[The seventy-first year of the Great Qiankang Yuan, the fourth day of the fifth month, Haishi, Liquanfang of Chang'an City, Xufu Houyuan]

Since the early morning of the second day of the fifth month, Li Yi, the king of Zhao, and Li Jin, the king of Wei, came to Tsing Yiwei and saw all the thousands of households in the council hall, although neither of them mentioned his name Xu Ke, but Xu Ke also felt a huge pressure in his heart.

Although the two princes put all the heavy responsibility of catching demons on Shen Huan and Nangong Buyu, Xu Ke also knew in his heart that he bluntly said in front of the emperor that King Han was killed by the cat demon, and according to the emperor's will, this responsibility for catching demons should have been borne by him.

King Zhao is his senior brother, King Wei is his backstage, between the two princes, between the words, he naturally takes care of Xu Ke, but Xu Ke is a lonely person, the more others take care of him, the more uncomfortable he feels.

Therefore, for a few days, Xu Ke was not very happy in his heart. Xu Ke knows this kind of "special care" of the two princes for him, and others naturally know better. After Xu Ke returned to the official room, he thought about it in his heart, on the one hand, he was extremely reluctant to take the "extra care" he enjoyed, and on the other hand, he was even more reluctant to let him go out of the city to catch demons......

At around noon today, Qiu Mingli, the head of the household, came to meet Xu Ke. Xu Ke was in Tsing Yi Wei and called two meals to entertain his teacher. The two were in Xu Ke's office, eating and talking.

Qiu Mingli first asked about Mingyue, and asked Xu Keke if he took Mingyue away, how did Mingyue settle it?

Xu Ke told Qiu Mingli about Mingyue's opening of a "Mingyue Tofu Workshop" in Changle Fang. After hearing this, Qiu Mingli couldn't help nodding frequently, and praised repeatedly, I can't imagine that this former top brand of Cuiyun Lou still has such the ability to make tofu, it seems that the old man's tofu in the autumn leaf grass hall will fall in the future!

Next, as soon as Tyumen changed his words, he talked about something he had just heard:

Recently, in Chang'an City, new dead bodies began to appear.

According to Qiu Mingli's opinion, it seems that the cat demon has come out to harm people again!

Xu Ke couldn't help but be surprised when he heard this, he couldn't believe it anyway, the Mao Jiaojiao he had seen with his own eyes would come out in the middle of the night to harm people!

Xu Ke immediately asked rhetorically, the cat demon did not harm people, how could there be a new dead corpse in Chang'an City, could it be a mistake?

Qiu Mingli asked at the time, how do you know that the cat demon did not harm people?

Xu Ke replied that that day when he was trapped in Jinding Mountain and his life was in danger, fortunately Mao Jiaojiao came to the rescue, which allowed him to return to the city safely.

Qiu Mingli saw that between Xu Ke's words, he actually defended the cat demon a little, and couldn't help but stare at Xu Ke's head and face for a long time, as if he was a little unsure whether Xu Ke was on the side of humans or on the side of the demon clan.

So, Qiu Mingli once again earnestly told Xu Ke that if he saw that cat demon in the future, he must not be soft on her, you must know that there is a difference between demons and demons, the demon clan was born to be the mortal enemy of our human race, if you don't take her today, in the future, she will kill more Chang'an men.

In Qiu Mingli's eyes, the defense of shemales is even more important than Mao Jiaojiao once saved Xu Ke. There is a difference between shemales, but it is careless, the cat demon once saved Xu Ke, but Xiao En, he repeatedly said earnestly, you must not lose big because of small!

Naturally, when Xu Ke was eating, he had to say to the teacher, and he didn't dare to say anything back.

During the banquet, Qiu Mingli also talked about Pei Cai's recuperation of opening Cuiyun Tower. Qiu Shangshu said happily, according to the report of the person sent by the household department to Cuiyun Building to supervise, after the reopening of Cuiyun Building, business has been extremely hot in the past few days. First, Pei Caibao has greatly reduced the prostitution salary, using various means to attract guests to the door, and secondly, the name of Cuiyunlou has been famous in Chang'an City for a long time, and now it has been closed for a month to welcome guests again. Yes, in Cuiyun Building, almost every night these days is full, and every girl in the building is too busy. The business is very good, and it has almost caught up with the two top brands of the day, "Mingyue" and "Jiaojiao" are there.

When Xu Ke heard this, he couldn't help but feel stunned. He smiled at Mr. Qiu and said, if it goes on like this, Pei Caibao may really be able to hand over 200,000 taels of silver every month!

Qiu Mingli also smiled and said, it seems that His Royal Highness King Wei doubled the number reported by Pei Caibao at that time, which is really too reasonable!

Qiu Mingli also said that if Pei Caibao can really complete the amount of 200,000 taels of silver per month, this will undoubtedly be a charcoal in the snow for the treasury of Daqian, not to mention anything else, just this Beijing official's salary, the emperor does not have to reduce it by half.

Xu Ke couldn't laugh or cry when he heard it. He couldn't help but sigh, the Beijing officials actually relied on Cuiyunlou's prostitution silver, this is also too funny, right?

Qiu Mingli also shook his head helplessly, and said that now that the treasury is empty, most of the taxes of various state capitals cannot be collected, even if they can collect a little, at most it is only fifty percent. The soldiers in the two frontiers in the north and south need to guard against the harassment of the enemy, and the amount of silver required is a huge amount...... In such a difficult country, as long as there is silver to come up, it is a great thing, no matter where he comes from?

Xu Ke immediately wondered, since the treasury is empty, we have to start from the root and increase the tax harvest of the big cadres! Why can't the taxes of the various state capitals achieve 10% of the actual revenue?

Qiu Mingli shook his head helplessly, and said the truth, it is really impossible to explain in three words, so it is better not to say it today......

So, after the master and apprentice had lunch, Qiu Mingli immediately took his leave and went back to his household.

On the occasion of separation, Qiu Mingli once again warned Xu Ke that in the future, if there is a chance, he must go all out to arrest the cat demon, and don't let her escape again!

After sending off the Qiu Ming ceremony, Xu Ke couldn't help but feel a little bored.

He can naturally understand Mr. Qiu's mood, Mr. made a special trip to Tsing Yi Wei today, and the intention was naturally for his good.

Now, the dead body of a man has appeared in Chang'an City, and if the news reaches the ears of the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven will definitely be angry. And before, the cat demon killed Li Zuo, the king of Han, and this old hatred added new anger, and maybe the Son of Heaven would be furious.

In the early morning of the first day of April, the Son of Heaven gave Xu Ke a public decree to catch demons within a time limit. Now, although the Son of Heaven released Xu Ke from prison and reinstated him as an official, the will of the day has not been abolished, that is, the holy order to capture the cat demon is still tightly tied to Xu Ke's head.

To put it bluntly, the cat demon has not been removed for a day, and the tight hoop on Xu Ke's head has been tied to the top of his head......

Moreover, now that the dead body of Chang'an City has reappeared, although the people still don't know what is inside, once the cat demon case stirs up Chang'an City again, then, when the time comes, if he still can't catch the cat demon, presumably the Son of Heaven will still issue a decree to punish him.

But the cat demon that he obviously had to catch had saved his life in the Jinding Cave, and in the future, even if he really saw the cat demon, how could he do it?!

In this contradictory and boring mood, Xu Ke stayed in the official room until the unitary hour.

In the face of the mountain of official documents, he was also a little lazy to review them.

When it was time for Xu Ke to go home, he was still a little depressed.

At three o'clock, everyone in the Xu Mansion, except for Yao Zibei, who was lying in the inner room, all the others sat in the front hall and ate together.

In the past few days, Yao Zibei has been living in the backyard and recuperating in the middle of the hazel, and today's dinner is usually cooked by Hu Yiyi in the kitchen.

Hu Yiyi made a table of good dishes with her own hands, and when she saw that Xu Ke was eating with no interest, she was still a little worried when she looked at the look between his eyebrows. Hu Yiyi couldn't help but feel a little strange, after everyone finished dinner, Hu Yiyi invited Xu Ke to sit in the Wenyu Pavilion in the back garden, and the two drank tea and chatted at the same time.

It was early summer, the weather was getting warmer, and the evening breeze blowing slowly by the rain pavilion carried the fragrance of flowers and plants. Xu Ke and Hu Yiyi sat at the stone table in Wenyu Pavilion, drinking the fragrant "Flower Rain Tea", tasting some fragrant fruit candied fruit bought by Shu Hattian from the East Market, and the original depressed mood gradually dissipated.

Hu Yiyi pointed to a few peach trees in the back garden and said with a smile:

"In another month, the peaches will be ripe, and when the time comes, we will come to this pavilion every night to sit down, and my sister will personally pick peaches for you to eat!"

Xu Ke looked at the lush peach trees, and saw that the leaves were covered with trees, and many small fruits had grown between the branches and leaves. Not only peach trees, but also plum trees, camphor trees, and willow trees, the whole back garden, under the careful care of Hu Yiyi, is full of vitality......

"Sister Hu, how do you know that I like to eat peaches?" Xu Ke couldn't help asking.

Hu Yiyi laughed to herself: "Your precious second brother Zhu Wucan, didn't you say it? You, you were originally a monkey!"

"Monkey, why does my sister say that I am a monkey?" Xu Ke never heard the joking meaning in Hu Yiyi's words, and suddenly heard the other party say that he was a monkey, and he thought that he was really a monkey.

In his mind, he remembered coldly that he had once been in the Divine King Pavilion, and when he had climbed the first floor, he had seen a "monkey man" wearing golden armor with his own eyes. In the Pavilion of the God King that day, except for this "Golden Armored Monkey Man", the rest of the children, scholars, and emperors seemed to be Xu Ke himself. Now, the former "monkey brother" is no longer seen, but a few days ago, he accidentally got a "golden chain mail" at the bottom of Xianghu Lake, and it was precisely by virtue of this talisman armor that he was not fatally killed by Lu Huoli's life-threatening sword.

Although the "Golden Armor Monkey Man" in the former God King Pavilion no longer knows where he is, the "Golden Chain Mail" on the other party's body is clearly worn on his body, Xu Ke at this time, if someone really tells him: "You are a monkey changed!", maybe he will also believe it.

Seeing that Xu Ke was stunned again, Hu Yiyi couldn't help but sneer, so she shook her finger in front of him and said:

"Xiao Wuxi, don't be in a daze! Sister is just joking with you!" After a pause, she saw that Xu Ke came back to her senses, and then asked: "Sister wants to ask you, what is the reason why you have been depressed when you returned home today?"

Xu Ke couldn't help but sigh and said:

"Ahem...... Sister Hu knows that just three days ago, a new man's dead body was found in Chang'an City!"

"A new man's dead body has been discovered? Is it that the ninth sister has come out to charm the man again?" Hu Yiyi said this, but she could see in her expression that she still didn't believe that the ninth sister Mao Jiaojiao would come out to harm people again.

"I also feel strange! I don't hide it from Sister Hu, in my disease-free heart, I also feel that your ninth sister doesn't look like a bad person! If she says that Mao Jiaojiao comes out to harm people again, I will not believe it first!"

Hu Yiyi nodded again and again, but after a while, she shook her head again, and said worriedly:

"Even if we don't believe that it was the ninth sister who came out to harm people, other people will still believe that it must be the ninth sister who killed those Chang'an men! After all, when the ninth sister first arrived in Chang'an, she also charmed many young and strong men in Chang'an City, and the ninth sister also killed one of your big princes!"

Xu Ke then said:

Now, not only the people of Chang'an City, but even the entire Daqian Imperial Court have regarded your ninth sister as a fierce demon who harms the capital. Two days ago, my senior brother and His Royal Highness King Wei also came to Tsing Yiwei together, and talked about the case of the cat demon in the capital for nearly an hour......"

Xu Ke then went to the Tsing Yi Wei on the second day of the fifth month, and scolded Shen Huan and Nangong silently, and gave a strict order to both of them to catch the cat demon within ten days.

In the end, Xu Ke suggested to Hu Yiyi again:

"Sister Hu, right now, only you, me, and Brother Shuxian will believe that Mao Jiaojiao is a good person. However, the people of Chang'an City will not believe it, and neither will the entire Daqian Imperial Court! If there are more and more dead corpses in Chang'an City, I am afraid that Mao Jiaojiao's life will be even more difficult! At this moment, the entire soldiers and horses of the Tsing Yi Guard are searching for Mao Jiaojiao everywhere! If my sister can see Mao Jiaojiao, I still hope that my sister can persuade her to let her leave Chang'an quickly, at least at this time, don't stay in Balin Plain!"

"Balin Yuan, Xiao Wuxi, how do you know that my ninth sister is hiding in Balin Yuan? Haven't the ninth sisters been hiding in the south of Chang'an City?" Hu Yiyi suddenly wondered.

After Xu Ke returned to the city, he just said how Mao Jiaojiao rescued him, and Xu Ke was still embarrassed to explain to Hu Yiyi what Mao Jiaojiao told Nangong silently.

"Sister Hu, is Mao Jiaojiao hiding in Balin Yuan at the moment? However, I heard that Mao Jiaojiao asked me to tell Nangong that she should be hiding near Balin Plain......" Xu Ke said.

"Nangong? What are you talking about your thousand households of Tsing Yi Wei, Nangong is silent? How can the ninth sister ask you to transfer the message to Nangong silent? Xiao Wuxi, you can't hide it, what did the ninth sister say, tell me quickly!"

When Hu Yiyi heard that her ninth sister had some involvement with Nangong Buyu that shouldn't have happened, she suddenly felt anxious in her heart, and hurriedly ordered Xu Ke to quickly tell her all about it.

At that moment, Xu Ke didn't dare to hide it, so he had to tell Hu Yiyi that day, Mao Jiaojiao not only rushed back to the cave to untie him, but also took out one of her mandarin duck brocades, and asked him to relay Nangong's affectionate love words, and told Hu Yiyi in detail about all of them.

Hu Yiyi couldn't help frowning when she heard this, she stood up and walked around Wenyu Pavilion non-stop, her eyebrows and eyes became more and more anxious.

"'This Fang Jinpa, is my Mao Jiaojiao's beloved thing, today to Nangong Qianhu, a little to show my heart! If he is interested in Nangong's brother in the future, please tie the silk handkerchief on his body, and meet him in Balin Yuan in the middle of the night!'......" Hu Yiyi repeatedly silently recited this sentence Mao Jiaojiao to Xu Ke, Xu Ke has a very good memory, Mao Jiaojiao's words that day, he actually paraphrased word for word, but Hu Yiyi kept shaking his head when he heard it, and later, Hu Yiyi couldn't help but lament:

"In this life, the ninth sister was really mistaken by the master!"

"Mao Jiaojiao's master, how can you ......?" Xu Ke said in his heart, I heard that you brothers and sisters are twelve of you, all of whom are learning from the same master, so isn't Mao Jiaojiao's master also your master?

Hu Yiyi didn't pay attention to Xu Ke's puzzled expression, and sighed to himself and said sadly:

"The master and his old man somehow insisted on teaching the ninth sister a set of kung fu to reconcile with the man, saying what is the 'harmony Dafa', which can help the ninth sister repair Yuanyang and refine the true yuan. Poor Jiumei was originally a woman of innocence and sexuality, but she was mistaken by this set of 'harmony and harmony', and looked for strange men everywhere to 'reconcile' with her...... In her life, although she has charmed countless men, none of them can win her heart. It's a pity that although the ninth sister is notorious outside, she is no different from a girl who has no experience in the world! Listening to what she said to Nangong Bushu, she must have been moved by her true feelings for this Nangong Qianhu......

Xu Ke couldn't help but be a little moved when he heard it, he and Mao Jiaojiao had only met a few times, although he saw that she didn't seem to be a bad person, but he never thought that this Mao Jiaojiao still had such a "unavoidable" past.

"Hey......" Hu Yiyi couldn't help but sigh again, and said worriedly: "How can this be good?!" Although the ninth sister has been practicing for more than a thousand years, her heart is extremely simple, and she doesn't know how sinister the people in this world are...... In case this Nangong Qianhu of yours ...... Xiao Wuxi, do you say that this Nangong Qianhu will pretend to be good with the ninth sister, but secretly attack the ninth sister......

Xu Ke thought for a moment, and immediately shook his head and said:

"Sister rest assured! Brother Nangong is a righteous gentleman, if he doesn't like Mao Jiaojiao, he won't go to Balinyuan to meet Mao Jiaojiao. If he wants to arrest Mao Jiaojiao, he will naturally lead his troops to arrest him openly, and he will never do the vicious act of 'pretending to be good with him, but secretly assassinating him'!"

Hu Yiyi stopped, looked at Xu Ke with stunned eyes, and said with some worry: "Xiao Wuxi, do you really think that the ninth sister will not be in danger......?"

Xu Ke hurriedly persuaded: "Sister, don't worry! Your ninth sister is extremely light, and I, Xu Ke, am far from her opponent! Brother Nangong's light skills will never be able to catch her! My entire Tsing Yi Guard, except for the Governor Shen Huan, it is estimated that no one will be able to catch Mao Jiaojiao!"

Hearing Xu Ke's words, Hu Yiyi was a little relieved, she stared at Xu Ke's eyes again, and sighed sadly:

"Hey...... We, the 'demons', no matter how long we practice, are still a demon body after all. We want to be part of your human world, rightly so...... It's too difficult! Xiao Wuxi, if the emperor of your great cadres orders you to arrest your sister in the future, you don't have to pity your sister...... By all means...... By all means...... Catch your sister, and my sister won't blame you......"

Speaking of which, Hu Yiyi's eyes couldn't help but fall a few tears.

Xu Ke hurriedly took a step forward, grabbed Hu Yiyi's hands, and felt that the palm of the "Bibo Fairy" in his hand was unusually cold at this time, and he felt distressed in his heart, and immediately covered Hu Yiyi's palm tightly, as if to pour the warmth of his whole body into the other party's hands:

"Sister Hu, don't say that! In my heart, Sister Hu will always be my dearest and most beloved sister! In this world, I don't allow anyone to hurt my sister! If the emperor wants to order someone to arrest my sister, even if I don't want to risk my life, I must protect my sister thoroughly!"

"Little Disease-Free ......"

"Sister......

The two of them each took half a step forward, Hu Yiyi raised his head, his eyes were full of tears, and gradually leaned back in front of Xu Ke's broad chest......

The two of them hugged each other tightly with a sad and excited mood.

Since Xu Ke met Hu Yiyi, this is the first time he has hugged Hu Yiyi affectionately.

Naturally, this is the first time he has embraced Hu Yiyi in his eight-line life wheel. Moreover, when Hu Yiyi was in the big wooden barrel before, and the two of them were naked opposite each other to heal his wounds, Xu Ke's eyes were closed at that time, and he couldn't count.

At this moment, the night was silent, only the stars were blinking overhead, and only the faint fragrance of grass and trees came from time to time.

The two of them were still holding each other tightly, as if time passed between heaven and earth, and everything changed, none of which had anything to do with them......

"Ahem!"

Outside the Wenyu Pavilion, in the corridor behind the front hall, there was a man's gentle coughing voice. Hu Yiyi hurriedly pushed Xu Ke away gently, and her face at this time was already a red color.

Tonight, she didn't know why she was talking and hugging her little disease-free affectionately.

"Master Xu, the fairy is also there!" The person who came was a middle-aged man, with a slightly fat figure, he bowed to Xu Ke and Hu Yiyi, and said respectfully.

"Dong Laifu, it's so late, what's the matter with you?" Xu Ke said with a slight dissatisfaction.

"Master Qiqi, someone knocked on the door outside the door, saying that he must see Master Xu, otherwise he won't leave......!

The person who came was Dong Laifu, the housekeeper of the Xu Mansion, at this time, Dong Laifu saw Xu Ke's displeasure on his face, and knew that he must be "not the right time to come", so he hurriedly bowed his hand to Xu Ke and said sarcastically.

"Well, Sister Hu, then I'll go and see!" Xu Ke bowed his hand to Hu Yiyi slightly, then turned around, took Dong Laifu, and strode towards the front hall.

After Xu Ke left, Hu Yiyi looked up at the sky above her head, and said silently in her heart, Ninth Sister, it's a little late tonight, Sister will come to Balin Yuan tomorrow to find you, no matter what, you can't easily trust those humans!

Ninth sister, ninth sister! This Daqian capital is not a suitable place for you to live for a long time! You'd better go back to your Xiao Kingdom as soon as possible!