Nightwatcher

# 235. Hengyuan: Three, I've Known Your True Identity Long Ago

… Emperor Yuanjing’s words choked in his mouth; he was completely caught off guard by Xu Qi’an’s response.

Usually, when he was difficult, officials would plead, "Your Majesty, I beg for retirement," which was a standard tactic of seasoned bureaucrats. But this little Bronze Gong was even more straightforward—he asked for death.

Emperor Yuanjing's face instantly darkened. Rulers often used harsh words to assert their authority, whether it was an emperor or a county magistrate, they liked to say, "Do this for me, or else I'll (We’ll) have you dealt with severely."

This was not unusual; after all, the hierarchy was clear, and ministers and subordinates could only accept orders and obediently comply.

But who would have thought that this Bronze Gong would dare to push back, making Emperor Yuanjing feel uncomfortable.

Especially seeing the significant changes in Xu Qi'an, Emperor Yuanjing was even more displeased, though at the same time he sighed at the extraordinary power of the Pill of Rebirth, this rare miracle medicine.

So difficult to make that in sixty years the Jianzheng had only managed to produce three.

Emperor Yuanjing sternly asked, "Xu Qi'an, do you think we won’t kill you?"

Emperor Yuanjing had ruled for thirty-six years, and his imperial might was overwhelming. The air in the Imperial Study seemed to grow colder, causing the eunuchs present to immediately lower their heads, not daring to look at the dragon visage.

The only one who could remain composed in the emperor's presence was Wei Yuan.

Xu Qi'an naturally wouldn’t continue to push back. Without any fear in his heart, he immediately shifted from his aggressive stance to a more submissive one, saying in a humble tone:

“Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your humble servant fought to protect the Provincial Governor in Yunzhou, battling the rebel army and personally killing two of their commanders.

“Your humble servant worked tirelessly in Yunzhou, uncovering the collusion between the Provincial Administrator Song Changfu and the Church of the Warlock God, and clearing the name of Commander Yang Chuannan.

“All these things are insignificant, and your humble servant would never bring them up to claim credit. As for the Sangpo Case and the Pingyang Princess Case, your humble servant has long forgotten and will never bring them up again.

"However, your servant’s vitality is greatly diminished, and his spirit is weakened. Since waking up, he has often suffered from severe headaches and are truly incapable of assisting Your Majesty further."

Emperor Yuanjing stared at him, for a moment unable to say anything harsh.

This little Bronze Gong deliberately mentioned a whole series of cases to emphasise his achievements, first securing his position as a meritorious official, and then citing his physical ailments to avoid further responsibilities, demonstrating his deep understanding of court politics.

Wei Yuan immediately spoke up, "Your Majesty, Xu Qi'an is just a Bronze Gong. Even if he is exceptionally capable, his vitality, Qi, and spirit is severely depleted. His life may be of little consequence, however delaying the investigation and leaving Consort Fu’s case unresolved would be a serious matter."

After a pause, he looked at Xu Qi'an and said, "You may go back and rest. His Majesty will not send an underfed soldier into battle."

*The emperor does not send underfed soldiers...*

Emperor Yuanjing glanced at Wei Yuan, pondered for a moment, and said, “Xu Qi'an, the Sitianjian has many prescriptions for nourishing the spirit. Lingbao Temple also has no shortage of spiritual pills. If you are unwell, we can grant you some of these medicines.

"We remember your contributions in Yunzhou and am considering bestowing upon you the title of Viscount. The imperial grace is vast; do not disappoint it."

In the end, Xu Qi'an was just a minor figure, not worth Emperor Yuanjing's deliberate targeting. When the cabinet proposed revoking the title, Emperor Yuanjing went along with it. But now that Xu Qi'an was needed, Emperor Yuanjing didn’t mind offering some rewards. Though, he was very clear; he had been outmanoeuvred.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your boundless grace. Your Majesty is wise and mighty, a monarch for the ages," Xu Qi'an loudly declared.

Emperor Yuanjing nodded slightly, "I want the truth of this case as soon as possible."

"Your humble servant will do his utmost until his death."

Seeing the Bronze Gong being so tactful, Emperor Yuanjing felt somewhat satisfied and casually dismissed him, "You may withdraw."

...

As they left the Imperial Study and walked across the empty square, Wei Yuan squinted, looking straight ahead with a faint smile, "Did you learn something?"

"I did," Xu Qi'an replied.

He had genuinely learned something, not like in his school days when the teacher would ask, "Have you all understood?" and all the students would loudly reply, "Yes!" while actually understanding nothing.

The lesson Wei Yuan wanted to teach was simple: the emperor is also human, the emperor has weaknesses, and the emperor is bound by rules, unable to act arbitrarily and recklessly.

At the same time, the emperor is not omnipotent; he also has needs. As long as you possess something the emperor "needs," there is a lot of room for maneuver.

Take this case, for instance. The three departments were all shirking responsibility and delaying the investigation. What could Emperor Yuanjing do? At most, he could impose punishments, but he couldn’t truly dismiss or execute them.

In such a situation, Xu Qi'an, who had solved several major cases and offended many officials, was the perfect candidate to investigate.

Since the emperor wanted to use you, it was necessary to reasonably negotiate benefits for yourself.

And once he became a Viscount, Xu Qi'an could make a symbolic effort, but failing to solve the case due to "insufficient ability" would still be reasonable.

After all, he wasn’t a celestial.

At that point, Emperor Yuanjing's anger would be expected, but as a Viscount, Xu Qi'an would at most face some punishment, such as flogging, salary reduction, or even demotion.

However, a noble title is not something that can be taken away easily. It is a means for the court to win people's hearts and can only be granted to those who have made great contributions.

Accordingly, the conditions for stripping a noble title are also strict; it cannot be revoked just because the emperor says so. Otherwise, the title would be too cheap and would not command respect.

As for whether Emperor Yuanjing would go back on his word, neither Xu Qi'an nor Wei Yuan had considered it. A dignified emperor would not be so shameless. Even if Emperor Yuanjing wanted to renege, Xu Qi'an could still stall the investigation.

For every tactic, there is a counter-tactic.

"Sir Xu, please wait."

A shrill voice called from behind.

Xu Qi'an and Wei Yuan stopped and turned around. It was the old eunuch by Emperor Yuanjing's side, running up with a gold token in his hand.

"This is the gold token bestowed by His Majesty. Sir Xu can enter the palace to investigate at any time, but you must be accompanied by a palace attendant." The old eunuch presented the gold token.

Xu Qi'an took it and weighed it in his hand. It was quite hefty.

This gold token was different from the one he had received before. The front of this token had an additional character “Inner” [内], signifying that it allowed him to move within the inner palace, a level higher than before.

"Thank you, milord," Xu Qi'an cupped his hands.

The old eunuch nodded and said no more, turning to leave.

"Wait a moment, milord." Xu Qi'an called after him.

The old eunuch turned back.

"His Majesty's grace is boundless. I will begin the investigation today. Please may milord assign a palace attendant to assist me," Xu Qi'an said.

A palace attendant was the lowest rank among the eunuchs... in fact even using the term "eunuch" wasn’t accurate; eunuchs had positions and titles.

A palace attendant was the lowest rank... essentially the one who cleaned up after others.

The old eunuch appreciated Xu Qi'an's enthusiasm for his work, and his smile deepened as he asked, "If I may ask, Sir Xu, where do you plan to start?"

Xu Qi'an grinned, "I'll start with Princess Lin'an."

The old eunuch returned to the Imperial Study, and shortly after, a young eunuch hurried out to greet Wei Yuan and Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an nodded, escorted Wei Yuan to the palace gates, and then, accompanied by the palace attendant, headed towards Princess Lin'an's Shaoyin Courtyard.

…

Shaoyin Courtyard.

In the desolate back garden, Lin'an sat in a pavilion, staring blankly at the still pond.

The pond had frozen over the previous night, and now, under the warm sunlight, it was gradually thawing, with only a few patches of floating ice remaining.

In just five days, Lin'an had grown noticeably thinner; even her once plump, oval face now seemed a bit gaunt. Her peach blossom eyes, which had once been bright and slightly dreamy, always casting enchanting glances at everyone, now lacked their former sparkle.

From a young age, except for being beaten up by Huaiqing, she had always been carefree and favored by fate.

Because Emperor Yuanjing had devoted himself to cultivation early on, he did not have particularly many children, hence the infighting among the princes and princesses wasn't as fierce as it could have been.

Moreover, with her elder brother as the Crown Prince and her own coquettish charm, she had always had a smooth ride.

But the continuous stream of bad news in recent days had deeply troubled her, leaving her devastated.

Earlier today, she had cried her heart out in front of her mother, both mother and daughter worrying about the Crown Prince's future. After returning, Lin'an had sat in the pavilion, lost in thought.

*If it were Huaiqing, she would undoubtedly be incredibly strong, the kind of woman who wouldn’t be defeated by anything... big brother would definitely not do such a thing, but who would frame him... The Fourth Prince, Huaiqing's full brother?*

This thought suddenly flashed through Lin'an's mind.

Although she wasn't as smart as Huaiqing, was poor at studying, and needed the tutor to threaten her with a bamboo rod before she would grudgingly recite a few scriptures through tears, she wasn't stupid. Given her conviction that her elder brother was innocent, it didn't take much thinking to figure out that the biggest beneficiary if the Crown Prince were deposed would be the most suspicious.

With this thought, Lin'an's eyes regained a bit of their former brightness as she began to think more deeply, pondering over many questions.

For instance, how did the Fourth Prince secretly kill Consort Fu and frame her elder brother? Who were his accomplices—the Empress? Huaiqing?

And so on.

But the more she thought, the more confused she became, until her thoughts were in such a tangle that she frustratingly smacked her own head.

“If only he were here, he would definitely solve the case in no time,” Lin'an stamped her foot in frustration.

But the next moment, her face fell, her eyebrows drooping as she lost her spirit.

But... he’s not here anymore.

“Your Highness, Your Highness.”

A guard with a sword hurried over, stopping at the pavilion to bow. “Bronze Gong Xu Qi’an requests an audience… He’s waiting in the front courtyard.”

Lin'an reacted as if someone had struck her. She was stunned for three or four seconds before suddenly standing up and striding over to the guard, glaring at him with her beautiful eyes.

“What did you say?”

“Bronze Gong Xu Qi’an requests an audience,” the guard repeated.

Blood rushed to Lin'an's face as she flew into a rage, yanking the guard's sword from its scabbard and gritting her teeth.

“You dog! How dare you play tricks on me? The Crown Prince hasn't been deposed yet!”

Her real anger was fueled by the fact that the guard had dared to make a joke about Xu Qi’an.

The guard quickly retreated, thinking it would be terribly unjust if he got slashed for this. As he backed away, he explained, “It really is Sir Xu. He’s right in the front courtyard. Your Highness will see him for yourself.”

Lin'an didn’t even drop the sword as she hurried towards the front courtyard.

From a distance, Xu Qi’an was the first to spot the furious, sword-wielding Lin'an. Seeing her charging like she was ready for battle, he was taken aback.

_I barely made it back from the brink of death, sis are you planning to send me right back?_

He quickly stowed away the little trinket he had prepared to amuse her and hid behind a rockery.

“Where is Xu Qi’an, where is Xu Qi’an?”

Lin'an looked around the front courtyard with the sword in hand, but she didn't see the familiar figure. Her bright eyes gradually dimmed.

“Your Highness, Sir Xu is behind the rockery,” whispered the eunuch that came with him.

Lin'an’s peach blossom eyes instantly lit up again as she eagerly walked towards the rockery. Sure enough, she saw... Xu Qi’an?

She hesitated. The person before her was handsome and robust, with strong brows and bright eyes, a tall nose, and sharply defined lips.

Then, her attention was caught by the two puppets Xu Qi’an was holding—a man and a woman. The woman was dressed as a noble lady, and the man was an imposing general in armour.

Xu Qi’an cleared his throat and manipulated the general, making it speak in a deep voice, “Your Highness, I’ve returned after having my face redone in Korea.”

Then, he switched to a high-pitched voice for the lady, “Where is Korea?”

General: “Oh, it’s Yunzhou. I misspoke.”

Lady: “Didn’t you die in Yunzhou?”

General: “I did die, but because I was thinking of Your Highness, I moved the King of Hell to let me return.”

Lady: “Oh, you’re so annoying.”

Lin'an found this amusing and burst out laughing, only to suddenly feel something cold on her face. Unknowingly, tears had started rolling down her cheeks.

Feeling embarrassed, she quickly turned away and angrily explained, “The wind is a bit strong today, blowing sand into my eyes.”

As a lively, coquettish girl who loved to pout, Lin'an was easily taken in by such antics. Lacking any romantic experience, her ability to spot such lowly tactics was poor, making her a prime target for charmers.

Of course, Xu Qi’an was definitely not one of those.

Xu Qi’an laughed, “How strange, the sand only got into Your Highness’s eyes. Could it be because Your Highness is so beautiful?”

Caught out, Lin'an snapped angrily, “You running dog.”

“I’m not a running dog.”

“You are a running dog, Running Dog Xu Qi’an.”

“Dog-sun Lin'an.”

“Dog- dog what?” Princess Lin'an didn’t know “sun” was a verb.[^1]

“Nothing,” Xu Qi’an took advantage of her not knowing the vocabulary.

“Did you just insult me?” Lin'an demanded, her face stern.

“No, that was just me expressing my deepest hopes for Your Highness,” Xu Qi’an replied, dead serious.

Coming out from behind the rockery, Biaobiao returned the sword to the guard and led Xu Qi'an into the hall. The servant following them shot a strange look at the Second Princess.

The Second Princess's beautiful, lively eyes were red and swollen, clearly showing she had just cried.

After they took their seats, palace maids served tea and snacks. Xu Qi'an waved his hand dismissively and said, "Little eunuch, you may leave. The princess and I have a private matter to discuss."

"This..." The young eunuch hesitated.

"Get out, shoo shoo shoo!" Biaobiao's willow-like brows furrowed, and she sharply scolded, "We have words to speak with Sir Xu. Who are you to eavesdrop? Believe me, I’ll have you dragged out and flogged a hundred times."

The young eunuch had no choice but to leave.

"Why is he following you? And how did you come back alive? Didn't Huaiqing say you were dead?" Biaobiao asked, watching the eunuch's retreating figure cross the threshold and disappear, before turning her gaze back to Xu Qi'an, a smile forming on her pretty face.

"He's here to keep an eye on me," Xu Qi'an replied, sipping some hot tea and nibbling on a pastry. He had waited in the imperial study for over two hours, missing lunch.

"As for how I survived, that's a long story..."

He began recounting the events of the Yunzhou case to the Lin'an Princess, slightly modifying the details. Of course, he wasn't making things up—just embellishing his role and downplaying the contributions of others.

Biaobiao loved listening to stories. Immediately, she was engrossed, and gradually she felt as if she was living the tale herself. When Xu Qi'an explained how he stayed up all night to solve the puzzle left by the secret agent Zhou Min, her small hand slapped the table hard, and she loudly praised him.

She leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand, and listened intently.

Xu Qi'an discreetly glanced at the princess's chest and couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. Compared to her elder sister, Lin'an was still lacking.

A woman who can't make the table bear the pressure wasn't a good woman.

When she heard about the female ghost trying to seduce Xu Qi'an and his companions, with two of his colleagues falling under her spell while Xu Qi'an resisted through sheer willpower, Biaobiao expressed her admiration, praising him: "As expected of someone I value highly. When I first saw you, I knew you were no ordinary person."

Xu Qi'an thanked her highness for her discerning eye, while inwardly he mocked, *Weren't you just trying to recruit me to compete with Huaiqing?*

Finally, Xu Qi'an began to describe his solo confrontation with thousands of soldiers, how he was surrounded by countless enemies, facing a rain of arrows and a forest of spears, yet didn't retreat a single step, cutting down two hundred foes before reinforcements arrived.

Biaobiao was moved to tears, her nose turning red from crying.

"Your Highness, you should have seen the scene at the time. With one shout, I terrified the thousand rebel soldiers. They only fought me because they had no choice. If I hadn't been in a bad state then, none of them would have survived."

Biaobiao nodded vigorously, fully believing him.

After all, she had heard about Xu Qi'an's deeds from her royal brother before. Everyone said Xu Qi'an had heroically sacrificed himself, saving the Inspector and the Gold Gong from the Nightwatchers.

Having finished his boast, Xu Qi'an remembered the main issue and said, "By the way, I'm here this time under the Emperor's orders to thoroughly investigate Consort Fu's case."

Biaobiao's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said joyfully, "I knew it! You're back, and now you can clear my brother the Crown Prince's name."

"I will always serve you, Princess, as your most loyal servant," Xu Qi'an said sincerely, boosting his favor with Lin'an.

"I have a few questions for you, Princess. What did Consort Fu look like?"

"Naturally, she was very beautiful."

*The Emperor really wasted a treasure...* Xu Qi'an thought to himself and then asked, "Is the Crown Prince a womaniser?"

"Of course not," Lin'an denied immediately. "Other than the Crown Prince’s main consort, he only has sixteen other consorts, concubines, and maids combined."

"......"

*It turns out I'm a truly good man. The ultimate good man is me, and I am Xu Qi'an!* Xu Qi’an thought.

"Has he ever caused trouble while drunk?"

"No."

"What kind of wine was he drinking?"

"Bairichun, a wine known to boost virility. It was sent by the Empress to my mother. Do you think she framed him?" Lin'an whispered.

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment and said, "I understand."

Lin'an was overjoyed and asked in a sweet voice, "What do you understand? Xu Ningyan, have you solved the case?"

……

The Xu Manor.

Exhausted, Xu Xinnian didn't immediately return to the academy. Today was the 10th of February, and with the imperial exams only five days away, there was really no need to return.

These days, he stayed at home, waiting for the exams to arrive.

After lunch, he helped his father, Xu Pingzhi, see off the Xu clan members. Xu Xinnian, drained both mentally and physically, had no desire to study. He only wanted to go back to his room and sleep.

But then, Old Zhang from the gate hurriedly ran in, saying, "Erlang, there's a monk outside who calls himself Hengyuan and wants to see you."

"Hengyuan?" Xu Erlang frowned, feeling the name was familiar but not recalling where he had heard it.

As a disciple of Confucianism, he didn't believe in Buddhism and had no connections with the Buddhist house.

"He also said he's an acquaintance of yours," Old Zhang added.

Xu Erlang snorted and looked at Xu Pingzhi. "Father, perhaps he's here to offer funeral services after hearing of our mourning. You should prepare some copper coins to send him away. I’m going to rest."

Old Zhang took a silver coin and went out of the mansion, handing it to the burly middle-aged monk. "Master, the household doesn't need any rites. Please take your leave."

Master Hengyuan waved his hand, saying, "I am not here to solicit alms." But he still took the silver coin, adding, "Is the second young master really not going to see me?"

*What's wrong with Number Three?*

Even though they had never met in person, the monk had helped him multiple times, and with his brother Xu Qi'an's connection, regardless of the circumstances, he should at least meet him and pay his respects, especially if this could be his last chance to see Xu Qi'an.

*Hmm, he might still be trying to keep his identity secret, thinking I haven't realised who he truly is, so he's pretending not to know me?*

*Hmph, he's underestimating my wisdom.*

Master Hengyuan pressed his palms together, bowed slightly, then stepped aside. He pulled out the fragment of the Earth Book from his robe and, using his finger as a pen, sent a message:

【Daoist Jinlian, could you block the others? I have something to say to Number Three.】

---

[^1]: “Sun” 日 (Slang, vb) to Fuck