Chapter 33 Are you like this to everyone?

Before long, the auspicious day, as calculated by the astronomical observatory, arrived. Officials from the Ministry of Rites were already waiting in the mausoleum area, and the incense, candles, wine, and fruit needed for the sacrifice were all prepared.

Before noon, the emperor's palanquin finally appeared. Ji Heng, dressed in bright yellow imperial robes, exempted everyone from the formalities.

Offering sacrifices at a mausoleum is not the same as offering sacrifices at an ancestral temple, and besides, this was not a particularly grand occasion, so the ceremony was kept simple. After Emperor Ji Heng lit incense and candles and recited the sacrificial text, the ceremony was considered complete.

Shen Guitang, who was idly lost in thought among the officials, was suddenly whispered in the ear of Ji Run, who happened to be in front of him: "Lord Shen, don't you feel a chill in here?"

Shen Guitang casually turned her head, creating some distance between them, and said gently, "His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, ordained by Heaven. How could any demons or monsters dare to appear in the world under his rule? Perhaps Lord Ji is overthinking it."

Ji Run's eyes darted around, but he remained silent. What a joke! Others might not know how Ji Heng got to this position, but surely he, a man surnamed Ji, knew perfectly well?

In the very year Ji Heng ascended the throne, nearly half of the Ji family died. Why? Because they knew too much.

Seeing that Ji Run was speechless with just one sentence, Shen Guitang was quite satisfied and continued to wait. Finally, when Ji Heng finished his long speech, it was already past midnight. Many of the ministers and officials had arrived early in the morning and were now all very hungry. Seeing the emperor's palanquin depart, they all returned to their own carriages to eat.

Shen Guitang was no exception. However, since he was going to stay at the imperial mausoleum for a long time, he did not prepare any special meals. Therefore, when he got on the carriage and received the pancake handed to him by Hengbo, he frowned but did not say anything.

Hengbo had changed into a servant's outfit. Due to her years of martial arts training, her temperament was more dashing and heroic than that of a gentle young lady. Therefore, she did not seem out of place at this moment. Instead, people couldn't help but admire her as a handsome young man!

She had lived in the Shen residence for some time and naturally knew that Shen Guitang was a connoisseur of fine food. However, since this place was in the wilderness and it was past the usual mealtime, it was difficult to find any exquisite food. She could only ask him to make do for the time being.

However, the cake had been sitting for most of the day and was now cold, hard, and irritating to the mouth; even Hengbo, who wasn't particularly particular about food, found it difficult to swallow. She pulled back the curtain of the carriage, pointed to the inn in the distance, which was only partially visible, and gestured for her to go and get him some hot tea.

She was just about to get out of the car when Shen Guitang grabbed her sleeve, saying, "There's no need for such trouble."

Hengbo waved his hand: No trouble at all, I'll be back soon.

Unexpectedly, Shen Guitang tightened his grip, his expression unusually serious: "Are you like this to everyone?"

Hengbo didn't understand. What did she mean by treating everyone the same way? Had she done anything to him?

Shen Guitang looked at her puzzled face, his brows furrowed, and after carefully considering his words, he finally said, "So warm-hearted to everyone?"

This question stumped Hengbo. Without Shen Guitang pulling her back, she sat back in the carriage and briefly recalled her short eighteen years of life:

The opportunity to practice calligraphy was given to Qingya, a maid in the mansion who was eager to learn but had no chance.

While on the mountain, in order to prevent his master from drinking behind his master's wife's back, he stole all of his hidden wine.

On the waterway to Changzhou, she was almost kidnapped by the young master, but she repaid his kindness with kindness and escorted him back to Cangjian Manor despite the danger...

After reviewing all her good deeds, Hengbo finally nodded seriously: Yes, I am a warm-hearted person.

Shen Guitang: ...

Seeing her so composed, even somewhat proud, Shen Guitang felt inexplicably annoyed: "Then don't treat me like this, lest some fools gossip."

Hengbo: ? ? ? What's all this gossip about?

Seeing that he didn't seem very happy, Hengbo didn't dare to ask directly, and could only ask indirectly: Is it Heifeng?

Shen Guitang scoffed coldly and ignored her.

However, seeing his reaction only confirmed Hengbo's suspicions. But she was actually relieved that it was Heifeng who was gossiping.

A look of relief appeared on her face as she lifted the curtain in front of the car window again and accurately spotted Hei Feng, who had been "reborn," among the group of men squatting beside the delivered materials.

He was squatting on the loess ground, eating a flatbread in each hand, taking big bites from the left and right. His hasty manner blended into the crowd without standing out at all.

Hengbo pointed at him and grinned at Shen Guitang: Don't worry, I also gave him one, he won't gossip.

Shen Guitang: ...

He now genuinely found the pancake difficult to swallow.

Just as Shen Guitang changed his mind and was about to have Hengbo fetch tea, an unfamiliar voice rang out from outside the carriage: "Lord Shen, my master invites you to dine with him."

Although he hadn't seen the person yet, Shen Guitang had already recognized him by his voice as the servant named Acha beside Ji Run. He put down the pancake in his hand, pulled open the carriage curtain, and whether by intention or not, his figure just happened to block Hengbo inside the carriage.

"Thank you for your invitation, Lady Xie. I would be very honored to accept."

Shen Guitang followed Acha to a carriage that looked much more luxurious and spacious than the others. Acha bowed and said, "My master is already waiting inside."

As soon as he finished speaking, the curtain in front of the carriage was pulled open by the person inside, revealing Ji Run's face, which even he found handsome after looking at it for a while. "Brother Shen, come on up quickly."

Brother Shen? Shen Guitang raised an eyebrow. It seemed he couldn't leave this meal untouched.

He smiled and asked, "I wonder why Brother Ji has summoned me here?"

Ji Run's cheeks twitched slightly. This Shen Guitang was a difficult person to deal with. Giving him a way out would get him involved with the Ji family.

However, since she needed his help after all, Ji Run pretended that nothing had happened and first invited him to sit down, then instructed the maid beside her to add a bowl and chopsticks for him.

"I suppose you haven't had lunch yet, my dear brother. I happen to dislike eating alone, and I feel quite lonely. We'll be stuck in this desolate wilderness for at least another month or so, so let's get to know each other better today."

When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. Moreover, Shen Guitang had already somewhat guessed Ji Run's intentions. Sure enough, after a pleasant lunch, Ji Run finally revealed his current predicament to Shen Guitang.

"We both know perfectly well that although His Majesty claims to be renovating the mausoleum, he is actually just trying to make it legitimate to bury Empress Dowager Zhengde with the late Emperor."

The late emperor died in the twenty-first year of the Zhengping era, thirteen years ago now, and has long since been buried in the mausoleum with Empress Yuan.

Moreover, since ancient times, the inferior has not been able to influence the superior, so it is impossible to refrain from enshrining the late emperor's tomb because of Empress Dowager Zhengde. Therefore, if Empress Dowager Zhengde wanted to be enshrined in the imperial mausoleum, she could only build a small tomb separately on the land adjacent to the late emperor's mausoleum, thus sharing the same tomb but with a different mausoleum.

In fact, this is what it means to not violate ancestral laws. After all, although Empress Dowager Zhengde held the title of "Zheng" (正), she was actually only the successor empress of the late emperor and could never surpass the status of the original empress.

But Ji Heng clearly did not think that way. He undertook a large-scale reconstruction of the imperial mausoleum, partly to intimidate the virtuous prince with the mausoleum of the former crown prince, and partly to ensure that Empress Dowager Zhengde truly lived up to the title of "Zheng".

However, Ji Heng did not say it outright, but Ji Run, as a subject, could not understand the king's deeper meaning.

So the problem arose: where should Empress Dowager Zhengde be buried?

To be buried with the emperor? What would become of Empress Yuan's reputation then? Furthermore, if he really dared to do that, before those censors could even kill him with their spittle, the remaining members of the Ji family would beat his ass to a pulp!

Rebuild a small mausoleum? Wouldn't Ji Heng just kill him and offer him as a sacrifice to Empress Dowager Zhengde to vent his anger?

“Sigh,” Ji Run said, his eyes drooping and his face full of worry. “I knew that when he gave me an official position, it was like a weasel offering New Year’s greetings to a chicken.”

Shen Guitang pretended not to hear the great disrespect for the emperor in his words, and tried to smooth things over: "When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it will first test his mind and will... I believe that Brother Ji will be able to come up with a perfect plan."

Ji Run listened to Shen Guitang say a lot but seemed to have said nothing at all. He couldn't help but grit his teeth. He had already given the other party his weakness, but how come this Shen guy was still so stubborn? He was really full of tricks!

Ji Run could only feign wiping away the two tears he had forced out: "To be honest, my brother, although I am of low rank and have little influence, I still have the blood of the Ji family flowing through my veins. I would never allow His Majesty to do such a foolish thing. If this were recorded by some people with ulterior motives, who knows how many unpleasant things would be said in the future."

His words implied that he did not want Empress Dowager Zhengde to enter the imperial bedchamber. Shen Guitang finally began to take notice. Ji Run had survived under Ji Heng for so long, so he couldn't be stupid. And now it seemed that he probably already had a plan.

It's just unknown what role Ji Run wants him to play in this.

"What Brother Ji says makes sense, but what if His Majesty blames us?"

Seeing that his attitude had finally softened, Ji Run couldn't help but show a hint of joy on his face: "I do have a plan to avoid being blamed by His Majesty, but I still need your cooperation, my virtuous brother..."

Although officials were assigned to oversee the imperial mausoleum, it was located in the middle of nowhere, and by now the grass on the grave mounds was several feet tall. Although there were blueprints left, more than ten years had passed, and it took the group nearly two hours to find the original tomb entrance.

The sun had long since set and the sky had completely darkened. When Shen Guitang returned to the carriage, he looked somewhat tired, but he saw Hengbo with a hesitant expression on his face.

He rubbed his temples. "What is it?"

After a moment's consideration, Hengbo asked: Which Ji was that Lady Ji just now?

Shen Guitang finally understood what she was worried about and said to her gently, "It is a member of the royal family, Lord Ji Run."

Hengbo mentally reviewed the name Ji Run. Very well, she had absolutely no recollection of it.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Since she had no recollection of this Lord Ji, he probably wouldn't recognize her either.

Shen Guitang noticed her expression, which seemed to make her eyebrows fly up, and curled the corners of her mouth: "So, can we set off now, Xiao Cui?"

As if to tease her, the words "Xiao Cui" came out of his mouth with a lingering, tender tone.

For a moment, Hengbo forgot that he was now a servant and coachman. He remained firmly seated inside the carriage, his face slightly flushed, and he quickly jumped out of the carriage.

It wasn't until the carriage had started moving that Hengbo realized that Shen Guitang had just called her "Xiao Cui"?

-----------------------

Author's Note: Mini-Theater:

Ji Run: Shameless! You actually want to ride on the coattails of my Ji family!

Shen Guitang: Do I need you to get me into the Ji family?

Hengbo (scratching head.GIF): ...Why do I feel like someone tagged me? Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2024-01-25 17:59:39 and 2024-01-27 22:13:36!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 1;

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: JOJO (3 bottles); Wow, oh my god~ (1 bottle);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!