Da Li Temple - Chapter 70

Chapter 70
Not Meet

“Sir, please come inside!” The boy at the doorway eagerly led the three of them inside, nimbly finding a table next to the window and taking them to a seat.
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“What would you like to eat?” The boy asked as he wiped the table.
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Lailuo looked at the list on the table and mumbled, “This, this, this and this, that ……”
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The veins on Liang Weiping’s forehead jumped. He panicked and held down her hand, “You didn’t eat enough at dinner?!”
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“Tsk ……” Lailuo was very impatient. She flung the list and shook Liang Weiping’s paw, then said with a straight face, “If you’re full, can’t you eat some more?!” In her tone and eyes, there was a clear threat.
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Liang Weiping twitched the corners of his mouth and silently buried his head. He didn’t know why, but he always felt that this Hu Ji was not right anywhere. Except for Lin Wanqing, she looked at other people with an appalling murderous aura permeating from her body, the kind that could stop a child from crying at night. He couldn’t help but shiver and gathered the cotton robe on his body tighter.
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“En, let’s have six bowls of lychee water.” Lailuo finally finished ordering and returned the list to the boy.
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Liang Weiping’s heart skipped a beat, and he panicked, pulling on the boy’s sleeve, and said, “I only need one bowl!”
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“Oh,” Lailuo hummed, adding to the boy, “Then let’s have seven bowls.”
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Liang Weiping: “……” Is this a Hu Ji or a rice bucket? He couldn’t help but cover the purse around his waist. According to this eating method, if these two people stayed at his place until the beginning of spring, he would have to be eaten bankrupt.
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Lin Wanqing saw Liang Weiping’s dilemma, touched her money bag, and gave it to him: “This meal is on me; I have already disturbed Brother Liang’s place; naturally, I am sorry to let Brother Liang pay again.”
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Liang Weiping felt embarrassed for a moment. His hand, which was stretched out in mid-air, suddenly paused and squeezed into a fist.
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“The younger brother underestimated this elder brother. If the younger brother is in trouble, the elder brother should help. This small money is nothing.” He said righteously.
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Lin Wanqing was stunned. She saw him insist and put away her money bag.
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“En,” only then did Lailuo withdraw her hand from Liang Weiping’s ribs, patted his thigh appreciatively, and stuffed a silver ingot into his money bag.
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Liang Weiping was stunned and at a loss for words as he twisted his head to look at Lailuo. Then, he saw her winking at him with her index finger against her thin lips in a gesture of silence. It was a delicate and lovely action, yet it made Liang Weiping freeze in a cold sweat.
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The food came quickly, filling up a table. The three ate and chatted and soon burst into laughter.
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“Eh! Do you remember when you first went to the Capital Government Office, there was a witness chased by a murderer and broke his leg? The doctor didn’t make it over in time that day, and he lay in the office screaming all the time. In the end, it was ……”
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“Ah!!!” Lin Wanqing screamed, got up, and covered Liang Weiping’s mouth, “You’re not allowed to say it!”
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Liang Weiping, choked by her, leaned back with one hand flailing in the air.
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Initially, Lailuo was not interested, but seeing Lin Wanqing react so much, she couldn’t help but be curious. She hurriedly put down the bowl in her hand to ask, “What happened in the end?”

“Ummmmmmmmmmm ……” Liang Weiping struggled and managed to escape Lin Wanqing’s control. He laughed so hard that he couldn’t catch his breath. “In the end, Recorder Lin said that she had heard of a method before. When aroused, people will not perceive pain, so…”
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“Liang Weiping! Liang Weiping! If you dare to say that, I will cut ties with you!”
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“So she told the man about the porn book, and the man didn’t cry out in pain anymore.”
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“Hahahahahahaha ……” Liang Weiping and Lailuo burst out laughing at the same time.
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Lin Wanqing was livid.
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“What paragraph did she tell?” Lailuo pursued; her big blue eyes were shining.
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“She told …… ouch!” Lin Wanqing pinched Liang Weiping’s face but didn’t lessen his perseverance to gossip: “She told a story about the Da Li Temple’s Chief and three female inmates who used their power for personal gain in prison.”
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“Three?!” Lailuo quickly grasped the point.
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Lin Wanqing was so bashful that her face burned, and she gave herself up, “Laugh laugh laugh! Laugh your asses off!” With that, she got up and headed out of the store to find peace and quiet.
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It was foggy at night, and on the street with traffic and lights, three people were rushing home, traveling in a hurry, like a sketch painting.
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She had just played with Liang Weiping, and a layer of thin sweat came from her body so she didn’t feel cold. She stood for a while longer, casually looking at the surrounding streetscape. On the opposite side of the street, a dark wood-colored carriage abruptly broke into her view under the dim street lights. Because of the distance, the surroundings were hazy and unclear. Lin Wanqing only felt that the carriage was familiar; it seemed Da Li Temple’s.

Amid her daze, she saw a piece of velvet cloak embroidered with gold threads sweep across her vision and disappear behind the carriage’s curtain.
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“This is ……” Lin Wanqing’s heartbeat missed a beat; a familiar answer was calling out. Like an instinct, she moves her feet towards the carriage.
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“Phew–“
The sudden sound of a horse interrupted her pace. Lin Wanqing could not dodge and was about to be trampled by the horse’s hooves.
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“Miss!”
With a tightness on her waist, she was dragged off the street by Lailuo.
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“Little lady, how can you walk without looking at the road!” The driver cursed, but Lin Wanqing didn’t even listen. She got up, not even bothering to pat away the dust on her body, still traveling towards the end of the street on the opposite side.
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Like a hallucination, the carriage was gone in the blink of an eye. The empty street cast a lone shadow of a street lamp swaying in the cold wind. She gathered her robe around her body and laughed at herself for losing her composure just now.
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Even if it was him, so what?
It was just an encounter with a stranger.

On the other side, the carriage clattered and moved. Su Moyi’s face was cold, and his thin lips were pursed. They arrived at the East Market but didn’t buy the lychee water.
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Ye Qing did not understand what was happening with his Master until he saw Liang Weiping, Lailuo, and Lin Wanqing laughing at the snack store.

Su Moyi exited the carriage and held its wall for a long time. His face became increasingly sullen as if the cool air of the winter night had condensed on his brow. After that, he turned around and entered the carriage without saying a word.
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Two charcoal pots were in the carriage, and a heavy flannel was underneath, so there wasn’t the slightest bit of chill. However, Ye Qing felt the atmosphere was like ice, freezing him so much that he didn’t dare to breathe.
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“Do you say that …… women are all the same?”
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“Ah …… ah?” Ye Qing was stunned by Su Moyi’s sudden question. He rolled his eyes, thought about it, and said, “I think both of my sisters are pretty much the same, sometimes annoying and sometimes cute.”
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Su Moyi stopped talking.
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Carriage swaying, the two went back to Da Li Temple in silence. Before leaving the carriage, Su Moyi covered the heater in his hand, suddenly turned around, and said to Ye Qing: “Yue An County Princess’s invitation… you help me answer it and tell Imperial Grandmother.”
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“En?” Ye Qing reacted for a while before realizing what Su Moyi was talking about and nodded his head to answer.
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The moon was light, the shadows on the ground were clear and cold, blurry and unreal. Perhaps it was too cold, Su Moyi felt that every breath was painful, from the nose to the throat, from the throat to the chest.
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Is there any rationale for emotional matters? Since she has already let go, he does not need to be obsessive. Maybe it could be anyone.

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At the other courtyard of the Lishan Palace, most of the palace staff had already gone to bed, and a burning ground dragon warmed the chamber. The Nurse sidestepped to extinguish a few candle flames and dropped the latch on the window. The Empress sat in front of the bronze mirror to comb her hair, but she was absent-minded.
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The Nurse walked over, took the comb in her hand, and kindly persuaded, “This old slave thinks the Empress need not worry about Song Zhengxing’s matter.”
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The Empress did not say anything, her eyes falling vainly to the ground, her brows furrowed.
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“His Majesty and Heir Su are investigating him because of that ‘fake silver’ case, in which the Empress was not involved from the beginning.”
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“But ……” the Empress is still worried, “Song Zhengxing handled Royal Concubine Xiao’s case back then …… “
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“After such a long time, the human and material evidence of that case has long been dealt with.” The Nurse took over the words, “Moreover, Royal Concubine Xiao has been a piece of the Emperor’s heart scales. If Song Zhengzing confesses, he will bring his family members to die together.”
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“That’s right –” the Empress nodded her head, her brows soothed for a few minutes, “But if Song Zhengxing pulls out King Liang, I’m only afraid that …… “
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“It’s better to have less sin,” the Nurse said. “Neither King Liang nor Song Zhengxing won’t mention this matter. At most, they will use this matter to blackmail the Empress to save them, and when the Empress finds an opportunity, just kill and silence them.”
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The Empress didn’t say anything else, as if assenting. “What happened to the girl I asked you to look into last time?” she suddenly asked, the dark candle flame reflected in her eyes, bringing out a few points of viciousness.
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“I already explained it; I’m still investigating. There will be results soon.” As soon as the words fell, a very light tapping sound rang out on the window pane, like the sharp beak of a bird.

Both people in the room were stunned, their complexions suddenly tense. The Nurse panickedly let go of the Empress’s long hair and turned around to push open the back window.
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A pigeon stood on the window edge with a small bamboo tube tied to its legs. The Nurse quickly carried the pigeon into the room, took down the note, and gave it to the Empress.
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The paper scroll gradually unfolded under the halo of light – “The Xiao’s Clan escaped fish.”
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A line of clear, small letters came into view, startling the Empress so much that her hands and feet went limp, nearly paralyzed on the ground.
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Fortunately, the Nurse’s hand was quick. She hurriedly helped her sit steadily on the round stool, took the note, read it again, then turned around and burned it.
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The Empress was already in a state of confusion. Her face was pale, and she twisted her robe while mumbling, “What to do… what to do… now?”
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The Nurse, however, was much calmer. She squatted down and grabbed her hand, saying, “The Xiao Family’s case involves Princess Anyang; if they want to overturn the case, the Empress Dowager will be aware of it. But I saw the Empress Dowager is calm nowadays, so we may still have a chance.”
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The Empress gathered some mind and looked at the Nurse, saying, “Then according to you…”
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“Xiao’s daughter can’t stay,” she said firmly.
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The Empress was stunned, followed by a nod: “Then let Xia Yan handle this matter. He must do it cleanly; do not leave any traces.”
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The Nurse responded, turned around, wrote a note, and stuffed it into the bamboo tube on the carrier pigeon’s leg. The window cut off a line of firelight in the chamber. Under the cold moon, the pigeon fluttered its wings and flew toward Sheng City.
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