Chapter 63 - 63: The Worried Empress Dowager
The moon was bright, and the stars were sparse. The palaces and pavilions were silent.
The white bird jumped forward along the battlements of the palace wall. When it encountered people, it stopped and tilted its head to size them up. Its eyes were full of the words: So boring-
Ye Jingtang was wearing a black brocade robe and walking on the palace wall with his hand on his saber. Unknowingly, he had already walked around the Imperial City and met with Shang Jianli and the other chief constables once.
The buildings inside the palace walls were surrounded by flowers and wood. It was difficult to see the scene between the houses, but voices could be heard in the dead of night.
After walking around the Imperial City, Ye Jingtang could confirm that the buildings next to the palace walls were full of palace maids and eunuchs doing chores. There were more people on the south wall of the Imperial City, and there were fewer people on the north wall at the back.
There was a large garden in the northwest corner of the Imperial City. It should be the imperial garden. There were some lights in the nearby palace.
Ye Jingtang walked around for a long time and felt that there was no risk, so he acted as if he had sensed something amiss, floated over the palace wall, and landed near the Longevity Palace.
Behind the wall was a laundry room. He could see many clothes hanging there. They were all women’s clothes, some of which were quite beautiful. He could hear the sound of breathing in the room.
Ye Jingtang passed through the building, pretending to be patrolling. He looked around openly to see if there were any hidden sentries here.
After he walked like this for a while, the scenery gradually became more and more elegant. A rather beautiful hall appeared in front of him, and the thousand-year-old ginkgo, which was beautiful in the forest, was in the courtyard at the back of the hall.
There were many palace maids living in the buildings, and most of them were already asleep.
Seeing that there were many people in the palace, Ye Jingtang felt worried. It wasn’t good to sneak in rashly, so he observed the situation in the palace from the periphery.
From above the corridor, he could see lights in the hall. The window on the left was open. There were flowers and trees outside the window and a tea couch inside.
There was a candle lamp on the tea couch, and there was a noblewoman in a crimson nightgown sitting on her knees dignifiedly and elegantly. She was holding a brush and drawing on paper.
Beside her was a palace maid with an extraordinary appearance, looking at the painting eagerly.
Ye Jingtang sized her up carefully. He could see that the noblewoman’s figure was quite graceful. Her kneeling posture vividly displayed her full buttocks, and her nightgown was quite eye-catching.
As for her charming and graceful face, it was hard to tell her age. There was a natural nobility between her eyebrows, and her almond-shaped eyes were very big. Under the candlelight, they sparkled like two stars in the night sky.
Although the noblewoman’s appearance and temperament were extraordinary, she was a curvaceous, mature woman who could make young men vomit three liters of blood by biting her lips lightly.
But Ye Jingtang wasn’t here for women. His mind was full of the Roaring Dragon Chart, so he didn’t pay attention to these merits. He only observed her clothes to see who this mysterious noblewoman was, what she was doing, and whether he had the chance to pass through the hall to the back garden.
The glamorous lady was obviously painting. As for the content…
Ye Jingtang narrowed his eyes to look at it. It was obvious that it was a human figure. As for her painting skills…
The painting was pretty good. It looked like a human…
But why is there a big bump on the shoulder?
He understood now. Carrying the sun and the moon on the shoulders! The idea is indeed extraordinary…
Why is she cutting off half of it?
Oh… so the painting is crooked…
Can’t you add some flowers and plants for decoration…
Ye Jingtang looked at her with a strange gaze. Before he could understand, a voice sounded not far away.
“Young Master, you are in the wrong place.”
In the blink of an eye, a middle-aged woman walked out from behind the flower bed. She had an ordinary appearance and was dressed in the clothes of a palace maid. There was an official saber hanging from her waist and a secret guard waist token.
Ye Jingtang was patrolling openly, so he naturally didn’t panic when he saw her and immediately walked out of the shadows.
In the hall, the empress dowager, who was cutting the paper with a small knife, heard the sound and looked out of the window. “Yang Lan, what’s wrong?”
When she turned around, she saw a figure appear in the corridor under the moonlight.
The empress dowager looked carefully and saw that the figure was a man. He was wearing a black brocade robe and had a secret guard token hanging at his waist. He had sharp eyebrows, starry eyes, and a cold temperament. He cupped his hands and bowed with a serious expression.
“I am Ye Jingtang, and I am patrolling the palace under Her Highness the Prince of Jing’s orders. This is my first time in the palace, so I’m not familiar with the terrain…”
Ye Jingtang?!
Hearing the name, the empress dowager was first surprised and then stunned!
She looked down at the ‘lifelike’ portrait of a handsome man…
Oh my god!
The empress dowager knew that the situation was bad, so she quickly lifted the portrait and hid it behind her waist.
Beside her, Hongyu secretly nodded when she saw this. Her Majesty reacted very fast. Her Majesty knows that she can’t embarrass herself and let outsiders see this ghastly scribble…
The secret guard Yang Lan looked at Ye Jingtang with a serious expression and asked, “When the Black Office enters the palace to assist in defense, two people are together. Why are you alone?”
Ye Jingtang replied calmly, “I am not a chief constable of the Black Office. I helped Her Highness the Prince of Jing out of a predicament yesterday, so I was called to patrol the palace at the last minute. I wasn’t arranged any companions.”
Yang Lan wanted to ask more, but the empress dowager behind her had already said, “I know him. Yang Lan, you can leave.”
Hearing this, Yang Lan stopped talking and turned around to bow. “As Your
Majesty Empress Dowager commands. It’s getting late. Your Majesty should go to bed early.”
With that, she disappeared from the garden.
Empress dowager… Hearing this title, Ye Jingtang was slightly surprised. He didn’t expect this beautiful young noblewoman to be the ‘imperial mother’ of the Prince of Jing and the empress.
No wonder she lives in such a huge palace and has experts protecting her at all times. In that case, it’s almost impossible to dig for the Roaring Dragon Chart behind the palace…
Ye Jingtang stood quietly in the corridor and cupped his hands. “Greetings, Your Majesty. I’m new here and not familiar with the terrain. Please forgive me for barging in rashly.”
The empress dowager was sitting upright on the couch. She looked very dignified, but she was panicking inside. After all, she had just imitated the Prince of Jing’s painting of a handsome man.
If Ye Jingtang saw it and knew that the empress dowager drew his portrait here in the middle of the night…
Wouldn’t she be treated as a lustful empress dowager with pent-up desires?
The empress dowager coughed lightly and put on a dignified and solemn expression. “Ye Jingtang, did you see anything just now?”
I saw you painting…
The painting is okay, but 1 don’t understand it…
Ye Jingtang didn’t have any attainments in painting and calligraphy, so he didn’t flatter her blindly and replied seriously, “There is nothing unusual in the palace. I was patrolling the surroundings. As soon as I arrived, I was stopped by that madam. Please forgive me for offending you.”
Seeing that Ye Jingtang didn’t look strange, the empress dowager felt a little relieved, but she was still worried.
Because from where Ye Jingtang was standing, he could completely see what she had been painting just now.
The empress dowager couldn’t ask about this matter, so she said solemnly, “My status is special. You barged in tonight. No matter what you saw, it’s best to keep your mouth shut. If rumors spread outside, I won’t let you off.”
Ye Jingtang nodded sincerely. “Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I will pretend 1 haven’t been here.”
The empress dowager raised her hand slightly. “You may leave. If you patrol this place in the future, inform the palace maids in advance. Don’t come in rashly.”
“As Your Majesty commands. I will take my leave.” Ye Jingtang hurriedly ran away.
The empress dowager sat down demurely. When it was completely quiet outside the hall, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief. She took out the portrait from behind her waist and looked at it, feeling very embarrassed…
Behind her, Hongyu was still looking at the corridor eagerly. “Your Majesty, this guard is the young master who was in the Prince of Jing’s carriage yesterday, right? He’s so handsome!”
“Handsome? What handsome? You’re starry-eyed…”
The empress dowager deliberated for a moment before unfolding the portrait and asking, “Hongyu, do you think this painting and that guard just now… Uh-huh?”
??
Uh-huh what?
Does it matter?
Hongyu was at a loss. But how could a palace maid who could serve the empress dowager be stupid?
She immediately revealed a look of surprise and looked at the painting carefully. “So Your Majesty painted this guard?! I was wondering why he looked so familiar. Now that I look at it, Your Majesty simply captured both the spirit and the form. Look at this nose, look at these eyes, look at this mouth…”
When the empress dowager heard this, her heart skipped a beat. Its over!
She knew that Hongyu was bootlicking, but she couldn’t be completely lying. At least 10% of it was true, right?
Although she felt that her painting skills were average, even the silly Hongyu could see some resemblance. Ye Jingtang could naturally tell who she painted…
A man carrying a fat bird on his shoulder, who else could it be…
It’s so embarrassing to be seen drawing someone’s portrait at night…
Ye Jingtang has a close relationship with Liren. If he reports this matter to her to avoid suspicion…
The empress dowager is secretly spying on her stepdaughter’s sweetheart…
If word gets out, how can I still be the empress dowager? With Liren’s personality, she will definitely not bring me out of the palace to relaxin the future…
Should I warn Ye Jingtang again?
No, I have to tell him clearly. If he says something like ’Empress Dowager, about the matter of you painting a portrait of me, if you don’t want the Prince of Jing..:
Hongyu chattered and praised for a long time. When she realized that the empress dowager was frowning in a daze, she raised her hand and waved it. “Your Majesty?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Go find out where the Prince of Jing is staying tonight. I’ll go over there…”
“Yes, Your Majesty…”