Ginkgo Tree
After confirming that the figure had left, Ye Jingtang sheathed his saber, and his expression turned solemn.
Regardless of whether the Red God of Wealth was a friend or foe, the exchange just now had indeed made him feel pressure.
When he was in the border town, he had been the number one expert. He had believed that his martial arts skills were top-notch in Jianghu.
But after witnessing the spearmanship of the Red God of Wealth, he realized how big the gap between him and the renowned figures of Jianghu was. It felt like playing chess. He wanted to smash the chessboard with every move, but even if he did, it wouldn’t change the fact that he was a lousy chess player. He didn’t have any chess skills at all.
To put it simply, he seemed to have used his energy on the incorrect things and went in the wrong direction.
Ye Jingtang was not surprised by this. He had learned martial arts from his foster father, but his foster father hadn’t taught him true martial arts at all. This meant that what he learned were all ‘false moves’. It would be a problem if he could learn anything correctly.
This time, it was a ‘friend’. The next time, it might not be the same. Without profound martial arts, it was definitely not a long-term plan…
Thinking of this, Ye Jingtang raised his eyes and looked at the Imperial City.
The Red God of Wealth had said that she wanted to teach him spearmanship. But before he really learned anything, he couldn’t count on this.
Even if the Red God of Wealth really wanted to take him in as a disciple, in order to prevent himself from being controlled by others, he had to make some backup plans.
As for this trump card, it seemed that it could only be the Roaring Dragon Chart that his foster father had mentioned.
Not to mention immortality, there were rumors in Jianghu that as long as one obtained any of the nine pages of the Roaring Dragon Chart, they would be able to transcend mortality and become a Sage, far surpassing ordinary people.
The Roaring Dragon Chart was buried under a ginkgo tree in the harem and was incomparably difficult to obtain.
But today’s emperor was a woman. Even if the woman had gigolos, it was unlikely that they would stay in the harem. This way, the harem would definitely be sparsely populated…
Even if gigolos lived in the harem, and there were many beautiful men in the harem, with his appearance where even ‘the empress dowager would chase after him to eat him’, it seemed that it wouldn’t be difficult for him to fish in troubled waters…
Breaking into the Imperial City was obviously not something that could be decided with a snap of the fingers. If he didn’t figure out the situation, it would be easy for him to end up really becoming ‘Noble Consort Ye’.
Ye Jingtang stared at the Imperial City for a long time, but he had no clue at the moment. He put the matter of ‘sneaking into the harem’ to the back of his mind and returned to the house to start picking up the rubble and wood.
Not long after, the sound of horseshoes came from the alley. The voices of the old escort Yang Chao and the bird sounded.
“Young Master? Young Master?”
“Chirp chirp chirp~”
“I’m fine.”
Ye Jingtang clapped his hands and walked out of the courtyard. He looked at the escort who had rushed over to help. “Someone from Jianghu just came. We chatted casually for a while, and then this person left. It was a false alarm.”
The twelve escorts glanced at the dilapidated alley and frowned. Yang Chao advised, “Young Master, Third Lady is a good person. She has arranged accommodations for all of us. Even Little Six lives in a better place than you. Why don’t you go back? You’re unfamiliar with the capital…”
Ye Jingtang wasn’t sure if the Red God of Wealth was related to the Pei family. After some consideration, he shook his head and said, “It’s fine. It’s quiet here. I just have to get used to it. If I really can’t find any work in the capital, I’ll visit the Pei family tomorrow and ask for an errand. You don’t have to worry. Go back and rest early.”
Hearing this, all the escorts breathed a sigh of relief and immediately got off their horses to help Ye Jingtang pack up…
———
Under the same night sky, in the Imperial City…
Night fell, and lanterns were lit. The palace lanterns swayed with the wind under the eaves. The light penetrated the lush branches and leaves of large trees, leaving small fan-like leaf reflections on the white stone tiles.
Several palace maids in colorful clothes stood quietly in the covered corridor with their heads lowered and lanterns in their hands.
There was a swing hanging under a 1,000-year-old ginkgo tree.
A young woman in a gold and red phoenix dress held the swing rope with both hands and swung back and forth in the night. She swung very high, and her gorgeous skirt and embroidered red shoes drew a half-moon arc under the tree.
Whoosh…
Whoosh…
The night was quiet and beautiful like a painting, but there was no sound at all, causing the originally beautiful and moving scene to appear lonely.
The spacious and elegant courtyard looked like a carefully crafted birdcage.
As for the young woman swinging on the swing alone, she was like a canary in the cage, trying to use the swing to jump over the red walls and golden tiles and look at the outside world.
Tread, tread…
After she swung back and forth countless times, footsteps sounded from the corridor, followed by respectful greetings from the palace maids.
“We pay respects to Your Highness the Prince of Jing.”
The swing under the ginkgo tree slowly stopped, and the woman in the phoenix dress turned her head, revealing a charming face.
Her red lips and apricot-shaped eyes were picturesque, but there was a hint of resentment in her eyes.
Seeing the Prince of Jing coming over, the woman in the phoenix dress didn’t go down to welcome her. Instead, she continued to swing on the swing and asked gently, “Liren, why are you here today?”
“I came to pay my respects to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
Dongfang Liren was wearing a silver python silk robe and looked like a magnificent and handsome prince. After coming to the swing, she held the empress dowager’s shoulders and gently pushed her.
“I was discussing political matters with Her Majesty just now. Her Majesty asked me to come over and take a look. It’s already so late. Why are you not asleep? Do you feel that the palace is lonely? Do you want me to arrange for someone to send you to Clear Water Villa to stay for a while?”
“If you are alone in the palace, you will be alone when you go out. What’s the difference?”
“Her Majesty and I are the same.”
“It’s different. Her Majesty and you have serious matters to do. As long as you want to, you can go anywhere in the world. You can also choose the man you like~”
The empress dowager turned her head and looked at Dongfang Liren. “What can I do? I have been in the palace for ten years. There are no concubines in the harem for me to manage. My only hope of survival is to count the days until I am buried in the imperial mausoleum…
“Once you enter the palace, you won’t see spring every year.”
Dongfang Liren pushed the swing and comforted softly, “Imperial families have always been like this since ancient times. Although you have lived a lonely life, you are at least respected and loved by Her Majesty…”
The empress dowager was slightly displeased. “I would rather not be liked by Her Majesty. For the other concubines of the late emperor, if they have sons, they can follow their sons out to their feudal domains. It is even better if they do not have sons. They can leave the palace after guarding the mausoleum for three years. I suffer the most. Without a son, I cannot leave, and I cannot remarry…”
Dongfang Liren’s eyes were full of helplessness. “You are the empress dowager! The ’empress’ is the wife, and concubines are concubines. Since ancient times, apart from the destruction of a country, how can an empress dowager remarry?”
The empress dowager was silent for a moment before saying, “In history, there has never been an empress dowager who remarried, but there have been countless empress dowagers who did not abide by the ethics of women and raised ‘beautiful companions’…”
?!
Dongfang Liren felt that she was asking for a paramour from her step-daughter.
She’s quite rebellious.
She patted the empress dowager’s shoulders and said, “Empress Dowager, what are you talking about?”
The empress dowager harrumphed softly. “I am almost going crazy in the palace. Can’t I just say it casually? I didn’t say that I wanted to raise a paramour… Fortunately, I am not your biological mother. I am just an ornament in the palace. If Her Majesty’s biological mother does not abide by etiquette and raises a paramour, you can only turn a blind eye…”
Dongfang Liren sighed. “Forget it. I will pretend I didn’t hear it.”
The empress dowager thought for a moment and asked, “Neither you nor Her Majesty have anyone to sleep with. Have you found anyone recently? Do you have a portrait or something? I will take a look for you.”
Dongfang Liren had just drawn a picture of a beautiful man. But when she saw the empress dowager’s appearance of yearning for love, it wasn’t appropriate to take it out and appraise it together. “Her Majesty is busy with government affairs, and I am so worried about the Green Bandits that I don’t have the time to think about marriage…”
“You’re not young anymore. If there’s a chance, you should consider it early…”
…
After they chatted for a while, a few cold raindrops fell from the gaps between the ginkgo tree.
Rustle, rustle, rustle…
The empress dowager raised her eyes and looked at the lush crown of the ginkgo tree. There was a hint of resentment in her eyes. “It is said that this tree has a spirit. I come to visit it every day, but in the end, I haven’t encountered anything good in the ten years I’ve been in the palace. It’s fine if it makes my life difficult, but it’s raining when I’m swinging. I’ll chop you up in a few days!”
“When the heavens rain, the tree shelters you from the wind and rain. If you chop down this tree, will it not be even more stormy?”
“That’s true…”
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