Chapter 193: Chen Yi vs. Princess Wu Jing (Part 2)
Pei Xingju rubbed his forehead, leaned his head on Zhuang Wan's shoulder, and closed his eyes slightly.
Zhuang Wan turned around and asked, "Are you sleepy?"
"I've been busy at the office these past two days and I'm a little tired."
"Why don't you go back and rest first?"
Pei Xingju shook his head: "You go ahead and do your thing. Don't worry about me. I'll sit down and rest for a while."
After a moment, he asked again, "Do you have any books?"
He didn't want to go back, he just wanted to stay here with her.
Zhuang Wan pointed to the bookshelf to the west: "There are a few miscellaneous notes there. You can take a look."
She stood up and walked to the table to continue looking at the accounts. Meanwhile, Pei Xingju walked to the bookshelf, picked up a book, and sat back on the bench.
Inside, the warmth of the charcoal brazier shielded them from the clamor of the outside world. One sat at his desk, looking over accounts, while the other sat in a chair, reading. The moment was quiet and beautiful.
But not long after, someone came hurriedly.
It’s Shen Yi.
"I went to your house and waited for a long time but you didn't come back. So you are here."
"What's up?"
"It's okay."
"What are you doing here if you have nothing to do?"
Chen Yi choked. He suddenly realized that his good brother, who used to share the same pants with him, had changed since he got a beloved woman. Not only did he ignore him, he even thought he was an eyesore.
Well, I feel very wronged.
Zhuang Wan burst out laughing when she saw Chen Yi's expression. She said to Pei Xingju, "You guys go ahead and return home early today."
.
In the end, Pei Xingju and Chen Yi went to the teahouse they often went to for tea.
Talks between people in politics always revolve around government affairs, and the two of them talked about the Queen Mother and Duke Xin.
"The Japanese pirates are attacking again. It seems that the battle in Minzhou will have to continue." Chen Yi said: "It seems that the Queen Mother is about to win the game, but now the Emperor has to continue to rely on Duke Xin to fight. I am afraid that he will not move Duke Xin for a while."
"I find this very strange. Why are the Japanese pirates coming again during Chinese New Year? And I heard that all the navy led by General Zhu were killed in the battle. General Zhu was stationed in Ningju County, and the pirates came from the sea. It's impossible that there wouldn't be any news at all."
Pei Xingju pondered, "This is why the Emperor sent people to investigate. I'm afraid there's another conspiracy."
"What a coincidence, could it be that Duke Xin is behind this?"
"When there are too many coincidences, they are no longer coincidences." Pei Xingju said, "Whether Duke Xin has done anything wrong will be known once Lord Shen, the Governor of the Southeastern Navy, is brought to the capital."
Mentioning this, Chen Yi asked, "Do you need someone to escort you secretly?"
"Xue Gang is already on the way."
Chen Yi was surprised: "Didn't he take that person to recuperate?"
Pei Xingju didn't respond, his eyes fell directly on the teacup, as if he was thinking about other things.
After a moment, he said, "The Queen Mother will definitely not sit idly by and wait for death. In that case, we might as well lend her a helping hand."
"How can I help?"
"Give her all the evidence we found about the collapsed Buddha statue. The Queen Mother has been able to remain in the harem for so many years, so she must have her own abilities. Give her the evidence, and we don't need to worry about anything else."
"Give it directly? Didn't you say we can't be exposed?"
"Secretly give the evidence to Lord Feng, the Jingzhao Yin. Lord Feng is eager to give an account to the Queen Mother, so he will naturally take all the credit for himself, thus preventing you and me from being exposed."
"Good idea." Chen Yi drank a cup of tea and stood up: "I'll do it right away."
.
Here, Chen Yi came out of the restaurant and was about to get on his horse when he saw two people running towards him from a distance. He stood there and waited for a while.
"What's up?"
The visitors were the housekeeper and attendants of the princess's mansion.
"Sir," the housekeeper said, "someone has come from the Gao residence and said the princess is drunk at the Gao residence. Please go and fetch her."
"If you're drunk, just ask someone to carry you back. Why are you looking for me?"
"That's unacceptable." The housekeeper wiped his sweat. "Today is Madam Gao's birthday, and the Gao family has invited only the ladies of the imperial family to the banquet. If we have someone carry the princess out, wouldn't that be a laughing stock?"
After a moment of silence, Chen Yi said impatiently: "Forget it, I'll go get her back."
After saying that, he jumped on his horse and headed towards the Gao family mansion.
When he arrived at Gao's house, a maid was already waiting at the door, leading him straight through the small path into the women's quarters in the backyard. However, she stopped at the moon gate.
The reason was simple. Someone was whispering quietly on the other side of the wall, and the person he was talking about was not someone else, but Princess Wu Jing.
"Why is she so arrogant? Look, all the ladies attending the banquet today are accompanied by their husbands, but she, the great Princess Wu Jing, came alone."
"I heard that she and her husband were not on good terms. At first, she specifically asked Lord Shen to be her husband in the palace. But you didn't see that Lord Shen didn't even bother to pay attention to her in the palace."
"That's right. She's just a princess of a small country. The title sounds nice, but she's not as good as the noble ladies of ordinary families in the capital. If I were Lord Shen, I naturally wouldn't want to marry a princess of a small country. Wouldn't that just hinder my career?"
"That's exactly the truth, everyone can see it clearly, but she herself can't figure it out. She's still so arrogant and domineering all day long. Does she really think she's Da Zhao's princess?"
"Ah! She's just a pitiful woman who isn't favored by her husband. Why are you arguing with her about this? Who knows, Master Shen might take another concubine soon. Then she'll have a lot of hard times."
These words were heard clearly and without missing a word, and the maid leading the way was embarrassed. She secretly looked at Shen Yi's face, but saw that he only lowered his eyes and remained silent, with no expression on his face.
After a while, when the people on the other side of the wall had left, the maid said, "Master Shen, please come this way. The princess is taking a rest in the Youlan Courtyard."
When I arrived at Youlan Courtyard, I could hear people singing inside before I even entered.
When the door was opened, Princess Wu Jing did not rest at all, but danced barefoot on the carpet, and the maid beside her could not persuade her.
Hearing the noise, Princess Wu Jing turned around and immediately smiled: "Chen Yi, you are here?"
Chen Yi stared at her: "Are you drunk?"
"Who said that?" Wu Jing patted his chest. "The people of Lu are all big drinkers. Can a mere pot of wine make me drunk?"
"I'm not drunk! Look, I can still dance!"
As she spoke, she lifted her skirt and continued to jump on the carpet, still singing the ballad of Lu incoherently:
"Gelsang flower, Gesang flower, my lover has crossed the mountains and ridges, and I saw him..."
"I picked one and put it on my head. Gesang flower, Gesang flower, my lover is back..."
"Look, he's climbed Mount Aman and is going home with me..."
"Gelsang flower, Gesang flower, my heart is filled with joy, and I am about to go home..."
After a while, she spun in front of Chen Yi and smiled widely: "How is it? My dance is beautiful, right? Let me tell you, I am the best-looking, smartest, most beautiful and most uh uh uh--"
Princess Wu Jing's mouth was covered by Chen Yi without any hesitation, and he simply carried her up.
"Go and prepare the carriage," he ordered.
"Yes." The maid who led the way was very surprised, but Princess Wu Jing's maid seemed to have long been accustomed to the way the two got along, so she was not surprised and hurried away.
After getting on the carriage, Princess Wu Jing was still not quiet. She moved in front of Shen Yi, resting her elbows on his knees, holding her face and smiling at him from a close distance.
"Chen Yi, why are you so handsome?" She said drunkenly, "You are the most handsome man in the capital. No wonder you can become my consort."
“…”
"But sometimes you're too fierce. I don't dare to make you angry, but I still think you're the most handsome." Her eyes curved into crescents. "Even when you're angry, you're still the most handsome man in the world."
Chen Yi's face was filled with disgust, and he opened his mouth to scold her, but when he remembered what he had heard at Yuemen before, he swallowed his words back.
Princess Wu Jing continued to ramble, "I heard the Lantern Festival in the capital is incredibly lively, with lanterns, lion dances, acrobatics, lots of operas, and... well, too many, I can't remember them all. Chen Yi, is the Lantern Festival really that lively?"
"Um."
"Ah! Then I want to go see the lanterns. Chen Yi, can you accompany me?"
"I......."
Suddenly, I recalled Pei Xingju's words—"Princess Wu Jing is different from you. She has to deal with the ladies of various mansions in the capital. You know that the harem is sometimes just like the court, with the same flashes of swords and spears. Do you want Princess Wu Jing to keep her engagement with you while enduring the criticism and ridicule of others?"
Suddenly, he forced himself to suppress the words "I'm busy".
"Okay, I can go with you, but you have to behave yourself."
“That’s great!”
Princess Wu Jing cheered and was about to dance, but as soon as she stood up, her head hit the roof of the car. She cried "Ouch" and sat on the ground with a frown.
She looked silly, but was as happy as a child. Shen Yi couldn't help but smile.
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