Chapter 183: Why Are You Wiping? (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Back in the capital, the rain gradually stopped.
Ye Jingtang put away the oil-paper umbrella and handed it to Luo Ning beside him. “I still have to go to the palace later. I might be back late…”
Luo Ning held the small medicine bag in her hand and stopped. “Aren’t you going to the Roaring Dragon Pond to practice? Why are you coming back?”
Why… Ye Jingtang said seriously, “The Peaceful Hall is where the empress sleeps after all. Even if 1 practice there, it’s impossible for me to really spend the night. I’ll try my best to come back early so that you won’t worry.”
Luo Ning felt that the little thief wanted to see the clothes she bought today, so she said coldly, “Come back early if you want. I’ll boil the medicine for you first.”
With that, she turned around and left along the street.
Ye Jingtang watched from afar and touched the hungry bird. He first bought some food by the street and then went to the Imperial Academy in the north of the city.
The Imperial Academy was full of students, and the surrounding atmosphere was very cultural. Most of the people on the street were scholars and intellectuals, and there were also many scholarly young ladies.
Ye Jingtang walked along the street for a while and found an old bookstore. He entered it and searched around.
Tears of a Heroine was a novel about Jianghu. Although it offended Void Jade Mountain, no matter how powerful Void Jade Mountain was, it couldn’t interfere with the Imperial Court’s banning of books. This was why there were very few books on the market, and the collector’s editions were rare.
As for TThe Secret History of the Romantic Empress, just by looking at the name, it was apparent that it was a banned book. It was written about an empress dowager of the previous dynasty. A hundred years ago, whoever possessed it would die. Although this was no longer the case in this dynasty, the book was really not easy to find.
Ye Jingtang looked back and forth in the bookstore for a long time, but he couldn’t find The Secret History of the Romantic Empress. Instead, he found a picture book of the ‘Beauties of Jianghu’. He picked it up and flipped through it. Sure enough, there was the Moon Goddess in it, and there was a picture of her.
But Heroine Luo had traveled Jianghu before the empress succeeded the throne, and she had rarely shown her true face to others. The accompanying picture was also printed by engraving, making her look more like a low-quality version of Little Yunli.
Ye Jingtang casually glanced at it and then put it aside. After searching for a long time, he found nothing. He could only fine the old shopkeeper of the bookstore, show the token of the Prince of Jing Estate, and ask him to help search in the name of investigating the case.
Then the shopkeeper conveniently took out an old book from his private collection and reluctantly sold it to him.
After Ye Jingtang received the book, he rushed to the Prince of Jing Estate. On the way, he read it to search for any hidden clues.
A novel that had been circulating on the market for hundreds of years, no matter how unpresentable it was, was still a classic ancient book and definitely had its merits. The Secret History of the Romantic Empress was one of them. Although the author liked to show off his knowledge and spoke at length about all kinds of buildings, the plot could be said to be full of ups and downs and dangers.
After reading it for half an hour, Ye Jingtang could confirm that this book was not made up. For example, the ginkgo tree in the Longevity Palace had the orientation and specific location written exactly. It even pointed out that there was a secret passage in one of the rooms in the Longevity Palace that led straight to the noble heir’s residence outside the Imperial City.
This information seemed very important, but it could be recorded openly in the book. More than 200 years had passed, and the Imperial Court had certainly already sealed the tunnel. It was extremely unlikely that the Prince of Wu’s heir wanted to use this to infiltrate the palace to assassinate.
Ye Jingtang continued to read. In the end, he found that the author, who had constantly liked to show off his knowledge, had written the key plot surprisingly well…
Meanwhile, on the top floor of Jasper Pavilion, in the study…
Dongfang Liren was sitting upright behind her desk and looking at the letter in her hand with a puzzled expression. “A thief entered the Prince of Wu’s mansion… What’s going on?”
Standing in front of her, the white-haired old woman said softly, “Shang Jian left to check it out. He said that the person who came is extremely skilled in martial arts. According to Nangong Shaofeng, the other party used the Fourteen Dappling Cloud Palms and defeated Nangong Shaofeng in one move.” “One move?” Dongfang Liren knew the Fourteen Dappling Cloud Palms and knew Nangong Shaofeng’s mastery. She deliberated for a moment. “Could Master have secretly entered the capital?”
“If it were Daoist Xuanji, Nangong Shaofeng wouldn’t even be able to see her shadow. How could she have been discovered… I estimate that it’s someone related to Daoist Xuanji. Daoist Xuanji is benevolent and often enlightens martial artists in Jianghu. It’s really hard to guess who it is.”
Dongfang Liren thought so too. She asked, “Did the heir of the Prince of Wu lose anything?”
“No. The valuables were placed in the secret room under the study. Shang Jianli went in to take a look. They were all precious calligraphy and paintings bestowed by the palace. Nangong Shaofeng was copying a painting inside when he bumped into the thief.”
Dongfang Liren couldn’t figure out the whole story, so she got the white-haired old woman to arrange for people to investigate. Just as she was continuing to read dossiers, a maidservant came up and said that Ye Jingtang was here.
Hearing this, Dongfang Liren put down the work in her hands, got up, went down the Jasper Pavilion, and walked to the entrance of the prince’s estate.
As soon as she turned around the screen wall, she saw Ye Jingtang, dressed in a black robe, standing outside the prince’s estate. His left hand was behind his back, and he was holding a book in his hand, reading it attentively.
The fluffy bird was squatting on his shoulder with its head lowered and tilted, also looking carefully.
Dongfang Liren was slightly stunned. In the past, she had seen Ye Jingtang with a cold and resolute figure. This was the first time she had seen him with such an elegant and scholarly aura.
Dongfang Liren raised her hand to get the maidservant to wait and walked leisurely to the entrance. But when she was about ten steps away, Ye Jingtang closed his book, put it under his arm, and turned around. “Why did Your Highness come out personally?”
Dongfang Liren regained her bearing as a princess and walked forward unhurriedly. “I said I would bring you into the palace, so I naturally have to come out. What were you looking at?”
Although Ye Jingtang guessed that the murder on Bamboo Street was most likely related to the Prince of Wu, the clues about the Prince of Wu were provided by the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master. He didn’t have concrete evidence, so he couldn’t say that he suddenly had an idea, sneaked into the heir’s study, discovered The Secret History of the Romantic Empress, and then speculated from the erotic book that the Prince of Wu’s heir had evil intentions..
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel