Another Found Purse

The guard did not answer, and looked troubled.

As a mere guard, how could he dare to interfere in palace affairs?

Xu Qi'an didn't make things difficult. He looked around and said, "Zhong Li?"

"I understand, I'll go back to the Bureau of Astronomy first," Zhong Li said obediently, peeking out from behind the wall.

"Will there be any accidents on the way back?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"Let's leave it to fate," Zhong Li said tremblingly.

The guard scrutinized the woman in the linen robe with her hair disheveled, feeling that she exuded a pitiful air that made him feel particularly sorry for her.

"Da da da"

Soon, Tongluo returned with the mare. Xu Qi'an stroked the mare's mane, and it snorted and nudged its master.

"I'll bless you." Xu Qi'an patted Zhong Li's head.

She had returned to the Bureau of Astronomy alone a few times before, and nothing bad had happened. Xu Qi'an estimated that there might be minor disasters, but no major ones, and this place wasn't too far from the Bureau of Astronomy.

It's at most a half-hour journey.

Riding on his beloved mare, he rode alongside the guards of Shaoyin Garden, heading towards the imperial city.

The guards brandished their whips to shoo away the pedestrians, occasionally glancing at Xu Yinluo, the princess's favorite minister. Xu Yinluo was expressionless, his eyes focused intently on the road. Though silent, his brows conveyed a sense of gravity.

Emperor Yuanjing's harem must be in complete chaos. The Empress, seeking revenge for her brother's murder, will never let Consort Chen off the hook—no, it's Consort Chen herself—who has long harbored deep resentment towards the Empress, whom she considered her enemy for so many years.

"Damn it, why should I, a mere lowly official, have to worry about Emperor Yuanjing's family affairs? Isn't it all because your daughter is so beautiful?" Xu Qi'an cursed under his breath.

He rode swiftly into the imperial city, but was stopped by the Imperial Guards at the palace gate. The guards from Lin'an were returning normally, but he was not authorized to bring anyone into the palace.

Xu Qi'an showed the jade belt that Biao Biao had given him, and immediately a member of the Imperial Guard came over and led Xu Qi'an into the palace.

According to palace rules, when someone in the palace summons an official from outside the palace, the Imperial Guards are required to accompany him to ensure that he does not wander off.

They walked in silence, quickly passing through the palace gates, across the square, and through the palace walls, finally arriving at Shaoyin Garden in Lin'an.

The Imperial Guards waited outside the gate of Shaoyin Garden, while the guards led Xu Qi'an inside. After passing through the front courtyard, they met Lin'an in the reception hall.

The Second Prince was still dressed in an elaborate and exquisite red dress, his hair adorned with magnificent jewelry such as gold hairpins and agate hair ornaments, and even a small phoenix crown that did not conform to etiquette.

With a round, oval face and alluring, captivating peach blossom eyes, she sat there expressionless, like an oriental version of a Lolita doll created by a master craftsman.

Seeing that she was unharmed, Xu Qi'an silently breathed a sigh of relief, "Your Highness, what happened?"

Lin'an waved his hand, dismissing the guards and personal maids, leaving only Xu Qi'an.

Biao Biao stared at him for a moment, then burst into tears, her voice filled with grievance as she accused, "Huaiqing wants to kill me!"

I think I understand now! Xu Qi'an sighed.

I told you, Lin'an is Emperor Yuanjing's most beloved daughter, what crisis could she possibly face?

This is what a life-or-death situation looks like; it's exactly the kind of thing she would do.

"You went to the Princess's place to cause trouble again?"

While crying, Biao Biao glared at her. "What do you mean I caused trouble? Explain yourself!"

Xu Qi'an rearranged his words: "Did the Second Prince go to Princess Huaiqing to seek justice again?"

Biao Biao grunted an "Mmm," sniffling, and said, "That poisonous woman, the Empress, wanted to kill my mother. I went to confront Huaiqing, but she turned out to be heartless too. She actually hit me."

"Hit you?" Xu Qi'an frowned, scrutinizing Lin'an. "Where?"

She whipped me with a rattan cane.

Biao Biao rolled up her sleeves, revealing a section of her fair and tender arm, with two shallow whip marks on her smooth skin.

"Absolutely outrageous!"

Xu Qi'an was filled with righteous indignation, his hair standing on end in anger. He leaned against the railing as the rain stopped. He looked up and roared to the sky, "The shame of Lin'an has not yet been avenged. When will the hatred of the subjects be extinguished?"

"Your Highness, rest assured, this humble servant will certainly uphold justice for you and will not let Huaiqing off easily."

"Then you don't need to lift a finger."

Seeing Xu Qi'an's righteous indignation and his attitude of "a subject should die for his master," Biao Biao was deeply moved and said, "Huaiqing is a princess after all. If you take matters into your own hands, you will be shot dead by the palace guards."

Thank goodness, Your Highness, your intelligence is still intact. Xu Qi'an shook his head and said in a deep voice, "For Your Highness to lose even a single hair is a great disgrace to this humble servant. Even if it means my death, I will seek revenge against Huaiqing."

Biao Biao nodded slowly, sniffing, and said, "I summoned you to the palace today for this very matter. I've thought about it over and over, and I could have resisted back then, I could have pounced on Hua Huaiqing and scratched his face, but I messed up."

"After much thought, I realize it must be because I lack capable guards. Accompany me to the Spring Vine Garden in Huaiqing again."

Xu Qi'an's expression froze, feeling as if he had shot himself in the foot.

"Cough cough!"

He cleared his throat. "Your Highness, please calm down and tell me what happened so that I can consider the matter carefully."

He pondered silently how to slip away quietly.

Biao Biao then told Xu Qi'an in detail about the struggles that took place in the harem after the Consort Fu case was over.

As expected, the Empress hated Consort Chen to the core and made things difficult for her at every turn. It was only then that everyone realized that the Empress was more proficient than anyone else in all the tricks of the trade in the harem.

Previously, they simply had no opportunity to use their talents.

Every day at dawn, she would send Consort Chen over to pay her respects, and then relentlessly nitpick her mistakes, ordering her maids to do the same, "criticizing" Consort Chen and making her a laughingstock in the harem.

There were also punishments such as being forced to kneel, and being slapped in the face.

"Don't you think the Empress is heartless?" At this point, Biao Biao slammed her small hand on the table in anger.

Your mother killed someone's younger brother, so of course the Empress will fight her to the death, even though the Imperial Uncle deserved to die. Xu Qi'an frowned and asked, "Anything else?"

"Of course! Just yesterday, my mother was suddenly poisoned and was on the verge of death. The servants of Jingxiu Palace rushed to fetch the imperial physician, but who knew that the physician would be snatched away by the servants of Fengqi Palace."

"Huh? What happened next?" Xu Qi'an asked in surprise.

Biao Biao said with lingering fear, "Fortunately, my mother's palace had a reserve of antidotes, which saved my life."

Xu Qi'an gave a meaningful "Oh".

The poisoning was likely a ruse orchestrated by Consort Chen to frame the Empress. The Empress, grieving the loss of her younger brother, chose to confront the Empress directly, thus seizing the imperial physician. Consort Chen, left with no other option, had to retrieve the antidote to save herself.

"What was His Majesty's reaction?" he asked.

"Father didn't say anything." Biao Biao frowned and snorted loudly to express her dissatisfaction.

Well, Emperor Yuanjing must have known all along, but he didn't interfere and just let them make a scene. Well, it's not that he didn't interfere at all; at least I haven't seen any signs of Duke Wei's intervention. If Duke Wei had intervened, Consort Chen would probably be dead by now.

Xu Qi'an guessed that Emperor Yuanjing had secretly warned Wei Yuan.

My women fighting to the death is my business, and you, a mere foreign official, are not allowed to interfere!

Xu Qi'an felt that Emperor Yuanjing was a scumbag and that he was much better than him because he was currently actively dealing with the fire in the harem.

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Does Your Highness know why the Empress is targeting Consort Chen?"

Biao Biao pretended not to hear, a hint of sadness flashing in her eyes.

Xu Qi'an understood, and sighed inwardly.

"Let's go, I'm going to fight Huaiqing."

As he spoke, Lin'an pulled a rattan cane from under the table.

"You were already all prepared?!" Xu Qi'an was stunned.

"Your Highness, calm down, calm down."

He was about to offer some advice when Lin'an pursed her lips and stared at him. "I know your heart is actually with Huaiqing."

"Nonsense!"

Xu Qi'an reacted strongly, patting his chest and saying, "I'll go then."

The two, accompanied by palace maids and guards, headed straight for Huaiqing's Spring Vine Garden.

In the warm morning sunlight, the branches sprouted new buds, and Huaiqing, dressed in an elegant palace dress, sat in the pavilion, holding a book in her hands.

Her graceful figure, upright posture, and jet-black hair complementing her white palace dress exuded an elegant and intellectual artistic aura.

Xu Qi'an and Lin'an arrived menacingly, but the aloof Princess remained oblivious, engrossed in her book, only casually instructing the guards on either side:

"Any unauthorized person who disturbs my enjoyment of reading will be killed without exception."

Several guards, one hand on their swords, also charged forward menacingly. They dared not attack the Prince of Lin'an, so they redirected their hostility towards Xu Qi'an.

Princess Lin'an was certainly no ordinary person, but this little silver gong was someone who could be killed without hesitation.

Xu Qi'an immediately stopped in his tracks.

Upon seeing Xu Qi'an forced to retreat, Lin'an immediately cowered. Without her lackey's support, she certainly wouldn't dare to fight Huaiqing alone.

So she pointed at Huaiqing with the rattan cane and scolded him, "You stinking Huaiqing, come out here!"

"Huaiqing, get out here right now!"

"Shameless Huaiqing, if you have the guts, come and challenge me!"

Princess Huaiqing ignored her completely, engrossed in reading.

Fifteen minutes later, Biao Biao, along with Xu Qi'an, slunk away.

Xu Qi'an turned to look at Biao Biao, who was grinding her teeth in frustration, and sighed, "Never mind, Your Highness, the gap is too big."

The difference in intelligence is too great.

Huaiqing broke the deadlock with a simple order.

That's good, saves me from having an awkward situation later. Prince Huaiqing is truly my sweetheart, easily solving my problem, but it was too much for you to attack Lin'an. Xu Qi'an thought with relief.

Biao Biao was unwilling to give up, sobbing and stomping her feet, her fiery red skirt swaying.

After escorting Princess Lin'an back to Shaoyin Garden, Xu Qi'an played Go with her, told her stories, and took his leave around noon.

He was an official from outside the capital, while Lin'an was an unmarried princess. They could not spend too much time together, let alone dine together.

"I'll invite you to the Japanese palace again later," said Biao Biao.

Similarly, she could not frequently summon a foreign official to the palace, as this could easily lead to gossip.

After leaving the palace gates, Xu Qi'an took his mare from the Imperial Guards and rode her "clatter-clatter" towards the outskirts of the imperial city.

"The conflict between the Empress and Consort Chen is definitely irreconcilable. Consort Chen can't defeat the Empress on her own, so she will surely incite Lin'an to use her as a weapon against the Empress."

According to Huaiqing, Lin'an was even more foolish in her youth than she is now. She would attack wherever Consort Chen pointed. If Huaiqing didn't fight back, she would only be bullied. If she did fight back, Lin'an would get beaten up. And all of this was exactly what Consort Chen wanted to see.

"Because Lin'an is favored, she was bullied, and Emperor Yuanjing will not sit idly by. If Lin'an is bullied again, the situation like today will definitely happen again."

"I, the King of the Sea, shouldn't be led by the nose by fish. I need to think of a way, I need to think of a way."

Xu Qi'an returned to the Nightwatchers's office but still couldn't come up with a solution. He angrily slapped the mare's rump. It was all its fault; the wobbling and bouncing made him restless and unable to calm down.

After lunch, he took two gongs and went to patrol the streets of the outer city. Because the distance was too far, he still had to ride a horse and could not walk.

Xu Qi'an was most familiar with the southern part of the city. The Xu Household's old residence was located in the south, and there was also a health center there, which was the territory of Hengyuan No. 6.

"Sigh, I wonder when my lucky streak will be restored. I still have to regularly send silver to Master Hengyuan for charity."

Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an felt extremely melancholy.

The white marble arena in the south of the city was built on a square by the river. In just two or three days, the surface of the arena was riddled with holes: there were footprints left during the fights and cracks from being chopped with knives and axes.

On the arena, two martial arts practitioners were fighting. One was a muscular, rough man wielding a black iron rod; the other was a young swordsman with rather handsome features.

The two sides traded blows, fighting fiercely and enjoying themselves immensely.

A large number of onlookers and seasoned martial arts experts had gathered around the arena.

Speaking of weapons, ordinary martial arts practitioners would have their weapons confiscated before entering the city, and then the government would issue them a voucher. When they wanted to leave the city, they could use the voucher to retrieve their weapons.

Since the introduction of the martial arts arena, the government has relaxed its control. Martial arts practitioners who want to compete can apply to the government to retrieve their weapons, but they must return them to the government the next day, or they will be wanted throughout the city.

Young heroes and heroines from prestigious sects can remain unarmed with the backing of their sect, but if they commit murder, their sect will be held responsible.

Xu Qi'an scanned the entire scene but did not find any particularly outstanding female warriors.

"Lord Xu, those watching the play outside are all ordinary people. Those with status and position are all in the teahouses and restaurants nearby," Tongluo explained.

"You know a lot, don't you?" Xu Qi'an glanced around at the teahouses and taverns, and indeed there were many onlookers on the second-floor observation deck.

"Let's go find a restaurant, let's go to that one." Xu Qi'an saw a particularly beautiful female knight-errant.

He had just taken a step when he suddenly felt a hard lump on his foot. Looking down, he saw it was a purse.

The purse is light green, embroidered with the same color pattern and a single orchid, and has a faint, delicate fragrance; it seems to be a woman's personal item.

"?"

Xu Qi'an was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, "Wasn't my money-picking buff censored by that old geezer, the supervisor?"

"It's thick, and the portion is quite generous."

Xu Qi'an smiled and put the purse into his arms, then noticed a child watching him, seemingly annoyed that he hadn't seen the purse and someone else had gotten there first.

"What are you looking at? Whose child is this?" Xu Qi'an raised his hand, as if to hit the child, who immediately turned and ran away in fright.

Xu Qi'an laughed heartily, thinking to himself, "What a coward! I was thinking of buying you a candied hawthorn."

Upon entering the restaurant, Xu Qi'an found a table on the second floor and ordered the waiter to bring wine and dishes. He had no interest in the fighting on the stage and instead squinted at the female warrior at the next table.

She wore a pink tulle dress, revealing her fair neck and delicate collarbones. The dress was not thick, highlighting her ample bosom.

Her clothing style is bold, and her makeup is equally exquisite, with bright red lips and large, sparkling almond-shaped eyes. Her features are naturally beautiful, but it is her alluring and seductive charm that attracts men the most.

If Biao Biao is a proper little queen of the nightclub, then this woman is a true queen of the nightclub.

The alluring woman noticed Xu Qi'an's blatant staring, but instead of getting angry, she gave him a flirtatious wink. The young heroes at her table all turned to look.

After recognizing Xu Qi'an's Nightwatchers's uniform, he pretended nothing was wrong and turned back.

The waiter brought out beef, peanuts, mutton, and other snacks to accompany the drinks, as well as a jar of fine wine.

"My lord, please enjoy your food and wine."

"Waiter, bring a jar of '82 Lafite to the table across the way. It's on me." Xu Qi'an winked at the glamorous woman.

The waiter didn't understand and was momentarily confused.

A jar brimming with the essence of spring.

This is the most expensive wine in the restaurant.

"Okay."

Noticing the interaction between Xu Qi'an and the "goddess," the young heroes felt a pang of jealousy, but dared not vent their anger on the Nightwatchers. Instead, they took it out on the innkeeper, shouting:

"Waiter, another five catties of beef, please."

"Sir, we're out of beef."

Why can others order two jin (1 kg), but we, with so many people, can only order one jin (0.5 kg)?

Beef was a luxury item in this era, and the cattle were mostly old or sick. Slaughtering them required approval from the government. In addition, business had been booming recently, so the restaurant didn't have much stock. Xu Qi'an ordered two catties.

Unexpectedly, the waiter rolled his eyes, displaying the arrogance typical of people from the capital. "He works for the government. Sir, you must not have looked in a mirror this morning."

"."

The two gong players burst into laughter. "These fools!"

At this moment, Xu Qi'an saw a woman climb upstairs, scan the hall with her eyes, and then walk straight to his side, looking down at him aggressively.

Give me back my purse.

PS: Update first, revise later. I updated 9600 words today, hahaha, hands on hips begging for monthly votes.

PS: Thanks to "Gun for Run" for the generous donation, I'm adding another chapter to my list.

Okay, as requested, the "Little Mare" character card is now available. Hopefully, she won't become the most popular supporting female character.