Chapter 69 (1/2)

If life has to be some way for you, and you have no way to resist, then you will just let it be. If you weren’t especially defiant, and were quite pa.s.sive, surely it would become a lot easier. Based on this understanding, Ning Que broke from a shocked and distressed state of mind with extreme speed. He scratched his head, his gaze crossing Xu ChongShan’s thick shoulders, pa.s.sing through the the gloomy room’s window grates of the daytime guard office, and said, “Can I still ask a question?”

Xu ChongShan simply and straightforwardly replied, “If I can answer then I will.”

“Why me?” Ning Que asked.

Xu ChongShan replied, “Old Chao very much admires you. He thinks that if your luck gets a little better, that your future accomplishments will even be above his own. The other reason is because of the events last night, Chang the Third and Qi the Seventh and others also regard you well…..according to rules of the Imperial Guards, no matter if they are members in the open or secret Imperial Guards, the opinions of seniors are a bit more important.”

“Sir……” Ning Que covered his forehead and said, “If so many people know my ident.i.ty as a secret Imperial Guard, then I would like to inquire just how to describe the word “secret” of “secret Imperial Guard”? Would you like me to go to 47th Street and light a few hanging firecrackers, and then hang two banners telling everyone in the world that I’m not up this job?”

Of course Xu ChongShan could hear the angry dissatisfaction in his voice, and slightly frowning he explained, “The Tang Dynasty is a place that has rules. Even if a n.o.ble of the Palace knows your ident.i.ty, no one would dare to risk His Majesty’s wrath and threaten to expose you. As for Chang the Third and the others…….you have long proved your loyalty and reliability.”

Ning Que put down his arms, and shook his head saying, “Time is the only criterion to test the truth.”

“They’ve already used more than ten years of time to prove this.” Xu ChongShan said without any expression on his face, “But kid, I quite like these words. It’s a pity you want to study at the Academy, and can only go down the dark path, or with Old Chao’s admiration for you and these words, I have the mind to actually train you as my successor.”

“I, Xu ChongShan, even though I was born in the military, I still keep some integrity – but I can’t be as calm as Old Chao. Even without even knowing who you were, he dared to put his own life in your hands. In the end the Imperial Guard’s concern is His Majesty’s safety, so the Imperial Guards investigated your ancestors for 18 generations.”

“Unfortunately when the Imperial Guard Office investigated your background, only finding that at age seven, they confirmed that you were an orphan, and couldn’t investigate your ancestors. But we were very clear about your performance at the military camp at Wei City, and we very much liked it.”

Xu ChongShan extended his thick palm, and heavily patted Ning Que’s shoulder, saying, “Your military record with acc.u.mulated years of military merits was already enough to prove your loyalty to His Majesty and the Tang Dynasty.”

Hearing that the Imperial Guard Office had already investigated his personal information, Ning Que was not at all alarmed because he knew that in this world, besides Sang Sang and the already deceased Little Black, no one else knew who he really was.

He slowly fiddled with the slightly moist tablet in his hand, and after a moment of silence he went on to say, “According to what you said earlier, there shouldn’t be anyone taking the initiative to contact me. Then if I have a situation, how do I report to you? I think in the future when we meet, it shouldn’t be in the Palace right? I never imagined that this kind of thing could be done in such a open place.”

“Why not?” Xu ChongShan proudly said, “The whole world doesn’t have a place safer than my Tang Dynasty’s Imperial Palace.”

Ning Que let out a sigh, helplessly accepting reality. Then he lifted his head up, and raising his face filled with hope he said, “It’s not allowed for people to know about the conferring of this honor, then I…..when do I get to see the Emperor?”

Xu ChongShan stared at him, then immediately laughed out loud, rubbing his ball-like belly. He laughed and said, “You kid……did you think that coming to the Palace today you would see the Emperor?”

“Could it be that it isn’t?”

“Age?”

“16.”

“Surname?”

“Ning.”

Xu ChongShan looked at him and seriously asked, “You’re not a 100-year old person, and not a distant relative of the Imperial Clan. Is your reputation bigger than other people?”

Ning Que stroked his own delicate cheek reluctantly, and shook his head.

Xu ChongShan heaved a sigh, and looked at the youth while shaking his head and said, “Chang the Third and the others already haven’t seen His Majesty in many years. On what basis are you ent.i.tled to have an Imperial audience by yourself?”

Ning Que was silent for a moment then seriously said, “My calligraphy is truly written pretty well. If his Majesty likes it, maybe he wouldn’t be willing to have me become an Imperial Guard, and directly declare me to enter the Palace and have me as some teacher to the Emperor.”

Xu ChongShan gathered a smile, and mockingly looked at him saying, “Besides Imperial Guards, the only ones who can stay in the Palace for long are eunuchs.”

Ning Que’s expression froze, and bit awkwardly smiled, no longer daring to continue this topic.

Xu ChongShan was the Vice Commander of the Tang Dynasty’s Imperial Guards, and as expected, was very busy. Today, that he specifically took the time to spend some time alone with this youth, was already giving Chao XiaoShu face as big as the sky. After chatting about things, naturally he turned away the other party without any hesitation, then quickly hurried back to guard beside the Hall of Political Discourse.

Ning Que walked out of the empty Imperial Guard daytime office, and became worried about how he would exit the Palace – the kind like in a moment would he mistakenly enter the Imperial Study, or mistakenly enter some Spring Willow Palace Courtyard, and hear some cold Palace woman’s complaints, and creating some kind of very horrible situation – or perhaps running into someone he called idiot and he even thought of Her Highness the Princess….then he saw that little eunuch that took him to the palace, standing next to him like a ghost since an unknown time.

Even though he really wanted to ask him to explain that without knowing the situation, he went into the Imperial Study and then suffered from the poisonous lure of inks and brushes as well as fear, but considering a safety perspective, he finally tightly closed his mouth, behaving himself and quietly following the little eunuch to the deserted lakeside willow pathway to the stone gate. Sitting in that cramped carriage, they pa.s.sed through the laundry department galloping towards the exterior of the Palace.

Just as they were to pa.s.s the bit of Palace alley through the laundry department, Ning Que suddenly felt a sensation. His chest had a fit of tightness, and he couldn’t be bothered with the severe stare of the little eunuch beside him. Lifting up a corner of the carriage curtain, he frowned and looked outside.

His gaze penetrated heavily through the skylight of the alleys, crossing the sounds of bang boards and the smell of ca.s.sia pervading the alley; falling onto a base corner of the distant magnificent Palace. Crouching high in the light blue sky on the eaves were 8-9 decorative guardian beast statues, each with a different appearance.