“Explain yourself!” Xie Qiu Yan stared at the scholar with cold eyes. He enunciated each word, “Currently, His Highness is not here. Tang He, if you dare to do anything that messes with His Highness’s plans, do you believe that I’ll cut you down where you stand?!”
With his words, Xie Qiu Yan rested his hand on his long sword, ready to draw it out of its sheath if Tang He’s reply was not what he wanted to hear.
Tang He’s expression stiffened slightly, “…” The ancients speak the truth; when a scholar encounters a soldier, even if one’s reasons are justifiable, it’s still difficult to explain.
Facing Xie Qiu Yan, who could draw his sword at any moment, Tang He unconsciously waved his feather fan twice and took a deep breath. Only then, did he feel the stifling sensation in his chest eased a little. He cut to the chase, “As we both already know, the reason for His Highness’ return to the Imperial Capital is perfectly legitimate but those people in the capital are not happy about it. Empress Dowager Zheng is the Emperor’s di1A form of address by children of concubines towards the main wife. In other words, Empress Dowager Zheng was not the current Emperor’s biological mother. mother and would naturally not want a biological uncle by His Majesty’s side. The cabinet is also currently in charge of government affairs. Hence, the Prince Regent’s arrival signifies the addition of another voice of authority that many dislikes. But if we’re to really point at the one who sent the assassins, then it’s undoubtedly the Zheng Family.”
He was referring to the Zheng Family, not Empress Dowager Zheng.
Xie Qiu Yan might look uncouth on the outside but he also had profound thoughts. He shared the same sentiments so he nodded and said with a cold expression, “continue.”
Tang He proceeded, “These few days when I asked you to stop the procession and consolidate your subordinates, it was so that we can assess Zheng Family’s attitude.”
“If something had happened to His Highness, Zheng Family would’ve taken action immediately and pushed the blame onto us on the grounds that we’ve failed to protect the Prince Regent. Yet, the Zheng Family remained silent, as though they were still hesitating. Hence, I deduced that His Highness is still safe. In this assassination attempt, His Highness must’ve managed to escape safely that’s why the Zheng Family became fearful and dare not act recklessly.”
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Dkl Ckw Zyd’p lmralppksd xsarble kdvs qwau vbl xsal Mydt Tl lmrzykdle. Tl nzldnble bkp qkpv yde pvawnj vbl vyczl qsanlqwzzu yp bl wvvlale kd byvale, “Ebld R qkde swv obknb psd sq y ckvnb zlyjle vbl kdqsaxyvksd, R’zz pjkd bkx yzkhl!”
“Mblalqsal, R clzklhl vbyv Tkp Tktbdlpp yzps pwprlnvle vbkp xwnb. Ebknb oswze vbld lmrzykd obu bl byp dsv xyel nsdvynv okvb wp.” Gqvla y pzktbv rywpl, Mydt Tl pyke kd y zso hsknl, “Fs, Qldlayz pbswze nyzx uswaplzq. Fkdnl ol olal ralhkswpzu kdpvawnvle vs lpnsav vbl Vakdnl Sltldv vs vbl Rxrlakyz Ukvu, ol pbswze nsdvkdwl rasnllekdt yp pwnb. Gp qsa lhlauvbkdt lzpl, Tkp Tktbdlpp okzz byhl bkp sod rzydp yde kv’p dsv psxlvbkdt vbyv R nyd nsxxldv sd…”
Rd qynv, vblal oyp psxlvbkdt vbyv Mydt Tl sxkvvle. Mblal olal svbla rsppkczl alypsdp obu vblal oyp ds dlop qasx Tkp Tktbdlpp, svbla vbyd byhkdt prklp yde vaykvsap yxsdtpv vblx. Tl eke dsv hsknl vblx swv yp bl eke dsv oydv vs ekpawrv vbl xsayzl sq vbl vassrp. Wwavblaxsal, altyaezlpp sq obyv nkanwxpvydnl Tkp Tktbdlpp oyp kd, vblu pbswze pvkzz rasnlle okvb xyjkdt vblka oyu kdvs vbl Rxrlakyz Ukvu. Mbkp oyp yzps y oyu vbyv vblu nswze yke Tkp Tktbdlpp, cu ekhlavkdt psxl sq vbl yvvldvksd yde qsnwp yoyu qasx bkx.
Mbl vbswtbvp awddkdt vbaswtb Dkl Ckw Zyd’p xkde olal dsv yp nsxrzknyvle. Gqvla blyakdt vbyv Tkp Tktbdlpp oyp pyql yde vbl alypsd bl bye ulv vs xyjl nsdvynv okvb vblx oyp ewl vs vaykvsap yde Tkp Tktbdlpp bye y nswdvlaxlypwal, Dkl Ckw Zyd bye yzalyeu qlzv xsal yv lypl. Idsokdt vbyv vblal oyp ds xsal dlle qsa elzyu, bl dseele alpszwvlzu, “R wdelapvyde. R’zz yaaydtl qsa wp vs elryav kxxlekyvlzu yv dssd.”
Gqvla obknb, Dkl Ckw Zyd aszzle bkp lulp yv Mydt Tl yde okvb talyv pvaldtvb, ryvvle bkx sd vbl pbswzela, “Zsw yp olzz! Ebu eked’v usw pyu vbkp pssdla? Zsw fwpv bye vs ynv yzz xupvlakswp yde bye xl sd letl qsa vbl rypv plhlayz eyup.”&dcpr;
Tyhkdt dlyazu bye bkp pbswzela ekpzsnyvle qasx vbyv pxynj, Mydt Tl vssj y qlo pvlrp yoyu yde alprsdele nydekezu, “Gp sq dso, vbl pru kp pvkzz wdjdsod. Rv’p dsv kelyz qsa xl vs ts yaswde ekpnwppkdt Tkp Tktbdlpp’ yqqykap. R dllele vs ydyzugl vbl svbla ryavu qkapv.”
Only after Xie Qui Yan reached the door did he finally process Tang He’s words. ‘Tang He, this bastard, meant that he previously suspected me to be the traitor hence he didn’t tell me?!’
Xie Qui Yan was fuming. Previously, why did he not suspect the one surnamed Tang to be the traitor?!
Thinking about how much he trusted the one surnamed Tang, and how in return, was suspected to be the spy instead. Xie Qui Yan’s anger shot up by a couple more notches that he almost roll up his sleeves and gave Tang He a round of beating!
~~~~
After Prince She Zheng’s entourage of honored guards moved off, the citizens, who had been congested at the back, all breathed a sigh of relief.
Steward Lin and Zhen Ting Yun communicated with each other before they parted to settle what was needed individually in order to resume their journey the next day. As Zhen Ting Yun was persuaded by Yuan Hui long ago and managed to convince Old Madame Zhen as well, the arrangement of the Zhen family’s two carriages was as what Yuan Hui suggested earlier. Old Madame Zhen, Liu Shun, and Ba Zhen would share the first carriage while Yuan Hui and Zhen Ting Yun would share the second one.
After Steward Lin was privy to this arrangement, he felt that he needed to advise Zhen Ting Yun against it, “Miss, you haven’t done a proper apprenticeship ceremony. If you two ride in the same carriage, I’m afraid it’ll damage Miss’s reputation.”
Zhen Ting Yun had already made up her mind and would not be easily deterred by Steward Lin’s words. Furthermore, since Old Madame Zhen was already informed, this matter was considered to be settled.
Speaking of which, because the second carriage was used to transport luggage, it was much more spacious than the front carriage that ferried passengers. However, with the addition of the small stove and tea set, plus Yuan Hui being a tall man, the originally spacious carriage was now feeling a little small and somewhat cramped.
Originally, Yuan Hui planned to put up with it but after he entered the carriage, he realized that he found it unbearable. He frowned and stated, “Let’s get another carriage, I’ll pay for it.”
It was so cramped, how could he stand it?
As it was already part of Zhen Ting Yun’s nature to save money. Upon seeing this, she promptly consoled Yuan Hui, “It’ll be fine. Let me tidy up a little and it wouldn’t feel as squeezy anymore.”
She pushed the small stove and tea set to the back of the carriage and arranged to put the lighter baggage on top of them, creating more space in the carriage.
Yuan Hui observed as Zhen Ting Yun’s cheeks flushed from the exertion and light perspiration dotted the tip of her nose despite the cold weather as she rearranged the luggage and tea set. Even though he was hard-hearted, he still found himself softening and dropped the idea of getting another carriage. He decided to endure it and thus, acquiesced to this arrangement.
Since he decided to bear with it, Yuan Hui tried his best to ignore the less-than-ideal environment and considered how he could make use of it instead.
Examining the interior of the carriage, Yuan Hui pointed out to Zhen Ting Yun, “You can try to stick a piece of paper on the walls of the carriage and practice your calligraphy. This way, not only will you be strengthening your wrist, you’ll also be enhancing your concentration, allowing you to improve faster.”
Zhen Ting Yun had to give it to him, Yuan Hui’s method was simply insane!
Not only was it more challenging to write against the sides of the carriage, with the bumps and jolts of the moving carriage, there was no guarantee that she could even write the character correctly, let alone write it properly.
However, after a moment of contemplation, Zhen Ting Yun nodded in agreement. With her current foundation, it would be extremely difficult to catch up to her competition if she did things according to convention. Only by putting in more effort, giving it her all, and being more insane could she stand a chance.
After that, Yuan Hui took another glance around the space. In fact, Yuan Hui was not used to sharing a carriage with others. He had originally proposed to have Zhen Ting Yun use the same carriage for her to wait on him since out of everyone, she was the only one that suited his taste. Yet, he did not expect that the carriage would be so packed with luggage and the carriage compartment to be so small that it forced the two of them to be face-to-face in such inevitably close proximity.
Although it was not visibly notable, Yuan Hui was actually very territorial like a beast. Even if Zhen Ting Yun, this person, was neither too big nor too small of a problem, her close distance caused his whole being to be tense and unable to relax.
Even though Zhen Ting Yun was not distracted and only focused on practicing her calligraphy, playing the flute, and going through arithmetic books, Yuan Hui was still uneasy.
It was with much difficulty that Yuan Hui finally managed to relax. But the road was bumpy and the carriage suddenly jerked, causing Zhen Ting Yun, who was currently reading a book, to lose her balance and topple backwards into Yuan Hui’s arms.
Zhen Ting Yun, “!!!”
Yuan Hui, “!!!”
Yuan Hui could feel his expression change. It felt as though someone was using a hammer to hit his chest. His whole body froze, completely at a loss for what to do.
The girl’s black and glossy hair inadvertently brushed against the tip of his nose and the fragrance that came off her was very faint. However, the weight of the person in his arms was very real, like a full-on embrace.
Even if it was Yuan Hui, the phrase ‘warm fragrance and warm jade’3The saying illustrates the different senses used in describing a female’s body. It was the objectification of the fairer sex in a more erotic sense. appeared in his mind. It took him a long time before he came back to his sense and lowered his eyes to look at Zhen Ting Yun, who looked even more dazed than he did.
The girl was still young and was not yet enlightened. She only concentrated on her studies and as they were rushing on their journey, she rarely dressed up as well. Her usual get-up were plain shirts and old robes, and she did not cover her face in cosmetics.
However, she was currently lying in his arms, and her fringe hung loosely against her cheeks stained with a faint blush. Her apricot eyes were wide open, like black gems soaked in dew, glistening brightly.
The author has something to say:
Since everyone got in the carriage, there must be some form of benefit~
However after Yuan Hui enjoyed a few licks of candy, it would be time for him to go attend to his business.
Wohoo, they have finally embarked on their journey to the Imperial City~
＼(＾O＾)／
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