Two days later.
The Daming Imperial Palace.
The room with golden and jade decorations had four Han white jade pillars, and the walls were made of white jade bricks.
Ning Yongnian suddenly stood up from behind the massive desk, his long sleeves accidentally knocking over a pile of tall memorial tablets.
“What?!”
He stared at Li HuaiZhong, who was standing with his head bowed in front of the desk, his tone shocked to the extreme.
“Say it again!”
“Your Majesty…”
Li HuaiZhong quietly wiped away a cold sweat, his voice trembling as he replied, “Old slave dare not speak nonsense.”
“Wei ChangTian indeed killed Chang ShuAn with one move.”
“A sixth-rank killing a second-rank with one move?”
Ning YongNian’s eyes widened in anger: “Do you think I’m a fool?!”
“Plop!”
Li HuaiZhong, without any dignity of a second-rank expert, directly knelt down on the ground.
“Your Majesty! Old slave didn’t dare to believe it either, but it’s indeed what old slave saw with his own eyes!”
“Wei ZhaoHai, Wei DaRen, and Liang ZhenLiang were also present at the time. Your Majesty can ask them and know!”
From noble mtl dot come
“…”
Looking at Li HuaiZhong, who was kowtowing with his forehead stuck to the ground, Ning YongNian was stunned for a good while before slowly regaining his composure.
He slowly sat back in his chair, and after the shock subsided, only worry and confusion remained.
“Find them and bring them here? How should I explain to them how I knew about this?”
Glancing at Li HuaiZhong, Ning YongNian shook his head and continued to ask:
“What happened next? What happened after Chang ShuAn died?”
“After that, they had a fierce battle on top of the Smoky Cloud Mountain…”
Li HuaiZhong raised his head, but still didn’t dare to stand up, and kneeling, he recounted the subsequent events in detail.
As Ning YongNian listened, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
Because all of this was simply too unbelievable.
Whether it was Xiao Feng, who could mobilize five second-rank experts.
Or Wei ChangTian, who could hide thirty long knives in his scabbard.
Or the two of them exchanging blows that shook the heavens…
All of it exceeded the understanding of this Da Ning Emperor.
“So… all five second-ranks died?”
“Yes, all died.”
Li HuaiZhong replied truthfully: “After Qin ZhengQiu killed Wu TianQing, the situation was already irreversible. The three remaining experts on the other side didn’t flee either, and in the end, they all died in battle on top of the Smoky Cloud Mountain.”
“Five second-ranks…”
Ning YongNian seemed to be a bit heartbroken, and in a low voice, he asked again: “What about the people on Wei ChangTian’s side? Were there any casualties?”
“Some were injured, but old slave doesn’t know how severe…”
Li HuaiZhong shook his head: “But there were no deaths.”
“…”
The incense wafted, and this time, Ning YongNian remained silent for a long time without asking anything else.
Or perhaps he didn’t know where to start asking.
However, as a ruler, the ability to remain calm and think clearly seemed to be innate.
This matter involved significant consequences, and he had to get to the bottom of it.
Two “parties involved” had already died, and now, the only one who could explain everything clearly was Wei ChangTian.
It was Wei ChangTian again.
It’s been less than three months since Liu Yuanshan’s death, and Ning Yukuo’s case still hasn’t been cleared up. Yet, this sole son of the Wei family has already stirred up another mess…
Ning Yongnian was furious and wanted to send someone to capture Wei Changtian and torture him severely.
However, considering the Wei family’s influence, even Wei Changtian’s own power, this approach was unlikely to succeed…
“Old Li, get up.”
With a calm expression, Ning Yongnian began to tidy up the documents on his desk while softly speaking:
“Let Longjuan come see me.”
“……”
Not long after, a woman wearing a black veil appeared before Ning Yongnian.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes.”
Ning Yongnian didn’t even lift his head, reviewing the documents while casually saying:
“You’ll need to go to Shuzhou again.”
“But this time, you’ll have to go alone, and it might take some time.”
“……”
……
Shuzhou, Wei Residence.
Just as Ning Yongnian was planning a massive scheme against Wei Changtian, the courtyard was quite lively.
Wei Changtian had gone to release lanterns with Yang Liushi and Liang Qin in the afternoon, taking Ah Chun along.
The others stayed home to prepare dinner.
Today was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and by tradition, every household should be drinking Laba porridge.
However, Wei Changtian had unexpectedly suggested eating hot pot.
As the “head of the family,” no one dared to oppose him, so Yu’er and Li Suyue, along with the family’s several chefs, were busy all afternoon.
“Master, hurry up and light the charcoal, Old Master will be back soon.”
Li Suyue placed a plate of lamb on the table, smiling as she instructed: “And don’t forget to flip the pancakes in the stove, I’m too busy to take care of it.”
“Okay, got it.”
Zhang San, who was arranging the copper pot, was very obedient and quickly turned around to leave the room, almost colliding with Yu’er, who was entering from outside.
“Ah! Zhang San, slow down!”
Yu’er pouted, looking somewhat dissatisfied, while Zhang San hurriedly apologized.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you earlier.”
“You, clumsy and careless, hurry up!”
Li Suyue came over to mediate, pushing Zhang San out of the room and pulling Yu’er in.
“Yu’er, help me check if Old Master’s dishes are complete?”
“Uh……”
Looking at the almost-full table of porcelain dishes, Yu’er counted them one by one.
“Lamb, beef, duck intestines, cabbage…… Hmm? I remember there were fifteen dishes, why is one missing?”
“Hmm?”
Li Suyue was taken aback, standing with Yu’er in front of the table to recall which dish was missing.
The two women thought for a long time but couldn’t remember, until “human abacus” Zhang San reminded them from outside:
“Bean curd, we’re missing one bean curd!”
“Ah, that’s it!”
Li Suyue and Yao’er’s eyes lit up simultaneously.
How could they have forgotten this?
The young master loved to eat tofu the most!
……
It was just evening when Wei Changtian and the others returned.
Yang Liu Shi and Liang Qin were beaming with joy, Ah Chun was equally excited, holding a sugar figurine that was even bigger than her face.
Only Wei Changtian looked unenthusiastic, as if he had committed a grave offense.
To be honest, accompanying women on a shopping trip was indeed more exhausting than fighting.
Under Yao’er’s service, they hastily washed their hands and sat down to eat hot pot.
Hot pot wasn’t a rare thing in ancient times, it was actually quite common.
Of course, it was still different from the previous life, but after Wei Changtian’s several “improvements,” it wasn’t too far off.
“Gurgle, gurgle~”
The copper pot was emitting hot steam, and the fresh meat and vegetables were quickly scooped out by Yang Liu Shi and Liang Qin, who then served them to Wei Changtian’s bowl.
The others couldn’t get this “good job,” so they could only chat and eat their own, filling the small room with laughter and conversation.
Winter was the best time to eat hot pot.
If it snowed, it would be even more perfect.
The bright moon was hanging high outside, and the lively and harmonious scene in the Wei residence was being played out in every household in Shuzhou City.
After all, today was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and even if a family was poor, they couldn’t afford to eat hot pot, but a bowl of warm Laba congee, accompanied by a few dishes of pickled vegetables, was still something they could afford.
The quiet streets were almost deserted, with people hurrying home or wandering aimlessly.
In this environment, a young woman stood out.
She was wearing a plain cotton robe, carrying a package on her back, and her cheeks were red from the cold.
She was very beautiful, and if there weren’t so few people around, she would have been teased by some street vendors.
However, it wasn’t certain, as the long sword she was holding looked quite extraordinary.
She should be a female knight wandering the jianghu.