Chapter 35 Hot Potato
The emperor suddenly became furious, and Eunuch Deng's loud shouting woke up all the civil and military officials in the court.
The courtiers standing below suddenly knelt down, prostrated themselves on the ground and shouted: "Your Majesty, please calm down."
The emperor stood in front of the dragon throne, looked at the courtiers kneeling on the ground, and then glared at Shen Jiande.
"Shen Jiande, you really opened my eyes. Since the beginning of the dynasty, you are the first person to be impeached by all the censors. You are really capable."
Shen Jiande was so frightened that he was sweating profusely. He lay on the ground trembling all over, not daring to move at all.
"Your Majesty, I..." Shen Jiande wanted to explain but was stopped by the emperor.
"Shut up, Lord Shen, you actually have the energy to keep a mistress. I will fine you one year's salary and suspend your duties. Go home and reflect on yourself. Come back to court when you are in a clear mind."
"Retreat."
The emperor was so angry that he personally called for the court to be adjourned, and left with a gloomy face.
No one in the court paid any attention to Shen Jiande. They all stood up and left, wishing to stay away from Shen Jiande.
I was afraid that if I got a little closer to him, I would attract disgusted looks from my colleagues.
When the sun was at its highest point in the sky, Shen Jingxuan and Chuntao came out of the Qianyu Chamber of Commerce and met a young man of the same age as him.
She saw at a glance that the jade pendant worn on the boy's waist was exactly the same as the one given to her by the uncle she had rescued before.
Shen Jingxuan arranged for Chuntao to return to Qianyu Chamber of Commerce, and she followed the young man from a distance.
She followed the boy, and in the blink of an eye, the boy's figure disappeared from Shen Jingxuan's sight.
She quickly took a few steps forward. There was no trace of the young man anymore. Only an empty alley was left.
Seeing that there was no one in the alley, Shen Jingxuan decided to return the same way she came, because Chuntao was still waiting for her at Qianyu Chamber of Commerce.
Before she turned around, she sensed a dangerous aura approaching from behind. Shen Jingxuan turned around abruptly and slapped the opposite side.
The palm winds collided with each other, causing huge fluctuations, forcing the two men to take a step back.
Li Luo was slightly surprised when he saw Shen Jingxuan fighting with him.
He didn't expect that a little girl could have such skills.
Li Luo saw that Shen Jingxuan had no ill will towards him, so he bowed with both hands and asked, "Why are you following me, young lady?"
Shen Jingxuan didn't want to exchange pleasantries with him, so she asked directly, "Is the jade pendant you are wearing a status jade pendant?"
Li Luo frowned: "Why do you say that, girl?"
"I've seen a jade pendant similar to yours, so I'm curious." Shen Jingxuan looked at the young man opposite.
Shen Jingxuan stared at Shangnian's face closely, not wanting to miss any change on his face.
Li Luo asked anxiously, "Miss, can you let me take a look?"
If there is one jade pendant that is similar to his, it is only his master's identity jade pendant.
But he had been looking for his master's whereabouts, but there was no news.
"Okay." Shen Jingxuan responded.
She held the jade pendant given by the uncle in her hand, with her hand slightly open, and a jade pendant lying flat on the palm of her hand.
When Li Luo saw this, his eyes suddenly widened and he reached out to take the jade pendant, but Shen Jingxuan dodged him.
He looked at Shen Jingxuan anxiously: "Girl, where did you get this jade pendant?"
Seeing the boy's anxious look, Shen Jingxuan guessed that the boy must know the uncle.
"An uncle gave it to me." Shen Jingxuan replied calmly.
Li Luo kept staring at Shen Jingxuan, as if trying to determine whether her words were true or false from her expression.
"In that case, girl, come with me." Li Luo turned and left, and Shen Jingxuan followed slowly behind him.
They walked a short distance and arrived at a yard, and Li Luo knocked on the gate.
Not long after, a person came out and welcomed them in. The people nearby stared at Shen Jingxuan closely.
Li Luo took her into a room where three old men and a few relatively younger people were sitting.
As soon as Shen Jingxuan stepped into the room, everyone inside looked at her.
She stood at the entrance and scanned the people sitting in front of her one by one.
Until Li Luo's voice rang out, interrupting the strange atmosphere.
Li Luo said, "Elder, this is someone I met on the road. She may know where my master is."
The Great Elder stood up and asked: "She knows? Are you sure?"
They have been looking for the Palace Master for more than a month, but to no avail.
He seemed to have disappeared, and no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't find him. How did a little girl know about this?
Li Luo looked at Shen Jingxuan, then turned to the Great Elder and continued, "Great Elder, this girl has my master's jade pendant."
The Great Elder was surprised. The Palace Master would not easily give the jade pendant to others unless...
His eyes widened: "Girl, is the person who gave you the jade pendant here?"
Shen Jingxuan listened to their conversation and knew that they were the uncle's subordinates, but she wondered if they could be trusted.
She glanced at the boy. He should be trustworthy, right? After all, he was the uncle's apprentice.
Shen Jingxuan still didn't speak. The Great Elder saw what she was thinking and dismissed everyone else in the room.
After everyone else left, only Li Luo and the three old men were left in the room.
Li Luo saw that Shen Jingxuan didn't say anything, just looked at them, and he didn't know what she was thinking.
After hesitating for a moment, Li Luo said, "Miss, my name is Li Luo, and these three are the elders of the Scarlet Flame Temple."
"The jade pendant in your hand is the identity jade pendant of my master. The three elders and I have been looking for the whereabouts of my master."
Shen Jingxuan frowned: "Since you are uncle's apprentice and elder, why do you let uncle be alone outside?"
Seeing that Shen Jingxuan did not trust them, the Great Elder stopped Li Luo who wanted to continue speaking.
The Great Elder personally talked about what happened a month ago.
It turned out that there was an internal conflict in the Scarlet Flame Temple, and the three elders were trying to put things right.
They didn't expect that the Palace Master's junior fellow apprentice had sent someone to poison the Palace Master in advance. The civil strife entered a white-hot stage and the Palace Master became poisoned due to his injuries.
They tried their best to protect the palace master and leave.
After the civil strife ended, they sent people to look for the Palace Master everywhere, but they never found him.
After hearing what happened, Shen Jingxuan sighed inwardly. Although they tried their best to let the uncle escape.
But the uncle was still deeply poisoned and could never come back.
Shen Jingxuan asked: "Has the civil unrest been resolved now?"
Li Luo answered first: "It's resolved. Everything in the palace is back to normal now."
Hearing Li Luo's words, Shen Jingxuan sighed: "But I will never see the uncle again. He can't come back."
Shen Jingxuan told the three elders and Li Luo how she saved the uncle.
She also told them that the uncle passed on his inner strength to her before he died in order to repay her for saving him.
After saying that, Shen Jingxuan put the jade pendant on the table and walked out the door.
One of her feet had already crossed the door when she was unexpectedly pulled back by several elders.
The second and third elders held her back, as if they were worried that she would run away: "Girl, you can't leave."
Shen Jingxuan was puzzled: "Why? I have told you everything I know, and I have returned the jade pendant to you."
The Great Elder laughed and said, "Girl, you may not know that the Palace Master gave you the jade pendant, which means that you are the next Palace Master and you cannot disobey."
Shen Jingxuan was stunned: "You can't disobey? I didn't agree. I just helped him put it away because there was no one around him."
The second elder raised his eyebrows and said, "Miss, since you have accepted it, you cannot regret it. From now on, you will be the master of the Scarlet Flame Temple."
"I don't want it." After saying that, he walked towards the door again.
The Great Elder immediately got angry and chased after Shen Jingxuan, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her back.
He pressed Shen Jingxuan's acupoints, picked up the jade pendant and stuffed it into her sleeve.
Shen Jingxuan said angrily: "I said no, I don't want to be your palace master."
The third elder was just being shameless: "The Palace Master chose you as the successor, so it must be you."
He turned to the Great Elder and said, "I will follow this girl and protect her from now on. You guys go back to the palace."
After he finished speaking, he pulled Shen Jingxuan up and was about to leave, but was stopped by the first elder and the third elder.
The voices of the first and second elders rang out at the same time: "I will stay, you go back."
The three old men started arguing like this. Shen Jingxuan raised her eyebrows at Li Luo who remained silent.
As if asking what was going on? Li Luo looked at Shen Jingxuan and spread his hands, expressing his helplessness.
When the three old men came to the conclusion, there was no trace of Shen Jingxuan and Li Luo around.
The three old men shouted in unison: "Where are the people?"