Chapter 45: Emotion Without Impurity

An immortal descending from the dust.

This person always appeared when least expected, bringing overwhelming waves of emotion like a gentle breeze carrying the fragrance of bamboo. Her entire body and soul were captivated by him, unable to tear her gaze away.

Luo Yunyao stared in a daze as he approached, watching him come to a stop right before her. She seemed unable to hear the frantic beating of her own heart anymore. Tilting her head up slightly, she looked at him with wide, apricot-shaped eyes, and asked softly, following the rhythm of the wind, "Did you come to take me home?"

*Yes, I have come to take you home.* Luo Yunyao seemed to hear that jade-like voice say. Saying those words that touched the heart and stirred the emotions in countless novels, walking through myriad mountains and rivers accompanied by warm sunlight and breeze.

Qin Jinghao stood still in front of her, his brows and eyes still cold and detached, yet carrying a faint hint of a smile. "Wasn't going to the Dali Temple your own decision? Do you regret it now?"

Luo Yunyao's apricot-shaped eyes widened even further in disbelief. She stared at him, parting her lips slightly as her white teeth and rosy lips trembled ever so slightly.

Yet the speaker was entirely oblivious. If Luo Yunyao didn't know that Qin Jinghao wasn't such a sharp-tongued person, she would have sworn he was doing it on purpose. That jade-like man replied with effortless calm, "If you had gone to the Ministry of Punishments, Xiao Limo probably would have found a way to send you home..." He lowered his eyelashes and continued slowly, "As for coming to the Dali Temple, however, I'm afraid I have no way to send you home."

Luo Yunyao was struck by the feeling that she had brought this upon herself, along with a profound mockery of her earlier naive, girlish fantasies. She wanted to retort and regain the upper hand, saying something like, *I'm already someone eating prison rations, yet you treat me like this—are you trying to make sure I haven't been bullied enough?*

However, a strong, masculine voice cut off Luo Yunyao's sweet torment: "Now that she has come to the Dali Temple, whether Minister Luo gets to go home is naturally up to me to decide."

So completely absorbed was Luo Yunyao by Qin Jinghao that she hadn't noticed a man approaching from behind.

The man stood with an upright, heroic posture, his facial features sharp and distinct. The official robes he wore—which ought to have carried an aura of murderous intent and bloodshed—radiating instead a sense of sunlight and banter.

"This convicted official pays her respects to the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple." Realizing the man's identity, Luo Yunyao quickly cupped her hands in a polished and proper salute.

She had always retained an impression of this man. Unlike Qin Jinghao’s jade-like refinement, and unlike Xiao Limo’s noble, imperial majesty that brooked no direct gaze, this man was handsome—purely handsome, with a striking martial vigor and a sunny disposition entirely out of place for the head of the Dali Temple.

He wasn't sunny in the shy way her little follower was, nor was he sunny in the roguish way Du Runsheng occasionally was.

The man before her was decisive, resolute, and unfathomable.

After all, he was still the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple.

The man returned the salute with modest, easy grace, saying, "I wouldn't dare. General Qin has already told me about Minister Luo's situation; Minister Luo is merely wronged. At a time like this, Ouyang should be seizing the opportunity to send charcoal in the snowy winter—how could those ungrateful curs stoop to bullying a tiger that has come down from the mountains?"

Luo Yunyao hadn't expected Ouyang, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, to say such things. Feeling a twinge of guilt, she couldn't help rubbing her nose, realizing he was a sharp-tongued fellow as well...

***

Luo Yunyao suddenly shifted her gaze to Qin Jinghao with an amused glint, the corners of her lips curling upward in a mischievous arc.

Qin Jinghao's raven-wing brows twitched slightly with difficulty. One could tell it was a frowning motion, but it was far too subtle and swift to be readily perceived.

Sure enough, she heard Luo Yunyao say, "It seems my vision was shallow; I never expected Lord Chief Justice and General Qin to be such close friends."

From Qin Jinghao's calm, jade-like expression, Luo Yunyao could tell he was silently asking her: *Are you blaming me for not explaining my relationship with the Chief Justice earlier?*

Her expression remained unchanged, clearly signaling her refusal to answer.

Instead, she turned around again to face Ouyang, who was waiting for an answer to emerge from their exchange, and said, "I would have thought a civil official as witty, humorous, and eloquent as the Chief Justice would never associate with a reticent military general who keeps aloof from worldly affairs and lives amidst the slaughter of battlefield warfare, such as General Qin."

After all, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple was no simple character. He first expressed his disagreement with Luo Yunyao's phrasing, saying, "How could someone like me be considered a civil official? Both General Qin and I have blood on our hands, and having witnessed life and death so often, we naturally have plenty of topics to discuss." As Ouyang spoke, he smiled, revealing gleaming white teeth, looking as sunny and harmless as a ray of light: "Besides, the witty, humorous, and sharp-tongued civil official you speak of is surely not me, right?"

He continued to smile so harmlessly, his gaze seemingly falling casually upon Luo Yunyao, though that profound look felt merely like an illusion. "Indeed, just as Minister Luo said, I am the one who finds it strange that Minister Luo could become close friends with Brother Jinghao. Might I ask Minister Luo to offer me some guidance?"

Luo Yunyao choked, completely boxed in by this man!

Suddenly, a term popped into her mind: *a smiling tiger*. Beneath that harmless, smiling expression lay sharp teeth constantly fixed on their prey.

Luo Yunyao could not help but cup her hands and bow, praising him: "As expected of the legendary Chief Justice renowned for divine case-solving."

With eloquence like that, any culprit who revealed a flaw would inevitably break down and confess under the meticulous peeling away of his words.

Qin Jinghao could finally no longer stand by and watch.

The scene made it abundantly clear: Qin Jinghao was introducing his newlywed wife to a longtime close friend. This somewhat unyielding wife wanted to test whether her husband’s longtime friend truly lived up to that title, while her husband's friend was equally curious to see if this bride was a match for his companion.

Qin Jinghao stepped forward slowly and gracefully, standing tall and straight like a jade tree in the wind between the two of them. With his clear, jade-like voice, he smoothed away the invisible gunpowder smoke between them. First, he introduced Ouyang to Luo Yunyao: "The Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, Ouyang. He was originally a friend of Cangshu. Later, because he entered officialdom and remained a neutral party, Cangshu asked me to look after him." Qin Jinghao glossed over the process briefly, paused, and added a sentence: "Naturally, everything Ouyang has achieved today is the result of his own hard work; I haven't really helped him with much."

Luo Yunyao was utterly defeated by this man. Keeping things brief was simply his consistent style; she could do nothing about it, and saying anything wouldn't change him, so she could only turn a blind eye and forgive him.

However, after saying he hadn't really helped someone, shouldn't he have conventionally added a polite remark like, "On the contrary, Ouyang has helped me a great deal"? At the very least, he should have expressed some modesty or offered praise for Ouyang!

Luo Yunyao discovered that the road to becoming a virtuous and supportive wife was a long and arduous one.

***

While Luo Yunyao was suffering an internal meltdown and muttering countless complaints in her heart, General Qin remained entirely oblivious to anything amiss and turned to introduce her to Ouyang: "Luo Yunyao... ah, Luoyao, style name Junyao. Minister of War. He and I are—"

A blush like evening glow rose across Luo Yunyao's face.

It truly mirrored the crimson of a bride's lips and the vibrant colors of her ceremonial cape.

While Luo Yunyao waited with fluttering anticipation for Qin Jinghao to continue, Ouyang looked on with leisurely amusement.

Instead, Qin Jinghao slowly withdrew the hand he had extended in introduction. His calm, tranquil gaze swept past Luo Yunyao and came to rest upon Ouyang's face, which still clearly wore the expression of someone watching a good show. Qin Jinghao's jade-like features were divided by the shadows of the sunlight—half in the light, half in the dark. He parted his lips and said: "The relationship between a victim and a suspect. Does the Chief Justice need to investigate this thoroughly?"

Disappointment?

No, Luo Yunyao merely looked up at Qin Jinghao in astonishment. The emotion between them seemed entirely pure, free of any negative sentiments that ought to exist in romance; they trusted each other completely and surrendered themselves entirely to one another.

In a single exchange of glances with Qin Jinghao, Luo Yunyao understood the situation a moment ago and realized how she had almost ended up as the butt of someone else's joke and amusement.

She blinked playfully at Qin Jinghao, then turned her calm, unperturbed gaze to Ouyang, saying, "Cangshu is also a friend of mine. Since General Qin can be a friend of the Chief Justice, I believe I must be a friend of the Chief Justice as well." Utilizing the transitive property of parallel lines, she brought her relationship with Ouyang a little closer before continuing, "However, the Chief Justice need not feel it difficult to handle my case because of this connection. Just as the Chief Justice said, you believe I am innocent, and I believe Ouyang is capable of restoring my innocence."

Ouyang raised his hands in a gesture of surrender to the two of them, conceding defeat: "You two needn't stage this entire performance just to make things difficult for me. While I am rather adept at solving cases, I am truly ill-equipped to face the joint assault of a pair of lovers. As a bachelor myself, I simply cannot endure this."

Luo Yunyao blinked. She was not someone who would let others off so easily. Tilting her head, she smiled at Ouyang and said, "That being the case, Ouyang is hardly a young man anymore; how is it that you still have no wife?" Luo Yunyao wanted to press further, but using her peripheral vision, she cautiously glanced at Qin Jinghao to confirm there were no forbidden boundaries she might step across before continuing, "Your father and mother must be terribly anxious. They say one must first establish a home before establishing a career; by now your career is thriving splendidly, yet your wife remains completely unheard of?" With an expression full of pity, profound regret, and deep concern, she added, "There are three unfilial offenses, and to have no descendants is the greatest of them all."

Under Luo Yunyao's barrage of words, the sunny smile on Ouyang's face faded bit by bit, until even his gleaming white teeth vanished into the sunlight without a sound.

For a moment, there was silence. The sun was warm, the breeze gentle, and the air seemed to carry a faint, lingering trace of amusement.

Watching Luo Yunyao's expression, Qin Jinghao clearly caught sight of the mischievous, wicked humor lurking at the corners of those worried apricot eyes.

Blinded by the pair of them beneath the sunlight, Ouyang managed to pull himself together, resuming his upright, heroic posture, and replied to Luo Yunyao: "Perhaps Ouyang, much like Brother Qin, is waiting for someone. But the person I am waiting for may not be able to wait for me within officialdom."