Chapter 99: No-cost Business
There is a small celebration every year on the Emperor’s birthday , and a big celebration every ten years on the Emperor’s birthday, with the court and the people celebrating together.
In previous years, the Wanshou Festival lasted for three days, but this year, as it was the fiftieth birthday of the Southern Qi emperor, the celebration was extended to seven days. Slaughter was prohibited during this period, and no criminal charges were imposed for several days before and after. The emperor received courtiers and gifts from princes, officials, and envoys in front of the palace. There was constant singing and dancing in the palace, and embroidered curtains were connected, with gold and jade as the splendid display, showing the prosperity and wealth of the Southern Qi to the envoys from vassal states.
On the main street outside the palace, there are colorful pavilions, lantern pavilions, lantern towers, singing stages, colorful corridors, and colorful stages for drama performances. There are temples and monasteries along the way, as well as celebration altars. Along the way, various ministries and government offices in the capital also built scripture tents and set up colorful pavilions to celebrate the emperor's birthday.
By nightfall, almost all the people in Kyoto had come out of their homes. The streets were crowded with people, with bright lights and candles, brocade trees and colorful paintings, and singing and dancing. It was even more lively than the New Year's Day.
The Emperor of Southern Qi was dressed in brocade, looking like a rich man going out for a trip. Accompanying the prince were Noble Consort Wan and the Ninth Princess who was about to get married.
Gan Jun and his shadow guards followed in secret, while Tang Ying dressed as a maid and Fu Chen dressed as an attendant guarded them on both sides. Four other subordinates from the Forbidden Cavalry Division also followed in casual clothes.
The Emperor of Southern Qi and Noble Consort Wan had a deep relationship, and they were always talking and laughing as they walked. The Ninth Princess, who had been in a low mood recently, was even more afraid of seeing people being affectionate, so she took the initiative to lag behind by three steps to avoid the pain in her eyes from being pricked.
As we walked along the street, we saw large characters such as "Long Live the Emperor" and "Long Live the Emperor" made of colorful silk hanging high on the colorful walls. The programs performed on the passing singing and dancing stages were mostly about the theme of gods wishing a happy birthday. The audience applauded, and the scene was very lively. Even the longevity peaches in restaurants and dim sum shops became best-selling products during the festival. It was truly a celebration for all.
The Southern Qi Emperor took Consort Wan to taste the birthday peaches on the street market, and stopped to watch several performances on the roadside stage. He whispered in Consort Wan's ear: "Yue Lian, if you and I were a common couple, with good fields, shops, and servants at home, and no worries about food and clothing, it would be nice to travel together during festivals."
Concubine Wan looked at him tenderly: "Of course, wherever my husband is, I will be there."
Emperor of Southern Qi: "What if I were a farmer tilling the fields?"
Concubine Wan: "Then I will be a peasant woman who works from sunrise to sunset."
The Ninth Princess, whose unrequited love had completely failed and who was forced into an arranged marriage, followed closely beside the Emperor of Southern Qi and the Imperial Concubine. She felt so irritated by her own parents' insane display of affection that she wished she were dead. She turned around to glance at Fu Chen, who was standing a few steps behind her with an expressionless face, and she even had the urge to jump into the river - this world is not worth it.
Tang Ying and Fu Chen were both martial artists with excellent hearing. Although the emperor and his concubine lowered their voices deliberately, they were still able to capture the key words.
Tang Ying quietly took two steps back, but she could not slack off as she had her duty, so she considered moving forward one more step, and was met with an ambiguous look from Lord Fu.
The Wanshou Festival celebrations were already halfway through, and both of them were on duty in the palace. Tang Ying had an instinctive resistance to unpaid overtime work, and her work enthusiasm was not high. She even had the idea of going on strike. In addition, when she met with Lord Fu several times, he always treated her life in a businesslike manner, which made Tang Ying always feel that there was an iceberg between them. She deeply suspected that the winter hunt a few days ago was all an illusion.
But thinking from another angle, the current situation seemed to coincide with her original intention of coming to Beijing. Although she felt inexplicably melancholy, she maintained a businesslike attitude on her face, and secretly acted distant, as if she was having a tantrum.
She didn't understand the meaning in Lord Fu's eyes, so she ignored him and continued to follow the steps of Emperor Nanqi.
No one knew what the Ninth Princess was thinking. When she passed by Baoyue Tower, she suddenly said, "Father, I want to go in for a walk. You and mother can go around slowly, and Tang Ying can accompany me."
Baoyue Tower is a famous jewelry store in Beijing. Many of its jewelry are highly sought after by the famous ladies in Beijing, even the Ninth Princess is no exception.
Tang Ying: "..." Are you sure? !
She dared to guarantee with her life that if the Ninth Princess had a choice, she would definitely not want to stay with her for another second. She even deliberately kept her to accompany her, which showed her ulterior motives.
What was even more unexpected was that the Emperor of Southern Qi actually agreed: "You can take two people with you and meet up in front of me later."
"Yes, master." Tang Ying was now disguised as a maid, so she could only accept her fate and be a maid.
The Emperor of Southern Qi and Noble Consort Wan continued to stroll forward. When Tang Ying left with the Ninth Princess, she looked back and felt that Lord Fu's eyes seemed to be hesitant to speak, which was a bit strange.
There were two handsome servants standing at the entrance of Baoyue Tower. When they saw the two men behind Tang Ying, they reached out to stop them and said, "You two, Baoyue Tower only accepts female relatives. Please wait at the entrance for a while."
The Ninth Princess walked into Baoyue Tower with her head held high, and Tang Ying followed closely behind her.
Baoyue Tower has three floors. Although it was night, huge candles were burning in the building, making it as bright as day. Perhaps everyone was eager to watch the excitement outside, so there were not many women looking at jewelry in the store.
When the waiter saw the Ninth Princess, he came up to greet her with a smile and led them to the elegant room on the second floor. "The shopkeeper will be here soon. Please wait a moment, young lady."
The Ninth Princess did not want to talk to Tang Ying. She just sat there with a sullen face, waiting for the shopkeeper to come.
Tang Ying was not the type to flatter others, so she behaved like a well-behaved maid, quietly waiting by the side, listening to the faint voices coming from downstairs outside, waiting for the shopkeeper to come.
Perhaps Baoyue Tower received quite a few distinguished guests, so the waiter brought hot tea. After waiting for a full cup of tea, the shopkeeper finally came over.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time, what would you like to buy?"
The shopkeeper of Baoyue Tower was a middle-aged woman. She was not particularly good-looking and her facial features were ordinary, but she was well-mannered and well-dressed, with a friendly smile on her face. When she smiled, she had dimples on her cheeks, which made her look even more charming.
"Just take a look and bring over the best goods in your building."
The shopkeeper went and brought in two boxes. Before he opened them, he heard footsteps outside. Then the door of the elegant room was pushed open heavily. Four masked men came in from nowhere, rushing in with steel knives flashing coldly in their hands, and rushed towards the three men.
Tang Ying immediately rushed to the Ninth Princess, protecting her behind her, holding Fei Luan in her hand and shouting, "Who is it?"
The shopkeeper of Baoyue Tower was so frightened that he was trembling with fear, and hid behind Tang Ying with the box in his arms.
The two leaders came in without saying a word, they just raised their knives and started slashing. It was unclear whether they were trying to steal treasure or seek revenge, and they didn't even explain why.
Tang Ying had no choice but to draw his sword to fight, but he did not dare to stay too far away from the Ninth Princess. Behind him was the troublesome owner of Baoyue Tower, so he was caught in a dilemma and looked very embarrassed.
The shopkeeper of Baoyue Tower probably only saw women and girls on a daily basis and was used to soft words. He was so frightened by the sight of the steel knife that he trembled and kept moving closer to the Ninth Princess, shouting, "Help! Miss, help me—"
The Ninth Princess had also practiced some fancy moves, although she had no practical experience and those she was competing against were all around her who were at a similar level, but she was very confident. Moreover, she had disliked Tang Ying for a long time and at this moment she had forgotten about the time Tang Ying beat up her maid. She only wanted to compete with her, so she protected the owner of Baoyue Tower behind her: "Don't be afraid!" She also had a long sword on her waist. She had seen Tang Ying carrying a sword while walking in the palace many times in the past few days and felt jealous. So when she left the palace today, she wore a narrow-sleeved Hu costume and carried a sword, purely for decoration.
At that time, she did not think deeply about why she insisted on carrying a sword when leaving the palace. It was not until she met Fu Chen that she realized it - she just wanted to compete with Tang Ying.
Even though Lord Fu explicitly rejected her, she still subconsciously wanted him to know that she was no worse than Tang Ying, and was even better than her. It was just that he, the man named Fu, was blind and could not tell the difference between pearls and fish eyes.
At this moment, the Ninth Princess was about to draw her sword, but she didn't expect that the shopkeeper of Baoyue Tower who was hiding behind her would suddenly make a move and pull out the sword from her waist. She only felt a chill on her neck, and then she was stunned by someone pressing against her neck.
"Don't move!"
When Tang Ying heard the noise behind her and turned around, she was a little bit unbelievable when she saw this scene. She even chuckled: "Oh, I never thought that Baoyue Tower, which is famous in Kyoto, would actually do business without capital. Did you choose the wrong place, shopkeeper?"
The shopkeeper of Baoyue Tower didn't care about her ridicule. Instead, he dragged the Ninth Princess one step forward and said, "Put down the sword in your hand, or I will kill your young lady!"
Privately, Tang Ying really didn't care about the life or death of the Ninth Princess, but now that she was eating the food of the Emperor of Southern Qi, she couldn't ignore the life or death of the Ninth Princess.
"Hey, shopkeeper, let's talk it out nicely." Her mind raced as she interrupted, "My young lady is ugly and has a bad temper. If you kill her you'll be hunted down. Why bother? If you want money, my master is a tycoon. He can afford any ransom. Shopkeeper, you'd better think twice before you act ." She pointed at the shopkeeper, "Hey, don't shake your hands. If you scratch my young lady's skin, my master will definitely not pay the ransom!" But she was thinking, could it be that the shopkeeper of Baoyue Tower has gotten so full that he would commit murder and robbery in the middle of a busy city?
A guess slowly came to my mind.
The Ninth Princess was so angry at her words that she started to curse : "Little bitch, what nonsense are you talking about? You are ugly! You ugly bastard!"
Tang Ying said in a good-tempered manner: "Well, I am ugly, I am horribly ugly, Miss, please don't be angry, if you get angry and bump into the sword, it will scratch your neck and make you even uglier. Even if the engaged son-in-law doesn't mind, it won't look good to you."
If the Ninth Princess hadn't had a sword at her neck, she would have rushed forward and tore her mouth apart.
The shopkeeper of Baoyue Tower shouted: "Stop talking nonsense and put down your sword!"
Tang Ying slowly squatted down and glanced behind her carelessly. She saw four men in black holding knives and watching cautiously. She said as if she suddenly realized something: "Are you all in the same group? Can't I let you go? Please have mercy and don't hurt my young lady, otherwise my master will slice me into pieces..." She talked nonsense, squatted down and slowly put Fei Luan on the ground. At the same time, she suddenly stood up and pounced on the shopkeeper of Baoyue Tower. She moved like a rabbit and grabbed the handle of the knife and brought it to her arms.
The shopkeeper of Baoyue Tower was caught off guard and pounced on Tang Ying together with the Ninth Princess, and immediately shouted anxiously: "Come quickly, come quickly!" The four men in black behind them immediately rushed over.
