Meng Shizhen led everyone on a night patrol in Beiyuan, passed by Liu Guangying's outer house, and met He Fang.
Wang Zhennan looked at Xu Zhiqiong with a smile: "I have met this girl. I'm afraid you have something important to do tonight."
Xu Zhiqiong waved his hand and said: "Nothing important, let's light the lamp together!"
"Why should you light a lamp? This girl is here just for you, Zhiqiong, I really admire you. Brother, when I was as old as you, I didn't have the same luck as you!"
He Fang is different from other women in that she disdains reserve.
She walked directly to Meng Shizhen, cupped her fists and said, "Xu Qingdeng and I have a few words to say. Can we make it easier for private conversations between men and women?"
"It's convenient," Miss He from the Department of Yin and Yang said, how dare she say it's inconvenient!" Meng Shizhen led everyone to continue patrolling the night, leaving Xu Zhiqiong alone.
Xu Zhiqiong was quite embarrassed: "Miss He, if you have something to say, hurry up. I have official duties and cannot delay."
He Fang pointed to Liu Guangying's outer house: "Is the official business here?"
Xu Zhiqiong was stunned, how did she know that I wanted to check this house?
Could it be that Onmyoji is also watching me?
Xu Zhiqiong's original intention to investigate Liu Guangying was just the news from Chang Decai. Now he has found nothing, but he has made such a big fuss.
"Miss He, you have a straightforward temperament, and Xu admires you very much. Since you mentioned it, Xu would like to ask, what is so strange about this house?"
"This is not the place to talk. I have booked a private room at Li Qi Teahouse. If Xu Denglang doesn't give up, would you like to go there with He?"
Xu Zhiqiong didn't want to go to Li Qi Teahouse, where he tried his best to snatch Xia Hu away from the Peach Blossom Girl. It's hard to say what relationship this teahouse has with the Sixth Princess.
"Li Qi Teahouse is too far away, and I still have to patrol at night. How about we find a place nearby?"
He Fang showed displeasure: "He is all for Xu Denglang, why are you on guard against He? If you are not willing to come with me tonight, I will not tell you the mystery of this house."
"If you don't say it, don't say it. It's just that Xu won't listen." Xu Zhiqiong held the green lantern and turned around to leave.
He Fang said: "This matter concerns Minister Wu. If Xu Denglang doesn't listen, I'm afraid he will regret it in the future!"
Xu Zhiqiong turned around and looked at He Fang with a stern expression.
He Fang smiled and said, "If you don't care about Minister Wu's safety, just pretend that you haven't seen He tonight."
What a smart woman, she knows Xu Zhiqiong’s key points.
Xu Zhiqiong put away the lantern: "Let's go with the girl."
The two came to Li Qi Teahouse, and the waiter invited them into the elegant room.
There was already a person waiting in the elegant room. He looked to be in his forties, with a thin figure, thin cheeks, pale skin, dull brows, and looked sickly.
He was making tea for the two of them, and poured a pot of boiling water into the tea cup. In the tea soup, a beautiful woman appeared, stretching her waist and dancing gracefully in the tea soup.
In just a few seconds, Xu Zhiqiong could clearly see the woman's figure, appearance, clothes, jewelry, and even every dance move.
Tea art is popular in Daxuan, but this is the first time Xu Zhiqiong has seen such exquisite tea art.
The man stood up and offered the tea soup to Xu Zhiqiong.
Xu Zhiqiong was afraid of the poison and did not dare to drink it.
The man smiled, took another tea cup, poured out half of the tea soup, and drank it himself.
Xu Zhiqiong took the remaining half of the tea soup and could only drink it.
If you don't drink anymore, the etiquette really doesn't make sense.
"My painter Li Shabai has met Xu Qingdeng!"
Li Shabai?
Daxuan’s first painter!
An art master who has made countless men (including many women) in Daxuan so addicted that they cannot extricate themselves. Even Wu Xu could not escape his clutches.
Xu Zhiqiong knew that Li Shabai was the shopkeeper of Li Qi Teahouse, but he did not expect that he could order tea for him personally.
"I admire you for a long time!" Xu Zhiqiong quickly returned the greeting.
The three of them sat down, and Li Shabai didn't say much, just making tea.
After drinking a few cups of tea, Li Shabai brought up two brocade boxes and handed them to Xu Zhiqiong, saying: "This is my next thought. One part is dedicated to you, and the other part is for your trouble and I will forward it to Minister Wu."
Xu Zhiqiong thanked him and asked, "I don't know what you have given me with this step."
Li Shabai smiled and said: "This is my humble work. A set of four volumes of "Chunxiang Collection" is given to Wu Shilang. A set of four volumes of "Xiajin Collection" is given to you. There is absolutely nothing else in it. Deng Lang can inspect it in person.
"
Before Xu Zhiqiong could speak, He Fang opened the brocade box directly.
In Daxuan, it is extremely disrespectful to open a gift in front of the giver.
But Li Shabai didn't mind and seemed to be waiting for He Fang's evaluation.
He Fang read a few pages and praised repeatedly: "It is truly a masterpiece. This volume is worth a thousand taels on the market."
Xu Zhiqiong took out a volume and read two pages.
He didn't dare to say that he knew painting, but looking at these two pages of paintings, they were much better than the realistic video works he had seen in his previous life.
Painting has a higher level of artistic taste and richer imagination.
For example, the artistic conception of the second painting completely exceeded Xu Zhiqiong's imagination.
The two people, one on the left and one on the right, seemed like a pair of wings connected together, ready to fly at any time.
The most important thing is that the painting styles of "Chunxiang Collection" and "Xiajin Collection" are completely different. "Chunxiang Collection" is subtle while "Xiajin Collection" is unrestrained, which poses a problem for Xu Zhiqiong.
Do you still want to give this thing to Wu Xu?
Wu Shilang is in charge of the Jiaofang Division, so he shouldn't need this...
"On behalf of Minister Wu, I would like to thank Painter Li!" Xu Zhiqiong put away the brocade box.
Li Shabai stood up and saluted: "I'm busy with trivial matters, so I apologize for being with you. You two can do it yourself."
After saying that, Li Shabai left. This was intentional avoidance so that Xu Zhiqiong and He Fang could talk about business.
He made tea and sent paintings, but asked for nothing. Is it because of Xu Zhiqiong that he gave me such great favor?
Obviously not.
Xu Zhiqiong knew well that this was to give He Fang face.
Who is He Fang?
It is definitely not as simple as a seventh-grade Onmyoji.
"Continuing from what I said before, Xu Denglang, do you know whose house that house belongs to?"
When talking to He Fang, don't beat around the bush. This girl is knowledgeable and uses scheming to make herself appear shallow.
Xu Zhiqiong answered directly: "The foreign residence of Liu Guangying, a doctor in the Ministry of War."
He Fang asked: "Why did Xu Denglang want to investigate Liu Guangying?"
Xu Zhiqiong said: "This foreign residence is too secretive. If someone hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have known that there was an external residence of a fifth-rank official in Beiyuan, so I became suspicious for a moment."
He Fang nodded, she thought this explanation was reasonable: "You don't know something. This place was not originally Liu Guangying's residence, but the residence of Lan Wuqi, a cosmetics businessman. Lan Wuqi had a daughter named Lan Yan.
Mr. Liu fell in love with her and took her into his outer room, and also took over her family's business and house."
"Wait a minute," Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said, "I don't understand. He married someone as his wife and also took over their house and business?"
He Fang said: "To put it bluntly, it is to rob civilian girls. Liu Guangying was raised by a beast. There are countless such evil deeds. I know that Xu Denglang hates evil, so I am worried that you will investigate this person."
Xu Zhiqiong was stunned: "But he shouldn't investigate?"
"It's time to check!"
"Are you related to him? You don't want me to check?"
He Fang sneered: "If you get close to him, you will lose He's face! He doesn't want Xu Denglang to investigate this person, but he does it for Xu Denglang's sake.
Liu Guangying was a close confidant of Liu Yingbin, the Minister of War. He was very embezzled in military weapons, food and salary, and most of them were donated to Liu Yingbin. If Liu Guangying fell, Liu Yingbin would also suffer. This matter involved a second-rank official, Xu Denglang.
, I’m afraid I can’t stand it.”
Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said: "Young lady, what you said is wrong. Xu is not alone. There is a lamp-bearing office behind him."
"It is precisely because there is a Deng-chan Yamen behind Deng Lang that this matter cannot be investigated. The Deng-chan Yamen is subordinate to the Imperial City Department. The Imperial City Department is in charge of the internal affairs of the imperial city, and the Ministry of War is in charge of foreign affairs. There should be no contact between the inside and outside. If things get messy,
It's too big, I'm afraid Xu Denglang won't be able to explain it clearly in front of Liang Daguan's house."
He Fang's words hit the mark. Unless there is any treason involved, the Imperial City Secretary really shouldn't interfere with the Ministry of War. There is a distinction between internal and external affairs. This is a taboo in officialdom!
Xu Zhiqiong didn't want to rush to investigate Liu Guangying, so he sold a favor to He Fang: "After hearing the girl's teachings, Xu suddenly became enlightened. I will not investigate this house again these days."
"In recent days?" He Fang asked in surprise, "But you said you will continue to investigate in the future?"
Xu Zhiqiong said with a smile: "Since this thief has committed many evil deeds, how can Xu just sit back and ignore it?"
"How magnificent! He admires Xu Denglang as a person, and if there is a chance in the future, he is willing to kill this thief with Denglang!"
"My Majesty Miao Zai, my Majesty mentioned before that this matter is related to Minister Wu. I hope you can give me some advice."
He Fang was stunned: "Didn't Painter Li give Deng Lang a set of "Spring Fragrance Collection" at that time? Wu Shilang loves spring paintings. Isn't this related to Wu Shilang?"
"Is that what matters?"
He Fang nodded and said: "Painter Li's paintings are worth a thousand dollars!"
"Indeed!" Xu Zhiqiong didn't ask any more questions and chatted for a while. Zhiqiong stood up and left, and He Fang was sent outside the tea house.
Back in Beiyuan, Xu Zhiqiong walked around hastily, deliberately avoiding Liu Guangying's outer house.
This matter involves too much, so I really need to avoid it now and find a quiet place to appreciate the master's paintings.
Xu Zhiqiong was about to return to Yilang Court when Wu Xu suddenly appeared beside him and snatched the two brocade boxes from his hand.
"This is... Li Shabai's authentic work!" Wu Xu exclaimed, "Where did you get it?"
"This was given by Li Shabai..." Xu Zhiqiong wanted to snatch it back, but failed.
"Do you know Li Shabai? Is he willing to give you a painting?" Wu Xu said in surprise, "Please introduce him to me someday. I have long wanted to visit Painter Li!"
"Here, there is one set for you, and there is another set..."
Wu Xu put away all the two sets of paintings and said to Xu Zhiqiong: "Lend this to me for a look first and then return it to you later. I need your help with something tonight."
"That "Summer Collection" is mine..." Xu Zhiqiong was about to cry but had no tears.
Wu Xu said: "Tonight I am going to explore a house, the foreign house of Liu Guangying, a doctor in the Ministry of War. Do you know where it is?"