Chapter 343 Lingyun Temple, meeting the Fourth Prince's wife again
On July 14th, Tang Ning thought Rong Yue would not go to Lingyun Temple, but when she was about to set off with Xue Ru in the afternoon, Gu Helian came with Rong Yue.
The two of them looked normal. Gu Helian also kept some distance from Rong Yue, and was very measured in her words and actions. Even her former sharp tongue had become more serious. But it was because she was too serious that Tang Ning could tell something was wrong at a glance.
"What are you looking at?" Gu Helian asked.
Tang Ning retracted his gaze: "Nothing, I just haven't seen my uncle for a while."
Gu Helian: "There are some problems with the Gu family's business. The people below are coming and going here to cause trouble. They have been living in Changshoufang for a while."
Rong's house is also in Changshoufang.
Tang Ning listened to his words that sounded like an explanation. If she hadn't noticed that her aunt's figure, who was sitting upright, exuded a sense of nervousness, she would have believed Gu Helian's nonsense.
However, Tang Ning did not expose him. She just pretended not to hear his bluff and said softly to the two of them:
"I was wondering why I hadn't seen you for a few days, but my aunt moved back to the Rong residence, and I was so busy taking care of my brother's injury that I didn't even know about it. Luckily, the Rong residence is also in Changshoufang, so my uncle can still take care of my aunt."
She stopped talking briefly and then asked, "Auntie, are you going with me to Lingyun Temple, Uncle?"
Gu Helian shook her head: "I won't go. There are a lot of things going on in the Gu family. I heard that you fell into the water on the Qixi Festival. There have been a lot of messes during this period. Who knows which bastard is trying to plot against you. You and your aunt should bring more guards when you go out of the city, or let Mu Feng go with you."
Tang Ning smiled and said, "No need, Mu Feng still has to protect his uncle."
Compared to her, who was a hot commodity in the eyes of the newly-minted dignitaries, Gu Helian was the God of Wealth covered in golden light, the kind that dazzled people's eyes. In particular, he was very ostentatious, never kept a low profile, and had a sharp tongue, which had offended a lot of people.
There are countless people in the capital who are coveting her openly or secretly, so she doesn't dare to take Mu Feng away.
"Brother, have Canglang accompany me, along with Hang Li, Yue Jian and the others. He also has thirty black-armored guards in plain clothes accompanying me for protection. Nothing will happen."
Gu Helian knew that Xiao Yan was a protective person, so nothing would happen with so many people protecting him. Besides, Lingyun Temple was considered a national temple, and many dignitaries went there for the Ullambana Festival. It seemed that no one would be so blind as to offend Tang Ning and the others.
It was already past noon outside, so Gu Helian didn't stay long. After asking a few questions about Xiao Yan's injuries, she left first.
Tang Ning then got on a carriage with Rong Yue and Xue Ru and headed out of the city, while Hua Wu, Xichun and other maids followed in a smaller carriage.
There is some distance between the capital and Lingyun Temple, and there are many carriages leaving the city. After Tang Ning and his friends arrived outside the city, the road became wider.
The heat in midsummer was particularly strong. Even though there was an ice basin on the carriage and the curtains were replaced with gauze, the wind blowing in the face still brought a suffocating heat, causing Tang Ning to fan the round fan in his hand faster and faster.
"This weather is incredibly hot." Rong Yue fanned herself, "It hasn't been this hot in previous years."
"Yes, it rained quite a bit recently, but it didn't seem to get much cooler."
Xue Ru, who was standing next to her, saw Tang Ning sweating from the heat and fanned her with a fan. Tang Ning glanced outside and said, "I should have left the city at night."
Rong Yue laughed: "How can we leave the city at night? It's pitch black and we can't see the road. What if we run into someone with bad intentions?"
Although the suburbs of Beijing are safer than other remote areas and there are frequent patrols nearby, there is no guarantee that there won’t be a few brainless thieves. Moreover, everyone knows that many powerful people go to Lingyun Temple during the Zhongyuan Festival. What if someone has bad intentions and takes the risk?
Rong Yue glanced outside and said, "It's hot at noon, and there's not much shade on this section of the official road. Once we get to the foot of Lingyun Temple and walk along the small path in the woods, it'll be better. There, the trees will be shady and block the sun, so it won't be so hot."
The ice basin on the carriage was visibly melting. Rong Yue was also fanning Tang Ning: "What happened when you fell into the water on the night of Qixi Festival? You didn't tell me when you came back. If your aunt Jun hadn't sent me a letter saying that you were being plotted against, I wouldn't have known such a big thing had happened."
Tang Ning knew that the wife of Marquis Wenxin had a good relationship with his aunt, so he said, "They were just some brainless people who coveted Rongsheng Academy and did this awful thing. Sister Ayue and I are fine, so we didn't want to worry my aunt. Besides, Minister Qian has already saved our reputation."
"You." Rong Yue tapped her forehead: "Don't think you can handle everything by yourself. Auntie is not that useless."
"I know my aunt loves me the most, I just don't want to upset her."
Tang Ning nudged Rong Yue as she had done before, and she rubbed her head. Seeing that her aunt seemed in a good mood, she asked, "Aunt..."
"Um?"
"Uncle Gu..."
Tang Ning originally wanted to ask about Gu Helian, but when she saw Rong Yue's face become visibly tense and her body suddenly tensed up, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
"Uncle Gu has been in Beijing for quite some time now. Is it okay for Zuozhou to be left alone?"
Rong Yue's heart, which had been beating fast, suddenly calmed down. "I don't know, but the Gu family is so big and powerful, I don't think he needs to take care of everything himself."
She paused, feeling a little guilty:
"I asked your uncle before, and he said that the Gu family used to be entrenched in Zuozhou, and because they were concerned about Prince Cheng's business, they avoided the capital. But you will stay in the capital in the future, and he plans to open a store in the capital and expand his business there, so he thinks he should not return to Zuozhou for the time being..."
Tang Ning suddenly found it a little funny when he saw Rong Yue's wandering eyes.
If the Gu family wants to settle down in the capital, they can just send a manager to take care of the business. The capital is such a small place, and it is not as important as the business of Zuozhou and the entire Wei Dynasty. There is no need for Gu Helian to stay in person.
Besides, although Gu Helian treated her well, it was mostly because of "loving the house and loving the dog". On the one hand, it was because of her mother and grandfather, and more because of her aunt. But no matter how much he liked her, it was only because he was taking care of the younger generation. But because she stayed in Beijing, it would not be like that.
After Xue Ru told her about her aunt and uncle last night, she thought a lot about it. Seeing their appearance again today, she could roughly guess that they might have made some progress.
Tang Ning was happy that Rong Yue could get over the matter with Prince Cheng and find someone she liked. Moreover, Gu Helian had remained single and had been waiting for her for all these years. She would also be happy if they could be together. However, her aunt seemed to be hesitant and obviously did not intend to say it now.
Tang Ning didn't get to the bottom of it: "That's good. I thought if my uncle returned to Zuozhou, it would be just me and my aunt."
Rong Yue fanned herself and asked tentatively, "Do you like Gu Helian very much?"
Tang Ning said, "I like him. My uncle may seem bad-tempered and has a sharp tongue, but he's actually very protective. If he hadn't been tricked and driven out of the Rong family, he would definitely protect my aunt and me from being bullied."
Rong Yue felt relieved upon hearing this, and the fan in her hand became lighter: "It was a misunderstanding before, he will protect you from now on."
Tang Ning: "I know, my uncle is very good."
Rong Yue looked more relaxed. It seemed that Tang Ning didn't dislike Gu Helian...
Xue Ru sat aside and watched Mrs. Rong cautiously testing her sister's attitude. She pursed her lips to hold back her laughter and fanned herself vigorously to cover it up. When she felt Tang Ning's mischievous gaze, two dimples appeared on her lips, and she quickly lowered her head before Rong Yue looked over.
The carriage moved forward in the wilderness. When it approached the foot of Lingyun Temple, more and more carriages appeared around it.
Before they reached the mountain, Tang Ning and the others were stopped by someone.
"Girl, this is the carriage from the Fourth Prince's Palace."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
