fifth form

Chapter 3095 The mansion is in a good location

The theft of the Crimson Cloud Sword came quickly and ended just as quickly.

After wrapping the fake Crimson Sky Sword with blue cloth again, Zhang Xuezhou leisurely left the palace.

The distance from the palace to the East Sima Gate wasn't long, but Zhang Xuezhou felt at least three hundred pairs of eyes watching him along the way.

To be more precise, these people were staring at the Crimson Sky Sword in his arms.

Zhang Xuezhou also overheard some whispers of discussion.

Some people were puzzled as to why Zhang Xuezhou kept the Chixiao Sword after his dereliction of duty, while others said that Zhang Xuezhou was really lucky to have found the Chixiao Sword. After he got his hands on the sword, he couldn't be punished, and he became a tough nut to crack in the court.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't care about what these people were saying.

Previously, he was the only one guarding the Crimson Sky Sword. But once everyone else was implicated, many people offered to watch over it for free, because everyone was afraid that he would lose the sword again.

Compared to the fake Crimson Sky Sword he was holding, Zhang Xuezhou was much more interested in the Demon Mirror.

He had never imagined that the new emperor could retrieve the Demon-Revealing Mirror so quickly, and the accuracy of Princess Dou's apology amazed him, making him suspect that someone else was likely guiding Princess Dou behind the scenes.

This may involve Dong Yan, or it may involve others.

Zhang Xuezhou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

For him, holding the title of "Given a title of Attendant-in-Ordinary", entering and leaving the palace was not a problem, let alone entering and leaving the Changmen Garden.

He couldn't go to Changmen Garden, which was under the control of Princess Dou, but Zhang Xuezhou could go to Changmen Garden, which was controlled by the new emperor, and they recognized his title of "Governor".

This means that Zhang Xuezhou can have relatively close contact with the Demon-Revealing Mirror and can also use its power to resist the great demon from Kunlun.

"Nagamon Garden, the Demon-Revealing Mirror!"

He sighed inwardly, then strode towards his own residence.

"master!"

Dou Shisan and Dou Shisi wore awkward, solemn expressions.

The two no longer dared to practice fasting while guarding the gate, but instead dutifully patrolled back and forth.

When Zhang Xuezhou arrived at the gate of the mansion, he was spotted by the two men, who quickly ran over and unlocked the gate.

"You discovered the thief, that's a great job!" Zhang Xuezhou praised. "If you had discovered him even a minute later, the thief would have slipped away unnoticed!"

"Won't the master blame us?" Dou Shisan exclaimed.

"The sword has been retrieved, so what's there to blame?" Zhang Xuezhou said. "I won't blame you as long as I can return to this mansion!"

"Thank you for your mercy, sir," Dou Shisi bowed deeply in gratitude.

"Just live your life as it comes!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand, indicating that the two could continue to guard the mansion at their previous pace.

However, his words were honest, and Dou Shisan and Dou Shisi lost their courage and became more diligent in patrolling the mansion.

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't interfere either, since these two were from Dou Taizhu's side, and his arrangements didn't count.

"The Grand Astrologer is here again!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't linger. He entered the mansion and checked around to see if anyone had planted any traps.

As he looked behind him, Zhang Xuezhou casually made a joke.

"Why are you bringing the Crimson Sky Sword home for no reason? We used to only need to patrol the palace, but now we have to patrol your area every day," Sima Tan sighed.

"His Majesty bestows upon you the honor of His Majesty the Great Ancestor. Will you accept it or not?" Zhang Xuezhou asked with a smile.

"I...I definitely will accept!"

Sima Tan's complaint was only one sentence long before he couldn't continue.

Zhang Xuezhou's simple question was met with a silence that Sima Tan dared not utter the word "unaccept," lest he be misunderstood as disregarding the Emperor or being incapable of fulfilling his duties. This also explains why Zhang Xuezhou wanted to keep the Crimson Cloud Sword, but Sima Tan couldn't understand why, among the many capable people in the court, a sickly fellow like Zhang Xuezhou was chosen to keep it.

He raised his question, clearly wanting an answer.

“My residence is in a good location,” Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Good location?"

Sima Tan asked with a doubt.

But just a few seconds later, he quickly realized what was going on.

If it hadn't been verified that Guan Fu had taken the Crimson Cloud Sword, this theft would have involved many people, and even many mansions in the Imperial City would have been thrown into turmoil.

With precedents to follow, everyone will be more attentive to taking care of Zhang Xuezhou's Crimson Sky Sword, and even the Imperial Observatory will patrol day and night to prevent any further negligence.

If we take into account the many historical records that Sima Tan came into contact with, the occurrence of this kind of loss case also proves that there are targets that the court wants to target around the mansion, but this time the other party has managed to evade them.

For example, Zhuang Qingzhai confessed to accepting bribes while serving as Imperial Censor, and Princess Dou returned Changmen Garden. The case also involved Princess Pingyang's secret meeting with the new emperor in the palace.

It may seem like a simple theft case, but the people involved are all extraordinary.

"Lord Dongfang, could you please hide the Crimson Sky Sword somewhere else? Don't just hang it so openly in the main hall!"

Sima Tan felt he understood many things, but when he saw Zhang Xuezhou casually toss the Chixiao Sword in the center of the mansion hall and hang it there, he couldn't help but complain in his heart. He felt that Zhang Xuezhou was too blatant, it was as if he was telling anyone with ulterior motives to come and steal the sword.

"Where does Lord Sima think it should be hung?" Zhang Xuezhou asked casually.

"Hang...this hanging..."

Sima Tan stammered twice, but ultimately did not answer.

He felt that Zhang Xuezhou's placement of the Chixiao Sword was not secretive at all. However, if he raised objections and the Chixiao Sword was subsequently stolen, Sima Tan would get into trouble and might even have to bear heavy responsibility.

Whoever gets involved in this kind of thing is doomed; for example, Guan Fu, who had one foot in the grave, is a prime example.

No matter how brave or skilled you are, how wealthy you are or how many retainers you have, it's all useless. Once you get caught up in this kind of thing, you won't be able to get rid of the trouble until you're completely bruised and battered.

What weighed on Guan Fu was not the accountability from the imperial court, but also the desire of many people to make this case airtight, allowing no further involvement or accidents.

It's not surprising that Sima Tan didn't want to get involved in trouble. For the officials of the Imperial Observatory, in addition to recording objective historical facts, they also needed to have a keen political sense to avoid getting caught up in it.

Without asking any further questions, Sima Tan's spirit drifted out of the main hall of the mansion and floated into the sky.

Looking into the distance, Sima Tan could see that the streets and alleys were bustling with people, and the patrols were more than ten times more stringent than before.

Even though Li Cai preferred to rest and recuperate from his injuries, he changed his usual style and chose to personally instruct some young generals selected from the Southern and Northern armies in practicing military martial arts at his residence.

Any movement presents a golden opportunity to make a name for oneself.

Sima Tan didn't even need to think that these young soldiers would charge out and then give the thieves a good beating.

In this situation, where the Crimson Cloud Sword is hung is not important; in fact, the more conspicuous it is, the easier it is for people to identify it.

"New officials replace the old ones in the court, and each generation is more troublesome than the last. They're all troublemakers. Speaking of which, His Majesty has a few with unfriendly faces who look like they're good at causing trouble..."

Sima Tan kept thinking about it, and kept looking around.

When someone glanced at him, he couldn't help but look back.

"That old man's cultivation is not low. He actually discovered me. His face is somewhat familiar. This person seems to be Gongsun Hong from the Confucian school. He went to Dongfang Shuo's residence. That is the residence of Zhu Fu Yan, the newcomer whom His Majesty has been favoring for the past few months. He also seems to have heard the news and is going to the residence!"

As Zhang Xuezhou returned to his residence, some people seemed to have arrived on his behalf.

Sima Tan felt he needed to keep a close watch on them.

Being a great Confucian scholar or a close advisor is useless; having such a status does not mean that these people will not do bad things.

He felt that these people might be related to the Crimson Sky Sword, and could potentially become new sword thieves.