Chapter 824 (1/2)

Published at 19th of March 2019 08:35:45 PM

Chapter 824

It always rained during the Qingming Festival .

As time pa.s.sed, Chang'an had calmed down . The people who had pa.s.sed away were not forgotten . They had been placed in the depths of people's hearts . There was an invisible power that had been peacefully acc.u.mulating in the streets that was going to burst out at any time .

There were officials fiercely discussing political affairs at the court meeting, then some military officers came forward with a new proposal, which prompted another new round of discussions . Shangguan Yangyu, who had been promoted to Grand Secretary by the prefectural magistrate of Chang'an City a month ago, narrowed his small eyes and stroked his thin beard as he was about to argue with the officers of the Ministry of Revenue .

A little boy was sitting on the throne, listening to their debates . Apparently, he could not totally understand what they were talking about, but he remained calm . His small hands tightly gripping his bright yellow clothes was the only indication that he was nervous and confused .

The ministers were all satisfied with the young Emperor's composed performance because he would have just been a naughty boy if he lived in a normal family . When they thought of this, they could not help admiring the man in the wheelchair next to the throne .

The wheelchair was very ordinary but unsightly in the solemn palace . However, it became less unsightly because of the scholar who was sitting in it .

He was wearing an old cotton jacket and holding an old book in his hand . He quietly read the book as usual as if he could not hear any noise in the room . However, most of the officers could not help focusing on him and trying to figure out his thoughts even when he just frowned due to fatigue .

So did the little Emperor . He quietly sat on the throne, enduring the boring political affairs, and tried to be focused and calm, just because his teacher was sitting beside him .

That scholar was his teacher .

He was the Eldest Brother of the Academy .

After the meeting, the relevant memorials to the throne and files were all sent to a side hall in the depths of the palace instead of the imperial study, where the little Emperor also went .

This was Li Yu's residence . When the Empress pa.s.sed away, the party struggles ended and all the officers concentrated on political affairs and armament . Moreover, the Academy had no interest or ability in state affairs . As the Royal Sister, she was the most suitable candidate for that .

Therefore, she had to review the memorials and files every day, and the most important job for her was teaching the young Emperor how to handle government affairs . Just as the Empress had said before her death, he was her only brother left .

The Academy had not restricted her at all, but for some reason, since she moved back to the palace, she seldom stepped out . And as for the courtiers who were loyal to her, she never saw them .

The spring rain fell on the palace while the officers went out of the main hall . They could not help looking toward the depths of the palace and sighing . Most of them nodded toward the imperial study before they left .

After a long time, the door of the imperial study slowly opened . Ning Que washed his hands in a copper basin carried by a maid before he entered the rain, holding an umbrella .

Although the spring rain at this time was no longer cold, it was continuous . It was so light that no one needed an umbrella, but it felt different this time when they were walking into the rain .

Ning Que could not leave the city, so he had gotten used to walking around it on his feet . He went to the Old Brush Pen Shop and found that its walls had been fixed, but the old cat had gone . Then he went to the house on the bank of Yanming Lake, looking at the willow and lotus . He fell silent for a long time .

The Eldest Brother was staying at the Imperial Palace while the Second Brother was protecting the Academy . The Third Sister had gone but he did not know where to . Master Huang Yang had not yet recovered since being injured by the Abbey Dean, but he had left the day before yesterday . He said he wanted to go to the Xuankong Temple to seek advice from the Buddhist Sect disciples about some questions in his heart .

Many people died or left and there was always someone who would be concerned about or missing them . However, as Ning Que expected, besides the cat in the Old Brush Pen Shop and the lotus in Yanming Lake, few people still remembered Sangsang .

She was easy to forget—yellow-haired, black-skinned, hard-working, frigorific, and plain-looking . She was so inconspicuous, even being Yama's daughter, the successor of Light, or Haotian . She just vanished .

Ning Que received a letter from the maidservant and opened it . It was a receipt from the post office, in which there were notes that had been rejected . He looked at the notes and was reminded of a lot of things . He closed his eyes . He was feeling like a prisoner in Chang'an who was even unable to breathe .

He thought for a long time before he walked out of the courtyard . Looking at the coachman in front of the black carriage, he said, ”What a waste it is for you to be my coachman . ”

The coachman was w.a.n.g Jinglue .

He had delivered the message of General Xu s.h.i.+'s death and worked in the Military Ministry since then . n.o.body knew why he had become Ning Que's coachman .

w.a.n.g Jinglue said indifferently, ”If you can do as you promised, I will do anything you want . ”

Ning Que said, ”Of course . ”

w.a.n.g Jinglue asked, ”Where are you going?”

Ning Que replied, ”The Southern Gate . ”

The black carriage moved forward quietly in the rain .

They reached the Southern Gate in a short time .

They stopped at the gate for a long time until the raindrops on the walls of the carriage had already evaporated . It seemed that the man inside the carriage had no idea of whether he should leave or enter the city .

All the soldiers and peddlers around the gate were already familiar with this carriage because it could frequently be seen stopping at the gate for a long time recently .

Many people focused on it, wondering if it would leave the city today .

Time pa.s.sed slowly .

w.a.n.g Jinglue said, ”There are some other places that you can hang out . ”