At the end of each day, there was only a brief moment during the Zi period, so both of them cherished it all the more, their thoughts and feelings flowing endlessly. Fortunately, since they communicated through spiritual awareness, there was no need to worry about phone bills—Mei Qing couldn’t help but think whimsically.
In recent days, Mei Qing’s golden core had fully recovered, allowing him to continue advancing in the practice of the Thunder Sealing Technique. Bi Zhen had not pursued the Divine Thunder Method of the Shenxiao Sect, so she was also unable to cultivate the Thunder Sealing Technique. However, according to Bi Zhen, her grandmother had come this time for two reasons: one was that she had quarreled with “that old man” and thus came to visit; the second was that Bi Zhen had now reached the stage of condensing the golden core, so her grandmother had specially arrived to guide her cultivation and to pass down Daoist techniques to her.
“Once I finish cultivating, I’ll be able to go out, and then I can teach you,” Bi Zhen thought. She had long since cast aside all thoughts about the rules of her sect and wanted to share every benefit with Mei Qing as soon as she could.
However, regarding the cultivation of the sealing techniques, Bi Zhen earnestly admitted that the sealing arts she practiced were indeed somewhat inferior to Mei Qing’s Thunder Sealing Technique. The Thunder Sealing Technique fused the five elements into one, appearing simple but actually deeply profound and intricate, with power far surpassing ordinary sealing techniques.
“You just keep cultivating well, and when the time comes, you can seal that old man and show him what’s what. Let him dare to suppress you,” Bi Zhen still hadn’t forgotten the incident where Lu Bing had sealed Mei Qing’s golden core, and whenever it came up, she always wanted to find a way to get even.
Mei Qing, however, suspected that Bi Zhen had been locked up by Lu Bing and must have been furious inside, yet unable to retaliate—of course, she wouldn’t have been able to anyway. That’s why she now pinned her hopes of revenge on Mei Qing.
But Bi Zhen didn’t stop to think—how many sons-in-law in the world dared to oppose their own fathers-in-law? If she wanted Mei Qing to take revenge for her, it would likely be a near-impossible task.
Sitting quietly on a wide wooden chair, gently stroking the smooth armrests, Mei Qing gazed idly out the window at the swaying leaves. On this hot autumn afternoon, a sense of leisurely ease filled the air.
“Lord Mei!” shouted Zhao Dayou as he strolled in with a teapot balanced in one hand, swaying as he walked. He respectfully bowed and reported, “My lord, Master Lu has arrived.”
Mei Qing now knew that this Master Lu was named Lu Zeyou, styled Jiming. Unlike most of the other officers in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who were usually military men, Lu was a genuine jinshi scholar. In the Embroidered Uniform Guard, most were soldiers by background, so a scholar like Master Lu stood out as particularly unique.
Despite being a scholar, Lu Zeyou was not pedantic or stiff. On the contrary, he was quite amiable and approachable. When he met people like Qian San and Zhao Dayou, he would sometimes crack a joke, and thus his reputation was quite good.
For some reason Mei Qing couldn’t quite explain, perhaps due to an instinctive wariness of fellow scholars, he didn’t feel particularly fond of Master Lu. Thinking it over, Mei Qing always felt that this vice-commander was too friendly—his cordiality seemed excessive. When someone’s mannerisms carry too much strategy behind them, it usually suggests insincerity.
When Mei Qing voiced this opinion, Bi Zhen immediately agreed without hesitation and added firmly, “Of course! Who in their right mind would think there are any good people in the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Who on earth would willingly go there?”
Mei Qing was speechless. Fortunately, Bi Zhen quickly realized what she had said and added, “Of course, you’re an exception.”
She had completely forgotten that she herself was technically also a vice-commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Viewed from this angle, it was hard to say that the organization had a strong sense of employee loyalty.
Regardless of his personal feelings, Lu Zeyou was still Mei Qing’s superior officer. Since the superior had personally come down to inspect, Mei Qing, as a minor officer, naturally had to accompany him the entire time. Therefore, he immediately stood up to go out and greet him, asking Zhao Dayou as they walked, “Why has Master Lu come? Is there something important?”
Zhao Dayou quickly leaned in and said, “It’s said that there’s a batch of goods that are quite important, so Master Lu personally brought them over.”
“What goods would require Master Lu himself to deliver them?” Mei Qing frowned.
“Hey, Lord Mei, you really don’t know?” Zhao Dayou put on an exaggerated expression of surprise, then whispered conspiratorially, “Didn’t we raid someone’s home yesterday? That’s right—the Guo Duke who was thrown into prison a few days ago. He’s probably finished this time!”
Mei Qing was startled and immediately asked what had happened. It turned out that the “Guo Duke” Zhao Dayou referred to was none other than Guo Xun, a powerful and influential figure in court. Guo’s family background was no small matter—he was a descendant of Guo Ying, the founding Duke of Wuding.
Guo Ying had been an imperial minister during the founding of the dynasty, and his descendants had often intermarried with the royal family, making them imperial in-laws. Guo Xun inherited the title of Duke of Wuding and was later elevated to the rank of Yiguo Duke, with the honorary titles of Taibao and Taizi Taifu. He was indeed a man whose power overshadowed the court.
“This Guo Duke, to be fair, has done many great deeds. But it’s said he has quite a temper—even in front of the emperor, he speaks his mind without restraint. Therefore, his relationships with others have not been particularly good. Now that he’s been thrown into the imperial prison, not only has no one come to his aid, but many officials have even submitted memorials criticizing him. The emperor, out of old sentiment, may not have wanted to punish him, but how could he resist the pressure when the mighty fall and everyone piles on?”
Zhao Dayou continued chattering, but Mei Qing inwardly sneered. Once someone was thrown into the imperial prison, how could anyone claim the emperor didn’t want to punish him? It was more likely that Guo Xun, feeling he had helped the emperor ascend the throne in his early days, had become too bold in his words and actions, unknowingly offending the emperor. In the past, when the emperor was young and the old ministers like Yang Tinghe refused to be controlled, the emperor had used Guo to counterbalance them. Now that the old ministers were gone, Guo had become useless and was still unaware of how to retreat gracefully—of course the emperor would deal with him.
However, the emperor still needed to maintain appearances. After all, Guo had rendered great services, so it wouldn’t look good to act directly against him. Thus, this whole spectacle was staged: the ministers pressured the emperor, who, out of old affection, reluctantly gave in to the demands of justice.
“So everything’s been confiscated? No chance for his family to redeem anything?” Mei Qing, not wanting to dwell further on Guo Xun, changed the subject.
“Heh, redeem what? His two sons are already in prison,” Zhao Dayou laughed. “His family’s women aren’t even allowed to leave the gates, so we just had to take everything ourselves. I heard there’s a lot of valuable stuff, so Master Lu personally came to oversee the handover.”
Mei Qing fell into a pensive mood. He couldn’t help but recall the young Master Guo—the second son of the Duke. He, too, must now be imprisoned. The last time this young nobleman had gone to Bi Zhen’s residence causing trouble, he probably had been thrown into jail shortly after returning. That explained why he hadn’t been seen since.
Mei Qing and Zhao Dayou arrived at the storeroom and saw that Lu Zeyou was already there with Qian San waiting by the gate. Behind him were two unfamiliar faces, each guarding a large and a small chest.
Although Lu Zeyou was a vice-commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and oversaw four divisions, since he had delegated authority to Mei Qing, he couldn’t directly order the storeroom opened. Now that Mei Qing had arrived, he quickly apologized for being late and proceeded to sign for the opening of the storeroom, taking over the items from the two men behind Lu. The two men had stern, expressionless faces. After completing the transfer, they left without a word.
“This small matter required Master Lu to come in person, and with all these formalities—it’s truly troubling,” Mei Qing apologized.
Lu Zeyou smiled and said, “Lord Mei, don’t say that. One must be loyal to the ruler who feeds him. Your subordinates here are disciplined and orderly, showing the spirit of the Xiliu Camp. I am quite pleased, so there’s no trouble at all.” He then added, “This large chest can be placed directly in an empty space. The small one, however, was specifically instructed by Lord Liu to be stored separately, as he may need it later.”
Mei Qing nodded in agreement and gave orders to open the iron gate. Coincidentally, the guard on duty was the same hawk-eyed man he had met on his first day—the man named Yao Dingguo. Thus, Qian San and Zhao Dayou carried the small chest, while Yao Dingguo and another guard named Zhou Chang carried the large chest into the storeroom. First, they locked the iron gate behind them. Only after the items were placed in the inner storeroom and locked again could the outer gate be reopened. Normally, when people were lazy, they would leave the gate open, but today, with Master Lu present, every rule had to be strictly followed.
The large chest was placed in an empty space in one of the storerooms near the entrance. Then the small chest was carried to the deepest part of the storeroom, to the small inner chamber.
Mei Qing was very familiar with this place because the inkstone he had once fainted near was stored here.
Opening the chamber door and placing the small chest inside, Mei Qing couldn’t help glancing toward the wooden case where the inkstone lay. Most other items were nailed into wooden boxes, but this inkstone was placed alone in a special wooden case—perhaps even Lord Liu sensed that this inkstone was no ordinary object.
Even through the layers of wrapping, Mei Qing could still feel the quiet presence of the stone inkstone inside its wooden case, silent and unresponsive. He smiled faintly, shook his head, and then ordered Qian San to lock the iron gate.
With a creaking sound of the iron hinges, the heavy gate slammed shut. Qian San pulled the thick iron chain with a clinking noise, preparing to fasten the enormous iron lock.
“Wait!” Mei Qing suddenly called out. Everyone else was puzzled, and even Qian San paused mid-motion, turning to look at Mei Qing.
Mei Qing’s face was clouded, his eyes filled with confusion. Just as Qian San was about to shut the iron gate, Mei Qing had suddenly felt something strange—the stone inkstone, which had always resonated with his spirit, had suddenly vanished!
“Lord Mei, is something wrong?” Lu Zeyou asked, frowning.
But Mei Qing stood there, seemingly lost in thought, his mind clearly elsewhere.
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