Chapter 431: Our Daughter Has Grown Up (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Jingtang has been out for three days…”
In the afternoon, Pei Xiangjun was sitting on the porch at the kitchen door at the back of the new residence, holding a jade artifact in her hand and slowly polishing it. She said in boredom, “He doesn’t want to be a carefree young master of a wealthy family. Instead, he goes to the government to work. He’s so busy that he doesn’t even have time to go home and rest… The Imperial Court is really… Since Jingtang is easy to use, they’re using him so much…”
Luo Ning was wearing an apron and busying herself in the spacious kitchen that was being used for the first time. Her expression was cold and aloof, like a single mother who was not interested in men at all. When she heard Third Lady’s words of lovesickness, she said unhappily, “He can’t ask for more than to serve the princess. How can he be willing to come back? Aren’t you afraid that the maids will see you playing with such an impure thing during the day?” “It doesn’t matter if they see it. It’s prepared for you anyway. Tell me quickly. What words do you want engraved? If you don’t tell me, I’ll engrave ‘1 haven’t eaten’. When Jingtang sees it, he’ll definitely torture you to death…”
“You!” Luo Ning couldn’t stand this woman anymore. She frowned and said, “Since you have nothing to do, cover over and help. Do you really treat yourself as a wife and me as a kitchen maid?”
“I’m a martial artist and can’t cook well. Besides, it’s not like there aren’t maids in the residence…”
“We’ve just moved in. We have to cook the first meal ourselves. Can’t you just come in and start the cooking fire…”
As the two of them chatted, footsteps suddenly came from outside.
Tread, tread, tread…
Luo Ning turned around and saw Ping’er jogging over. She stuck her head around the corner of the wall and looked around.
Seeing this, Luo Ning put down the kitchen knife and walked over. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s a letter from home.” Ping’er took out a small piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Luo Ning. “Madam, the cult master is urging you to go back quickly, saying that something might happen in the capital.”
“Uhh?” Luo Ning took the note and looked at the words on it. She frowned slightly and turned to look in the direction of the Imperial City. Then she wanted to go out.
Seeing this, Ping’er pulled Luo Ning’s sleeve. “Madam, don’t tell me you want to inform the government?”
Luo Ning stopped in her tracks, blinked her eyes, and said solemnly, “What nonsense are you saying? I’m going to discuss it with Ye Jingtang.”
“Madam, the cult master told you not to interfere and to go back directly…”
“There’s already some progress with the matter in the palace. We’ll be able to succeed in the next few days. Wouldn’t all my previous efforts be in vain if 1 go back now? You go cut the vegetables. 1 know what to do.”
“Oh…”
Clomp, clomp!
The Prince of Jing Estate’s luxurious carriage stopped outside the palace gate.
Ye Jingtang got out of the carriage, held horse reins, and looked at the carriage window. “1’11 go back first. Will your Highness spend the night in the palace tonight?”
After fooling around in the carriage for a while, the two of them had started practicing martial arts again. Ye Jingtang’s weakness was pinched. He was afraid that Dumdum would tear the paintings in embarrassment, so he acted very restrained, not wanting to offend her again.
Unfortunately, Dumdum never disappointed people. Even if she tried her best to assume standard stances, there were still more or less errors that needed to be adjusted. For this reason, Ye Jingtang still touched her a lot.
Dongfang Liren knew that Ye Jingtang took advantage of her, but she felt that it wasn’t easy to reprimand him justifiably. Afterward, she still couldn’t smile and thank him. At this moment, she was sitting upright in the carriage. She only nodded coldly and closed the window.
The bird had been held by a maidservant of the prince’s estate and slept all the way like a pig. Ye Jingtang took it and rubbed it before turning it over. It looked around. “Chirp chirp?” It was probably asking: Is it time to eat?
Ye Jingtang shook his head and placed the bird on his shoulder. After watching the carriage drive into the palace gate, he got on his horse and headed for Heavenly Water Bridge.
The Southern Breeze River ran through Yun’an City from the north to the south. Along the way, there were a total of eighteen stone bridges that connected the two sides. Literary Virtue Bridge was at the top, and the White Lion Bridge that Sun Wuji mentioned was in the middle of the Southern Breeze River. It was named after the two big lion statues standing at the bridgehead. The bridge was very wide, and it was a must-visit scenic spot for travelers visiting the capital.
Ye Jingtang rode his horse down the Southern Breeze River. When he passed by White Lion Bridge, he searched at both ends of the stone bridge where people were coming and going.
In the end, a voice sounded from under the bridge. “Here.”
Ye Jingtang went to the stone bridge’s railing and looked down. He saw a small black boat floating under the stone bridge with a fishing rod sticking out.
Sun Wuji, who was wearing his old cloak and had his white hair tied up with a headband, was sitting cross-legged at the bow of the boat. Although his figure was thin, he wasn’t weak. He gave people the feeling that his robe was covering a steel frame.
Seeing this scene, the bird landed on the bow of the boat and stuck its head over to look inside the fish basket. In the end, it was empty. It tilted its head and spread its wings. “Chirp chirp?”
Ye Jingtang tied his horse to the railing, flew down from the arched bridge, and landed steadily on the black boat. “Senior Sun, you also like fishing?”
“Fishing is a way to nourish your qi and calm your mind. As people get older, most of them enjoy this,” Sun Wuji said and found that the fat-headed bird was looking at him in disdain. “Fishing is the process. It’s common not to catch any fish nine times out of ten. If you really come for fish, you will be impatient and eager for quick success, and you will instead fall to a mediocre level.”
“Chirp.” The bird pointed at the fish basket with its wings, clearly indicating: If you didn’t come for fish, why did you bring a fish basket?
Ye Jingtang walked over and moved the naughty bird to the side. He smiled and said, “Senior, you’re right. I used to fish in Liang Province, but it was too time consuming, so I used a sledgehammer to stun the fish. Now that I think about it, 1 was indeed eager for quick success..”
