Chapter 46: One Morning, a Slow Rain, Riding Horse into Chang'an

  The sky completely darkened, and two fast horses suddenly stopped in the fine rain.

  "Whoa!" Chen Yunsheng shouted, and the horse reared up with a burst of trembling.

  "Get well soon"

  Tang Guan slowly came to, from the sunset galloping till deep night, not just two horses were exhausted, he leaned against Chen Yun and fell into a deep sleep.

  On the other side, Chang Ying also woke up Xiao Qi, who was sleeping soundly. The young man loved to sleep and could even fall asleep on a bumpy horseback ride.

  Tang Guan's blurred vision gradually cleared up, looking towards the distant and hazy mountains.

  In the wind, in the rain, Tang Guan faced this real giant for the first time.

  "Chang'an!" Tang Guan suddenly woke up, the cold rain hitting his face. This night was very cold, but in the chill, his heart began to burn with passion.

  They stood halfway up, with only a few dozen meters left between them.

  Tang Guan couldn't see clearly that giant city, and even with his rotating eye power, he could only make out the continuous outline, with occasional flashes of light flickering on top.

  "The curfew is in effect," said Yu Shi, gazing at the distant city gate, speaking softly to Chen Yunsheng.

  "It doesn't matter, let's go!"

  Xiao Qi also slowly woke up, this continuous drizzle that had lasted for a day made him, who had just crawled out of Chang Ying's arms, feel refreshed by the cool raindrops.

  "One morning, the rain clears! Riding horse into Chang'an!"

  Looking at the ever-expanding Chang'an City in front of him, Tang Guan tried his best to open his eyes wide, familiar yet strange.

  This is not an ancient city of later generations that has lost its former appearance, but a landmark of this era!

  The city wall became clearer and clearer in sight, with the city gate towering high, and rows of armored soldiers patrolling back and forth on the wall.

  "Drive!"

  Two men shouted in unison and galloped for several hours, the exhausted horses made their final dash with people on their backs.

  The appearance of Chang'an was constantly magnified in Tang's eyes, he was stunned, a continuous city wall stretching for countless miles stood before his eyes, three city gates stood tall, Chen Yusheng and Chang Ying bypassed the middle one and rushed straight to the left gate.

  In accordance with the "Nine Heavens opening up the palace halls, ten thousand nations in ceremonial attire pay homage to the imperial crown"

  Everyone who saw this momentum cheered, and under the prosperous Tang Dynasty, something that the Tang Emperor did not expect happened.

  "How is this possible!?" Tang Guan's voice was instantly lost, the restored ruins of later generations didn't even amount to a tenth of this gigantic city's appearance, in the dark night his eyes flashed with an unbelievable light.

  After thousands of years, the Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty has long been carved away by time, and the Tang crown has always looked at this era with a condescending attitude. However, at this moment, he had an unshakeable feeling that he couldn't look up to it.

  All dynasties have taken Chang'an as the best, although Tang Guan knew this saying, he was still shocked by the scene in front of him and couldn't help himself.

  "Who comes?"

  A shout from the city wall stopped the procession. Chen Yunsheng reined in his horse and shouted loudly, "The imperial inspector is here! Clear the road!"

  "Show your credentials!"

  Chen Yunshang took out the tiger tally from his waist, and instantly the torches on the city wall lit up. A bearded general looked around and shouted: "Release the bolt!"

  "Crack!"

  "Hurray! Hurray!"

  Tang Guang stared blankly at the scene in front of him, and the massive city gate opened wide like a lion's mouth.

  The general descended from the city tower and exited the city gate, with troops holding torches lined up on both sides.

  "May I ask which book did the imperial historian enter?"

  "Inspector of Jiangnan Chen Yunsheng" Chen Yunsheng also dismounted and handed over the tiger tally while speaking.

  The strong man waved his hand and said: "Chang Ying, little brother! You're back!"

  Changying saw clearly the big bearded man on horseback and burst out laughing: "Gaotou! Long time no see!"

  The big bearded man looked around and frowned: "Why are you the only one escorting the imperial historian?"

  Upon hearing this, Chang Ying's face darkened and he said: "It's a long story, I'll tell you another day when we're chatting with Big Brother!"

  The big-bearded man nodded and said, "Imperial historian, please do so. The city is currently under curfew, you can first go to the inn to rest!" After speaking, he glanced at the Tang crown on the horse, with a curious expression flashing by.

  The loud voice of the big beard shook Tang Guan's eardrum, and Xiao Qi on the side was still staring at the undulating city wall in a daze, and hadn't come back to his senses yet.

  Chen Yunsheng cupped his hands together in respect and mounted his horse once again.

  "Drive!" The four men rode their horses into the city, and as soon as they entered, Tang Guan immediately looked around in all directions.

  "My goodness, how did they manage to do it?!"

  Although it was a dark night and an overcast day, without a single ray of light, Tang Guan still saw the big road under his feet clearly.

  The width of this main road is so wide that Tang Guan was shocked, and it measures more than 100 zhang.

  The horseshoes rang out clearly on the stone road, and the two of them urged their horses on, galloping wildly down the main street as if without a care.

  The rapidly changing scenery around him made Tang Guan Xiaoqi somewhat dazzled, unable to see clearly whether the surroundings were houses or trees.

  After a long time, it finally calmed down, and surprisingly, there was another city wall in front of me, still with three city gates.

  "Make way for the imperial inspector!" Chang Ying shouted loudly.

  Suddenly, the left city gate opened wide, and this time no one asked any questions. The two of them rode their horses straight in.

  Tang Guan suddenly realized something and turned his head sharply to look around.

  "This... this is just the outer city!?"

  The horse didn't stop until it reached the city gate.

  Chen Yunsheng dismounted his horse and took down Tang's crown.

  Chang Ying also mentioned Xia Qi flipping over and getting off his horse.

  "Why aren't they leaving?" Tang Guan was slightly curious, and suddenly a burst of flames lit up in front of him. He saw soldiers holding torches rushing down from the city tower.

  "Magistrate Chen, it's been a long time!" A middle-aged man's hearty laughter echoed.

  Chen Yunsheng heard this voice and cupped his hands in greeting: "General Xu, I didn't expect that you would be defending the city tonight."

  Haven't seen the person, but heard his voice, it seems like the two are familiar with each other.

  As they walked and talked, a somewhat stout middle-aged man emerged from behind the soldiers.

  As soon as he walked over, he looked at Tang Guan and said, "Is this that Tang Quanbing?"

  Chen Yunsheng tightened his grip on Tang Guan's hand, furrowing his brow. Xu Chunyun was just a seventh-rank deputy commander, but coincidentally, he had some friction with Tang Weixi when they were in office years ago.

  Tang Guan didn't know this was a test and thought he was just Chen Yunsheng's friend, so he said: "Sir is being polite, I am indeed Tang Qubing"

  When the officials in Chang'an learned about Tang's family background, those with higher positions didn't have much of a reaction, but the lower-ranking old officials reacted differently.

  All minor officials who served during the Gaozong period and had not yet been removed still remembered Tang Weiji. When they heard that his family had produced a talented son, some were delighted while others were worried.

  As expected, Xu Chunyun heard Tang Guan say this and coldly laughed: "This old man is beyond your reach"

  As soon as he heard this, Tang Guan immediately realized that something was wrong, and he smiled awkwardly. He glanced at Chen Yunsheng's expression again, knowing that this wasn't a friend.

  "The prime minister lets me call him uncle, but you're not even worthy of that. No wonder you'll be a gatekeeper for the rest of your life! Just wait till I meet Wu Zetian and see if you can even keep being a gatekeeper!"

  Tang Guan's heart skipped a beat, and just as the excitement of arriving in Chang'an had not yet dissipated, he was suddenly doused with a basin of cold water. He looked up to see who it was, and saw that it was a slightly stout middle-aged man with a hint of baby fat still on his face.

  "If you want to be a villain, then just be one, don't write it all over your face!"

  Looking at this Tang crown, I couldn't help but laugh secretly, this guy really looks like a freak.

  Fortunately, Chen Yunsheng had an important position and the man did not entangle him further, immediately releasing the road.

  Chang Ying brushed past him, seemingly unintentionally, and Xu Chunyun didn't mind either. The few of them led their horses and walked away quickly.

  "Ah!" Just as they walked away, Xuchunyun suddenly felt a severe pain in his shoulder, and he couldn't help but exclaim out loud. It was as if he had been bitten by some kind of venomous insect, and a numbness spread across his left shoulder.

  "General!" The soldiers around him swarmed over, bewildered and at a loss.

  The streets inside the city were a few times wider than the city walls, but Tang Guan didn't have the heart to look at his surroundings, feeling somewhat displeased.

  Xiao Qi was excited, looking around left and right, but Chen Yunsheng whispered not to make a noise, so he just looked without saying anything.

  Chang'an has seventy-two wards in the south and north, two wards form a market. Even at midnight, there is no one on the road, but just looking around the stalls makes Xiao Qi feel fresh.

  Chang Ying walked behind Tang Guan and saw that Tang Guan's expression had slightly changed, so he went forward and whispered: "What's wrong, aren't you happy? That guy isn't comfortable either."

  Tang Guan's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he looked at Chang Ying. Chang Ying smiled and didn't say anything more.

  All the way, he was no longer unfamiliar with Chang Ying, knowing that Chang Ying had been fighting on the battlefield for many years. Although his appearance seemed a bit worn out, he was actually only in his early twenties, at an age when his blood and energy were just beginning to flourish.

  Ancient people regarded life and death as a test of friendship. Although Chang Ying was the one providing protection, he also developed a special bond with Tang Guan and Xiao Qi. This might have originated from his experience as a soldier, where on the battlefield, you could only trust your comrades by your side.

  Tang Guan didn't know what Chang Ying had done, but hearing this made him feel a little better in his heart and he was no longer feeling sick. He also looked around like Xiao Qi did.

  Before long, several people walked up to a mansion.

  Chang Ying looked at the mansion, let go of Xiao Qi's hand and cupped his fists: "Your Excellency, Chang Ying has sent you this far. Tomorrow morning I will have to report for duty in the army, so please rest early."

  Upon hearing this, Xiao Qi and Tang Guan were taken aback, while Chen Yunsheng seemed to have anticipated it and cupped his hands in respect: "General Wei, you've had a long and arduous journey; your merits will certainly be reported to the Emperor by me."

  Chang Ying first let out a happy cry, then patted Little Qi's head and said: "Little gentleman, see you later"

  Having said that, he turned around and was about to leave, but Xiao Qi shouted: "Chang Da Ge, where are you going?"

  Xiao Qi's youthful heart was reluctant to part with someone he had been with for a long time, but Chang Jun disappeared without looking back at the end of the alley.

  Tang Guan slightly shook his head and then nodded secretly "This Chang Ying is a usable person"

  Chen Yunsheng knocked on the gate of the mansion, and a man with a hat came out to take a look at Chen Yunsheng.

  "This man seemed to know him and exclaimed: 'Magistrate Chen!'"

  Chen Yunsheng smiled slightly and said, "Since there's someone I know here, I don't need to bother with formalities. I'll just say that I'm here for a temporary stay, as I didn't have time to file the paperwork at the Ministry of Officials."

  The man smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, you are an official, I know that, come in"

  Having said that, he opened the gate and took over the reins from Chen Yusheng's hand. Chen Yusheng led Tang Guan and Xiao Qi into the gate in big strides, only to find that this was actually a separate courtyard with houses all around.

  "Director Chen, you choose one yourself, none of them are occupied."

  "Good." Chen Yunsheng responded with a single word and led Tang Guan and Xiao Qi into a house.

  "Is this the imperial palace?" Little Seven asked Chen Yunshang as soon as they entered.

  Chen Yunsheng shook his head and smiled, lighting the oil lamp on the table: "This is a humble abode, you two should rest soon"

  "After a while, it will be time for early morning court, when I fall ill at that hour, I will summon you"

  Tang Guan's eyelid twitched at the words and he nodded slightly.

  "What about me? What about me?" Little Qi asked involuntarily.

  "Liáng Jūn, you just stay quietly in this house and wait for your uncle and brother to come back."

  Xiao Qi's face fell at once, he was still thinking about going to see that legendary Tian Hou.

  Tang Guan smiled slightly, didn't take off his clothes, took off his shoes and lay down on the bed, turned over and closed his eyes.

  Xiao Qi had no choice but to go to bed with a heavy heart.

  Chen Yunsheng blew out the lamp on the table and pretended to fall asleep.