Chapter 125: Elopement
Calling him “Master Zhang”…
Zhang Zhe gently held Jiang Xuening’s hand and asked calmly, “Any new information?”
Feng Mingyu nodded, smiling, “There is some unusual news, but this is not the place to discuss it. Let’s enter the city, find an inn, and then talk in detail.”
He still used “Master.”
Even Jiang Xuening noticed the subtlety in this term.
Her palms were slightly sweaty.
Zhang Zhe knew things had changed, but since the Tianjiao Sect hadn’t immediately attacked them, it meant the situation wasn’t hopeless.
He went to lead the horse.
Unexpectedly, Feng Mingyu followed and said, “Although our Tianjiao Sect’s Tongzhou branch is in the city, it’s not wise to parade around with this group of bandits. To be safe, we think it’s better to enter the city in batches.”
Jiang Xuening frowned immediately.
Sensing her displeasure, Feng Mingyu glanced at her and explained, “Although Master Zhang and your sister came together, no one knows if there will be trouble at the city gate. Normally, you should stay with your sister, but if one of you gets into trouble, the other won’t be able to escape, which might worry you. So, if you trust us, let’s enter separately. Huang Qian will accompany your sister, and I will accompany you. Is that acceptable?”
Acceptable?
Of course not!
But Jiang Xuening looked around: the Tianjiao Sect members surrounded them, outnumbering them; Huang Qian stood nearby, hand on his sword, eyes fixed on them.
Given the situation, it was acceptable whether they liked it or not.
She said sarcastically, “Your sect is very considerate.”
In others’ eyes, she was Zhang Zhe’s sister, so a bit of willfulness was fine.
Zhang Zhe stared at Feng Mingyu for a moment and said calmly, “Then I shall follow your arrangement. Thank you.”
Most people were ready.
The horses were led, the fire extinguished.
The Tianjiao Sect members and the escaped prisoners from the Heavenly Prison walked in groups of three or five. The happiest was Xiao Dingfei.
As soon as he got the confirmation to enter the city, he mounted his horse, whipped it, and galloped towards the city, his laughter echoing in the darkness, “I’ll go ahead and have some fun in the city. You all take your time!”
“……”
Everyone was speechless.
Led by Xiao Dingfei, the group entered the city in batches.
Tongzhou was a key route for those traveling to and from the capital from the south. There was a military camp outside the city, originally led by the Marquis of Yongyi, known for strict discipline, so there had been few problems with bandits or soldiers over the years. Many merchants traveled through, and the city gates closed relatively late.
However, after the fall of the Marquis’s house, there was a mutiny in the Tongzhou camp, causing some chaos.
At this hour, some guards were inevitably lazy.
At night, the city guards’ eyes were barely open, yawning repeatedly. Seeing only plainly dressed people entering and leaving, they were even less vigilant.
The first few groups entered the city without incident.
Zhang Zhe and Feng Mingyu were at the back.
They abandoned their horses and walked.
It had snowed recently, making the ground wet, but the cold winter weather had frozen the soil, making it firm to walk on.
But the night wind grew colder.
Zhang Zhe, tall and straight, had a certain grace in the cold wind.
Feng Mingyu, having seen many heroes in the sect, found that the sects often had a vulgar air, but this Master Zhang was impeccably dignified.
His demeanor alone made Feng Mingyu praise him.
Unfortunately, after receiving that letter, Feng Mingyu’s first suspicion was Zhang Zhe. He smiled and said, “Your sister seemed unhappy earlier. It seems you two are very close, and she glared at me as if she wanted to eat me. It made me feel like a villain.”
He was referring to when he separated Zhang Zhe and Jiang Xuening earlier.
Zhang Zhe remembered it too.
The Tianjiao Sect separating them was clearly a test. Jiang Xuening would have noticed, but noticing didn’t mean she had to accept it.
After all, she was playing the role of Zhang Zhe’s sister.
Seeing Zhang Zhe about to leave with Feng Mingyu, Jiang Xuening sarcastically said, “The old man clearly has something to discuss with my brother, making up such a grand excuse!”
After speaking, she snorted, rolled her eyes, and stomped on Feng Mingyu’s foot!
Feng Mingyu was dumbfounded.
The girl, however, didn’t care after stomping, not looking at anyone, and turned her head coquettishly, walking straight towards Huang Qian.
Zhang Zhe almost laughed, but had to apologize to Feng Mingyu, saying his sister had a childish temper and asking for his understanding.
How could Feng Mingyu hold a grudge?
Given his age and the special circumstances, even if he was angry, he couldn’t show it. He could only stiffly say, “It’s fine, it’s fine,” pretending nothing happened.
Now, when Zhang Zhe looked down, he could still see the footprint on Feng Mingyu’s boot.
The girl was clever and vengeful, never willing to suffer a loss.
Thinking of the scene just now, a softness appeared on Zhang Zhe’s usually cold lips, unnoticed even by himself. He said, “My sister had a difficult childhood. Since returning home, she has been spoiled by everyone, so her temper isn’t very good. I hope you can understand.”
“Not very good temper”?
Besides the shrews in the market, Feng Mingyu had never seen such a girl!
This Master Zhang was truly biased.
But Feng Mingyu had his own agenda, so he said, “Difficult childhood? Isn’t she your sister?”
Zhang Zhe realized his guess was correct.
The Tianjiao Sect had indeed become suspicious of him and Jiang Xuening after receiving that letter, especially since it was unusual for him to bring a girl into danger. They wanted to probe for information, hence the separation.
But Jiang Xuening’s background…
Zhang Zhe opened his mouth, then closed it, ultimately avoiding the topic, his expression returning to coldness. He said, “Old matters, I don’t want to talk about them.”
This attitude of reluctance to discuss seemed genuine, not fake.
Feng Mingyu, experienced in human affairs, quickly changed the topic, half-jokingly saying, “Your sister is quite difficult to please. I seem to have offended her. Does she have any favorite things, food or toys? I can ask a few brothers to prepare something to make her happy and calm her down.”
Feng Mingyu being polite to Zhang Zhe and his sister was understandable, so his question wasn’t out of line.
But Zhang Zhe, experienced in interrogating prisoners, knew that separating two suspects often revealed inconsistencies.
The Tianjiao Sect was using the same tactic.
But the question was…
What did Jiang Xuening like?
Zhang Zhe thought, she liked fine clothes and food, enjoying gardens and entertainment. She once searched the world for chefs to make peach blossom cakes, only to dismiss them all after half a year of dissatisfaction.
Shen called opera troupes into the palace for her.
The palace maids, trying to please her, even neglected the emperor, serving her in Kunning Palace, showing her the latest novelties.
She liked cloud mist tea, peach blossom cakes, playing in water, cuju, listening to opera, playing backgammon…
Anything fun, anything delicious.
But this also became a point of criticism for the ministers, who despised her indulgence and lack of decorum, accusing her of not being frugal and lacking the demeanor of an empress.
In anger, Jiang Xuening cut all the peonies in the imperial garden.
When they entered the palace, the peonies in the garden were all damaged, a pitiful sight.
Some ministers blamed the eunuchs for neglecting the flowers.
The eunuchs quietly reported, “The empress herself cut them, saying she knew the emperor often invited ministers to the garden for discussions, so she cut them to show a bright spring color to relieve their fatigue.”
The old ministers were immediately furious.
Shen, coming from Qianqing Palace, couldn’t help but laugh at the scene, coughing a few times before composing himself, but without any intention of pursuing the matter, only saying diplomatically, “The empress was considerate, though it looks… different.”
Feng Mingyu, seeing Zhang Zhe not answering for a while, asked, “Does your sister have any favorites?”
Zhang Zhe paused and said, “She likes everything.”
Feng Mingyu said, “But your sister seems a bit…”
A bit picky.
Feng Mingyu didn’t say it outright.
Zhang Zhe suddenly remembered that beautiful bird.
With blue-green feathers covering its wings and a long tail as beautiful as a phoenix’s, it was said to be called a “Phoenix-tailed Magpie.”
It was during their stay at the summer resort.
On the first day, he had met the legendary Empress by the lotus pond and was given a hard time. The next day, Shen led the civil and military officials to the hunting grounds.
Jiang Xuening was naturally there.
She wore luxurious clothes and held a delicate scented fan, sitting under the tent, watching others with little interest.
Until a few beautiful birds flew by in the forest.
Their blue-green color was very bright.
She was immediately attracted, stood up, and grabbed the corner of Shen Jie’s dragon robe, pointing at the small birds, saying, “I want that!”
Shen Jie naturally indulged her.
He immediately told the young men participating in the hunt that whoever could shoot down those Phoenix-tailed Magpies would be heavily rewarded.
The young men were eager to try.
But after a long time, there was no result.
Jiang Xuening became unhappy.
Shen comforted her, “If you really like them, I’ll have the palace select a few for you to hang outside the palace gate.”
Jiang Xuening said, “What’s the point of keeping them in the palace? I want the ones outside.”
Shen had no choice and sighed.
At that moment, some soldiers from the Imperial Guard shouted, “Isn’t the Grand Preceptor’s archery very good? I saw him hit a willow leaf at a hundred paces!”
Originally, Xie Wei didn’t come to the summer resort in Chengde.
He stayed in the capital to handle important state affairs for the emperor. Recently, there were some undecidable matters that needed to be discussed with the emperor, so he had rushed over yesterday. The emperor had him rest for a day, and he hadn’t left yet.
As soon as this was said, everyone’s eyes turned to him.
The young Grand Preceptor, wearing a dark green robe, frowned slightly.
Shen smiled and invited him to try.
Jiang Xuening seemed not to like him, her lips barely noticeable as she added, “Alive.”
Xie Wei had already drawn his bow, the arrow on the string.
Hearing this, he turned to look at Jiang Xuening.
Zhang Zhe thought that this Grand Preceptor, known for his saintly reputation, probably disliked Jiang Xuening like other ministers.
With a “whoosh,” the arrow flew through the clouds like lightning into the forest.
The arrow narrowly grazed the left wing of one of the Phoenix-tailed Magpies!
The bird cried out and fell to the ground.
Jiang Xuening, forgetting her disdain for Xie Wei, couldn’t help but cheer, quickly asking the palace servants to catch the bird.
The palace servants retrieved the bird, and it was still alive.
Its wing was injured, but it was still beautiful, perfect for keeping in a cage and hanging under the eaves.
From then on, everyone in the palace knew that the Empress kept a beautiful bird in Kunning Palace.
Everyone was happy those days because the Empress’s smile was beautiful, more radiant than the bird’s feathers, making people feel warm inside.
She liked to sit under the eaves and watch the bird.
She would sit for most of the day. But as the days passed, her smile faded.
Finally, after half a month, her smile disappeared.
The palace servants whispered that the Empress would sit and watch the bird for half a day, becoming more and more melancholic.
One night, it rained heavily.
The next morning, the palace servants found the delicate birdcage fallen under the eaves, the small door open, and the beautiful bird gone.
The palace servants were terrified and reported the matter.
Jiang Xuening had no reaction.
It was said she slept for two days in the palace, ignoring the emperor. From that day on, the eaves of Kunning Palace were clean, and no bird song was heard.
Perhaps fine clothes, food, and entertainment were not what she truly liked.
She only loved that beautiful bird.
Sometimes, people don’t know their true desires.
Zhang Zhe looked up at the dark sky, remembering the girl’s words by the village river, and felt happy for her.
What did danger matter?
He looked at Feng Mingyu and calmly said, “She’s not picky.”
Not picky?
Feng Mingyu thought he hadn’t seen that, and if he had to beat around the bush with this deadpan face, who knew how long it would take to get the information he wanted. So he asked directly, “But I don’t understand, how could you bring such a delicate girl out here? What if something happens?”
This question was dangerous; a wrong answer could be fatal.
“This…”
Jiang Xuening had been talking to Huang Qian, responding to his probing without worrying about revealing anything. After all, her affection for Zhang Zhe was genuine, and she knew many things about him.
But this question made her heart skip a beat.
However, she quickly had an idea.
Huang Qian and Feng Mingyu had their own plans, wondering who the person mentioned in the letter from Duojun Mountain was. Zhang Zhe was the most suspicious.
And Jiang Xuening, brought by Zhang Zhe, was even more unreasonable.
Who would bring a sister into danger?
It was confusing.
But he didn’t expect that after asking, the usually eloquent girl lowered her face, hesitating as if embarrassed to answer.
Huang Qian suddenly thought of something.
His expression became strange, “You and Master Zhang, could it be…”
Jiang Xuening lowered her eyes, hiding the sarcasm under her long lashes, thinking Zhang Zhe wouldn’t know her nonsense. She bit her lip lightly, looking shy and timid, and said softly, “This brother and I are in love, but our family doesn’t allow it. We eloped, fearing others would find out. Please keep it a secret.”
Huang Qian: “…”
He looked like he had been struck by lightning. What did I just hear?!
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