In an instant, the imperial princes and princesses all turned their heads to look at Princess Chang. Even Princess Lin'an, who was holding onto Emperor Yuan Jing's arm, couldn't help but look over.

Crown Prince Yu cast a glance at Princess Chang.

They simultaneously thought: Huai Qing wants to promote her own people again.

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There were two ways for the imperial princes and princesses to expand their influence. One was to win over court officials to become their supporters. The other was to promote their confidants. However, due to Emperor Yuan Jing's strong desire for control and his excellent political skills, including the Crown Prince, the other princes did not dare to openly form factions.

The latter was their usual method, but it depended on the timing. The imperial princes and princesses felt that it was not a good time now, as the task was too difficult.

Emperor Yuan Jing squinted his eyes and smiled, "Does Huai Qing have any candidates?"

Princess Chang replied, "Xu Qi'an from the Nightwatcher Office."

Second Princess suddenly realized, "Ah, the gong player who admired Sister so much on the Ancestral Worship Day? Sister even chatted with him."

This was a vicious thing to say!

Princess Chang was secretly mocking her in front of Emperor Yuan Jing.

It should be noted that Princess Chang was not yet married, and although Emperor Yuan Jing had been obsessed with cultivating in recent years and did not care about the marriage of his sons and daughters, it was not appropriate for a princess to attract too much attention.

Princess Chang continued, "Father has heard of this person. He is the nephew of Xu Pingzhi, the captain of the Imperial Guards, who was implicated in the tax silver case."

Emperor Yuan Jing finally became interested. "I remember there was such a person, who even made fake silver. If it weren't for the difficulty of preserving fake silver and the huge consumption of salt, I would have ordered the Bureau of Astronomy to produce a lot of it."

The material for fake silver was salt, which was too expensive. After hearing the report from the Bureau of Astronomy's astrologers, Emperor Yuan Jing abandoned the idea of mass-producing fake silver.

"Not only that, this person performed well when he was on duty in Changle County and solved many murder cases," Princess Chang added fuel to the fire.

Emperor Yuan Jing smiled, "Since that's the case, there's no need for you to go to such lengths."

Princess Chang lowered her head and said sincerely, "Father is wise. Just yesterday, Xu Qi'an had a conflict with another gong player in the Nightwatcher Office and severely wounded him with a single knife. He violated the law and should be executed by waist-cutting. He is now locked up in the dungeon. I can ask Father to allow him to redeem himself by solving the case."

Princess Chang did not explain the reason for the conflict or defend Xu Qi'an, because she knew that these were not important.

Father did not care who was right or wrong, he only cared who was useful and who could get things done.

Sure enough, Emperor Yuan Jing did not hesitate or think, and nodded, "Okay, since Huai Qing is interceding for him, I will allow him to redeem himself by solving the case. If he cannot catch the real culprit who destroyed the Taizu Temple within half a month, I will execute him directly."

"Thank you, Father."

...

The imperial princes and princesses left the study and met up with their respective guards. Princess Chang took her sword from the head of the guards.

Second Princess hooked her arm around her elder brother's and whispered, "Ah, Huai Qing beat us to it."

Crown Prince Yu shook his head. "It may not be a good thing. Even Wei Yuan thinks this case is difficult. Huai Qing is just making a casual move. If that gong player can really solve the case, it would be a pleasant surprise. If not, Huai Qing won't lose anything, as he was already sentenced to waist-cutting."

"Hmph, Huai Qing is really cunning." Second Princess wrinkled her petite nose and asked, "Brother, what's going on with the Eternal Mountain and River Temple?"Walking and talking, the Crown Prince looked around and whispered, "This case is not simple, otherwise Wei Yuan wouldn't have such a worried expression. The secret behind it, I'm afraid only Father Emperor knows."

Of course, I will also know in the future... he silently added in his heart, while the image of the woman national teacher's dust-free face appeared in his mind, filled with resentment.

"Lin'an!"

The Princess suddenly shouted, stopping the siblings.

The Crown Prince and Second Princess turned around, and the Lin'an Princess grumpily replied, "What!"

She then hugged her older brother's arm.

The Princess with the sword walked over and said, "Nothing..."

In the relaxed expressions of the siblings, suddenly a sword struck the Second Princess's raised buttocks.

In pain, the Second Princess's face turned white, and after a few seconds, she cried out, pointing at the Princess and screaming, "Huai Qing, I'll kill you!"

The royal siblings came over hypocritically to persuade and mediate.

The Crown Prince, with a stern face, said in a deep voice, "Huai Qing, you've gone too far."

"I was just testing Lin'an's martial arts. If Lin'an is dissatisfied, she can test me in the same way." The Princess turned around elegantly, her black hair fluttering, beautiful and agile.

The Second Princess looked at her back, crying out, "I'll complain to Father Emperor."

The Crown Prince helplessly said, "Another day, Father Emperor is too busy now to deal with you."

If there was a conflict or fight between the princes, Emperor Yuan Jing would definitely intervene and punish them severely.

If the princesses fought, everyone would try to calm things down.

The main reason was that most of the princes had practiced martial arts, and fighting would cause injuries. Among the princesses, only the Princess with the sword had learned martial arts. If the other princesses fought, they would be more elegant, slapping each other's ears. If they were angry, they would grab each other's hair and bite.

It would damage the royal face, so they didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Usually, it would be resolved privately.

The Lin'an Princess gritted her teeth and muttered curses, "Just wait, I'll take all your things."

...

The next day, early morning.

Wei Yuan, who had just finished his meditation, received a message from the palace.

"The Emperor's order has arrived. Wei Gong, go to the dungeon and bring that bronze gong." The small eunuch who delivered the message was humble in attitude.

"The Emperor hasn't eaten much this morning and is very concerned. He hopes Wei Gong can solve the case as soon as possible."

After sending away the eunuch, Wei Yuan smiled.

Yang Yan, who came to accompany his adoptive father for breakfast, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It looks like my adoptive father doesn't need to go to great lengths to save him."

Nangong Qianrou sneered and mocked Yang Yan for being a martial artist who had trained his brain out, saying, "Do you know why my adoptive father said that to the Princess last night?"

Yang Yan thought for a moment and realized belatedly.

Yesterday, the Princess sent someone to investigate the conflict between Xu Qi'an and Zhu Chengzhu. She must have been very concerned about him.

Last night, his adoptive father hinted to the Princess that she should recommend Xu Qi'an to the Emperor, and he could redeem himself by solving the case.

In this way, Xu Qi'an could clear his name, and no one could say anything.

Yang Yan had already anticipated that his adoptive father would save Xu Qi'an, who was imprisoned in the dungeon and sentenced to be beheaded in seven days, to show the people in the yamen.

The more power one had, the less one could act recklessly.

He frowned, "But what if Xu Qi'an doesn't solve the case in half a month?"Wei Yuan smiled: "Then he will only die and enter the Jianghu. Xu Qi'an, this kind of person, has changed from a bright chess piece to a dark chess piece."

His foster father actually valued him so much... Nangong Qianrou and Yang Yan adjusted their expressions.

Wei Yuan seemed to remember something, squinted his eyes and smiled: "Notify Li Yuchun, the Emperor has granted Xu Qi'an the opportunity to make amends and be rewarded for his contributions. Li Yuchun will be reinstated."

After a pause, Wei Yuan's expression was smiling but not smiling: "Make it grand."

...

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao, led by the jailer, came to the dungeon with joy on their faces to release their colleague.

At this moment, Xu Qi'an was relieving his bladder, one hand on the wall and the other supporting his little brother. He was startled by the sudden appearance of his colleagues and the jailer, and his hand trembled...

"Damn it..." Xu Qi'an muttered as he wiped his hands on his prison uniform.

"Ning Yan, Ning Yan, you don't have to die!" When the jailer opened the door with a key, Song Tingfeng laughed and said, "The Emperor allows you to make amends and be rewarded for your contributions."

The Emperor?

Xu Qi'an was stunned, and his first thought was: Oh my god, the Emperor is number one?!

He then denied his own guess and patted Song Tingfeng's shoulder calmly, asking in a deep voice, "What happened?"

Song Tingfeng was eager to share his joy and did not notice that he had been tricked, so he explained what had happened to Xu Qi'an in detail.

There was an explosion in Sangbo... The Yongzhen Mountain and River Temple collapsed... Xu Qi'an's pupils contracted slightly, and he instantly thought of the strange cries he had heard during the ancestor worship ceremony.

In other words, his previous guess was correct.

The cry for help was not directed at him. He just heard it because of some special reason.

Then, who was the cry for help in Sangbo directed at?

"What about the divine sword enshrined in the temple?" Xu Qi'an pondered for a long time and asked.

Song Tingfeng shook his head, indicating that he didn't know much about it, and then said, "Because of your matter, the boss was dismissed. After you were imprisoned, he ran to the Haoqi Building, cursed the yamen in public, and slapped Wei Gong's face in front of everyone..."

This was indeed something that Spring Brother could do... Xu Qi'an was a little touched.

After retrieving his uniform, waist badge, and sword from the prison guard and being told that his jade and stone mirror had been taken by his cousin, Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, Wei Yuan did not want to kill him. Even if there was no imperial pardon, Wei Dad would probably find a reasonable excuse to save him.

After leaving the dungeon, the two walked towards the gate of the yamen. Suddenly, they heard the sound of drums.

Li Yuchun was escorted into the yamen by several copper drummers, and the leader of the copper drummers beat an ordinary drum while shouting, "Li Yinluo is reinstated..."

Officials and Nightwatchers came out to watch and pointed at Li Yuchun.

Spring Brother blushed and hurried away.

Not far away, three little brothers looked at each other, and Xu Qi'an suggested, "It's great news that the boss is reinstated, let's not disturb him."

They couldn't afford to lose this person... Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao nodded, and the three of them reached a consensus.

Spring Brother was played by Wei Yuan. Yesterday, he slapped Wei Yuan's face in public, and today Wei Yuan slapped him in the face with drums and gongs... Xu Qi'an decided in his heart that he could not easily offend Wei Yuan in the future.

People who have lost their good chickens usually have a small mind.

Xu Qi'an was smelly all over and in a hurry to report the good news to his family. He did not linger at the yamen and rode his beloved mare towards home.More than half an hour later, Xu Qi'an returned to Xu Mansion.

The gatekeeper, Old Zhang, was almost in tears with joy. Xu Qi'an handed him the reins and went into the courtyard, intending to first inform his family of the good news.

At this time, the family had already finished breakfast, and Second Uncle was on duty while Xu Xinnian was in the back hall chatting with his mother.

Seeing Xu Qi'an come back, Auntie's eyes lit up for a moment, but she quickly suppressed her joy and gave her nephew a habitual expression of disdain.

Xu Xinnian exclaimed in surprise, "Did Princess Chang act so quickly?"

Xu Qi'an was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly realized that it was not reasonable for Emperor Yuan Jing to know about someone as insignificant as him. It must have been Princess Chang who recommended him to the emperor... or perhaps Wei Yuan took advantage of the opportunity to create a chance for him to redeem himself.

"Don't be too optimistic too early, something might happen..." Xu Qi'an looked at Auntie and paused. "Let's talk about it later... Oh, these past few days have made Auntie worry so much, I feel ashamed. I heard from Cijiu that Auntie stayed up all night for me."

Upon hearing this, Auntie exploded and glared fiercely at her son who had a habit of speaking without thinking. She raised her snow-white and sharp chin, "Humph~"

Xu Xinnian continued, "Father went to the Bureau of Astrology yesterday to ask the White Robed Sorcerers to plead for mercy, but he received some bad news."

He hesitated for a moment and said, "The Chief Astrologer is sick."

"What?" Xu Qi'an questioned, "The Chief Astrologer is sick?"

A first-grade sorcerer was sick!

Moreover, he was a sorcerer who practiced a system of healing and saving lives.

As an experienced detective, Xu Qi'an immediately began to associate this with the anomalies in Sangpo. It was impossible for the Chief Astrologer to catch a cold from watching the human world from the Eight Trigrams Platform.

"I don't know the specific situation," Xu Xinnian said, "I'm going to the Imperial Guard Camp to find Father and calm him down."

It was easy to imagine how uncomfortable Father must be after staying up all night worrying about his nephew who hummed and hawed all day long.

"Okay!" Xu Qi'an said, "I'll go see Lingyue and Lingyin first. I have to go back to the yamen later."

They could discuss the matter in Sangpo later. There was no need to be in a hurry.

"Oh, I left the mirror in the study. Big Brother can go get it himself later. The monk you asked me to find has already left, saying he has a clue about his younger brother," Xu Xinnian said.

I knew it! How could Number One be the emperor? Number One had no idea about this... Wei Yuan and Princess Chang are reliable.

Xu Qi'an went to the backyard and saw Xu Lingyin sitting under the eaves, looking dejected and small.

No one wanted to play with her, and no one was in the mood to pay attention to her.

Even a foolish child knew that Big Brother was in trouble, so she didn't feel like playing with the little goose anymore. She hung her head and scribbled on the ground with a stick.

"Hey, whose stupid child is this?" Xu Qi'an stopped not far away and laughed.

Xu Lingyin suddenly raised her head and stared at him blankly. After a few seconds, her little face lit up with a brilliant smile.

"Big Brother!"

She stood up abruptly, took small steps, opened her arms, and threw herself at Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an also went up to meet her, and in the beaming expression of Xu Lingyin, he hugged his elder sister behind him with a sidestep.

Xu Lingyin turned around in confusion.

"Wuwuwu... Big Brother..." Xu Lingyin cried.The slender waist of his younger sister was within his grasp, emitting a fragrant aroma from her hair and a faint scent of rouge from her body.

Xu Qi'an comforted her by patting her back, saying, "It's okay, big brother is back."

Xu Lingyue ignored him, twisting her slender waist and crying even harder.

Last time, when big brother was taken into custody by the Ministry of Justice, Xu Lingyue was already very upset, but that was due to a conflict with the yamen, which was ultimately a personal grudge.

However, this time, the Nightwatcher who came to the mansion to deliver the message said that big brother would be executed in the market in seven days. The nature of the matter was completely different.

Of course, Xu Lingyue was so concerned because of her recent rapid progress in her relationship with her cousin.

"Ah, it's great to have a sister in this era, so cute and lovely." Xu Qi'an embraced his sister's delicate body and sighed.

In his past life, he didn't have a sister, but he had a cousin who didn't know how to act cute or cry to show her weakness. She only sneered at you disdainfully, saying, "Ha, idiot."

"Big brother, big brother..." Xu Lingyin jumped up and down in place, happily saying, "I'm going to tell mother, she doesn't know you're back."

Xu Qi'an wanted to tell her that he had entered through the door, not climbed over the wall, but he thought it was unnecessary to explain. He nodded and said, "Go ahead!"

"Oh, by the way," he stopped Xu Lingyin and said, "Are you so happy because you can eat three bowls of rice tonight?"

Xu Lingyin was shocked that her big brother knew her thoughts. He ran away in fear.

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