After finishing the buns, Xu Qi'an asked Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng to inform the rest of the team to gather in the front yard.

Xu Qi'an's current team consisted of Jinyu Hall, Zhenxie Hall, Chunfeng Hall, Chu Caiwei from the Sitian Observatory, and six catchers from the county yamen.

A total of 24 people.

Min Shan and Yang Feng, the two copper gongs, were responsible for verifying the records of gunpowder production and use in the Ministry of Works, which was a tedious and time-consuming task.

Xu Qi'an was convinced that the gunpowder did not come from the Ministry of Works, but out of caution, he continued to investigate the Ministry.

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Today they were leaving the capital. Knowing that so many forces were involved in the Sangbo case, Xu Qi'an followed his heart's desire and tried to bring more people with him.

He first went to the Imperial City, and the others were stopped outside the Imperial City. The only one who could walk with him was the foodie Chu Caiwei.

This girl was a frequent visitor to the Imperial City, and her status was quite extraordinary.

"Did Princess Chang give you a jade pendant?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Chu Caiwei nodded.

"I have one too." Xu Qi'an took out the waist jade given by Princess Lin'an and showed it off proudly.

"It looks familiar... Ah, it's from Princess Lin'an?" Chu Caiwei exclaimed.

"I am now Princess Lin'an's person. She appreciates me. When she saw that Princess Chang didn't give me a jade pendant, she quickly gave me one, indicating that she values me more than Princess Chang and is more worthy of my allegiance." Xu Qi'an told the big-eyed girl about yesterday's events.

"She's really silly." Chu Caiwei giggled and mocked Princess Lin'an.

"Don't laugh too much. Not every woman has the intelligence of Miss Caiwei." Xu Qi'an agreed.

Chu Caiwei's goose face became even sweeter as she smiled.

Soon, they finally arrived at the mansion of Prince Huai. The Northern King's title was Huaiwang, and he was Emperor Yuan Jing's younger brother, so the mansion was called the Mansion of Prince Huai.

There were two white marble lions in front of the door, and the middle door was two zhang high. The golden door nails were arranged in order, and the door rings were larger than those of the average noble mansion.

Apart from being high-end and classy, Xu Qi'an couldn't think of any other adjectives.

There was a column of sharp-armored soldiers standing at the door, with solemn expressions.

"I am Xu Qi'an, the chief investigator of the Sangbo case appointed by His Majesty. I have something to see the queen. Please inform her." Xu Qi'an showed his gold medal.

A soldier glanced at Xu Qi'an and said in a low voice, "The queen does not see anyone. Please leave."

Xu Qi'an raised his eyebrows, about to rebuke, but heard the soldier sneer and add, "This is also His Majesty's order. Even if Princess Chang wants to see the queen, she has to see how the queen feels first. Now get out of here and don't take chicken feathers as orders."

"Oh," Xu Qi'an suddenly realized and smiled, "So the gold medal given by His Majesty is made of chicken feathers... This person has blasphemed against His Majesty and committed a great crime of disrespect."

He held the hilt of his sword behind his waist with one hand and grinned, "I am now going to arrest the criminal. Whoever dares to obstruct me will be killed without mercy!"

Clang!

The black-gold long knife was half drawn from its sheath, and the aura radiated out.

The guards who had mocked Xu Qi'an knew they had said the wrong thing and their faces turned slightly pale.

The head guard glared at his subordinate who spoke without thinking and walked towards Xu Qi'an, his armor clanging as he moved.

"This sir, the queen is not in the mansion."

"Where did she go?" Xu Qi'an sat on his horse, looking down at him.

"I'm just a gatekeeper. I don't know the queen's whereabouts. But she really isn't in the mansion. She left the city this morning, and you are only half an hour apart from her." The head guard spoke politely.

Xu Qi'an nodded slightly and said firmly, "I am now going to arrest the criminal. If you don't want to be judged for protecting your colleagues, help me catch this person."

He pointed at the soldier who had mocked him at the exit."Sir!" The leader of the guards was anxious, seething with anger but dared not show it. He spoke earnestly, "The princess is indeed not in the mansion."

Even the guards of a high-ranking prince's mansion would not be given face by ordinary nobles. But the other party held a golden plaque and had caught the subordinate's weakness, so the leader of the guards could only choose to be conciliatory.

Only then did Xu Qi'an believe it, and turned his horse's head to leave with Chu Caiwei.

"This princess is quite interesting, even the princess cannot stand her." Xu Qi'an tried to test her with a smile.

Chu Caiwei did not disappoint, completely unaware of Xu Qi'an's probing, and honestly replied, "The princess has a very special identity."

"How special?"

"It's a secret." Chu Caiwei smiled, "Don't pry into these things, it's not good for you."

After speaking, she put on a serious face and warned, "Don't try to bribe me with food."

"Why?"

"Because I might not be able to resist it..." she said helplessly.

...

Today's mission had three tasks. The investigation into the death of the county magistrate in Zhao County had yielded relatively accurate results last night. The other two tasks, however, were not accomplished, including meeting the princess.

Xu Qi'an, who had failed to achieve his goals, felt very frustrated!

He was a person who treated his work seriously and rigorously. His bad mood was definitely not because of the princess's beauty and his desire to see her.

The princess is special? This special must not be about her appearance, but something else. Since she was so special, why did Emperor Yuan Jing give the beauty to the Northern King... or was it precisely because of this specialness that Emperor Yuan Jing gave the beauty away?

After thinking for a moment, Xu Qi'an pushed the princess to the back of his mind.

The case was already so difficult, he couldn't waste brain cells on these trivial matters.

...

There is a White Phoenix Mountain in the western suburbs of the Great Feng. From the west city gate, it takes more than half an hour to get there.

The name of White Phoenix Mountain comes from a white bird that used to inhabit the mountain. Its tail feathers were very long, like a phoenix, hence the name.

However, the white phoenix on the mountain is almost extinct now, and it's all because of the Astronomical Observatory.

In a certain year and month, a physician from the Astronomical Observatory went to White Phoenix Mountain to collect herbs and caught a few white phoenixes by the way. After bringing them back and studying them, he discovered that the meat of the white phoenix could enhance male virility...

When they arrived at the foot of White Phoenix Mountain, Lv Qing, who was knowledgeable about many things, smiled and talked about this matter.

Song Tingfeng's heart moved, hesitatingly spoke up, "Boss, I have a friend who is not feeling well. I want to get him some white phoenixes."

"What time is it? You still want to hunt wild game? It's urgent now. If the case is delayed, who will be responsible?" Min Shan, who was in charge of the silver gong, scolded.

Li Yuchun frowned and did not answer.

Xu Qi'an smiled, "We came to White Phoenix Mountain this time mainly to investigate an old case. It's not that urgent. Tingfeng, remember to come back quickly."

Min Shan said with a flattering face, "Sir Xu, why don't I accompany Song Tongluo to go together, so that we can take care of each other?"

Do they need to take care of each other just to catch a bird? Xu Qi'an looked at him and said, "Do you also have a friend?"

Min Shan felt that all the men were staring at him with a strange look.

Min Yinluo was a little anxious and finally said after a long time, "Whether it's virility or not doesn't matter, I just want to taste what the bird that's about to go extinct tastes like."

Everyone laughed, and after Xu Qi'an finished laughing, he put on a serious face and said, "I was just joking. The background of the Sangpo case is very complicated. I don't care where you go in the capital, but don't leave the team except in the capital."

The winding mountain steps led all the way to the depths of the forest. At the foot of the mountain was a huge archway with the plaque of "Qinglong Temple" hanging on it.

Qinglong Temple was not as crowded as other temples, but it was not deserted either. Occasionally, one could see local people burning incense in groups on the way up the mountain.

A luxurious carriage was parked next to the archway, with more than a dozen soldiers in armor guarding it.This carriage was familiar to Xu Qi'an. It was made of golden nanmu wood, and jade pieces and gold foil were wrapped around the details of the carriage. It was the same carriage he had seen when he went to the official brothel sector.

The owner of the carriage had once asked Xu Qi'an to play a game of pitch-pot and traded four hundred taels of gold for a bodhi bead bracelet.

"By the way, Taoist Master Jin Lian said that the woman in the carriage has a connection with me... Who could it be? Golden nanmu wood is exclusively used by the royal family. It's not like the carriages of the Princesses or the Emperor's wives. Maybe a princess from the imperial family? Or, the Emperor's concubine?"

"No, it can't be a concubine. Don't scare yourself."

Even if it was a concubine, it had to be a beautiful woman at the level of a aunt-in-law... Xu Qi'an added in his mind.

He tied the horse to a wooden stake next to a plaque, left a guard from the county yamen and a gong striker to watch the horse, and led the Nightwatcher up the mountain.

He hadn't walked a few steps when he stepped on a sachet on the ground.

No silver today, just sachets?

He instinctively picked it up and held it in his hand to examine it. The sachet was embroidered with intricate cloud patterns, finely crafted and made of expensive materials. It was not something an ordinary rich girl could afford.

One side of the sachet was embroidered with the golden character "Nan," and the other side was embroidered with the character "Zhi." The golden tassels were tied into beautiful knots.

Xu Qi'an smelled a pleasant fragrance, like perfume, sandalwood, and the unique scent of a woman.

"Wait, you guys..." A crisp voice came from behind.

A girl in a light blue jacket caught up with them, not afraid of the Nightwatcher's uniform, and pointed at the sachet in Xu Qi'an's hand. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This is what our mistress dropped."

She wore a maid's hairstyle, but the fabric she wore was even better than that of an ordinary rich girl.

Xu Qi'an looked at the luxurious carriage at the foot of the mountain. "Your mistress?"

"Don't ask too much, give the sachet back quickly." The girl's tone was very aggressive.

"What sachet?" Xu Qi'an put the sachet in his arms.

"You..." The girl glared at him fiercely. "Wait for me."

She lifted her thick skirt and ran down the stone steps. Xu Qi'an didn't move, staying in place and watching her approach the carriage, saying something at the window.

"Xu Ningyan, don't cause any trouble. That's a carriage exclusively used by the royal family," Li Yuchun frowned.

Xu Qi'an was just investigating the case on orders, and in Spring Brother's heart, he was still his subordinate. Spring Brother didn't want Xu Qi'an to cause too much trouble during the investigation. Even if he could make up for it in the future, he would offend people he shouldn't offend, and his current efforts would be in vain.

...You don't understand, that woman and I have fate!

Xu Qi'an shook his head without explaining, still paying attention to the movement on the carriage side.

The ending disappointed Xu Qi'an. He vaguely saw the window open a crack, and the person inside seemed to be scrutinizing him.

Although the distance was too far, he couldn't see the dim interior of the carriage.

The window closed quickly and seamlessly. A few seconds later, the carriage slowly moved away.

It seems that fate has not yet arrived... Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go and see the abbot of the Qinglong Temple."

...

A group of Nightwatchers dressed in uniforms rushed into the temple, immediately attracting the attention of a steward.

The steward was a round-faced fat monk with a kind face, in his forties, and he clasped his hands together. "This humble monk is the supervisor of the Qinglong Temple, with the Dharma name Hengqing. What can I help you with, gentlemen?"

He led Xu Qi'an and the others into the temple and warmly introduced the history of the Qinglong Temple. He claimed that they followed the orthodox tradition of the Western regions and practiced Mahayana Buddhism. They worshipped Buddha.

Xu Qi'an glanced over the grand halls and waved his hand. "Call your abbot out. I have something to ask."Qinglong Temple is the only temple in the Great Feng capital that practices Buddhism. As the steward said, it inherits the Mahayana Buddhism from the West.

Xu Qi'an had done his homework before coming. The abbot of Qinglong Temple was a fifth-grade preceptor, who could beat any of them.

But Xu Qi'an was not afraid at all, because in the early stage of the Buddhist system, they were not good at fighting, except for the eighth-grade martial monks.

The ninth grade of Buddhism is called the novice monk, and this realm is very interesting. The core secret is to keep the precepts. If you do not break the precepts within three years, you can be promoted. It seems simple at first glance, but it is not.

The Buddhist precepts are strict and complicated, and you may inadvertently violate them.

The eighth grade is the martial monk, who is not much different from a warrior and is very good at fighting.

The seventh-grade monk and the sixth-grade Zen master behind them are not good at fighting. It is not until the fifth-grade preceptor that there is a qualitative change.

It is worth mentioning that when Xu Qi'an was looking up information in the archives of the yamen, he found something interesting. The next level after the ninth-grade novice monk is the monk, skipping the eighth-grade martial monk directly.

The information did not explain why. Due to time constraints, Xu Qi'an was too lazy to spend time studying the Buddhist system, and only speculated that there might be two completely different paths in the Buddhist system.

"The abbot is meditating and it is inconvenient to disturb him. What can you tell me, gentlemen?" Hengqing led everyone into the tea room and ordered the novice monk to serve tea.

"Is there a device in the temple that can shield the astrology technique of the Sitian Bureau?" Xu Qi'an sat cross-legged on the cushion and asked directly.

"What do you mean, sir?" Hengqing folded his hands together and shook his head. "There is no such device in the temple."

"Master, monks do not lie." Xu Qi'an's gaze was sharp.

Hengqing lowered his head and did not look at Xu Qi'an. He said, "What I said is true."

"Is it that once you pass the ninth-grade novice monk realm, you can lie without scruples?" Xu Qi'an smiled but not smiled.

Hengqing bowed his head and ignored Xu Qi'an's cold gaze. He did not care about the surrounding Nightwatchers' icy eyes and paid no attention to them.

Non-violent non-cooperation? Xu Qi'an was a little angry.

PS: The next chapter will be in the evening.