Chapter 372 Eagle Eyes and Wolf Guards
In the room.
Princess Lu Yan'er of Prince Jing, who had been content to act as a silent vase ever since entering the Humble Administrator's Garden, was stunned for a moment, revealing a hint of surprise.
Facing Zhao Duan's question, her elegant and gentle eyebrows relaxed, and she said lightly: "No."
Very cold.
Taoism is a broad concept. Apart from the powerful "Tianshi Mansion", the Dayu Dynasty was mostly composed of Taoist temples for mortals.
"Jiancheng Road is not like the capital, and there is no big temple there. I'm sure the envoy wouldn't know even if I told him." Princess Lu responded calmly.
So...
Zhao Duan nodded, looked her up and down, and said with a smile:
"I'm in the capital, and I have some connections with the priests in the Tianshi Mansion. As the saying goes, all Taoists in the world are one family. I thought that perhaps the Taoist master that the princess entered might also be considered a relative of the one in the capital."
Princess Lu, who had long since returned to secular life, wore a long fringed dress and a bun with her hair tied up in a woman's bun, and forced a smile:
"The secular Taoist tradition cannot compare to the Heavenly Master's."
Zhao Duan smiled and chatted warmly:
"Haha, if Princess is interested, I can help introduce you to the Tianshi Mansion. Not to mention the extraordinary saints, just the breathing and health preservation, the anti-aging techniques are sure to be of interest to Princess.
Hmm, may I ask how old the princess is? Would you mind telling me? I've also learned a few tricks of divination..."
Lu Yan'er had a strange expression on her face.
At first she was indifferent, but she couldn't resist Zhao Duan's constant opening of the topic, and she was really curious about the situation in the Tianshi Mansion.
The two of them chatted back and forth, and the topic of "cultivating Taoism" extended to another, and the conversation became more and more heated.
He completely left Prince Jing and his son aside.
The smile on Prince Jing's face, who was originally elegant and noble, and somewhat similar to the late emperor, gradually faded, and his big hands on his knees quietly clenched his knees.
Xu Jinglong, who was standing aside, looked even uglier.
During this time, Prince Jing tried to bring the topic back, but Zhao Duan just responded perfunctorily and quickly turned around to talk to Princess Lu.
This attitude finally made Prince Jing's expression completely cold and he felt annoyed.
A smile gradually appeared on his face, but this time, the smile had a hint of coldness.
"Yan'er," Prince Jing suddenly spoke, calling her Princess, and then said lightly:
"Envoy Zhao is busy entertaining guests. I have troubled you for a long time. I will take my leave now."
Zhao Duan looked unsatisfied and stood up to see him off with regret, saying apologetically:
"I was so engrossed in the conversation that I neglected His Majesty. I hope you can forgive me. I will visit you in person when I go to Jiancheng Road in the future."
He bowed as he spoke but did not move.
It looked like he had no intention of seeing her off the door.
"Ha ha……"
The anger in Prince Jing's eyes flashed away, and he smiled without saying anything more. The family of three walked out.
Zhao Duan turned around and stood beside the coffee table and opened the gift box sent by Xu Jinglong. The carved rosewood box was covered with silk brocade.
Inside was a string of agate Buddhist beads, each of which was carved into the shape of a Buddha's head. The carving was obviously done by a famous artist.
Zhao Duan picked up the Buddhist beads, and suddenly, as if he used too much force, he broke the already fragile cotton thread.
“Crackle…”
Priceless agate Buddhist beads fell on the ground like rain, making loud noises in the quiet main hall.
The Buddha heads rolled across the wooden floor like flowers scattered by fairies.
Just as he was about to step out of the door, Prince Jing, who was wearing a blue-edged python robe, paused, stood still, and slowly turned his head. Under his thick black eyebrows, two gray-brown eyes in his eye sockets stared at him intently.
The eyes of an eagle and the gaze of a wolf.
Zhao Duan still held the broken cotton thread in his hand, his eyes meeting Prince Jing's. There was an eerie silence in the hall.
"Your Highness, is there anything else?" Zhao Duan asked curiously.
Prince Jing Xu Wen's mouth curled up slowly: "Nothing."
Then he raised his arms, pulled at his wide sleeves, and gently patted the prince on his left and the princess on his right:
"Let's go."
The family of three left the Humble Administrator's Garden in full view of everyone.
Zhao Duan ignored the Buddha head agate rolling on the ground and stood at the door in a daze.
The old priest who was guarding outside the door, Haitang and others walked in.
"When this prince went out just now, he had the intention to kill you." Eunuch Hai said with a smile.
Zhao Duan dropped the string in his hand and said calmly:
"He's more patient than I thought."
Haitang glanced at him, then looked at the Buddhist beads on the ground with some heartache, and said:
"Otherwise, how could Prince Jing's Mansion have such power?"
Zhao Duan turned his head and looked at the old priest for advice:
"That Princess Lu, is she really a mortal?"
Eunuch Hai glanced at him and said indifferently:
"I've said it several times, our family practices martial arts, not sorcery. At least the princess has no trace of martial arts training."
"You suspect she has any spiritual power?" Haitang was surprised. "That's not in the intelligence from the government office."
Zhao Duan shook his head slightly without explaining.
He was too lazy to say it, he always felt that this Princess Lu had an indescribable familiarity.
I had just been deliberately chatting with him in the room, on the one hand to annoy the father and son, and on the other hand to find the source of familiarity.
But nothing was found.
"Never mind, let's wait and see."
Zhao Duan said softly, then suddenly smiled and asked, "Is the princess still outside? Please come in."
…
…
Outside the Humble Administrator's Garden.
Two carriages stopped one after the other, surrounded by the palace's guards.
The servant lifted the curtain, and Prince Jing and the princess were riding in one car, and Xu Jinglong was in another car behind.
After the thick curtains that kept out the cold autumn clothes were lowered, Prince Jing leaned against the board in the spacious and comfortable carriage with a small table in the middle for burning incense, closed his eyes, and rubbed his eyebrows.
Then he said coldly: "You were chatting lively with that boy."
The beautiful woman sitting opposite, with a gentle temperament, showed no fear at all. Instead, she glared at him with her rather bright eyes and sneered back:
"Why, are you embarrassed?"
Prince Jing opened his tiger eyes and said with a hint of annoyance:
"Why are you so unwilling to give me face in front of outsiders?"
Lu Yan'er smiled but did not answer. Instead, she leaned forward slightly and presented her face, which had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes but was still as delicate as a baby's, to her nominal husband.
"You can slap me and let out some steam." Princess Lu exhaled in a sweet voice.
Prince Jing breathed heavily, and with his hands on his knees, he tried to tear the wrinkles out of his silk python robe, but he finally sighed:
"Yan'er, you know that this is not what I meant, why do you have to do this?"
Lu Yan'er retracted her face and sneered:
"Prince Xu, you have to understand that when you married me from the Taoist temple into the palace, the agreement didn't include any provision for saving face for you.
Besides, that Zhao Duan deliberately struck up a conversation with me, wasn't he after you?
You didn't get angry at him, but took it out on me. Is this the demeanor of a Xu family man? Your son is like this, and you..."
"Enough!" Prince Jing said expressionlessly.
The sorcerer Lu Yan'er smiled but said nothing.
The carriage was allowed to continue its wobbling journey back to the palace and the group's temporary residence in Huting City.
In the middle of the conversation, after a long silence, Prince Jing said:
"That brat is probably not only irritating me, but also putting on an act for all the merchants in Huting to see, hoping to suppress me on behalf of the court. After saying so much to you, I'm afraid he also doubts whether you really have any means of cultivation."
He sighed softly and said:
"Over the years, I've always taken you with me when I went out. Being so public is bound to arouse suspicion."
Princess Lu Yan'er didn't care and said calmly, "So what if I doubt it? So what if I don't doubt it?"
There was a hint of hesitation in Prince Jing Xuwen's eyes:
"Jinglong led Duan Shuiliu to the river to stop the enemy and also found out his background. Although he didn't make a move, according to intelligence, he had just entered the Divine Chapter. There was no Taia Sword for him to use here. He was only at the Divine Chapter level, so he was not a concern. The key was the three guards beside him.
How many years has it been since Hai Chunlin left the palace? My niece actually threw him out. Humph, even though this old eunuch has fallen on hard times, he's still no match for an ordinary person.
As for the other two, one is a swordsman from the Northern Army, and the other is a sorcerer skilled in controlling water veins. Together, they can contend with Broken Water Flow for a while."
Lu Yan'er looked at him in surprise and said:
"You really want to kill him? In the lake pavilion?"
Prince Jing did not respond, and seemed to be hesitant.
Lu Yan'er glanced at him and said calmly:
"Let me make it clear first, I don't have the confidence to defeat that old eunuch."
Prince Jing's brows relaxed, and he looked at the street outside the gap in the fluttering curtains and said softly:
"Let's wait and see."
…
Inside the Humble Administrator's Garden.
After Prince Jing left, Zhao Duan received several royal merchants, but declined other visits on the grounds that he was tired from the journey and needed to rest.
The merchants hurriedly said goodbye and left, spreading the news of what happened here to the entire lake pavilion.
"This statement today should allow the wavering neutrals to see the court's confidence, right?"
Zhao Duan returned to the bedroom assigned to him, took a quick shower, and relieved his fatigue.
Then he sat down at the table, spread out his pen and ink, and began to write a letter to Zhenbao who was far away in the capital, reporting on his itinerary for the day.
Well, although it will take a long time for the letter to be sent back to the capital, it will still be faster than him going back.
When working outside, it is a basic ethics for a subordinate to report to the leader at any time.
The last time I was in Taicang, everything happened so quickly that it only took a few days, and the situation was far less complicated than here, so I didn’t write about it.
"From His Majesty the Infinite Great Longevity King Emperor:
I have successfully arrived at the lake pavilion and now report to Your Majesty what I have observed and heard. Your Majesty will review my handling of the matter and determine whether it is appropriate.
As we were about to land, Crown Prince Xu Jinglong arrived with his warships... Under the pretext of Duan Shuiliu, they committed treason, demanding the precious armor bestowed by Your Majesty and giving it to Qingshan instead. This is tantamount to treason. I am indignant and furious, and I curse and denounce these traitors to defend the dignity of our Great Yu Dynasty..."
Zhao Duan wrote in one breath about his fight with Xu Jinglong and his meeting with Prince Jing.
Finally, he felt that the ending of the letter lacked some charm. After thinking for a while, he changed his tone and wrote:
"...Moreover, the scenery of Jiangnan, which I admired in the Humble Administrator's Garden, was different from that in the capital. In my trance, my thoughts drifted, and I thought of Your Majesty, who was also enjoying the scenery in the Imperial Garden at that time.
It was as if I saw in the empty mountains and valleys, there were thousands of taels of gold, and beyond the white egrets and reeds, there was a beautiful person.
I ask myself, am I moved?
He said to himself: Move, move, move, move, move, move…”
——
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