At dusk in Luoyang City, the setting sun cast an orange glow on the palace walls of the Taichu Palace. The air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the chirping of insects.
After a group of ministers left a meeting, Empress Wu had a moment of leisure. She stood in front of a painting for a long time, holding a cup of tea in her hand.
In the painting, a young man and woman were reading under a banana leaf. The woman had two small buns on her head, and the man wore a blue robe. There seemed to be an interesting story in the book, and he told it to the girl, making her laugh as their fingers intertwined.
What did he say? The current Empress Wu couldn't remember anymore.
Zhao Lanzhi was brought in by palace attendants. Kneeling down, he reported, "Your Majesty, the investigation into the Qianduan Pavilion's illicit salt smuggling has been completed. Prince Jing's residence has no illegal income. Everything was orchestrated by their servant, Jiang Ren. The network involved in producing, transporting, and selling contraband salt has been completely dismantled."
Empress Wu nodded. "Lanzhi, you've done well. I haven't wasted my efforts in grooming you. You have lived up to your father's high expectations. I will reward you for your merits."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhao Lanzhi lifted his head and his gaze fell on the painting that Empress Wu had been staring at for a long time. He couldn't help but wonder, who were the two people that the Empress admired so much in that painting?
In Lord Ye's mansion, the restless Miss Yuan'an was about to leave when Madam Ye entered.
Yuan'an thought, 'Oh no, I'm caught even before I can slip away. It can't be good news! Pretending, she asked, "Mother, did you need something?"
Unable to contain her happiness, Madam Ye said, "Yuan'an, I have great news for you!"
Yuan'an smiled, "Great news? Is it that you're going away for a few days?"
Madam Ye hesitated for a moment. She didn't pay attention to Yuan'an's sarcastic comment and simply said, "No, it's not about me. It's about you. A noble family has come with a marriage proposal! A young gentleman wants to marry you! He comes from a prestigious family and is talented in both literature and martial arts."
Before she could finish, Yuan'an was already fuming. Her eyes widened in anger, "What nonsense! I'm living a good life, why would I want to get married?!"
Madam Ye spread her hands helplessly, "But a grown woman can't stay at home forever. You can't always be by your father's and my side."
"I know what you mean. You want to drive me away! I'm going to talk to my father!"
Her stepmother was prepared, "Your father asked me to decide on this matter."
"You!" Yuan'an was so angry that she gritted her teeth. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. She turned her eyes and said cunningly, "Mother must have a good opinion of him, that's why you're so eager to marry me off?"
"I'm doing this for your own good!"
Yuan'an said, "Then I have a condition!"
"Tell me!"
"No matter how persuasive he sounds, I don't believe it. I need to meet him in person to be sure!"
Madam Ye hesitated, "This..."
"If not, then forget it!"
Madam Ye was getting anxious, "Fine! You can meet him! I'm sure it will work out!"
Yuan'an thought to herself that she would need to borrow something from the old man in the basement to handle this situation.
In the basement, a man in black was preparing a potion. The deep red liquid bubbled in the pot, and he threw a gecko in, retrieving a set of fish bones.
The alchemic furnace was burning fiercely, and the man in black opened a storage, revealing several pills. He picked up one, pried open a monkey's mouth, and pushed the pill inside. The monkey's face suddenly turned red, and it started to engage in some antics with a rat in the same cage.
The man in black shook his head disappointedly.
"This bunch of animals are all troublemakers, really unruly! I've said it before, I need a real person to test the medicine!"
Yuan'an was crouched in the man's storage, looking for something. She joined the conversation, "Testing it on animals doesn't seem to work either. I'm afraid you might end up killing another person. Found it! Hehehe." Yuan'an put on a human skin mask and turned to look at the man in black. "How do I look?"
"Are you planning to rob someone, young miss?"
"My stepmother said someone came with a marriage proposal. I'm going to meet that young gentleman."
"Oh, is that so? Is his heart in good condition? If his heart is healthy, should I use him to test my potion?"
Yuan'an dismissed it, pushing him away. "Old man, go away. I think I look good, I just need to put on a little more rouge."
On the day of the arranged blind date, Yuan'an, dressed up elegantly, hopped up the stairs of the famous Lotus Moon Teahouse in Luoyang City. Two guests, a man and a woman, were coming down the stairs to meet her. The woman, upon seeing Yuan'an's face, was horrified and grabbed the man's sleeve. The man suddenly bent over and gagged.
The woman asked him, "What's wrong?"
The man wiped his mouth and said, "Seeing her face made me sick for some reason."
Yuan'an, upon hearing this, shrugged and smiled to herself. It seemed her plan was working.
Upon reaching the second floor, a waiter pulled back the curtain for her. There were already several customers inside. But as Yuan'an turned her head from left to right, those who caught sight of her face also started gagging.
In the corner on the left, a handsome young man caught Yuan'an's attention. She speculated to herself, "Stepmother said blue scarf, black robe, he must be the one."
Approaching confidently, Yuan'an greeted, "Young master, were you waiting for me?"
The young man finally turned his head to look at Yuan'an. He saw a face that resembled a pale, bluish pig's belly, eyebrows like wild grass, bloodshot eyes, a nose pointing skyward, and a large mouth filled with crooked teeth, each one seemingly looking down on its companions.
The young man lowered his head and vomited. Yuan'an swiftly grabbed a spittoon that she had prepared and caught the vomit. The action was so natural that it seemed rehearsed.
Gasping for breath, the young man said, "Auntie..."
"Don't be so formal, I'm only sixteen."
The young man waved his hand. "I..."
Yuan'an interjected, "I know, I don't look like what you imagined. It's just that I've always had a short temper since I was a child. I can't stand being behind others in anything, which is probably why I ended up looking like an aunt."
The young man continued to vomit and talk in between breaths.
Yuan'an reassured him, "Don't worry. A quick temper has its advantages. We'll be faster than anyone else in everything. If you marry me, I promise you'll be holding a baby within four months!" She patted her stomach with determination. "Soon! You can trust me!"
The young man finally caught his breath. "Wait, this isn't right..."
Yuan'an was about to hug him but he resisted, "What's wrong? Didn't we agree on this? Come, sweetheart!"
Before the two could embrace, a well-dressed young lady in a pink dress burst through the curtain. Seeing the scene, she yelled, pointing at the unfortunate young man Yuan'an was about to embrace. "Sun Xiaohu, I always knew you were like this! You arranged to meet with me today and yet you're here with someone else!" Looking at Yuan'an, the young lady's chin trembled in anger. "You, you found such a..."
Named Sun Xiaohu, the young man managed to break free from Yuan'an's embrace. "Xiao Lian, let me explain!"
Xiao Lian was furious and attacked Sun Xiaohu. Yuan'an stepped back, realizing she must have misunderstood something. "Wait a minute! Why is there another woman here?"
Before Yuan'an could finish, Zhao Lanzhi, the constable from the Luoyang County bureau, walked in.
Yuan'an was quite pleased to see this acquaintance. She bounced over to greet him, but Zhao Lanzhi started gagging upon seeing her.
Quickly removing her mask, Yuan'an exclaimed, "Zhao Lanzhi, it's me!"
Zhao Lanzhi looked surprised. "Miss Ye Yuan'an, why did your face look different?"
"Oh, it's just a skin mask!"
Zhao Lanzhi took the mask from her. "Let me take a look."
They sat at an adjacent table and chatted. Zhao Lanzhi played with the mask. "This thing has existed in the martial world for a long time. But crafting it to be so lifelike and realistic is not easy. I've heard that there's only one person in the world who can create such high-quality masks."
Curious, Yuan'an asked, "Who is it?"
Zhao Lanzhi answered slowly, "A fugitive from the 40th year of the Tang Dynasty, the demonic monk Chen Tianshu."
Yuan'an was stunned. She grabbed the mask back from Zhao Lanzhi and fumbled with it in her hands. Her eyes darted around. "What nonsense! This, this belongs to me! I have no idea about any demonic monk or fugitive. I'm telling you, you, you're an official. You shouldn't just blurt out anything!"
Zhao Lanzhi took a sip of tea. "The truth behind Ruyue's case has been revealed, and the case of private salt smuggling has been solved. But the question I asked you that day, you still haven't answered properly."
"What question?"
"Ruyue was killed by poison. Even experienced coroners couldn't identify it. You should realize what that means."
"You're not the murderer, and you have no experience in the martial world. Did someone tell you this? If so, who was it?"
Yuan'an lowered her head and sipped her tea. Suddenly, she burst into laughter. "Zhao Lanzhi, are you getting old? Or is your memory failing you? Is this matter really that mysterious? Let me tell you, there are no truly new things under the sun. I'm not a murderer, and I lack experience, but I read books! Books contain everything!"
"What you mentioned, 'Eastern Region People,' I've read it, but it has nothing to do with this case."
Growing anxious, Yuan'an stood up abruptly. "Who are you interrogating? I'm not your criminal! It's just my unlucky day to have run into you!"
As Yuan'an turned to leave, Zhao Lanzhi spoke slowly from his seat. "It's not bad luck, it's what you requested. You wanted to meet first."
Yuan'an halted, her foot hovering mid-step. Looking back at the scene of Xiao Lian assaulting Sun Xiaohu, and hearing Zhao Lanzhi's words, Yuan'an's expression changed. She seemed to remember something. "One year ago..."
"Yes, one year ago, I was also under the same impression. I thought we..."
"We would never meet again," Yuan'an finished the sentence.
Zhao Lanzhi looked back at her. "Seems like you remember..."
Yuan'an's expression shifted from disbelief to realization.
"Yes, one year ago... I was still in the army on the border. Someone claimed to have seen traces of the demonic monk Chen Tianshu. We followed the trail and coincidentally encountered Lord Ye's convoy..."
~Thank You for Reading, Please Comment Below~
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