Chapter 204: Chatter (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The luxurious carriage stopped at the street entrance. Dongfang Liren jumped out of the carriage and landed on the street. She looked at the two tied-up survivors and Xu Bailin’s corpse.
Seeing Ye Jingtang walking over, Dongfang Liren was rather surprised. When he arrived, she checked if he was injured before asking, “How did you find Xu Bailin?”
Ye Jingtang raised his hand and gestured to the Wang brothers lying on the ground. “In order to kill with a borrowed knife, Xu Bailin sent the news that I know the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade to Jun Mountain Terrace. Jun Mountain Terrace might have wanted to kill with a borrowed knife and sent the news to the Zhou family. The Zhou family hired these two fellows, and these two fellows bumped into Xu Bailin when they came to the capital. They wanted to use Xu Bailin as a knife, but then they were all caught.”
Dongfang Liren frowned slightly. After thinking about it for a while, she sorted out the situation and said doubtfully, “Is that so…? How did you defeat these three people alone?”
“1 killed Xu Bailin. The Red Flower Pavilion helped capture these two.”
After Ye Jingtang explained, he raised his hand to support Dumdum’s back and pushed her into the carriage. “I have something to report to Your Highness. Let’s talk in the carriage.”
Dongfang Liren felt that this action was rather offensive, but Sir Tangtang was so amazing that she was too embarrassed to be fierce, so she didn’t argue. She gently jumped up with the tip of her toes, entered the carriage, sat down on the couch, and personally poured tea for Ye Jingtang.
Ye Jingtang sat down by the window. After considering his words, he said, “The rebels fled in all directions, so 1 couldn’t catch anyone alive. However, I can confirm that the Prince of Wu’s target is the eldest son of the emperor in the Marquis of Yun Ning Estate. Furthermore, the dissolving oil has already been poured. Your Highness has to be more vigilant to prevent the rebels from taking him.”
Dongfang Liren picked up the cup of tea and handed it to Ye Jingtang. She was slightly surprised. “Xu Bailin was stabbed in the throat. How did you get the information?”
Ye Jingtang couldn’t say anything about the internal strife between the rebels. He only vaguely said, “1 stabbed him in the waist and interrogated him for information. Xu Bailin tried to win me over and said that he would be able to get the deposed emperor out of the capital in two days and help the Prince of Wu raise the army. When it was over, I would be made a marquis. But the moment I was distracted, he became murderous and wanted to fight back with his life. Then 1 casually stabbed him. Hmm… I really should have kept him alive.”
Dongfang Liren looked at the chaotic battle scars on the street and knew how intense the battle had been. It was normal to overreact when one’s heart was tense. She said very understandingly, “Information is secondary. Personal safety is the top priority. Is this news true? Did Xu Bailin make it up?”
“I can tell that what he said is absolutely the truth, but I couldn’t get the exact plan.”
Dongfang Liren nodded thoughtfully and instructed the Black Office constables outside the carriage to bring the carriage straight to the west of the city. Then she looked at Sir Tangtang. “From the Bamboo Street murder case, you single-handedly investigated all the way here. You have made extraordinary contributions time and time again. When this case is over, I will personally write a letter to Her Majesty to ask for a reward for you. What reward do you want? To be conferred the title of Marquis of Yunzhong?”
The Marquis of Yunzhong was a false nobility title in Great Wei. There was only honor, no salary and residence, and it couldn’t be inherited. It was a different concept from a founding marquis of the country like the Marquis of Jun Mountain. But when people went out, they could brag that they were a marquis. To ordinary people, it was still an honor that they dreamed of.
Ye Jingtang was still renting a house and didn’t have any land. In theory, he belonged to the ‘drifter’ class among the commoners. This reward was undoubtedly great.
But Ye Jingtang was from Jianghu and yearned for honors like Martial Chief, so he shook his head and smiled. “There’s no need to be conferred a noble title. I’m just repaying my debt for Your Highness. I’m ashamed to accept it. If Your Highness really wants to reward me…”
At this point, Ye Jingtang suddenly thought of something and leaned closer. “Is there really no room for discussion regarding the palace maid Yuhu?”
?!
Dongfang Liren’s approving gaze turned cold. She took a deep breath, and the fat-headed dragon visibly swelled in front of her.
Ye Jingtang raised his hand slightly. “1 just asked casually. If it doesn’t work, 1 naturally can’t force it. Hmm… Where’s Qiu Tianhe? 1 learned the Heaven Equaling Saber and realized that this saber technique is really exquisite. There’s no saber in my hand, but there’s a saber in my heart. The more I think about it, the more remarkable it feels. It’s a little inappropriate to learn the saber technique but ignore the master afterward.”
Seeing that Ye Jingtang was sensible, Dongfang Liren restrained her aura. “Qiu Tianhe robbed the late emperor’s wedding envoy team. This is no different from rebellion. It’s already an act of mercy outside of the law to let him live in the capital. If he’s allowed to leave the capital safely and return to Jianghu, won’t the scoundrels in Jianghu try to imitate him?”
Ye Jingtang knew that this matter wasn’t easy to handle. He nodded and didn’t say anything else.
Dongfang Liren felt that rejecting everything might make Sir Tangtang feel a little disappointed. She said, “Don’t worry. I’ll consider it. Qiu Tianhe and 1 have no grudges. I even owe him a little favor. If there’s a suitable reason, I’ll make things easy for you.”
“Thanks, Your Highness.”
“Hmph~!”
After the two of them chatted for a while, there was nothing to do in the carriage. Ye Jingtang took out the few weapons he had seized and checked them out.
Dongfang Liren was very interested in martial arts. Just like how the empress liked to collect paintings and calligraphy, her hobby was to collect martial arts manuals and weapons.
The greater the origin of the weapon, the higher its collectibility value. Currently, her most prized collection was Qiu Tianhe’s saber, Heaven Equaling. Although the Roaring Dragon Spear’s craftsmanship was surprisingly good, it was a replica and had never been used by an expert, so the collectibility value was actually average.
Xu Bailin’s Blue Steel Mace and Wang Chengjing’s Mountain Collapsing Spear were famous weapons in Jianghu. After being seized, they naturally wouldn’t be able to escape the fate of being put on display in the hall of Jasper Pavilion.
Xu Bailin’s genuine Blue Steel Mace had already been confiscated last time. This time, she had obtained another bar mace.
Dongfang Liren picked up the mace and sized it up. She found that there were several cuts made by a saber, and the marks were much deeper than the last time. She pulled out the Hornless Dragon Saber from Ye Jingtang’s waist and examined it by candlelight. Although the saber was densely covered in scratches from countless experiences, there were no chips.
Dongfang Liren blinked. “Your saber is abnormally sturdy. It’s fine even after slashing so heavily.”
Ye Jingtang didn’t know the details of his foster father’s saber in the past and only felt that it was good. But after entering the capital, he learned a lot of old stories about Jianghu and slowly understood that this saber was the weapon passed down from Kuang Yazi, the Saber Chief of the previous dynasty. Its name was Hornless Dragon. It had been forged by the Xiao Mountain Fort in Jiang Province during the previous dynasty. All the Hornless Dragon Sabers in the Jianghu were modeled after the style of this saber.
Kuang Yazi’s saber technique was famous for being fierce and violent, and his saber had undergone countless battles without breaking. With the opponents that Ye Jingtang had met so far, it was really not easy to break this saber.
Ye Jingtang saw Dumdum’s sparkling eyes. “Don’t tell me Your Highness wants to collect my saber too?”
“I have plenty of good sabers. 1 don’t care about it.”
Dongfang Liren put the saber back and thought for a moment. Her heart stirred as she looked at Ye Jingtang. “By the way, 1 heard that the Red Flower Pavilion has the Overlord Spear and the Black Qilin Spear. You…”
?!
Seeing that Dumdum was interested in his and Third Lady’s weapons, Ye Jingtang hurriedly said, “Those are family heirlooms of the Red Flower Pavilion. It’s not appropriate to ask for them. I’ll bring back the spear of ‘Spear Chief’ Duan Shengji and give it to Your Highness in the future.”
Dongfang Liren blinked and said, “If you want to teach me the Overlord Spear, 1 naturally have to have the matching weapon. Think of a way. You can lend it to me for a year and a half. I’ll forge a replica and return it to the Red Flower Pavilion.”
Ye Jingtang felt that the noble princess in front of him was acting coquettish to her boyfriend and asking for a gift. But he really couldn’t give away Third Lady’s weapon. He thought for a moment and could only say, “I’ll borrow the Black Qilin Spear for Your Highness to practice with. Then I’ll take out the Roaring Dragon Spear and make it famous for Your Highness. How about that?”
Dongfang Liren felt that this was a good idea and nodded…
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