Chapter Forty-Four: Taiping Hears of Tang Guan

  "Bang...bang, bang bang bang"

  "Hurray!"

  Tang Guan, who was in a deep sleep, was woken up by the sound of drums and bugles. He rubbed his eyes and pushed Little Qi beside him.

  "Hmm..." Xia Qi seemed still half asleep, tossing and turning before settling back in to sleep.

  It was still dark outside, but the sound of metal scraping came from outside, and it seemed that the soldiers were practicing.

  He glanced around and didn't see any sign of Chang Ying and Chen Yunsheng, so Tang Guan hastily got up and shook Xiao Qi.

  "It's time to get up and hit the road"

  Xiao Qi was finally pushed awake and slowly got up.

  "Are you going to leave?"

  As they were talking, the curtain was lifted and Chang Ying walked in saying: "The two young masters should set off now."

  A few people didn't even rest for a day in the camp before setting off again. Little Seven reluctantly stood up.

  Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Tang Guan walked out of the tent.

  Chen Yunshang was already dressed up, but unfortunately the official uniform had gone into the river with the boat. It's likely that it would either be buried deep in the riverbed or become a mush.

  "Thanks," Chen Yunsheng slightly nodded to someone beside him.

  Having said that, he took Tang Guan and Xiao Qi with him and followed closely behind the man as they left the camp.

  "Wow, what a grand scene!" Xia Qi left the camp and immediately lit up in front of her eyes. She saw a horse-drawn carriage with several cavalrymen armed with long guns standing on both sides.

  Tang Guan was slightly stunned and suddenly remembered that the "hitch" he was going to take was actually a grain transport ship of the imperial court, and he couldn't help but feel some anticipation.

  Chen Yunsheng walked with his head down, pulling Xiao Qi and Tang Guan onto the horse carriage. On the other side, Chang Ying hesitated for a moment before saying: "General, may I borrow a military horse from the camp?"

  The grain officer was taken aback by this and had actually forgotten about Chang Ying, just as he was about to turn around and give orders.

  Tang Guan poked his head out and said: "Chang Gege, let's get on the car together, we'll arrive at the dock soon"

  Chang Ying heard this and didn't want to delay, so he got on the horse carriage and sat together with Che Ba Shi.

  "Drive!"

  Everyone was ready, the coachman cracked his whip and the carriage started moving.

  Tang Guan lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked back at the military camp, but did not see that elderly figure, feeling somewhat disappointed.

  He immediately fell into a feigned sleep, and the horse carriage swayed back and forth, bumping along the way.

  Until it gradually subsided, a "sigh" was heard.

  The horse carriage stopped, and Xiao Qi saw Tang Guan closing his eyes, thinking he was sleeping. She stretched out her small hand and patted him on the face.

  "Cut it out!"

  "Haha, I thought you fell asleep again"

  Chang Ying shouted from outside: "Your Honor, get off the carriage, we've arrived"

  Chen Yunsheng pulled Xiao Qi and Tang Guan down from the carriage upon hearing this.

  Tang Guan looked around and was slightly stunned to find that he had indeed fallen down and gotten up in the same place, and had somehow ended up back at the nearby canal dock.

  In the far distance was the dense forest of their sunken ship.

  "Brother Guan, look at this boat, it's much bigger than our previous one."

  Tang Guan also looked towards the large ship anchored in the river, and his heart skipped a beat.

  The ship they were originally on was just a merchant ship. Although it was well-made, compared to the one in front of them now, it seemed to be missing something.

  Upon closer inspection, it turned out that part of the grain transport ship in front of us was actually made of iron.

  At the sight of this Tang-style crown, his eyelid twitched. This ship had a strange shape, with several entrances on the deck, and armored soldiers were shuttling back and forth from time to time.

  Chang Ying was unfazed, but Chen Yunsheng saw the commotion and secretly rejoiced. He still had lingering fears from his previous encounter and was afraid of running into danger again.

  Now with this large military vessel, the journey should be smooth sailing.

  "Your Honor, please, I have already cleaned out a clean cabin for you and the two young masters."

  Chen Yun Shen heard this and was overjoyed, "Thank you, General, for your trouble."

  They were all soldiers under the command of Jiangnan Road Transport Commissioner, in charge of some logistics transportation. Although there were some people and horses under their hands, they rarely got to be called generals. Embarrassed smile, everyone boarded the ship together.

  These people didn't waste any time, as soon as they boarded the ship, they set sail and the big boat slowly moved away.

  Chen Yunsheng brought Tang Guan and Xiao Qi into the cabin, letting out a deep breath.

  "It's not too late yet" Chen Yunsheng muttered to himself as he sat down.

  After this twist and turn, everyone finally continued on their way. The one who suffered the greatest loss was Chang Ying, whose subordinates were all killed.

  Xiao Qi and Tang Guan rarely spoke honestly, knowing that this was not like the previous ship, running wildly on a military vessel, and it would be easy to cause trouble.

  The heavily guarded big ship calmed Chen Yunsheng's heart, but made Tang Guanqi feel uneasy.

  The closer they got to Chang'an, the faster they walked, and for Tang Guan, the sense of urgency grew with each step.

  The sun rises slowly, the boat is on the river, and people are in the boat, but Tang Guan's heart drifts to a distant place.

  Chang'an, in the Great Ming Palace.

  "Princess, you can't rummage around like this!" The palace maid said anxiously to the girl in front of her who was searching around.

  The girl looked like she was only fifteen or sixteen years old, but her development was so good that it made people click their tongues. The jade rabbit in front of her chest already had a certain scale, and the palace dress was originally shallow and thin, and the girl's movements occasionally swayed back and forth.

  If Tang Guan were present, he would surely be drooling. This girl's face is so far the only one that can compare to Lin Yuxun's among all the women I've seen, but her figure is in a completely different league.

  Her cheeks were like the peach blossoms, and her nose was greasy with goose fat. This became a true portrayal of the girl, whose eyebrows and eyes resembled those of Wu Zetian.

  "Found it!" The girl finally found the object she was looking for in her mother's usual seat, but it was two carefully mounted scrolls, which were placed in a rather hidden location, showing that the person who stored them took good care of them. People say that poetry and songs are like brocade articles.

  This brocade is not only extraordinary in its wording, but also exquisite in its mounting. Just as people rely on their clothes and horses rely on their saddles, so too must this text rely on its mounting. The palace's mounting craftsmen are all carefully selected from thousands of miles away, making these two scrolls exceptionally fine.

  The little palace maid exclaimed in surprise, but she didn't dare to stop her. The Empress's doting on this little princess was well-known to everyone.

  The girl unfolded the scroll with a few quick movements and said, "Mother and Uncle Pei have praised this person to the skies. I'd like to see what he's capable of."

  The young lady looked at the poem with a somewhat dissatisfied expression, but it was that "Spring Outing to West Lake". At first, she was slightly playful, and then her eyebrows furrowed.

  "Nonsense! West Lake is not that beautiful!" After a long while, the girl first looked surprised and then muttered under her breath.

  The little palace maid looked around and saw no one, so she plucked up her courage to go forward and take a look: "Your Highness, I heard that the person who wrote this poem, Tang Wentian, is only eight years old."

  "Hmph, I could write poetry when I was five years old too."

  The little palace maid saw that the young girl seemed a bit out of breath and couldn't help but secretly cover her mouth and smile.

  "Alright! You dare laugh at me? Do you believe I'll send you to the tailor's shop?"

  "Ah! Lian'er doesn't dare anymore!" The little palace maid's face turned pale upon hearing this and she hastily knelt down on the ground.

  The girl's tone was arrogant when she spoke, which didn't match her absolutely beautiful face at all.

  "Don't be scared" The girl seeing Lian'er being frightened like this didn't scare her anymore.

  "Go get a pen from the table."

  Ling'er hesitated for a moment and said: "Princess, what are you going to do?"

  "Just take it if you want it"

  The young man did not dare to be slow and walked up to the desk to take a pen and hand it over to the girl.

  The girl gazed at the two scrolls and smiled slightly, then took them over and thought about adding her own brushstrokes.

  Lian'er was shocked and wanted to step forward to stop her, but she was restrained by the girl's majesty, so she could only stand by and watch.

  All I see is the young girl writing in that empty space: "At eight years old, a boastful boy speaks grandly. Behind his back, he has no virtue, and follows others to discuss long and short. A child who doesn't know the taste of worry, forces himself to say worry in poetry. Entering the imperial court, under the emperor's eyes, yet saying 'the sky is cool, what a fine autumn'".

  Can't help but say that Tang Guan's butterfly effect is sharp, this poem that is close to satire falls next to his plagiarized masterpiece, and it's also a perfect match. But what's strange is that if Tang Guan sees this poem, he will also be shocked, as two sentences are clearly similar to those of "Xin Qiji"'s excellent work.

  The young girl put down her last stroke of the brush, still feeling unsatisfied. These days, people in the court have been discussing Tang's illness in a flurry, and many are also curious about the two poems that Empress Tian has kept hidden.

  Just as the girl was secretly pleased with herself, a stern female voice came: "Taiping, what are you doing?" (Note: Finally wrote to Princess Taiping, her name has not been passed down, temporarily replaced with her title)

  The young girl hastily jumped down from the dragon bed and knelt on the ground, saying: "Your child pays respects to her mother"

  Only a beautiful woman was seen standing behind him, and the little palace maid had already knelt down on the ground, not daring to make a sound.

  The woman wore a phoenix robe, with dark clouds flowing from her hairpins and falling down like a waterfall. A pair of beautiful eyes gazed at the opened scroll on the couch, revealing an angry expression, surprisingly it was Empress Wu Zetian herself.

  The young girl secretly glanced at the woman and didn't dare speak, but unexpectedly, the empress dowager who was still handling state affairs suddenly returned to her palace.

  The woman took a small step forward, picked up the scroll and glanced at it, looking at the girl's poem, and was taken aback.

  "Peace!"

  "The young lady is indeed quick-witted. Seeing her mother get angry, she immediately put on a pitiful expression."

  The Empress Wu saw this and angrily laughed, pulling up Princess Taiping, scolding: "Someone else's writing, how can you randomly revise it?"

  Taiping Princess is a household name in history, and the second title of Wu Zetian also made Tang Crown famous for a long time. However, Tang Crown, who was still on his way along the Grand Canal, had no idea that his "masterpiece" would be brutally spoofed.

  The Princess Taiping saw her mother seemingly calm and coquettishly said, "I'm so tired of hearing his name, I just want to see what he's written."

  Wu Zetian cast a somewhat doting glance at Princess Taiping, and said, "Someone, take this away and have the scholar make a copy, then re-mount it."

  Upon hearing Wu Zetian say this, Princess Taiping pouted and said: "Mother..."

  "Alright, it seems I'll have to send you back to the Taoist temple after all."

  "Me?" Princess Taiping's face fell instantly and she didn't dare speak.

  Wu Zetian smiled lightly and carefully picked up another scroll, seeing that there were no other scribbles on it. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and said: "The work of a virtuous person is indeed rare. You're going to be married soon, so when you arrive at your husband's family home, don't be so mischievous."

  Upon hearing this, Princess Taiping's already gloomy face turned even uglier: "Empress Dowager, I'd rather not marry that good-for-nothing..."

  "Nonsense! Xue Shao is a loyal and virtuous family, they are our destined relatives, you always can't spare people with that little mouth of yours"

  The Empress raised an eyebrow, and Princess Taiping stomped her foot. "As long as Father is still around, he will never let me marry him." With that, she turned to leave.

  Nowadays, only she can play this small temper with Wu Hou. Wu Hou shook her head and smiled when she saw the situation, until Princess Taiping walked out of the palace, the smile on her face gradually faded away.

  He gave a cold glance at the scroll on the case, picked it up and put it into an even more hidden box.

  ，！