Ci Jinzhi

  Chapter 117 Self-defeating

  Emperor Xingyuan was a diligent emperor, no, it should be said that he was too diligent, so that the ministers always felt anxious that the emperor would cancel all vacations someday. It may be that at this age, I still work hard to use my brain, and my brain is still quite good. Although I haven't had much time to set foot in the harem, I have silently remembered the little habits of these concubines in my heart.

  For example, Concubine Shu was much gentler than usual when she was preparing to sue.

  Emperor Xing Yuan didn't expose it, he sat comfortably on the chair and picked up the teacup served by the maid.

  The tea in the palace is naturally top quality, Emperor Xingyuan drank it slowly, echoing Concubine Shu's words.

  Concubine Shu frowned secretly.

  She's not stupid, you can tell if a man listens to a woman's words. The emperor's enthusiasm for her was not as high as that of his ministers. Fortunately, the emperor's enthusiasm for other concubines was the same.

   This made Concubine Shu inevitably think of Empress Xin again.

  Back then, they were like mice in the gutter, hiding in Yiyuan, unable to even see the light, and could only quietly watch that woman's beauty, and even asked the emperor to coax her gently. But why, her elder brother is also a minister of the dragon, and has made great contributions to laying down this country. As for that woman, it is said that before she married the emperor, she was just a fleeing girl with unknown background.

  Countless memories made Concubine Shu have already cultivated to remain calm. Whether it was her disgust for Empress Xin or the joy of losing Empress Xin, Concubine Shu kept it safely in her heart.

  She brought up the teapot to refill tea for Emperor Xing Yuan, and finally got to the point: "The other day, Eunuch Sun took away the scripture book, and my concubine sent someone to buy it. I didn't expect to hear something very scary."

  Emperor Xingyuan showed interest.

  Continuing the practice of the previous dynasty, anyone sentenced to death must report to the next level, and finally be approved by the emperor. But this is not to say that the emperor will read all the files of the death penalty. In fact, what the emperor has to do is to take the list of death row criminals handed over by the minister and draw it with a Chinese ink brush. Those who remain on the list will continue to be on the list next year, which is a bit of luck.

  Emperor Xingyuan was an energetic founding emperor. He not only looked at the list of criminals, but also checked the case files, especially the cases that occurred in the capital. Mr. Ping'an's case of killing a beggar has a bad impact, and he will undoubtedly be sentenced to death. In the future, when the list is submitted, there is a high possibility that Emperor Xingyuan will see it.

   But now Emperor Xingyuan doesn't know. After all, there are two worlds inside and outside the palace. As the eyes of the emperor, Jin Linwei supervises hundreds of officials and nobles, and will not casually talk about civil affairs in front of the emperor.

   "There was a young man who had his heart cut open and died on the street." Concubine Shu showed a look of fear.

  Emperor Xingyuan did not change his face, and listened to Concubine Shu.

  "The people in the capital say that the "Painted Skin" released by Qingsong Bookstore is a demon book, and the man was killed by the evil spirit that ran out of "Painted Skin"."

   "Nonsense." Emperor Xing Yuan shook his head.

  When he was conquering the world, he also said that there was a vision from the sky when he was born. In fact, he himself arranged for people to spread it, in order to make people return to their hearts. This kind of rumor is nothing but the ignorance of the world.

  Of course, this does not affect him to continue listening, since he is idle anyway.

Concubine Shu was choked to death by Emperor Xingyuan's "nonsense", and said slowly: "Anyway, it is so spread. Many people are afraid that demon books will harm people, so they set fire to the books, resulting in more than ten fires, and even riots. casualties."

  Emperor Xing Yuan paid more attention to it: "Is there such a thing?"

  No matter which day, fire prevention is the top priority. Not to mention other places, the palace buildings are all made of wood, and there have been fires in history and during the reign of Emperor Xingyuan.

Emperor Xingyuan's reaction made Concubine Shu bend her lips slightly, and sighed: "I was shocked when I heard it. Autumn and winter are dry, what if there is a big fire? I heard that the people in Dongcheng Bingmasi wanted to appease people's hearts and stabilize the situation. Order went to Qingsong Bookstore to collect the demon books, but unexpectedly—”

   "What?" Emperor Xing Yuan looked serious.

  Concubine Shu paid attention to Emperor Xingyuan's expression, confirmed in her heart that there was no mistake, and sighed: "I didn't expect to be stopped by Marquis Changle."

  Emperor Xing Yuan was startled: "He Qingxiao?"

  Concubine Shu nodded, and added tea for Emperor Xingyuan, her tone was so soft that water dripped out: "It is said that Marquis Changle is very protective of the owner of Qingsong Bookstore."

   It was rumored that Miss Kou, the owner of Qingsong Bookstore, looked like Princess Zhaoyang. Concubine Shu had no good impression of this girl Kou whom she had never met before.

   "Oh? Who is the owner of Qingsong Bookstore?"

  Concubine Shu thought that Miss Kou was the one who saved Princess Zhaoyang's beloved daughter, and that the emperor rewarded her, and said vaguely, "I heard it's a girl."

  As the envoy of Jinlinwei Township, no emperor would be happy to hear that he hindered Bingmasi from enforcing the law for the sake of women.

  Concubine Shu saw Emperor Xing Yuan's eyes turn cold as she wished, knowing that enough is enough, she changed the subject with a smile.

  Emperor Xingyuan didn't stay in Hanyu Palace for too long before returning to Qianqing Palace, and immediately summoned He Qingxiao to see him after the next day.

   "Who is the owner of the bookstore where Mr. Song Ling wrote the book?" After chatting a few gossiping words, Emperor Xing Yuan asked casually.

  He Qingxiao's eyes were dark, covering the waves caused by the emperor's question: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the owner of Qingsong Bookstore is Miss Kou."

  No matter how casual the emperor is, he will not ask this question for no reason. It seems that the emperor should know about the rumors about "Painted Skin", and even know about him stopping Han Dongming. In this case, telling the truth about Miss Kou's identity is the best choice.

   Sure enough, when Emperor Xingyuan heard that it was Miss Kou, he immediately asked: "Could it be the girl Kou who saved Fu'er?"

   "Exactly."

   "I didn't expect a little girl to open a bookstore." Emperor Xing Yuan swallowed what he wanted to say, and said something dry.

He Qingxiao knew that the emperor had a lot of thoughts, so he took the initiative to admit: "A few days ago, Qingsong Bookstore was involved in rumors due to a murder case... In Weichen's opinion, only by finding the real murderer and those who deceive the public can the people's fear be truly calmed, not Innocent people are implicated. Besides, Mr. Songling is someone His Majesty admires, so I should take good care of Qingsong Bookstore, which cooperates with Mr. Songling."

  Emperor Xingyuan did not express his attitude towards this, and asked about the murder case: "Then the murderer and the person who deceived the public have been found out?"

"The murderer is Mr. Ping An, who used to write books for Yaxin Bookstore. He was dismissed by Yaxin Bookstore because of the good business of Qingsong Bookstore. He murdered and took revenge on Qingsong Bookstore with resentment. The shopkeeper of Yaxin Bookstore heard about the murder and took the opportunity to spread rumors, also to suppress Qingsong Bookstore. The bookstore business..."

  Emperor Xingyuan could not help but sneer after hearing this: "This Yaxin Bookstore is really a mess, there is no need to continue to open it in the future."

  Now that the truth has come to light, the rumors that disturbed the hearts of the people will naturally dissipate with the wind, so there is no need to say anything to He Qingxiao for stopping the Bing Ma Si from doing things.

"yes."

  So before the news that Mr. Pingan was the real murderer had spread, a team of Jinlin Guards rushed to Yaxin Bookstore and quickly put a seal on it.

  (end of this chapter)