"Qin Lou! That's exactly what I just told you," Shen Huaian exclaimed excitedly as he whispered to Song Yan.
Song Yan knew exactly what was on his mind. Shen Huaian simply wanted him to see the beauty he had been raving about.
However, Song Yan also had some understanding of the affairs in the government. Although the Investigation Department was established by the emperor specifically to handle difficult and mysterious cases, it was still directly under the emperor's command.
They didn't take on just any random case, but that was in the past. It all started half a month ago.
Half a month ago, Lord Zhao from the government went to the emperor to complain, saying that the government didn't have enough manpower and there were too many cases during this period.
Seeing that the Investigation Department had solved the long - troubled serial case and its members were idle, he thought it would be a good idea to assign some cases to them.
Song Yan didn't know what to say at that time. He had heard about the cases in the government, but they were all trivial matters.
There were cases like someone occupying another's stall or petty thefts in someone's mansion. These cases were easy to solve, but there were just too many of them.
To say that they were too busy to handle these cases was an exaggeration. Although Song Yan was complaining in his heart, he was always taciturn in such situations.
Moreover, Song Yan believed that the emperor would never let the Investigation Department handle these trivial cases. But as the saying goes, one should not be too confident.
Take the emperor's next decision for example.
To Song Yan's surprise, in the end, the emperor got tired of Lord Zhao's whining and waved his hand in agreement.
Since then, whenever the government found a case too troublesome after investigating for a while, they would hand it over to the Investigation Department.
The constables sent each time were different, leaving Song Yan at a loss for words.
Even if Song Yan went to talk to Lord Zhao about this, the latter would always use the emperor's words to evade the issue.
Song Yan really suffered a silent loss this time.
Unable to vent his anger, he went straight to the person who had made this decision.
When he arrived, the emperor was painting in the palace. Without even raising his head, he was looking intently at the portrait of the empress he was painting. Seeing that Song Yan didn't say anything, the emperor calmly said, "It's really a wonder that you, Minister Song, could hold your tongue for so long."
The emperor's words clearly showed that he knew Song Yan would come sooner or later, which also indicated that the decision he had made was not going to be changed.
After all, he had anticipated this situation from the moment he gave his consent.
Song Yan understood this in his heart, but he was just a bit reluctant. Lord Zhao had dumped eight out of ten cases on the Investigation Department. The workload was heavy, but the salary was low.
He knew that the emperor would not change his decision when he came this time. His main purpose was actually to get a salary increase.
Originally, because the Investigation Department had fewer cases, their salaries were lower than those in the government. There had never been a good reason to mention it to the emperor before, but now it was a perfect opportunity.
But he couldn't just come out and say it directly. He had to be a bit more tactful.
So he bowed and said, "Lord Zhao has assigned too many cases to the Investigation Department recently. We are short - handed. I just think this situation can't go on like this."
"Then, according to Minister Song, how should this matter be resolved?" Qing Jing added a touch of spirit to the empress's eyes in the painting and looked at the just - completed portrait.
The empress in the painting looked so lifelike that it seemed as if she could step out of the painting. Qing Jing was in a great mood and thought that he must show this painting to the empress immediately. So he waved his hand and ordered a eunuch to send the painting to the empress's palace.
Because of his good mood, his words were spoken in a light tone.
As long as the emperor was in a good mood, it meant there was room for negotiation. Song Yan thought there was hope and said, "I've been thinking about this for a while. How about asking Lord Zhao to take back some of the cases and not push everything onto the Investigation Department? Or we could get a salary increase to recruit more people."
Song Yan's words were neither over - humble nor over - assertive, as if he had really thought about this matter for a long time. The solution he proposed was quite reasonable. Now it was up to the emperor's decision.
Qing Jing put the writing brush on the table. After listening to Song Yan's words, he lowered his head and thought for a while, then slapped the table and said, "I think Minister Song's words make sense."
"Then the salary increase..." Song Yan thought the salary increase was a done deal after hearing the emperor's words, but the emperor's next words shattered his expectations.
"It's true that Lord Zhao should take back some of the cases. The Investigation Department has limited manpower. How can they always handle such trivial matters?"
"This..."
Song Yan was stunned. He didn't expect the emperor to say such a thing. He had thought that the salary increase was a sure thing, but the emperor's way of thinking was so strange that he just couldn't keep up.
Qing Jing rolled up his sleeves and walked up to him. He reached out and gently patted Song Yan's shoulder. It was rare for the emperor to show a smile in front of him. It seemed that the painting he had just finished was really successful.
But every time the emperor looked at him with a smile like this, Song Yan always felt a bit uncomfortable, because usually the emperor showed a rather irritable side.
"I think what Minister Song said just now makes some sense. Well, I'll have a good talk with Lord Zhao later and ask him not to assign all the cases to you. How about that?"
"But..." Song Yan still wanted to argue for something, but Qing Jing reached out and pressed his shoulder, and his tone became solemn.
"Minister Song." Qing Jing's voice suddenly became solemn, and Song Yan stopped speaking and quietly listened to what the emperor was going to say next.
"The way of being an official is to achieve mutual benefit. Although the Investigation Department was established by me, there are indeed times when you are too idle. This will inevitably be criticized by others. In that case, I won't be able to say much and will only reduce the expenses of the Investigation Department."
Qing Jing paused at this point, removed his hand from Song Yan's shoulder, tilted his head to look at the pattern on the carpet, and said in a calm tone, "Now Lord Yang proposed this to relieve your burden. Let's just let this matter go. I'll just give Lord Yang a few words of advice later. Do you still have any objections?"
Qing Jing said the last sentence very slowly. He rolled up his sleeves and looked in Song Yan's direction, slightly narrowing his eyes, showing a gaze like a tiger waiting for an opportunity.
Song Yan naturally understood what the emperor meant. There was no room for negotiation on this matter.
Moreover, if he said more, it would only make both of them unhappy.
Song Yan didn't say much more. Since it was useless to say anything now, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty is right. I have no objections."
"Yo, is Your Majesty still discussing official business?"
Just when the atmosphere between the two was getting awkward, the door of the main hall was pushed open, and a woman in gorgeous clothes walked in gracefully. Her slender eyebrows were slightly frowned, and the fragrance of the sachet on her waist could be smelled from afar.
A soaring phoenix was embroidered on her bright yellow dress. It looked so lifelike that it seemed as if it could soar into the sky at any moment. The phoenix hairpin in her hair made a crisp sound as she moved. A eunuch was following behind her, and his head was covered in sweat at this moment.
Seeing the emperor and Song Yan, the eunuch immediately knelt on the ground and tremblingly begged for mercy, "Your Majesty, please spare my life. It was the empress who insisted on coming in. I couldn't stop her..."
Seeing this, Qing Jing frowned. His anger flared up, and he raised his hand to pick up an object beside him and throw it at the kneeling eunuch, but the empress reached out and stopped him.
"Your Majesty, don't blame Changping. It was me who insisted on coming in. If you want to blame someone, blame me," the empress said softly as she took the object from Qing Jing's hand and put it aside.
Hearing the empress's words, Qing Jing's anger suddenly disappeared. He gently patted the back of the empress's hand and said, "I won't blame you. I'm just angry that he dared to stop you on his own initiative. As long as the empress wants to come, she can come here at any time."
...
Song Yan thought there was no need for him to stay any longer. The emperor and the empress would always be very affectionate when they were together, so he bowed and left.
Qing Jing didn't care. He waved his hand and let him go.
"Why did you suddenly come today?"
"Just now, the painting Your Majesty sent to Ganlu Hall was seen by the imperial concubine. She said she felt very jealous when she saw it, so she begged me to come and tell Your Majesty. Look, I even brought the imperial concubine with me," the empress said with a smile as she waved in the direction outside the hall. "Imperial Concubine, come in quickly."
As soon as she finished speaking, the imperial concubine slowly walked in. Her almond - shaped eyes were lowered, and there was a small tear mole at the corner of her eye. Her black hair was coiled into a bun, and the hairpins on it made a tinkling sound as she moved.
She was wearing the most popular Wanyu makeup at that time. There were lotus flowers embroidered on her green dress. She just passed by Song Yan when she walked in.
Song Yan wasn't sure if he was overthinking it, but there seemed to be a faint lotus pattern on her wrist.
But it was just a passing encounter, and Song Yan didn't dare to look closely at the people in the harem, so he walked out of the palace directly.
"Song Yan? Director Song?"
Shen Huaian's voice pulled Song Yan out of his memories. He suddenly came back to his senses. Looking at the constable in front of him, he replied, "I know. Go back and tell Lord Yang that we'll take this case."
"Thank you, Director," the constable said and left immediately without even stopping for a moment, for fear that Song Yan would change his mind if he walked too slowly.
Shen Huaian walked to a chair and sat down. He took a sip of tea and complained on Song Yan's behalf, "Lord Yang is really not being nice. The emperor said before that he shouldn't assign everything to you, but he just dumped all the difficult cases on you. He easily solved the remaining small cases and still got a higher salary."
"Alright, there's nothing we can do about it. Get ready to go to Qin Lou. Let's see what kind of beauty you've been boasting about as if she's the only one in the world," Song Yan said slowly as he pulled his thoughts back and straightened his robe.
Hearing this, Shen Huaian was overjoyed. He jumped up and clapped his hands, smiling and saying, "How about inviting Teacher Ye too?"
"What for?" Song Yan's reaction was quite strong when he heard Ye Zhiqiu's name. He almost blurted out the question without thinking.
Seeing Song Yan's strong reaction, Shen Huaian spread his hands and said, "It's nothing. You have the same goal. Anyway, the Intelligence Pavilion is inside Qin Lou. It would be good for the two of you to investigate together. Besides, more people means more fun."
...
"Alright. I ran into Teacher Ye when I came here before, and I just mentioned it casually. We should be able to meet him at the entrance of Qin Lou," Shen Huaian couldn't hold it in under Song Yan's gaze and told the truth. Song Yan didn't know what to say to him for a moment.
"Qin Lou is a place of pleasure. You want Teacher Ye to go there... This..." Song Yan was so anxious that he stuttered. He really couldn't imagine what Ye Zhiqiu, who was always so cold, would look like in such a place.
Moreover, Ye Zhiqiu's image didn't seem like someone who would go to such a place at all.
But Shen Huaian didn't think that much about it. He spread his hands, looking as if Song Yan had no way to deal with it, and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. I've already said it anyway."
... "Forget it." Song Yan wanted to say something else, but the words got stuck in his throat. Finally, he said this sentence weakly.
"Come on, stop being so entangled, Director Song. Hurry up. You can just protect Teacher Ye," Shen Huaian was still his optimistic self. He pushed the helpless Song Yan out with a smile.