917 Going Down the Mountain (4)
Lu Zhengchun stayed, and so did Madam Ye. Ye Maocai had also returned and was talking to Madam Ye. The Lu and Ye families were both here. If anything should happen to Emperor Yong Le here, would the Lu and Ye families take the opportunity to do something outrageous?
Looking around, some of the officials had already crawled into the tent to rest. They treated this hunt as a fun game and were just waiting for Emperor Yong Le and Xie Jingxing to hunt the lion back as an offering for the ceremony.
Shen Miao stopped in her tracks and looked at the sky. The starry sky was peaceful, and the summer breeze blew past her face, making her feel very comfortable.
However, was such a night really as calm as it looked on the surface?
Madam Ji called her, “Jiaojiao, it’s cold outside. Come into the tent first.”
Shen Miao smiled and went in. Old Master Ji was not in the tent. The officials sat together in groups of three or five, drinking and chatting.
Madam Ji poured a cup of tea for Shen Miao and said, “Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. As for you, if you catch a cold and Jingxing blames me for not taking good care of you, I won’t be able to bear the responsibility.”
Shen Miao smiled and said, “He naturally won’t dare to blame you.” After saying that, she thought of something and hesitated for a moment before asking, “His Highness… doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with the late emperor?”
Hearing this, Madam Ji was stunned. She smiled and said, “Why are you suddenly asking about the late emperor?”
No matter how hard Madam Ji tried to hide it, Shen Miao could still feel a trace of hatred flashing across her eyes.
Shen Miao had always been curious about what kind of role the late emperor played in the life of Xie Jingxing and Emperor Yong Le. Since Madam Ji was sisters with the late empress, she must know something about the late emperor. Could she get some information about the late emperor from Madam Ji?
Shen Miao stopped hesitating and said, “I once heard His Highness mention something about his father, but he didn’t say much. I just found it strange.”
Madam Ji looked at her in surprise and said, “I didn’t expect him to tell you about his father.” Then, she smiled and said, “After all, this is Jingxing’s family matter. It won’t be good if I tell you. Another day, when you talk to Jingxing, you can ask him more about it.”
It was precisely because of Madam Ji’s attitude that Shen Miao confirmed her guess. It seemed that the late emperor was not on good terms with Xie Jingxing and his brother. From the looks of it, the late emperor probably didn’t treat the late empress’s family well either.
Madam Ji was deep in thought for a while before saying to Shen Miao, “Let’s not talk about this. Jiaojiao, sleep for a while. Don’t tire yourself out.”
Concerned about Xie Jingxing’s safety, how could Shen Miao sleep at this moment? She said, “I’ll just sit here. I can’t sleep anyway.”
Seeing that she insisted, Madam Ji did not persuade her anymore. After chatting for a while, Madam Ji was tired. She was not as young as Shen Miao and could not stay up late. Soon, she fell asleep in the tent. Shen Miao covered her with a cloak and sat in the tent.
Unexpectedly, she sat there for the entire night.
The first ray of sunlight came from the horizon, and the cries of birds and beasts came from the distant forest. Yesterday, Master Ji was drinking with his colleagues on the other side. At this moment, he had already sobered up and walked towards the tent. He happened to see Shen Miao opening the tent door to go out. Shen Miao smiled at him and said, “Auntie is not awake yet. She’s sleeping. Uncle, keep your voice down.”
Master Ji nodded and said to her, “Go and eat something.”
