# 137. The Female National Teacher
Xu Lingyin was an extraordinary child. In the morning, while her mind was still asleep, her body woke up by herself to wake up the maid in charge of taking care of her.
Under the service of the maid, she was dressed, had her face washed and her teeth brushed. After this, she was led to the front hall.
Smelling the smell of rice porridge and meat buns, Xu Lingyin suddenly opened her eyes. She was very happy to find herself waking up at the dining table.
At the time, Dawn had already arrived, and only Second Uncle Xu was sitting at the table in the front hall, having breakfast.
Auntie and Xu Lingyue were both putting seals on the quilts.
"Where's big brother?" Xu Lingyin asked. At this time, her greedy Big Brother should have arrived at the table long ago, coveting her beloved meat buns.
"Let him be." Second Uncle Xu said.
"I'll have brother's meat buns." Xu Lingyin's small face showed an innocent smile.
As soon as she said that, she sniffed, "It smells so good."
"Eat it soon if you find its fragrance appetizing." Second Uncle Xu urged.
"This isn’t what smells so good..." Xu Lingyin raised her face and seriously said to her father.
Second Uncle Xu didn't understand it. But he soon saw a girl with an oval face in a yellow dress come in as her almond-like eyes scanned the hall, "Where's Xu Ningyan?"
"Sleeping." Second Uncle Xu thought, *Why has this girl come uninvited.*
"He's not there." Chu Caiwei said, "I just came from his yard."
After speaking, she found a chubby little girl deeply attracted by the breakfast food she was holding in her arms.
Chu Caiwei had bought braised donkey, fried fish balls, crystal cakes, and sauce pig trotters today, packing them in her arms, and was eating them while on the way.
She had an urgent matter to talk with Xu Qi'an about.
"Do you want to eat?" Looking at her watery innocent eyes, Chu Caiwei's heart softened.
Xu Lingyin vigorously nodded.
"Then, big sister will share with you." Chu Caiwei said.
"Ahem.." Second Uncle Xu glared at the gluttonous young girl, and earnestly said, "Lingyin, big sister is a guest. You have to wait until she finishes eating."
"Okay." Xu Lingyin was easily convinced with food at stake.
"Very sensible." Chu Caiwei patted her head. Then, she thought about what happened last night as she ate her breakfast.
A few minutes later... She was surprised to find that the three or four *jin* of breakfast she had bought had disappeared.
*Did the little girl eat it when I wasn't paying attention?* She suspiciously looked at Xu Lingyin, who was standing aside, her head not even as high as a table.
Tears were bubbling in Xu Lingyin's eyes, and she was about to cry, *Were you joking with me, Elder Sister?*
"..."
Uncle Xu felt as if he had seen the grown-up Xu Lingyin.
...
The Tower of Noble Spirit,
Wei Yuan nodded after listening to Jiang Lyuzhong's report, "I see. Have you made any progress in the Trafficking Organisation?"
“I am still investigating in secret, and have not raised the attention of any other constabulary or organisation’s attention. After the death of Earl Pingyuan, they had begun to hibernate. However, as they hadn't been suppressed, they haven't been paying much attention. So, the net could be closed anytime.” Jiang Lyuzhong said.
"It seems that Earl Pingyuan's son inherited the Trafficking Organisation." Wei Yuan chuckled lightly and ordered: "Close the net before they know that Earl Pingyuan's son was killed."
Jiang Lyuzhong accepted the order with his hands clasped, hesitant to speak.
"Speak up if you have something to say."
"Xu Qi'an was also present when Earl Pingyuan's son was killed. Although I don't know why he sneaked to the mansion of Earl Pingyuan, he should have seen the murderer." Jiang Lyuzhong expressed his speculations.
At the time, footsteps came from the stairs, and a black-clothed petty official came up and whispered a few words to his colleagues guarding the stairs.
The petty officials guarding the staircase immediately entered the tea room, bowed, and said, "Duke Wei, Bronze Gong Xu Qi'an requests to see you."
Wei Yuan smiled, "How convenient. Let him up."
The petty official announced the order to go upstairs. And soon enough, Xu Qi'an, dressed in a Nightwatcher uniform went up to the seventh floor. After taking a glance at Jiang Lyuzhong, he clasped his fists and said, "Greetings, Duke Wei."
"Gold Gong Jiang says that you had been to Earl Pingyuan's mansion last night.", Wei Yuan smiled and spoke softly, without question.
"Your subordinate wanted to investigate the case, the Sangpo case."
Jiang Lyuzhong was stunned. Frowning, he suspected that Xu Qi'an was lying. Earl Pingyuan had died long before the Sangpo case. Except for the Trafficking Organisation, he couldn't think of any link between Earl Pingyuan and the Sangpo case.
"What did you find?" Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes.
Xu Qi'an didn't immediately answer, and his eyes slightly paused on Jiang Lyuzhong.
"Gold Gong Jiang, You should go down first." Wei Yuan was used to the bronze gong's request to dismiss his accompanying officers.
Jiang Lyuzhong took a look at Xu Qi'an, as he left with a gloomy face.
After the footsteps couldn't be heard at all, Xu Qi'an waited for some time, considering a fifth-rank martial artist's hearing ability. Finally, he said,
"Duke Wei, I did see the attacker last night and also confirmed his identity."
Wei Yuan raised his teacup and took a sip, then asked emotionlessly, "Who is it?"
"Monk Henghui of Qinglong Temple. That monk who stole the magical weapon of Qinglong Temple and eloped with Princess Pingyang." Xu Qi'an continued without hiding anything.
"I suspect the Sealed Item is with him."
Wei Yuan glanced at him, "Why do you say that?"
Xu Qi'an said, "Earl Pingyuan's son died the same way as those of the royal guard that died that day."
Smiling, Wei Yuan said, "You did a good job. This clue is very useful."
"Your subordinate will go back, then." As he knew that Father Wei wanted to "Hide him away", Xu Qi'an no longer force him to help.
Some bosses are like this. Upon seeing a beautiful girl in their company, they want to secretly hide her away and ask her to not come to work in the future.
That type of personal female secretary was an unsafe profession, as it led to many baseless rumours.
Xu Qi'an was quite resistant to this kind of behaviour and just wanted to quietly work in the Constabulary.
Going downstairs, Xu Qi'an saw a petty official rushing upstairs in a hurry.
After leaving the Tower of Noble Spirit, he saw Jiang Lyuzhong, who was standing downstairs. Old Jiang came up to meet him, as he frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
Xu Qi'an's brain moved. He cupped his fists and said, "Is Gold Gong Jiang handling Earl Pingyuan's case?"
Jiang Lyuzhong's face became gloomy, "Both his and his son’s cases are handled by this official."
"Earl Pingyuan is involved in the Sangpo case..." Xu Qi'an immediately told Jiang Lyuzhong about Monk Henghui, and the Gold Gong's eyes lit up upon hearing about it.
"Gold Gong Jiang, We should work together to deal with this matter. In this way, you can solve Earl Pingyuan's case and also participate in the Sangpo case..." Xu Qi'an sincerely said.
"As for this case, I have almost completed the investigation. So, let's earn some credits together."
Jiang Lyuzhong nodded slightly, "That's very true."
Xu Qi'an laughed. *A high-ranking martial artist had been fooled into the camp. Even if Wei Yuan doesn't help me, I can still find myself helpers.*
The two were talking when they saw Wei Yuan, dressed in green, go downstairs. Seeing the two standing at the door, he said, "Lyuzhong, follow me to the palace."
"Yes!"
Looking at the two's backs disappear into the distance, Xu Qi'an touched his chin. *The death of Earl Pingyuan's son should have infuriated Emperor Yuanjing.*
...
After he left the office, Xu Qi'an rode in the direction of the imperial city. He wasn't going fast as he wanted some time to sort out his thoughts.
*Maybe my previous assumption was wrong. The mastermind behind the scenes couldn't be the Zhenbei King. King Zhenbei could have tried to rebel. so, he teamed up with the Northern Yao and the Northeast Church of the Warlock Sect to blow up the seal of Sangpo and release the first Jianzheng, and make the capital chaotic...*
*But, I'm not even sure if the one sealed was the first Jianzheng. In addition, Henghui's matter wouldn't make much sense if King Zhenbei was behind the scenes.*
*Monk Henghui is involved in the dispute between the interests of the Civil Official Bloc and the Meritorious Aristocratic Bloc. It is a bit far-fetched to blame King Zhenbei for this...*
*The current plan is to find Henghui and catch him. Then, all these mysteries will be solved. But, finding Number Six is the key to catching Henghui. Number Six is Henghui's senior brother, and the latter shouldn't silence him.*
The imperial city's outline appeared in his sight. Xu Qi'an's ears moved, as he heard someone behind him call out his name.
"Xu Ningyan..."
Looking back, he saw a beauty with an oval face in a goose-yellow long dress. Her eyes were big, bright, and energetic, giving a lively and lovely impression.
"I went to the Xu mansion this morning to look for you. But, you weren't there. I went to the Nightwatcher Office then, but you weren't there. Song Tingfeng said that you may be fooling around with Fuxiang in the Jiaofangsi." Chu Caiwei patted her horse to catch up with him, moving to his side, a fountain of complaint pouring from her.
"He's slandering my noble character." Xu Qi'an solemnly said, "I'd never go to a place like Jiaofangsi... ah-aah, hey, you don't need to watch my qi. Although I'm a gentleman, I don't want to be stared at by a person using the qi-watching technique."
Chu Caiwei tilted her head and said, "They said that Fuxiang is your lover."
"She's not."
"Really?"
"Um, Fuxiang is a friend I just made, not that far yet." Xu Qi'an sincerely replied, without any deceit.
Chu Caiwei “Oohh”ed, and returned to the topic, "The Sitianjian detected demonic energy similar to the day when Sangpo was bombed. I came here to inform you."
"I already knew this matter. I almost died in the hands of that guy." As Daoist Jinlian was involved, Xu Qi'an didn't want to continue and changed the subject, "Do you have more pills of great might?"
"Another day, I didn't bring it with me."
"I don't need it another day. I need it today."
"Okay, I'll go to your house before dusk."
Chu Caiwei had come to find the eldest princess. Although she was assigned to assist Xu Qi'an in solving the case, Xu Qi'an didn't want to bring her along.
It wasn't because Chu Caiwei was useless, but Monk Hengyuan had a magic weapon that shielded qi and that restrained Sitianjian's Qi Watching technique.
He didn't want to tie her to his side, so he let her go to the eldest princess's mansion and restaurants to have a good time.
The two parted at the gate of the imperial city. Xu Qi'an, with his gold medal, passed to the imperial city unimpeded. Soon, he arrived at the legendary Lingbao Temple.
The temple was a very grand Daoist Temple, with red walls and black tiles, and a high and wide gate.
There were two little Daoist Acolyte boys in the door. They were examining Xu Qi'an, who was approaching on horseback.
"I am Xu Qi'an from the Nightwatchers. I have been ordered by His Majesty to thoroughly investigate the Sangpo case. I want to see the National Teacher. I hope the two Daoists will pass this on." Xu Qi'an took the initiative to speak and showed the gold medal.
The two acolytes showed a solemn expression, bowed, and said, "Wait a minute, Sir."
The young boy on the left quickly stepped into the temple. After waiting for more than 10 minutes, he went and came back, shook his head, and said,
"The Sect Master is practicing her arts, and she is not seeing visitors. Please go back, sir."
*No... It seems that the Emperor's gold medal doesn't work. It seems that I can only expose the Earth Book..* Xu Qi'an continued, "Please may the two Daoists help me pass on a sentence."
The Daoist boy on the right interrupted, "If she doesn't want to meet you, it is so. Even if you say some nonsense, the Sect Master won't see you."
Xu Qi'an breathed out silently, got off the horse, looked around for a moment, and took out two pre-prepared ingots of gold from his bosom.
The silence was more powerful than words.
The acolyte went in again.
"Hey, come back. I haven't even said anything yet..." Xu Qi'an called him back and whispered something in his ear.
After the Daoist Boy entered, he returned after ten minutes, with a warm smile on his face, "Sir, the Sect Master invites you in."