CH 128

The man was taken aback. "Huh?"

"My name is Tan Lingyin, and I'm the Head Commissioner here. Don't worry, our Lord has always been fair and strict. The people here had nicknamed him Upright and honorable Tang. If you have any grievances, the most correct answer is to find him." As she spoke, Tan Lingyin picked up Tang Tang and led them inside.

When the woman heard her name was Tan Lingyin, she looked at her with some affection.

It turned out that the man's name was Ji Heng, and he was the current Emperor. The woman beside him was his Empress, her maiden name was Ji [1]. After reading Tang Tianyuan's letter, the two set off from the capital to Tongling without a delay. They did not even get the time to send a notification in advance. So not to mention Tan Lingyin, even Tang Tianyuan didn't know that they were going to come in person.

Tan Lingyin walked and said, "Can you briefly tell me what you're here to complain about? To be honest, our Lord is also very busy. Not that your matter is trial, but some cases can be mediated... Well, since you guys seemed to be of high status, it must be some major accident, otherwise..."

At this time, Zheng Shaofeng came towards him, and Tan Lingyin greeted him, "Zheng dage."

Zheng Shaofeng responded with a smile. When he saw the people behind her, Zheng Shaofeng was frightened and motionless. With his eyes widened, he stuttered, "Your– Your– Your High..."

Ji Heng shook his head at him.

"Hi Your Your!"

"..." Ji Heng really wanted to crush Zheng Shaofeng to death.

Tan Lingyin looked back at Ji gongzi in surprise. No wonder he didn't mention his name just now. It was because his name was so unique! If she were him, she would dare tell anyone either...

"So you know each other?" Tan Lingyin was a little curious.

Ji Heng really didn’t want to admit he knew Zheng Shaofeng, so he said to Tan Lingyin, "Please take us to see Tang Feilong, Lord Tang."

Since he was Zheng Shaofeng's friend, Tan Lingyin thought he must also be Tang Tianyuan's friend, so she took them to the Retreat Hall without hesitation.

Tang Tianyuan was also taken aback when he saw the visitors. But he was calmer than Zheng Shaofeng and didn’t stutter ‘Your– Your–’.

Tan Lingyin knew that they must have something important to discuss, so she took Tang Tang out first. Ji Heng also handed her Ruyi, so the three all went out together.

Ruyi was led out of the Retreat Hall by Tan Lingyin. He looked down at Tang Tang again, his eyes full of longing.

Tan Lingyin knew that he liked Tang Tang, but was embarrassed to say so, so she picked up Tang Tang and approached Ruyi, "Come on, Tang Tang, give Ruyi a kiss."

Tang Tang sniffed Ruyi's little face, and finally stretched out its little pink tongue to lick him.

Ruyi laughed, finally showing his set of white teeth.

Tan Lingyin only found out that the child was in the midst of losing his baby teeth. No wonder he smiled in such a reserved way when they first met, like a lady from a great family, she thought he was shy.

Ruyi was not shy, but he didn't like his messy teeth being seen, so he covered his mouth and stopped laughing.

Tan Lingyin comforted him, "Don’t worry! Look, Tang Tang is changing teeth too!" Then, she opened Tang Tang's mouth to show him.

Tang Tang's teeth were almost finished growing in, but most of them were not fully grown out. Once Ruyi had a look, he became extremely happy.

Tan Lingyin took the opportunity to point to her face.

Ruyi was also unambiguous, and directly kissed her hard on the cheek.

"Oh my dear teeny-weeny heart!" Tan Lingyin held her chest and said shamelessly, "I will definitely give birth to a child just like you in the future!"

Ruyi replied, "Or a child like my sister."

Tan Lingyin laughed out happily. She found that this child wasn’t the least bit shy with strangers. There was a kind of noble and natural calm demeanor in his actions, presumably he had an extraordinary status. She rubbed his head and asked with a smile, "You have a younger sister?"

"Yes. My sister is very good, but she just can't speak."

Ah, is that so... Tan Lingyin also had a younger brother who couldn’t speak, so she empathized with him. Her voice lowered a little. "How pitiful, how old is she?"

"A little over a week."

"..."



In the Retreat Hall was a meeting between the monarch and his minister. 

Ji Heng said, "This is an incognito trip out, so there is no need for those false courtesy and rituals."

Tang Tianyuan consented, "Yes."

Ji Zhao looked anxious as she asked, "Brother Tang, he...where is he?"

Ji Heng patted her on the shoulder. "A’Zhao, calm down."

Tang Tianyuan replied, "I have already sent someone to invite him over. He will be here soon." He had told Tan Qingchen about his origins before, but Tan Qingchen had some doubts about it. The main reason was that everything was too coincidental, so coincidental that it felt off.

Tan Qingchen thought that Lord Tang wanted to encourage him to go to the imperial city to find his relatives again, and he had already prepared a reason to refuse.

However, as soon as he entered the Retreat Hall, his attention was attracted by the woman. When he saw her, he felt an indescribable intimacy in his heart.

Tan Qingchen looked at her blankly.

As soon as Ji Zhao saw Tan Qingchen, she burst into tears.

Tang Tianyuan suggested, "Madam, do you need to verify it first?" Although Tan Qingchen's experience was 99% similar to that of her missing brother, they still need to make a final check, no? For example: The certain moles on certain parts of the body, or where the scars were, etc...

Ji Heng was also in a daze. When he heard Tang Tianyuan's suggestion, he sighed slightly and refused, "No need."

"Why?"

"He looks too much like Sir Ji."

.

.

.

Footnote:

[1] Both surnames are Ji, yes. But it’s not the same Ji, just their pinyin is translated this way… The Emperor’s Ji is written 纪. While the Empress’s Ji is written as 季. Though this information is not very important in this novel, nevertheless, I just wanted to clear this up.