Wei Guo Furen had entered Jing in the seventh month. Zhao Qing Emperor had used the Empress' name to summon the mother and daughter pair from the northeast. His wariness of Dong Jing Wang could be seen.
Wei Guo Furen had entered Jing not just to eliminate Zhao Qing Emperor's suspicions of her son, but to choose a legal wang fei for Dong Jing Wang who was over thirty and still single.
In less than a month, the Empress had summoned Jiang shi and her daughter to the palace a few times. In front of them, she had mentioned a few daughters of noble families. There were those from scholarly families, those from prestigious families, and those from the nobility of Jing City. All of them were talented, beautiful, and virtuous. It was clear that she wanted Wei Guo Furen to choose from among them. Once she made up her mind, she would ask the Emperor to decree the marriage.
Wei Guo Furen heard all of them were good but didn't have any intentions of making a decision. When she returned to the fu and Jiang Miya asked, the old furen smiled coldly and said: "Luckily I came. Otherwise, the Emperor might have found some kind of embroidered pillow for your eldest brother."
Wei Guo Furen hadn't been back to Jing for more than a decade but that didn't mean she was deaf. She didn't like any of the noble daughters that Empress Rui had mentioned. Her eldest son was accomplished in both literature and martial arts. He was one of the best men in the world. He should have a good woman that was worthy of him.
"Then what kind of wife does mother want to find for eldest brother?" Jiang Miya massaged her mother's shoulders as she asked curiously.
Madame Wei closed her eyes and leaned back, "Her temperament can't be soft. As the daughter-in-law of our Jiang Family, she must first be strong. Otherwise, if a delicate girl starts crying every time the wind and rain hits her, your big brother will definitely get sick of it. This talent can't just have a face and a reputation for talent. The most important thing is to be able to help your eldest brother. This requires her to have broad vision and shrewdness. Her family background can't be too good either. Otherwise, the daughter raised will have her eyes at the top. How can she marry far away to live in our Ning Dong City? She will think about her paternal family in Jing City every few days. Sooner or later, she will side with outsiders. "
She heard that the Emperor had the intention of marrying the young princess of Xiang Prince Residence to her son, but Lady Wei politely declined. The Jiang Family did not need a daughter of the royal family to flatter them. The Emperor's niece may be good in the eyes of outsiders, but in her eyes, she was just a troublemaker. She was marrying a wife for her son, not inviting a Buddha to come home and worship her.
Luckily, for some reason, the Emperor had given up on this rotten idea. Rui Empress didn't even mention the name of that Xi Wen Junzhu in front of her.
Standing behind her mother, Jiang Miya's eyes darted around and she suddenly burst out laughing.
Madam Wei's train of thought was interrupted, and she asked in a bad mood, "What are you laughing at?"
Jiang Miya moved closer to her ear and said, "Mother, I do know of a person who has to abide by these rules and regulations. She …"
Madam Wei opened her eyes with a whoosh.
In the palace, at dusk, Emperor Zhao Qing and the Great Tidian sat on the balcony of the Imperial Garden, admiring the red maple leaves. The attendants were all waiting downstairs. No one dared to disturb them.
"Have Jing Chen and the others left the capital?"
The Great Tidian answered, "Looking at the time, they have already reached the outskirts."
The maple tree beside the building was very tall, its branches and leaves extending to the balcony. Emperor Zhao Qing could touch it with his hand. He casually plucked a leaf and muttered to himself, "Zhen has sent those death warriors to protect them in secret. Jing Chen's skills are high, I'm not afraid they won't be able to deal with any danger."
Originally, he shouldn't have been in a hurry. He had found the Calamity of Great An and the Life Destroyer. With these two people in his hands, he could use a more reliable method to ferret out the traitors one by one.
But something had just happened in the palace and he couldn't wait any longer. He had to quickly take care of those people who were in the way so he could focus on planning what he wanted to do.
The Great Tidian didn't seem to notice that Emperor Zhao Qing's mind was wandering. He lowered his head to drink his tea, savoring the taste in each sip.
The three of them left the city in the afternoon. After two hours of travel, the sky darkened.
The coachman driving the carriage was mute, but he knew the way very well. Seeing that the sky was about to turn dark, he gestured to Jing Chen and pointed out a small path to the nearest village. They hurried along slowly and settled down before the sky turned dark.
The population of the small town was less than two thousand. There was only one inn in the town and there were few guests. Behind the guest rooms on the second floor was a cowshed. The smell wasn't very good, but they weren't picky and it was better than sleeping on the side of the road.
The three guest rooms were next to each other. Yu Shu slept in the middle room. If something happened in the middle of the night, Jing Chen and Xue Rui would be able to respond immediately.
It was worth mentioning that Jing Chen somehow convinced Emperor Zhao Qing to send several pairs of eyes to follow Yu Shu in Anling and didn't follow them out of the city.
Before going to bed, Yu Shu checked the doors and windows again. She was worried and placed a few teacups in the middle of the window crack. If someone wanted to sneak in through the window, she would wake up if the cup fell to the ground. She didn't want to be like the unlucky imperial envoy who was killed in her dream.
In the middle of the night, Jing Chen was sleeping with his clothes on. Hearing the knock on the door, he turned over and sat up. He opened the door without saying a word. Seeing the person standing at the door, he didn't ask why he came. He turned sideways to let him in and then closed the door.
Xue Rui placed the candle in his hand on the table and sat down. When Jing Chen closed the door and stood opposite him, Xue Rui then raised his head to scrutinize Jing Chen's expression. The first sentence that came out of his mouth was a question, and it was also very certain, "You're planning to use Shu as bait?"
Jing Chen's calm eyes had a slight fluctuation, and his long breath paused for a moment. Xue Rui's question made him recall that a few days ago, the Great Tidian came to find him at Taixi Tower for a secret talk.
He said that they had found the accomplices of the traitors in Taishi Library.
He said that they couldn't act rashly and could only force them to walk into the trap.
He said that if they couldn't catch this group of traitors as soon as possible, sooner or later, they would attack Yu Shu.
Therefore, they made arrangements for him to find an excuse to bring Yu Shu out of the heavily guarded capital to lure the traitors out of their hole.
"I will protect her and won't let anything happen to her."
Listening to Jing Chen's half-admitted answer, Xue Rui was so angry that he laughed. "So you lied to her and said that you wanted to find the princess' tomb to look for Yun Hua?"
When he heard about this from Yu Shu, he guessed the truth. He advised her not to go, but she didn't listen, so he could only follow her.
"I didn't lie to her." Jing Chen's voice became low. "I did come to look for my father."
He wouldn't listen to Da Tiao's words. They all thought that he was a puppet who would only listen to others. He would believe whatever they said, and he wouldn't doubt what they didn't say.
Then, he would let them think that he didn't think that there was something strange about the death of his parents twenty years ago. He would let them think that he didn't know that his father was still alive. He would let them think that he didn't realize that the serial murders in Taishi Library might be related to his father who was still alive.
He didn't think about using Yu Shu as bait to lure those traitors out. He just wanted to find his father, Yun Hua, and ask him why he was the one who had no control over his life. He wanted to ask him what was fake and what was real.
Then, he would give her an explanation.
Xue Rui said coldly, "Then you used her as a cover so that the emperor could rest assured and let you leave the capital."
The emperor knew best whether Yun Hua was dead or not, and Da Tiao should also know about it. That was why they dared to use such a big bait and push Jing Chen and Yu Shu out. They were not afraid that Yun Hua wouldn't take the bait.
Jing Chen was not stupid at all. When Yu Shu told him that Yun Hua was not dead, he didn't show it, but he dared to take Yu Shu and risk going to the princess' tomb to seek confirmation.
Because without Yu Shu, he couldn't leave Anling City alone. Without Yu Shu, Yun Hua might not show up.
"Don't you feel a little guilty for using her like this?" Xue Rui could see Jing Chen's steps clearly, but he couldn't understand his actions.
"You can think whatever you want." Jing Chen didn't refute his words. He turned his head to look next door and said slowly, "You can go and tell her the truth now. I won't stop you."
Xue Rui shook his head and said, "Tell her, she will go with you. I know Shu better than you."
She might be afraid of death, but at the same time, she was also brave. She could take the risk to see Yun Hua once. Even if she knew that she was being used by Jing Chen, she would not retreat.
So whether he told her or not, the result would be the same.
Jing Chen turned his head and looked at him.
Xue Rui stood up and said, "I won't talk too much. You're on your own."
After Xue Rui left, Jing Chen was not sleepy at all. He blew out the white candle left by him and sat on the bed to meditate until the rooster crowed.
.....
At dawn, the three of them had a simple breakfast in the small shop and immediately set off. Nothing special happened along the way. When they arrived at the An County, they happened to be in time for lunch.
When they arrived at the An County, they were close to the princess' tomb. If they left the city and walked north, it would take them at most an hour. It would be faster if they rode a horse.
Xue Rui chose a restaurant not far from the city gate to stay. He stored the horses and went to the backyard to check out the rooms. After that, they went to the front of the restaurant to order food.
The restaurant was facing the street. The An County was a small county with a concentrated population. The area around the city gate was especially lively. People came and went in broad daylight. There were endless hawkers. There were also beggars in ragged clothes on the street. Some of them squatted in front of the restaurant and stretched their necks to smell the aroma of the food and wine from the restaurant. They were so hungry that their eyeballs almost fell out.
Before Yu Shu and the others went out, they had prepared a change of clothes. But they were coarse clothes and cloth towels. The three of them sat in this bright restaurant and it was very eye-catching. There were really no such beautiful people in this small place. They were obviously not locals.
They didn't eat well last night. Yu Shu ordered a table of dishes without wine. She listened to the waiter and ordered two soups, one sweet and one salty. When the dishes were served, Yu Shu smiled and pointed them to Xue Rui. She said, "This restaurant really knows how to fool people. The corn soup is called 'Golden Dew' and the egg soup is called 'Phoenix Ball Soup'. They dared to ask for one tael of silver each. They made me think that I haven't tasted the good food before. When I get back, I will change the menu of our Wangji Building and come up with a few more dishes that can scare people."
Xue Rui hadn't even opened his mouth when someone at the neighboring table snickered and answered. "Young Brother, you're obviously a guest from outside the city with a single glance. You don't know that this inn is a famous unscrupulous inn in the vicinity of 2.5km. Since they've encountered fat sheep like you, they'll definitely rip them off."
Yu Shu heard the voice and looked at the person who interrupted. Her eyes suddenly lit up. It was a young man in a grasshopper's green short clothes. He was about the same age as her. He had a ponytail. When he spoke, the corners of his mouth and eyes would curl up. He was full of vitality.
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