Chapter 554: Chapter 546: Her Mouth is Sweet but Poisonous
Shengjing was rife with nobles as numerous as cow hair. Although Teng Tianhan helped with the matchmaking and business, Qin Liuxi was willing to take on the tasks himself, but one couldn’t just go without consideration, especially since the other party was Teng Tianhan’s superior, An Jiantong from the Ministry of Justice, and the incident involved Lord An’s youngest son, An Yi.
Thus, Teng Tianhan first sent word to An Residence, intending to bring Qin Liuxi over the next day, but to his surprise, An Residence was more eager than he expected and came to fetch him personally.
To show their importance, the one who came was An Hao, the eldest son of An Residence, already in his thirties. He sported a handsome mustache and dressed the part of a proper gentleman, his body seemingly dowsed with a bottle of perfume, emitting a very strong fragrance.
The Old Lady from Lin Xiang’s family was saved by a young doctor, and An Residence had also heard of it. Teng Tianhan also mentioned that Qin Liuxi was that young doctor, a bona fide Taoist skilled in expelling evil.
Because An Hao had been informed, he was still surprised when he actually saw Qin Liuxi. He really was young, even bringing along a disciple, who was the son of Mr. Teng.
Upon boarding the carriage, An Hao couldn’t help but ask Teng Tianhan how he could bear to let his eldest son take on the path of enlightenment.
Teng Tianhan: Don’t ask. If you ask, it’s because he was swayed by sweet talk.
When Qin Liuxi, with Teng Zhao, entered the carriage of An Residence, and the carriage door closed, he glanced at the street corner being swept up in a gust of dust.
The sound of horse hooves rang out. Someone was riding a horse and driving it to run swiftly.
It was just an unintentional glance, vaguely familiar.
It was like recognizing a well-known pedigree hound, racing towards them.
Mu Xi caught nothing.
Angered, she kicked the body of the horse: Running so slow, and you call yourself a Ferghana horse, pah, what use are you?
Ferghana horse: Life is hard for a horse.
Qi Qian arrived too, his brows furrowing upon seeing his future brother-in-law.
"Why are you here?" Mu Xi, puffing with anger, raised her eyebrows when she saw Qi Qian.
Qi Qian dismounted from his horse: "Looking for someone."
"Looking for who?"
Qi Qian, instead of answering, asked: "Why are you here at this time?"
"None of your business!" Mu Xi proudly raised her head, taking a brief look before her gaze fell on the liquor store diagonally opposite Jiuxuan Auction Hall, and she led her people over.
She couldn’t enter Jiuxuan Auction Hall and didn’t dare to cause a scene, but if she staked out at this liquor store, she would eventually catch the little god stick when he returned, right?
Qi Qian frowned as he watched the Little Overlord enter the liquor store and ordered Ying Bei to knock on the door.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the doorkeeper opened the door and before Ying Bei could speak, he said: "Looking for Master Buqiu? She’s not here, please return."
Ying Bei: "..."
Qi Qian looked thoughtfully towards the liquor store.
Inside the auction house’s backyard, Feng Mou let out a heavy hum, musing over how many flies, no, rather how many bees and butterflies this little ancestor had attracted while he was away.
...
An Residence.
Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Lord An did not go out and showed a smile when he saw Teng Tianhan, calling him by his courtesy name: "Thank you, Yun Ya, for making the connection."
Teng Tianhan cupped his hands together and thought to himself that the incense in Lord An’s place might be a bit too strong, but he didn’t pay it much attention.
"It’s a coincidence. My son’s master has come to the capital, or else I would not have been able to make this connection. But we are both oblivious to the situation and unsure if we can be of any help."
This was a disclaimer said upfront – in case Qin Liuxi couldn’t handle it, they would have an out.
Lord An looked somewhat worried and weary but forced a smile: "It’s fine, you have my gratitude."
He looked at the pair of children behind him. His mustache-covered mouth twitched slightly; they were too young, even younger than his legitimate eldest grandson.
Teng Tianhan stepped aside slightly, and seeing Qin Liuxi looking around in all directions, felt somewhat strange.
Although she grew up in the Daoist Temple as a female practitioner, she knew proper etiquette. Her looking around everywhere – was she appreciating the An Residence’s wealth, or was it something else?
Lord An is a scholar official who passed the imperial examination, yet he married a woman from the Imperial Family, the virtuous Commandery Princess. Even the current An Residence was in fact the Princess Manor, and when the princess married into the family, she had a wedding procession that stretched for miles. She was also skilled at management. Since her marriage, she had doubled her dowry.
Born into distinction and enjoying luxury and wealth, and possessing silver, the Commandery Princess was never one to short-change herself. Thus, the layout of the An Residence was both exquisite and grand, with every potted plant and lawn meticulously groomed.
That’s why Teng Tianhan dared to say the reward for this job was generous – they are indeed the ones with money to spare. And An Yi, being the Commandery Princess’s and Lord An’s youngest son, might be a spoiled playboy, but he is dearly loved. If this problem can be resolved, the benefits would surely be great.
Teng Tianhan cleared his throat and introduced: "Junior Temple Master, this is Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Lord An."
Qin Liuxi withdrew her gaze from a spot in the An Residence and looked towards Lord An, performing a Taoist ceremony: "Infinite Heavenly Venerate." Knowing he was probing, she did not beat around the bush and pointed to the northwest corner: "Over there, is that where Young Master An’s quarters are?"
Lord An and An Hao looked in the direction she was pointing, their hearts jolting. The older man hadn’t reacted yet, but An Hao couldn’t help but speak up: "How did you know?"
Even if Teng Tianhan had visited the residence before, he wouldn’t know where An Yi’s quarters were, so there was no way he could have told her.
"Since Mr. Teng mentioned the strange incident involving Young Master An, I’ve observed the entire An Residence’s feng shui and Qi Fortune arrangement on my way in. That area alone has a greyish-black aura above it. Isn’t that where Young Master An resides?" Qin Liuxi stood with her hands behind her back and said: "Let’s go and check out what kind of evil is causing trouble."
An Hao and his father exchanged a glance, swallowing nervously. An Hao led the way and asked nonchalantly: "Junior Temple Master, can you also observe Qi? Does the grey-black color represent something bad?"
Lord An followed a step behind, seemingly indifferent but his ears perked up, listening to the conversation ahead.
Qin Liuxi replied: "Grey and black represent gloominess and darkness, signifying bad luck, evil spirits, or even yin energy, naturally it’s not good. For example, all of you are surrounded by red auspicious energy, beginning with a prosperous official position supplemented by boosted Qi Fortune. You attain achievements while serving as officials, seeking welfare for the people and the dynasty, bringing merit with auspicious energy, naturally bringing good fortune."
Listen, isn’t this praising them for being good officials?
Oh, such flattering is really a comfort to hear.
Lord An and the rest straightened their spines – being officials, of course, meant that they should seek prosperity for the common people, which is why they pursued their studies.
"As for Young Master An, I don’t mean to be negative, but since his quarters are the only place with the bad aura, it can only mean that he has committed some misdeed or is courting trouble by attracting things he shouldn’t have." Qin Liuxi added, "Furthermore, whatever he has invited in seems to be reasonable, knowing who to take revenge on. If you encountered one that doesn’t reason, then this bad aura would have spread throughout the residence, and none of you living here would be at ease."
Everyone: Whether her heart is dark is another matter, but her words are sweet and poisonous!
Qin Liuxi kept talking as she walked forward, and soon they arrived at the courtyard. An Hao pushed open the door, and Qin Liuxi, who was faced with the smell head-on, covered her nose, retreated a few steps, and retched.
Infinite Heavenly Venerate, my goodness, has this courtyard been manured? It stinks!