Chapter 333 (2/2)
Sangsang lifted her head and looked at him. She said, ”I can't say.”
w.a.n.g Jinglue asked in surprise, ”Why?”
Sangsang said, ”Young master warned me when I was young that I shouldn't answer questions from strangers.”
w.a.n.g Jinglue didn't know what to say.
It was then, when a calm but stern voice rang out in the courtyard.
”Young lady, there are some questions that you have to answer.”
A yellow oiled-paper umbrella with snowflakes on it had appeared in the Chang'an Local Government.
The person who had spoken was not the Taoist under the umbrella, but an official in military robes beside him.
w.a.n.g Jinglue frowned slightly. He had not gotten to know much about the powerhouses of the imperial court when he was a visiting professor at the Prince's Mansion which was why he had not managed to guess Master Yan Se's ident.i.ty that night in the rain. Now that he was a member of the imperial court and knew about many more things, he could easily recognize the two.
The official in military robes was the highest ranking official, Zhuge Wuren, of the Imperial Center Administration of Tang. The Taoist holding the yellow oiled-paper umbrella was the disciple of Nation Master Li Qingshan, He Mingchi. The two men had appeared at the same time, representing the cultivators of the imperial court.
w.a.n.g Jinglue did not expect that there were others who were interested in the tanned and skinny maidservant other than the esteemed general Xu s.h.i.+, whose temperament was odd. Did they not know who the owner of the Old Brush Pen Shop was?
Zhuge Wuren nodded at w.a.n.g Jinglue politely and said, ”I do not know which case the Military Ministry is investigating that they need to question this girl, but we do have some urgent matters to ask her.”
The Imperial Center Administration of Tang governed all matters related to cultivators and have always worked closely with the military and South School of Haotian Taoism. Zhuge Wuren, who was in charge, had always been secretive. It was rumored that he was not a cultivator at all.
w.a.n.g Jinglue had not sensed any aura, but grew even more vigilant. An official who did not cultivate but was able to control all the strong cultivators in the imperial court and military was an impressive man.
He Mingchi kept his umbrella and explained to w.a.n.g Jinglue softly, ”Mr. Zhuge and I went to Lin 47th Street only to find that the little maidservant had been brought to the Chang'an Local Government by Mr. w.a.n.g. That was why we came.”
w.a.n.g Jinglue said, ”I wonder what Mr. Zhuge would like to ask.”
Zhuge Wuren said coldly, ”It is naturally a question that you can't
that you can't hear.”
After a moment of silence, w.a.n.g Jinglue laughed self-mockingly. He put his hands behind his back and walked out of the courtyard slowly. He said, ”Better hurry up.”
There was a whoosh and the yellow oiled-paper umbrella in He Mingchi's hands opened once more. An aura settled over the courtyard of the Chang'an Local Government and the sounds of the world around it grew m.u.f.fled with the opening of the umbrella.
Sangsang looked up at the yellow oiled-paper umbrella curiously. She must have thought of her big black umbrella.
He Mingchi thought that the little maidservant was worried, and smiled warmly. He explained, ”It is just for soundproofing and would not cause you harm. Mr. Zhuge has something important to ask you, you just have to answer honestly.”
Zhuge Wuren stared into Sangsang's eyes and said in a surly tone, ”Only you were present on that mountain when Master Yan Se and the Great Divine Priest of Light died. My question is, did Master Yan Se leave anything behind?”
The official's tone was cold and He Mingchi could not help but frown. He might think that Younger Brother Ning Que was after all a visiting professor of the Imperial Center Administration, why did he have to be so stern with his handmaiden?
Sangsang looked at the official and said seriously after a moment of silence. ”Master Yan Se left that horse carriage for my young master.”
Zhuge Wuren yelled at her with hatred and annoyance. ”You know that's not what I was asking.”
Sangsang was not frightened by him at all and answered very seriously. ”No matter whether it is the horse carriage or anything else, they are for my young master. What has it to do with you?”
Zhuge Wuren breathed in deeply and said coldly, ”Some things are too important that not even the person it is bequeathed to can keep it. Those things would affect the future of the Tang Empire.”
He Mingchi did not speak as he held the umbrella. He did not agree with the Imperial Center Administration, but had to admit that Mr. Zhuge was very right. In Chang'an, a big tactical array had been protecting the Tang Empire for thousands of years. Its array eye must not end up in the secular world, in the hands of a little tanned and skinny handmaiden.
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