Chapter 58: Kiss her secretly while she's asleep. Kiss her secretly while she's asleep...
The warm sun shines down and the gentle breeze blows, the mist locks the green peach blossoms.
Zhang Min stood between the bamboo grove and peach forest, looking down at the "cliff" under his feet, and remained silent for a long time.
Behind the golden mask, the fair and handsome face was already flushed.
If time could be reversed, he thought, he would be willing to pay any price.
There's no need to go back too far, just go back to the moment when you pounced on the person, grabbed him, held him tightly and kept talking nonsense.
It's embarrassing, so why does he have to embarrass himself in front of my wife?
Compared to Zhang Min's "surging" emotions, Ye Jindian's heart is much calmer.
She looked down at the peach branches in the basket.
Fortunately, only a few flowers were bruised and could be picked off without affecting the entire branch.
She picked out a large branch and broke off a small one.
There are only two pink and white peach blossoms close together on the branch.
"Brother." She pinned the small flower on Zhang Min's chest and whispered, "I already have a husband I love, and you will surely find a wife you love too."
so--
No need to cling to her anymore.
He is also a very good person, and there must be a woman who admires him and is willing to share the same aspirations with him.
Zhang Min just looked at her quietly with her head lowered.
Ye Jindian did not understand the innocent affection she had felt when she was young. She just thought that she was angry at the other party's resolute departure, so she refused the white jade hairpin he had carved with great effort.
Later, she understood Bai Yuzhan's hidden meaning, but she had already cut off all contact with him.
A few years ago, she came to the capital with her mother, intending to find him and talk things over.
It's just fate.
She didn't know how she got married to her husband.
But the other person was actually a very good person and treated her very well.
After spending so much time together, she unknowingly fell in love with him.
Since you already like him, you can't let him down.
The mountain breeze blew gently, and the red rope hanging from Ye Jindian's shoulders swayed, tapping Zhang Min's armor with the pearls.
“Dongdong——”
She reached out and pinched the pearl at the end of the red string, then took two steps back.
Zhang Min lowered his head and saw two pink and white peach blossoms with petals dancing in the wind.
"Okay. But I have something I want to tell you—" He met her slowly raised eyes and said, "May I be as faithful as the wind, and always be with you."
I hope that they can be like the winds of the four seasons, arriving as promised to witness every blooming and falling of flowers, and live a peaceful life without regrets; I also hope that each other's hearts will always be like the midday sun, bright and firm, warm and transparent.
In fact, what he meant was that the person he liked would never change, would always be the same, and would be the only one for eternity.
Like the wind, always trustworthy; like the sun, always at its zenith.
It doesn't matter even if she only likes his weak scholarly side.
Ye Jindian was stunned.
It wasn't that she heard the hidden meaning in his words, but she just thought that she could write this line along with the letter Taohua sent to her husband.
This was meant to show that she already knew his ideals—to maintain order in troubled times with force, and to maintain order in the early stages of peace. His position in the Right Prime Minister's Office allowed him to learn government orders, communicate them, administer them, and convey public opinion faster than anywhere else.
She wanted to say that she was willing to support him.
Just as he had never objected to her appointment as the Inspector General of Arms.
"Yeah." She quickly came back to her senses and smiled, "I hope my brother will do the same."
There is no destiny between them.
But no matter what, he was the first close friend in her life.
She hopes that the other person can live a good life.
After taking two steps with the bamboo basket on his back, Ye Jindian suddenly thought of something else.
She stopped and looked back at Zhang Min.
Zhang Min immediately asked her, "Is there anything else that worries you?"
"The man you just left alive..." Ye Jindian thought they should be able to tell, but still reminded them, "The golden armor on him must have been stripped from someone else. The armor smells strongly of blood, but there's only a hole and some bloodstains on the armor, not a large amount of blood spilled. Even his hands don't have any knife or sword wounds, only scratches from rocks and branches."
Zhang Min knew that the man was not Du Hong.
The crossbow that his wife had repaired could even penetrate trees. How could Du Hong, a flesh and blood body, still be alive?
The reason why the other party pretended to be Du Hong was just to prevent the rebels from losing their morale and hoping to have a chance to make a comeback.
Ye Jindian added: "The blade of the knife he used to hold me hostage was not stained with blood."
"Okay, we got it. We'll investigate thoroughly." Zhang Min looked at her, his dark eyes softening behind the golden mask. "Anything else?"
Ye Jindian hesitated: "You... take care of yourself."
Regardless of whether it was rumors in the market or what I had witnessed with my own eyes these few times, he really did not take his life seriously when he was on official business, and he always liked to walk on the edge of a knife.
It's too risky.
Her lips were slightly open, wanting to say a few more words, but she finally closed them.
She didn't want to say anything else, even if it was just a reminder.
Zhang Min didn't wait for any other words and responded with a soft "hmm".
"I'm leaving." Ye Jindian thought for a moment, then bowed to him, the soldiers, and the guards, "Thank you all for your protection."
Luoying and the others also bowed in return.
Zhang Heng didn't know what they talked about, but when she saw that her brother didn't see her off, she jumped out.
"Sister-in-law, how about I take you back?"
Ye Jindian was about to refuse when the princess came down from the high slope, surrounded by people. She said, "We also want to go down the mountain, so let's go together."
She didn't know how to address the other person and glanced at Zhang Heng.
The princess's lips curved as she introduced herself: "Tang Wancheng, courtesy name Wuxia, title Kangning, nickname Wanwan."
It turned out to be Princess Kangning who was caught up in rumors all day long!
The three main sources of rumors in the capital were the Right Prime Minister Zhang Min, and the second was Princess Kangning, who kept countless male favorites in her mansion.
"Why?" Princess Kangning said jokingly, seeing her dazed look, "You know I have a bad reputation, so you don't want to go with me?"
Ye Jindian quickly shook her head: "Reputation is outside, whether good or bad, it is always judged by others, and it is not necessarily to be taken seriously."
"Not necessarily..." Princess Kangning lifted her chin with the silk fan in her hand and smiled charmingly, "That means there is some basis for it. In fact, the rumors are not complete. My mansion not only has male favorites, but also various beautiful young ladies. It's just that I haven't yet treasured... a beautiful young lady like you who can forge weapons."
Ye Jindian: “…”
Social matters are not her forte.
She knew the other party was joking, but she couldn't respond.
"Okay, stop messing with my sister-in-law and my wife." Zhang Heng pushed away the folding fan in her hand and winked in the direction of his brother.
Princess Corning looked up and saw a golden mask staring at them motionlessly.
The other party was once a personal soldier under her father's command. Others may not know who he is, but she knows him very well.
Princess Kangning acted as if nothing had happened, put away the silk fan in her hand, turned around and walked down the mountain.
"Okay, I won't tease your sister-in-law. Let's go."
Zhang Min still wanted to explore the underground tunnel, so he couldn't send them down the mountain, so he had to let the secret guards follow.
At the foot of the mountain.
The left prime minister, Du Jun, lined up his troops and waited.
A purple robe with the pattern of flying birds, a golden and jade leather belt, and a Jinxian crown.
Even when surrounded by a group of military generals, he still has a majestic and awe-inspiring aura.
Ye Jindian was just wondering who this person was when Princess Kangning spoke first, "The imperial guards should be the responsibility of the Left and Right Marquises. Now that I don't see the Right Marquis, but I'm facing the Left Prime Minister, it really is... fate."
“???”
She smelled something unusual.
Ye Jindian quietly scanned the two men's faces and saw that the Left Prime Minister had a clean and upright face, and his tone was rather cold and hard: "I heard that there were bandits entering the mountains, so I was ordered to meet them here. I wonder if the princess is alright?"
"Yes." Princess Kangning gently fanned herself, then raised her hand and rubbed her forehead. "But I can't tell anyone about this. Could you, Prime Minister Zuo, please excuse me?"
The Left Prime Minister did not respond.
Princess Kangning chuckled, her meaning unclear. "Why, with so many people here, are you still afraid that I might do something to you?"
Ye Jindian: “…”
She felt uneasy as if a secret had been uncovered.
Zhang Heng held the red tassel spear and pulled her to his side: "Don't be afraid, sister-in-law, it's a common thing, everyone is used to it."
This kind of drama always happens in public whenever Wanwan meets Du Junze.
Ye Jindian glanced at the others.
Everyone present here is indeed very calm and composed.
"Forget it." Princess Kangning suddenly stopped smiling, looking disinterested. "Since the Left Prime Minister is not a doctor, I won't make things difficult for you. Let's go back home."
She said the last two words to the maid and guards behind her.
A group of people passed by him.
After they were away from the soldiers, Ye Jindian whispered to Zhang Heng, "How come the Left Prime Minister's aura is even more intimidating than my brother's?"
Zhang Heng: “…”
Are you serious about what my sister-in-law said?
"Hmm..." She could only say, "Maybe it's because the Left Prime Minister isn't wearing a mask."
Zhang Heng didn't deliberately lower his voice when he spoke, and Princess Kangning heard him say, "You two are whispering about something bad about Coffin Face. Speak out and let me have some fun."
Ye Jindian was embarrassed to say it.
Zhang Heng had no qualms: "It's not a bad word, it's just that our Prime Minister Du is majestic."
"Majesty?" Princess Kangning snorted coldly, wrinkling her nose and said viciously, "Sooner or later, I'll sleep with him! Let's see if he can still put on that cold, coffin-like face behind the bed curtains."
Ye Jindian was frightened by her wild words and tripped over a stone, staggering a few steps.
Zhang Heng, as if accustomed to it, pulled her into his arms and embraced her with one arm: "Wanwan, my princess, this is the first time my sister-in-law is traveling with us. Don't scare her away and make her dare not meet us again."
It took her several years to get back in touch with this friend.
Princess Kangning took two quick steps, turned around and moved to Ye Jindian's side, sandwiching her with Zhang Heng. The hand that wasn't holding the fan passed directly over her, crossed her shoulder, and rested her palm on Zhang Heng's shoulder.
Ye Jindian suddenly felt that although she could swing a 100-jin iron hammer, she was just a weak, helpless and pitiful little peach blossom in front of these two people.
Princess Kangning fanned her with a fan and hummed twice, "Your name is Tiantian, right?"
Ye Jindian: "Hmm..."
Princess Kangning: "I tell you, this woman can't be too thin-skinned in private, otherwise she will easily lose to some shameless men and lose face for us women."
Ye Jindian: "Hmm?"
"In the eyes of the world, love, hate, drinking, and all the other exciting things shouldn't be indulged by women. They only want women to be chaste and submissive, locked up in the backyard like a withered flower, burning itself out to keep them warm." Princess Kangning sneered, "But I don't want to be that kind of firewood!"
But if there is no firewood to keep warm, some people are afraid that they will freeze to death in the cold winter.
So, they panicked.
They attacked her with harsh words, trying to destroy her blossoms and drain the moisture from her branches.
"I know I'm not a trumpet creeper, much less a towering tree, but even if I'm just a delicate flower, I want to be the crabapple blossom that fills the capital."
Ye Jindian turned her head to look at her: "You are as bright as a crabapple and as bright as a star. You are no longer a dry firewood."
*
Return to the courtyard.
Zhang Heng dragged away Princess Kangning, who was reluctant to leave and was holding the door tightly to look at her.
The other person was still not very obedient on the maid's shoulder. He waved his wide sleeves embroidered with crabapple flowers and shouted at Ye Jindian: "I'll come to see you again in a few days when the academy is closed!"
Ye Jindian nodded with a smile and watched them go away.
Before she met her, she had thought that the famous Princess Corning would be an arrogant and domineering lady from a noble family.
I didn't expect that he would be such an innocent person.
“Ahhh——”
The yellow dog heard her footsteps opening the door, stumbled over and circled around her feet.
Ye Jindian was afraid of stepping on it, so she walked very slowly.
She found a chipped earthenware vessel with two handles in the storage room next to the kitchen where firewood was stored, put the peach blossoms in it, and placed it on the windowsill to keep it in water.
She took out the writing paper and looked at the high sun. She hesitated for a few times, read through all the poems and essays, but when she finished writing, she still wrote the same sentence:
May I be as reliable as the wind and stay with the sun forever.
She kept one to admire, and took the remaining two to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, asking the guards to help pass them on.
Knowing that they were busy with official business and also knowing that the palace soldiers generally did not know how to handle these things, Ye Jindian took the clay pot together and tied the letter to the branch.
*
Under the sky, the prime minister’s residence.
It was a dark night without stars or moon, and the two lanterns on the left and right of the prison were crimson.
Behind the iron fence, Zhang Min walked up the stairs with his eyes lowered, wiping the blood off his hands with a cloth with some disgust.
But after half a day, some of the blood had already solidified and could not be wiped away.
He threw the cloth to Luo Ying, who was following closely behind him, and asked, "Has Fu Feng returned with his troops?"
Luo Ying caught it: "Not yet, we have to wait a few more days."
In order to make the scene more realistic, the people who came were all the legitimate defenders of Nandu.
Although there were not many soldiers in this group, the mighty formation was an illusion created by tying branches behind the horses to sweep them.
But no matter how few, there are still thousands of soldiers and horses. If they are not sent back, how can the generals stationed in Shengjing sleep well?
"And..." Luo Ying threw the cloth into the brazier and burned it. "Fufeng is a thoughtful person. Since Your Majesty has given him power, he will definitely stay there for a few days to reassure the Nandu County Governor and express his gratitude and grace to His Majesty. He will definitely do a good job."
If he returns without a word after paying off the troops, the one who will be unable to sleep will be the Nando County Magistrate.
Zhang Min raised his eyes to look at him: "You finally have a brain."
Luoying: “???”
Why does the Prime Minister's mouth always sound like arsenic, trying to poison them?
Zhang Min walked past his wide-eyed subordinates, went to take a shower and change his clothes, then put on a wide robe with big sleeves and went to the study.
He immediately noticed the extra earthenware jar and two peach blossoms on the table. The letter tied to the branch floated lightly in the wind and hit the jar with a soft "pa pa" sound.
"Is this from my wife?" He reached out and held the letter, and asked the palace soldier guarding the door.
Palace Soldier: "Yes, sir."
Zhang Min turned the letter over and read the large characters one by one.
The small words next to it were concise and clear, saying: Work hard, don't worry about me, I'm fine, I just miss you.
His index finger swept across the slightly raised small ink characters, and he suddenly missed her very much and wished he could see her right away.
A thought came to my mind.
He turned around and went inside, changing into a scholar's plain cross-collared robe.
"I'll go back and be back before dawn." Zhang Min said to Luo Ying before climbing over the wall.
Luo Ying, holding a pile of confessions: "..."
Fortunately, before returning home, I had already visited the palace to see His Majesty.
Zhang Min walked around the alley and soon climbed over the wall into the courtyard.
“Ahhhhh——”
The little puppy rushed over and fiercely drove away the uninvited guest.
Zhang Min's body stiffened for a moment. He was afraid that he would crush the cat to death if he did that, and he was also afraid that it would wake up his wife, so he had to put it in a basket and throw it next door.
He tiptoed into the inner room.
The night light is dim and the curtains are unclear.
He sat on the footstool, lay in front of the bed, and stared at Ye Jindian's sleeping face for a long time.
"Actually..." he whispered, "I miss you too."
Even though I have seen her in the daytime, I still feel that it is not enough to comfort my thoughts. I wish I could carry her with me all the time, hide her in my chest, and take a look at her whenever I have time.
But she is not an object after all, so she should be free and unrestrained.
He propped himself up on his elbows and leaned over to kiss the strands of hair on her forehead.
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