Chapter 444: Playing with Fire and Burning Yourself (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Chirp-” A weak chirp came from the side hall, and then the bird flew out of the window unsteadily and landed on Ye Jingtang’s shoulder. It fell silent again.
With the bird on his shoulder, Ye Jingtang walked out. Just as he turned the corner of the corridor, he heard a voice coming from the side hall.
“Shui’er, did you sleep here with Ye Jingtang last night?”
“Uh-huh-”
?!
Ye Jingtang staggered. He didn’t expect the empress dowager to ask this question, nor did he expect Daoist Xuanji to answer like that. But it wasn’t appropriate for him to interrupt the private joke between the women. He pretended not to hear anything and quickly walked out of the Longevity Palace.
Yesterday, Dumdum also stayed in the palace. In the morning, she should be waiting for the empress to pack up. Then she would lead the imperial guards from Heavenly Street to Clear Water Villa.
If Ye Jingtang went straight to the Eternal Joy Palace now, he might bump into the empress and the Prince of Jing bathing and changing their clothes. Even if he went, he would be standing outside. For this reason, he left the Imperial City first, took a horse, changed into the official robe of the Black Office, and went to the Black Office, which was not far from the Imperial City.
Last night, he had put on an act and stole the sword of a rich man’s son. Regardless of whether the sword was valuable or not, its source was improper. If Ye Jingtang held it in his hand or lost it, he would really become a thief. For this reason, he had to return this borrowed sword.
As for the method of returning it, it was simple. The noble son of a wealthy family had lost his sword at the Dragon Cry Pavilion. Even if the guest didn’t care, the owner had to report it to the government to find it. Otherwise, his reputation would be ruined. Ye Jingtang handed the sword to the Black Office and casually said that after the thief succeeded, he sold the stolen good on the black market in the city. His subordinate recovered it and handed it to him. Because he was the deputy commander of the Black Office, no constable would get to the bottom of the matter.
After settling this matter, Ye Jingtang casually found a place to eat on the streets. Then he returned to the Imperial City and went to the Eternal Joy Palace.
It was customary for the empress to go to Clear Water Villa every autumn to rest and relax. During this time, her personal palace maids would accompany her, and the court assemblies to discuss serious matters would be held at Clear Water Villa.
Although it sounded a little troublesome, Clear Water Villa was only about five kilometers away from the city. Great Wei only held a court assembly once every five days, and the officials who could attend the court assembly didn’t lack carriages and horses. Because they had changed places, their working hours were pushed back, and they didn’t have to get up at four in the morning to prepare. Because of this, the officials had never had any objections to this matter.
Ye Jingtang arrived at the Eternal Joy Palace with familiarity. He could already see many palace maids walking back and forth in the corridors, carrying the items the empress usually used.
In the Peaceful Hall, Dongfang Liren was still sitting in the study, seriously helping her sister with her work.
Ye Jingtang arrived at the door of the hall and found that Dumdum was busy with national affairs, so it was naturally not good to go in and disturb her. Thus, he did his job as a guard and stood outside the door as a door guard. He had left the sleeping bird in the bushes outside the hall.
During this period of time, the empress was weak and didn’t have the energy to deal with trivial government affairs. She only asked about more important matters and left all the messy matters to Dongfang Liren to handle.
In the eyes of ordinary people, things that could be sent to the emperor’s desk were definitely important matters that concerned the rise and fall of a country. But in reality, this wasn’t the case. Great Wei’s territory was massive, and there were indeed many things happening every day. However, the governors and countless local officials were enough to deal with most things. The empress only needed to take a look. The most headache-inducing thing every day was the officials looking for trouble for no reason.
At the beginning of the founding of the country, the founding emperor was full of energy and gave the officials the privilege of not being punished for their words. For this reason, it had become a custom for the court officials to submit a report every day. A certain official’s dog barked twice when people passed by. A courtier could write a long article eloquently, saying that the dog barked because it relied on its owner’s power. This official might be using his power to bully the people on a daily basis and should be investigated thoroughly.
The empress had to read these trivial matters. If her reply were too perfunctory, the official would have to worry about what to write tomorrow.
Now that these trivial matters had fallen on Dongfang Liren, it was even more troublesome. This was because she was the one that the officials found fault with the most. She couldn’t count the number of times that officials complained that the Black Office’s authority was unclear and the expenditure was too high.
Dongfang Liren was furious when she saw this, but she couldn’t be angry. As for giving a beating as a warning, forget about it. If she dared to use corporal punishment against these officials, they would dare to die. Then their names would be remembered for ten thousand years.
Dongfang Liren was sitting at the desk, holding a long speech in both hands with a dark face. When she noticed that Ye Jingtang had arrived, perhaps afraid that Sir Tangtang would hear her cursing when she couldn’t control her emotions, she said, “Ye Jingtang, go to the Roaring Dragon Pond to practice first. I’ll call you when we set off later.”
Hearing this, Ye Jingtang didn’t say anything. He turned around and headed to the Roaring Dragon Pond behind the Peaceful Hall, preparing to practice and wait for Dumdum to finish his work.
But just as he reached the lake, his ears twitched slightly. He heard a sound from inside the Peaceful Hall.
Splash-
The sound of water splashing came from behind the tiger head door in the bedchamber.
“…” Ye Jingtang stopped. He wanted to pretend that he didn’t hear anything, but just as he was about to continue walking, another sound came from inside.
Splash!
It was obviously calling him.
Ye Jingtang had an indescribable look in his eyes. He first looked in the direction of the study on the east side of the hall. Then he tiptoed, jumped onto the balcony of the bedchamber, entered silently, and went behind the screen. He whispered outside the tiger head door, “Miss Yuhu, are you looking for me?” “Come in.” A gentle and charming voice sounded from the small bathing pool.
Ye Jingtang opened his mouth. “The Prince of Jing is in the hall. You…”
“She’s far away. As long as you don’t make a lot of noise, how can she hear you? Come in quickly.”
Ye Jingtang was helpless. He took out the mask he had used last night and tied it around his eyes. Then he gently pushed open the sliding door..
