The situation took a rapid turn. In front of everyone, Shan Chenkuai poured the snow into a wooden basin. Then he took out a fire starter from his bosom, lit it, and held it close to the snow.
Right before everyone's eyes, the pile of snow burst into fierce flames.
Everyone was greatly shocked. King Xia Jie, sitting on his dragon sedan, pursed his lips in silence.
Shan Chenkuai further explained that the snow was smeared with saltpeter and sulfur. Its origin was unknown, as if someone had deliberately thrown it down the cliff.
Everyone knew that above the cliff was the Golden Summit Temple on the Three Saints Mountain.
Gu Mingde, who had already been scared out of his wits, couldn't even speak now. Earlier, when Xia Yonglin conspired with him, he had been told to dispose of the snow as soon as possible. But for the sake of convenience, he simply had the snow thrown down the cliff and then went to the brothel to seek pleasure. Who would have thought that because he hadn't handled it properly, once the snow was discovered, would they trace the clues back to the golden statue?!
Thinking of this, Gu Mingde looked up in a hurry at Xia Yonglin standing not far ahead. He saw that Xia Yonglin was looking at the burning snow in the wooden basin in shock. Then, with a sudden turn of his eyes, he glared at Gu Mingde with murderous intent.
Gu Mingde knew that he was finished. He knelt on the ground, trembling all over and his teeth chattering. He had never been talented. If it weren't for Xia Yonglin's continuous promotion, he would never have been able to hold the position of the chief clerk in the Minister of Justice's Office. So now he didn't know what to say at all.
At the right moment, Shen Shiqiu stepped forward and submitted another memorial, stating that Gu Mingde was not capable of taking on such an important task, and it would be better to hand it over to Shan Chenkuai's Discipline Gate to handle.
King Xia Jie, sitting high on the dais, had already begun to feel annoyed. When he heard Shen Shiqiu mention this matter, he was too lazy to bother anymore. Coupled with the fact that Shan Chenkuai had found the suspicious snow, he took the opportunity to hand this matter over to Shan Chenkuai for investigation. However, since he was still reluctant to see Xia Chuli gain power, he found an excuse to keep Xia Chuli locked up in the Minister of Justice's Office.
Everyone knelt down in obeisance, and King Xia Jie left with a flick of his sleeve.
On this day in the court, there had been undercurrents for a long time. Everyone was extremely frightened. After hearing Chen Qi's shout of "Court is adjourned", most people fled in a hurry, eager to get away from this place of trouble as soon as possible.
As the ministers dispersed one by one, Chen Luo glanced casually at Lu Yan and Xia Yonglin, who still stood upright. Rarely, there was a scrutinizing look in his usually playful eyes.
But not long after, he closed his eyes, then turned his head and shouted at Su Huanyu, who had already walked a long way: "Idiot! Why are you walking so fast?"
Su Huanyu ignored him and quickened his pace even more.
Before long, only Lu Yan and Xia Yonglin were left in the River and Mountain Hall.
Lu Yan slowly turned to the side. He gave Xia Yonglin a sharp look, then without saying a word, as if declaring victory, he directly turned around and walked past him.
Xia Yonglin let out a cold snort. Ignoring the cold sweat still on his forehead, he said in a deep voice, "Uncle Wang, aren't you afraid that I'll expose your affairs directly?"
"If you wanted to say it, you would have said it long ago. Why waste your breath here with me?" Lu Yan replied without turning his head, his back to Xia Yonglin.
A look of hatred flashed across Xia Yonglin's eyes. Grinding his teeth, he said, "Uncle Wang, I underestimated you. You've been investigating me!"
Lu Yan found this quite amusing. This Xia Yonglin really hadn't grown up. Did he think he could scheme against others, but others couldn't scheme against him?
"All's fair in war." Lu Yan coldly threw out this sentence. He really didn't want to waste any more breath on Xia Yonglin and walked straight out. As he stepped out of the River and Mountain Hall, the man in white who had been waiting outside for a long time and was chatting with Shan Chenkuai and Shen Shiqiu seemed to sense something and turned around.
Lu Yan's gaze met Shen Qingfeng's from afar.
Like a gentle breeze and a bright moon, there seemed to be thousands of stars twinkling in Shen Qingfeng's eyes, so dazzling and alluring. Immediately, a sense of clarity and melancholy welled up in Lu Yan's heart.
At that moment, he desperately wanted to hug him, kiss him, and press him down on the bed to possess him.
So, on the carriage back to the mansion, Lu Yan did just that. He pulled Shen Qingfeng's collar down to his waist and fiercely sucked on his fair skin. Amidst Shen Qingfeng's unbearable gasps, he left one after another of those indelible lewd marks.
Naturally, the two of them returned to the Marquis of Dingbei's Mansion.
This was something that Shen Shiqiu had no choice but to accept and had tacitly approved of. Lu Yan quickly pulled Shen Qingfeng's clothes back on, then directly picked him up by the waist, strode back into the room, and placed him on the bed. He reached out and gently hooked the curtain, and the soft bed curtain fell, enshrouding the two people who were locked in a passionate kiss.
They were like two beasts devoured by desire, following their animal instincts. They kissed each other until their clothes were completely off and they were sweating profusely. They closed their eyes and enjoyed each other's touch, as if they were going to continue this passionate affair until the end of time.
Finally, after a stormy lovemaking session, as Shen Qingfeng arched his back and let out a long cry, this passionate affair gradually came to an end.
Lu Yan held the person in his arms, whose body was soaked in sweat, and gently planted a kiss on his forehead.
The matter of Xia Chuli finally took a turn for the better, which made the stone in Shen Qingfeng's heart drop. He lay in Lu Yan's arms, nibbling on the lean meat porridge that Lu Yan fed him spoon by spoon, his eyes looking a bit lazy.
The days of exhaustion and last night's all - night rush had made him extremely tired. He was already in poor health, and before long, his eyelids began to droop. Leaning on Lu Yan's shoulder, he started to doze off.
Lu Yan couldn't bear to wake him up, so he just let him nestle in his arms. He wrapped his hands around Shen Qingfeng's waist to make him sleep more comfortably.
The matter of Xia Chuli was now completely handed over to Shan Chenkuai. Shan Chenkuai was on the Crown Prince's side. Anyway, the matter had finally fallen into the hands of their own people, and Xia Chuli's position as the Crown Prince was at least secured. However, there was still a doubt in this matter, and that was the source of the fire.
It was impossible to ignite the golden statue with just saltpeter and sulfur. So, where did the missing charcoal come from? And how was it smeared on the golden statue?
This matter was still unknown. But if this matter couldn't be fully investigated, although Xia Chuli had managed to keep his position as the Crown Prince, the reason was not sufficient enough. In the future, there might be someone with ulterior motives who would take advantage of this.
Thinking of this, Lu Yan couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Actually, how could he not know how dangerous Xia Chuli's situation was?
His father didn't like him, and the Qi family was constantly suppressing and harassing him. Without real power or military authority, no matter how hard Xia Chuli tried or how talented he was in governing the country, he was just a buried piece of gold that would never shine.
Now that he had shown his support, Xia Chuli would have his military backing. Anyway, it was much better than before. But how would King Xia Jie think about this? Would King Xia Jie put pressure on the Northern Kingdom?
Lu Yan didn't know the answers to these questions. But he knew that Shen Qingfeng was absolutely right. If he didn't support Xia Chuli, after Xia Yonglin brought Xia Chuli down, the next target would surely be himself, who had the right of succession.
He and Xia Chuli were like lips and teeth. If the lips were gone, the teeth would be cold. They were already tied to the same fate.
As the night grew deeper, Shen Qingfeng in Lu Yan's arms was sound asleep. His head was tilted to one side, and his collar was wide open, revealing the marks left by their intense passion earlier. Lu Yan looked down and couldn't help but feel a stir in his lower abdomen. He quickly pulled Shen Qingfeng's clothes back up, then gently stood up, laid Shen Qingfeng flat on the bed, and pulled the quilt over him.
Just then, for some reason, there suddenly came three dull thuds from the window.
Lu Yan was immediately startled.
It was obvious that someone had deliberately made this sound. The people around him didn't have such a secret signal, so it must be an outsider.
The Marquis of Dingbei's Mansion was heavily guarded, yet an outsider had managed to get in?!
Lu Yan's face turned cold. He slowly tightened his grip on the sword beside the bed and stood in front of Shen Qingfeng's bed. Staring intently at the window from where the sound had come, he said in a deep voice, "Who's there?"
The window fell silent for a while. Then, a somewhat familiar voice came from there -
"It's me, Mo Yunchen."