The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#671 - This is... a good start, right?

Yan Jun withdrew her hand without a trace.

“Grandmaster Lu, you’ve had too much to drink.”

“This is a teahouse, how could I possibly be drunk?”

“You know this is a teahouse, so how could you be so drunk as to bring up things from a past life?”

Perhaps because her biggest secret had already been revealed, Yan Jun no longer had the previous evasiveness and feigned composure. Instead, she became much more unrestrained and regained some initiative.

She even personally poured a cup of tea for Lu Jing and pushed it in front of him.

“Drink tea.”

Lu Jing didn't say anything upon hearing this. He reached out, drank the tea in one gulp, then put down the cup and continued to look at Yan Jun.

Yan Jun poured another cup.

“Drink again.”

So Lu Jing raised the cup again and drank it all down.

“Keep drinking.”

Yan Jun continued to pour tea until Lu Jing had finished three cups. Only then did she put down the teapot and ask, “Are you more sober now?”

“I didn’t know you had such a sense of humor before.”

“Really? I also didn’t know you got drunk so easily. It seems we don’t know each other well enough.”

“That makes sense, so we should spend more time together.”

“Sure, you reject the Wen family's marriage, and I'll spend time with you.” Yan Jun said lightly, “Or are you saying that you think you've got me figured out because of tonight's events?”

“I’ve never thought that way. Otherwise, I would have revealed my identity earlier at the Scholar Restaurant. I wouldn’t have been exposed by Vice-Leader Luo. Believe me, no matter what, I don’t want to embarrass you.”

Lu Jing paused, “And the problem between us… it’s not actually Xiao Chuan.”

“What do you mean?” Yan Jun frowned slightly, “Haven’t you already gone to Wen Family Manor to see Aunt Wen, and are about to become the Wen family's son-in-law?”

“Uh… this is a long story.”

“Then make it short.”

“Saying it like this makes me feel very shameless.”

“Tell me and let me hear it first.”

“Okay, Xiao Chuan said she wanted to be my concubine. I haven’t told anyone else about this.”

Lu Jing said it all in one breath, and sure enough, he saw Yan Jun looking at him with a contemptuous gaze. Then, she picked up the teapot again.

Lu Jing held down the hand she used to pick up the teapot. “What I said is true.”

“Thinking carefully, you’re not without merit. At least you’re quite self-aware.”

“Ah?”

“Regarding that shameless sentence.”

“See, I knew you’d say that.” Lu Jing smiled wryly.

“Does Aunt Wen know?” Yan Jun asked again.

“Well, we’re trying to find a suitable time…”

“To tell her this terrible news?”

“So now it’s just me and that Miss Xia left, right?”

“As it stands, yes.”

“Then who do you plan to choose?” Yan Jun stopped beating around the bush and asked directly.

“Do you think… there might be… a possibility…”

“Sorry, I might not have such a rich imagination.” Yan Jun took out twenty copper coins from her pocket, threw them on the table, then stood up and said, “Don’t be polite, I’ll leave the remaining half pot of tea for you. Come find me when you’re sober.”

After saying that, she didn’t stop and strode out of the teahouse.

Looking at her departing back, Lu Jing’s heart was filled with complex emotions.

He saw that the male protagonists in other novels always handled emotional problems with ease and invincibility. As long as they messed around a little, they could open a harem. The powerful wives could even form a reinforced company, just like playing Warship Girls. And the most important thing was that everyone could get along happily. How could it be that when it came to him, just three people could create a Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

Could it be because he didn't spend enough money?

Fortunately, he wasn't without gains tonight. At least his intentions had been conveyed, and although Yan Jun hadn't agreed, she hadn't completely rejected him either.

She also wasn't as deliberately distant as before, so this could be considered… a good start, right?

Lu Jing wasn't in the mood to drink the remaining half pot of tea. After Yan Jun left, he picked up the package he had taken from Hui Tong and headed towards the Department of Celestial Observation.

The minor official who had been watching the excitement when he arrived in the afternoon had already finished work and gone home.

He was replaced by another minor official, who let Lu Jing in after he showed the wooden token.

Lu Jing walked to the wall with practiced ease, lit a candle, and then knocked the chimes three times with a wooden hammer.

A moment later, a door appeared on the wall.

Lu Jing entered the door, ignored the chattering nightingales on the bronze tree, found a blue-robed man, stuffed the pile of things in his arms to him, and then told him about what happened in the Scholar Restaurant.

The blue-robed man found a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and wrote down the general course of events he described. He also asked him a few questions, and Lu Jing answered truthfully.

After confirming that there were no errors, the blue-robed man carefully put away the pile of things and the two pages he had filled.

Lu Jing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the business was done. He looked around and found that the number of people in the Observatory was no less than the last time he came.

And you should know that Lu Jing came during the day last time, but now it was late at night, past Hai time.

However, messengers were still flying in and out of the crescent-shaped windows, conveying messages. There were seven blue-robed men responsible for receiving intelligence alone, and the expressions on everyone's faces were very solemn.

Obviously, the news coming from all over was not good.

So Lu Jing didn't bother them and walked up the stairs to the upper floor.

He saw the Bureau of Instruments, the Bureau of Exploration, and the newly formed Bureau of Secret Force Monitoring on the second floor… but after searching around, he couldn't find the place he wanted to go.

It wasn't until he ran into an old acquaintance, Cheng Guan, that he was led to the outside of a room that looked like a money shop.

Cheng Guan said to Lu Jing, “It’s here. Go in yourself. I have something to do and need to go to the palace, so I won’t accompany you.”

“Enter the palace? What happened?”

Cheng Guan glanced at Lu Jing, “Isn’t it what you caused?”

“Master Cheng, don’t talk nonsense. What does this have to do with me?” Lu Jing said inexplicably.

He had been busy building on his own territory recently, or helping the Department of Celestial Observation solve cases. He hadn’t had any intersection with the one on the dragon throne… Okay, it wasn’t completely without intersection. He had privately harbored a fake Emperor Zhaozong.

Could it be that this matter had been exposed?

Fortunately, Cheng Guan quickly cleared up his confusion, “Didn’t you use Qi Kui’s fake identity when you entered the palace last time?”

“That’s right, there was such a thing.”

“Then, did you use this identity again just now at the Scholar Restaurant, and were recognized for your true identity?”

“Uh, that… also happened.”

“The Emperor also knows about this, so he urgently summoned me to the palace.”

“Hmm?”