wait a minute

Chapter 57 I'm Entering the Palace!

It was afternoon, and there were still two quarters of an hour before the evening drum sounded.

Outside the Chao'an gate on the east side of the imperial city, ten temporarily transferred black government chief arresters, with bronze medals hanging around their waists, entered the palace gate one after another after negotiating with the imperial guards.

Ye Jingtang changed into a black brocade robe, with a knife hanging from his waist, and walked among the ten general arresters, while Niao Niao stood on his shoulders, looking around curiously.

The ten chief arrestees, seven men and three women, are all in their 40s and [-]s. Ye Jingtang is too young, walking in the middle looks like a disciple.

But there was the story of catching the wingless owl and repelling the blood bodhi, and she was treated very politely. She Long even walked in front of him like a good brother and introduced:
"There are many allusions to Chao'an Gate. Have you seen that rotten brick? When Yun'an City was broken in the last year of the previous dynasty, Emperor Yan Gong escaped from this gate. The moon died... After the founding of the country, Taizu specially left this brick to warn future generations that "there is no way for the king, and the sky will reap it"..."

Ye Jingtang followed to the outer city wall, listening to the allusions that happened in various places along the way, such as where a certain emperor committed suicide, a certain prince usurped the throne and broke the door, etc.

The imperial city is very large, and the external security is entrusted to the imperial army, while the interior is in charge of the hidden guards; 11 of them entered the palace to temporarily add manpower to guard against accidents in the palace.

This is not the first time the chief arresters have done this kind of errand. Every time they walked out, two people left the team together and disappeared among the scattered buildings. When they reached the turret of the east city wall, there were only three people left. .

Ye Jingtang stood under the turret, looking at the inside and outside of the palace, and asked:
"Should I follow the two adults, or just stand here and watch the wind?"

According to the practice of Hei Ya, no matter what errands to do, they must be accompanied by two people and cannot go alone.

But Ye Jingtang had no teammates, and Prince Jing didn't specifically specify where he would patrol, so how to arrange it became a problem.

Shang Jianli thought about it for a while: "The duty of patrolling the imperial city is great, and we still have to focus on errands. Prince Jing asked Mr. Ye to come over by name. He didn't give specific instructions, but he just trusted Mr. Ye. Mr. Ye can patrol by himself..."

?

Ye Jingtang was surprised to hear that he was patrolling the palace alone—isn't this letting Monkey King into the Peach Garden?
"As a man, I'm walking alone in the palace, I'm afraid it's..."

"Prince Jing appointed Young Master Ye to this position. I have no right to dispatch it. Young Master Ye can arrange these matters by himself."

Shang Jianli turned his head to indicate the center of the imperial city:
"However, there are some rules. I still want to say something. The Yongle Palace in the center is the place where the sage lives, and the hidden guards are in charge. We cannot enter the Yongle Palace for any reason, otherwise we will kill you. Every hour, come Let's meet here to avoid accidents."

Ye Jingtang is able to act alone, so he can't wish for it. Seeing this, he cupped his hands and said:
"Then I will patrol by myself, the two adults will be busy first, and see you in an hour."

Shang Jianli and She Long stopped talking, and lightly jumped down the palace wall with a light tap of their toes, hiding among the buildings...

----

Boom, boom, boom...

The evening drum sounded, the setting sun in the sky sank into the mountains, the palace gates were closed one by one, and the imperial city gradually became quiet.

Outside the Chen'an Hall of Yongle Palace, more than a dozen court ladies in cool clothes were kicking rattan balls in the garden outside the hall. Among them, two tall figures stood out the most, namely the Empress of the Dynasty and Prince Jing.

The empress did not wear a dragon robe, but a red tube top and a red skirt with a high slit on one side. She trotted around with a sepak takraw ball, and she could see her slender legs full of sensuality. The breasts wrapped in the tube top also bumped up and down with her movements. .

During the running, the snow-greasy shoulders and white collarbone were all displayed, and the crystal sweat rolled down the neck and rolled into the bottomless gully on the chest. The scene can only be described by the word "fragrant".

Dongfang Liren's attire was much more serious, it was a pure white hunting suit, not showing even the ankles, and looked heroic, more like a young emperor playing with his concubine than the empress.

There was endless laughter in Yongle Palace, but Fushou Palace, which was also in the imperial city, was silent and few people were there, only the dim palace lanterns swaying in the wind, casting mottled reflections of flowers and trees on the wall.

The Fushou Palace, also known as the West Palace, is the residence of the Empress Dowager and the Concubine. It fell into silence just after nightfall, and only a few lights were lit in the huge palace.

In the Empress Dowager's bedroom, there were also few people.

The empress dowager, dressed in a crimson home dress, was kneeling upright on the tea bed by the window, with her left hand holding her water sleeve, and her right hand holding a paintbrush, slowly sketching on the white paper.

The kneeling posture draws a full and full curve behind the empress dowager's waist. It looks like a calligrapher and painter with a beautiful waist and fat buttocks. The silver moon outside the window is sprinkled between the eyes of Jianshui. See that faint smile.

Hongyu, the court lady who has been serving all the year round, knelt by her side, with paints such as cinnabar and green market in front of her, and sometimes handed them to the Empress Dowager.

"The Empress Dowager."

"Ok?"

"What... are you painting?"

"You will know when the painting is finished."

The palace lady Hongyu looked carefully at the drawing on the paper—most likely it was a person, but with slender eyes, dull eyes, straight lips, and a ball drawn on her shoulder...

Even if the painting is finished, Hongyu is not sure who she can tell who the painting is.

"Hmm... isn't this a handsome man?"

"Heh~ your eyesight is pretty good."

The empress dowager had a dignified and elegant posture, carefully outlined the man's sword eyebrows, and asked:
"How does Bengong's painting skills compare with Prince Jing's?"

"Uh……?"

Hongyu sat up a little bit, with a strange expression.

King Jing learned from the real Xuanji, he is proficient in all aspects of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and he has shown signs of being outstanding. He can be regarded as a famous painter in the capital of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

And the Queen Mother...

The Empress Dowager's hometown is in Jiangzhou, where the literary style is at its peak, and she does know how to play piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but she was born in a general family, and she only knows how to do it.

Hongyu really didn't dare to hit the empress dowager who was in good spirits, so she seriously commented:

"Prince Jing's paintings are too realistic, too realistic, and lack artistic conception and charm. But the Empress Dowager is different. The ink and wash paintings are mainly freehand brushwork. Although the paintings of the empress are like clouds and fog at first glance, you can't understand them; But if you think about it carefully, this is the beauty~ It's like the water of the Qingjiang River, flowing endlessly, um... quite the demeanor of the real Xuanji~"

"is it?"

The empress dowager was very pleased with this obvious flattery, and she showed a smile.

Master Xuanji is the tutor of the female emperor sisters, the master of Yuxu Mountain, the Empress Dowager visited Yuxu Mountain when she was not in the palace, and then spent a few years together in the capital, she is the best friend of the Empress Dowager girlfriends.

It's a pity that since the empress sisters left their teachers, Master Xuanji returned to Yuxu Mountain and rarely came to the capital. The last time they met was last year.

Hearing Hongyu mention it, the Empress Dowager thought about it and then sighed:
"She only cares about being carefree in the rivers and lakes by herself, and she doesn't know how to visit the palace every now and then."

"Ah... counting the days, it should be here soon, empress, don't worry."

The empress dowager carefully painted it for a long time, and the man on the portrait gradually took shape. She looked at it carefully:

This drawing...is it okay...

The paper seems a bit narrow...

In other words, the painting is biased, and the portrait is not centered...

The Empress Dowager blinked her eyes, pondered for a while, and took a paper knife from the small case, trying to cut the picture scroll and center the figure.

But before he started, he heard a voice from outside:
"Young master, you are in the wrong place."

……

(End of this chapter)