'Xiahou Ying' glanced at them with disdain and patted the cheetah's head. She grabbed Liu Junfan's arm and said, "Liu Lang, let's go!"
It was as if Liu Junfan had been cursed. His mind was in a daze, and his footsteps were as swift as a cloud as he followed 'Xiahou Ying'. He couldn't hear a single word of Madam Yao's vicious curses behind him.
Although Madam Yao's mother was Princess Taiping's wet nurse, Miss Xiahou was from a noble family in the Western Regions. Would Princess Taiping offend a noble family in the Western Regions for the lover of her wet nurse's daughter?
Princess Taiping was undoubtedly the empress' most beloved daughter, but she had never heard of her interfering in political affairs. Besides, Liu Junfan had followed Madam Yao for a long time. He clearly knew that her old mother, who had been Princess Taiping's wet nurse, was not necessarily favored by the princess.
After all, Princess Taiping was already an adult and had long since married and had children. Her wet nurse when she was young … heh! She could only use her name as a tiger's skin to fool the people outside.
By the time Madam Yao crawled up from the ground in a sorry state, 'Xiahou Ying' and her group had already left, leaving behind only a few servants who were dismantling the tent.
Naturally, Lady Yao couldn't lower herself to flaunt her prowess in front of those lowly servants. Just as she was feeling extremely humiliated and had nowhere to vent her anger, that lynx came running back whimpering. With one of its legs limping, it jumped to Lady Yao's side and stuck close to her body. It raised its head and looked at her pitifully, whimpering as it begged for mercy.
Madam Yao took a look and saw that her Xiaobei's front leg was still curled up, as if it had been injured. She looked in the direction that the lynx had escaped from and saw a large man in embroidered robes walking towards the tent with a stick in his hand. That was where the other tourists who were enjoying the autumn scenery were gathered.
It turned out that the lynx had fled in fright and went straight for the tent. The guards of Princess Taiping's residence were afraid that it would scratch its master and beat it back with a stick.
Madam Yao flew into a rage. She was so angry that she was about to go crazy. Today, everything was really going wrong. She stormed towards the tent and screamed from afar, "Which bastard injured my lynx? Come out now!"
A large man in embroidered robes came out and stood up. He loudly said, "I was the one who hurt your little beast. What are you going to do about it?"
Madam Yao knelt down and touched the ground with her forehead. Her voice trembled as she said, "I didn't know the princess was here and offended Your Highness. Please forgive me, forgive me!"
She glanced around and was about to attack her master when she saw Princess Taiping's appearance. Last year, when Princess Taiping was 23 years old, she was fortunate enough to go to the Princess Palace with her mother to celebrate Princess Taiping's birthday. She had seen Princess Taiping's real appearance once. She had fawned over this noble person for half of her life, how could she forget her after seeing her once?
Princess Taiping was a little surprised. She looked at her carefully, but she had no impression of her. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "You know me? Who are you? "
Lady Yao replied with fear and trepidation, "I am the daughter of Madam Han, Yao Yun 'er. Last year, I accompanied my mother to the Princess's Mansion to celebrate Her Highness's birthday. I was fortunate enough to be summoned by the Princess to see the Princess."
"Daughter of Madam Han … Yao Yun 'er?"
Princess Taiping tilted her head and thought for a while. She suddenly understood and nodded, "Yes! I remember now. So it's you. Just now … what happened? "
Madam Yao hesitated and didn't dare to answer.
Princess Taiping saw her stuttering appearance and associated it with the scene she had just seen. She could roughly guess what was going on. Her expression turned cold and she slowly said, "What rank is your husband in? How dare you call yourself Madame?"
Madam was not a title that anyone could call themselves. Only the wives of rank five and above imperial officials could call themselves Madam. How could Yao Yun 'er's husband be an official?
Being asked by Princess Taiping, Yao Yun 'er was even more frightened. She trembled and said, "Yes, yes, yes, I am arrogant. I … am guilty!"
Princess Taiping snorted and said, "I remember your Mother said that your husband had passed away for a long time. Are you still living alone at home?"
Yao Yun 'er bowed and said, "Your Highness, thank you for asking. My husband has passed away for many years. I … I have been living alone at home."
Princess Taiping said lightly, "In that case, you should find someone to marry so as not to make trouble outside."
Madam Yao blushed and didn't dare to say anything.
Princess Taiping waved her hand coldly. Madam Yao was relieved. She hurriedly bowed three times and left.
When she returned to her tent with lingering fear, Xiahou Ying and others had disappeared. The place where they had set up their tent was as clean as a bone chewed by a dog.
Madam Yao was humiliated in front of "Xiahou Ying". When she vented her anger on others, she ran into Princess Taiping and lost face in front of her female companion. She was so ashamed that she didn't have the mood to continue her sightseeing. She hastily packed up her tent and returned to Yongkang Lane in disgrace.
After returning to Yongkang Lane, Madam Yao didn't go back to her home first. She went to Liu Junfan's house angrily.
Liu Junfan's father was originally a small official in Luoyang. Before Empress Wu made Luoyang the administrative center of the whole Tang dynasty, he had bought a house here. At that time, the property in Luoyang was much cheaper than now, so the house he bought was not small.
It was just that after her parents passed away, the family declined. Before she managed to climb onto Madam Yao's thigh, Liu Junfan had been living off her savings and had pawned everything that she could. As a result, there was only an empty shell left in the family.
Madam Yao angrily barged into Liu Junfan's house. She sat in the hall for a long time, but she still didn't see him come back. The anger in her heart burned even more, so she ordered her servants to smash the Liu house inside and out. Only then did her anger slightly dissipate and she angrily returned to the house.
At this time, Liu Junfan was at "Xiahou Ying's" house.
The door of the house "Xiahou Ying" rented was facing the main street, not inside the lane. Liu Junfan was a discerning person. With one look, he knew that this was the house of an official of the imperial court above the third rank. This was because it was impossible for the house of an official below the third rank to directly face the main street.
Xiahou Ying briefly explained to him that this was indeed the house of a minister. At that time, most of the officials in the capital had mansions in the capital. When they retired or were sent to other places to be officials, the empty mansions would be rented out. Or when there were too many mansions, the empty mansions would be rented out to guests.
In the early Tang dynasty, most of the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital would do this. Because the inn industry was not yet developed, guests of status who came to the capital to stay for a long time found it inconvenient to live in simple inns, so they rented the extra mansions of the high-ranking officials and nobles. Of course, the more extravagant the guest, the larger and higher the grade of the mansions they rented.
After the "Golden Hairpin Drunken" wine, the slave competition by the Luo River, and the pet leopard that only first-rate nobles would keep, Liu Junfan no longer doubted "Xiahou Ying's" identity. Now that he saw that the mansion she rented was so extravagant and noble. Even though it was only a temporary rental, there were many servants and servants in the mansion, and the daily expenses were more than a thousand taels of gold, he had no more doubts about "Xiahou Ying's" identity.
Liu Junfan followed "Xiahou Ying" out of the light carriage. As soon as they entered the mansion, pretty maids welcomed them. When they entered the courtyard, they saw heavy doors and a few winding corridors. When they entered the back of the mansion and entered the main hall, they saw bead curtains hanging low, a picture screen standing solemnly, and the furnishings in the room were all luxurious.
Miss Xiahou went inside to change her clothes. When she came out again, she was wearing a dazzling embroidered gown, with pearls swaying in the wind. She was graceful and charming, like a fairy from heaven. Xiahou Ying ordered the servants to prepare a banquet to entertain her Langjun. With just one order, the eight delicacies of the land and water were laid out one by one. There were also several beautiful maids who sang and danced to liven things up.
Liu Junfan had never seen such an extravagance before. With a beauty by his side, tenderness, hundreds of charming dancers, and melodious singing, he unknowingly became tipsy. When his eyes were drowsy, he vaguely heard Miss Xiahou confiding in his ear. She said that when his father and brother returned from Yangzhou, she would tell her father that they were destined to be married, and they would live together forever.
Liu Junfan was captivated by her beauty and agreed without saying anything. When he was dead drunk, he was helped down by the pretty maids and rested in the guest room of the Minister's mansion.
When he woke up, it was already the morning of the next day. The sun was high in the sky. Liu Junfan opened his eyes and saw that the embroidered bed was like smoke. When he breathed in, a fragrant scent assailed his nostrils. When he reached out to touch it, the silk on the bed was as smooth as fat. His only regret was that he did not have a naked beauty by his side.
Otherwise, this place would be heaven.
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