Chapter 292: Feng Jie: Third Brother back then seemed to be glowing all over!

Xiang Yun was the last to jump off the carriage, her bright red gauze robe like a mass of fiery clouds rolling down from the carriage. As soon as her feet touched the ground she loudly muttered:

"I'm suffocating! I sat in the carriage all morning, my body's gone stiff!"

Daiyu turned and glared at her; she stuck out her tongue, her voice lowered a bit, yet she still whispered:

"I'm just telling the truth..."

"Hehe..."

The group passed through the flower-lined gate and walked along the covered corridor toward Rong Qing Tang.

The parrot under the corridor, seeing people approach, flapped its wings and squawked "Long live the matriarch!", startling Feng Jie walking ahead, who laughed and scolded:

"Feathered beast, yet knows how to be obsequious."

Inside Rong Qing Tang,

Jia Mu had been waiting a while; she also got up early today, but she didn't go to Lugou Bridge with Feng Jie and the others.

She wasn't unwilling to go.

Firstly, the affairs of Ning Guo Fu have been worrying her these days, after Jia Zheng repeatedly inquired,

Jia Zhen is likely to be sentenced to death this time, and it's heard that Ning Guo Fu's title may not be preserved, leaving her really in no mood to join the festivities for Jia Jing's triumphant return!

Secondly, she's old and can't endure the wear and tear of constant travel!

Of course, most importantly, this wicked grandson Jia Jing is ultimately not Jia Baoyu, and their feelings are limited.

Jia Mu leaned back on the couch, wearing a stone-green unlined silk jacket, her head adorned with a vermilion gold forehead band, in the center of which was set a piece of jadeite.

She held a round fan in her hand, but didn't wave it, laying it face-down on her lap.

Her eyes kept fixed on the doorway, her gaze complex—both expectant and anxious.

That wicked grandson is due back today; just thinking of it makes her headache seem to flare up again faintly.

Yuan Yang stood behind her, holding a sandalwood comb, gently combing her hair without hurry.

Yuan Yang's face showed a barely concealed look of anticipation.

She actually wanted to go to Lugou Bridge to have a look, but since Jia Mu wasn't going, as her personal senior maid it was naturally inconvenient for her to go!

Lady Wang and Xue Yima sat solemnly in the hall, either clutching prayer beads or sipping tea,

their faces wore worry, and the former cheerful chatter was gone.

Footsteps sounded, first a hurried, crisp patter.

The door curtain was lifted, Feng Jie darted in, her bright red jacket flashing in the candlelight like a ball of fire rolling into Rong Qing Tang.

"I'm late getting back! Matriarch! It's a pity you didn't go see it!"

Feng Jie's laughter arrived before she did; her voice was high and bright, unrestrained yet cheerful.

"It's unprecedented! Third Brother this time, well… well truly…"

She couldn't find the words, so she gestured with both hands, tracing a large shape.

"Unprecedented!"

Jia Mu wasn't startled by this display; she knew Feng Jie had always been like this.

But still, her words drew a bit of attention; she leaned forward, eyes widening, and said in a hoarse voice:

"What's up? What mischief are you up to again!"

Feng Jie was about to speak when the door curtain rustled again.

Tan Chun, Yingchun, Xichun, and Yuan Chun entered one after another, followed by Mrs. Xing, Xing Xiuyan, Baichai, Daiyu, and Xiang Yun.

Suddenly a dozen or so people poured in, and Rong Qing Tang instantly bustled again.

Jia Mu waved her hand.

"Everyone sit, everyone sit. Jade, your complexion doesn't look good—come to my side for a cup of tea to rest!"

Everyone sat down at the words, except Feng Jie, who remained standing in the hall, taking the tea Ping'er brought but not drinking a sip, holding it as a prop.

"Matriarch, you really missed a grand spectacle, you didn't see…"

Feng Jie's eyes widened round, her arched brows lifted high, her eyeballs shining like two black gems; like a storyteller she loudly recounted to Jia Mu what she had seen and heard today:

"... Third Brother was still about a hundred paces from the Emperor when he dismounted."

"Having dismounted, he snatched off his silver spear, adjusted his armor, and strode forward with great strides."

"What do you suppose happened?"

"The civil and military officials lining the road, from senior grand secretaries and princes down to ministers and generals, all bent their waists in unison to salute!"

"That bend—oh my, like wheat swaying in the wind, swish swish swish, each lower than the last!"

"I was thinking at the time, those officials who usually act all high and mighty, never imagined that before Third Brother they'd also bow, each as obedient as…"

Feng Jie hadn't finished speaking when Xiang Yun, sitting nearby, couldn't help but interject:

"Sister-in-law Feng, what about the palace's Feathered Forest guards? They bowed their heads too!"

Feng Jie glanced at her, smiled, and waved her hand:

"Miss Yun, don't speak—I haven't gotten to that part yet!"

She turned back to Jia Mu, her voice suddenly lower; seeing Lady Wang and Xue Yima also quietly pricking up their ears, she gave a faint smile and continued:

"As for the Feathered Forest guards… they formed a line from before the Emperor all the way to Lugou Bridge, one every five paces, armor polished bright, swords at their waists, hands gripping the hilts."

"When Third Brother approached them, what do you suppose happened?"

She paused, glanced again at Lady Wang's gradually darkening face, whetting the appetites of those who hadn't gone, then she laughed softly:

"They also bowed their heads in salute… I don't understand the inner meaning, but I've heard it called 'Feathered Forest's lowered heads,' a rare grand spectacle!"

"Seeing that solemn scene, my heart pounded wildly then; heads bowed so low their chins nearly touched their breastplates—utterly respectful."

"Third Brother then stood amid the crowd, his aura seemed as if his whole body was glowing with golden light—truly…"

Feng Jie kept rummaging through her vocabulary, wanting to describe the scene even more vividly!

The hall fell silent for a moment because of Feng Jie's words.

Shi Xiangyun could no longer stay seated.

She rose from her chair, walked into the hall, and took up Feng Jie's thread of speech. Her bright red gauze shirt blazed dazzling in the candlelight, and the thin layer of rouge on her face grew even redder with excitement.

"What Second Sister-in-Law said is all correct, but there's still one thing she didn't mention… the prince driving the carriage!"

Her voice was a little higher than usual, clear and pleasant to the ear.

"Third Brother and His Majesty rode together in the dragon carriage. His Majesty first wanted to let the third younger brother drive the carriage, but Third Brother refused."

"Later, the Crown Prince himself took the whip and drove the carriage for His Majesty and Third Brother! What a great honor! It left me dazed at the time!"

Jia Mu, who had been lying down, suddenly sat up straight, her aged eyes full of undisguised surprise, and she confirmed in a hoarse voice:

"Jia Jing and His Majesty riding together in the dragon carriage? The Crown Prince driving the carriage for Jia Jing?"

As for the courtesy Feng Jie mentioned—officials bowing in welcome and the Feathered Forest guards lowering their heads—Jia Mu, though surprised, could somewhat understand it.

After all, the late Duke of Rongguo, Jia Daishan, had once been a second-rank Guard General and had even experienced being personally received by the emperor; Jia Mu was not someone inexperienced in worldly affairs.

But riding together in the dragon carriage and the Crown Prince himself driving it was somewhat beyond her imagination!

Is the dragon carriage something a subject can sit in?

Let alone a dragon carriage driven personally by the Crown Prince!

Such imperial favor, as vast as the sea—let alone that neither generation of the Jia mansion's Dukes of Rongguo has ever experienced this, even the entire Da Han Empire since its founding seems never to have seen such a thing!

Jia Mu couldn't help but let out a faint sigh, her face showing both joy and worry.

She always felt that Jia Jing's such splendor was a bit too glaring, making her feel uneasy.

This scene of officials paying respect and the prince driving the carriage is indeed impressive, but does it truly conform to the way of a subject?