Chapter 458

"Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your grace."

The Emperor looked at the young man bowing in the hall, waved his hand with a kind smile on his face:

"Hmm! Go!"

"Your subject takes his leave."

Zhang Shipan, dressed as a personal guard attendant, bowed and cupped his hands, and walked toward the outside of the hall under the guidance of the eunuch.

The Emperor sat behind the imperial desk, looking at Zhang Shipan's back with eyes full of reminiscence.

The person had already left the main hall,

The Emperor still didn't speak, looking at the empty space without moving, as if he had fallen into some kind of memory.

"Pop."

The candle in the lantern beside the imperial desk popped.

The Emperor woke up from his memories, took a deep breath, and said: "I had almost forgotten her appearance after so many years, but seeing this Zhang family boy today, I actually remembered quite a few things."

The Grand Eunuch beside the imperial desk looked in the direction where Zhang Shipan had just left, bowed, and said: "Your Majesty has keen eyes; this Zhang family young master truly resembles Imperial Consort Zhang in appearance."

Not knowing what interesting thing he thought of, the Emperor smiled with a face full of reminiscence: "Order Zhao Zilong and Pei Yuanchen to take care of this child."

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

After the Grand Eunuch bowed and finished speaking, he looked up at the Emperor.

"What? Anything else?"

"The small eunuch beside His Highness just came, saying His Highness does not want to change the attendants guarding him."

The Emperor was stunned and said irritably: "I shouldn't have asked him! Tell him the guards must..."

The Emperor didn't continue, shook his head: "Forget it, let him be; find an opportunity later to let him know the good of the Zhang family boy."

The Grand Eunuch bowed and agreed.

After sitting on the dragon throne for a while, the Emperor stood up.

Arriving near the Empress's bedchamber,

Seeing the room still lit with bright yellow candles waiting for him, the Emperor walked into the palace with some surprise.

When he saw the Empress standing in the room with a smile, the Emperor smiled involuntarily, his tone quite ingratiating: "Why haven't you slept yet?"

The Empress bowed with a smile: "Replying to Your Majesty, I was thinking that when the Jinming Pool opens, I will be able to see a few good marriages in the capital, so I was a bit happy."

Soon,

The bright yellow candles in the Empress's bedchamber were moved away by the female official,

The Grand Eunuch and the Empress's personal female official walked out of the room together.

Outside the door,

The candle was gently blown out by the female official,

With the faint light from the corridor inside the palace,

One could vaguely see the Grand Eunuch turning slightly to say something to the Empress's personal female official.

The next day,

Qingming Festival,

The weather was not drizzling with spring rain, but bright and sunny.

Whether it was the Great Zhou imperial clan or the residents of Bianjing, many went out of the city to visit graves and offer sacrifices.

The business of paper horse shops in the city and near the four city gates became as booming as in previous years.

Offering sacrifices didn't take much time,

And the ancestral graves of residents settled in Bianjing were mostly in their hometowns,

So more people burned paper horses and pavilions in ancestral halls at home or in Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries inside and outside the city to offer sacrifices.

People also found it inconvenient to go directly into someone's shop to eat after offering sacrifices,

So the wealthy households among the common people in the capital often set up tables to drink and eat under sparse tree shade or near pavilions and lodges after the sacrifices were over.

Actually, it could also be considered a spring outing out of the city on a day off.

The young ladies who had finally managed to accompany their families out of the city were innocent and lively, and one could often see them picking fresh flowers and breaking off willow branches.

On such a day with huge crowds of people, there were also many vendors inside and outside the city selling food and various clay toys.

At the end of the hour of Chen (after 9:00 AM),

Southeast of Bianjing,

Outer city,

Outside the New Song Gate,

"Huang Pang'er and Shanting'er from Yichun Lane, travelers passing by, take a look~"

"Cheese and milk cakes from the Zhang family at State Bridge~"

"Thick malt sugar, thick malt sugar, sweet and delicious thick malt sugar~"

"Steamed cakes~"

"Bamboo-framed paper kites~ so high to fly~"

Seeing a large group of noble young men from Bianjing in luxurious clothes and on tall mounts coming out of the city gate tunnel,

The singing and selling voices of the vendors with canvas tents near the city gate suddenly grew louder.

Xu Zaijing rode a small black Li colt, followed by Brother Qingyun and A Lan on horseback, and further behind was the horse attendant Xun Shu sitting on the carriage shaft.

Xun Shu held the reins and looked with great envy at the Goshawk standing on A Lan's shoulder with its eyes covered.

"Xun Shu, don't keep looking at me like that! Don't you have something to raise too!"

As he spoke, A Lan turned toward the carriage: "Tsk tsk tsk!"

"Woof?"

Two dog heads wearing leather collars poked out from behind the carriage curtain.

After looking at Xun Shu on the carriage shaft and A Lan to the side,

"Pant pant."

The dogs flatteringly stuck out their tongues and began to pant heavily.

"Don't wag your tails!"

Qing Cao's voice scolding the dogs came from inside the carriage.

"Woo~"

The two dogs whimpered with eyes full of pity,

Then a hand appeared on each of the dogs' collars, and soon the dog heads were pulled into the carriage.

"Whoa~"

Gu Tingye rode his horse to Xu Zaijing's side,

Looked into the distance and said: "Didn't Rong Xian say he would wait for us outside the New Song Gate? Why can't we see anyone now?"

Xu Zaijing shook his head and said: "Who knows, let's wait here."

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing gently moved the reins, and the small Li colt stopped.

Gu Tingye to the side leaned over with eyes full of affection and touched the oily, smooth fur on the small Li colt's neck.

Then, Gu Tingye said to Qi Heng and Liang Han behind him: "Let's wait here for that Rong Xian."

Qi Heng and Liang Han, who were talking behind, waved their hands to indicate they knew.

The vendors around heard Gu Tingye's words, and someone smiled and cupped their hands: "Cheese and milk cakes from the Zhang family at State Bridge, would you young masters like to try some?"

Xu Zaijing and the others didn't speak,

Brother Qingyun took Zhique and Buwei to dismount and walked to the vendor.

Buwei picked up a milk cake from the stall, smelled it, and said to Liang Han's attendant who had followed: "This smell is authentic!"

Diao Che picked up a milk cake and put it directly into his mouth.

"Brother Buwei is right."

"Brother Brother Qingyun, you try some."

Brother Qingyun took the milk cake handed over by Buwei, tasted it, and nodded: "Tastes the same as the Zhang family's."

"Many thanks for the compliment, young masters. To tell you the truth, our proprietor is the son-in-law of the Zhang family at State Bridge!"

Brother Qingyun said to Xu Zaijing, who was looking over: "Young Master?"

Xu Zaijing nodded: "Buy some as a snack. Look at the others too."

"Yes, Young Master!"

A group of noble young men in fresh clothes and on fine horses stopping here was already eye-catching.

In just this short while,

People in several carriages decorated with flowers passing by here lifted the curtains to look at them.

There were also passersby walking out of the city,

Who stopped to watch Xu Zaijing and his group for a moment,

Among them were idlers and rascals, as well as young ladies and young wives.

After hearing the conversation between Brother Qingyun and the stall owner,

Many passersby crowded to the vendor and followed suit by buying a few portions of food.

No one crowded around Xu Zaijing, Qi Heng, Gu Tingye, and the others,

But beside Buwei and Zhique, who were buying things, several young girls who were not very old, wearing new spring shirts and holding round fans, crowded around.

The girls among the common people were not bound by so many rules,

At this time, taking advantage of the lively crowd,

The young sisters, with shy faces, squeezed each other and pushed each other to take a few looks at the handsome Buwei and Zhique,

Looking until Buwei's face felt hot and red.

Among the crowd, a woman gave the young girls a white look and said: "Silly girls, what's there to look at with those two green boys! The sturdy man beside him is better; one look and you can tell he's someone who knows how to cherish people..."

The rascals to the side heard this and started booing: "Mother Niu, I'm free tomorrow!"

Another said: "Sister Niu, this small one won't go to Jinming Pool, how about I go to your house to cherish you?"

After a few words were spoken,

The woman wasn't afraid, scanned the two rascals who spoke up, looked at their crotches, shook her head, and said: "You two... don't qualify."

"Hahahaha."

The passersby laughed.

Listening to the chatter around,

Gu Tingye looked at Brother Qingyun and also laughed.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves came.

"Ha!"

"Get out of the way in front!"

A rider shouted loudly toward the side of the road.

Because of Xu Zaijing and his group, the official road outside the New Song Gate was a bit crowded.

Hearing the shout, the passersby scattered to both sides, and for a moment, it was a bit chaotic.

"Is that Rong Xian?"

Gu Tingye stepped on the stirrups, stood up, and looked toward the city wall direction.

Xu Zaijing's small Li colt was tall, and his eyesight was good, so he didn't need to stand up to see the people coming from the city gate tunnel clearly: "The rider is wearing the armor of the palace guards, but it's not Rong Xian; they look a bit unfamiliar."

"Boom, boom boom~"

"Whoo-ooh~"

The sound of drums and horns came from the city gate direction.

Hearing this movement,

Xu Zaijing and Brother Qingyun hurriedly soothed their respective somewhat excited mounts.

Everyone outside the city also had their attention attracted by this movement.

After the horn sound,

The drums began to sound rhythmically, and between the drum beats, copper gongs and reed pipes played.

Qi Heng and Liang Han beside Xu Zaijing were now in the same posture as Gu Tingye—stepping on the stirrups and looking toward the city wall direction.

Gu Tingye looked for a moment, then said with some envy in his tone: "Whoa, there are quite a lot of people in this Chasing Wind Imperial Guard going out of the city today; it's truly magnificent."

Qi Heng nodded: "Second Uncle is right!"

Xu Zaijing also nodded.

It was no wonder they sighed,

It was really because they had seen the Chasing Wind Imperial Guard going out of the city around Qingming in previous years,

But the imperial guard going out of the city today had bright banners, and the armor worn by the men and horses was even more exquisite. Walking slowly at this time, it set off the riders as majestic and the military appearance as orderly.

As they spoke,

The sound of horse hooves gradually grew louder.

Soon,

Amidst the trotting sound,

The leading rider was in front, leading the imperial guards to walk toward the outside of the city.

Passing by Xu Zaijing and his group, the leading rider looked at Xu Zaijing and the small Li colt he was riding, and also looked at Gu Tingye, Qi Heng, and the others.

Looking at the attire and mounts of the few, the rider in the front had a somewhat playful expression on his face.

Because they were near the city gate, the speed of this cavalry unit was not fast.

Liang Han looked at the rider's appearance, stretched out his finger and pointed at the person: "That guy doesn't recognize us?"

As he spoke, Liang Han looked at Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye with some surprise, and said again: "Jing Ge'er, Ye Ge'er, the expression on his face... what does it mean?"

Among the imperial guards,

The cavalry following this first rider also looked toward Xu Zaijing and the others, following the line of sight of the rider in the front.

Subsequently,

Passing by them,

Some in the cavalry cupped their hands in greeting,

But some spat on the ground toward them.

Qi Heng saw this scene,

And looked at Xu Zaijing with a face full of confusion.

Liang Han shook his head in a hurry, frowned, and said: "What does this mean again? Have the few brothers had any trouble with them?"

Gu Tingye stared at the rider who spat: "To hell with what it means! Ha!"

Before the words were finished, Gu Tingye sat back on the saddle, pulled the reins hard, and rode his horse to follow this unit of Chasing Wind Imperial Guard with an angry face.

"Jing Ge, are we not waiting for Rong Xian?"

Qi Heng shouted at Xu Zaijing, who was riding his horse to follow.

Xu Zaijing looked back and said: "Leave someone here, let's follow!"

"I didn't know if we had any trouble with them before, but we definitely will in a while! Ha!"

East Imperial Garden,

Located southeast of Bianjing,

Outside the New Song Gate of the outer city,

Originally a garden for imperial princes,

Later it was taken back by the imperial court to become an imperial garden,

The flowers and trees produced after becoming an imperial garden were quite outstanding, comparable to the Yangzhong Garden outside the northeast city wall of Bianjing.

A three-story wooden building was built in the garden,

From the building, one could have a panoramic view of the garden's blooming flowers and beautiful ponds.

Today in the garden,

Quite a few precious horses and carved carriages were parked around the wooden building,

And downstairs, one could vaguely hear the music played by the musicians upstairs,

And maidservants were walking toward the wooden building from all directions, all holding newly picked fresh flowers in their hands.

Upstairs,

The spring breeze swept by,

The thin gauze by the window and the blue smoke drifting from the incense burner moved together,

The noble ladies and maidservants in the building,

Some were using scissors to prune flower branches to make flower arrangements,

Some were matching the soft willow branches brought by the maidservants to make flower wreaths,

Some were crushing flowers to check the color of the flower juice,

Near the window,

An incense burner was placed on a long table,

Not far from the incense burner was an inkstone, and snow-white rice paper pressed by a paperweight,

Rong Feiyan sat to one side, holding her face with both hands, smiling and looking at the Fifth Young Lady of the Li family and Hai Chaoyun standing by the long table.

"Sister Chaoyun, hurry up and answer; if you don't answer, you'll be counted as losing!"

Han Wulang Young Lady of the Li family urged with a smile.

Hai Chaoyun said anxiously: "Fifth Young Lady, wait a moment! I... my inspiration will come soon!"

As she spoke, Hai Chaoyun looked outside the building,

Then,

Hai Chaoyun pointed outside the window with surprise and said: "Look quickly, there is a cavalry unit going out of the city on the official road over there!"

Han Wulang Young Lady of the Li family said: "Sister Chaoyun, that is the Chasing Wind cavalry that goes out of the city every year; it can be considered a scene of our Bianjing, nothing strange, you should answer my poem first."

Rong Feiyan nodded with a smile.

Hai Chaoyun looked at the two and said: "Are there any Bianjing young men who compete with that cavalry in speed and skill in previous years?"

"Ah?"

Rong Feiyan stood up and looked outside with the Fifth Young Lady of the Li family, who was squinting her eyes.

Outside the New Song Gate,

Rong Xian was wearing bright armor,

Riding a horse with an indignant face,

Followed by several personal cavalry attendants dressed like him.

"Young Master, is it really okay if we don't follow them?"

"I'll take responsibility for whatever happens, you bird-thief, daring to steal my limelight!"

Rong Xian said while looking around: "Why haven't Jing Ge'er and Ye Ge'er and the others arrived yet?"

"Young Master, that over there seems to be the Xu family carriage, and also Liang Liu Lang's personal attendant."

After Rong Xian took a look, he rode his horse over.

Listening to the few words relayed by Diao Che,

Rong Xian's eyes lit up:

"What? Someone spat on Gu Er Lang?"

"Fifth Young Master followed after Erlang chased them?"

"Hahaha! Truly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth! How long has Fifth Young Master been gone?"

Diao Che pointed with his cupped hands at the smoke and dust on the official road in the distance that had not yet dissipated: "Just left a moment ago."

Rong Xian hurriedly controlled the reins and rode his horse toward the direction Diao Che pointed,

After the mount walked two steps to the middle of the road,

He kicked the horse's belly hard: "Giddyup!"

The horse raised its hooves and dashed out suddenly.

Seeing this scene, Rong Xian's personal attendants hurriedly followed.

Rong Xian whipped his mount hard on the horse's back,

After the horse's speed came up,

Rong Xian controlled the reins with one hand and pointed forward with the horse whip in the other, shouting: "Fifth Young Master, wait a moment, I'm coming to help you!"

(End of chapter)