Hou Ye's palm heart is a black lotus

Xun Cheng raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Why did you suddenly think of asking about him?"

"You do know him." Ye Chutang was not surprised by his answer.

Louyang is very close to Longcheng, and Longcheng borders Nanhu. Xun Cheng has lived there for several years. With his ability, it is impossible that he has not heard of this name.

Xun Cheng smiled and said, "I can't say that I know him. Besides, the current head of the Shui family is very famous. If you go to places like Louyang Longcheng and ask anyone, I'm afraid you will be familiar with this name."

This time it was Ye Chutang's turn to be surprised, "Is he so famous?"

"You are far away in the capital, so you naturally don't know much about what's going on there." Xun Cheng smiled slightly, "After the new head of the Shui family came to power, he was decisive in killing and eliminating dissidents. His mind and means were unfathomable. In the past few years, the Shui family has continued to grow and become the number one family in Nanhu. Rumor has it that even the king of Nanhu is very polite to him now."

"So powerful..." Ye Chutang murmured.

Princess Qinyang had left the southwest for several years, and her memory of Shui Xingqiu also remained at that time.

But obviously, during the time she was away, Shui Xingqiu's power continued to expand.

Xun Cheng nodded. "He is a guest of honor of the Nanhu royal family. He is almost second to none. I heard that he was not valued by the family when he was young, but he eventually took the position of the head of the family and became extremely powerful. He is indeed not an ordinary person."

Ye Chutang asked back, "Too powerful? Then...how does it compare to Tuoba Yu?"

That was the brother that the King of Nanhu loved and valued the most.

Xun Cheng showed a subtle smile on his face.

"It seems you don't know yet, he is Tuoba Yu's teacher."

"teacher!?"

Ye Chutang was stunned.
"He seems to be about the same age as Tuoba Yu, right? How come..."

"This is the result of Tuoba Yu's several visits." Xun Cheng reminded, "Since you took the initiative to ask him, you should have some understanding of him."

Ye Chutang suddenly realized something: "Poison technique?"

Xun Cheng nodded.

There are quite a few people in Nanhu who can poison people, but most of them are of very low level, and they can only make people fascinated and dazed.

But the Shui family is different.

They are the ones who are truly good at this art, especially Shui Xingqiu, who is the head of the family and must have more sophisticated skills.

"Although the Shui family's poison technique is a secret that is not passed on to outsiders, the title of Su Wang's Master can really provide a lot of convenience. Just a little teaching can bring such a big benefit - who would refuse?"

That's true, but...

"Can the rest of the Shui family agree?"

"Those who disagree have already been fed to the Gu worm." Xun Cheng explained calmly, "He has the final say in the Shui family now, so naturally what he says is what goes, and no one dares to refute it."

Ye Chutang frowned.

Although she had some knowledge of the art of poison, she had even performed autopsies in public before and killed the poisonous insects in people's bodies.

But listening to it now, I still feel that this method is extremely bloody and cruel.

"So, this person is indeed extraordinary..."

As they were talking, Long Jiu came to serve tea.

The clear and rich tea aroma permeates, refreshing the heart.

Xun Cheng picked up the teacup and sipped it for a moment, then politely gestured to Ye Chutang,
"Miss Ye Er, you're welcome. This tea is excellent, strong but not bitter, with a sweet and refreshing aftertaste. Would you like to try it too?"

Ye Chutang looked at him speechlessly.
"This is the tea I gave you before. How could I not know whether it is good or not?" He borrowed flowers to offer to Buddha and even borrowed them to the Buddha's head.

Long Jiu felt a little embarrassed and said apologetically, "Please don't mind Miss Ye Er. Our Master came back to Beijing in a hurry this time and didn't even have time to go back to Louyang. He only brought half a bag of tea in the carriage, so..."

Ye Chutang: "... Got it. I'll ask the tea shop to send some more tomorrow."

Long Jiu was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, "Miss Ye Er misunderstood! That's not what I meant--"

"Then I won't be polite." Xun Cheng agreed generously, his eyes full of expectation, "I've heard that your tea shop in the capital is doing very well. When I have time, I will definitely go over to take a look in person."

It’s not enough to be delivered here, so you have to go to the door to get it?
Ye Chutang silently decided to add twice as much Coptis chinensis to his prescription next time.

Xun Cheng had no idea that his future was in jeopardy. He took a sip of tea before asking, "By the way, why are you asking about him suddenly?"

Logically speaking, Ye Chutang had little chance to come into contact with him.

Ye Chutang paused, "Someone died, but I doubt she is dead. Princess Qinyang said that Nanhu has a kind of poison that can make people fake their death, and Shui Xingqiu happens to be good at this, so..."

"So, you suspect Shui Xingqiu has already extended his hand to the capital?" Xun Cheng understood.

Ye Chutang glanced at him.

She didn't say who the person who faked his death was, but Xun Cheng had already guessed part of it.

Meeting her gaze, Xun Cheng did not dodge, "If I'm not mistaken, that person... is Xiao Lanxi?"

The air seemed to freeze at this moment.

Ye Chutang did not directly answer his question, but only said, "It seems that you came back to Beijing well prepared this time."

At least, a lot of preparations have been made.

Xun Cheng smiled, and was very frank. "The person who died must be someone special, as he made you so concerned. And when you mentioned this matter, you didn't look sad or angry. It's obvious that you didn't have a good relationship with that person, or even had a grudge against him. Looking at the entire capital, the person who died recently... wasn't it Princess Yuhe? Moreover, her biological mother was a Southern Hu."

Ye Chutang had to admit that Xun Cheng was extremely insightful.

He had only been in the capital for one day, but he was able to string together all the clues and deduce a deeply hidden secret.

Ye Chutang nodded, "Yes."

There's really no need to beat around the bush when talking to someone like Xun Cheng.

Besides, now that he knew it, he could help her check it out.

"I don't know what her relationship with Shui Xingqiu is, or how they got in touch with each other to plan all this. But what is certain is that she had already made all these plans when she left Guanling."

Xun Cheng was a little surprised, "But she is a princess after all, why should she do this?"

Ye Chutang said succinctly, "She has hatred in her heart."

Both her biological mother, Concubine Jing, and herself suffered great pain and torture in that deep palace.

Princess Yuhe, who appears to be timid on the surface, is actually mentally twisted.

Xun Cheng understood.

He had also heard some things about Xiao Lanxi. Even without asking, he could probably guess what she had been through and where this hatred came from.

To make someone pay such a price, the hatred in her heart must be deep in her bones.

"So, now you want to find Xiao Lanxi's whereabouts by investigating Shui Xingqiu?" (End of this chapter)