Madam, please listen to my explanation.

Chapter 70 You're not really going?

"you lose."

"Ah, sir, you are truly talented! I admire you greatly!"

Floating Cloud Cottage.

On the stone table, there is a square chessboard with countless crisscrossing lines carved on it.

Xu Jinhuan and Chang Wei sat on either side of each other, playing chess.

"Wonderful, truly wonderful!"
This five-in-a-row chess game is something I've never heard of before. At first glance, it seems easy to learn, but after a few games, I realized that it contains profound principles.

The game felt like a military campaign, incredibly exhilarating! Absolutely exhilarating!

On the chessboard, five white pieces are lined up in a row. Xu Jinhuan holds one piece and smiles triumphantly.

"A trivial skill."

Having received nine years of compulsory education, he didn't want to try to fool these uncivilized natives with such petty tricks.

But it's really boring.

Several days have passed since that farce in West City.

During that time, apart from His Majesty coming to his door again to ask for the Imperial Night, his days were uneventful and without any major ups and downs.

Of course, when it comes to this matter, I just casually dismissed him by saying it was to dispel the resentment of the pills.

Strangely, Zhuang Jinyu seemed to have disappeared after that day and never appeared again.

Fortunately, this Vice Minister came frequently, and after a while, he came up with a way to pass the time by playing chess.

As for why they don't play chess or Go...
Sorry, Mr. Xu doesn't know how.

Having finished clearing the board, Xu Jinhuan gestured for his opponent to make the first move.

Seeing that Lord Chang had once again placed a black piece on the edge of the chessboard, he nodded in satisfaction.

A terrible chess player.

"Has anything major happened in the capital recently?"

Chang Wei frowned as he stared at the chessboard, and after a moment of thought, he said:

Yes, there are some.

Thanks to you, sir, Minister Zhu of the Ministry of War has been in a terrible predicament lately.
Because of the unfavorable war situation in the west and south, coupled with General An's disobedience, Lord Zhu is being scolded by His Majesty every day and is said to be about to personally lead the army into battle.
By the way, His Majesty has recently embarked on a large-scale construction project, planning to build a temple for the Qiyun Sect near the palace.

Therefore, he even ordered each prefecture to pay a certain amount of gold on time to fund the construction of the Celestial Master's golden statue.

It is said that this is the only way to ensure good weather and abundant harvests for the entire state.
Since you don't go out often, I'm afraid you don't know much about the Qiyun Sect.

Nowadays in Kyoto, if any commoner hasn't drunk the Qiyun Sect's talisman water, they'd be embarrassed to even greet others.

As the white pieces were about to gain momentum, Chang Wei's brows furrowed even deeper.

Xu Jinhuan listened silently, feeling a surge of emotion.

It seems that my plan to use Zhuang Jinyu to reduce the number of victims in Kyoto has ultimately failed.

Footsteps approached, and Chang Wei saw the renowned Miss Yun Ci carrying a teapot, walking gracefully towards him.

"Young Master, Lord Chang, please have some tea."

Chang Wei smacked his lips.

Another strange tale I haven't spoken of is that Yun Ci, the top courtesan of the Iris Pavilion, suddenly closed her doors to all guests.
Many people have clearly seen Yun Ci, who is wearing a veil, coming and going near the Iris Pavilion.

For some reason, he no longer even appeared in the hall to play the zither once every ten days.
Some powerful and influential people spread rumors that the other party had become the possession of a mysterious figure.
This incident caused many prominent and powerful families to sigh with regret.

The so-called mysterious person was none other than the immortal who single-handedly broke through the blood rain a few days ago.
Seeing Lord Chang's expression, Yun Ci's pretty face flushed slightly. As someone directly involved, she had naturally heard about these rumors beforehand.
She sighed, "Young Master, thanks to you, I fear I will find it difficult to get married in the future."

"Girl, watch your words. How can you slander someone's innocence like this?"

And I've told you so many times, don't call me Young Master!

From beginning to end, it was all just your godfather's wishful thinking; I never agreed to it!

Yun Ci covered her face and chuckled softly, without saying a word.

After spending a few days with him, she found that this young master Xu was quite easygoing and approachable.

As they spent more time together, the two often joked with each other, and even Chang Wei had gotten used to it.

To be honest, the godfather did hold a grudge about not being able to take the other person as his godson.
He even became determined to use his own hard-earned money and profound wisdom to subdue this kid sooner or later!

At the very least, he should be taken in as a son-in-law.
Thinking of this, Yun Ci's face unconsciously turned even redder.

The strong and powerful Lord Chang took in everything, but in the end, he could only look at the chessboard and shake his head with a sigh.
Flirting!

I don’t even want to act anymore!
Mr. Xu is truly a master.
Who would have thought that this usually poised and elegant ice queen would become as shy and bashful as a budding young girl in front of the gentleman?
Thinking back to the purpose of his visit today, Lord Chang's old face became even more bitter.

"By the way, sir, after court today, a black-clad official from the Mingjing Bureau suddenly rushed into my residence, saying that he had received a secret report and someone had listed several pieces of evidence against me for corruption and embezzlement."
"Sir, please don't misunderstand. I am an honest and upright official, and the so-called secret report was nothing but a fabrication. However, before I left, a man in black secretly approached me and whispered a few words in my ear."

"Oh?" Xu Jinhuan immediately became interested. "Tell me about it."

Chang Wei leaned forward slightly and whispered:
"That person was just a messenger, saying that Master Zhuang wanted to meet with an old friend from the West City and asked me to convey his message."

After much deliberation, I still cannot fathom the other party's identity, so I have come to ask you for your guidance, sir.

Xu Jinhuan frowned: "If Zhuang Jinyu wants to see me, why make such a fuss?"

Chang Wei's expression changed drastically upon hearing this!

Sir!
You know it yourself, why do you have to say it out loud?

He glanced around nervously, then finally steeled himself and whispered:
"Sir, are you unaware that His Majesty's health has been improving lately, and he has already considered taking a concubine?"

And the first lucky one to receive His Majesty's favor was none other than the head of the Mirror House!

Xu Jinhuan stared at the other person with wide eyes, looking completely bewildered: "So what? What does this have to do with me?"

Of course!

Huh? Yeah, is there really a connection?
Now, it was Chang Wei's turn to be speechless for a moment.

“What you say makes sense.”

After all, even if His Majesty truly intended to take Zhuang Zhangjing as a concubine, there was no need to be this cautious.
If it is truly forbidden for the other party to talk or interact with any men, then it would be better to simply remove them from the position of Mirror Master.
If I remember correctly, yesterday there was another official whose home was searched by Lord Zhuang himself.

unless"

"Unless what?"

Chang Wei's expression was complicated, and he coughed lightly: "Unless... Master Zhuang himself has something to hide!"

His voice was barely audible, and after speaking, he dared not linger, rising to take his leave.

"It's getting late, I'll take my leave now. I'll visit you again another day!"

Damn, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.
Zhuang, the cameraman, is completely incompetent!

Such excessive caution only serves to make things more obvious.
Wait, do I know too much?
"Wait!"

Chang Wei paused, already regretting his visit that day.

"You still haven't told me where she asked me to meet her."

Chang Wei was sweating profusely.
No, you're really going?
(End of this chapter)