“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 di[1] 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.”
Hearing his deduction, Xie Qui Yan’s expression eased slightly. But he was still frowning as he asked solemnly, “Since His Highness is safe, why is there still no news from him?”
Tang He calmly explained, “You and I both know that His Highness originally commanded me to lead the entourage towards the Imperial City first while he will follow after. One group would travel in the open, while the other in secret. At the same time, he also wanted to assess the attitudes of those in the Imperial City and maybe entice the snake from its hole[2]. This was a confidential command from His Highness that only a few of us knew. Yet, our journey towards the Imperial City was smooth sailing while His Highness encountered the assassins. Therefore, there must’ve been a spy among us that leaked this classified information that led to endangering His Highness.”
Xie Qiu Yan’s expression morphed into fury the more Tang He explained. He clenched his fist and struck the table forcefully as he uttered in hatred, “When I find out which son of a bitch leaked the information, I’ll skin him alive!”
“Therefore, I believe that His Highness also suspected this much. Which would then explain why he has not made contact with us.” After a slight pause, Tang He said in a low voice, “So, General should calm yourself. Since we were previously instructed to escort the Prince Regent to the Imperial City, we should continue proceeding as such. As for everything else, His Highness will have his own plans and it’s not something that I can comment on…”
In fact, there was something that Tang He omitted. There were other possible reasons why there was no news from His Highness, other than having spies and traitors amongst them. He did not voice them out as he did not want to disrupt the morale of the troops. Furthermore, regardless of what circumstance His Highness was in, they should still proceed with making their way into the Imperial City. This was also a way that they could aid His Highness, by diverting some of the attention and focus away from him.
The thoughts running through Xie Qiu Yan’s mind were not as complicated. After hearing that His Highness was safe and the reason he had yet to make contact with them was due to traitors and His Highness had a countermeasure, Xie Qiu Yan had already felt more at ease. Knowing that there was no more need for delay, he nodded resolutely, “I understand. I’ll arrange for us to depart immediately at noon.”
After which, Xie Qiu Yan rolled his eyes at Tang He and with great strength, patted him on the shoulder, “You as well! Why didn’t you say this sooner? You just had to act all mysterious and had me on edge for the past several days.”
Having nearly had his shoulder dislocated from that smack, Tang He took a few steps away and responded candidly, “As of now, the spy is still unknown. It’s not ideal for me to go around discussing His Highness’ affairs. I needed to analyze the other party first.”
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. Follow the newest chapters on novelping(.)com.
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’[3] 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＾)／
[1] A 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.
[2] To expose a malefactor.
[3] The 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.