When Ji Ping'an walked out of the restaurant, it was getting late, and the setting sun hung over the sky, reflecting the red face under the bamboo hat.
But compared to his high-spirited expression during the showdown with Huang Chen in the afternoon, his face at this moment was more thoughtful.
And when he returned to Qinglian Xiaozhu in the dusk, he saw Huang He hanging a lantern under the eaves.
"Sir, you are back."
"Well, is there any movement in the prison?"
Huang He nodded seriously and reported: "There are two important things. First, Bai Jianhou went to visit Huang Jianhou in the afternoon, but could not meet. The reason is unknown. Second, Huoyuan Fang Jianhou has already taken action."
Ji Ping'an lay in the wicker chair, smiled and said, "The action is quite fast. Just wait for the result."
…
In the evening, Jinyuan Tea Room.
"Prince, the information has been found out clearly." When Pei Sili stepped upstairs and opened the door of the tea room, he saw Li Guofeng sitting cross-legged and meditating.
There was no light in the room, and moonlight poured in from the open window. Li Guofeng did not open his eyes, and his white official robe embroidered with gold thread was half hidden in the darkness: "Say."
Pei Sili did not dare to delay and explained the two events in the afternoon one by one. He had no reaction when he heard the first news, but when he heard the second one, Li Guofeng's eyes suddenly opened.
The golden eyes were like sharp swords, cutting through the darkness.
"You mean, Fang Liuhuo met Bai Chuan secretly?" He asked in a deep voice.
Pei Sili nodded: "Indeed, the two even staggered the time. Bai Chuan left Liuhuo behind and entered the water courtyard. The specific content of the conversation is unknown, but our people reported that Fang Jianhou seemed to be in a good mood when he left."
Li Guofeng remained silent, frowning, and after a moment he slowly spoke: "Tell me, will the two of them join forces?"
Pei Sili hesitated and said, "Fire and water are incompatible. This has always been the case."
Li Guofeng sneered: "The Imperial Master once said that there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."
"You mean..."
"It's hard to say. Maybe we can show it to us. We still don't know." Li Guofeng pondered for a long time, his face uncertain. Finally, after weighing the pros and cons, he chose the safest plan: "Send the order..."
…
Little is known about the battle that took place beneath the water, but over the next few days, some interesting changes began to occur in Qintian Prison.
First of all, the suppression against Muyuan gradually weakened. To be precise, some resources controlled by Jinyuan began to be distributed normally, while the card set up by Shuiyuan remained the same.
Secondly, rumors are rampant, leading to conflicts between the Jin and Shui academies. The topics focus on the private gossips of disciples on both sides and the revelation of the Jin Academy's secret calculations.
This led to several conflicts among the lower-level disciples, which even alerted Si Li to take action to resolve them, causing a huge uproar.
People are always chasing new hot spots.
In just a few days, the public opinion surrounding Mu Yuan subsided, and the conflict between gold and water became the focus of attention.
Four Seasons Pavilion.
When everyone in the wooden courtyard sat around the stone table for a meeting again, the solemn and depressed look on their faces disappeared, replaced by relaxation and excitement.
"Most of the resources have returned to normal. Although the Water Institute is still using obstacles, they don't have much control over it, and their impact on us is already very small." The middle-aged Si Li said with a smile.
"Small tricks such as poaching have also been reduced a lot. Yesterday I saw Song Yuan's gang had a conflict with Jinyuan. In the end, Jian Zhuang stepped in to suppress it." Female Secretary Li gloated.
Others also spoke one after another and summarized the news. Overall, the situation improved greatly.
Xu Xiurong is recovering from his injuries and did not attend this meeting.
"Unexpectedly, according to what Junior Brother Ji said, the situation has actually turned around." Mu Yaoyao smiled broadly and looked at Ji Ping'an with even more admiration.
That day, the latter gave a lecture and gave a coping strategy, but she was still worried about whether it would work.
Now, it only takes a few days, and the effect is obvious. How can I not be happy?
"Well, transferring the conflict can only give you a short-term respite. Don't be too happy too soon. If you can't further counterattack, the situation will only worsen again when the upper levels of both sides reach an agreement."
Ji Ping'an poured cold water on him at the right time and asked instead:
"How is the collection of black materials going?"
Hearing this, everyone stopped smiling and took out papers one after another to summarize the dark materials about Shuiyuan that they had collected in the past few days.
A quick look revealed that there were actually quite a lot of them. After all, there were dozens of people in the Shuiyuan alone, including Sichen alone, and among them there were a group of people who had defected from the Muyuan, so they knew everything about them.
But after everyone gathered together, they found that just as the middle-aged Si Li said, there are many small mistakes, but serious mistakes are rare.
"If we only have these materials, we will at most cause them some trouble, but it will be far from a fatal blow." Ji Ping'an dropped the paper and sealed the deal.
Mu Yaoyao's delicate little face fell: "Then what should we do? Everyone has worked very hard and only found these."
Others also became depressed and no longer as excited as before.
As Ji Ping'an said, if there is no counterattack, the current victory will only be short-lived, and even when the two houses of Congress react, they will face a more severe situation.
The atmosphere in the small courtyard was once again gloomy, a familiar sense of tension surged into my heart, and even the weeping willows were listless.
A group of people discussed the situation again, but were unable to do anything. Finally, Ji Ping'an announced that they would continue to collect intelligence and would discuss it next time.
After returning to Qinglian Xiaozhu, Huang He, who had been holding back for a long time, couldn't help but ask: "Sir, do you already have an idea?"
Ji Pingan lay on the wicker chair, picked up the book, and asked with a smile: "Why do you say that?"
Huang He chuckled, moved a small bench and sat next to it, and said:
"After all, I've been with you for so long, and I've learned a lot about what's going on. Just now, everyone was at a loss. Although you didn't speak, you didn't look anxious. Instead, you were confident."
"You." Ji Ping'an smiled helplessly, then pondered for a moment and said, "I can't say I'm confident, but I do have a task that you need to do."
Huang He was shocked and said, "You tell me."
"Come here." Ji Pingan waved.
After a moment, Huang He looked anxious: "Sir, do I really want to say this? Won't it bring you trouble?"
Ji Ping'an smiled, his eyes as calm as the sea, the sunlight filtered through the peach trees above his head, casting tiny spots of light, he said indifferently:
"When fishing, you have to be willing to take the bait. Besides, if you don't say these things, others won't guess."
Huang He seemed to understand, but thought that the master's methods were becoming more and more unpredictable.
…
That night, a small incident happened in Qintian Prison.
Huang He, Dr. Zhao and other former colleagues gathered for dinner and drinks, and got drunk while changing glasses. After drinking, they revealed a secret, which spread to the public the next day.
"Have you heard that Ji Ping'an turned out to be the personal disciple of the Imperial Master? Not only did he teach him about astronomy, but he also gave him other gifts, which helped him practice a thousand miles." At noon, someone whispered in the dining hall.
Xue Hongjian sat down with the dinner plate and frowned when he heard this: "Where did the rumor come from?"
Junior sister Wang was mysterious and said: "It seems that it's not a rumor, it's Huang He who became speechless after drinking. It is said that Ji Ping'an dared to worship in the wooden courtyard because of his confidence. There is also a theory that Xu Jianhou even took his hand. I have benefited from it and the injury will recover soon."
Xue Hongjian frowned when he heard this, but still didn't believe it.
Seeing this, a person next to him said: "Think about it, this person is profound in astronomy, has innate wood signs, and knows so many details about the life of the national teacher. He is obviously not an ordinary recommended student, so it is only reasonable to pass it on in person."
Xue Hongjian was shaken.
In fact, there were speculations about Ji Ping'an after he was separated from the hospital, but it has not become mainstream. Huang He's drunken gaffe made many people believe it immediately.
While everyone was talking, they didn't notice a black robe passing by.
After Peng Sili walked out of the dining hall, he returned to the water courtyard and found Bai Chuan.
"Personally taught by the Imperial Master? Xu Xiurong is about to recover from his injury?"
Bai Chuan was eating, and his first reaction was to laugh, feeling that the rumor was too outrageous, but as Peng Sili narrated, he fell into deep thought.
Conspiracy theory mode activated.
Speaking of which, it seemed impossible... At least, the idea that he had the confidence to seek refuge in Muyuan was far more reliable than Xu Xiurong's beauty trap.
"Prisoner?" Peng Sili asked tentatively.
Bai Chuan waved his hands irritably: "I understand, step back."
…
night.
The relevant rumors intensified, and no one noticed that a swift flew out of the Qintian Prison, fluttering its wings and flying into the night sky.
The black swift flew over the prosperous Qingyun Palace, flew over the prosperous Chang'an Street... and finally landed in an ordinary small courtyard.
"call out!"
A sudden evil wind swept out of the courtyard and swept Swift into the house, where she was grabbed by a thick-boned right hand.
Pulling off the note tied to his feet, he pressed it on the table with his hand and slowly twisted it flat.
At the same time, a strange spell sounded, and the blank paper was "activated". Light gold characters lit up, and then disappeared in an instant.
"Ji... safe."
The owner of the hand read out the name in a slightly hoarse voice, and in the dim candlelight, the corners of his mouth widened little by little.
…
Qinglian Xiaozhu.
The night sky was dotted with stars, a dark cloud covered the waning moon, and the courtyard became dark.
Only the lanterns hanging under the eaves cast a circle of warm light.
Ji Ping'an was wrapped in his outer robe and lying on a wicker chair, sleeping.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and an illusory astrolabe appeared in the depths of his pupils. There was no need to resort to magic weapons, and the Great Evolution of Heavenly Secrets was spinning in his heart.
Countless mysterious and obscure fragments of the future came from the sea of stars.
"Big evil!"
…
ps: Change first and then change. Considering that my procrastination during the day is too serious, I am considering whether to stay up late and type...
