CH 9

Chapter 9 Jade Pendant 

“Second brother! Second brother!” 

Without looking up, just listening to this voice, Liu Zhongming knew who was here. 

The man did not hear an answer, so he stepped across the threshold of the study, and yelled again: “Second brother, you are here, why aren’t you saying anything?” 

The one behind him smiled and answered: “You kept shouting. With such a loud voice, even if Zhongming responded, you wouldn’t be able to hear it.” 

Bai Shilei sat down on the chair, straightened his neck and did not look at him face-to-face: “I won’t listen to you, I’m calling second brother. ” 

“You b*stard, I’m your brother!” Bai Shiyan was furious. Liu Zhongming couldn’t help but smile. Only when these two people came would his study become so lively. 

“You two are not on duty today?” 

Bai Shiyan also found a seat by the window: “I am taking a rest today, but he’s on duty. However, my dad was afraid that he would cause trouble when idle, so he was stuffed to the five -person group to stay inside.” 

“I also do business stuff every day! By no means am I being stuffed and placed aside!” Bai Shilei protested. 

“Fart a little louder, big kid, what business, hurry up and pour a glass of water for your brother.” 

“Of course it is business.” Bai Shilei did not help his brother: “I bring the troops out, not like you,  just taking a short walk around the capital.” 

“Hey, I dare you to say that one more time!”

Seeing that his brother was about to punch someone, Bai Shilei slipped behind Liu Zhongming: “Second brother, am I right?”

Liu Zhongming being pulled by his clothes, leaned on the back of his chair. He flicked a finger to his forehead. 

“It’s hot, go and pour a glass of water.” 

“It’s really hot.” 

Bai Shiyan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Before summer, the weather was already so hot, it might be even harder in the summer. 

There was ice water in the copper basin on the side. He took the cup handed by his brother and looked at the bookcase. He looked disgusted: “Zhongming, don’t you get bored looking at these things every day?” 

“How can you get bored?” Liu Zhongming flipped through it unhurriedly: “It’s all money, I like it.” 

“Look at you, how does this look like a son of the Marquis, you are more like a profiteer.”

Liu Zhongming was not ashamed: “I was that originally. That is, in this capital city, who said I am not?” 

“Look at you like this,” Bai Shiyan pointed at him from a distance: “Saving so much money, do you plan to marry a more expensive one?” 

Liu Zhongming sneered and said proudly. “Expensive or not expensive, of the women in the capital, there is no one I am interested in.” 

“Hey! You can’t say it so absolutely! There is a weakness for every item. You don’t know, maybe you just haven’t met that one yet.”

“Yes!” Bai Shilei saw the hole and stuck a needle in it and echoed: “Look at my father, isn’t he under my mother’s control.”

Bai Shiyan drank a mouthful and sighed with comfort: “I came here today to ask you, have you received Qi Wang’s invitation? Are you going to go?” 

“He had a touch incident, and finally returning to the capital, gathering would be nice.” Before anyone could say anything, Liu Zhongming again said: “And there is a chance to eat and drink for nothing, why not go? Not only him, but I would also accept the invitations of Ning Wang or Huai Wangs’s.” 

Bai Shiyan laughed. 

With Zhongming’s unmoving, mature and prudent appearance, his worry seemed a little redundant. 

Now that the court has conferred several Wang Ye’s, it is said to the outside that the Wang Ye’s are not very old, so the emperor wants to keep them by his side for a few more years, and has not sent them a fiefdom yet. 

But many people knew in their hearts that the emperor hadn’t made up his mind yet, which one to push up in the end. 

Although the Liu family’s miss was named imperial consort and her status in the harem was only below the queen, she had no children for several years. 

In this way, the Liu family, who had been the pillar of the court for generations, was in a very strange and awkward situation. 

If Imperial Consort Liu remains childless, the Liu family of An Ding Marquis was naturally a group that needed to be won over by the Wangyes’. However, once Imperial Consort Liu is pregnant with a prince, the Liu family will become the enemy of all the Wangyes’ overnight. 

What’s more, the Liu family not only had An Ding Marquis, but also had many branches of the Liu family who have served in the dynasty and various places. The Bai family has also been in-laws with the Liu family for generations.

General Bai Shining was the most reassuring name in the land of Dayu. It was as if as long as this name still existed, the scowling wolf cubs outside the borders would not dare to have a covetous heart. 

The two families Bai and Liu were inseparable. Throughout the ages, no one dared to underestimate this force. Instead, both made people eager to move, but also a little jealous. 

But in private, more people were speculating that the reason for why Imperial Consort Liu has no children even with her being favoured was either she was frail and had no blessing or it was very likely that it was the instruction of that one. 

This was just a guess. 

Although some people in the dynasty stood in the ranks of a Wangye because of public and hidden relationships, more people were like the Liu family and the Bai family, maintaining a wait-and-see neutral attitude. 

No one dared to draw a conclusion before everything had settled. 

Baishi Lei was smaller than the two people. Each time, he came along for the ride and always couldn’t join in the conversation. He flung his hand, circled two laps, then began to feel bored: “Second Brother, what about Qingchi? Does he usually not come over here?”

Liu family’s third son, Liu Qingchi, happened to be about the same age as Bai Shilei. 

“Qingchi? He is busy reading. He comes occasionally, not many times.” Liu Zhongming began to pack his papers. 

“I don’t think so.” Bai Shiyan laughed at him: “You should say that Qingchi is thoughtful and unsullied, and is not interested in the you who is digging your way into money.” 

“You’re right.” Liu Zhongming raised his chin and gestured to both. 

“Right, Zhongming,” Bai Shiyan asked before he went out, “Have you seen Fang Wuyang recently? I’m looking for him.” 

“I just fished him out of Ruan Hongfang yesterday and is at mine. You can find him yourself.” 

“Huanyi lou?” Bai Shiyan tutted, “Weasel got into the chicken coop.”

He slanted his eyes and suddenly smirked: “I say, with a friend like Fang Wuyang and with you guarding the chicken coop, why aren’t you a weasel?”

Liu Chongming understood his words, glanced sideways, and passed by him. 

“Just kidding!” 

Bai Shiyan jumped up vigilantly in time, and heard the creaking sound of the chair legs. When he looked back, he had already left the door. 

“What’s the matter?” Bai Shilei leaned over and checked: “What did you say? Why is second brother angry?” 

Bai Shiyan laughed painfully in his belly, but waved his hand: “Nothing, kids don’t ask.” 

It was that point that Zhongming couldn’t be teased about. Huan Courtyard was opened under his name, yet he was so innocent and unaffected by romance, so he was the only one who could make that little joke. 

Not long after, Liu Zhongming changed his clothes and greeted the two of them: “Let’s go, you two are here again in time for lunch. You obviously want to eat here again, right? It seems that you are not afraid of getting the smell of stinky copper coins on you.” 

When he crossed the threshold, something made a crisp, low sound. Bai Shilei asked, “Second brother, what is on your body?” 

Liu Zhongming turned around and showed him a small jade pendant on his waist. There was also a small jade bead hanging on the corner of that jade pendant. When it touched the jade pendant, it would make a little noise. 

Bai Shiyan was not unfamiliar with this thing. He accompanied Liu Zhongming to the South Road Buddhist Temple to beg for it. It was only when the presiding person gave Zhongming this personal amulet, he was not allowed to accompany him into the monastery. 

“Zhongming.” he drove his brother to the front, walked side by side with Liu Zhongming, and asked softly, “Did it get better after that?”

He naturally asked about the weird dream. It was fine that it repeated over the past few years. However, now that there is a follow-up, it was a bit scary. 

“Yeah,” Liu Zhongming nodded and replied vaguely, “Don’t worry.” 

He slowly stepped out of the threshold, listening to the occasional crisp sound of his waist. Some words weren’t told to Bai Shiyan. 

In his dream, he also heard this sound. 

The Jinxi Academy, which he had been entangled with for many years, disappeared. He was standing on the stone steps in the palace, and the voice came from far and near very slightly. 

The person wearing the jade pendant walked slowly, gracefully and with a rhythm. Every step forward, the jade bead collided with his waist and made a ding sound. 

He recognized that the jade pendant was the one on his body. 

Every time he took a step forward, his blood became hot. Although he couldn’t see his face in his dream, the man had him hooked invisibly. 

He could even feel that even if there was only a pair of withered bones under that shirt, it was still fascinating. 

The man stopped not far away. He didn’t know if he was beckoning him over, but before he walked a few steps and raised his eyes, the man had already walked away. Then an unseen building in front of him appeared at some point. 

He looked around and confirmed that he was still in the palace, but he had never been to this place. He only vaguely saw the word “Pavilion” on the plaque, and he saw a person walking out from the corner. It was Yu Gonggong, the eunuch who always served the emperor.

There was another person beside Yu Gonggong. From his perspective, if he didn’t look up, he could only see that person’s clothes. There was no jade pendant—it was not the person just now, just a person with a regular outfit. 

With just this outfit, he could guess the identity of this person. 

The emperor believed in the gods and had to do calculations for everything. The post of Sitian Guan in the palace in the past dynasties was originally only a casual job, but now it had been lifted to the height of a worship service. 

This position had made many people’s dream of reaching the sky in one step succeed. Since Jianghu had many swindlers, the court thought of various means to assign the job.

But there were many that predicted things without being a clairvoyant. So far, the one who has been in this position for the longest time has only stayed for a little over a year. 

The frequency of replacement was too fast. Liu Zhongming only saw this outfit, but didn’t know who this person was. 

Yu Gonggong said something to the man, and the two of them walked together in the direction where the man who had just worn the jade pendant departed. Before leaving, the man seemed to turn sideways and look at him. 

Liu Zhongming never saw the face of the official Sitian Guan, but he felt that the thin and slender waist seemed familiar, as if he had touched it countless times. 

This was the first time his dream was so confusing with no clues. 

He thought of what the abbot said when he handed this jade pendant to himself——do everything from your heart, don’t regret anymore. He couldn’t help touching the jade pendant. 

Suddenly a very absurd idea came up. 

He didn’t know if he gave that person the jade pendant, or whether he was carrying that person’s jade pendant. 

No matter what, their relationship had a closeness that was different from that of others. It was even more familiar than him and the Bai family brothers, but why can’t he remember at all who this person was.