Chapter 315: Holding the Handle (3000+)

Chapter 315: Holding the Handle (3000+)

Xianjin blinked, her gaze traveling from Qiao Hui’s eyes to his nose, and finally settling on his upper lip, where the pronounced cupid's bow was slightly upturned.

Without thinking, Xianjin tilted her head, her mind drifting to who knows what crazy thoughts.

Qiao Hui frowned, unnaturally pursing his lips. He took the opportunity to discreetly wipe the corner of his mouth as he raised his hand. A quick downward glance confirmed that his mouth was clean—the sesame paste from dinner hadn’t left a stain...

"What are you doing—" Qiao Hui, feeling uneasy under her gaze, broke the silence with a sudden yelp.

Xianjin snapped out of her trance, "Oh, oh, it's nothing, nothing..."

She quickly steered the conversation back, "...Sun Shun's matter isn't urgent. That bastard is stuck in Anyang Prefecture and doesn't have the ability to cause trouble elsewhere... But as for going to Fujian, will the teacher be accompanying us? The other day, when I met Dr. Wang, he repeatedly warned me that we must not let the teacher travel to Fujian by boat. The dampness at sea is severe, and the food in Fujian consists mostly of irritating foods. Just as his condition has stabilized, if there's a relapse, even Dr. Wang won't be able to treat it."

Qiao Hui waved his hand, "Father won't go; he has to stay in the Capital City to face off against the Inner Court." When Fujian was mentioned, Qiao Hui let out a cold laugh, "The Heng family is quite something, cozying up to that Cao fellow, removing your name, and adding their own."

Xianjin: ?

She knew Heng Lian had no shame, but she didn’t realize he could be so shameless!

He’s shameless to the core—truly despicable!

This so-called 'publicly-funded trip,' or rather, this chance to represent the country, did he, Heng Lian, even deserve it?!

Who does he think he is?! Daring to snatch her ten-day official trip to Fujian!

Stealing her oyster omelette, her Fuding meat slices, her Wuyi smoked goose—how dare he!

It was truly malicious!

Xianjin stood up abruptly, pacing a few steps before turning around angrily. "In my opinion, Yingtian Prefecture needs a major shake-up! One Assistant Prefect is as slippery as a snake, the other as cunning as a fox!"

Qiao Hui shook his head, "Grand Princess Baian personally looked into the matter and knows you well; how could you possibly be deceived by these fools?"

"Knows me?" Xianjin's dark eyebrows furrowed.

Qiao Hui gestured for Xianjin to come closer, whispering softly into the girl's ear, "The group that rescued you at Baochanduo Temple were from the Grand Princess Baian's entourage."

A fierce and beautiful warrior!

That red and blue dual-treasure dagger!

Carved with lifelike cranes!

Cranes!

The ruling power of the dynasty adored cranes the most!

That's right, that's right!

She had suspected it before but couldn’t fully confirm it!

A mixture of surprise and emotion welled up in Xianjin, a complex blend of feelings intertwining and surging to her heart.

It felt like meeting an idol she had unknowingly crossed paths with many times before—a mix of joy and regret.

The burst of fervent delight in the girl's eyes did not escape Qiao Hui's notice. Uncontrollably, he leaned in a little closer, his nose filled with the faint, refreshing cold scent from the girl.

Along with the cold scent came her disheveled sideburns and the small, unnoticed mole beneath her jawline.

It was as if Qiao Hui's gaze was intensely scorched by that small mole, forcing his rationality back as he quickly leaned in and then retreated.

How could he not understand the girl's joy and regret?

Xianjin admired strength.

She liked and appreciated all beautiful and strong people and things.

As the most powerful woman in the current dynasty, Xianjin had expressed her admiration and reverence for Grand Princess Bai An countless times, and that "Cranes Descending Upon Great Wei" was the most blatant expression of it.

Oh, the miserable and cowardly Third Master Chen was the only exception to Xianjin's admiration for strength...

Qiao Hui began his usual playful teasing, "Please, when you meet Grand Princess Bai An, don't scream in excitement!—It would really embarrass your teacher."

Xianjin casually grabbed an apple and threw it at Qiao Hui's right chest.

Qiao Hui smiled and finished eating the two apples with relish, then spoke seriously to Xianjin, "If you have nothing to do in the next two days, go visit Miss Xiong, now Mrs. Cui's residence, and you may also go to see Assistant Prefect Wen. Let them know about the secret handling of this matter."

Xianjin narrowed her eyes.

Qiao Hui smiled, "Things are about to heat up in Yingtian Prefecture, and we need to be ready for this massive opportunity!"

The two chatted a bit more, and Qiao Hui left.

Xianjin blew out the lamp and went to sleep.

Once the room filled with steady, deep breaths, Qiao Hui silently dropped down from the roof tiles like a hovering kite, restraining himself as he crouched in the corner, his gaze soft and lingering on the curtain by the bed.

As time passed, Qiao Hui watched intently for a moment, then climbed over the wall and left the courtyard.

Just as he climbed over the wall, in the narrow corridor, he bumped into the mute guard Liu Haixing, who had been recruited by Xianjin, on his way to the toilet in the middle of the night.

Qiao Hui was crouching furtively.

Liu Haixing rubbed his eyes, still sleepy and not yet able to make a gesture, when he saw Qiao Hui pressing his finger to his lips, quickly making a "shush" gesture.

Liu Haixing grinned, his innocent eyes sparkling with simple joy, and swiftly made a gesture—“Boss, I can't speak anyway.”

Qiao Hui was stunned.

Liu Haixing leaned against the pillar, forgetting his urgent need to use the toilet, and seized the opportunity to chat with his leader in front of the toilet, his hands flying like the wind.

Qiao Hui froze, "No, I'm not here to steal."

Liu Haixing suddenly understood and made another gesture.

Qiao Hui's face turned ashen: Damn it, he guessed it right!

He really had been watching Xianjin sleep just now!

But how could he admit it?

"I'm here to find your Boss He for an urgent matter, just pretend you didn't see me... I'll bring you some hairtail from Fujian." Qiao Hui bribed him weakly.

At the mention of the hairtail, Liu Haixing's eyes lit up, and he perked up, gradually moving from brief small talk to chatting—heaven knows how long he had been holding it in in Orange Courtyard! Most people struggled to understand sign language, though they were trying to learn. Only Boss He, the chubby girl beside her, and the stern-looking sister made any real progress.

The key was that he loved to hang out with Mother Zhang—who was amazing. Mother Zhang could shuck corn while vividly and enthusiastically telling stories about which aunt and brother-in-law from the four villages around Orange Courtyard were having an affair!

He listened with great satisfaction, but Mother Zhang couldn't understand his sign language expressions about his thoughts on the stories, such as his evaluation of Aunt Chen from the front village who had seduced both her brother-in-law and her elder brother-in-law!

A strong urge to vent is hard to satisfy.

Finally, he met someone who understood sign language—his old leader. How could he resist talking his heart out!?

Seeing Xiao Hai Xing's eyes light up, Qiao Hui felt a deep sense of despair and resignedly leaned against the house pillar on the other side, muttering halfheartedly.

The young man's voice was hoarse and low, but when speaking to the young mute guard, there was a hint of tolerance and gentleness that he didn’t even notice himself.

"Yes, going to Fujian, not taking the mute guard." "Your father isn't going either." "Not even Fat Whale is going." "The big black dog on the ship definitely isn't going either."

"It's official business, we're not going out to sea, and we won’t be diving into the sea."

"What? Did Chen Auntie and her brother-in-law get caught eating skewers and cozying up at the gravesite by her husband?"

Qiao Hui couldn't understand why the topic had shifted from Fujian to village gossip, but seeing Xiao Hai Xing's eyes gleaming like a lantern, he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

In the narrow side corridor, carried by the wind, Qiao Hui's occasional comedic responses floated out.

When the corridor fell completely silent, behind the tightly drawn curtains of the west wing room, Xianjin's long and curled eyelashes flickered slightly, revealing a pair of confused and frightened eyes as she slowly opened them.

……

Following Qiao Hui's advice, the next day Xianjin went to the Prefectural Magistrate's residence and in the afternoon returned to Jing County by mule carriage.

On the fourth day, the three-day period was up.

Assistant Prefect Wen bowed and knelt on the long carpet embroidered with endless swastika patterns, his face still wearing a servile expression, but his eyes no longer showed the previous fear and dread. Instead, they were filled with excitement.

"I greet you, Grand Princess!"

Assistant Prefect Wen respectfully took out a stack of paper slips from his bosom and presented them to Grand Princess Baian. "I have investigated clearly! Prefectural Magistrate Xiong reported that the President of the Xuancheng Paper Industry Association, He Xianjin, Vice President Heng Xi, and craftsman Li Sanshun were intercepted by people bought by Vice Prefect Cao before they could reach the negotiation delegation. The list of reported individuals became those you saw a few days ago."

"It turns out that Heng Lian, the head of the Heng family, which owns Heng Kee Paper Industry, had already connected with Vice Prefect Cao last year, offering three hundred taels of silver and..." Assistant Prefect Wen looked up at Qiao Hui behind Grand Princess Baian.

Qiao Hui nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Assistant Prefect Wen continued, "And a courtesan from a brothel!"

Grand Princess Baian's expression remained unchanged, giving away no signs of joy or anger.

Assistant Prefect Wen continued to drop bombs. "Heng Lian bought the courtesan’s freedom, transforming her into a respectable woman, and she was sent into the Cao household, where she gained the favor of Vice Prefect Cao and was formally taken as a concubine after just a few days. When Cao’s wife refused to acknowledge the new concubine by drinking the ceremonial tea behind closed doors, Vice Prefect Cao slapped her twice, and her left ear has been ringing ever since—Sun, the doctor from the Baidrug store in Xuancheng, examined her!"

According to the laws of Great Wei, officials found sleeping with prostitutes would be immediately dismissed from office, and even with a general amnesty, they would never be reinstated.

This meant that just sleeping with a prostitute led to such harsh punishment.

Not to mention, taking one as a concubine.

This was not just a household matter but a legal issue, a very deadly mistake.

Assistant Prefect Wen was smug, his previously cowardly wrinkles now clearly showing his satisfaction. "The Heng family gave silver and women, but not just for today's matter."

This was unexpected for Grand Princess Baian, who rarely lifted her gaze. "Then what was the reason?"

Assistant Prefect Wen straightened his spine. "It was before the new year when the Heng family asked Vice Prefect Cao to bypass Boss He and directly place Boss He's household registration under a family named Qu in Jing County!"

"Taking a courtesan as a concubine, tampering with household registrations, and accepting bribes..." Grand Princess Baian listed them one by one. "What else is there?"

Assistant Prefect Wen was getting into the groove of his accusations, confident in his setup of foreshadowing, climax, and resolution. "Initially, Vice Prefect Cao disagreed with modifying Prefectural Magistrate Xiong's recommendation list but couldn't resist the Heng family head holding the 'officials secretly visiting prostitutes' card to force him into compliance! Heng Lian claimed that if Vice Prefect Cao didn't handle it, the secret prostitute in his home would no longer be containable!"

Grand Princess Baian chuckled softly. "Good, being blackmailed by local merchants—how disgraceful for a high-ranking official to be coerced into action..."

Grand Princess Baian was almost amused to anger.

Truly incompetent yet eager to play.