Monday, 5 August 2024

LPMM 19




Chapter 19 Kunshan Jade Shattered


Luo Jin originally wanted to go to Imperial Music House to continue the investigation, but Chai Jing didn’t allow her to go out for the past two days, telling her to take good care of herself. Although Luo Jin repeatedly emphasized that she wasn't injured, she had to obey the order.

Luo Jin watched Chai Jing go to Imperial Music House alone, immensely worried.

It felt like Tang Seng was going to be eaten by monsters with Sun Wukong’s presence.[Journey to the west’s character] 

After much difficulty, she finally got Chai Jing to allow her to return to the Imperial Music House. Luo Jin was ready early in the morning and followed Chai Jing to the Imperial Music House.

After a few days’ absence, Chen Changmo had utilized the opportunity and talked to Chai Jing. Chai Jing's attitude toward him was also good.

Upon Luo Jin’s return, Chen Changmo's face changed, but he quickly regained his composure and smiled, "What would you like for lunch, Deputy Envoy? I'll have someone order it first."

Luo Jin bit her lip. How wonderful! After not seeing you for a few days, you've managed to have meals with Princess, right?

She widened her eyes, "Ah? You want to have dinner with Princess? Isn't that inappropriate? I heard that bad breath is contagious..."

"I... don't have bad breath." Chen Changmo gritted his teeth, knowing that she would definitely not say anything good.

"Huh? Can't you smell it yourself? Yes, I heard that people with bad breath can't smell it themselves." Luo Jin thought, "Princess, can you smell it?"

Chai Jing blinked innocently, "I can't smell it..."

"Oh, I forgot, Princess has a bad sense of smell," Luo Jin came up and stretched her sleeves in front of Chai Jing, "Princess, I used a new perfume today, can you smell it?"

Chai Jing sniffed hard, "No, there is no smell."

Luo Jin exaggeratedly acted, "Can't smell it? Princess's sense of smell is really bad, so you can't smell bad breath, right? But I can smell it. When he speaks... even from a distance, it’s truly bad."

"You..." Chen Changmo clenched his fists, almost unable to bear it.

Chai Jing pulled Luo Jin's sleeve, "Do I have bad breath when I speak? I can't smell it..."

Luo Jin came closer and chuckled, "No, it smells good!"

Chai Jing couldn't help chuckling and waved her hand, "Alright then, Mister Chen, don't worry about lunch. My deputy envoy has arrived. Let her arrange it. Mister Chen, just play the qin with peace of mind!"

Chen Changmo's teeth were about to break. Still, he had to answer, "Yes..."

...

At lunch time, Chen Changmo didn't go out to eat. He called Ruan Qin to an empty room and lowered his voice, "How can we make that annoying Luo Jin disappear from the Princess’s side? As soon as I make progress, she comes out to make trouble. If this goes on, our plan will not work."

Ruan Qin gritted her teeth, "A way to make her disappear from the Princess’s side! Just directly..."

She made a gesture of swiping her neck. Chen Changmo shook his head, "No, if something happens to her, will the emperor still let the Princess stay in the Imperial Music House? If the Princess leaves, our plan will be completely ruined."

"That's right..." Ruan Qin sighed, "We need to get the city defense map without being discovered. This task is too difficult. At present, it seems that the only chance is to win the Princess's heart and ask her to help. In your opinion... why does that Luo Jin want to create trouble for you? Did she detect something?"

"No way!" Chen Changmo said, "I don't know her. How could she know our plan? No one knew about our affairs. Even our identities were flawless."

"Yes, then why does she do this? Could it be... having a crush on you? So she doesn't want you to get close to Princess?"

"Could it be... like this?" Chen Changmo pondered seriously for a long time, "Impossible, the way she looks at me... has no emotion at all. There are many women who like me. I know well how they look at me. Rather than saying that she likes me, I think... she likes the Princess, right?"

Ruan Qinchang gritted her teeth, "Our time is limited. In this case, in order to achieve the goal faster, you... have to suffer a little."

Chen Changmo nodded helplessly, "Okay, self-inflicting injury tactic it is. It can’t be helped."

...

After returning from lunch, Luo Jin kept muttering when she walked into the Imperial Music House, "The ribs were so delicious, how were they made? Were they fried?"

"I'll get the recipe for you later, don't mull over it yourself." Chai Jing said.

As soon as Chai Jing sat down, Chen Changmo brought tea, "Princess, please have some tea. It's the newly arrived flower tea. You can try it."

Luo Jin rolled her eyes at him, "Try what? Princess is particular about the tea she drinks. Not all flowers or leaves can be drunk. Is the cup clean? Have you brushed your teeth?"

Chen Changmo was already used to Luo Jin's stage breaking, so he simply pretended not to hear, "This tea is made from 31 kinds of dried petals. It has a unique taste."

After hearing what he said, Chai Jing smiled and took the teacup, "Mister Chen is thoughtful, but shouldn’t trouble you with these things. Your hands are used to play the qin. What if you get burned?"

She picked up the teacup and was about to drink it when Chen Changmo suddenly shouted, "Be careful!"

He abruptly pushed Chai Jing away. Tthen Chai Jing heard the sound of something breaking.

Luo Jin was stunned by the scene in front of her. The crystal carving hanging from the ceiling of the main hall suddenly fell down and hit the place where Chai Jing was sitting. If Chen Changmo hadn't pushed Chai Jing away, she might have had her head smashed.

But Chen Changmo himself was hit on the head, and blood gushed out of his head and dripped onto Chai Jing's sleeves, leaving a large red patch on her light blue clothes, which was particularly glaring.

"Mister, you..." Chai Jing hurriedly supported Chen Changmo and turned back to tell Luo Jin, "Go get a doctor!"

"Oh..." Luo Jin obeyed the order and ran out to find a doctor.

The nearest medical hall was only a hundred meters away from the Imperial Music House. Soon Luo Jin brought a doctor to treat Chen Changmo's injury. When she came back, Chai Jing had already used a strip of cloth to simply tie up Chen Changmo's wound to prevent more blood from flowing out.

Luo Jin didn't expect the other party to be so cruel that he even used the self-inflicting pain trick on himself.

Now she was in a difficult situation. Seeing Chai Jing so anxious, was she really moved?

The doctor treated Chen Changmo's wound and said with some embarrassment: "The wound is deep, I'm afraid it will leave a scar... It's a pity for the gentleman to look like this." 

Chai Jing said: "It won’t. There is a secret recipe for scar removal in the palace. I will ask the imperial physician for it when I enter the palace. Definitely won’t let you have a scar."

The doctor said: "That's good. This gentleman's appearance is really outstanding. It would be best if there is no scar."

"How can you be so stupid..." Chai Jing had tears in her eyes, "Just a little bit more... You really would die, do you know?"

"This... isn't something I can control," Chen Changmo sighed, "I didn't have time to think about it at the time, so I pushed the Princess away. Excuse my disrespect, it is my fault."

[Script! It's all script! ]

[Princess, wake up! He is using a self-inflicting pain trick! How could that crystal carving fall off for no reason? And it just happened to fall on your head? ]

[I will find evidence after you leave, so that he won't succeed! ]

[The crystal carvings' damage are human-made, so there must be traces left at the broken ends. It won't be like a natural fall. ]

Chai Jing said to Ruan Qin who was standing aside: "Clean up this unlucky thing. Take it out and burn it. Don't leave any residue."

Ruan Qin responded and immediately brought people to take away the crystal carvings. Even the iron ring hanging above was removed. She got people to load the things onto the carriage and transport them away. Luo Jin wanted to follow, but Ruan Qin stepped forward to stop her, "This is the task assigned to me by her Highness, Princess. Please do your part and take good care of her Highness, Princess."

Luo Jin watched her take people to take the evidence to an unknown place to destroy it. There was no way to stop it.

"I'll take you home," Chai Jing carefully supported Chen Changmo, "Which street does Mister live in?"

"How could I trouble Princess?"

"It's no trouble. Mister saved my life, so you don't have to be polite."

"I live in the alley of... South Street."

"Let's go!"

Luo Jin wanted to follow, Chai Jing looked back at her, "You stay and handle the matters here."

"What matters can there be here?" Luo Jin still wanted to follow. She was too afraid that Chai Jing would bewitched by Chen Changmo. This was a plot related to her life, she couldn't help but pay attention.

Chai Jing frowned, "You are the deputy envoy of the music department, how can there be no matters?"

"I..." Luo Jin could only answer, "Yes!"

She silently watched Chai Jing's carriage leave, feeling a sense of frustration as if Tang Seng was kidnapped by a demon. And Tang Seng was the kind of person who didn't listen to advice and insisted that the demon was a good person.

Can't she trust her, the Sun Wukong with the fire eyes and golden pupils?

That night, Chai Jing didn't even return to Changfeng Yard. She sent someone to deliver a message saying that Chen Changmo had been dizzy and she had to stay to take care of him.

Luo Jin had no choice but to go to Chai Heng to complain and ask him to govern his younger sister.

"Second Prince, that Chen Changmo is obviously not a good person. He just wants to...want to cling to the rich and powerful. This is just a self-inflicting pain trick to gain trust. Princess’s love brain is acting up. Second Prince is an experienced person. You must watch out for Princess and don't let her be deceived by a bad man!"

Chai Heng smiled slightly, "How do you know that my Ah Jing will be deceived? What if she wasn't deceived? Don't bother. Don't you like the iron-eating beast in the back garden? Go and watch it eat bamboo!"

Luo Jin was even more depressed, "Why do you support her?"

She thought for a while, "I have recently investigated that Chen Changmo's behavior is suspicious and his origin is unknown. I suspect he is a secret agent sent by Hanyuan Country. He has ulterior motives for approaching the Princess."

"Really? Then you should investigate it carefully and find evidence. Don't wrongly accuse him." Chai Heng smiled.

Luo Jin saw that he wasn't anxious at all and felt even more depressed. She even ate one less bowl of rice for dinner. Chai Jing didn’t return to Changfeng Yard or the Imperial Palace for a long time. She wasn't even seen in the Imperial Music House. It wasn't until more than ten days later that Luo Jin saw her again.

When Chai Jing came, she brought Chen Changmo with her. She held Chen Changmo's hand and entered the Imperial Music House. Chen Changmo's forehead wound had not healed yet and was still wrapped in a cloth strip. Still, he was in good spirits. Even his eyes seemed to have a twinkle.

Chai Jing asked Chen Changmo to sit next to her, and turned to Luo Jin, "Go make two cups of tea."

Luo Jin's blood surged instantly, "I... make tea for him?"

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