Chapter 419: Reciprocity (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Attas Studios

The sun was setting, and pedestrians were coming and going on the streets. A carriage left the Heavenly Water Bridge and drove along the straight street toward the majestic Imperial City in the distance.

Ye Jingtang was wearing a black robe made of water cloud brocade and sitting outside the carriage with a riding crop in his hand. His eyes reflected the red sun on the horizon, and his side profile made him look like a carefree knight-errant.

Beside him, the big bird, who had run around with Daoist Xuanji but had ended up being rubbed by the empress dowager instead of eating, was squatting beside Ye Jingtang like it was doing an escort mission in the past and humming a Liang Province tune. “Coo- Chirp chirp-”

Compared to the carefreeness of the man and the bird, the atmosphere inside the carriage was a little tense.

Luo Ning, who was dressed in blue, was leaning against the carriage window with her arms crossed. Her face was as aloof as ever, but her body looked a little listless.

Just now, Ye Jingtang had returned and caught her red-handed on the spot. Luo Ning didn’t dare to be fierce to the little thief because she was in the wrong. For this reason, she had been very obedient. First, she was afraid that the little thief would make her suffer. Second, she wanted the little thief to help deal with Third Lady.

But after Third Lady understood how to use the little jade radish, she had been too embarrassed to play with it in front of Luo Ning. She only promised to let Ye Jingtang mess around when they were alone.

Luo Ning definitely wouldn’t agree. She still couldn’t deal with Third Lady after trying for so long. In the end, she could only take a step back and let Third Lady hang the bell on her waist and dance to liven things up.

Later, she discovered that when Third Lady was horse riding, the bell would also ring. The rhythm was very special, and Third Lady was quite satisfied.

Her original intention was to teach Third Lady a lesson, but she ended up taking out her private money to buy jewelry for Third Lady to liven things up. Wasn’t this a loss of her husband and her troops?

In the end, she put on the waist bell and tried it on herself. Who would have thought that something would happen?

In the past, she had been very reserved. If she could avoid moaning, she would keep quiet. She would only moan when she really couldn’t help it.

But after she put on the waist bell, the bell wasn’t so reserved. Ding-ling, ding-ling… It cried louder than her, making her feel ashamed and resentful. She wanted to press down on the waist bell, but Third Lady even grabbed her hand and almost tortured her to death…

The more Luo Ning thought about it, the angrier she became. After leaning against the carriage window for a moment, she turned around to take a look.

At the back of the carriage, Pei Xiangjun, dressed like a rich lady, was leaning on the small couch with a moist face. She was holding a piece of jade in her hand and carving it carefully with a carving knife.

When Luo Ning saw this scene, she became vigilant. After all, she couldn’t hold Third Lady down, but Third Lady could hold her down.

If Third Lady also made a little jade radish, this heartless thief would only watch from the side, and she would probably suffer a lot.

After Luo Ning took a few glances, she got up and sat down beside Third Lady. She frowned and asked, “What are you carving?”

Pei Xiangjun slowly cut the piece of jade and said casually, “A return gift. You’ve put in so much effort to prepare a gift for me. I naturally have to reciprocate the favor.”

Luo Ning knew it. She held Pei Xiangjun’s wrist and whispered, “Are you stupid? If you keep fighting with me, both of us will suffer in the end, and Ye Jingtang will get all the benefits. What’s the point?”

Pei Xiangjun blinked and said indifferently, “It’s fine as long as Jingtang is happy. Besides, you were the one who made the first move this time. I can’t not repay it, right?”

“If you weren’t unreasonable and unforgiving the day before yesterday, why would I find trouble with you?”

“You were the one who came up with the idea to scheme against me the day before yesterday. How can you say that I was unreasonable and unforgiving? Speaking of which, what words do you want to carve on the base? Peaceful entry and exit?”

“Ptui! You’re simply…”

Ye Jingtang was sitting outside the carriage and eavesdropping. When he heard the last sentence, he couldn’t help laughing. In the end, Ning’er, who flew into a rage out of humiliation, immediately pinched his back through the curtain. “Huh? 1 wasn’t laughing at you…”

“Then why were you laughing?”

“I was laughing at the bird looking at its beak.”

“Chirp?”

The three people and the bird were fooling around. Just as the sun was about to set under the city wall, they arrived at the east gate of the Imperial City.

Ye Jingtang was already familiar with the way. He handed the carriage over to the imperial guards to watch over it. Then, with the token that allowed him to enter and leave freely, he brought the two women into the Imperial City.

Although Pei Xiangjun had grown up in the capital, this was her first time entering the palace. In addition, as a person of Jianghu, she was somewhat afraid of the Imperial Court. For this reason, after entering the palace, she became much more serious. She was quiet, dignified, and looked straight ahead.

There was no need to mention Luo Ning. As a rebel leader of the Pacifying Heaven Cult, she was probably the first to swagger into the Imperial City since the establishment of the Pacifying Heaven Cult. She was quite nervous and followed Ye Jingtang silently.

Ye Jingtang led the way and walked through the passageways between the high walls. Soon, they arrived at the Eternal Joy Palace. Led by the palace maid, they arrived at the Peaceful Hall.

Ye Jingtang asked the two girls to wait by the lake while he went to the entrance of the hall alone. He didn’t see Yuhu. Instead, he found a few palace maids standing outside the large study on the east side.

After a quick glance, he could see a large desk in the dazzling study. Dumdum, who was wearing a slim-fitting python robe, was sitting upright on the dragon chair with a stack of memorials in front of her. She was working seriously, looking more like an empress than the empress.

The palace maids outside the door noticed that Marquis Ye Jingtang was outside and reported, “Your Highness, Sir Ye is here.”

“Uhh?” Dongfang Liren, who was completely focused, looked up when she heard this. Then she lowered her head and continued to review the memorials. “Come in. All of you, get out!”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The palace maids quickly left.

Ye Jingtang entered the study. This time, it definitely wouldn’t be appropriate for him to get close and look around. He only asked in front of the desk, “Your Highness, why are you here?”

“Her Majesty’s dragon body is not in good condition, so Her Majesty left these trivial matters to me. The Jade Bone Picture is on the table. Take it to Ning’er and Third Lady Pei.”

Ye Jingtang went to the desk, picked up the jade box beside the memorial, and asked, “Is Her Majesty alright?”