12: The ice is frozen and the wind is biting

Tianquan Division.

It was established by the Royal family.

Empowered by Royal Power, it belongs to the Emperor as a sharp blade in his hand, and its greatest controller is the one sitting in the Imperial Palace.

Its purpose is to monitor all officials for the Emperor and investigate various cases. Its status is extremely special, and it has the power to execute first and report later.

The positions in Tianquan Division, from highest to lowest, are divided into Siming, Pacification Envoy, Great Commander, Deputy Commander, Tiss, and Captian.

The Siming rarely shows up, so the Pacification Envoy usually manages all matters of the Tianquan Division.

Next is the Great Commander, with one Great Commander, and under his command are two Deputy Commanders, one for the First Hall and one for the Second Hall. Each Deputy Commander can oversee ten Tiss and one hundred Captians.

Lin Qinghuang is the Deputy Commander of the Second Hall, with over a hundred people under her command.

Second Hall.

Lin Qinghuang was currently holding a scroll and reading it.

“So tired.”

Xie Weilou walked in, looking exhausted after a stroll, found a seat casually, and poured himself a cup of Fragrant Beauty tea.

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu had taken him to collect some items: a Tianquan Division token, a saber, and a set of clothes. He took the token, but he found the saber and clothes ugly, so he refused them.

Lin Qinghuang scoffed, “That’s all it takes to make you tired?”

This guy looked like a sickly person, as if he would fall over with a gust of wind, extremely weak.

Xie Weilou said speechlessly, “I’ve been in prison for three years, eating cabbage and tofu every day. Isn’t it normal to be a bit weak?”

Lin Qinghuang sneered, “I think you’re doing very well. You went to a brothel as soon as you got out of prison.”

Despite his seemingly frail body, after being released from prison, he immediately ran to a brothel to enjoy himself. He wasn’t even afraid of dying in the arms of those girls. Indeed, a leopard cannot change its spots.

Xie Weilou said righteously, “It was freezing for thousands of miles, and the cold wind was biting. If those girls didn’t have winter clothes, they would definitely freeze to death. I went to bring them warmth.”

“Utterly absurd.”

Lin Qinghuang said with a straight face.

To describe visiting a brothel with such righteousness, Xie Weilou’s shamelessness was thicker than she had imagined.

Xie Weilou lazily leaned back in his chair. He said to Lin Qinghuang, “Lin Qinghuang, my hands are cold. Come over and warm them for me.”

“Hmph!”

Qinghuang snorted, too lazy to bother with Xie Weilou. If anyone else dared to say such a thing to her, she would have already split them with a sword.

However, after three years, she had become immune to Xie Weilou’s smooth talk and didn't feel the slightest discomfort.

She then stared at Xie Weilou and asked, “Did you kill someone last night?”

Xie Weilou’s face straightened, “Nonsense! I wouldn’t even dare to kill a mouse, so how could I kill someone?”

Lin Qinghuang smiled coldly, “Tianquan Division suppressed this matter for you. Aren’t you curious who stepped in?”

“……”

Xie Weilou looked at Lin Qinghuang, raising an eyebrow.

He naturally wasn't afraid of what happened last night and had a plan to deal with it, but it turned out Tianquan Division suppressed the matter?

Lin Qinghuang pointed upwards, “I’m also very curious why that one wanted to suppress this matter for you. The order came from that one!”

The Tianquan Division is the Emperor’s weapon, so the 'upstairs' she referred to was naturally the one in the Imperial Palace.

The Emperor ordered the Tianquan Division to suppress this matter, which she found somewhat incomprehensible.

She was already aware of everything that happened at Zhenxi Marquis Manor last night.

Someone from Anping Marquis Estate had beaten someone from Zhenxi Marquis Manor at Zhenxi Marquis Manor. This was a complete provocation to Zhenxi Marquis Manor, and if they were killed, no one would dare to say anything, even if it was just a maid.

But after all, they were people from Anping Marquis Estate. If they were killed like this, Anping Marquis Estate would certainly not agree and would definitely cause trouble.

However, the Emperor issued an order, and now Anping Marquis Estate dared not discuss this matter at all. This news had even been completely sealed off, and all those second-generation nobles were silenced.

“That one…”

Xie Weilou raised an eyebrow. Since he dared to kill, he feared nothing, but he hadn’t expected that one to step in.

What was that one’s purpose in stepping in?

“Just be careful yourself.”

Lin Qinghuang said indifferently.

Xie Weilou smiled indifferently, not paying too much attention to the matter. He put down his teacup, walked towards Lin Qinghuang, and glanced at the scroll in her hand, asking in surprise, “What are you looking at?”

Lin Qinghuang casually threw the scroll to Xie Weilou, saying indifferently, “See for yourself!”

“……”

Xie Weilou took the scroll and casually opened it.

As soon as Xie Weilou took the scroll, Lin Qinghuang instantly stared at him.

This scroll was related to last night’s case. She wanted to know if Xie Weilou would show any unusual reaction when he saw the content of the scroll.

If he was smart, he would definitely discover many things.

“Too many words, too lazy to read.”

Xie Weilou glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, and directly threw the scroll back to Lin Qinghuang.

Lin Qinghuang looked at the scroll Xie Weilou had thrown down, and a hint of disappointment appeared in the depths of her eyes. Had she overestimated this guy?

Xie Weilou extended his hand towards Lin Qinghuang, “Lin Qinghuang, want to warm them?”

“Warm them yourself.”

Lin Qinghuang put away the scroll and replied flatly.

“Alright! Then I’ll lie down for a bit. I got up too early and I’m sleepy.”

Xie Weilou walked aside, found a plush long gown, casually draped it over himself, closed his eyes, and dozed off slightly.

At this moment, his mind was rapidly replaying the content on the scroll.

Someone used Fragrant Beauty to scheme against the First Prince. Now that the three princes are competing, both the Second Prince and the Third Prince could be the culprits, but other possibilities cannot be ruled out.

One must know that the struggle for Royal Power is unpredictable and perilous. It is normal for someone to hide in the dark, feigning weakness to ambush their prey, and wanting to reap the benefits.

The Wansha House case involved Fragrant Beauty.

Previously, when he and Princess were lying on the bed, she was also stimulated by a large amount of Fragrant Beauty.

Are the instigators of these two incidents the same person?

Of course, sometimes the person most likely to be excluded can turn out to be the one who surprises you most.

“Third Princess…”

A person appeared in Xie Weilou’s mind.

According to Xie Nantian, the person lying on the bed at that time should have been the Third Princess, but it wasn't her. Perhaps the Princess being involved was also related to the Third Princess.

And this Third Princess is close to the Third Prince, considered to be on the Third Prince’s side.

So, is the Third Prince the instigator?

“After what happened last night, the forces behind Ma Huai, Guo Yu, and Cui Zhao will likely have no connection with the First Prince. If they were to side with the other princes at this critical juncture, that would be interesting.”

Xie Weilou thought to himself.

Since the three factions are no longer aligned with the First Prince, they will definitely side with one of the others. The faction they side with is most likely to be publicly labeled as the “instigator,” and may even provoke a counterattack from the First Prince.

If that person is truly smart, he would not do such a thing. On the contrary, whoever the three factions side with now might be the target of the scheme.

It also doesn't rule out someone who calculates everything and deliberately takes a risky move. To make such a move, the first thing is that his opponent must be smart enough.

However, this is not worth the gain. Gaining three forces but encountering the First Prince’s counterattack is not necessarily a good deal.

The instigator, at this moment, has a high probability of sitting back and watching the tigers fight.

“Commander Lin, the Pacification Envoy asked me to deliver two messages to you.”

Zhao Hu hurried in and saluted Lin Qinghuang.

Lin Qinghuang looked at Zhao Hu, “What messages?”

Zhao Hu said, “The first message is that last night, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice; the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards; and the Cui family head, seemed to have met the Second Prince.”

“Met the Second Prince?”

Lin Qinghuang’s eyes narrowed.

It seems that last night’s case at Wansha House made the three parties believe that it was the First Prince’s retaliation out of anger. Now, their defection to the Second Prince is quite interesting.

The three factions, having just broken ties with the First Prince, immediately defected to the Second Prince. Is the Second Prince the instigator of this matter?

Or is someone reaping the benefits?

“What’s the second message?”

Lin Qinghuang continued to ask.

Zhao Hu said, “Young Master Cao of the Cao family is holding a plum blossom viewing party at the Four Seasons Plum Garden today, intending to make friends through poetry. It is said that Young Master Cao has offered a sword as a prize for the winner. That sword is named Tianya!”

“Tianya!”

Lin Qinghuang’s pupils constricted.

Although the Lin family was a merchant family, in the past, the founder of the Lin family was a martial arts master, and the Tianya Sword was the Lin family’s most treasured possession, a spiritual sword.

Three years ago, the Lin family was destroyed, its assets swallowed by a mysterious force, and the Tianya Sword disappeared, leaving only some empty shops behind.

She had investigated this matter for three years, but only managed to trace a portion of the assets to Xie Weilou’s name. As for the remaining assets, there was no information at all.

Now that the Tianya Sword has appeared, it provides a breakthrough. Perhaps by following the clues, she can uncover that mysterious force.

It seems she has to go to Plum Garden!

“Making friends through poetry?”

Xie Weilou opened his eyes, showing a hint of interest. He said to Lin Qinghuang, “Lin Qinghuang, how about we go to the poetry gathering for a stroll?”

Lin Qinghuang looked at Xie Weilou expressionlessly and said, “What? Do you actually understand poetry and prose?”

Xie Weilou shook his head and said, “I’m not good at poetry or prose, but there will definitely be many beauties at such a poetry gathering. I want to go and see beautiful legs. As long as I throw money, they will definitely be willing to warm my hands.”

Lin Qinghuang was speechless. She got up and walked out of the hall.

Xie Weilou took off the long gown he was wearing and followed her with a faint smile…