Chapter 517, Spring Feelings
The emperor summoned Jinling Guard Commander Xue Xiangchen twice in one day, which immediately attracted a lot of attention.
That night, a man in a black robe and cloak entered the Cheng'en Mansion through the back door. The man was wrapped tightly from head to toe, with only his eyes exposed.
"This humble official greets Lord Cheng'en and the Crown Prince."
After entering Lord Cheng'en's study, the man in black robe took off his cloak.
Prince Jiang smiled and said, "Please take a seat, Mr. Fan."
Fan Ben, the third-rank commander of Jinling Guard, took his seat calmly.
After the servant served tea, there were soon only three people left in the room.
Duke Cheng'en held up the teacup and said, "This is the Longjing tea that the Empress Dowager gave me during the New Year. How does it taste, Mr. Fan?"
Fan Ben picked up the tea and took a sip: "Good tea, such good tea can only be tasted in the Cheng'en Mansion."
Prince Jiang shook his head and smiled, "You can't say that. Jinling Guards are the emperor's confidants. Do they really need good tea?"
Fan Ben smiled bitterly, "The Emperor's reward is not easy to come by. Jinling Guard has a lot of cases piled up that we haven't been able to solve. This year is not easy for us. Forget reward, we should be thankful that we are not punished."
Duke Cheng'en and Crown Prince Jiang exchanged a glance, and Crown Prince Jiang asked with a smile, "The Emperor summoned Commander Xue twice today. Is it about the case?"
Fan Ben was silent, his eyes struggling.
He was a member of the Jinling Guard and the emperor's man. Logically, he should not have had any contact with the Cheng'en Mansion in private. However, when he was handling the Ji Guang flood case a few years ago, he couldn't resist his greed and secretly accepted money from an official involved.
Somehow, Prince Jiang found out about this and kept it as a handle. Over the years, although the Jiang family didn't ask him to do anything openly, he would be called to the Jiang family whenever there was any movement in the Jinling Guard.
This feeling was very bad, but the Jiang family was too powerful and he had no way to resist. If the incident that year happened again, it would be a capital crime with the head chopped off, and his family would also be implicated.
Duke Cheng'en and his son did not rush them. They drank their tea calmly and boarded the Jiang family's boat. It would not be so easy to get off again.
After a while, Fan Ben slowly spoke, "The commander was summoned by the emperor twice. The first time, a case box was taken away. Only the commander knows what the case was in the box."
"The second time, Eunuch An came with the Jinling Guard, and the commander gave him an identity token as a deputy commander."
Upon hearing this, Prince Jiang frowned, "I remember the quota for Jinling Guard Commander Assistant is full, right?"
Fan Ben nodded: "Yes, it is full, but the emperor has specially appointed a deputy commander."
Lord Cheng'en, who had been drinking his tea in silence, looked over and asked, "Who?"
Although the commander-in-chief is only a fourth-rank official position, the Jinling Guard is responsible for intelligence gathering, reconnaissance, arrest, interrogation and other official duties. They can arrest anyone and no one dares to underestimate them.
Fan Ben shook his head: "I don't know."
Prince Jiang: "How could I not know?"
Fan Ben glanced at Prince Jiang and said, "I really don't know. Judging from the commander's expression, he probably doesn't know either."
Duke Cheng'en raised his hand to stop Prince Jiang, who was about to speak, and stroked his beard and said, "It seems that the specially appointed deputy commander is not someone who will stay in Beijing."
Fan Ben nodded: "I think so too."
Duke Cheng'en narrowed his eyes slightly, a gleam in them. "To be specially honored by the Emperor, you must have made great contributions. But I didn't hear of any major cases there last year."
Fan Ben didn't say anything, just picked up the tea and drank it silently.
The same thing is happening in Baxianju.
Prince Yuan of the Anguo Mansion entertained his friends here. After the banquet, a secret letter was secretly sent to the imperial mausoleum. The content of the letter was roughly: "The emperor specially appointed one person as a commander. The reason for the appointment is unknown, and the person is unknown."
Just as undercurrents were surging in the capital, in the Zhongzhou provincial government, Daohua obtained Madam Li's consent and went out with Dong Yuanyao, who was disguised as a maid, and was shopping on the street.
In order to be consistent with Dong Yuanyao and to make it easier to go shopping, Daohua also dressed up as a maid.
Young ladies must wear a veil when going out, but maids don't need to.
Each of them held a string of candied haws and ate them as they walked.
"Why don't you say anything?"
Daohua couldn't help feeling puzzled when she saw that Dong Yuanyao was not as lively and playful as before.
Dong Yuanyao sighed: "I don't know either. Ever since I came back from your house last time, I have lost interest in everything."
Daohua's heart skipped a beat, and she pulled her closer and whispered, "Are you scared because we were kidnapped?"
Dong Yuanyao thought about it carefully and shook his head: "No."
Daohua frowned and said, "Perhaps that incident has left a shadow in your heart, and you are unaware of it. No, you must go back and find a doctor to take a good look at it. This is no small matter."
Seeing Daohua's serious face, Dong Yuanyao felt a little unsure, but still said: "I don't think I was really scared, it's just..."
Rice Flower: “Just what?”
Dong Yuanyao hesitated and looked at Daohua: "I told you, you are not allowed to laugh at me."
Daohua rolled her eyes at her and said, "Haven't you made enough embarrassing mistakes in front of me?"
Dong Yuanyao was silent for a moment: "After returning from Ningmen Mansion, I keep thinking of the scene where Sun Changze rushed over to help me block the knife. I can't forget it no matter how hard I try." After saying that, he stared at Daohua to see her reaction.
Daohua was stunned for a moment, looking at Dong Yuanyao with confusion in her eyes, her heart moved slightly, could it be that this little girl is having romantic feelings?
But Sun Changze.
If it weren't for her influence, the gap between her and the Dong family's status was too big. According to the ancient standards for marriage, there was no possibility for the two of them to be together.
After a while, Daohua finally said, "As I should."
"Huh?" Dong Yuanyao quickly grabbed Daohua and asked anxiously, "Do you think my reaction is normal?"
Daohua blinked, her mind racing. After a moment, she thought of her words and said seriously, "It's normal. Think about it, they risked their lives to save you. If you remember this, it means you're grateful."
Hearing this, Dong Yuanyao breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile slowly appeared on his face: "Yes, that must be the case. I thought I..."
Having said that, Dong Yuanyao suddenly stopped talking.
Daohua saw a look of embarrassment on Dong Yuanyao's face and her eyes widened immediately: "What did you think?"
Dong Yuanyao quickly shook his head: "Nothing, I was just daydreaming." As he spoke, he chuckled to himself, "You're right. For someone as loyal as me, of course I'll remember my savior."
Seeing Dong Yuanyao's expression lighten up, Daohua nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, you are the most loyal."
Dong Yuanyao smiled and nodded. The candied haws that she had previously thought tasteless now tasted delicious. "Yiyi, it's a good thing you came to the provincial government. You don't know that this matter has been weighing on my heart for a long time. I don't even have anyone to talk to."
Daohua: "Can you find Sister Su?"
Dong Yuanyao took a bite of the candied haws and said, "Sister Su is nice, but I still feel uncomfortable when I say these things to her."
Daohua smiled and said, "If you encounter something similar in the future, you can write to me. Don't keep it in your heart and it will make you sick. I may not be able to help you, but I can be your listener."
Dong Yuanyao nodded repeatedly: "Okay."
(End of this chapter)
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