Chapter 443: Ask Duan Zhenyi
There was a group of people who came to bid farewell to Chang Suining.
Wu Siqing and his entourage have come to pay their respects and will leave Youzhou today and continue their journey back to the capital.
Hearing them coming forward to greet and say goodbye, Chang Suining responded with a smile.
Finally, the officials raised their hands and saluted her.
Chang Suining raised his hand to return the greeting: "I hope you all take care."
As she spoke, her eyes turned to Song Xian, Tan Li and others, as well as Wu Chunbai who was standing next to Wu Siqing.
Wu Chunbai whispered to her alone, "Please take care, Governor Chang."
As for other farewell words, for Wu Chunbai, they were all in the glass of fruit wine last night - she gained a lot from this trip, many things were reshaped, and she received a sincere and secret recognition.
After bidding farewell to Chang Suining, when Wu Siqing and others were leaving, the commander of the imperial guards, Lu Chong, who was not far away, also bowed deeply to Chang Suining.
Chang Suining nodded to him from a distance and watched Lu Chong turn around and leave.
When he looked away, he saw that Tan Li and Song Xian did not immediately catch up with the officials.
Seeing Tan Li approaching him, Chang Suining asked, "Why haven't you seen Minister Wei?"
Tan Li stopped and said with a smile, "We just went to say goodbye to Grand Commander Cui. Minister Wei must have something to discuss with Grand Commander Cui alone, so we left first."
"Minister Wei should still be at Grand Commander Cui's place." Tan Li lowered his voice a little when he said this: "Minister Wei asked me to pass on a message to Governor Chang. Minister Wei said he has something important to discuss with the Governor. If the Governor is convenient, he can go to Minister Wei's carriage and wait for a while."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and indicated where Wei Shuyi's carriage was parked.
Chang Suining nodded calmly, "Thank you for delivering the message, Master Tan. I understand."
She looked at Song Xian who was standing beside her and said, "After this farewell, Master Tan and Master Song, please take care of yourselves."
Song Xian bowed deeply to Chang Suining and said, "Thank you, Governor Chang."
He wanted to thank the other party not only for taking care, but also for saving him, and for the reminders and advice he had given him during their private chats over the past few days.
Although their mission to Dong Luo ended without any danger, the real test in officialdom had just begun for him and Tan Li.
The storm in Dasheng will not completely clear up just because Dongluo and Wa are pacified. The imperial power is in shaky shape and the situation is changing rapidly. The crisis they are facing may not have really arrived yet.
Although it is difficult, we still have to keep our heart and move forward.
After Song Xian and Tan Li walked away for more than ten steps, they subconsciously turned back and saw the girl in green robe still standing there watching them.
Song Xian couldn't help but raise his hand and bow again before finally leaving.
Only after the two of them walked away did Chang Suining say to Hao Huan, "Go back to the tent and get the box you brought from Dong Luo."
Hao Huan agreed, and quickly turned back with the box in his hand, following Chang Suining to Wei Shuyi's carriage.
Changji was standing by the carriage, and had obviously received instructions from Wei Shuyi. After clasping his fists to Chang Suining, he opened the heavy curtains and said, "Madam Chang, please."
"Thank you."
Chang Suining got on the carriage and put the box down casually. He glanced at the interior layout of the carriage and felt that it was very much like Wei Shuyi's style.
Simple but not simplistic, elegant but not pretentious.
The interior of the carriage was much more spacious than that of an ordinary carriage, with a bamboo curtain separating the inside and the outside. Behind the curtain should be a place to rest. Chang Suining sat down in the outer room and saw that in addition to the tea tray and tea sets, there were also two volumes of Buddhist scriptures placed on the small table in front of him.
After seeing this Buddhist scripture, Chang Suining raised his eyes again and saw an incense burner in the corner.
Perhaps to prevent the incense burner from tipping over due to bumps, the three legs below the incense burner are not only fixed with a base, but are also covered with a gilded incense burner, which shows that it has been carefully prepared.
Chang Suining looked at the pile of incense ash in the stove again and couldn't help but draw the conclusion that Wei Shuyi must be burning incense very carefully every day.
Soon, footsteps were heard outside the car, and Changji saluted: "My dear, Madam Chang is waiting in the car."
Wei Shuyi nodded in response, hesitated for a moment, raised his hand and knocked on the wall of the carriage: "Chang Zhishi——"
A clear and casual voice of a young girl came from the carriage: "Minister Wei, there is no need to be so reserved when you get on your own carriage."
Wei Shuyi smiled and said, "This is the etiquette."
The voice then said in a docile manner: "Then, Minister Wei, please get in the car."
After Wei Shuyi stepped onto the carriage, he saw the girl in green robe sitting in the carriage with her arms folded. When she saw him come in, she smiled and nodded, "Minister Wei, please take a seat."
After Wei Shuyi sat down opposite her, he smiled and raised his hand to salute in a proper manner: "Thank you, Governor Chang, for the seat."
The atmosphere was much more relaxed than Wei Shuyi had imagined.
It was not until he smelled the fragrance inside the car and turned his head slightly to look that he saw three burning green incense sticks in the incense burner.
"I lit the incense." Chang Suining said.
Wei Shuyi looked at her subconsciously.
Hearing that Changji had walked away from the carriage to guard, Chang Suining said with a smile: "I will fumigate myself first to drive away the evil spirit in my body, so that Minister Wei can feel more at ease."
Wei Shuyi's body was slightly stiff and his smile was forced.
It is a very thoughtful and conscious gesture, but it also gives people a feeling of "lawlessness".
What’s the difference between a “ghost” lighting his own incense… and stepping on his incense burner in front of him?
Moreover, she revealed her identity to him directly...
Her attitude was casual, simple and clear, as if she was just chatting, but her attitude was also neat and concise, and she didn't want to talk nonsense or beat around the bush.
This moment has finally arrived.
But maybe he already had a way out in mind, or maybe he was about to part, or maybe the person in front of him didn't have any ghostly aura at all, Wei Shuyi was not really afraid anymore.
He looked at Chang Suining, and the two stared at each other for a moment. Wei Shuyi let out a sigh, "There really are such mysterious things in the world."
Seeing his reaction, Chang Suining nodded: "It seems that you really know everything. I guess there is nothing else to ask?"
Duan Zhenyi knew everything, he should just need to hear her confirm it in person.
Wei Shuyi chuckled quietly: "Yes, I know roughly everything."
"In that case, please help me bring this box to Duan Zhenyi."
Chang Suining no longer called her aunt. As she spoke, her finger dropped on the box, indicating Wei Shuyi.
Hearing this extremely casual yet intimate "Duan Zhenyi", Wei Shuyi felt mixed emotions. He looked over and couldn't help asking, "What's in the box?"
"They are all jewelry and the like." Chang Suining said, "They were given to me by Dongluo and Xingzhou. I rarely use them. She always likes these new styles from outside, so I brought them back to Beijing and let her wear them for fun."
After all, she was traveling during the New Year, and she brought with her many gifts from Dong Luo. Some of them were given to her brother and Cui Jing, and these girls' things were just right for Duan Zhenyi.
"..."Wei Shuyi suddenly fell silent.
How can it not be considered as "indulgence" when the other party speaks in such a tone?
He could even imagine it - the young crown prince, a child of destiny, would go out to fight and return victoriously, and would always bring back many new and interesting things when he returned to the capital... and the equally young legitimate daughter of the Duan family would surely smile and take them with surprise in her eyes.
How could such a person not make his young mother's heart beat fast...
In comparison, he could understand his mother's disdain for his father... After all, there was a precious gem before her, and his father was probably just a weed that accidentally grew among the pile of exotic flowers and plants raised in their Duke Zheng's mansion.
Sure enough, when people are young, they cannot meet someone who is too amazing.
And this person who had amazed his mother in her youth, after changing into another skin, actually amazed him again...
Wei Shuyi didn't dare to continue "dealing" like this, so he closed his eyes and calmed his thoughts.
Chang Suining thought he had just suffered from his ancestral fear of ghosts, so he said, "Since there is nothing important, I will not delay Minister Wei's journey."
"etc……"
Minister Wei suddenly opened his eyes and kept her.
"Actually..." He began, "There is still one thing I don't understand, and I would like to ask Governor Chang to help me clear it up."
Chang Suining nodded and motioned for him to ask.
"Two years ago, when we first met in Hezhou... Governor Chang should have just returned to the world." Wei Shuyi finally asked, "Then why did Governor Chang use the handwriting of Princess Chongyue at that time?"
Chang Suining was stunned by his question. She had just woken up and felt confused. She didn't know what day it was. Without thinking too much, wasn't it normal to use her own handwriting? After a moment's reaction, Chang Suining quickly realized the problem with Wei Shuyi's words.
When he referred to "Princess Chongyue", he used the third person's name...
Seeing that Chang Suining did not speak for a while, Wei Shuyi could only say: "If Governor Chang feels it is inconvenient to answer, it is fine if he does not answer."
He had no right to explore the secrets between the late Crown Prince and Princess Chongyue, and such matters involved the royal family, and his mother even swore not to disclose them... It was inappropriate for him to ask about it.
What's more, his motivation was just curiosity and desire to explore, and it had no important purpose.
So, he shouldn't have asked...but he asked anyway.
He was so curious and puzzled that he even had a dream about it last night.
After waiting for a while, he heard the person in front of him ask: "...Didn't Duan Zhenyi tell you?"
Wei Shuyi smiled slightly bitterly: "Mother said she swore to keep the secret for her old friend."
Chang Suining: "I think her words are not difficult to deceive, right?"
Wei Shuyi should only need to use a little trick to trick out the truth.
"...Not difficult." Wei Shuyi's smile became even more bitter: "But mother said that if she leaked it, she would be struck by lightning, and I can't be unfilial."
"Is that so?" Chang Suining nodded in understanding, revealing a satisfied smile: "She is very trustworthy."
It seemed that she was getting closer to the truth. Wei Shuyi felt like a cat scratching his head, but he saw that she was just tapping the box lightly with her fingers, and he didn't know what she was thinking about.
After a while, I heard her ask, "Do you really want to know?"
Wei Shuyi maintained his last bit of dignity and smile: "...It depends on whether you want to say it or not."
Chang Suining snorted in his heart - it's really annoying that he's still being stubborn.
Smart people like Wei Shuyi, who are full of ideas and cunning, boast that their IQ and dignity are above ordinary people. So when they encounter something they don't understand, they are used to trying to find out the answer indirectly, and rarely ask directly, as if asking directly means some kind of helpless compromise.
Especially when faced with questions that they think are "inappropriate to ask".
In Chang Suining's opinion, this is an arrogant mentality of wanting to explore but not wanting to let one's exploration be passive and obvious.
If you are used to being arrogant, even if you think you are not arrogant, you will develop this habit when interacting with others, without even realizing it.
And she was deeply troubled by it.
Therefore, Chang Suining smiled slightly and said, "You can say it or not, it depends on whether Minister Wei wants to hear it or not."
"..." Wei Shuyi's decent smile flickered for a moment, and after holding his breath for a moment, he said, "Wei... naturally wants to hear it."
Chang Suining immediately showed a good mood and nodded: "Okay."
Wei Shuyi's heart was tense, waiting for her to tell him the answer.
At this time, I heard faint voices coming from outside the car.
"…Is the Master here?"
It's the sound of shepherd's purse.
It was Hao Huan who answered her: "Yes, the Lord is talking to Minister Wei in the carriage."
Chang Suining glanced outside the car and said, "This is a long story... It seems that I won't have the chance to talk about it in detail today."
Wei Shuyi: “……?”
Seeing Chang Suining standing up, he even raised his hand to stop him: "Chang Governor..."
Chang Suining still had a trace of humanity left in him, and said generously: "When you return to Beijing, go ask Duan Zhenyi - just tell her that I allow her to tell it, so it won't count as a leak."
Wei Shuyi's desperate hands hung in the air, his expression grateful and painful: "..."
Allowing him to know, but not letting him know immediately... What kind of torture is this? "Have a safe journey, Minister Wei. I'm sorry I can't see you off." Chang Suining got off the carriage with a clear conscience.
Wei Shuyi sat there, feeling that it would be difficult for him to walk well... Under such torture, how many sleepless nights could he have on the way back to Beijing?
He could only sigh, lean back, raise one hand and pat it on his forehead, muttering as if admitting defeat: "Wei Zigu... retribution."
Chang Suining left feeling refreshed, and when he saw Shepherd's Purse coming up to him, he asked, "What's the matter?"
Shepherd's Purse: "Someone wants to see you, sir."
Chang Suining raised her eyebrows. Why do so many people want to see her today?
The person who wanted to see her this time was Ishiman.
Shi Man used his connections - that is, Old Madam Shi - to discuss with She Cai, and then the news reached Chang Suining's ears.
Shi Man and several of his generals were still detained in the tent. They were not allowed to go out without permission, so Shi Man could only ask Chang Suining to come over.
Shi Man had asked his mother for help privately, and the other generals were still unaware of it. When they saw Chang Suining coming in, most of them looked surprised and confused.
"I invited Governor Chang to come here." Shi Man bowed and said, "Governor Chang, please sit down and talk."
Chang Suining nodded and sat cross-legged at the position Shi Man pointed out. Seeing that Shi Man was standing still, he said, "General Shi, please sit down too."
Shi Man hesitated for a moment, and then sat opposite Chang Suining to make it easier for them to talk.
The other generals exchanged glances secretly, and some sat or stood without saying anything, just waiting for the two men at the top to speak.
Hey, good night~ (End of this chapter)
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