Chapter 46: Emotional Stirring

The Forbidden City, Yongning Palace.

Just as Jing Hai stepped across the palace entrance, Second Prince Pei Yunzhi, leading a group of palace attendants, angrily rushed out from inside the palace gate.

“This slave greets the Prince…” He knelt down with great alertness.

Unexpectedly, Pei Yunzhi, dressed in a palace robe of xiang fei color, with a cold expression, extended his foot and kicked directly at the chest of Jing Hai, the head palace attendant of Yongning Palace.

He stood tall, looking down, and sneered: “Oh… who did I think it was? It’s the head attendant. This prince just paid respects to the Taifu and was hurrying out, unintentionally bumping into your body. Are you hurt?”

His expression was displeased, with undiminished anger in his eyes, showing he had been upset.

Jing Hai clutched his abdomen, lowered his eyes submissively, a flash of hatred passing through his eyes. He respectfully kowtowed and admitted his fault: “It was this slave who walked hurriedly and offended the Prince. This slave deserves to die ten thousand deaths.”

The man wearing a gold hairpin, magnificent and noble, snorted heavily.

Normally, he would give some face to the first attendant of Yu Taifu.

But today, that old thing had hinted and probed, wanting to marry him off out of the palace.

Even a mud figure has some temper. If he didn’t get angry, how would that old thing abandon such thoughts?

Pei Yunzhi glanced at the kneeling slave attendant. He stepped over him, dragging his long palace robe, and strode out of Yongning Palace.

—

Yongning Palace, Warm Chamber

Yu Taifu wore a dark green embroidered palace outfit. He stood by the window, where a birdcage hung on the inside of the window frame.

He pinched a few grains of rice, feeding the parrot in the cage.

The parrot called out loudly: “Ten thousand years to the Taifu, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years.”

Yu Taifu’s feeding hand paused slightly, the smile in his eyes completely disappearing.

The well-maintained hand reached into the cage, pinching the parrot’s thin short neck, and coldly snorted: “Hm?”

The parrot frantically flapped its wings a few times, and weakly called out again: “Ten thousand years to the Tai Jun, ten thousand years, ten thousand of ten thousand years.”

Jing, the attendant official, lifted the heavy brocade curtain and knelt behind the Taifu with his head lowered.

His whole body couldn’t help but shudder.

Yu Taifu removed his hand restraining the parrot, took out a brocade handkerchief from his bosom, and leisurely wiped his fingers.

He glanced at the palace attendant kneeling on the ground and asked meaningfully: “How is the investigation going?”

Fine beads of sweat seeped out on Jing Hai’s forehead as he met the Taifu’s gaze, understanding the implication.

He respectfully answered: “The Marquis of Changxin sent someone to relay a message. The Liu family commoner lady you previously instructed to investigate has had no interactions with noble family young masters in recent days. Except for meeting with the Prince of Zhennan and the Imperial Consort on the second day of entering Jinling City at Guiyun Tea House, she has not appeared at any gatherings of scholars and students since, and has not been recruited by the Three Dukes or Six Marquises.”

Jing Hai knelt on the ground, his chest aching dully. Recalling the Second Prince’s expression as he rushed out of the palace, a look of surprise passed over his face.

He forcibly suppressed the urge to raise his head, seeing that the Taifu had not spoken.

He continued: “After that commoner lady entered Jinling City, various households secretly observed her. Unexpectedly, this person disappeared within the city on the third day of entering Jinling City. The Marquis sent people to follow her to Nanhua Temple on Nanshan. This woman somehow gained the favor of Daoist Priestess Ningxin and was allowed to temporarily reside in the temple. Your plan to have Marquis Yu invite this person to be a guest at the Changxin Marquis Manor is likely to fall through completely.”

Nanhua Temple was the first great temple of the Jin Feng Dynasty, presided over by the enlightened Daoist Priestess Ningxin. Ningxin was originally the younger sister of Emperor Yongtai and the aunt of Empress Mingxing. Years ago, she gave up the fight for the throne, indulged in Buddhist dharma, and entered monastic life.

In recent years, she has devoted herself to studying Buddhism, with profound Daoist skills. The Nanhua Temple she established is the number one temple in the world. Therefore, even though the power of the gentry has gradually increased, no one dares to act rashly under Daoist Priestess Ningxin’s nose.

The spies sent by Marquis Yu cannot enter the inner courtyard of Nanhua Temple.

As it is an important Daoist place, even wealthy gentry cannot enter the inner courtyard of Xianguo Temple without Ningxin’s permission, and would all be driven out of the temple hall.

Jing Hai paused, and finally asked an extra question: “Does the Taifu have any plans? Now that the commoner lady is in seclusion and not coming out, it will be very difficult to recruit her.”

Yu Taifu narrowed his eyes and slapped heavily on the purple sandalwood butterfly round chair.

The force was so great that the porcelain vase placed on the table nearly fell to the ground.

He snorted coldly: “How can she keep hiding? The imperial examination is just two months away. Other families are already restless, and I see that Jing Huan also wants to recruit her. If we don’t make a move now, the fat meat in our mouths will be snatched away by others.”

A deep meaning flashed through Yu Taifu’s eyes: “Since she’s hiding in the temple and not coming out, I’ll just change the location. The Second Prince’s wings have hardened. Today when I mentioned the matter of marriage to him, he was already furious. If we make him willingly marry into a commoner family, he certainly won’t agree. So there’s no other way. In a few days, it will be the winter solstice when the Empress performs the heaven worship ceremony. Let’s have him defile his body then, and marry him off to that commoner lady.”

The kneeling palace attendant secretly curled his lips, the pain in his chest seeming to lessen somewhat. He boldly asked: “Why does the Taifu attach so much importance to a commoner lady who hasn’t even entered officialdom yet? Isn’t it a waste to marry off the Second Prince in such a manner…”