Two Phoenixes Playing in the Water

Dong——

Dong——

The distant morning bell rang out from the depths of Yun'an City.

The small courtyard in the depths of Shuanggui Alley was silent. Only a black horse stood quietly on the side of the kitchen.

The door of the main house was closed and had not been opened since Luo Ning and Zhe Yunli left.

There were a few more flower pots under the melon trellis, placed together with those purchased by Luo Ning. In just two days, the lush green seedlings had grown a bit stronger.

In the west wing room, Yejing Hall sat on the bed with his upper body bare, holding a piece of golden paper in his hand and closing his eyes to concentrate.

The big white Niaoniao squatted beside the pillow, looking listlessly at the window.

A few days ago, at this time, Zhe Yunli would have already gotten up and fed it while holding it. But obviously, living with Yejing Hall, it didn't have that luck. It had only been two days since they parted, and the longing had already lingered in Niaoniao's heart.

"Jiji..."

After waiting for a long time and seeing that Yejing Hall didn't move, Niaoniao rolled over to Yejing Hall's side and kicked him with its claws, indicating that it was time for breakfast.

Yejing Hall's eyelashes twitched slightly, and then he opened his eyes and looked at the golden paper in his hand.

After Luo Ning and Zhe Yunli left, life became quite monotonous. In the past two days, he basically stayed at home and devoted himself to practicing martial arts.

He had to practice the Tianhe Saber, the Overlord Spear, lightness skills, and his own saber techniques. It could be said that he was quite busy.

Peerless martial arts could not be mastered overnight, and Yejing Hall was not in a hurry. During his breaks, he was always pondering over the unexpectedly obtained "Minglong Tu" (Map of the Roaring Dragon).

He tried all the decryption methods he knew, such as projection, copying, soaking in water, burning with fire, etc., but he didn't get any results. He had originally put it aside for the time being. However, when he woke up this morning, he suddenly had an idea and thought of something—"observing the bamboo" (a reference to the philosophical practice of "ge wu" or investigating things, here metaphorically applied to the golden paper).

Although he didn't have much experience in this life, he had a lot of miscellaneous memories from his previous life and knew the interesting story of the sage "observing the bamboo".

Although the way of investigating things might not be right, he still seriously looked at the picture of "the tortoise carrying three mountains" on the golden paper and began to seriously "observe the paper", trying to figure out the supreme principles of the Tao contained in it.

As a result, he unexpectedly found that this method actually had an effect.

Although he didn't see any supreme principles of the Tao, he didn't know if it was because he had been looking at it for too long and his eyes were dazzled, but he felt that the golden dragon tortoise in the picture was moving, and the clouds surrounding the three mountains seemed to be flowing slowly under the effect of the light.

After pondering for a long time, he thought that this might be a method of channeling inner strength. So he closed his eyes and concentrated, imagining each scene in the picture as a certain part of his body and trying to connect the "illusions" he saw within his body.

Just as he was getting a clue, he was woken up by Niaoniao's kick.

Seeing that it was already bright, Yejing Hall wasn't in a hurry. After writing down this method, he put away the golden paper and put on his robe.

He was about to leave for Xiwang Town, and Third Miss had already started making preparations. However, before leaving, he still had to finish the matter related to Prince Jing.

Last time, he promised Prince Jing that he would have a lightness skills competition three days later. In the blink of an eye, the time had come. This was just the opportunity to teach Prince Jing the "Tianhe Dao". If Prince Jing learned quickly, he might be able to rescue Qiu Tianhe today, lest Miss Luo say that he wasn't serious about handling the matter.

After washing up, Yejing Hall watered the flowers and plants planted by Luo Ning. Then he led the horse, took Niaoniao with him, and left Shuanggui Alley together, heading towards Mingyu Tower.

He had been in the capital for many days, and the time had come to the late April. The young ladies and married women walking in the bustling streets were dressed a bit more lightly, attracting the gazes of idle men.

"Jiji!"

Niaoniao on his shoulder raised its wings to cover Yejing Hall's eyes, indicating that he should not look at inappropriate things.

Yejing Hall flicked Niaoniao and urged the horse to pass through the bustling streets and came to the outside of the Black Yamen. He saw that from time to time, constables of the Black Yamen were coming in and out in a hurry.

As soon as he reached the door, two people came out together.

The burly man in front was She Long, the "Black Impermanence", and there was still a bandage wrapped around his arm; behind him was Shang Jianli.

"Lord She, Lord Shang."

Seeing She Long, Yejing Hall stepped forward and saluted with his hands clasped:

"Are the two of you going out to handle some business?"

She Long had originally frowned, but when he saw Yejing Hall, his brows relaxed a bit. He directly walked up to Yejing Hall and patted him on the shoulder:

"Mr. Ye came at the right time. Come on, let's go out and handle a case together. My arm hasn't healed yet. If we really encounter something, it will be difficult for me to assist Jianli. You also practice external martial arts, so help out."

It seemed that She Long really didn't treat Yejing Hall as an outsider.

It was Yejing Hall who had injured She Long, and now he was being conscripted. It was hard for him to refuse, so he asked:

"Who are we going to arrest?"

She Long stood with his hands behind his back, wearing a slightly worried expression:

"I'm not sure. Yesterday, Wang Sheng, the chief constable of the yamen, was in the Dongshi area. I don't know who he bumped into, but he died a violent death on the spot. His body was only discovered this morning. The person who came used a blunt weapon like a棍棒 (club), and with one blow, they cracked his skull. Judging from the marks, Wang Sheng didn't even have time to draw his sword. Wang Sheng's martial arts are considered first-class in the martial arts world, so the martial arts of the person who came are probably extremely profound."

There were about forty chief constables in the Black Yamen in total, and the "Six Fiends" were the outstanding ones among them.

Hearing that the chief constable had been killed, Yejing Hall couldn't help but be shocked and asked:

"Could the person who came be a grandmaster?"

"Most likely. Does Mr. Ye have time? How about coming along for a trip?"

Yejing Hall did have time, and going out with the Black and White Impermanence didn't pose a particularly high risk, so he was about to agree.

However, Shang Jianli behind him interrupted at this time:

"Mr. Ye doesn't have much experience in the martial arts world. If we take him along rashly and something goes wrong, it will be difficult to explain. Prince Jing went to Yutan Villa yesterday and specifically instructed that if Mr. Ye came, he should go to Yutan Villa to seek an audience."

She Long had just casually invited a helper, so when he heard this, he naturally didn't insist:

"Since Prince Jing has given the order, Mr. Ye should go and attend to your business first."

Yejing Hall saluted with his hands clasped and said: "Then the two of you please be careful on the way. After I have an audience with Prince Jing, I'll come and take a look. After the matter is finished, I'll invite the two of you to Jinding Building for a visit."

"Ah, you're being too polite..."

The Black and White Impermanence saluted with their hands clasped and then left together.

Knowing that Prince Jing was at the hot spring villa, Yejing Hall didn't enter the Black Yamen again. He mounted his horse and took Niaoniao with him, heading towards the East Gate of the capital.

-----

Yutan Villa was located at the foot of Chunchen Peak outside the city, adjacent to Furong Pool and Qingjiang River. It could be considered a summer resort palace, and its scenery was unparalleled in Yunzhou. Unfortunately, it was exclusively for the emperor, and it was idle for nine-tenths of the year.

At noon, several pleasure boats and painted boats carrying scholars and young ladies could be seen on the river for outings, and there were also many merchant ships coming and going in the river. There were no tourists on the shore. One li away from the villa, the area had been cleared. Imperial guards in bright armor were on duty everywhere, and even a bird flying by would be scanned several times.

The warm sunlight shone on the villa at the foot of Chunchen Peak. The imperial guards patrolled outside the villa. Outside the Xilong Pool at the back, countless palace maids dressed in colorful clothes bowed and waited quietly.

The Xilong Pool was of a large scale. There were flowers, plants, and pavilions for resting around it. In the center of the pool, there was a thin layer of white mist, and several dragon heads were spouting warm spring water.

Whoosh...

The sunlight shone on the open-air hot spring surrounded by mist. A tall woman with skin as white as jade was swimming on her back in the water. Through the hazy mist, the towering mountains could be seen, looming.

In the shade at the edge of the hot spring, the Empress Dowager with her long hair draped over her shoulders wore a white thin gauze shawl. Her jade-like feet were immersed in the pool, and her face, as always, carried a hint of melancholy:

"I was said to be brought out here to relax, but look, I'm not even allowed to go out. What's the point of taking a bath here? Sigh~"

Dongfang Liren was excellent at swimming. She turned around in the water, gently kicked her slender jade-like legs, and then dived into the water. When she emerged, she was already close to the Empress Dowager. Her smooth long hair stuck to her smooth back, and she had a smile on her face:

"Something happened in the city yesterday, and the Black Yamen is conducting an inspection. After it calms down, I'll take the Empress Dowager to enjoy the river view."

Dongfang Liren was as tall as a man. Even in the same proportion as an ordinary woman, her chest would definitely be larger. At this moment, when she got close, it was like two full moons rising from the water. They looked heavy and substantial, yet at the same time, they were very upright, like two inverted jade bowls.

The Empress Dowager was from Jiangzhou and was a gentle and scholarly beauty. Her height was probably only up to Yejing Hall's chin. But since she had been pampered since childhood and had no lack of nutrition, her figure was also quite remarkable, and her bust was very eye-catching in proportion.

However, the two of them definitely didn't mean to compare. The Empress Dowager slid into the pool and floated lazily. She gently stirred the water with her hand and splashed it between her jade-like breasts:

"Every time I go out, it's either raining or something goes wrong. Is the heavens deliberately making things difficult for me?"

"Empress Dowager, don't always think about these things. Think of something pleasant."

"You're so unreliable. How can I be happy? Last time, I thought you gave me something good... I asked Hongyu to throw that thing away. If you're so presumptuous again in the future, I'll complain to the Emperor!"

"I also saw that the Empress Dowager was lonely in the deep palace, so I came up with the idea on the spur of the moment..."

"Even if I'm lonely, I can't act recklessly. When I entered the palace, you were already not young. Don't you know my situation? Am I not a woman just because you're a young one?"

The Empress Dowager gave Dongfang Liren an annoyed look. Then she thought of the handsome man she saw in the painting last time. After a little thought, she asked curiously:

"Liren, haven't you already..."

Dongfang Liren's heroic face froze, and she frowned and said:

"What do you mean?"

"You're the Prince Jing, second only to the Emperor. It's not difficult for you to find a young man to serve you..."

The Empress Dowager glanced at the area under the water:

"Liren, tell me honestly, have you already... Hmm?"

?!

Dongfang Liren naturally knew what the Empress Dowager meant and was a bit annoyed:

"Empress Dowager, what are you talking about? How could I possibly..."

The Empress Dowager knew that she couldn't ask anything and couldn't exactly check Dongfang Liren herself, so she said discontentedly:

"I was just asking out of curiosity. You should have gotten married a long time ago. If you have someone you like, you can just say it directly. I'll help you ask the Emperor for a marriage grant."

The Empress was Dongfang Liren's biological elder sister. If she took a fancy to a man, she didn't need the Empress Dowager to act as a matchmaker. She just smiled it off.

Just as the two of them were chatting for a while, a female official entered the Xilong Pool and respectfully reported behind the screen:

"Your Highness, there is a report from outside. Mr. Yejing Hall has arrived."

"Oh?"

Dongfang Liren hadn't had the opportunity to ask Yejing Hall how he was learning the Tianhe Saber these past few days. Now that Yejing Hall had come, she naturally wanted to meet him.

However, discussing martial arts between them would take at least half a day to finish. She had come out to accompany the Empress Dowager to relax. It definitely wasn't appropriate to leave the Empress Dowager and have a private meeting with a man. After thinking about it, she ordered:

"Let Mr. Ye tour and admire the villa for now. I will summon him when I'm free."

"Yes."

The Empress Dowager had seen Dongfang Liren go out to meet the "Mr. Ye" at Mingyu Tower last time, and then she saw that flawless handsome man in the painting.

The surname Ye was very rare, and there were only a few people with this surname in the whole capital. Judging from the address, he wasn't an official. The young man last time was also dressed like an ordinary young master. She thought that there was a high probability that it was the same person.

"Liren, who is this Mr. Ye?"

Dongfang Liren was a bit absent-minded. Afraid that the Empress Dowager would notice, she swam behind the Empress Dowager and helped her comb her long hair:

"He's a new helper recruited by the Black Yamen. His martial arts are not bad, and he has extraordinary abilities. But he comes from a merchant family and there's nothing special about him."

Nothing special?

The Empress Dowager didn't believe this at all. If this "Yejing Hall" was really the man in the painting she saw last time, his appearance alone was special enough.

However, as the Empress Dowager, she wasn't suitable to ask about such things, so she said considerately:

"If you have something to do, go ahead and do it. I'm used to being alone."

"I came out to accompany the Empress Dowager to relax, so of course I have to accompany you well. These small matters aren't urgent."

"It's good that you're not in a hurry... I'm just afraid that you have someone in your heart and think that I'm not understanding."

"Sigh..."