Chapter 132 The Deadline Is Approaching
After the banquet in Chunhe Hall was over, the Queen was tired of sitting, and before leaving, she told her children to take a walk in the Imperial Garden, giving those who were attracted to each other a chance to communicate with each other.
After everyone respectfully saw the Queen off, they left the hall in twos and threes. Young people who were interested in each other followed each other's footsteps, and soon there were only three people left in the hall: Tang Ying, who was still sipping her drink slowly, Weibei Marquis Shen Qian, who had ulterior motives, and Jing Feng, who had burning eyes.
Tang Ying was a little tipsy from drinking. She was just about to close her eyes and take a nap for a quarter of an hour when a shadow fell over her head. Someone leaned over and invited her, "It's a beautiful spring day outside the palace. Why don't you go for a walk together, sir?"
She looked up, met Jing Feng's smiling eyes, and asked with concern, "Is it okay?"
"I can still walk." Tang Ying remembered the agreement with Jing Feng and stood up with the help of the food table. Her legs were a little numb after sitting for a long time, and she seemed to be a little drunk and staggered. Jing Feng hurriedly supported her.
There was a loud bang from the other side, and someone slammed a wine jar onto the table, saying coldly, "What's the point of pulling and tugging in broad daylight?"
Tang Ying glanced at him and pretended to be deaf and dumb.
Jing Feng was very surprised: "What does the Marquis mean? If the rumors are true, the Marquis is not a person who sticks to the old ways."
Shen Qian thought to himself: Achen risked his life to come to Beijing for you, but you were flirting with Jingfeng in Chunhe Hall. Are you doing this to him?
Unfortunately, he couldn't question Jing Feng in person, so he could only suppress his anger and sneered, "Master Jing, you might as well tell me that I'm frivolous, but I'm frivolous depending on the person. I'm not like Master Jing who dares to make moves in the palace."
Tang Ying: "My Lord, you are lenient to yourself and strict to others."
Jing Feng: "What the master said makes sense."
Shen Qian glared at the two of them as they walked out of Chunhe Hall side by side, then he realized - are these two people in love with each other?
He couldn't help but feel anxious for Fu Chen, and didn't bother to argue with Tang Ying, so he quickly ran after him. He saw that the two were kept an arm's length apart, and there was no , but they were still talking and laughing as they walked towards the Imperial Garden, and they also commented on the scenery of the royal garden along the way.
Tang Ying would occasionally stop to admire the flowers of the weeping willows, lower her head and sniff them, while Jing Feng would wait patiently beside her, like a perfect couple.
When the palace servants saw this scene, they began to talk among themselves.
"Princess Changning and Master Xiaojing are getting married soon?"
"I heard that Master Xiao Jing was willing to offend Minister Zhang for Princess Changning. So what's been said outside is true?"
"What? How come I don't know? Tell me quickly."
“…”
Shen Qian followed him all the way and was almost furious. He was even angrier than when he found out that his concubine was having an affair in his backyard.
Tang Ying and Jing Feng walked to the waterside, and they picked two clean large rocks adjacent to each other and sat down.
"There is one thing I don't understand, and I would like to ask Master Xiaojing to enlighten me."
"Master Tang, please speak——"
"Why me?" Tang Ying turned around with a smile and looked at Jing Feng. "Don't talk about love at first sight. I don't believe it. I just want to know what Master Jing wants from me? Power or profit? Or both?"
"I would rather go against my father's wishes and help Master Tang's cousin clear his name. It turns out that I am such a person in Master's heart?" Jing Feng covered his chest with a heartbroken look: "Jing has wasted more than 20 years and never thought of getting married. Since I met Master, I feel that my future wife should be someone like you. Can I call you Yingying?"
"No!" Tang Yingduan said coldly: "Just think of it as Tang I owe Master Xiao Jing a favor, no matter when I will fulfill it. As for marrying a wife... I believe there are many ladies in the capital who are eager to marry Master Xiao Jing."
After she stood up and left, Jing Feng stared at her back with a smile on his lips.
He has been rebellious since he was young, and he would insist on doing something no matter what others told him not to do.
The same was true when it came to being an official. After he passed the imperial examination, his father wanted to keep him in Beijing to join the Hanlin Academy, but he insisted on asking to go to the local area to be an official. As for getting married, his wife had found many beautiful ladies from wealthy families for him, but unfortunately he rejected them all. The arrangements made by his parents and the words of the matchmaker were of no use to him.
"But I just don't like any of them." Jing Feng whispered softly to the receding figure.
Shen Qian followed Tang Ying all the way out of the palace and finally stopped her at the palace gate.
"Hey, walk slower."
Tang Ying turned around in surprise: "My Lord, you are in a good mood today and you have to stare at me. What's the matter?"
Shen Qian really wanted to say - Do you know that Achen is back?
After seeing how intimate she and Jingfeng were, he became uncertain.
Fu Chen has been gone for more than a year. What if she only has Jing Feng in her heart now?
After all, Jingfeng is an excellent choice in terms of appearance, family background and ability, and his future will always be better than Fu Chen, a prisoner who faked his death.
"It's... it's nothing." Shen Qian thought of Fu Chen and felt that his abdomen was still in severe pain. Besides, she was willing to risk being beheaded to send Fu Chen out of Beijing. This friendship alone was admirable, and he really shouldn't always cause trouble for her and embarrass her.
"How about...I take you back home?"
Tang Ying looked at him suspiciously. The Marquis of Weibei, who had already turned against her and had planned to never have anything to do with her, suddenly showed her goodwill. She still kept a few more thoughts in her mind: "My Lord, you are not planning to hit me with a club halfway through, are you?"
Shen Qian said sternly, "Forget it if you don't want it." He kicked the horse's belly and left angrily.
Tang Ying: “…” I always feel like something is wrong.
※※※
A few days after the Queen's Spring Banquet, the Emperor of Southern Qi fell ill.
He was worried and suspicious during his illness, so he summoned Taoist Xuanzhen to serve him and asked, "Master, do you think my illness will ever be cured? "
Taoist Xuanzhen was quite knowledgeable about medicine, but seeing that the Southern Qi Emperor's face was as pale as gold paper and his lips were deep purple, and he would often call the palace servants to bring him cold drinks, he knew that his time was up, so he said, "Your Majesty has made great progress in cultivation, but there is still a turbid qi in your abdomen that has not been released, and you still need to have sex with a woman. However, there are many requirements for the woman you want to have sex with, so you need to choose carefully. Wait for me to open the altar and perform a ritual, and I will personally choose a Yin person for Your Majesty."
The Southern Qi Emperor closed his eyes and said, "Approved."
Taoist Xuanzhen said, "This is a serious matter. We need to borrow a few people from Your Majesty to protect us. It would be better to let Tang, the head of the Forbidden Cavalry Division, bring a few people to protect us."
The Southern Qi Emperor said again: "Let's do as the Immortal wishes."
Taoist Xuanzhen left the palace to look for Zhang Wenhua. When the two met, they laughed loudly: "Everything has been settled. Your nephew can avenge his great hatred."
Zhang Wenhua was overjoyed: "Really? You didn't lie to me?"
After Tang Song was acquitted, Zhang Wenhua blamed Tang Ying for his nephew's death. He gritted his teeth and wanted revenge. He sent a large sum of money to beg Xuan Zhen: "Master, you must find a way to get rid of this girl for me, so that I can vent my hatred."
Taoist Xuanzhen agreed to his request: "You and I serve the same master. Sir Zhang, there is no need to be so polite. I will definitely seek justice for your nephew."
Zhang Wenhua hated Tang Ying so much: "Master, don't give this girl any pain. It would be best if she was made to suffer to the point of wanting to die."
Taoist Xuanzhen had also met Jingfeng, who was of the right age to Tang Ying. He thought that they loved each other, but he let her serve the Emperor of Southern Qi, who had one foot in the coffin. He would then prescribe some strong and dangerous medicine for her. When the time came, after all was settled, she would either be sent to the Bamboo Forest Temple to live out the rest of her life with green lamps and ancient Buddhas, or be forced to be buried with the Emperor of Southern Qi. Wouldn't that be satisfying?
He told his plan to Zhang Wenhua, who clapped his hands and praised: "Master, this method is brilliant. When the time comes, I will definitely go and see off the head of the Forbidden Cavalry Division in person."
I don't know whether to send her to the underworld or to the Bamboo Forest Temple.
Tang Ying knew nothing about this, but she had been restless recently, always feeling that someone was secretly spying on her, so she even brought a few more people with her when she went out, and secretly sent people to investigate. Strangely enough, the spies sent by the Imperial Cavalry Division investigated for several days, but did not find any clues. Even she herself almost suspected that she was just being suspicious. After working in the Imperial Cavalry Division for a long time, her suspicion was even more serious than that of the Southern Qi Emperor.
When she entered the palace again, she received an oral order from the Emperor of Southern Qi, ordering her to protect Taoist Xuanzhen in three days.
Tang Ying was quite dissatisfied with the fact that the Emperor of Southern Qi was indulged in feudal superstition in his later years and was fooled by Taoist Xuanzhen, but she never came to Beijing to be a loyal minister, so naturally she was too lazy to make any fatal remonstrations. Instead, she perfectly carried out the Emperor of Southern Qi's orders, no matter how absurd they were, and quickly gained his trust. Although she was not as good as Gan Jun, she could still rank among the emperor's.
