Chapter 508 (1/2)

Chapter 508: Meeting by the Road

The black horse carriage followed behind the carriages of the diplomatic delegation . There were more buildings visible by the side of the road when they were reaching a city . Ning Que preferred the view of the countryside, so he had the Big Black Horse run off the main road and onto the side roads . He was confident that he would not lose the delegation he was following .

The view by the country road was beautiful, simple and unspoiled . After some time, the black horse carriage stopped under a large tree near a village .

The large tree was of an unknown species and had a really large top . The leaves were lush and looked like a large umbrella, blocking out the intense sun, leaving behind a cool shade .

Ning Que unhooked the carriage from the Big Black Horse and allowed it to roam free . He walked under the tree and touched the coa.r.s.e trunk with a happy smile .

His peers from the Academy did not like leaving the mountain as they were more focused on the spiritual aspect of life . Spiritual joy alone could satisfy them, but he was unlike them .

He had lived in the Min Mountain since he was young . Forests were like family to him and he had been homeless since he was a child . That was why he did not like staying in one place for too long .

He had once stood in the forest gazing at the villages with smoke rising over them . He had also carried Sangsang on his back and left quietly several times out of fear . Perhaps that was why he loved the countryside so much . Before he returned to Chang'an that year, he had chosen to traverse through the countryside with Sangsang's hand in his . And because of his love for the countryside, he had chosen to take the more out-of-the-way route and stopped outside a village .

Sangsang left the horse carriage and said to him shyly, ”I fell asleep earlier . ”

Ning Que said, ”It is very comfortable . I wish I could sleep too . ”

Sangsang was obviously still unused to her change in status . She still thought that she was a handmaiden, and felt that it was not right for her to sleep without permission . In order to make up for her mistake, she tried really hard to recall what she last heard before falling asleep . She asked, ”How is he interesting?”

Ning Que was stiff for a moment before he realized that she was replying to the statement he had made two hours ago . He could not help but smile as he looked at her serious expression . Not wanting to spoil her eagerness, he replied, ”Before we left Chang'an, Chen VII came to speak to me . He said that this General Xian had been in the Fish-dragon Gang some time back . He was pretty close to Chao Xiaoshu as well . This was before Qi IV's time . However, General Xian became the general for some reason, while Chao Xiaoshu stayed in the Spring Breeze Pavilion . ”

”Do you mean that there is something off with this person?” Sangsang asked .

Only Ning Que would understand what Sangsang meant . When she said that there was something off, she did not mean that the person was suspicious or that they had to be vigilant against him . She meant that the general was a bad person .

Ning Que shook his head and said, ”Even if there was something off, it was arranged by the emperor . Even if he is really like what the rumors in Chang'an says, and longed for the Northeast Border Military, we can only say that he is a proud, confident and ambitious military man . If the emperor is not worried, we shouldn't be either . ”

Sangsang said, ”I heard that the Empress is displeased . ”

Ning Que said, ”Do not forget, the emperor is also a student of the Headmaster . That means that he is my Senior Brother . He is wise, so how would he really treat the nation's matter as his family's affair? He is just using the empress' anger to warn some other people . ”

Sangsang asked curiously, ”Who are those other people?”

She was not truly curious about this matter, so when she widened her eyes and deliberately attempted to look curious, it made her look childish and adorable instead .

So Ning Que laid a peck on her face .

Sangsang was slightly abashed, but did not avoid him .

She did not avoid him not because she was fl.u.s.tered and did not know what to do . It was because she felt that it was natural for Ning Que to kiss her .

Instead, Ning Que looked at her bright eyes and grew fl.u.s.tered . He coughed twice before continuing, ”It is of course to subdue General Xian . . . No, to be more exact, the emperor is warning his own daughter not to poke too deeply into the military . ”

”Why? Is the emperor prepared to hand over the throne to the empress' son?”

Sangsang asked curiously . She was truly curious this time because Li Yu was one of her few friends in Chang'an . Furthermore, she knew that this matter involved Ning Que .

Ning Que said, ”I don't know . Anyway, it has nothing to do with us . ”

Even though Ning Que said it had nothing to do with them, it was not true . If not, why would he think about these matters? Just like the ladies from the House of Red Sleeves who were currently a few feet away from them, he had to consider these problems too .

Mistress Jian did not ask him to take care of those ladies on the journey . However, based on his relations.h.i.+p with the House of Red Sleeves, he would not be able to ignore them if something were to happen . Other than his personal friends.h.i.+p with Mistress Jian, what was more important was that the Academy was responsible for the care of the House of Red Sleeves . Xiaoxiao, his Youngest Uncle's fiance, the woman who had almost become their Youngest Aunt, was Mistress Jian's older sister .

More than 20 years ago, the last performance the House of Red Sleeves had overseas was at the Yue Laan Hungry Ghost Festival at the Lanke Temple . Their Youngest Aunt died there . The House of Red Sleeves would once again appear at the Lanke Temple after 20 years . How could Ning Que not be vigilant?

Ning Que suddenly felt someone approaching them . His eyebrows twitched upwards and he looked towards the large tree to see a flash of a shadow .