513 Donst Get Any Ideas (2/2)
But the token seemed strange.
The manager found the different patterns on the token and hastily turned to check the other side. His face suddenly grew weird after seeing the words on the token. He immediately led Ning Que to the back of the shop.
Just after entering he knelt down in front of Ning Que without any delay and held up the token overhead with both hands, and said in a trembling voice, ”My lord, please pardon my offense.”
The Tang Empire had no specific rules on kneeling. Except for certain formal occasions, ministers could salute the Emperor in the palace with the hands folded instead of kneeling. But secret guards had different rules and the shopkeeper was stunned by the identity behind the token.
Xu Chongshan, the current bodyguard supervisor, closely served the Emperor. The manager was very sure that the man in front of him was not Xu Chongshan but he knew the token was authentic, which meant the man should be his boss' boss' boss...
”Stand up.”
Ning Que looked strange, he wondered why the manager told him the unspoken words in his heart. Shouldn't they all be tight-lipped?
Shaking his head to get rid of the thought, he said, ”I'm here to ask about the issue between the Cuis and the House of Red Sleeves.”
The manager stood up submissively. He did not answer the question immediately but asked according to the rules, ”May I know your name?”
”Ning Que.”
Hearing the name, the manager had an impulse to kneel again. He tried hard to stand straight and replied tremblingly, ”The Fourth Steward of the Family Cui visited the House of Red Sleeves this morning and left in anger.”
The reply was brief and useful without any personal speculation. Ning Que nodded with appreciation and said, ”I don't know why the Family Cui wants to embarrass the House of Red Sleeves. It doesn't sound like their public impression and usual behavior.”
”If the House of Red Sleeves is a song-and-dance troupe without any status, the embarrassment doesn't make any sense, which could only harm the Family Cui's reputation. But if they know who's behind the House, then why? How dare they to do that at a risk of annoying the Emperor.”
The manager said, ”The Family Cui must have known that the Empress supports the House. But Qinghe County has served the Emperor well all these years. In my personal view, it might be an attempt to suppress the Empress.”
Ning Que was slightly startled and said, ”How dare they intervene in such matters and take sides in advance.”
He stared at the manager with a smile and said, ”And how dare you comment on the imperial family?”
The manager sensed the smile in Ning Que's eyes. He finally relaxed and said with flattery, ”I dare not to conceal anything from Mr. Thirteen.”
Ning Que asked in surprise, ”Do you know me?”
The manager said seriously, ”Who has not heard of you nowadays?”
”You don't need to flatter me. I am just an honorary supervisor. I am not in charge,” Ning Que said, ”I just don't understand why the Family Cui has the guts to do that. Don't they know my relationship with the House of Red Sleeves?”
The manager said, ”I'm afraid that's why they did that. They probably have guessed that you are here in the city.”
Ning Que asked puzzledly, ”What does it have to do with me?”
The manager looked at Ning Que adoringly and said, ”My lord, it is you who killed General Xia Hou.”
Ning Que said, ”So what?”
The shopkeeper explained obediently, ”Because you killed the Empress' strongest helper. As the representative of the Academy, you support the Princess. So Qinghe County wants to make their stance using this chance.”
Hearing the manager's words, Ning Que fell into silence. And then he shook his head and said, ”The Headmaster has said that I am writing my own story and I don't like this boring plot. So I want to solve this as soon as possible. The question is when did the families start these lame things?”
He asked for calligraphy stationery and wrote a short letter.
”Send the letter to the Cui's Elderly Master. I really want to know whether those families are trying to help Li Yu by means of the Academy or they want to do something else by means of Li Yu's power.”
”I'm not sure what I will do if they are really plotting something.”
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