Chapter 420: Reciprocity (2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Don’t ask things like this. You will lose your head. Hurry up and go do your own business. Will you accompany me out later?”

“Oh?” Ye Jingtang asked, “Where are we going later?”

Dongfang Liren paused in her writing and looked up. “Do you think I’m planning to have a private meeting with you?”

Ye Jingtang chuckled and thought for a moment. “Are we going to Clear Water Villa to inspect it? 1 can just bring people with me for such a trivial matter.”

Dongfang Liren said solemnly, “Do you think I’m just asking you to go over and patrol? Her Majesty wants to stay at Clear Water Villa for a while. Daoist Xuanji asked you to inspect it, so you’re fully in charge of security. If something goes wrong, all the imperial guards, secret guards, and even palace maids, including you, will lose their heads. Anything related to Her Majesty is a top priority. You have to understand this logic first when you work in the bureaucracy. Do you understand?”

Ye Jingtang didn’t mean to be negligent. He only said that he could handle this matter alone. Seeing that Dumdum was so serious, he didn’t refute. After nodding, he took the jade box to the Roaring Dragon Pond.

Luo Ning was secretly observing the rockery in the garden in front of the hall and saw that the things below were not easy to take, so she put away her thoughts and waited for Ye Jingtang to come over. Then they entered the waterside pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Luo Ning and Pei Xiangjun were both practicing the Dragon Form Picture, so it wouldn’t take long to figure out the technique in the picture. However, it would take some brainpower to completely memorize the qi circulation method and proficiently use it. They would have to spend a few days studying it carefully and come here a few more times in the future.

Ye Jingtang didn’t expect his two wives to memorize it after just one look. He sat cross-legged at the side and practiced together, while the bird watched the fish by the lake. When the sky turned dark and Dongfang Liren came out of the Peaceful Hall, he put away the jade box and returned it to her.

Dongfang Liren trusted Ye Jingtang very much. She had originally wanted Ye Jingtang to take the Jade Bone Picture and let his women learn it before handing it back.

But the Jade Bone Picture was too special. If something really happened, Ye Jingtang would be implicated. After thinking about it, he put it away and left the palace with Dongfang Liren.

Seeing that their husband had work to do, Luo Ning and Pei Xiangjun naturally didn’t follow behind and disturb him. After leaving the palace, they returned to Heavenly Water Bridge together.

Clear Water Villa was originally a summer residence for the imperial family. After the empress succeeded the throne, she would stay in the villa for a period of time every autumn. It had already become a tradition.

Ye Jingtang didn’t have to worry about cleaning up inside. What he had to do was to bring the secret guards, imperial guards, and constables of the Black Office over. As the commander, he had to arrange the patrols and garrison work.

Being assigned this task was undoubtedly a symbol of the empress’s favor. All the nobles in the dynasty had to be respectful when they saw him. But if anything went wrong, he would be the first to be responsible. Even the bird might lose its head.

Ye Jingtang wasn’t careless at all. After leaving the palace, he first mobilized a thousand imperial guards and an elite guard composed of thirty secret guards and chief constables of the Black Office. The Prince of Jing’s cousin, Wang Chihu, led them to the Clear Water Villa. As the march on foot was slow, he and Dongfang Liren left the city first.

Under the moon, a luxurious carriage drove out of the city gate and onto the official road leading to the outskirts of the city.

Ye Jingtang was riding a horse alone outside the carriage. A long spear was hanging on the side of the horse. Following behind was a team of Black Office constables.

Clear Water Villa was about five kilometers away from the capital. If they followed the river upstream, they would reach the White Horse Academy. Although the scenery on the way was beautiful, there was not much of note.

Dongfang Liren was sitting in the carriage, immersed in painting the picture album for Tears of a Heroine. Because she had been kissed ruthlessly last night, she still didn’t want to talk to Ye Jingtang, and she didn’t say anything along the way.

Ye Jingtang was riding a horse as a guard and scanning the scenery along the river. The bird was squatting on the railing outside the carriage and asking the accompanying maids for snacks.

After walking for a few kilometers, the traffic on the official road gradually decreased, but there were still some pedestrians coming from the south and going north.

Ye Jingtang’s gaze landed on a pleasure boat full of orioles and swallows on the river. He didn’t pay much attention at first, but as he walked, he suddenly sensed something. He turned to look into the distance on the straight official road.

The moonlight was clear, illuminating the banks of the river in early autumn as if it were daytime. A luxurious carriage was leading more than ten followers, and an old horse was slowly walking along the road toward the capital.

The horse looked very old, and its fur was wrinkled and multicolored. The saddle and the bronze horse bell on its neck had already turned black. It couldn’t even make a jingling sound as the horse walked.

But from the thick frame and the rhythm of the horse’s walking, people could still feel that this was a good horse. No matter how old it was, when it was young, it was definitely among the best in the world.

This was also the case for the person on the horse.

Sitting on the horse was a skinny old man. He had a black bamboo hat on his head, and there was a gap in front of his forehead. He was wearing a black and gray robe and a faded old cloak whose original color could no longer be seen. He looked as though he was about to dig a hole and bury himself in the earth.

But the old man’s skeleton was rather well-proportioned. Even though he was already so thin that he was only skin and bones, he still didn’t give off the slightest feeling of weakness. He was as thin as a saber that had lost its splendor, a sword without a hilt and scabbard. The beauty was gone, and only the edge was left sharp. It was stuck alone between heaven and earth.

“Phew-” Ye Jingtang pulled the reins lightly and stopped his horse. He raised his hand slightly to stop the carriage and the entourage behind.

The constables from the Black Office behind him were not top experts, so they didn’t notice anything strange around them. Seeing Ye Jingtang stop, they quickly urged their horses forward and protected the carriage.

Dongfang Liren was alarmed by the commotion.. She silently looked around by the carriage window and asked, “What’s wrong?”