Proud Feather

Chapter 68 Senior Brother
"It's indeed that Madam Wei." Mother Qin's message was sent to the palace through Jiang Shijun. After reading it, Chu Ling sneered.

"Mrs. Wei?" Zheng Qiu asked in confusion.

After that night's conversation, Zheng Qiu's attitude changed. Previously, when Chu Ling was cleaning up the Tian family and out investigating a case, she hadn't paid much attention. It wasn't until she sent Concubine Shu back that she became convinced that the princess wasn't joking and had both ideas and methods, and she finally took the initiative to get involved.

Chu Ling was naturally delighted. Zheng Qi was originally her mother's personal maid. For so many years, she had controlled the Nanming Palace perfectly and was extremely capable.

So she briefly told the story of Wei.

Zheng Qiu said, "That Mr. Pang Wu is the one who does the dirty work in the Marquis of Jingping's mansion. Princess, you can investigate him further."

"Dirty work?"

Zheng Qiu nodded. "When noble families expand their businesses, they often can't afford to support themselves with official salaries, so they have to find jobs outside the government. I've heard about this Fifth Master Pang before. He's mediocre in both civil and military skills, so he simply gave up his official career. The official title he holds now was also arranged for him by the Marquis of Jingping."

Chu Ling seemed to be thinking: "In that case, we can just investigate Master Pang Wu about the affairs of the Marquis of Jingping's Mansion."

Zheng Qiu smiled and agreed. He looked at her with a look of satisfaction and admiration. "Princess, you've done a great job. We can't alert the enemy at this time. Big families don't keep important things at home. They either keep them with friends and relatives or old servants. Let's quietly investigate the people around Master Pang Wu. We're sure to find something."

Then she mentioned a few names, all of whom had close ties with the Marquis of Jingping's Mansion, which surprised Chu Ling greatly.

"Qiu Niang, how do you know so much?" She thought that Zheng Qiu was only responsible for taking care of Nanming Palace every day and was not aware of what was happening outside.

Zheng Qiu's smile was filled with regret. "When the Queen was still alive, there were information channels both inside and outside the country. It's a pity that those people have dispersed."

Chu Ling was both curious and sad. What kind of woman was her mother when she was alive?
In a garden outside Beijing, Mr. Gongsun was so tired that his body was about to fall apart.

Xiao Yu, blindfolded, stood in the corridor, listening to the servants feeding the birds while laughing, "I've told you to practice more, sir. If you can't handle moving house a few times, how can you handle marching and fighting?"

Mr. Gongsun was annoyed. "It's not like I haven't been in the army before. How can this be the same? Marching is marching. It's not like now. As soon as we settle down, we are chased away. It's not a rest, and it's not a tense situation. Sigh, I finally understand how painful it was to capture Meng Huo seven times."

When talking about this, he was full of complaints.

They moved overnight that night and had just settled in the new inn when the portraits were posted all over the city the next day. The Jinwu Guards searched the entire city, so they had no choice but to continue moving.

This time he didn't dare stay in the city, so he ran to the suburbs of Beijing to rent a house and changed his appearance.

Unexpectedly, just one day after resting, the Jinwu Guards came again, and specifically asked for the guest named Xiao.

This frightened them terribly. How did the princess know their last name was Xiao? Had she discovered their true identities? Then the emperor...

So before daybreak, they ran away again.

They ran farther and farther, lived in more and more remote places, and finally settled in this garden - in fact, the Xiao family had a private house in Beijing, but in order to conceal their identity, they did not dare to go back to live there.

"You said you don't want to go to Sanqing Temple? This place is not far from Sanqing Temple." Mr. Gongsun laughed.

Just as he finished speaking, someone came in to report: "Sir, there's a Taoist priest here, claiming to be from Sanqing Temple."

Mr. Gongsun was surprised: "Speak of the devil, they arrive so quickly."

Xiao Yu smiled and nodded: "Please come in, Taoist priest."

"Yes."

Not long after, a middle-aged Taoist priest in straw sandals and cloth clothes appeared in the garden. He was tall and straight, with a clear face and bright eyes. He walked with great vigor and speed, needing no servants to lead the way. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Xiao Yu. Without even saying hello, he raised his hand and pointed at Xiao Yu's chest.

The Taoist priest acted extremely quickly. Not only did Mr. Gongsun fail to react, but the other guards were also far away.

"Young Master!" Old Wu called out, but he was moving things and was far away, so how could he make it in time?

In a flash, Xiao Yu raised his hand and blocked the Taoist's attack with just an ordinary move.

The Taoist priest immediately changed his attack, transforming his fingers into palms, and then into claws.

Xiao Yu responded one by one, and in the blink of an eye he had defeated ten moves.

During this process, the Taoist priest's other hand held the whisk without moving.

After the ten moves were completed, the Taoist priest stopped and finally showed a slight smile on his face. He said, "Yes, although my eyes are blind, my heart is not blind at least."

Xiao Yu also showed a rare smile and saluted in his direction: "It's been a few years since we last met. Brother, your cultivation has improved again. Congratulations."

Seeing this, the others finally felt relieved and came forward to say hello.

Mr. Gongsun said with a smile, "So it's Taoist Lingxu. You scared us by not even saying hello."

Taoist Priest Lingxu is the first disciple of the current Imperial Master and the abbot of the Sanqing Temple.

He nodded and saluted, then replied, "I heard that my junior brother's eyesight was damaged, so I had to show some concern. Since you refused to come, I had no choice but to come."

The second half of the sentence was directed at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu heard the dissatisfaction in his words and felt a little embarrassed. His senior brother had a very stubborn temper and refused to flatter even His Majesty, yet he came here in person to visit him because he had left Sanqing Temple.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, Senior Brother. I must have been poisoned. I've taken the life-saving pills that Master gave me, so I'll be fine in the short term."

Taoist Lingxu sneered: "As long as you can save your life, it's fine, right? I only used one hand just now. If I had used all my strength, you might not be able to withstand these ten moves."

"..." Xiao Yu was speechless.

Mr. Gongsun gloated: "The Taoist priest is right. What's the point of blocking a few blows on the ground? I thought he could go to the battlefield even if he was blind and beat the Northern Hu without leaving a single piece of armor!"

Old Wu also stood by him: "Young Master, you have neglected your own health too much. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about the 100,000 soldiers of the Northern Army."

The servant added, "If he hadn't been blind, the young master wouldn't have been bullied by the princess a few days ago, forcing us to be chased here and there and move everywhere."

Xiao Yu, who was besieged by his subordinates, said: "..."

Taoist Lingxu noticed something: "Princess? What princess?"

"This, Taoist priest, you don't know..." Mr. Gongsun's persuasion was ineffective, and he felt very upset. Finally, he found someone to complain to, and very actively told him about his experiences in the past few days.

"...That's what happened. Tell me, why did he bother the princess for no reason? He even stayed to see which way the wind was blowing, and didn't even go to Sanqing Temple to get his eyes treated. How could these two things be of the same importance? Whether the princess sees it or not, it's all here..."

Halfway through his conversation, Mr. Gongsun suddenly sensed something was wrong: "Hey, young master, why are you so interested in the princess? Speaking of which, you two are of similar age and status. Are you thinking of becoming a princess consort?"