Chapter 48 Deadly Gambler
With her only son imprisoned in the Sky Prison, the Grand Princess was in great pain. She had to change from recuperating on the bed to meeting in the central hall. Yao Niang, who was summoned, stepped into the familiar Grand Princess's residence. Even her behavior, which Princess Yuan Shu called "worldly", was restrained a lot. She took small, dignified and respectful steps in a very appropriate manner. One could trace the shadow of a palace maid who was with the Grand Princess twenty years ago in her.
The eldest princess Yuan Heng basically never cared about other people's faces in her life. On the contrary, there were a large group of people behind her who relied on guessing her face for their survival.
When she saw Yao Niang, she gave her a seat first.
Although Yao Niang was moody and crazy in Fengbu, acting like an aunt to juniors like Fu Chen, and throwing Tang Ying out to beg on the street if she didn't do what she wanted, she still maintained the good habit of being cautious in her words and actions in front of her former master.
"There is no place for a servant in front of the master. You command, and I will listen."
There was nothing wrong with this sentence, but the Grand Princess felt uncomfortable after hearing it.
In the past, when she was in charge of the Phoenix Department, Yao Niang always called herself "subordinate", but now she calls herself "slave", which makes it clear that although she considers herself a slave from the Grand Princess's Mansion, she no longer regards her as the head of the Phoenix Department.
She pretended not to hear what Yao Niang meant, and sighed while pinching her handkerchief, "I have been ill all this time. If it weren't for that wicked boy causing trouble, I wouldn't have to get up to see you."
"Princess, you should also take care of yourself." Yao Niang knew that the eldest princess doted on her only son. This "evil son" might not mean what he said, so she couldn't comment on him. She just put on a typical tree hole attitude and said, "I don't know what happened?"
Regardless of other things, the Forbidden Cavalry Division's specialty is gathering information. What Yao Niang is doing is like pretending to be blind with her eyes open, and there is a bit of perfunctory meaning in it.
The eldest princess wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, and even when she was sad, she was still graceful: "It was all because of that bastard Yan'er, who had to tease Yuanjian for no reason. He is a playful person, but Yuanjian is honest and can't understand that this is just a prank between two brothers. He ran to the Golden Palace and made a scene, forcing His Majesty to punish Yan'er. What do you think of this?"
Yao Niang thought to herself: The news received by the Film Department is different.
When she was young, she thought the Grand Princess was iron-fisted and strict with herself. However, since Huan Yanbo grew up, the Grand Princess has repeatedly condoned and shielded her son's affairs. Sometimes she felt that this person was no longer the old master she knew.
Huan Yanbo maliciously beat the Fourth Prince, who could not bear the humiliation and went to the Golden Palace to make a scene. The court was in an uproar and all officials looked at him with awe. Only then did His Majesty issue an edict to punish the Fourth Prince and appease him.
As for the little beggar who played an important role in the story, when Yao Niang heard the news, she could hardly help but praise: Well done!
He is indeed a good candidate that she has chosen!
"Princess, don't worry. His Majesty loves the young master more than the fourth prince. Everything will be fine after he calms down after a while." What Yao Niang said was the truth, but she added a time limit: in the past.
The Fourth Prince's rampage in the Golden Palace might become a thorn in the Emperor's heart. As long as someone takes advantage of it, it could eventually break the Emperor's trust in the Grand Princess.
The Grand Princess: "I always feel uneasy. Yao Niang, why don't you ask Gan Jun to find out what His Majesty means?"
Yao Niang lowered her head slightly and said gently, "Wait until Gan Jun comes out of the palace, and I will find out what he has to say." But the nails in her sleeves gradually dug into her palms.
Seeing that she was as respectful as usual, the Grand Princess doubted her own suspicion before. She tried to win her over and promised her, "You are not young anymore. When Gan Jun retires from the palace, it will be time for you to get married . By then, I will personally choose a prosperous place with beautiful mountains and rivers for you. You can have a good rest. These years have not been easy."
Yao Niang forced a grateful smile and said, "Thank you, Princess, for your concern." But her heart was cold.
It had been impossible for her and Gan Jun to be together many years ago.
When she left the main hall, she couldn't help but think of the first time she carried out a mission many years ago, the Grand Princess also made the same gentle promise: "When you come back after completing the mission this time, you will get married to Gan Jun." At that time, Gan Jun had not yet gone to serve the emperor as a secret guard, and she was still the Grand Princess's loyal servant, and she loved Gan Jun with all her heart.
Hearing the promise from the Grand Princess herself, she blushed and looked forward to the future, embarking on the unknown future.
More than a year later, she came back alive .
The mission was completed successfully, but she could never go back to the way she was before.
Gan Jun came to marry her as promised, but she refused.
It turned out that the eldest princess had planned this all along. Apart from her rudimentary kung fu and the ability to steal intelligence, her most deadly weapon was her beauty.
Completing the task became a multiple-choice question.
If the mission fails, she will face severe punishment and will not even be able to control her own destiny, let alone live together with Gan Jun. Only by completing the mission can she get the highest reward of this challenge: Gan Jun.
That time she lost her virginity and gave birth to a child with another man - in order to complete the mission.
Gan Jun later entered the palace to be the emperor's shadow guard, and she slowly worked her way through the ranks in the shadow department, experiencing many things, making fun of love affairs between men and women, and also having intimate moments with Gan Jun. When Gan Jun pressed his shoulders and questioned her, she frivolously stroked the man's cheek, and through a layer of skin, she could hear Gan Jun's intense heartbeat in his chest.
And she was disheartened.
As Yao Niang walked back in the falling snow, she thought with a sense of sadness that the Grand Princess had misjudged her after all these years.
She thought Gan Jun was still the obsession in her heart, but she didn't know that she was no longer the 17-year-old Yao Niang.
It was snowing heavily, and when Yao Niang was about to leave the house, she was stopped by a middle-aged woman.
"Mrs. Yao." The woman holding an oil-paper umbrella and a lantern stopped her.
"Yun Niang." Yao Niang stood three steps away.
Sometimes she felt that the Grand Princess's Mansion was like a magic mirror. Every time she came here, her true colors were revealed.
If there are too many of them, it will damage your vitality.
"Yao Niang, you have to help the Grand Princess." Yun Niang said, "When the master left the Forbidden Cavalry Division, she didn't take you with her because there was no one to take over the Shadow Department. In fact, the master had already planned a future for you."
Yao Niang thought: Just like the chess pieces that the Shadow Department has planted in the residences of various princes or important ministers over the years, I am just a chess piece planted by the Grand Princess after she left the Forbidden Cavalry Department.
Because Gan Jun still has feelings for her.
The eldest princess was not prepared to give up the Forbidden Cavalry Division, so she superficially cooperated with His Majesty's idea of abolishing the Forbidden Cavalry Division. She followed His Majesty's wishes and returned home to recuperate, and threw the Huangzi Division to Yuan Shu who was confused.
There are rumors that the Grand Princess and the Emperor have a deep sibling relationship, but at this moment Yao Niang's heart is filled with doubt: Do this pair of siblings really trust each other without suspicion as rumored?
Yunniang came with her to serve the Grand Princess. She could not learn all the cruel torture methods that Chunniang learned, and her appearance was ordinary, so she could not join the Shadow Department as a spy. Instead, she stayed by the Grand Princess's side and served her diligently over the years. She also married the steward of the Grand Princess's mansion, got married and children, and lived a stable life.
Her husband and children were all servants in the Grand Princess's mansion.
Yao Niang stretched out her well-maintained slender jade fingers, with her red nail polish gorgeous, and she smiled: "Do you look like a female ghost that haunts the snowy night?" She caught a few snowflakes, which melted as soon as they touched her palms. They kept falling into her palms, but soon melted again, leaving a water stain on her palms.
Yunniang: "You and Chunniang are the most beautiful and intelligent among us. You should know that without the master, we are nothing."
"Who said it wasn't?" Yao Niang shook off the water stains on her palms: "I knew many years ago that our future and life and death depended solely on the master's thoughts." It's time to change.
After leaving the eldest princess, she walked out of the front hall. She was like a monster without a magic mirror. She put on the skins she had cultivated over the years piece by piece. As she walked out on the snow, Yunniang heard her chuckle: "Sister, go back to see your grandson earlier. Are you still afraid that I won't help the master?"
Yunniang just had a big fat grandson last month, and Yaoniang also brought a longevity lock.
The snow was getting deeper and deeper. Yao Niang walked with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Her long cloak almost dragged across the ground. From behind, she looked like a gambler who was desperate. She knew that the chips in her hand were pitifully few and there was no possibility of making a comeback. So she simply staked her life and took a gamble.
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Yao Niang is not the only one who has a gambler's mentality.
Tang Ying stood in the corridor of the courtyard, facing the dark night, and also had the same feeling.
She has not yet been able to get in touch with the real core of the Forbidden Cavalry Division and is just circling around the periphery.
"Brother, Hongxiang came to inform me today that she has passed the test of the Shadow Club."
Zhang Qing stood in the shadow behind her. There was no candle in the room, and from the outside it looked like Tang Ying was talking to herself.
"Miss, have you really decided to join the Shadow Department?" He didn't know about the Shadow Department before, but ever since Tang Ying knew about its existence, coupled with bits and pieces of information from Yao Niang, Fu Chen and others, the two have basically guessed what the Shadow Department does.
"I have always been curious about the intelligence-gathering capabilities of the Imperial Cavalry Department. It is said that the flirting between ministers and concubines at night can reach your majesty's ears, so they must have many outstanding spies. But Chunniang's inner prison specializes in trying female prisoners, and the Fengzi Department investigates the illegal activities of all officials. So who will collect intelligence?"
She whispered, "Now I know, it was the Shadow Department."
Zhang Qing opened her mouth, trying to stop her: "But Miss, didn't you also say that Yao Niang and the women under her should follow the path of the inner house? You can't..."
Tang Ying said, "Brother, I still often dream about my father and brother recently, and I still can't sleep well. Winter is coming, you should buy some paper money and burn it outside the city tomorrow. It's time to buy winter clothes for them."
Zhang Qing could no longer say anything to stop him.
He smelled the strong smell of blood again, exactly the same as the day the city was broken, a smell of blood that even the cold and pure snow could not cover.
"Miss, aren't you going?"
Tang Ying closed her eyes and leaned against the cold pillar: "No, I am too embarrassed to see them."
※※※
After daybreak, Commander Fu went out to the Forbidden Cavalry Division, only to find Tang Ying, wearing a black narrow-sleeved official uniform, leading a horse and coming from the direction of the stable with Xiong Yu.
Fu Chen, who was used to seeing her as a dark-skinned beggar these days, suddenly saw her dressed neatly, stepping on the brilliant glow of the sunrise after the snow. He felt that the person in front of him was so beautiful that it made him dizzy.
She obviously didn't put on any makeup and her face was still bare.
Sure enough, it’s because of the comparison.
Fu Chen suddenly understood the behavior of those generals who were training in the camp outside Beijing for three months and were on vacation.
"Aren't you going to beg for food today?"
"After being idle for so long, you should do some work occasionally." Tang Ying climbed onto the horse with a smile: "Yao Niang summoned me yesterday. I might get a good beating if I go today. You must come and save me when you are free."
Fu Chen thought to himself: You are such a heartless person, what’s the point of treating you well?
Lord Fu said in a very cold tone: "It depends on the situation." It seemed that he was not the same young man who found an excuse to hug the girl in the middle of the night last night.
Tang Ying felt that Lord Fu was cuter at night.
Although...it's still a little dangerous.
When Yao Niang heard that Tang Ying agreed to join the film department, it seemed like she had expected it. She had clearly been chasing after Tang Ying and teasing her, but when Tang Ying actually agreed, she became much more serious: "Have you thought it through? Do you really want to follow me?"
Tang Ying seemed to be quite smooth-talking: "As long as Aunt Yao doesn't despise me because I'm just a fire-making girl and is willing to take me in, that's all."
Hongxiang didn't expect that she was putting on airs in the street yesterday, saying that she would come back after having fun for a month, but changed her mind after sleeping with her for a night. She despised her for going back on her word and looked down on her even more. She also felt that Yao Niang was blind and actually valued such a person. She was very unhappy.
Wan Yu still remembered that Tang Ying had dealt a heavy blow to Liu Zhong and others a few days ago, so she clapped her hands and laughed, "Now my aunt has finally gained a great general. If anyone makes my aunt unhappy again, I will let Xiaoying beat him up." She seemed to be in a posture of "closing the door and letting Zhang Ying go".
Tang Ying: “…” Suddenly she realized that she had a long way to go and would probably face many fights in the future.
"Are Lord Liu and the others okay?" she asked a little guiltily.
Wan Yu chuckled: "How can it be cured? Master Fu said that they have been slacking off recently. Recently, the Fengzi Department is almost beaten down by the training. They are all covered in dust and dirt."
Tang Ying: "I really didn't mean it."
Hongxiang: "Who would believe that?"
Tang Ying's entry into the film department was a done deal, and Yao Niang seemed to have regained her usual nonchalance, saying in an unfocused tone, "Men always go to brothels to have fun when they are happy. Unfortunately, today is a good day, and I have nowhere to have fun even if I take in an apprentice."
Tang Ying: “…”
Although he was called an apprentice, he did not undergo any ceremony of paying homage to his master nor did he change his title.
Yao Niang said that was too vulgar. She hated those kinds of bondage the most, such as a father beating his son or a master beating his apprentice. "I just said it like that, so just listen to it and don't take it seriously."
Wan Yu laughed: "Aunt Yao said she would accept apprentices every year. In fact, those who were trained by her in the Film Department are considered her apprentices, but I have never seen anyone perform the apprenticeship ceremony with her. She also particularly hates others calling her master, saying that she is simply an older generation, like someone else's parents, and may even have to meddle in everything."
Tang Ying smiled sweetly: "It doesn't matter if I call you Master or not, since I'm so open-minded as Auntie. The most important thing is to learn skills from Auntie."
