Chapter 213 Yinghua College (I)

Yinghua Academy is located in the west of Yingchuan City. It is the largest academy in the area. Over the years, it has trained countless learned people and has made immeasurable contributions.

Pan Yun, Pan Yuyin and Pan Chun all studied hard in this academy for several years.

It is worth mentioning that the academy was built by Pan Chuba and has been managed by local gentry for many years, and the Pan family has never received a penny. If you count carefully, Yinghua Academy is actually part of the Pan family's property.

The academy faces south and has three entrances. There is a separate courtyard in the east, named "Zhiyuan", for people to live in. There is a Langyuan in the west, named "Ningjing". Langyuan is full of rockeries and rocks, exotic flowers and plants, and a lake in the middle. The water is rippling, with a stone bridge on top and winding corridors, leading to all directions.

There is a platform in the lake, named "Jingxin Terrace", which can accommodate 100 people. This platform is where students read in the morning and where the Pan family will hold a sale meeting tomorrow.

In the evening, Liu Xunyi sat on the ground at the meditation platform, looking up at the night sky, with endless thoughts. Tonight, the clouds were thin and the mist was light, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The distance between heaven and earth seemed surprisingly far away, but it also seemed to be close at hand and within reach.

"We are all full of joy, strong and full of joy, and want to fly up to the blue sky to embrace the bright moon."

Suddenly, Xunzhen's voice sounded not far away. Liu Xunyi looked in the direction of the voice and saw her holding a pot of sake. Her deep and bright eyes were gazing at the starry sky from afar, and she was walking towards Liu Xunyi leisurely.

Tonight, Xunzhen rarely changed back into her girl's outfit, with long hair like a waterfall, silver hairpins hanging diagonally, and a purple skirt fluttering in the wind. From a distance, she looked like a fairy in the bright moon, walking on the starry river.

As if noticing Liu Xunyi's puzzled look, Xunzhen smiled, then shook the wine pot in his hand towards him and said with a smile: "I originally wanted to come here to 'raise a cup to the bright moon, and make three with my shadow', but I didn't expect you to be here too. Well, how about counting you in?"

While they were talking, Xunzhen had come closer, and without waiting for Liu Xunyi to answer, she sat down beside Liu Xunyi calmly. Her calm and composed look made Liu Xunyi feel a little at a loss as to what to do.

"Hehe, it's rare that you are in such a good mood, I'd better not disturb you." Before he finished speaking, Liu Xunyi had already stood up in a hurry and was about to leave.

"Are you afraid of me?" Xunzhen suddenly laughed, "Will I eat you?"

What Xunzhen said was true. Although Liu Xunyi was not afraid of Xunzhen, he was indeed deeply wary of her. Not only had he suffered many losses at the hands of this woman, but she also had a fatal handle on him. Therefore, when Liu Xunyi saw Xunzhen, he was inexplicably terrified and wanted to stay away from her.

"I... I just suddenly remembered that there are still some things I need to explain to Xu Heng and the others..."

"I have already explained everything that needs to be explained. You don't need to worry about it." Xunzhen smiled confidently. Suddenly, her beautiful eyes turned and stared at Liu Xunyi who was fidgeting. She said with a smile, "How can a man of your stature be afraid of a little girl like me? Do you have something to hide? Or are you guilty?"

"What the hell?" Liu Xunyi snorted, turned around and sat back next to Xunzhen, and said indignantly, "I just think you don't have enough wine, so I want to get a few more jars."

"Good wine is not about quantity, just like it is not about number of bosom friends." Xunzhen said with a smile, "You Han people have a saying, 'A thousand cups of wine are not enough when you meet a bosom friend, but half a word is too much when you don't get along with each other.' It is very insightful."

Liu Xunyi looked Xunzhen up and down with interest, and chuckled, "I really can't believe that you know a lot about poetry, wine and literature of us Han people."

"If you want to go further, you must learn to absorb and integrate. How can you be complacent?" Xunzhen chuckled. "Although I am a Liao person, I have been familiar with your Han people's "Classics, History, and Miscellaneous Works" since I was a child. Although there are many pedantic and conservative things in them, there are also many incisive and insightful remarks. The more I read, the more I feel impressed by your Han people's heritage and culture. No wonder the Han people's rule has continued from the Xia and Shang dynasties to the present day without interruption. I think it is indeed because of your strength."

Xunzhen's words made Liu Xunyi secretly happy.

"What a pity..." Before Liu Xunyi could start a humble greeting, Xunzhen changed the subject and continued, "You don't know how to choose the good and discard the bad, but keep everything. You don't know destiny, fate, current situation, and destiny. You claim to be well-educated, arrogant, and boastful. You are really pedantic. Those who don't read poetry and books are extremely cruel, selfish and greedy. This cycle repeats itself, and today's Song Dynasty is no longer a country, and families are no longer families. You have turned everything left by our ancestors into empty talk. How dare you be complacent and claim to be knowledgeable? In fact, you are just a facade, strong on the outside but weak on the inside."

Xunzhen's words made Liu Xunyi suddenly feel stunned. The slight joy that had just lingered in her heart disappeared in an instant, and was replaced by a deep thought.

For so many years, Liu Xunyi has been working hard for the court. But he has never thought carefully about how the crisis of the Song Dynasty was caused. Everything he did for the court was just a drop in the bucket, and he didn't even know whether it was right or wrong. The real reason for the decline of the Song Dynasty was far from as simple as he understood. It was not as easy as he imagined to revive the country.

Mastering a set of powerful martial arts can certainly help you charge into battle, dominate the battlefield, and even capture cities and territories to conquer the world. However, if you want to govern the world and bring peace to the four seas, it is difficult to achieve even with the most powerful martial arts.

Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but feel sad, and his expression darkened.

Seeing Liu Xunyi's lost look, Xunzhen smiled complacently and started drinking.

"By the way, I have to thank you for your suggestion to let the Pan family sell off their property." Liu Xunyi's expression straightened and he smiled bitterly, "Anyway, the things have been taken away, and the Pan family can't get them back. Even if they do, I'm afraid they won't be able to keep them for a few days. If it weren't for your suggestion, the Pan family might not have a penny left."

"Fortunately, Pan Wen kept all the documents and deeds when he was in danger. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to sell it even if we wanted to." Xunzhen replied nonchalantly, "The Pan family has offended all the black and white people in Yingchuan. In addition, their reputation has been ruined. Instead of staying here and living in fear, it's better to take the money and leave and find another way out."

"That's true." Liu Xunyi nodded, "We can protect them for a while, but not forever. But... will anyone really come to buy it tomorrow?"

"As long as the price is right, someone will bid." Xunzhen smiled confidently, "Long Si is not Li Lao Hu. He is reckless, eager for quick success, and will do anything to achieve his goals. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that a reckless man like Long Si will not live long. Therefore, Long Si cannot control the land of Yingchuan, and naturally cannot stop someone from buying the Pan family's property."

"Are you so sure?" Xunzhen smiled mysteriously, and then said: "Not only do I know that many people will bid tomorrow, but I also know that Long Si will show up."

"Long Si?" Liu Xunyi pondered, "Does he dare to come? I heard that he set up his lair on the boat just to make it easier for him to escape. Logically, he should avoid us, so why would he fall into our trap?"

Xunzhen stared at Liu Xunyi with a strange expression and said sarcastically, "Do you think you are Luo Tianjin? Just by the three words 'Liu Xunyi', you can shock the world and make people tremble with fear?"

"I……"

"You deliberately asked He Shan to pass the message to Long Si. Wasn't your purpose to lure the snake out of its hole?" Xunzhen saw through Liu Xunyi's thoughts and sneered, "Now that Long Si has been tricked by you, why have you lost your confidence?"

Liu Xunyi smiled bitterly and said, "I just want to shock the tiger, but I don't think I can really lure the snake out of its hole."

"Long Si has already regarded Pan Huai's shipping business as his own. Now that you want to sell his things openly, how can he not come?" Xunzhen explained.

"I don't care about Long Si, a mere figure." Liu Xunyi hesitated, "But the mansion master wants us to find out the real culprit behind the murder of Mr. Pan Ba. Could this matter... also be related to Long Si?"

Xunzhen nodded and said, "Mr. Pan Ba ​​died and Long Si came to rob the Pan family right after. How could such a coincidence happen in the world? And according to my inquiries, Long Si has always been a man of courage but no strategy, a fool. How could he think of using the robbery of the Pan family to expand his own power? What's more, he also knows how to collude with He Shan to pave the way for himself. Is it possible?"

"You mean... Long Si was bewitched?"

"It's hard to say whether he was bewitched by someone, but there must be someone behind Long Si." Xunzhen said with a smile, "But this person is not sincerely helping Long Si, but wants to kill him."

"how do I say this?"

"Knowing that the Pan family has the support of the Xianwang Mansion, Long Si still dared to rob the Pan family. He was obviously asking for trouble." Xunzhen laughed, "If Long Si was smart, he would not have failed to see the hidden dangers after robbing the Pan family. If he was stupid, how could he have thought of colluding with the government and cooperating with the outside? So there is only one explanation, Long Si is extremely stupid, and everything he did was instigated by others, so he dared to rob the Pan family, but he brought disaster upon himself without knowing it. And the person who instigated Long Si behind the scenes..."

"That's the person who killed Mr. Pan!" Liu Xunyi exclaimed subconsciously. At the same time, he looked at Xunzhen with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

"You're not that stupid!" Xunzhen smiled with satisfaction, "So I suggest that the Pan family hold a sales meeting. First, it is to help the Pan family earn some money so that they can find another way out in the future. Second, it is to lure out Long Si. This person is stupid and reckless. He will definitely not be willing to watch the things he has already obtained being resold to others by us, so he will definitely come here to cause trouble tomorrow."

"As long as we find Long Si, we can follow the clues and find out the real culprit behind him." Liu Xunyi nodded excitedly, "What a good plan! I admire it!"

Xunzhen frowned slightly at Liu Xunyi's praise, and shook his head doubtfully, saying, "Not necessarily! The real murderer is cunning and vicious, and he can't fail to see the trap we set for him, so he will definitely not surrender. Therefore, even if we catch Long Si, we probably won't be able to find out the whereabouts of the real murderer."

"That makes sense." Liu Xunyi replied without denying it, "If the real murderer is the same person who pretended to be Qin Tianjiu, then his whereabouts are indeed elusive and difficult to track down."

"So, relying solely on Long Si as bait may not be enough to lure him out." Xunzhen muttered to himself thoughtfully.

"What about that?"

"We must use a bigger bait." Xunzhen smiled meaningfully, "And we can't let the murderer think that he is the fish. Instead, we have to make him think... that we are the fish."

"What do you mean?" Liu Xunyi was confused and looked at Xunzhen blankly, "Who is the fish? Who is the bait?"

"We used the Pan family as bait to lure out Long Si, hoping to find the real murderer through Long Si. The real murderer used Long Si as bait to lure us in." Xunzhen speculated confidently, "The real murderer wants to take advantage of his trick, so we will do as he wishes. Therefore, we must first pretend to bite his hook, so that we can see his true face. He lures us, and we lure him. As for who will take whose hook, it depends on whose bait is heavier."

Liu Xunyi frowned, confused. After thinking for a long time, he shook his head and said, "You said that Long Si alone may not be able to lure him out, so who is the bigger bait?"

Hearing this, Xunzhen's beautiful eyes turned and looked at Liu Xunyi meaningfully. Her eyes made Liu Xunyi feel cold in his heart.

"I've actually found the best bait." Xunzhen smiled coquettishly. After that, she blinked at Liu Xunyi a few times, causing Liu Xunyi's heart to sink and give him a bad feeling.

"What's that 'raising a cup to invite the bright moon, and my shadow and I become three'? I guess... this is the real reason why you came to see me, right?" Liu Xunyi asked suspiciously, "Just tell me! Who do you want to be the bait?"

"Far away, yet so close!"

……

(End of this chapter)