Chapter 1 The Girl's Sword is Not Well Done
In the 32nd year of Tianlu, Northern Pacification Office.
In March, willows are sprouting, all things are budding, and the warm golden sunlight falling on the body is enough to dispel the coldness of the winter.
But in the whole city of Yanjing, the Northern Pacification Office may be the coldest and darkest place, because it is the location of the Jinyiwei.
Xue Linger was wearing a Feiyu suit that didn't fit her well. The dragon fish on the Feiyu suit was tumbling in the sea of clouds.
The girl lowered her head to listen to the lecture of the man behind the case in front of her. She couldn't see his face clearly, only her long black hair was flowing softly.
In March, the girl was still wearing thin clothes, and her clothes didn't fit her well.
"On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month of last year, Fengchao assassinated Zhou Haitian, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. His Majesty was enraged and ordered us to solve the case within three months.
Today is already the second day of the third lunar month." The man behind the case, dressed in a bullfighting suit,
looked majestic and imposing. "Do you have any suggestions?" "I am willing to lead the team to eliminate Fengchao.
Lord Lü Yuan, please grant me
your permission." Xue Ling looked up, her face clear and resolute.
"You?" Lü Yuan looked at Xue Ling and smiled. "My entire Jinyiwei has turned the world upside down for the past three months, but in the end, we have nothing to show for it.
And you, a mere Xue Ling, dare to boast that you can lead a team and capture them easily?"
"Does this show that you, Xue Ling, are so powerful?" "Or does it show that my Jinyiwei are incompetent?"
With these two hats on, any ordinary person would have knelt long ago, but Xue Ling remained upright. "I dare not."
"Kneel!" Lü Yuan shouted.
Xue Ling bit her lip lightly and did not kneel.
"You don't think so?" Lü Yuan asked, his voice tinged with chill. "Master Xue Ping, will he still support you?"
"Kneel down!"
Xue Ling clasped her hands, bowing her head. "My father is dead, but I'm still a captain of the sixth rank of the Jinyiwei.
The emperor bestowed upon me the Feiyu uniform, and I kneel before him."
She'd rather come here wearing the Feiyu uniform than to preserve that last bit of dignity, but the other party wanted to throw her to the ground and trample her.
"Good! Good! Good!" Lü Yuan uttered the word "good" three times in a row.
"Xue Ping is a traitor who actually dared to ask the emperor to grant you a women's flying fish robe. Now that Xue Ping is dead, do you think this robe can still protect you?"
Xue Ling lowered his head: "Sir Lu, please report to the emperor and take away my official robe."
Lu Yuan laughed out loud: "You really don't want to accept my toast and then drink the forfeit."
"I can't take away your official robe, but you still have to obey the orders from the superiors."
"Xue Ling, captain of the Jinyiwei, obeys the order!"
Xue Ling could only half-kneel down respectfully and looked up at the proud man in front of him.
"After three months of painstaking investigation, we believe the hive's structure is complex and complex, implicating numerous entities. We must not act rashly. Therefore, we have decided to send secret scouts into the hive, collaborating with both insiders and outsiders to destroy it in one fell swoop."
"Xue Ling, as a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and a woman, your position has been kept secret, making you one of the best candidates for secret scouts."
"Are you willing to take on this important task?"
Xue Ling said in disbelief: "I..."
In that moment, the girl was overwhelmed with emotions. She had never imagined she would be given such a bizarre mission.
"Are you willing?" Lü Yuan repeated.
Xue Ling bowed her head.
"I am willing."
...
...
March 15th, east of Luocheng.
It was still spring, and the bluestone streets were already bustling with people, their cries echoing from time to time.
Xue Ling had already taken off her Feiyu robe. It was a formal dress, not something most people would normally wear. With no one home, theft would be a serious crime.
Xue Ling had originally planned to pawn the robe, as she was running low on cash. But the moment the pawnshop's cashier saw a corner of the garment, he frantically fell to his knees, begging desperately for mercy. Xue Ling had no choice but to apologize, "I'm in the wrong place."
She took the Feiyu robe home, dug a hole in the yard, and buried it under the large poplar tree.
That night, she watched the stars from the poplar tree, thinking of her parents.
Though Yanjing was vast, there was no place for her. Lu Yuan's arrangement was intended to allow her to die here with honor, given her late father's reputation. Who among the Jinyiwei would dare to harm her openly?
It was a scheme to kill with a borrowed knife, but she had no choice but to walk into its trap.
The girl looked up and saw the inn sign in front of her read "Xiaohun Inn."
She couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Those who knew might think this was an inn, while those who didn't would mistake it for a brothel.
Thinking this way, Xue Ling hefted the bag on her back and walked through the gates of the Xiaohun Inn.
"Miss, how many are you?" As soon as she entered, Xue Ling heard a gentle, clear voice ask her, without the usual waiter's manner.
She looked up and saw a handsome young man standing before her, his eyes covered with a black cloth, staring at her.
This man was clearly blind, so how did he know she was a young lady?
Xue Ling decided not to think about the question.
"Only one person, tea."
"What kind of tea would you like?" the young man asked.
"Two taels of Mingqian Longjing, two taels of Xinyang Maojian, two taels of Lushan Yunwu, and two taels of Yunnan Pu'er," Xue Ling said crisply.
"I'll make it for you right away."
The waiter turned and went back to the inner room, not even asking how one person could finish so much tea.
"Wait a minute," Xue Ling called out. "I'd like another bottle of Huadiao, Shaodaozi, Zhuyeqing, and Xinghuacun Fenjiu."
The waiter looked at Xue Ling and asked, "Excuse me, young lady."
"My last name is Lin," Xue Ling said.
"We have a bit too much tea and wine. Could you please go to the back and help out, Miss Lin?" the waiter said.
His words were gentle and calm, not at all aggressive.
Xue Ling had been waiting for this, and immediately stood up from her seat. "Let's go."
Although called the Xiaohun Inn, it was actually just an ordinary inn. There were only a few tables on the first floor where food and drinks were sold, and the second floor was mostly guest rooms. Behind the lobby was the kitchen and the servants' quarters.
Now, Xue Ling was led by the waiter to a small room. She could see a small bed covered with coarse linen sheets, and a table beside the bed with paper and pen.
This seemed to be the waiter's room, but—unlike the usual men's rooms, which were cluttered and smelly—it was clean and tidy, with an indescribable fragrance.
A taste somewhere between mint and lemon.
But the next moment, Xue Ling felt a shining dagger pressed against his throat. The waiter, holding the knife in one hand, pinned Xue Ling against the wall, his words still lazily and without any energy.
There was no hint of surprise.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Fang Bie, from the beehive. I'm currently a wingless carpenter bee."
"Excuse me."
"Are you my wing?"
(End of chapter)