late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 98
As soon as Mei Shuang and I returned to the mansion, the housekeeper hurried over.

"My lord, you are back. Someone came from the palace and said that the queen mother announced you into the palace."

After I heard it, there was another ripple in my heart.

Lan'er looking for me at this time must be urgent. Now that Shi Dakai has been interrogated and beheaded, I still don't know how to explain to Fu Shanxiang!
Forget it, let's talk about it first!
When they arrived at Shouchun Palace, Li Lianying had been waiting at the door for a long time.

"Master Tang, the Queen Mother is waiting for you inside!"

I walked in, and Laner was admiring the flowers.

"My humble servant sees the Queen Mother." I bowed and made a big salute.

Laner glanced at me and didn't say much.

"sit down!"

"Zhongzheng, what do you think of this Clivia?"

For some reason, Lan Er suddenly threw out such a question.

"Clivia, as the name suggests, the gentleman among orchids is elegant and dignified."

I simply explained that I don’t have much research on flowers, because I don’t like to grow flowers, but I just can’t grow them well. I once broke the record of raising cacti to death, so I never raised plants again.

"Zhongzheng's insights are unique. I think you are like this Clivia. In this chaotic officialdom, you have not followed the crowd and maintained the attitude of a gentleman."

Lan'er's words made me feel a little overwhelmed. Today she called me here, probably not just to compliment me.

"Last time when the sixth master was here, I tried to maintain the demeanor of the queen mother as much as possible, but Zhongzheng, we have experienced ups and downs before, you should understand my painstaking efforts!"

Lan'er stood up, her expression full of emotion.

"The Queen Mother..."

"Call me Lan'er!"

Laner put her hands on my shoulders and whispered in her ear.

"Actually, I know what you are thinking. Shi Dakai is not dead."

I turned my head in surprise and looked at her fixedly.

"Then today at Caishikou..."

"That's someone else."

Lan'er turned around and walked towards the Luohan bed, sat down slowly, and looked at me charmingly.

"Zhongzheng, this time, you owe me another favor."

"Lan'er..."

I hesitated to speak, I was still blaming her in my heart this morning, but when I was in Baiyun Temple, I was praying for her in my heart.

Unexpectedly, Lan'er understood everything in her heart, she was able to let Shi Dakai go because of me, does she really have feelings for me?
My heart is a little messed up.

"Thank you."

"Lan'er looked indifferent, covering her mouth and smiling.

"Looking at you like this, what's the big deal, isn't it just a general of the long-haired army? However, I hope you can use him for me, and I hope Zhongzheng will always stand by my side."

Lan'er accentuated her tone with a solemn expression.

It turned out that she hoped that I could support her wholeheartedly.

After all, now that the curtains are hanging from the two palaces, the Empress Dowager Ci'an should still have the secret edict of Emperor Xianfeng in her hands, and not all the ministers in the court support her.

Looking at Lan'er's expectant eyes, I knew she was betting on me, hoping that I could bring her new hope.

"Don't worry! No matter when and where, I, Tang Zhongzheng, will stand by Laner's side."

"Ha ha……"

Lan'er smiled beautifully, revealing a charming posture in her expression.

"It's not that formal, I just think that Zhong is the one worthy of my entrustment."

Entrust, how should I understand it?
Is it Laner herself, or the Qing Dynasty?
I think I thought too much, after all, with Laner's mind, I'd rather not guess.

"Okay, I'm tired, Zhongzheng, you should go back first!"

I saluted slightly, turned and left.

When I got to the door, Li Lianying stepped forward and stopped me.

"Master Tang, the queen mother has ordered that the person you want has been sent to the mansion, and it is better to arrange to leave the city in the near future!"

I glanced at him knowingly, "Yeah."

When I returned to the mansion, Mei Shuang had been waiting in the hall for a long time.

"My lord, I didn't expect Shi Dakai to be alive."

"I see." I simply replied.

"How do you know?" Mei Shuang was puzzled.

"The queen mother let him go, the one who died was a scapegoat, didn't you say that he was sent here?"

I turned to look at Mei Shuang and asked with a puzzled expression.

"The person was sent over, but still won't eat or drink, Miss Fu is trying to persuade her!"

Mei Shuang said, pointing to the back hall.

"It's in the back hall, sir, would you like to go and have a look?"

"All right!"

I stood up and followed Mei Shuang into the back hall.

Shi Dakai was sitting in front of the table, which was covered with sumptuous dishes, but he hadn't moved at all.

Fu Shanxiang was sitting on the other side of the table, frowning.

"What? Is the food not to King Yi's taste?"

I walked in and turned my gaze to Shi Dakai.

"Don't think that I will be grateful to Dade if you let me go. Even if I die, I won't work for the lackeys of the Qing Dynasty."

Shi Dakai was filled with righteous indignation at what he said, but he was never moved by it.

"Sir, you are here, I failed to fulfill my promise, King Yi..."

Fu Shanxiang stood up and said with a face of shame.

"Miss Fu, within reason, King Yi was a hero at the time, how could he have betrayed so casually!"

I smiled slightly, and patted her on the shoulder, signaling not to take it to heart.

"Fu Shanxiang, thanks to my trust in you, you are still the female Zhuge of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! How can you work for Manqing! Count me blind!"

Shi Dakai was so angry that he picked up the wine glass on the table and smashed it into pieces.

Mei Shuang hurriedly lowered her body and cleaned up.

"Yi Wang, I have never done anything for Man Qing, I just believe in Master Tang, just like King Ying, the reason why I follow him is because Master Tang once worked for the welfare of the people in Luzhou, and now according to me We know that the people in that area can eat vegetables in winter, so let me ask, besides the chaos of war, what else did the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom bring to the people?"

Fu Shanxiang seemed agitated and patted the table angrily.

"you……"

Shi Dakai was speechless for a while, bowed his head and remained silent.

"Shi Dakai, I know you have prejudice against the Qing Dynasty, but why did you join the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? Isn't it for the people to live and work in peace and contentment, and the country to prosper!"

"Whether it's the Qing Dynasty or the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, whoever can do this, I, Tang Zhongzheng, will be ashamed of it, but now? What about the high-sounding words of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! The ruling class started fighting for their own interests, and the people fell into dire straits , foreign powers began to take the opportunity to bully China, is this the result you want to see?"

I finished speaking in one breath, emotionally, and stared at Shi Dakai closely.

"Would you like to go with me to save the people from fire and water?"

"Would you like to go with me to drive foreigners out of China?"

"Will you join me in building the country we want?"

Shi Dakai was slightly moved, and the corners of his mouth began to loosen.

"I am willing."

(End of this chapter)