Huangfu Yue's eyes flashed with a mischievous smile. She had no idea that Chang Qing would go mad upon hearing the news, immediately reporting to Dali Temple to file a case…
…
Dali Temple, the Capital
“Lord Leng, Lord Chang hasn't left yet. He's insisting that Dali Temple mobilize all its forces to help him catch the thief who stole everything from his home and recover all his stolen possessions. What should we do?”
A bailiff reported to Leng Yusheng, who was sitting behind his desk, pen in hand, writing something, clad in official robes. The bailiff looked troubled.
“I know. You may go,” Leng Yusheng continued writing without looking up, his voice cold, as if he had no interest in Chang Qing's affairs.
The bailiff frowned, “But Lord Chang…”
“There’s no need to concern yourself. The Temple Minister will handle it,” Leng Yusheng’s voice grew colder.
After all, Chang Qing wasn’t bothering him; he was bothering Jia Peng, the Minister of Dali Temple. Why should he care?
“Yes.” Seeing that Leng Yusheng had said not to bother, the bailiff had nothing more to say. He bowed and withdrew.
Leng Yusheng wrote two more characters and then stopped his brush.
Finished!
All the official documents that needed to be reviewed today were done. After a short rest, he could go home.
Leng Yusheng put down the wolf hair brush, set aside the reviewed documents, and picked up the white jade teacup on his desk, taking a sip.
The tea had gone cold!
But it was summer, and it was hot, so cold tea was just fine…
After savoring two more sips of the cold tea, Leng Yusheng put down the teacup and took out a wooden hairpin from his sleeve.
The wooden hairpin looked simple at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it was found to be very exquisite, with a refined style, actually quite beautiful.
He really wanted to find some clue from this wooden hairpin, to find some trace of its owner, but he had not yet succeeded…
Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew, and he smelled a faint fragrance.
It was from the wooden hairpin!
Leng Yusheng’s bright eyes flickered, and he immediately brought the wooden hairpin to his nose, sniffing it again to catch the faint fragrance he had just detected.
The fragrance was subtle, but he could still discern that it should be the scent of hair mixed with a hundred-flower fragrance.
Hair fragrance mixed with a hundred-flower fragrance… His eyes narrowed slightly. It was likely that the hair had been washed with a hundred-flower scented shampoo, which had imparted the fragrance to the hair, and the scent had then transferred to the wooden hairpin.
The hundred-flower scented shampoo had only become popular in the capital at the end of last year. It was very expensive, and only affluent families could afford it.
The key point was that the hundred-flower scented shampoo was only sold at “Rui Yi Xuan” in the southern part of the city. If he could ask the owner of “Rui Yi Xuan” who had bought the hundred-flower scented shampoo, and then carefully sift through the information, he might be able to find the owner of this wooden hairpin.
What an unexpected delight…
Leng Yusheng, with a rare pleased expression, curved his lips…
“Heavens! Heavens! Is the sun rising from the west… Lord Shaocheng, who never smiles and always has an icy demeanor, is smiling!” An exaggerated scream suddenly came from outside.
Leng Yusheng frowned and immediately hid the wooden hairpin in his sleeve…
“Lord Shao Leng, what are you hiding?”
A young man wearing the official uniform of a Dali Temple Administrator, with a proper appearance but a hint of roguishness in his features, ran in, faster than lightning, and rushed to Leng Yusheng, trying to grab his hand to stop him from hiding the hairpin, but it was too late.
Leng Yusheng had already put the wooden hairpin back in his sleeve.
“It’s nothing,” Leng Yusheng had already let go of his smile, his face as cold as ice, his expressionless voice replying coldly.
“You’re lying with your eyes open. I saw it. You’re hiding a wooden hairpin, a woman’s item!” Pan Ziye frowned, pouting, deliberately emphasizing the last sentence and drawing out the sound.
Leng Yusheng remained silent, offering no denial.
Seeing that he neither denied nor refuted, Pan Ziye walked over, nudged him with his arm, a knowing smile on his handsome face, and winked at him.
“How do you have a woman’s item? Did a lover give it to you?”
Before Leng Yusheng could answer, Pan Ziye chuckled, “It must be. I never expected you, with your outward lack of interest in women, never letting them get close, to actually have a secret lover. You’ve been hiding it quite well… I never thought you were such a good actor, such a good pretender. I must go and tell everyone else…”
“If you don’t want your tongue, then go ahead and spout nonsense,” Leng Yusheng interrupted him coldly.
Pan Ziye immediately caved, shaking his head like a rattle drum. “I was joking. How could I dare to reveal your private life to others…
Don’t worry, I, Pan Ziye, swear to heaven that I will never tell anyone about you having a lover, or may lightning strike me.” He raised three fingers as a pledge.
This Leng Yusheng looked like a celestial being, but his disposition was that of a demon from hell. He was capable of committing all sorts of cruel and terrifying acts and showed no mercy to anyone. If he wanted his tongue, he wouldn’t care that he was his friend and would still cut off his tongue.
“I don’t have a lover,” Leng Yusheng glared at Pan Ziye coldly, his voice colder than his gaze, capable of freezing a person solid.
“Then the wooden hairpin…”
“It was left by a prisoner.”
Hearing this, Pan Ziye’s face showed a look of surprise.
“Left by a prisoner? What prisoner?” Pan Ziye became even more curious about the wooden hairpin.
“It’s a confidential case. You’re not qualified to know,” the last sentence was slightly provocative.
Pan Ziye furrowed his brow, “Leng Yusheng, what do you mean by that last sentence?”
“Exactly what it means. You’re just an administrator. There are some cases you’re not qualified to know,” Leng Yusheng gave Pan Ziye a look that felt deeply insulting.
“…”
“One day, my official position will be higher than yours, and I will become your superior,” Pan Ziye said resentfully.
“In your next life,” Leng Yusheng retorted venomously.
“Your current position as an administrator, you only hold it because of me…
As someone who’s always at the bottom, who repeatedly failed the examinations and isn’t even a *juren*, if it weren’t for your father, you’d never have become an official in this lifetime,” Leng Yusheng attacked mercilessly.
Pan Ziye’s face turned extremely ugly, shifting from green to white, then to red. He opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but in the end, not a single word came out.
Although Leng Yusheng’s words were harsh, they were the truth.
He was not like Leng Yusheng, a child prodigy, who was talented and learned from childhood, unmatched by anyone. He had always been poor at studying since he was young, always ranking last in exams. He had taken the imperial examinations several times but had always failed, not even achieving the rank of *juren*.
If it weren’t for his father, he would never have been able to become an official.
Someone like him could still become an administrator in Dali Temple, a fifth-rank official, entirely thanks to Leng Yusheng.
He had initially been a low-level clerk in the Ministry of Rites, a mere ninth-rank official. But he wanted to achieve great things and become a high-ranking official, so he asked his father for help, but his father said he wasn’t capable.
It was Leng Yusheng who transferred him to Dali Temple and promoted him all the way, which is how he reached his current position as an administrator in Dali Temple, a fifth-rank official…