girl let me check

Chapter 452 Tit for tat
Yangzhou, Linchuan County, Linru City.

Linchuan County is located in the southern part of Yangzhou, bordering Yuzhang to the north and Jian'an to the south. It is separated from Jiaozhou by the Five Ridges. It is the rear base of the Jianghuai area and has not been affected by the war for the time being.

In terms of economy and trade, Linchuan is not as good as Kuaiji and Guangling. In terms of studying and becoming an official, Linchuan is not as good as Wuxing and Songjiang. In addition, the climate here is hot and humid, and the miasma is dense, which is not suitable for farming. But even so, Linchuan still became a gathering place for many refugees from the north who fled during the turbulent times due to its stable and peaceful living environment.

The aftermath of the Shouchun battle did not seem to involve here. Apart from the admiration for Prime Minister Xie, the people of Linchuan still lived their ordinary lives.

Recently, a rumor has been circulating in Linchuan, saying that some important person from the imperial court will come in the next two days. However, the people of Linchuan have been waiting for a long time, but have not seen any trace of the important person.

When an important person travels, there must be a motorcade, right? There must be soldiers and horses escorting him, right? There must be a big fanfare when he enters the city to show his nobility, right? Without these, the people naturally don't believe it.

They scoffed at the rumor - do they really think that we Linchuan people are country natives who have never seen the world? No matter how poor Linchuan is, it is still part of Yangzhou, and it is not something that Jiaozhou and Jingnan can touch.

The rumor died after a few days of spreading. Today, it was drizzling in Linru City. Outside the north gate, a girl in green stood with an oil umbrella in her hand. Her figure was like a young willow in the wind, a beautiful scenery engraved in the mist and rain.

Her face was hidden under the umbrella, so it was hard to see clearly. She was accompanied by only a few maids, but no guards. She looked like a rich lady on a trip. Passersby would occasionally cast curious glances at her, but would quickly look away.

They were curious about the hidden face of this slender and beautiful girl, and even more curious about her identity, but no one dared to approach her to talk to her. After all, in Yangzhou, wealthy merchants often have more influence than the imperial court, so it was fine to just look at this kind of rich lady, but they must not neglect her and annoy her.

The maids standing far behind Xie Lingwan lowered their voices and whispered to each other.

"Hey, guess who the young lady is waiting for this time?"

Although Xie Lingwan was already the prime minister of the Great Zhou, the maids who had been with her since Dongshan still habitually called her "Miss", and Xie Lingwan did not correct this. I wonder what she was thinking.

"The person that our eldest lady would wait for in person, I'm afraid, hasn't been born yet?" a round-faced maid said admiringly.

"It's not a good thing to say... But it's true. Have you forgotten His Royal Highness Prince Guangling?" Another maid shook her head.

"Except His Royal Highness Prince Guangling. Isn't he in Changming now? He can't come over." The round-faced maid whispered, "But the relationship between the eldest lady and His Royal Highness Prince Guangling is really good."

"That's true. But they are childhood sweethearts who have been through a lot. So many setbacks didn't separate them. We can't envy them."

The maids sighed, and they all became silent, perhaps because they were thinking of something.
"Alas, I work for the young lady all day long, and I don't know when I will meet the man of my dreams." The round-faced maid sighed, "Not only do I get 20 taels of silver every month, but I also get an annual bonus at the end of the year. What I do is to help the young lady find a job. The matchmaker was very embarrassed when he saw my conditions - there is no way I can find a man who earns more than me. How would it look if I told others about it?"

"Your standards are too high. If you lower them a little, maybe you'll get a surprise." Another maid advised, but her tone was a little sad. It seemed more like she was talking to herself than to others.

"After staying with the young lady for so long, how can I lower my standards?" The round-faced maid lamented sadly, "I have seen too many vulgar men. Now I just want to find a perfect husband like His Royal Highness Prince Guangling."

"But looking at the whole world, there is only one Prince Guangling..."

The topic ended here and the maids were sad and kept silent.

After a while, a maid suddenly asked: "Hey, did you hear any noise?"

"There was no sound at all. Did you hear it wrong?" the round-faced maid retorted.

"No, there was a sound." The maid looked up and her eyes widened in surprise.

She pointed at the clouds in the distance and exclaimed, "Look, what is that?"

Iron scales swept through the clouds, rain and fog were scattered by the wind for thousands of miles, and mythical creatures that could not exist in this world swooped down like a falling star.

"Could it be...could it be a dragon?" The little maid was stunned.

The oldest maid responded quickly: "It's His Majesty, go and prepare to welcome him... No, that's not right."

"First see what the young lady means, keep your eyes open!"

"Yes!" the maids answered in unison.

The appearance of the divine dragon caused a huge sensation at the north gate of Linru. Although the news of the Battle of Changming had already spread here, it was the first time in everyone's life that they witnessed the existence of a real dragon.

"It's a dragon! It's His Majesty!" The people were very excited.

The dragon turned into a stream of light and landed on the ground. Fang Tang and Fang Weihan walked down hand in hand, holding an umbrella together.

"Long live your Majesty!"

The people around didn't care about the mud and water, and hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

Fang Tang smiled and greeted the people around her. She turned around and looked at the man in green clothes who was slowly approaching, her eyes gradually becoming solemn.

"Ling Wan, long time no see." Fang Tang showed a generous and decent smile, "Perhaps, now I should call you Xie Xiang?"

While speaking, Fang Tang's eyes inadvertently swept over Xie Lingwan's body.

She didn't take a good look last time at Prince Guangling's Mansion. Now that her mental state has changed, she must of course investigate first.

The hair is thick and black, but seems to be soft? By combing it into a flowing bun that looks delicate and soft, is she deliberately showing her weak side? Haha...

There's nothing much to say about her skin color, it's the same as mine, and there are no blemishes on the exposed skin.

With a slim waist and long legs, it seemed that what Bilong said was right. This woman had the most graceful figure among all the women she had ever seen. It was so perfect that no one could bear to desecrate it.

And then... Fang Tang glanced down inadvertently, and after comparing himself secretly, the smile on his face became a little sweeter.

Xie Lingwan is so skinny that it is definitely uncomfortable to hold her in my arms. She is not even one ten-thousandth of my perfect mediocre self. After she gives birth to a child, she will definitely not get enough nutrition. I guess she will need to find a wet nurse for the child, right?
It's just an orchid, good looking but useless, and can't be eaten! Is it even half as good as a crabapple?

According to the teacher, falling in love with someone depends on the face, but falling in love with someone definitely depends on the touch. Fang Tang felt that he had already won.

"I have been busy with official business and haven't greeted you for a long time. I hope Your Majesty will not blame me." Xie Lingwan also responded with a perfect smile.

Her gaze lingered on Fang Tang briefly, then slowly shifted to the hand that Fang Weihan was holding an umbrella for Fang Tang.

Xie Lingwan smiled and looked at Fang Weihan. For a moment, she seemed to have stopped smiling.

Fang Weihan shuddered inexplicably as if he was pricked by a needle. Three people, holding two umbrellas. One for Wanwan, one for him and Fang Tang. What kind of hell is this?

Fang Weihan suddenly recalled a serious oversight: he seemed to have not explained to Wanwan the relationship between himself and Fang Tang.

Fang Tang was very smart. She followed Xie Lingwan's gaze and immediately understood the current situation.

The little queen's smile became even brighter, and she said with concern:
"Xie Xiang is not feeling well. Don't get caught in the rain. Let's go in and talk."

"It's okay. I'm in good health. The rain in May isn't that cold." Xie Lingwan said.

She just dealt with Fang Tang casually. Now Xie Lingwan was staring into Fang Weihan's eyes, as if she wanted to see something from his eyes.

As the person who knows Fang Weihan best in the world, Xie Lingwan keenly noticed that there were obviously some problems in the relationship between him and Fang Tang.

During Changming's time, whenever it rained, the person hiding under his umbrella should always be me. Has Fang Tang taken away even this privilege now?
If it were just that, it would be fine. Xie Lingwan didn't think she was a narrow-minded and jealous person. What made her angry was why Fang Weihan had never told her about this before?

Being looked at by Xie Lingwan gloomily, Fang Weihan felt his scalp tingling and he didn't dare to look her in the eye.

Now that Fang Tang was beside him and there were so many people watching from afar, Fang Weihan really didn't know how to explain this matter to Xie Lingwan.

No, why is it raining in this damn Linchuan again? If it weren't for the rain, then everyone would have a peaceful conversation, hey, maybe there would be no conflicts? Fang Weihan's brain was working quickly, and he finally thought of a way to solve the current deadlock.

"Oh no, I accidentally got into the Shura field." Whenever this happened, Yun Shu, who usually pretended to be dead, would become extra active.

The petite girl floated on the other side of him, looking gloating.

"Yun Shu, hurry up, help me." Fang Weihan asked Yun Shu for help in his mind, "Break the umbrella in my hand, and remember to pretend it's broken naturally."

Yun Shu: "?"

She slowly typed a question mark, her eyes widened and she looked confused: "No, why did you break the umbrella?"

"Just do it!"

"Can't you do it yourself?"

"If I do it, we will be discovered. You can hide your power from them." Fang Weihan's consideration was very thoughtful.

"..." Yun Shu felt speechless. She really wanted to use an adjective to describe Fang Weihan, but she couldn't think of one after a long time, so she just did it.

"Click it."

A very subtle sound was heard. Xie Lingwan and Fang Tang looked over and saw that the umbrella in Fang Weihan's hand suddenly had a big crack on it. The entire umbrella was bent backwards and could no longer be used.

"Your Majesty, the umbrella is broken." Fang Weihan immediately threw away the broken umbrella and looked at them innocently.

Xie Lingwan's lips curled up slightly, and her expression eased a little, but Fang Tang was a little unhappy.

She looked at Fang Weihan suspiciously, not sure whether he had secretly tampered with the umbrella and broke it.

But Fang Tang did not feel any fluctuations of star power or blood energy just now... Could it be that the umbrella really broke by itself? This is too coincidental!
Fang Weihan blinked at Xie Lingwan and winked at Fang Tang.

Xie Lingwan glared at him with a hint of disapproval, walked lightly to Fang Tang's side, and held the umbrella over their heads.

"Your Majesty, let me hold an umbrella for you." Xie Lingwan said.

Fang Tang was slightly startled, but then he quickly reacted, still smiling generously: "Thank you for your trouble, Prime Minister."

Fang Weihan held up a blood barrier to block the rain, and surrounded by many maids, he walked into the city gate with the two of them.

"How long has it been raining?" Fang Tang asked casually.

"From the beginning of the year to now, it has been roughly more than three months," Xie Lingwan replied.

"It looks like it will continue to rain for a long time. Has Xie Xiangke made any other preparations?"

"Of course, Your Majesty, please rest assured."

"Of course I have complete confidence in Prime Minister Xie's ability." Fang Tang said with a smile, "Not long ago in Lujiang, Prime Minister Xie fought really well. When I read the Feixin victory report, I couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion."

"The battle of Lujiang was just a draw, and those who contributed were the loyal soldiers and civilians of the Great Zhou. Ling Wan only contributed a little. On the contrary, it was your majesty who struck a stunning sword under Changming City, which truly turned the tide."

"Minister Xie is too modest." Fang Tang pursed his lips and smiled, his expression showing no emotion. He just thought in his heart that Xie Lingwan was really troublesome and difficult to deal with.

Fang Tang changed the subject: "I wonder what Xie thinks of the current situation in the world?"

"Yongliang is safe. As long as Sanguan is not lost, we can hold out for a while and Wang Yu's army will retreat without a fight."

"What about the Luojing direction?"

"Fang Ying's defeat is certain. Luojing may be lost in the near future, which will threaten Changming. Tongguan is no longer a natural barrier. Your Majesty should take precautions against the Bingzhou army as soon as possible."

"The Northern Army will hold back the main force of the alien Tuoba tribe between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, and can only act as a pincer. If we need to break the deadlock, we have to rely on the strength of Your Majesty and the Eastern Palace Guards." Xie Lingwan said.

"I think so too." Fang Tang said with a smile, "As long as Prime Minister Xie can hold off the attacks of the foreign races in Jianghuai, then there will be hope for the future of our Great Zhou."

It was drizzling, and the girls' feet stepped through the puddles, making a faint sound of water.

"Prime Minister Xie, if you were born five hundred years earlier, you would definitely be a famous official." Fang Tang suddenly said.

Xie Lingwan paused, and then replied: "If Your Majesty had been born five hundred years earlier, you would have been a wise ruler."

"That's not necessarily true." Fang Tang said softly.

Xie Lingwan's eyes flickered slightly, and she glanced at Fang Weihan who was pretending to appreciate the scenery behind her, as if she was thinking about something.

As they were talking, the three of them quickly arrived at a mansion that Xie Lingwan had purchased in advance, and the maid respectfully opened the door for them.

"Fortunately, I can stand beside His Majesty and feel His Majesty's real presence." Xie Lingwan said.

"Otherwise?" Fang Tang asked.

"Otherwise, I would really think that Your Majesty is a person from five hundred years ago... Your Majesty's every move and gesture is full of calmness and majesty far beyond that of ordinary people." Xie Lingwan said with a smile.

Fang Tang stopped and his eyes suddenly became cold.

She and Xie Lingwan looked at each other. The smiles on the faces of the two stunning girls were quite similar, yet completely different, like needles pointing at each other.

Xie Lingwan lowered her head slightly, put away the oil-paper umbrella in her hand, and handed it to the maid who was standing respectfully beside her.

"The rain hasn't stopped yet, Your Majesty," Xie Lingwan said calmly, "but we've arrived."

The corners of Fang Tang's mouth twitched slightly, his expression uncertain, the pink fist hidden under the sleeve of his robe loosened silently and dejectedly, then clenched tightly stubbornly.

"You're wrong, Wanwan." Fang Tang raised his head and said with a smile, "If you don't believe me, just look."

The young dragon on the girl's shoulder let out a childish and dull roar.

A real dragon can summon the wind and rain.

Fang Tang turned around, looked at the scorching sun that suddenly appeared from the clouds, and shielded his eyes with his tender white hands.

Xie Lingwan completely suppressed her smile and looked at her coldly.

Fang Tang didn't care about her expression at all, and smiled as if nothing had happened:
"The rain has stopped."

The atmosphere in front of the courtyard became cold, and the maids around were so frightened that they dared not breathe.

But Fang Weihan still has to breathe,
Seeing the two people talking in a tense atmosphere without using a single swear word, as if they were fighting over something, he was completely overwhelmed.

Fang Weihan began to miss the lovely Yun Jiang.

(End of this chapter)