Chapter 372 The eagle looks at the wolf
Chapter 372 The eagle looks at the wolf
in the room.
Princess Lu Yan'er of Prince Jing, who had been content to act as a silent vase ever since entering the Humble Administrator's Garden, was stunned for a moment, revealing a hint of surprise.
Facing Zhao Duan's question, her elegant and gentle eyebrows relaxed and she said calmly, "No."
Very cold.
Taoism is a broad concept. Apart from the powerful "Tianshi Mansion", the Dayu Dynasty was mostly composed of mortal Taoist temples.
"Jiancheng Road is not like the capital, and there is no big temple there. I'm sure the envoy wouldn't know even if I told him." Princess Lu responded calmly.
That's it...
Zhao Duan nodded, looked her up and down, and said with a smile:
"I am in the capital and have some friendship with the priests in the Tianshi Mansion. As the saying goes, all Taoist sects in the world are one family. I thought that perhaps the Taoist master that the princess entered might also be considered a relative of the one in the capital."
Princess Lu, who had long since returned to secular life and was wearing a long fringed skirt and a bun, forced a smile:
"The secular tradition cannot compare to the Heavenly Master's."
Zhao Duan smiled and chatted enthusiastically:
"Haha, if Princess is interested, I can help you introduce a few to the Tianshi Mansion. Not to mention the extraordinary and holy, just the breathing and health preservation, the beauty preservation technique, I'm sure Princess will be interested.
Hmm, may I ask how old the princess is? Is it convenient for you to tell me? I have also learned some divination skills..."
Lu Yan'er had a strange expression on her face.
She was indifferent at first, but she couldn't resist Zhao Duan's constant conversation, and she was really curious about the situation in the Tianshi Mansion.
The two of them chatted one after another, and the topic of "cultivating Taoism" was extended to another, and the conversation became more and more heated.
He completely left aside Prince Jing and his son.
The smile on Prince Jing's face, who was originally elegant and noble, and somewhat similar to the late emperor, gradually faded, and his big hands on his knees quietly clenched his knees.
Xu Jinglong, who was standing aside, had an even uglier expression on his face.
During this time, Prince Jing tried to change the topic, but Zhao Duan just responded perfunctorily and quickly turned around to talk to Princess Lu.
This attitude finally made Prince Jing's expression completely cold and he felt annoyed.
A smile gradually appeared on his face, but this time, there was a hint of coldness in the smile.
"Yan'er," Prince Jing suddenly spoke, calling her Princess, and then said indifferently:
"Envoy Zhao is still busy receiving guests. I have bothered you for a long time. I will take my leave now."
Zhao Duan looked like he was still not satisfied. He stood up to see him off with regret and said apologetically:
"I was so engrossed in the conversation that I neglected His Majesty. I hope you can forgive me. I will pay you a personal visit when I go to Jiancheng Road in the future."
He cupped his hands while speaking, but didn't move.
It looked like he had no intention of seeing her off the door.
"Ha ha……"
The anger in Prince Jing's eyes flashed away, and he smiled without saying anything more, and the family of three walked out.
Zhao Duan turned around and stood beside the coffee table and opened the gift box sent by Xu Jinglong. The carved rosewood box was covered with silk brocade.
Inside was a string of agate Buddhist beads, each of which was carved into the shape of a Buddha's head. The carving was obviously done by a famous artist.
Zhao Duan picked up the Buddhist beads, and suddenly, he seemed to use too much force and broke the already fragile cotton thread.
"Crackling..."
The priceless agate Buddhist beads fell on the ground like rain, making loud noises in the quiet main hall.
The Buddha heads rolled on the wooden floor like flowers scattered by fairies.
Just as he was about to step over the threshold, Prince Jing, who was wearing a dragon robe with blue edges, paused, stood still, and slowly turned his head. Under his thick black eyebrows, two gray-brown eyes in his eye sockets stared at him intently.
The eyes of an eagle and the gaze of a wolf.
Zhao Duan still held the broken cotton thread in his hand, his eyes meeting with Prince Jing's. There was an eerie silence in the hall.
"Your Highness, is there anything else?" Zhao Duan asked curiously.
Prince Jing Xu Wen's mouth curled up slowly: "Nothing."
Then he raised his arms, pulled up his wide sleeves, and gently patted the prince on his left and the princess on his right:
"Let's go."
The family of three left the Humble Administrator's Garden in full view of everyone.
Zhao Duan ignored the Buddha head agate rolling on the ground and stood at the door in a daze.
The old priest who was guarding outside the door, Haitang and others walked in.
"When this prince went out just now, he had the intention to kill you." Eunuch Hai said with a smile.
Zhao Duan dropped the thin line in his hand and said calmly:
"More patient than I thought."
Haitang glanced at him, then looked at the Buddhist beads on the ground with some heartache, and said:
"Otherwise, how could Prince Jing's Mansion have such power?"
Zhao Duan turned his head and looked at the old priest for advice:
"That Princess Lu, is she really a mortal?"
Eunuch Hai glanced at him and said indifferently:
"I've said it several times, our family practices martial arts, not sorcery. At least the princess has no trace of practicing martial arts."
"You suspect she has any spiritual power?" Haitang was surprised. "That's not in the intelligence from the government office."
Zhao Duan shook his head slightly without explaining.
He was too lazy to say it. He always felt that this Princess Lu had an indescribable familiarity.
I had just deliberately struck up a conversation in the room, on the one hand to deliberately annoy the father and son, and on the other hand to find the source of familiarity.
But nothing was found.
"Forget it, let's take a look."
Zhao Duan said softly, and then suddenly asked with a smile: "Is the princess still outside? Please come in."...
……
Outside the Humble Administrator's Garden.
Two carriages stopped one after the other, surrounded by the royal guards.
The servants opened the curtain and revealed that Prince Jing and the Princess were riding in one car, and Xu Jinglong was in another car at the back.
After the thick curtains that kept out the coldness of the autumn clothes were lowered, Prince Jing leaned against the board in the spacious and comfortable carriage with a small table in the middle for burning incense, closed his eyes, and rubbed his brows.
Then he said in a cold voice: "You were chatting lively with that boy."
The beautiful lady sitting opposite him showed no fear at all. Instead, she glared at him with her rather spiritual eyes and sneered back:
"Why, are you embarrassed?"
Prince Jing opened his tiger eyes and said with a little annoyance:
"Why are you unwilling to give me face in front of outsiders?"
Lu Yan'er smiled but did not answer. Instead, she leaned forward slightly and presented her face, which had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes but was still as delicate as a baby's, to her nominal husband.
"You can slap me to vent your anger." Princess Lu's breath was as sweet as orchid.
Prince Jing breathed heavily, and with his hands on his knees he tried to wrinkle the silk robe, but he finally sighed:
"Yan'er, you know that this is not what the king meant, why do you have to do this?"
Lu Yan'er retracted her face and sneered:
"Lord Xu, you have to understand that when you married me from the Taoist temple to the palace, there was no clause in the agreement that gave you face.
Besides, wasn't Zhao Duan, who deliberately tried to strike up a conversation with me, targeting you?
You didn't get angry at him, but you took it out on me. Is this the demeanor of a man in the Xu family? Your son is like this, and you..."
"Enough!" Prince Jing said expressionlessly.
The sorcerer Lu Yan'er smiled but said nothing.
The carriage was left to move, swaying as it returned to the palace and the group's temporary residence in Huting City.
Halfway through, after a long silence, Prince Jing said:
"That kid is probably not only trying to piss me off, but he's also putting on an act for all the merchants in Hu Ting to see, hoping to suppress me on behalf of the court. He's probably also doubting whether you really have any means of cultivation after telling you so much."
He sighed softly and said:
"Over the years, I have always taken you with me when I go out. It is inevitable that people will be suspicious of you if you show up in public like this."
Princess Lu Yan'er didn't care and said calmly: "What if I doubt it? What if I don't doubt it?"
There was a hint of hesitation in Jing Wang Xu Wen's eyes:
"Jinglong took Duan Shuiliu to the river to stop the other party, and also tested this person's background. Although this person did not take action, according to intelligence, he has just entered the Divine Chapter. There is no Taia Sword for him to use here. The Divine Chapter Realm is not a concern. The key is the three guards beside him.
How many years has Hai Chunlin not left the palace? My niece is willing to throw him out. Humph, although this old eunuch has gone downhill, he is not something that ordinary people can match.
As for the other two, one is a swordsman from the Northern Army, and the other is a sorcerer who is good at controlling water veins. Together, they can contend with Duan Shuiliu for a while."
Lu Yaner looked at him in surprise and said:
"You really want to kill him? In the lake pavilion?"
Prince Jing did not respond, apparently hesitating.
Lu Yaner glanced at him and said calmly:
"Let me make it clear first, I don't have the confidence to defeat that old eunuch."
Prince Jing's brows relaxed, he looked at the street outside the gap in the fluttering curtains, and said softly:
"Lets see."
……
Inside the Humble Administrator's Garden.
After Prince Jing left, Zhao Duan received several royal merchants, but declined other visits on the grounds that he was tired from the journey and needed to rest.
The merchants hurriedly said goodbye and left, and spread the news of what happened here to the entire lake pavilion.
"This statement today should allow the wavering neutrals to see the court's confidence, right?"
Zhao Duan returned to the bedroom assigned to him, took a quick shower and relieved himself of his fatigue.
Then he sat down at the table, spread out his pen and ink, and began to write a letter to Zhenbao who was far away in the capital, reporting on his itinerary for the day.
Well, although it will take a long time for the letter to be sent back to the capital, it will still be faster than him going back.
When working outside, it is a basic ethics for a subordinate to report to his leader at any time.
The last time I was in Taicang, everything happened so quickly that it only took a few days, and the situation was far less complicated than here, so I didn’t write about it.
"Your Majesty, the Infinite Longevity King Emperor, personally wrote:
I have successfully arrived at the lake pavilion. I will now report to Your Majesty what I have seen and heard, so that you can examine whether my handling of the matter is appropriate...
When we were about to land, the Crown Prince Xu Jinglong came with warships... Under the pretext of Duan Shuiliu, they were so treasonous that they wanted to take back the armor bestowed by Your Majesty and give it to Qingshan instead. This is tantamount to selling out the country. I am indignant and curse the traitors to defend the dignity of our Great Yu Dynasty..."
Zhao Duan wrote in one breath about his fight with Xu Jinglong and his meeting with Prince Jing.
Finally, he felt that the ending of the letter lacked some charm. After thinking for a while, he changed his tone and wrote:
"… In addition, I was enjoying the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River in the Humble Administrator's Garden, which was different from that in the capital. When I was in a trance, my thoughts drifted, and I thought of Your Majesty who was also enjoying the scenery in the Imperial Garden at that time.
It was as if I saw a huge amount of gold in an empty valley, and a beautiful woman beyond the white egrets and reeds.
I ask myself, am I moved?
He said to himself: move, move, move, move, move, move..."
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(End of this chapter)