Distress
The child is well-behaved. After overcoming the sleepiness and slight vomiting in the early stages of pregnancy, Lingwan's spirits and appetite are getting better day by day.
Seeing that she loved Gonglou's Eight Treasure Duck, Chen Cong suddenly offered to take her to Gonglou during his day off.
Gonglou? A restaurant that's known for its sweet-scented osmanthus duck, fermented goose feet, and five-treasure stew. It's a place she's always wanted to visit but can't!
Ahhh. This sudden impulse made Chen Yuanyuan scream like a groundhog in her head, and she leaned forward and kissed Chen Cong several times on the face.
Since the beginning of this era, she has been trapped in the high walls of this backyard, unable to go out freely. Now that she has her husband by her side openly, how can she care about the troubles of her eldest son?
Before leaving, Chen Cong tied the veil that covered Ling Wan's entire body. Seeing her cheerfulness, he couldn't help but pretend to be vicious and said, "Well, you're not happy at home, but you're so happy when you go out?"
"No, no, no. I was unhappy because my husband was not at home. Now I am happy because I can go out with my husband." Ling Wan exclaimed, pretending to be aggrieved, flattering him with a smile on her face.
Chen Cong's cold and hard face could no longer hold back. He lowered his head and kissed the corner of her lips, with a slight smile in his eyes.
In fact, Chen Cong took Ling Wan to Gonglou this time not only to please her, but more because he accidentally heard her say that she had not left the Shen Mansion since she came here, and had been eating takeout from Gonglou every day. He really wanted to go and see in person what this most prosperous restaurant in Kyoto looked like.
He took this to heart when he heard it. However, the situation in the court had been unstable for a long time, and he was afraid that something might happen if he took her out. After all, those people could have assassinated him on the day of his wedding.
Now that everything that needed to be cleaned up had been cleaned up, the remaining small fish and shrimp couldn't cause any trouble. Chen Cong felt that this was the perfect time to take Ling Wan out.
Ling Wan's excitement when she went out reached its peak after she left.
Inside the spacious carriage, which could accommodate six people, both windows were tightly closed. Ling Wan sat obediently beside Master Shen. Outside, people and cars came and went, voices surged, hawking, laughing, and shouting mixed together. The familiar clamor of fireworks permeated the gaps between the bamboo vines, permeating the millennia of time, filling Chen Yuanyuan's heart, a stranger in a foreign land, inch by inch.
The trees by the stream are soaked with morning rain, and the mountain birds chirp in the lingering spring.
A jug of wine from the market comforts my worldly heart.
Yes, yes, it’s nice outside.
The carriage traveled for about an incense stick's time before arriving at Gonglou. Chen Cong got off first and offered his hand to help her.
Although Chen Yuanyuan couldn't see clearly through the white gauze fence, she was still shocked by the size of this tallest building in Kyoto.
The Gong Tower in front of us is about four stories high. It is composed of five three-story attics in the east, west, south, north and center. There are light and dark connections between them, and bridges and corridors connecting them. The whole building is in line with the idiom created by our ancestors - "magnificent".
But after a brief expression of emotion, Xu Lingwan was soon taken by Chen Cong to a private room on the third floor.
When they arrived at the private room, Chen Yuanyuan couldn't wait to take off the veil and take a peek outside, but Chen Cong suddenly held her hand, shook his head gently at her, and his expression became colder than ever before.
Ling Wan was startled. Just now when she went up to Gong Tower, she saw Shen Qing whisper something in Shen Cong's ear.
She didn't notice it at that time, but now she thinks that although Chen Cong's expression didn't change, from then on he suddenly exuded a terrifying coldness.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a layer of fine bumps on her back.
"What's wrong?" Ling Wan was a little scared.
"It's okay. I've ordered your favorite dishes. But the cold cheese is cold, so don't eat too much." Chen Cong pulled Mi Li behind her and said softly.
Chen Yuanyuan suddenly remembered that someone came to assassinate him when they got married, and she almost lost her life.
Although she didn't know what role Chen Cong played in the court and why he wanted to be killed, she knew clearly that in the ancient era of cold weapons, assassination was a common way to solve problems.
For example, Zhuan Zhu assassinated King Liao.
For example, Jing Ke assassinated the King of Qin.
"Chen Cong, there are so many people here and it's inconvenient. Let's go back." Chen Yuanyuan looked at Chen Cong's handsome profile and couldn't help but think of Wu Yuanheng, the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty.
Wu Yuanheng came from a prominent family. He was the son of Wu Jiu, the Imperial Censor, the great-nephew of Wu Pingyi, the Magistrate of Jintan, and the great-nephew of Empress Wu Zetian. He was renowned for his talent and brilliance at a young age, leading Emperor Dezong to personally praise him, saying, "This boy has the talent to be a prime minister!"
Later, Wu Yuanheng came to power. He advocated for weakening the power of the feudal lords in Hebei and Shandong, earning them the envy of the local governors. In the tenth year of the Yuanhe reign, this proud and ruthless prime minister was assassinated by a hidden assassin while attending court, and died on Chang'an Avenue.
Chen Yuanyuan didn't want her husband to die inexplicably like Wu Yuanheng.
At this moment, she realized for the first time that because of her identity as a person of the later generation, the court affairs, the situation, and even the rebellion were just fragments in the long river of history in her eyes, and she was just a witness.
But now that she was beside Chen Cong, she felt that she could no longer calmly accept any accidents that happened to Chen Cong from the perspective of a bystander as she did before.
"Ling Wan, don't be afraid." Chen Cong took her hand and led her to sit next to him. Seeing the little girl's apricot eyes filled with worry and fear, he pinched her little face and smiled: "Did I scare you just now?"
Just now Shen Qing came to report that King Zhao was also here, and he couldn't help it.
He knew how terrifying he looked when he looked cold, and Ling Wan must have been frightened by him.
Ling Wan shook her head, and her heart gradually calmed down as he held her hand tightly.
She noticed that after Shen Qing received the signal from Chen Congshi and left, Qingque stood quietly on her right side, with his hand on her waist.
And Qingque's waist is exactly where she hides her soft sword.
"I'm afraid we'll have to go home for this meal." As footsteps approached from afar outside the door, Chen Cong pulled down the white curtain, covering Xu Lingwan tightly, and smiled softly at her, "I'll let Shen Qing take you back home later."
Shen Qing is Chen Cong's personal bodyguard. He gave his personal bodyguard to her. Could it be that something really happened in broad daylight?
Chen Yuanyuan's scalp tingled: "No, I want to go back with you."
"Be good and listen to me. You have to be careful for your husband here." Chen Cong took her hand and walked out.
As soon as he opened the door, he heard a sound like ice cracking: "Where is the Right Prime Minister going? I just heard from the servants that the Right Prime Minister brought a stunning beauty to Gong Tower. I am curious to know which beauty has won the Right Prime Minister's favor."
"Your Highness Prince Zhao, you are joking. My wife is a weak woman, not a beauty." Chen Cong's expression remained unchanged. He stepped forward calmly to block Prince Zhao's venomous gaze.
"Oh? But why did I hear that Miss Xu was born as beautiful as a fairy? Could it be that this beauty is not the wife of the Right Prime Minister, and the Right Prime Minister is henpecked and deliberately deceived me?" King Zhao looked greedily at the bit of green under the fence, his eyes flashing.
He had long heard that Chen Cong's second wife was extremely beautiful and greatly favored him, and now it seemed the rumors were true. This piqued his curiosity: what kind of beauty could captivate the naturally aloof Chen Xiang?
"I am henpecked." Chen Cong looked at the two teams of guards behind him and smiled.
"In that case, Right Prime Minister, please send this beauty back immediately. If your wife asks about it in the future, I can testify for you and say that you and I were just drinking and chatting in Gong Tower." King Zhao reluctantly withdrew his gaze, with a smile on his face.
Chen Cong looked at him in silence. After a while, he said, "Then I would like to thank His Royal Highness Prince Zhao once again. Please allow me to put her in the carriage and come back immediately."
With all this riddles going on, Chen Cong couldn't figure out what King Zhao was trying to do.
Inside the carriage, Ling Wan held his hand, preventing him from leaving. Chen Cong reached into the carriage and stroked her lower lip with his thumb, laughing, "Silly Ling Wan, what are you thinking about? Although your husband and King Zhao disagree politically, he is the right prime minister of the court. Are you thinking about the Hongmen Banquet?"
This is theoretically impossible in broad daylight, but it is said that King Zhao is becoming more and more crazy.
"I will be distracted when you are around me, be good, okay." Shen Cong inserted his index finger into her lips and teeth and began to stir
Chen Cong's habit... He waited until Xu Lingwan's eyes began to well up with physiological tears before he reluctantly let her go.
"Be good, it's my fault for not making good arrangements this time. I will definitely take you out to have fun next time." Chen Cong said as he lifted the curtain and licked the saliva from the corner of her lips.
Uh. If you're still in this mood, then it must be nothing serious. Chen Yuanyuan's flustered heart calmed down a bit.
"Shen Qing." When the carriage reached a quiet street corner, Ling Wan signaled Lu Yun to open the window and said to the tall and strong guard standing beside her, "Leave two people to take me back to the mansion, and take the rest back with the Second Master. I'm worried."
Shen Qing hesitated for a moment and lowered his head: "Second Master asked me to follow you."
"In broad daylight, under the Emperor's feet, what could possibly happen to me? Besides, Qingque is with me, and I have guards behind me." Ling Wan's heart tightened inexplicably. "Prince Zhao is an enemy, not a friend. He has ill intentions. Although Second Master is an important official of the court, Prince Zhao dare not act rashly. But there is no way to prevent any unexpected events."
Wasn't it unexpected that Wu Yuanheng was killed by an assassin in the street?
Shen Qing was still hesitating when Ling Wan lifted the veil and said coldly, "How dare you disobey me?"
Shen Qing lowered his head and apologized hastily. He knew the importance of his mistress in his master's heart.
"Madam, King Zhao wouldn't dare to do anything to the Second Master, right?" Qingque's face turned pale, obviously frightened by King Zhao's fierce and murderous look just now.
"I dare not." Ling Wan narrowed her eyes slightly. "My elder brother is the Minister of War, and my husband is now the Right Prime Minister of the Cabinet. No matter how arrogant Prince Zhao is, he dare not confront the Prime Minister of a country—"
But what if the old emperor wants to use Prince Zhao to kill Chen Cong? !
The Crown Prince was weak, and only with the support of the Shen and Xie families did he secure his position as the Crown Prince. Chen Yuanyuan had previously heard that the old emperor had gone to great lengths to protect the Crown Prince by killing Princes Zhao and Ning.
Now that the crown prince's position is secure, as the emperor, isn't it time to eliminate hidden dangers for the next heir? If Shen Cong is really harmed by King Zhao, he can firstly check and balance the Shen family, secondly, direct hatred towards the abandoned son, and thirdly, prevent the young crown prince from being restrained by the Shen family in the future.
Kill three birds with one stone!
"Qingque, quickly ride back to find my brother and bring his men to Gonglou!"
"Luoyun, tell the guards to turn around, we're going back to find the Second Master—"
Before he could finish his words, the carriage suddenly swung heavily to the right, and Xu Lingwan and the two maids were thrown heavily onto the carriage.
"Qingque, protect the lady, someone is robbing the carriage!"
Suddenly there was a commotion and screaming outside the car, followed by the sound of cold weapons clashing.
Qingque was just about to go out and drive the car to break through the encirclement when an arrow grazed her right cheek and the arrow head was stuck in the shaft of the car, with the tail still trembling.
"There are archers!" Qingque stuffed her and Luyun into the carriage. When she turned around, she was kicked over by two well-trained masked men and fell off the carriage.
"Madam!" The moment the carriage slammed shut, Xu Lingwan could still hear Qingque's heart-wrenching cry behind her.
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