Chapter 496 Protectorate Temple
Lin Yu overheard Jiang Fenghua and Granny Wang's conversation outside the door. She poked her head out and said, "This kind of thing is not suitable for Granny Wang to handle. Your Majesty, please entrust it to me!"
Having spent over a decade in the capital, Lin Yu naturally knew what kind of man a woman of the Empress Dowager's age needed. Regardless of age, the most important thing was a sweet tongue; he had to be charming and make the Empress Dowager's heart flutter, ensuring she would be trapped in a honey pot and never escape.
The following day, Granny Wang left the palace for Huguo Temple, carrying the Empress's instructions.
Meanwhile, the Empress Dowager also worked hard to find some beautiful women to seduce the Emperor and defeat Jiang Fenghua.
Jiang Fenghua watched the Empress Dowager leave the palace without offering any opinion. The Empress Dowager naturally used the excuse of performing a Buddhist ritual for the Third Prince before leaving the palace.
She thought to herself: Xie Shang has been gone from Shengjing for half a month now, and he hasn't really sent Xie Ling'er to the border. So where did he go? The wedding procession would take at least a month to reach the northern border.
Meanwhile, Xie Shang saw Xie Ling'er off from the capital and then returned to the capital with his men. However, he had already planned to travel incognito to Feng's Escort Agency in Yu County.
He pretended to be a wealthy merchant escorting a shipment of goods to the capital. However, after his secret investigation, he discovered that the Feng family was indeed just honestly running a security escort business, just as Jiang Fenghua had said.
The Feng family did not even rise to prominence because their granddaughter became empress; in fact, no one even knew that the empress was the Feng family's granddaughter.
Xie Shang had never seen such a family before, and Jiang Fenghua never thought of using her identity to help the Feng family dominate the area of Yu County.
In the end, he did not show up, but instead delivered a batch of goods to the Feng family and escorted them to Shengjing. He also gave them a generous reward and rushed back to Shengjing overnight.
He only had one thing on his mind: Jiang Fenghua was about to give birth, and he should rush back immediately to be with her during childbirth.
As he passed Huguo Temple, he heard the sound of a bell ringing. The sound was deafening, yet it also seemed to be filled with sorrow and grief. He ordered the carriage to stop. "Lin Feng, where are we?"
"Huguo Temple," Lin Feng said.
Xie Shang lifted the carriage curtain and saw that there were many people on the road today. "What important holiday is it today? Why are there so many people?"
Lin Feng was speechless and quickly explained, "Has Your Majesty forgotten? Today is the 49th day since the Third Prince's death. The Empress had the Third Prince's body placed in a coffin and sent to Huguo Temple. After today, he will be buried in the Prince's Mausoleum."
Xie Shang had never cared about or even visited the child; he had no feelings for him. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Was all of this organized and arranged by the Empress?"
"Yes, His Majesty is busy with official duties every day, so these matters are naturally handled by His Majesty the Empress. In fact, His Majesty the Empress is very thoughtful. Perhaps she also felt sorry for the Third Prince who died so young, so she asked the high monks of Huguo Temple to hold a 49-day ceremony for the Third Prince in the hope that he would ascend to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss as soon as possible," Lin Feng explained.
Xie Shang then remembered that Jiang Fenghua would copy scriptures whenever she had free time. She was indeed a qualified and good empress and mistress. No wonder the emperor appointed her as empress and even made it clear in his decree that he would never depose her.
"Now that I'm here, let's go and take a look at the Huguo Temple!" Xie Shang said in a deep voice.
Lin Feng was shocked. "Your Majesty is going to Huguo Temple? Is Your Majesty going on an incognito visit, or will you reveal your imperial identity? I will arrange it immediately."
"No need, we'll just dress up as tourists, travel light, go out for a look around, and then head back to the capital!" Before Lin Feng could even tie up his horse, Xie Shang had already walked ahead alone.
He was already handsome, and wearing a dark brocade robe made him even more imposing and dignified, his unique and majestic aura drawing much discussion from the tourists who came to worship and offer incense.
He was already used to being the center of attention, but this was Huguo Temple, and being surrounded by people like this, his expression turned cold, as if he wanted strangers to stay away.
Lin Feng immediately walked to Xie Shang's side, and people were intimidated by his aloof demeanor.
Even if you don't ride in a carriage and dress modestly, you'll still attract a lot of attention, and some women will even approach you and start chatting you up.
Before the woman could speak, Lin Feng had already scared her away. However, one woman, unafraid of death, spoke up, "Young master, are you also a pilgrim who has come to Huguo Temple to see Master Wu? My young lady and I have also come because of his reputation."
She thought to herself: The man in front of her is not only handsome, but also has an air of nobility. He must be a high-ranking official from Shengjing City.
The one who asked him the question was a maid, while her mistress stood quietly to the side, dressed in white, tall and slender, with a transparent veil covering her face, making her features indistinct and difficult to see clearly, her beautiful eyes seeming to send out a secret glance.
Seeing that they did not answer, the young lady's voice was melodious and pleasant, "Qiao'er, let's go quickly."
Xie Shang's face remained expressionless as she avoided eye contact and walked straight ahead. Lin Feng glared at the maid named Qiao'er, wondering why everyone was trying to curry favor with her. "Master, you should probably wear a mask!"
Lin Feng offered him half of the face mask.
Xie Shang took it and put it on his face. "Won't this be even more conspicuous?"
"At least it's better than before." He hadn't expected so many people at Huguo Temple today, so Lin Feng also prepared a mask for himself and put it on.
Seeing this, Xie Shang asked, "Do you also have someone who annoys you?"
"I'm determined to remain chaste for Lianye. She's already quite unhappy with all the palace maids who keep trying to flirt with me." Lin Feng also wanted to win the beauty's heart as soon as possible.
Behind him, the woman in white stared at Xie Shang's departing figure with a look of infatuation in her eyes, "I never imagined that there was such a handsome and dashing man in Shengjing City."
"Miss, do you think that young master is married yet?" Qiao'er asked.
"How should I know? Don't be so easily startled when you first arrive in Shengjing. You just went and asked someone directly, and they ignored you. Didn't you feel embarrassed?"
"It's not embarrassing at all. Qiao'er only struck up a conversation because of Miss."
"You brat, you were the one who wanted to ask, and you're blaming me! I'll tear your mouth apart!" she said, deliberately trying to hit Qiao'er.
“Who doesn’t know the name of our Bai Family Trading Company? I didn’t mention the name Bai Family Trading Company just now, otherwise that young master wouldn’t have left,” Qiao’er said.
“That’s not necessarily true.” Bai Yuhan said with great certainty, “This person looks like he’s from the officialdom, and his status is not low. Officials have a prejudice against us business people.”
Qiao'er said, "Who doesn't like money? They become officials for money, and we do business for money too. Who are you looking down on? Besides, my young lady is as beautiful as a flower. He hasn't seen her face yet, otherwise his eyes would be wide open."
Bai Yuhan laughed, "You're so talkative. Let's go. I heard that the Grand Master of Huguo Temple is going to perform a ritual today. Let's go early!"
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