Emperor Yuan Jing looked at Wei Yuan and nodded, "What's the matter?"

Wei Yuan asked, "In the report from the Qingzhou Political Affairs Office, is it clear that this poem was written by the Political Affairs Officer Yang Gong?"

...What does he mean by this? The experienced officials in the court have caught on.

Emperor Yuan Jing did not answer, but instead asked, "What's the problem?"

The report does not explicitly state that the poem was written by Yang Gong. The wording is as follows: Yang Gong ordered the officials of Qingzhou to erect a warning monument and inscribe the words on it to alert the world.

This is a clever choice of words, neither explicit nor denying. In Emperor Yuan Jing's view, this is an implicit confirmation.

"This poem was not written by Yang Gong, it was written by someone else. I believe that once this poem spreads, it will surely become famous throughout the world. For an individual, it is a rare opportunity for fame that cannot be sought after. It should not be monopolized by Yang Gong," Wei Yuan said.

"Oh? When did Qingzhou produce such a great talent?" Emperor Yuan Jing smiled, becoming interested and staring at Wei Yuan. "But how do you know?"

Not written by Yang Gong, someone else... Indeed, there are many talented individuals in Qingzhou, which is a land of imperial examinations... The officials thought to themselves, and as Emperor Yuan Jing asked, they turned their gaze towards Wei Yuan.

They were all curious about how Wei Yuan knew that this poem was not written by Yang Gong.

"It is also not someone from Qingzhou," Wei Yuan shook his head.

Emperor Yuan Jing's tone was questioning as he said, "Hmm."

"And, I also know that this poem was not written in Qingzhou. It was published more than a month ago. It was not written by someone from Qingzhou either," Wei Yuan continued.

Now, the faces of the officials became strange as they all made a questioning sound. The censor who had previously said, "This is the poetry of The Great Feng," doubted and said:

"Wei Gong, don't beat around the bush in front of His Majesty."

The old cynic, always putting on a hat as soon as he opened his mouth.

It was published more than a month ago... It was not written by someone from Qingzhou... The officials with keen minds had a guess as Emperor Yuan Jing's question arose.

For a moment, the faces of the officials became peculiar.

Wei Yuan glanced at Emperor Yuan Jing, whose face suddenly darkened, and calmly said, "This poem was written by Nightwatcher Xu Qi'an from the Nightwatcher Office. The original copy is still in the office. If you gentlemen appreciate it, I can lend it to you."

Indeed, it was him... The low murmurs started again:

"This young man is so talented, it's a pity he doesn't study."

"Hmph, Xu Qi'an is just a crude warrior, narrow-minded."

"If Xu Qi'an could enter the National Academy, that would be great!"

At this point, even the court officials who didn't like Xu Qi'an couldn't help but feel regretful. Such talent, if it were a scholar, of course, assuming they were a scholar from the National Academy, would be great.

No one questioned Wei Yuan's lie, not even his political enemies. Wei Yuan couldn't, and had no reason to, lie about this matter out of the blue.

The censor looked embarrassed, lowered his head, and remained low-key.

Emperor Yuan Jing "hmm"ed, "What is your intention in bringing up this matter?"

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Naturally, it is to help my subordinate gain fame."

Emperor Yuan Jing snorted coldly but didn't say anything.

Although he didn't like Xu Qi'an, as the ruler of the country, he wouldn't hold onto a small copper gong. Moreover, there were plenty of people he didn't like in the court.

Of course, if the little copper gong made a mistake or angered him, it would be another matter.

...

Qingyun Mountain, Yunlu Academy.

A cloud goose flew from the sky, flapping its wings and heading straight for Qingyun Mountain. It flew over courtyards and pavilions, and was easily caught by a hand in a delicate small pavilion on the cliff.

In the distorted light, the cloud goose transformed into a delicately cut paper goose, lifelike.

"Yang Ziqian's letter has arrived." Li Mubai turned his head and smiled, informing the two great scholars who were playing chess in the room, two stinky chess players.

Zhang Shen and Chen Tai were deeply engrossed in their game, not even lifting their heads, and casually asked, "What did he write?"

Li Mubai unfolded the letter and read it with a smile. After a while, the smile gradually disappeared from his face, and his expression gradually became fierce.

"Shameless, absolutely shameless!" Li Mubai suddenly grabbed the letter in his hand and roared, "Old thief Yang Gong, shameless and shameless, unworthy of being a scholar. I, Li Mubai, am ashamed of him."

The sudden roar startled Zhang Shen and Chen Tai, the two great scholars.

"What's wrong again? Can a letter from Ziqian make you so angry?" Zhang Shen shook his head helplessly and mocked, "Chunjing, your temperament is indeed a bit bad. You are easily irritable. That's why you lost to Wei Yuan back then. Look at Wei Yuan, he remains calm and unmoving like a mountain."

The great scholar Chen Tai shook his head, "Chunjing's temperament is indeed a bit impatient. Let me see the letter."

Li Mubai was already furious, his heart filled with the color of lemons. He angrily snorted, throwing the letter onto the chessboard.

Zhang Shen picked it up and read it attentively. Yang Gong, Yang Ziqian, wrote in the letter that he met Xu Qi'an in Qingzhou and praised him as the greatest poet in The Great Feng in the past five hundred years. As he continued to praise, Zhang Shen felt that something was off, and it seemed like he was showing off and being flattering.

As he read further, there was a poem:

You eat and you drink, the people's fat and oil. The lower class is easy to oppress, but it's difficult to deceive the heavens - Xu Qi'an (Taught by Yang Gong)

The letter also mentioned that it was copied from an inscription on a monument.

Boom... The cliff shook violently, rocks rolling down. The refined aura in the pavilion on the second floor of the small pavilion on the cliff trembled. The roar of Zhang Shen and Chen Tai echoed throughout Yunlu Academy.

"Old thief Yang Gong is not worthy to be a teacher and role model for others. I suggest kicking him out of Yunlu Academy."

"Just a farewell poem, and this one belongs to him too? I refuse!!"

"I'm so angry, so angry. He's still writing letters to show off..."

...

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

After having a lunch of Qingzhou cuisine at the post station, Xu Qi'an took a cold bath and felt refreshed.

Wearing a white undershirt, he returned to his room and lifted the lid of the pot. A faint blue smoke rose, transforming into a stunning beauty with puffed cheeks.

"Stinky man!"

Xu Qi'an helplessly said, "I originally wanted to let you go, but now I've changed my mind."

Su Su immediately changed her attitude and coquettishly said, "Master~"Xu Qi'an squinted his eyes and examined her.

"Master, what are you looking at?" Su Su blinked her eyes and made a seductive gesture.

"I'm thinking about how Ning Caichen operated," Xu Qi'an said frankly.

"Who is Ning Caichen?"

"He is a scholar who fell in love with a demon."

"That demon must be lusting after his essence," Su Su said angrily.

"Why?"

"Because I am a demon, and I crave men's essence."

"How do you crave it?" Xu Qi'an narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Tell me honestly, I will consider whether to let you go based on the severity of your sins."

"With my mouth," Su Su made an innocent look, "I only suck the essence of the unforgivable bandits, not innocent people."

"Where do you suck? Hmm, I'm just curious about the methods of demons."

"The head."

"Which head?" Xu Qi'an's eyes shot out sharp light.

Su Su looked a little confused, but still answered straightforwardly, pointing her slender finger at her own brow, "Here."

The light in Xu Qi'an's eyes immediately extinguished, and he said in a deep voice, "I have thought it over. You have committed many crimes, so I can't easily let you go. Go back."

Bang!

He closed the wine jug.

"What a waste of time..." Xu Qi'an muttered as he got up and left the room, knocking on Song Tingfeng's door.

"What's the matter?" Song Tingfeng had originally planned to take a nap and rest, but Xu Qi'an came knocking on the door when he had already taken off his pants.

"The Governor is not here, but we can't slack off either. I plan to try deciphering the secret code left by Zhou Min. Both you and Guangxiao are experienced Nightwatchers, and I believe your opinions will help with my reasoning," Xu Qi'an said.

When Song Tingfeng heard Detective Xu Ningyan say this, he felt both honored and ashamed. After all, as Nightwatchers with official positions, they were more accustomed to using violence than reasoning.

"Ningyan, I'm not really good at solving cases," Song Tingfeng said with a frown.

"Have you heard a saying?" Xu Qi'an said seriously.

Song Tingfeng shook his head.

Xu Qi'an said, "Some casual words can solve my confusion and give me an inexplicable impulse to continue pursuing. I pay extra attention to your every move."

Song Tingfeng asked cautiously, "Why do you pay extra attention to my every move? What do you want to do?"

"No, it just slipped out..."

Xu Qi'an changed the topic, "By the way, what do you think about Su Su?"

As he spoke, he stared at Song Tingfeng, hoping to see his embarrassed expression when he covered his face and ran away.

When Song Tingfeng heard Su Su's name, he felt a pang of pain in his heart and said in a deep voice, "It will be a regret in my life if I can't find her in this lifetime."

She is in my room... Hasn't this guy realized it yet? This doesn't make sense. As long as he and Zhu Guangxiao are together, Su Su's actions will be exposed... Are they hiding it from each other? Why?

Is it because they trust me more? Xu Qi'an was suddenly moved.

"By the way, don't tell anyone about Su Su, including Guangxiao," Song Tingfeng warned.

"Don't worry, I can keep a secret," Xu Qi'an said with a bright smile, "By the way, is it because I am more trustworthy than Guangxiao?"

"No, why would you have such a misconception?" Song Tingfeng looked at him strangely, "Because you have no bottom line when it comes to relationships between men and women, so I'm not afraid of you knowing. Besides, you can't be worse than you already are."

"...We all went to the Official Brothel Sector together. Why do I have no bottom line just because I slept with Fu Xiang while you slept with someone equally attractive?" Xu Qi'an was dissatisfied, thinking that I neither refine copper nor have an Oedipus complex, so why do I have no bottom line?

"Every time we talk about you sleeping with Fu Xiang every night without paying, everyone curses together: Damn it, what a scumbag!"

"..."

The two of them knocked on Zhu Guangxiao's door together. Song Tingfeng frowned and said, "What's wrong with you? You look so down. I felt something was off just now."

Zhu Guangxiao opened his mouth, but didn't say anything, and finally looked at Xu Qi'an.

What are you looking at me for? Do you also think I'm a scumbag? Xu Qi'an rolled his eyes in anger.

The three of them went to the room where Zhou Min's belongings were stored and carefully inspected them for a long time. Song Tingfeng became discouraged, "We have looked at these things countless times."

Zhu Guangxiao looked at Xu Qi'an and said, "Ningyan, do you think there are clues related to the secret code in the belongings?"

"Do you remember how I deciphered the riddles and found the secret code?" Xu Qi'an paced by the belongings and carefully imparted his knowledge:

"Thinking from a different perspective is an indispensable part of reasoning. This case of Zhou Min is different from the case of Sang Bo. Sang Bo at least had some clues that we could follow. But this case has no other clues. The only clue is the secret code left by Zhou Min."

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao nodded slightly, deep in thought.

Having experienced the Sang Bo case, they had gained some insights into solving cases, but they were still in the stage of imitating Xu Qi'an's methods. If a similar case to the Sang Bo case appeared again, they could try to solve it following Xu Qi'an's approach.

But once the point of entry for the case changed, they would be at a loss.

In the world of martial arts, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were still in the stage of practicing sword techniques, while Xu Qi'an had no moves but was able to win with moves, having a sword in his heart even without a sword in his hand.

"Don't just nod, tell me your thoughts," Xu Qi'an said."Besides the character 'silence', the rest are all numbers. The clue definitely won't be hidden in the geomancy map again, so where else could there be a large amount of numbers?" Zhu Guangxiao wondered.

"There are too many clues with numbers. Aren't there numbers in books?" Song Tingfeng said.

"Good, a very good guess." Xu Qi'an's eyes lit up: "Let's assume that these two sets of codes are in a book. Following our previous line of thought, what book would be the easiest for us to obtain?"

Feeling that his suggestion had been accepted, Song Tingfeng analyzed enthusiastically: "The Three Character Classic, The Great Feng Code, Yunzhou Annals?"

These were all books that could be easily found in Yunzhou. The Three Character Classic was a primer, The Great Feng Code was available in every state and yamen, and Yunzhou Annals was the "history book" of Yunzhou, also commonly found in yamen and post stations.

The three of them first asked the post station soldiers to bring these books. They didn't immediately start searching, because there was still a problem at hand.

Zhu Guangxiao asked: "So what does the number of characters represent? How do we find it?"

"When a man loses a large amount of protein, his brain will temporarily malfunction." Xu Qi'an looked at him and said seriously: "At this time, you need to rest, or replenish."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, these numbers either represent page numbers, or they hint at the nth character. This is the simplest deduction." Xu Qi'an answered.

Song Tingfeng opened the Three Character Classic, "It's definitely not the page number, because the Three Character Classic is only so thick."

As he spoke, he flipped through the Three Character Classic: "The 162nd character is 'righteousness', the 347th character is 'emotion'."

"The other codes have also been deciphered. The two sets of codes given by Zhou Min, when connected, are: Silent human emotion nature human...

"Okay, this is wrong."

As Song Tingfeng failed in his interpretation, Xu Qi'an and Zhu Guangxiao were also interpreting the other two books.

Zhu Guangxiao said: "Silent China deep water east middle... okay, this is also wrong."

The two of them looked at Xu Qi'an together, who grumbled: "Silence is about to float in the white."