Marrying The Imperial Elder Chapter 17

“Then explain yourself clearly!” Xie Qiuyan fixed the scholar with an icy stare and said word by word, “Wangye is still missing. Tang He, if you dare keep speaking in riddles and wasting time in front of me, thereby jeopardizing Wangye’s affairs, do you believe I won’t cut you down on the spot?!”

As he spoke, Xie Qiuyan placed a hand on the sword at his waist, looking ready to draw it at the slightest disagreement.

Tang He’s expression stiffened. “…”

The ancients truly had not deceived him.

When a scholar encounters a soldier, reason becomes impossible.

Facing a Xie Qiuyan who looked perpetually prepared to draw his sword, Tang He could not help fanning himself several times with extra force. Taking a deep breath, he finally felt the frustration in his chest ease somewhat and began addressing the matter directly. “You and I both know that although Wangye’s return to the capital is entirely legitimate, the people in the capital are not pleased by it.”

“Empress Dowager Zheng is the new emperor’s legal mother. Naturally, she does not want a close imperial uncle appearing beside the emperor. The Grand Secretariat currently controls state affairs. Naturally, they do not wish for a Regent to arrive and share their authority. But if we are talking about someone bold enough to send assassins, then it can only be the Zheng family.”

Not Empress Dowager Zheng.

The Zheng family.

Though Xie Qiuyan appeared rough around the edges, he was actually quite perceptive. He understood the distinction and nodded.

“Go on.”

Tang He continued, “The reason I had you halt the procession these past few days and reorganize our men was to test the Zheng family’s reaction.”

“If something had truly happened to Wangye, the Zheng family would likely have acted immediately. They could have charged us with failing in our duty of protection.”

“But they have remained completely still, which suggests they have reservations.”

“Therefore, I believe Wangye is safe. The assassination attempt likely failed, and Wangye escaped unharmed. That is why the Zheng family remains cautious and dares not act rashly.”

Xie Qiuyan’s expression eased slightly.

Soon, however, he frowned again. “If Wangye is safe, why haven’t we received a single message from him?”

Tang He replied calmly, “You and I both know that Wangye originally intended for us to escort the official procession ahead while he traveled separately afterward, one force in the open and one in secret.”

“Partly, he wished to observe the people’s conditions along the way.”

“Partly, he wished to test the attitudes of those in the capital and lure out hidden enemies.”

“This was a secret order known only to a few trusted confidants.”

“Yet our group traveled without encountering any obstacles, while Wangye himself was ambushed.”

“The only explanation is that there is a traitor among our people who leaked confidential information, thereby placing Wangye in danger.”

At these words, fury erupted across Xie Qiuyan’s face.

He slammed a fist heavily onto the table.

“If I ever discover which b*stard leaked the information, I’ll skin him alive!”

“Exactly.” Tang He nodded. “So I suspect Wangye also harbors doubts. That is why he has not contacted us immediately.” After a pause, he continued in a level tone. “Therefore, General, please set your mind at ease.”

“We were ordered to escort the procession to the capital. We should simply carry out those orders.”

“As for everything else, Wangye undoubtedly has his own plans. Those matters are not for us to question.”

In truth, Tang He left some things unsaid.

Wangye’s continued silence likely had reasons beyond merely suspecting a traitor. However, discussing such possibilities now would only undermine morale.

Moreover, regardless of Wangye’s actual circumstances, continuing toward the capital would at least draw away a large portion of attention and scrutiny, indirectly helping him.

Xie Qiuyan, however, was not nearly so complicated in his thinking.

Once he heard that Wangye was likely safe and absent only because he suspected internal betrayal and had other plans, he felt greatly reassured.

Immediately, he nodded decisively. “I understand. I’ll make the arrangements at once. We leave this afternoon.”

After speaking, Xie Qiuyan shot Tang He a glare and slapped him heavily on the shoulder. “You could’ve just said that from the beginning! Why did you have to be so mysterious and cryptic, making me worry for days?”

The blow nearly dislocated Tang He’s arm. Unable to endure it, he retreated several steps and answered casually, “Since the traitor hasn’t been identified yet, I couldn’t exactly discuss Wangye’s affairs openly. Naturally, I needed to observe people first.”

Xie Qiuyan had already reached the doorway before he suddenly realized what Tang He meant.

The b*stard had suspected him of being the traitor.

That was why Tang He had kept everything hidden.

Xie Qiuyan was instantly furious.

Why hadn’t I suspected this surnamed Tang fellow of being the traitor instead?!

The more he thought about how completely he had trusted Tang He, only for Tang He to suspect him in return, the angrier he became.

He nearly rolled up his sleeves and went back to beat Tang He senseless.

***

Once the Regent’s procession finally departed, the merchants and travelers who had been blocked behind it all breathed sighs of relief.

Steward Lin exchanged information with Zhen Tingyun, and both parties spent the day making preparations.

The following morning, they set out as well.

Since Yuanhui had long since persuaded Zhen Tingyun, and Zhen Tingyun had subsequently persuaded Old Lady Zhen, the carriage arrangements were exactly as Yuanhui had suggested.

Old Lady Zhen, Liushun, and Bazhen occupied one carriage. Yuanhui and Zhen Tingyun shared the other.

When Steward Lin learned of this arrangement, he naturally tried to persuade Zhen Tingyun. “Miss, after all, no formal apprenticeship ceremony has taken place. Sharing a carriage with him like this could damage your reputation.”

But Zhen Tingyun had already made up her mind. She was hardly going to be swayed by a few words from Steward Lin. Moreover, Old Lady Zhen had already approved the arrangement, so the matter was settled.

In fact, the rear carriage, which normally carried luggage, was much larger than the smaller passenger carriage in front. Unfortunately, it now contained a tea stove, an entire tea set, numerous bundles of baggage, and Yuanhui himself, a tall, broad-shouldered man. As a result, the interior felt somewhat cramped.

Yuanhui had originally intended to tolerate it. But after entering the carriage, he found it increasingly difficult to endure. Frowning, he finally said, “I’ll pay for it. Let’s buy another carriage.”

How can anyone tolerate being squeezed like this?

Zhen Tingyun, however, had long been accustomed to saving money and disliked waste. Seeing this, she hurried to reassure him. “It’s fine. I’ll rearrange the things a bit and it’ll be less crowded.”

As she spoke, she pushed the small tea stove farther toward the back and stacked several bundles on top of it.

Immediately, a considerable amount of space was freed up.

Seeing Zhen Tingyun lifting the brazier, moving bundles, and bustling about so much that, despite the bitter cold, her cheeks had turned pink and sweat beaded at the tip of her nose, even Yuanhui’s heart of stone softened a little. In the end, he said nothing more about buying another carriage and silently accepted the arrangement.

Since he had accepted the matter of the carriage, Yuanhui did his best to ignore the dreadful conditions and instead considered how to make use of them.

Looking around the carriage, he said to Zhen Tingyun, “You could try pasting paper onto the carriage wall and practicing your calligraphy there. It would strengthen your wrist and improve your concentration. You’ll progress faster that way.”

It had to be said, Yuanhui’s method could only be described as downright insane.

Leaving aside the fact that writing on paper pasted to the carriage wall was already more difficult, just the jolting of the carriage on the road would make it hard enough to write neatly, let alone write well.

Yet after thinking about it, Zhen Tingyun actually nodded in agreement. Given her current foundation, if she followed the normal path step by step, she truly would have difficulty catching up to those who came before her. She had to work harder, push herself further, and be even more ruthless than that.

After saying this, Yuanhui could not help glancing around again. Truthfully, he was genuinely unaccustomed to sharing a carriage with another person. Originally, he had suggested keeping Zhen Tingyun by his side to attend to him, since among the entire group she was the only one who suited his tastes. However, the carriage was piled high with luggage, making it much smaller than he had imagined. Sitting face-to-face, the two of them were inevitably too close.

Though Yuanhui showed nothing on the surface, he possessed an animal-like sense of territoriality deep down. Having Zhen Tingyun so close was neither a major nor a minor problem, it simply made him tense all over, unable to relax in the slightest.

Even though Zhen Tingyun had no ulterior motives and merely practiced calligraphy, played the xiao, read arithmetic books, and worked through problems, he still felt uncomfortable.

After finally forcing himself to relax a little, the uneven road caused the carriage to lurch. Zhen Tingyun, who was reading, was caught off guard. The book slipped from her hands, and she toppled backward, accidentally falling straight into Yuanhui’s arms.

Zhen Tingyun: “!!!”

Yuanhui: “!!!”

Yuanhui felt his expression change. It was as if someone had struck him squarely in the chest with a hammer. His entire body stiffened, leaving him completely at a loss.

A strand of the girl’s hair brushed accidentally across the tip of his nose. The faint fragrance from her dark black hair lingered in the air. More importantly, the weight of her body in his arms was very real indeed, filling his embrace completely.

Even Yuanhui found the phrase “warm fragrance and soft jade” surfacing in his mind.

Only after a long while did he steady himself and lower his gaze to look at the even more stunned Zhen Tingyun.

She was still very young, not yet awakened to matters of romance, with her heart devoted solely to learning. Traveling every day left little time for adornment. Usually she wore plain clothes and old garments, with no makeup at all.

Yet now, lying in another’s arms, her hair had loosened, her snowy cheeks were flushed pink, and her wide apricot eyes shone like black gemstones washed by water.

Author’s Note:

Since they’re already sharing a carriage, there has to be some bonus content~

But after Yuanhui gets a few licks of candy, it’ll be time for him to get back to serious business.