it was far better than the fate of their dead comrades in the prison.
Qi Rong stood in the dungeon, looking at the terrified jailers with wide-open eyes. He clenched his fists and snorted coldly: "I want to see who has the audacity to stir trouble on sacred ground!"
"Send out orders to close the city gates tightly; do not let a single suspicious person escape. If you encounter any rebels from the Su Family, kill without mercy!"
"Understood!" The Imperial Forest Army immediately went to carry out the orders.
Meanwhile, far away at Nan Xie Tower, Su Peijiu also received the news. She rubbed her teacup thoughtfully and said, "Your people from the Su Family have been rescued?"
"Yes, Master of the Building," Yan Bai said.
Since the last time Yan Bai had charmed her, Su Peijiu had kept him by her side. This child was honest, kind, and had impressive lightness skills. Although his martial arts were not as good as Black Crow's, it was no problem for him to carry her away in a crisis. Most importantly, Yan Bai was an excellent cook; she nearly wanted to lick the plate clean!
"Are the Su Family still in Chang'an?" Since it was a large-scale rescue operation, they probably hadn't gone far, especially since Qi Rong had closed the city gates. "Is there any news about who did this?"
Yan Bai's clear eyes were serious. "The rumors outside say it was Master of the Building."
"Oh?" Su Peijiu became interested. "Me? What’s the basis for that?"
"The Crown Prince obtained a bracelet from a deceased prison guard, and it was found to belong to Master of the Building."
"A bracelet? When did I have a bracelet that ended up in a prison guard's hands..." Her voice trailed off as she recalled that she had once bribed a guard with a Jade Bracelet to save Qi Mo. However, that guard was already dead. Could it be that a later guard had stolen it?
"I can be splashed with dirt from afar." She raised her cup to her lips and took a shallow sip, savoring the bitter sweetness that blossomed on her tongue. "Good tea."
Yan Bai looked puzzled. "What does Master of the Building plan to do? Now Prince Huai has already posted your portrait all over Yuan Cang's streets."
Su Peijiu pouted. "Let him post it; I wear a mask whenever I go out anyway. Since he's so idle, let him stir up trouble." Regarding Qi Che, this prince, Su Peijiu wasn't sure what to make of him, but she felt that beneath those innocent eyes lay unfathomable depths. Such people were best left alone.
"Yan Bai, what are you cooking today?" Thinking of food, she shamelessly asked the boy standing nearby.
Yan Bai paused for a moment and weakly replied, "Master of the Building, you just had dinner less than an hour ago..."
"Then what should we eat for Late Night Snack?" she asked with hope.
"What does the Master of the Building want to eat?"
"I want something sweet, like a soup."
"How about Lotus Corn Soup?"
Su Peijiu perked up upon hearing that: "Quick, go get it."
Yan Bai left with a frown.
After he left, a soft voice came from inside the room: "The Master of the Building isn't afraid of overeating."
Su Peijiu smiled as she looked at Flower Mother walking out from the inner room, feeling proud: "Even if I overeat, I still want to eat. The cooking is just too good."
Flower Mother amusingly sat down next to her and then spoke: "I found out that the Su Family Prison Break Case was done by Cangjian Villa."
Su Peijiu tapped her fingers on the edge of the table: "Cangjian Villa..."
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