Chapter 25: Reunion
People are strange sometimes. They seem very distant from each other, but quarreling actually brings them closer to each other and makes them more aware of each other's true expression beneath the mask.
For example, whenever Lord Shen called her "Miss Zhang", Tang Ying always felt that Commander Fu's eyes were full of mockery, as if he was saying: Just fool this fool!
Tang Ying: “…”
She originally thought that Commander Fu was difficult to approach, and even the way he went to see Teng Yun was to trick Shen Qian into thinking of a way. Who knew that it was Fu Chen who stepped in in the end? The gratitude in her heart was forced away by his teasing words in the middle of the night. Now she always feels that this man's cold eyes are actually mocking others all the time, right?
Not two days after Teng Yun moved into the Fu Mansion, the Second Prince came to visit with his younger sister, ostensibly to visit Teng Yun. This was probably his purpose, but it was hard to say for the Ninth Princess.
Because the Ninth Princess never went to the stable from beginning to end.
She dressed up beautifully and sat in the hall of the Fu family. Lord Shen, who was acting as the host and entertaining the guests, told her the truth: "Princess, Achen has been very busy recently and I don't know when he will be back. Instead of waiting for someone in the Fu mansion, it would be faster for the princess to go to the Forbidden Cavalry Department to arrest someone."
Lord Shen has various female confidantes. Not to mention their looks but judging by their personalities, there is no one like the Ninth Princess. He feels that he cannot afford her. Applying this to others, he feels that his childhood friend... probably cannot afford her either.
"I'm not here to see Master Fu today." The Ninth Princess took the opportunity to sip tea and scanned the hall. It was full of male servants. She had countless guesses in her mind, but she was still tactful in her words: "A few days ago, a few of my men had a fight with a girl. I heard that the girl moved into the Fu Mansion?"
Lord Shen smiled secretly in his heart. Even though she was a daughter of a rich family, when she met a man she liked, she had to humble herself and come forward to inquire about the enemy's situation.
He deliberately dawdled for a while, and when he saw the Ninth Princess looking forward to it, he pretended to be casual and said, "Well, Achen took them in because he felt sorry for the brother and sister."
The Ninth Princess thought of Miss Tang who was taken in by her brother's house. She was sick every few days and needed a doctor. The maid would ask her brother to come over and comfort her from time to time. She was in a bad mood.
There is so much to say about the word "shelter".
If she could be taken in by Lord Fu while living on the streets, she would definitely have more options than Miss Tang instead of just crying and complaining.
Unfortunately, her dear old father, His Majesty the Emperor, would not allow her to do such a shameful thing.
The Ninth Princess carefully inquired about the enemy's situation: "Did the girl ask for a doctor?"
"What do you want the doctor to do?"
That means you are not pretending to be weak.
The Ninth Princess breathed a sigh of relief and gave a friendly reminder: "The girl that Master Fu took in...did she cry in front of Master Fu?"
Lord Shen thought about it and said, "I've never seen it." At least when there were three people present and he was a witness, he had never seen Tang Ying cry in front of Fu Chen.
No pity either.
The Ninth Princess was confused: "What does she do in the mansion on weekdays?"
Lord Shen: “Cooking—” Last night’s chicken soup and wontons supper was delicious. He even savored it in the morning. He wanted to have another meal, but then he heard that the chicken soup was gone, so he regretfully changed it for baked pancakes.
The Ninth Princess cursed in her heart, isn't it just cooking to be more virtuous ? When she goes back to the palace to find a few imperial chefs, she doesn't believe that they can't be better than the cooking skills of a wild girl.
"Is she just good at cooking?" The rival started to criticize her before they even met: "Didn't I hear that she is good at fighting?" Looking at the miserable looks of Arong and others, one can know how fierce this girl is.
Lord Shen didn't know whether he did it on purpose or just casually. He counted on his fingers: "Miss Zhang knows a lot of things. She knows cooking, painting, healing and horse training. She also takes care of Fu Yingjun and Tengyun..." He was interrupted by the Ninth Princess before he could finish his words.
"Who is Fu Yingjun?" She was frightened. She always felt that the name sounded like a child in Fu Chen's family who needed care. Wouldn't that mean he was a child?
Lord Shen: "...Oh, Fu Yingjun is the wild horse king."
The Ninth Princess breathed a sigh of relief.
Lord Shen: "Miss Zhang gave me this name."
The Ninth Princess was even more upset: "That's too bad! Master Fu agreed?"
Lord Shen: "Achen didn't object." Acquiescence means admission. He has had this problem since he was a child, so his silence means his agreement.
The Ninth Princess no longer wanted to beat around the bush: "Send someone to call that girl over."
Lord Shen was very familiar with the drama of the two women fighting. He sat down steadily, called a servant to invite people, moved the snack plate over, and prepared to peel oranges and watch the show.
Tang Ying stayed in the stable for two days in a row, and Teng Yun was able to get up.
It recovered incredibly quickly, perhaps because it saw its familiar little master, which gave it a will to survive. It tried hard to eat the grass, fodder , and water that Tang Ying fed it. Although it was still a skeleton covered with a layer of skin, it finally survived.
As soon as the second prince entered the room, he heard the servant say that Fu Chen was not at home, so he also thought of Master Fu and asked the servant to lead him to the stable.
When she went over, Tang Ying was rolling up her sleeves to brush Fu Yingjun's hair. The dog didn't move, but kept poking its head into the next stable. Tang Ying suspected that it was showing off.
She has been guarding Tengyun day and night recently, and has taken care of Fu Yingjun's three meals a day. However, her habitual activities of going out for a walk in the city have been temporarily cancelled, which has made both Lord Shen and Fu Yingjun very dissatisfied.
Lord Shen could at most retreat to his room to paint his picture of a galloping horse, but Fu Yingjun almost turned into an expert in dismantling a circle, digging a hole in the ground with his hooves, and judging by his plans, it seemed that he was preparing to dismantle the wall connecting him and Tengyun.
Tang Ying: “…” She now had reason to believe that the Emperor gave Fu Yingjun to his minister simply because this guy had a bad temper, affecting the harmonious coexistence of the horses in the Imperial Stables. Moreover, he might have caused damage in the Imperial Stables and served as the captain of a demolition team.
When Yuan Lang came over with the servant, she led the beast out and stroked its fur while threatening it with her fist: "Fu Yingjun, you better behave yourself, okay? If you make trouble again, I'll beat you up, believe it or not."
She raised her fist and waved it twice in front of Fu Yingjun's eyes. The guy knew the situation and behaved himself immediately.
Yuan Lang happened to see it and immediately laughed.
"Can it understand?"
Suddenly someone spoke behind her, and Tang Ying turned around and found that it was the second prince.
"Even if it doesn't understand, as long as it recognizes my fist, that's enough." Tang Ying bowed to Yuan Lang and said, "Second Prince, are you here to see Tengyun?"
Yuan Lang found it amusing to see that the hot-tempered wild horse king was as obedient as a lamb in her hands. He looked inside and found that Teng Yun was standing by the trough, eating grass with his head down. He was surprised and delighted: "It's only been two days, and Teng Yun looks much better."
Tang Ying was afraid that he would mention taking Tengyun back, so she quickly said something superstitious: "Your Highness, don't you feel refreshed these past two days? Tengyun is really incompatible with your family. If he goes back, he will probably fall ill."
How could Yuan Lang not guess what was in her mind - she just couldn't bear to be separated from Tengyun.
He looked like a good man, and seemed to accept everything Tang Ying said: "Miss, you are right, it seems that Tengyun is not doing well in the palace, so let him stay in Fu's house for the time being."
Tang Ying felt that the Second Prince was not actually that annoying, and... he was a little blind. He picked up a fake Miss Tang and brought her back, and went all over the capital to find doctors to treat her. If this news got out in the future, she wondered if he could still maintain such an elegant demeanor.
She is more curious.
However, she has no plans to announce her identity yet. Staying in the Fu Mansion as Miss Zhang, and with Lord Fu's willingness to cooperate, it may be easier to achieve her goal.
Since the second prince is not going to take Tengyun away, Tang Ying can live in harmony with him.
The Second Prince did not mind the filthiness of the stable. He stood beside Tang Ying and chatted with her. When he saw the scar on her forearm, he asked, "What happened to your arm?"
In fact, this was not very polite. At least he, an unmarried man, not only stared at the girl's arm for a long time, but also wanted to get to the bottom of it. The two of them were far from familiar enough to ask personal questions.
However, Tang Ying had also been seen wearing shorts and suspenders all over the streets in her previous life. Later, she lived with Tang Yao in the military camp and interacted with rough and careless men. She did not realize that Yuan Lang's words were beyond the rules. She concentrated on braiding Fu Yingjun's hair and adding a red ribbon. She said casually, "I was cut when I was fighting with bandits."
Fu Chen, who had just returned home: "..." The one who was hacked was a bandit, right?
This ability to confuse right and wrong.
Whether the little girl is telling the truth or not seems to depend entirely on her mood.
When he came over, he found Tang Ying playing with Fu Yingjun's tail. The Second Prince standing behind her was looking at her strangely.
"Since the Second Prince is here, why is he coming to the stables instead of having tea in the front hall?"
Yuan Lang chuckled: "Same with you." He was laughing. Fu Chen went straight to the stable when he visited the prince's mansion at night.
While they were greeting each other, the person sent by the Ninth Princess to invite Tang Ying came over.
"The Ninth Princess asked me to come over?" Tang Ying stopped holding the pony's tail and turned to look for Fu Chen as if asking for help.
Fu Chen had witnessed with his own eyes that she beat up the people from the Huangzi tribe. The Ninth Princess had been very patient as she had held back until today to come and settle the score.
He winked at her: Are you afraid sometimes?
Tang Ying bowed with her hands clasped, looking pitiful. The plea for help in her eyes was so obvious that even Yuan Lang saw it. He immediately smiled and comforted her: "Don't worry, I'm here, Yuan Shu won't do anything to you."
"What if...what if I beat up her men?"
Yuan Lang was stunned for a moment, then he laughed: "Then there is no need to worry. She will not settle the score with you in front of Master Fu."
