Chapter 33
On that day, Zhao Shixian was inexplicably praised. He returned to his residence, feeling uneasy and anxious. He summarized the Empress's message and roughly came to a conclusion:
The Empress greatly appreciated his views and hoped that he could communicate more with the Emperor in the future, encouraging the Emperor to love and cherish flowers and promote eugenics.
The Empress also made it clear that his future promotions and salary increases would be linked to the Emperor's performance. As long as he could make the Emperor fully appreciate the beauty of this woman and the tedium of court affairs, he could quickly become a Grand Master, climb to the top, and reach the pinnacle of his life.
Hmm...something seems off...
This is clearly a story of femme fatales, like Daji and Baosi; shouldn't it be a tale of women in the imperial harem?
Leaving aside how Zhao Shixian was terrified and restless, pondering the Empress's intentions, let's focus on the other side. Ever since Yuan Liu Niang disappeared, the newly established Fengyunxu branch in the capital has been conducting a thorough search.
One day, there was no further news.
Two days passed without any news.
Three days passed without any news.
......
Ten days passed without any news.
Lin Qiang sat in the mansion with a sullen face, realizing for the first time the immense power of the plot.
He was absolutely certain that Yuan Liuniang was somewhere in a brothel, but he just couldn't find her! The only solution now was to wait, to wait for the grand courtesan festival to arrive, and for Yuan Liuniang to become famous overnight, just like in the books.
"Feng, prepare the horses."
"promise."
At the beginning of his transmigration, Lin Qiang never intended to participate in the plot. However, too many things happened outside his plans. Regardless of what would happen to Yuan Liu Niang, even just for Yuan Qiong's sake, he would no longer stand idly by. Since that's the case, he would face it all head-on.
The tall, robust man arrived outside the mansion gate, tucked his robes into his waist, and nimbly mounted his horse.
"I'll go to the Commander-in-Chief's office. You guys continue the search."
"OK."
Feng Zhi finally straightened his expression and nodded to him. Lin Qiang no longer hesitated, pulled on the reins, turned his horse around, and then rode away into the distance amidst the clatter of hooves.
After dragging this out for so many days, it's time for him to get things done at the Imperial Guard Command...
**
In this season, it still gets dark quite early in late spring. Leaving aside how Lin Qiang spent the entire afternoon single-handedly, in group battles, and with various other techniques, utterly defeating a group of Imperial Guard examiners, successfully winning over a group of noble Imperial Guard admirers, and becoming a glorious Imperial Guard commander.
After several dozen days of turmoil and fierce competition for the emperor's favor, almost to the point of making him faint, a woman dressed in a black cloak quietly arrived at an extremely secluded corner of the palace.
The newly appointed Consort Yuan Zhao had gone to great lengths to arrive, only to find that the person in front of her was not the one she was looking for, which made her extremely unhappy.
"I, Zhaoyi, have summoned your mistress. What are you, a mere servant, doing here? Go back! Let Yuwen Ting come!"
"His Highness's leg injury has not yet healed, and he is unable to enter the palace. Therefore, he has asked me to enter the palace in his place. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Chang Qian, Yuwen Ting's most trusted advisor, gazed at the woman whose arrogant air bore a resemblance to the current Empress, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly: The Empress is as cunning as a fox, while this woman is as stupid as a pig. They were born of the same father, yet the difference between them is so vast!
However, considering the great effort he had put in to avoid the Empress's spies and meet with Yuanzhen, and how he still needed her to handle things, he adopted a more respectful attitude.
"His Highness instructed me to apologize on his behalf."
"Tch, that Yuwen Ting is really incompetent. My elder sister's few words have turned him into this, and he doesn't even feel ashamed. I, the Consort, am embarrassed for him!"
Although Yuan Zhen was a concubine's daughter, she carried the Yuan family's contempt for the Yuwen family deep down, always feeling that the royal family were all weak and incompetent little insects.
She straightened her sleeves with an air of pride and said to Chang Qian, "Speak, what did your master send you here for?"
Chang Qian, unperturbed by her dismissive attitude, said with a smile, "My mistress has sent me to inquire of Consort Yuan, whether Her Majesty the Empress possesses any particularly cherished possessions? The kind that she is reluctant to part with..."
“I have quite a few treasured possessions…” Yuan Zhen pondered for a moment, then a small green stone suddenly flashed through his mind: “And some I can’t bear to part with!”
"What does Yuwenting want to do?"
“Naturally, it’s to help His Majesty see the Empress’s true feelings…” Chang Qian chuckled, then leaned closer and whispered something to Yuan Zhen.
Her expression gradually changed from impatience to happiness and appreciation!
She beamed with delight: "That's a great idea! I'd like to see how Yuan Qiong will try to explain himself this time!"
Meanwhile, the Empress, whom they were eyeing, was leaning against the couch, staring at dozens of colorful candies in a plate, her expression shifting between light and dark.
Who put this here?!
A few days ago, she asked Xiao Jin, and it turned out that these were not the snacks they had prepared at all!
The thought that this mysterious object of unknown origin had inexplicably appeared in her palace and that she had even eaten it filled Yuan Qiong with lingering fear... What if it was poisonous...?
She wished she could throw up everything she had eaten!
She was only relieved after a physician was summoned and confirmed repeatedly that she was alright and that the candy was harmless, containing no poison or sedative ingredients.
But... all of this only confused her more. Where did this thing come from?!
If it was placed there intentionally, how did this person manage to sit there without alerting the palace servants in Zhaoyang Palace? Would it be easy for them to assassinate her in the future?
Or is there a traitor within Zhaoyang Palace?!
The more she thought about it, the more it bothered her, making it hard to eat or sleep. Yet the amount of pills she was taking kept increasing, three a day... So today, she decided to go and see for herself!
"Xiao Jin, take a bath."
"promise."
After saying this, Yuan Qiong instructed the palace maids who had been prepared to put on her clothes and go to the side hall to bathe. She herself hid behind two layers of beaded gauze curtains, waiting for the man to come to her of his own accord.
A cup of tea...
Two cups of tea...
Three cups of tea...
Before three cups of tea had been brewed, the sound of flapping wings rang out. She gently lifted the gauze curtain and looked out, and saw a yellow bird land in front of the plate.
The chubby little bird, as if it understood human nature, tilted its head and looked at the plate with its round black eyes. With a flick of its pink claws, three candies fell into the plate, and then it spread its wings and flew away.
"......."
At this moment, all conspiracy theories were overturned. Yuan Qiong gritted her teeth and angrily flung open the gauze curtain.
"Someone come here!"
"Your Majesty?" Xiao Jin strode in.
"Have all palace servants on duty in the main hall assemble in the west wing. I have something to give you! All of you!"
"promise."
The palace servants inside Zhaoyang Palace entered the west wing in orderly fashion, well-trained, awaiting the Empress's instructions. In the vast palace grounds, only the dazzling palace lanterns emitted scattered lights.
“........” Lin Qiang, who was in the tree, was a little flustered.
From the moment Yuan Qiong flung the curtain out, Lin Qiang could feel her deliberately exaggerated breathing.
So... he messed up?
After gathering all the palace servants in the hall to the west side hall, Yuan Qiong turned around and entered the east side hall with a dark face.
"come out!"
Lin Qiang, perched on a large tree outside the east hall, rubbed his fingers together, somewhat embarrassed... Being caught peeping at his age, even with his thick skin, was starting to feel the shame...
"Girl..." He darted into the side hall, scratched his head awkwardly, and explained, "I rarely come here..."
"So you come every day when I shower?!"
"........"
No, no, I arrived before you took a shower...
Yuan Qiong stared at him with her long, narrow fox eyes, waiting for his reply.
This bandit is a habitual scoundrel, always verbally harassing or physically assaulting people. And now, after all these years, he's even learned to spy?!
That's an amazing skill!
"Do you know where this is?!" she asked with a stern face.
"Know."
"where?"
"The Imperial Palace," Lin Qiang answered honestly.
Do you know who I am?
"Know."
"who?"
"Little girl."
"!!!" Yuan Qiong was so angry that her head hurt.
Seeing her like this, Lin Qiang instinctively reached out to pull her close and massage her temples. However, Yuan Qiong dodged him.
She felt utterly powerless against him.
"You can leave now, but don't come back again. If I catch you hiding outside the palace again, I'll treat you as an assassin."
Lin Qiang grinned and immediately agreed, "Okay."
That was a quick answer!
Yuan Qiong looked at him with some suspicion, feeling that this was not his style.
Lin Qiang pointed to the sky and swore: "I will never secretly hide outside the palace again."
I want to do it openly and honestly!
**
The next day, the sun shone brightly, and the trees cast dappled shadows on the small road outside the city.
"Ring ring ring~ Ring ring~ Ring-dong~"
The clear sound of bells rang out along the long path. A little girl of twelve or thirteen years old rode happily on a brightly colored donkey, swaying along.
She wore a crisp red short skirt, her hair styled in cute double buns, and she had bright eyes and white teeth, making her look adorable.
The little girl wore straw sandals woven from cotton strips on her fair feet, and three strings of bells adorned each of her slender ankles. As she swayed back and forth, the sound echoed in all directions.
She seemed very happy, not caring at all whether it would attract bad people, and began to sing: "La la la la la... fiery red flowers bloom on the cliff... la la la la... fiery red flowers... la la la la la... blooming on that cliff..."
Her beautiful yet eerie singing voice carried a strange, bewitching quality. Accompanied by the sound of bells on her feet, wherever she went, the treetops rustled as if the wind was blowing.
If someone with keen eyesight looks closely, they can see that the treetops aren't being moved by the wind, but rather by countless tiny, densely packed insects wriggling...
She sang as she walked, and when she was almost at the city gate of the capital, she attracted the attention of many people.
Tan Xiaoque raised her head, revealing a pair of round, watery eyes that resembled a cat's.
She shielded her eyes from the sunlight, squinting at the magnificent city walls in the distance, and grinned, "Ah~ We've finally arrived at the capital~~ Boss, Little Sparrow is here~~~"
While Feng Zhi was in the mansion, preoccupied with Yuan Liu Niang's troubles, an unexpected person suddenly appeared before him.
"Clouds?!"
He stepped forward and looked at his brother, whose face was as cold as ice, in surprise.
"Weren't you training troops in the village? What are you doing in the capital?!"
Didn't you receive the message I sent a few days ago?
Yun was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with regular features and a cold expression. His voice was as cold as he was.
"Tan Xiaoque has arrived in the capital."
"Huh?!" Feng Zhi almost doubted that he had heard correctly.
"I haven't received a reply from you, so I guessed that she blocked the communication. In order to prevent her from causing trouble, I had no choice but to secretly follow her here."
At this point, a slight emotional fluctuation finally appeared on Yun Zhi's cold and stern face, a mixture of relief and schadenfreude, as he spoke to Feng Zhi, who looked unwilling to accept this fact:
"Now that she's arrived, I'll head back to the village first. The rest is up to you, brother."
After saying that, he patted him heavily on the shoulder and said, "Keep it up!" and then disappeared.
come on? !
Go to hell with the gas!
Feng Zhi looked utterly devastated. He absolutely didn't want to see Tan Xiaoque, that troublemaker!
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