Chapter 66 Return to the Palace
Chapter 66 Return to the Palace

After what happened just now, An Qing's two personal maids learned to turn a blind eye and said no more when they saw An Qing holding Ye Xuan's hand or pestering Ye Xuan for a hug.

Naturally, the Jinyiwei under Ye Xuan would not say anything, so the trip to Anqing could be said to be extremely enjoyable.

Sometimes she would pull Ye Xuan to run and jump, sometimes she would say she was tired and wanted Ye Xuan to carry her; sometimes she would see a bird's nest on the book and would pester Ye Xuan to carry her up the tree to pick out bird eggs.

The separation between men and women in the palace was very strict. Even though Anqing was just a little girl of seven or eight years old and still didn't know much, she was bound by various rules in her daily life. She had never been able to play as recklessly as she did today. For a moment, she even felt reluctant to leave.

It was not until the sun was high at noon that Anqing reluctantly ended his tour and prepared to return to the palace under the anxious urging of the female official.

However, before returning, at the suggestion of the abbot, Anqing had to go back to the Buddhist temple to burn another stick of incense to the Buddha.

Ye Xuan had no interest in burning incense, so he walked out of the hall and ordered the Jinyiwei to prepare the carriage.

However, just as he walked out of the hall, he unexpectedly found that Monk Daoyan Yao Guangxiao had not left yet. When he saw Ye Xuan coming out, he came up to him with a smile.

Although Ye Xuan didn't want to have too much contact with this evil monk, he couldn't just turn around and leave since he had run into him head-on.

Wouldn't it be seen by his subordinates that he, a captain of the Imperial Guard, was afraid of a young monk?
So he had no choice but to stand there, looking at Yao Guangxiao approaching with impatience.

"We chatted for a while before and got along quite well, but later I remembered that I had never asked for your name?"

Ye Xuan didn't want Yao Guangxiao to know his name. It would be better if he had never seen him before, so he just said some perfunctory words when he heard it.

However, Wang Feihu, who followed him, spoke frankly for Ye Xuan: "This is my Lord Ye Xuan, a captain of the Jinyiwei. Where did this monk come from?"

Ye Xuan suddenly wanted to beat Wang Feihu up. He turned around and glared at Wang Feihu fiercely, leaving Wang Feihu confused.

Daoyan put his hands together and made a Buddhist gesture, saying "Amitabha" and saying, "So it's Captain Ye. I'm so sorry for my disrespect."

After some polite words, Daoyan once again showed his signature mysterious smile and said, "From the hexagram, Captain Ye's future achievements are limitless. Could it be that Your Excellency is really not curious at all?"

However, these words, which seemed very tempting to Daoyan, were just a scam by a blind man on the street to deceive passers-by in Ye Xuan's ears. It was nothing more than saying something nice to give people some psychological comfort.

As for being able to really predict the future, Ye Xuan thought that was naturally impossible.

Although unofficial history did record that Yao Guangxiao had the ability to predict the future, Ye Xuan, as a modern five-good youth, just listened to it as a story.

Even if Yao Guangxiao really had this ability, Ye Xuan didn't care at all, and didn't want any promotion or wealth. He would be satisfied as long as he could survive the Hongwu Dynasty in peace.

However, Yao Guangxiao pestered Ye Xuan again and again, and it seemed that he was really interested in Ye Xuan.

Facing Yao Guangxiao's instigation, Ye Xuan chuckled and shook his head, his words expressing his regret for not being able to make the best of a good monk: "Master, as a monk, I advise you to study Buddhism instead of imitating the Taoists all day long. This stuff is not suitable for you. Remember, you are a monk!"

After Ye Xuan finished speaking, he bypassed Yao Guangxiao and directed everyone to pack up and leave Qixia Temple.

But Yao Guangxiao was left staring at Ye Xuan's back in amazement, and began to doubt his life.

Although Yao Guangxiao is not the black-robed demon monk who hid behind the scenes and manipulated the situation during the Jingnan Campaign, he has traveled around the world and studied Buddhist and Taoist scriptures for many years. He has seen the ups and downs of life and thinks he has some talent. However, in front of Ye Xuan, a small Jinyiwei centurion, he has repeatedly been rejected.

I was so kind-hearted that I wanted to interpret Ye Xuan's fortune, but he didn't care at all!
He even advised himself to be a good monk and not to learn from the Taoist priests and tell fortunes for others. This made Daoyan feel a little embarrassed.

On the way back, Ye Xuan reluctantly carried Princess Anqing onto the horse.

This time, I didn't gallop on horseback, but walked slowly to enjoy the scenery along the way.

After all, some things can only happen once and never again, and if an accident really happens it would be terrible.

Although Anqing pouted in dissatisfaction, she quickly immersed herself in Ye Xuan's modified story of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and stopped yelling at Ye Xuan to speed up.

"From then on, Snow White and the prince lived a happy life." As Ye Xuan finished the story, little Anqing seemed still immersed in the world of Snow White. After a long time, he hugged Ye Xuan's arm and pestered him to tell another story.

Ye Xuan had no choice but to rack his brains and recount a few children's books from his previous life, only then did he calm An Qing down.

Before they knew it, the group had slowly arrived at the Meridian Gate in Ye Xuan's fairy tale.

Having reached this position, the Jinyiwei’s mission was successfully completed.

After entering the Meridian Gate is the Imperial City, and this section of the road no longer needs protection.

"Your Highness, please get back on the carriage." Seeing the guards of the Meridian Gate from afar, the two female officials advised with some difficulty.

However, An Qing was still holding Ye Xuan's arm and refused to dismount. Ye Xuan smiled bitterly and said, "Princess, if you want to see me next time instead of visiting me in the prison, you'd better dismount."

After all, it was still the feudal era, and people took the relationship between men and women very seriously.

What's more, Anqing is a princess, a daughter of a wealthy family.

Although she was only a seven or eight-year-old girl, most people would not think too much about her. However, the Ming Dynasty's literati were the most pedantic in their admiration for Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. If she were to be criticized, there was no guarantee that some old stubborn people with rigid thinking would not be pleased.

If he was really impeached because of this incident, he would inevitably be dismissed from his post. In serious cases, he might even have to go to prison.

After hearing the seriousness of the situation, Anqing hurriedly got off the horse with the help of a female official.

Seeing this, Ye Xuan couldn't help but smile. It seems that little Anqing is not a willful princess who only knows how to do whatever she wants. She is quite considerate of others.

The group set off again and parted at the Meridian Gate.

The curtain of Anqing's carriage was suddenly lifted again, revealing Anqing's small round face.

"Ye Xuan, how about you be my guard captain and protect me?"

Looking at that little face that even seemed to be begging, Ye Xuan couldn't help but feel soft in his heart, and replied inexplicably: "Okay, as long as it is your Majesty's decree, I will obey it."

(End of this chapter)