The First Volume of Jing Hua Hou Men Chapter 44 Shocking (Part 2)

  On that day, when Jin Yiwei suddenly came to the door, Yang Jinzhou calmly entered the room and had a conversation with Zhu Shi in Lianxiangyuan. Chen Lan, who was behind the curtain in the east wing, heard everything clearly and remembered that Zhu Shi even asked Yang Jinzhou if he was from the Yang family of Runingbo, but was met with a shake of his head in denial. Later, at the Temple of National Protection, although they had not seen each other before, the sheep-horn dagger was being played with by Chen Yan all day, so when facing this young and mysterious Jin Yiwei officer, she naturally became very spirited.

  Before she could even respond, Zhang Hui Xin jumped in ahead of her: "She's the third daughter of the Yang family... Lord Yang, shouldn't you thoroughly interrogate this assassin? Don't forget, today Bao Bao Ge Ge encountered danger, and as the one who brought him out, you can't escape responsibility!"

  "Dear sister!"

  Chen Lan saw Yang Jinzhou lower his eyes, but he had a thoughtful expression on his face. He thought that the upheaval in his home over the past few days was caused by the Imperial Guard's handiwork. Afraid that Zhang Hui would speak too harshly and cause trouble, he hastily called out to her. Therefore, although the Imperial Guard official in front of him was exceptionally young, she knew that Yang Jinzhou's ability to climb to this position was not something she could easily see through. Therefore, she also wanted to leave as soon as possible. So, she called out to Zhang Hui and said: "Yang sir, I don't know what my sister and I..."

  "You two ladies may leave, but please do not spread the word about this matter." Yang Jinzhou finally lifted his head, but he did not look at them again. Instead, he nodded solemnly and said, "This official will handle the matter properly. However, while it is possible to conceal it from others, it must be reported to His Majesty. Therefore, this official does not know whether there will be further disturbance for you two."

  "Anyway, it's all in the future."

  Zhang Hui let out a sigh of relief and hastily went forward to greet Zhou Wang, who was laughing happily. She then pulled Chen Lan along and they left quickly. In their haste, neither of them noticed that the octagonal purple bronze hand warmer with the magpie and plum design had been left behind on the corner seat at the grass pavilion. As he watched the two women leave, Zhou Wang walked to the edge of the grass pavilion, gazing after their retreating figures, and muttered softly: "Sister...two sisters..."

  He was muttering to himself when he suddenly discovered someone beside him and turned his head to say: "Yang, the baby wants her sister."

  "After returning to the palace, won't Your Highness be able to see those sisters?"

  "I don't want... these two sisters are good, they feed me tea, give me fruit to eat, and accompany me in conversation..."

  Yang Jin's eyebrows rose, and he immediately pulled Zhou Wang back. However, when they passed by the assassin on the ground, Yang Jin suddenly kicked him in the chest, saw the man's throat move slightly, and then fainted. Only after that did Yang Jin squat down to feel the man's chest and nose, confirming that he had indeed fainted, before pulling Zhou Wang to sit down beside him.

  He carefully fastened the scattered buttons on Zhou Wang's cloak, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief, muttering to himself: "Fortunately, I felt something was off and came back to take a look. Otherwise, it would have been a disaster. If you had any accidents, how could I face Niangniang..."

  He whispered in a voice lighter than a mosquito for a while, then pressed on Zhou Wang's shoulders and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, don't talk nonsense later, no matter what others ask you to see or hear, just say that this person suddenly rushed out, don't say anything else, understand?" Seeing Zhou Wang looking confused, he added emphasis to his tone, saying, "If not, the queen will scold you when we get back."

  "Baby is not afraid of scolding..." Zhou Wang muttered a sentence, then frowned and looked at Yang Jinzhou. Suddenly, he nodded in enlightenment, "Baby is not afraid of scolding, you are... Baby listens to you, baby shakes head."

  Seeing Zhou Wang shaking his head like a rattle drum, Yang Jinzhou suddenly smiled slightly, and the gentle and cold color on his face that was originally like a mask swept away. He lightly pressed Zhou Wang's shoulder, just about to get up, when his gaze suddenly fell on the corner. Seeing the hand warmer, he thought for a moment with a thoughtful expression, then went forward to pick it up and took it outside the grass pavilion.

  He puffed out his cheeks and made a series of urgent sounds, and soon several people rushed out from all directions. Seeing the situation here, their faces suddenly changed color. He handed the hand warmer to one of them, whispered something in a low voice, and scolded the others for a few words. In a short while, those people quickly dispersed. After standing for a full minute, seeing that there was still no big movement in the plum forest, he took out a bamboo whistle and blew it hard on his mouth. For a moment, a sharp whistling sound echoed through the plum forest.

  When they came, they strolled around and didn't notice the direction. This time when they left, Zhang Hui Xin and Chen Lan were in trouble. Fortunately, Chen Lan was meticulous and noticed that the color of the stones on the small road was different. The two of them turned east and west, and finally found the right direction. However, just as the Red Snow Pavilion where the poetry meeting was held was in sight, they suddenly heard the whistle.

  "What's that sound... Huh, it's coming from that direction!"

  Seeing Zhang Hui Xin turn back to look in the direction of the thatched pavilion, her face changed color. Chen Lan calmed down and gently pulled her sleeve: "Since Yang Daren has spoken, we won't interfere with what's going on over there. However, the fact that an assassin entered the Jin Wang Fu is a big deal, but he told us not to mention it to others... Ah, your mother, Yi Xing Jun Zhuang, was never one to be trifled with, and even the Emperor wouldn't avoid discussing important court matters with her. We won't tell anyone else, but when we get back, you must tell your mother about this, and I'll also report it to my grandmother afterwards."

  "You're right!" Zhang Hui Xin pressed her chest, thought for a moment and nodded heavily, "I'll go back and tell my mother about this, let her make the decision. Let's hurry up, with something like this happening, the Wang Fu will definitely be in an uproar later..."

  The two of them quickened their pace, and the maids waiting outside Hongxue Pavilion saw them and hurried to greet them. Among them were Qinfang and Hongsuo. A large group of people crowded around, asking questions left and right. Chen Lan just followed what she had agreed with Zhang Huixin on the way and glossed over it, while Zhang Huixin was even more straightforward, laughing and evading whoever asked her until someone mentioned the sound of the bamboo flute. She immediately spoke up, "I and Lan sister also heard it, that sound is really strange!"

  "Perhaps there's something going on at Old Master Qian's place." A maid replied with a smile, seeing the others look puzzled, she took advantage of being one of the queen's attendants and smiled, "Our estate's plum blossom forest is very large, the queen receives guests on this side, while Old Master Qian receives guests on that side, they don't disturb each other. Today, Old Master Qian also invited many scholars and gentlemen, I suppose there's some new scheme."

  It's true, the other side of the plum forest is also waiting for guests!

  Chen Lan glanced at Zhang Huixin. Seeing her sticking out her tongue, he was suddenly relieved that he hadn't mistakenly gone to the other side. However, thinking of the strange behavior of the assassin just now, she couldn't help but think of a series of thoughts - if the assassin had succeeded in the Jin Wang Fu, no matter how the Jin Wang explained it, there would probably be an imperial court case to fight, and even if they hadn't succeeded, there would still be a lot of trouble ahead. But thinking of that dazed expression, she somehow felt that the intentions of the person who came were not for the Zhou Wang.

  "Miss! Miss!"

  Chen Lan, who was lost in thought, heard the two soft calls and immediately drove out those thoughts from her mind. She saw that it was Qin Fang beside her, while the other maids were surrounding Zhang Hui asking this and that, and Hong Luo was even further back, she finally put her heart at ease, but didn't think that Qin Fang's next sentence would make her heart suddenly rise up.

  "Where is your hand warmer?"

  Hand warmer!

  Chen Lan only then remembered that after she and Zhang Hui Xin entered the grass pavilion, in order to comfort Zhou Wang, she had lent him a hand warmer to keep warm. In her haste to leave, she had left the thing at the grass pavilion! At this moment, she felt chilled to the bone, and didn't even have the energy to scold herself for being careless. To make matters worse, all the things she brought from home were limited in number, so even if she wanted to replace it, there was nowhere to buy one!

  "Miss!"

  Just as she was getting anxious, she heard Hong Luo's voice coming from behind. She turned her head and saw Hong Luo hastily rushing up with the hand warmer in his hands. For a moment, she felt like her eyes were blurred.

  "Miss, it turns out that she had left the hand warmer under the plum tree over there. If I hadn't seen something vaguely visible in the grass, I would have almost missed it. If something was really lost, after returning to the mansion, it would be a big trouble again. This hand warmer was given by the old lady just yesterday, and at that time, you would have to say that you don't cherish things."

  Looking at Hong Luo, Chen Lan noticed that her eyes were a bit evasive and her face was somewhat unnatural. Suddenly, she understood that the so-called accidental discovery of the lost hand warmer was just an excuse. However, it wasn't the right place to talk, so she could only nod at Hong Luo and took back the hand warmer before quickly catching up with the people ahead.

  Hong Xue Pavilion is actually a pavilion, but it has three sides with glass windows, leaving only one side as the main entrance. However, due to the large number of people today, temporary warm sheds have been set up on all four sides for the ladies to rest. There are many braziers placed everywhere, and even with hand warmers, it doesn't feel very cold.

  Before Chen Lan and Zhang Hui Xin returned, the poetry meeting in Hongxue Pavilion had already ended. Chen Tang's poem about plum blossoms won thunderous applause, even Su Wan Er finally gained recognition for her literary talent honed from following her brother since childhood. Therefore, when they saw Chen Lan appear at this moment, their facial expressions were somewhat subtle. Chen Bing, who was arranged by Princess Jin to copy poetry, had a face full of resentment and coldly laughed when she saw Chen Lan approaching.

  The Princess of Jin glared at Zhang Hui Xin with a hint of annoyance, but ultimately didn't blame her cousin. Instead, she smiled and pulled Chen Lan forward. Although Chen Lan remembered some famous lines about plum blossoms that might not have existed yet, she was afraid the Princess would ask her to compose a poem on the spot. She quickly exchanged a glance with Zhang Hui Xin. Fortunately, Zhang Hui Xin had heard Chen Lan's story before and intentionally interrupted, inviting Chen Lan to visit her home. After some conversation, they managed to prevent the Princess from finding an opportunity to speak up.

  Chen Lan, who had just sat down, noticed that the two older women beside Princess Jin were staring at her and quickly used the excuse of drinking tea to avoid their gaze. Just as she was warming herself up with a cup of hot tea, a commotion suddenly erupted outside. The thick door curtain was lifted, and a servant hastily entered the room, not having time to pay respects to the people present, and whispered something in Princess Jin's ear.

  "What?!"

  Although she had been the queen of Jin for many years and was usually able to control her emotions, after hearing those words, she couldn't help but ask a question. She then realized that it wasn't the right place or time, so she quickly changed her expression and smiled: "There's someone on your side who got drunk and wandered off without a trace. I'm afraid they might have mistakenly come to our side. Today is too cold, since the poetry meeting is over, let's go back to Shui Meng Pavilion."

  Everyone else was a clever person, and upon hearing the order, they naturally responded one after another. Chen Lan and Zhang Hui, however, exchanged a glance, and then silently stood up along with the others.

  PS: New book is on the shelves, asking for pink tickets... um, that's an extra update, 30 votes per update, but I'll be out on the 7th and 8th, so those two days can only guarantee 3,000 words.