Wait a minute, heroine

It's afternoon, and there are still two quarters of an hour before the evening drum sounds.

Outside Chao'an Gate on the east side of the imperial city, ten temporarily transferred black yamen chief arresters, with bronze medals hanging on their waists, entered the palace gate one after another after negotiating with the imperial army.

Ye Jingtang put on a black brocade robe, with a knife hanging on the back of his waist, and walked among the ten chief catchers, while Niaoniao stood on his shoulders, looking curiously.

The ten chief arrestees, seven men and three women, are all in their thirties or forties. The Night Terror Hall is too young, and walking among them looks like a follower of the disciples.

However, there were stories of catching a wingless owl and repelling the Blood Bodhi, and he was well received. She Long even acted like a good brother, and kept walking forward to introduce:

"There are many allusions to Chao'an Gate. Have you seen that rotten brick? When Yun'an City was destroyed in the last years of the previous dynasty, Emperor Yan Gong fled from this gate. Wherever he ran, he was knocked down. He was thrown hard. Not many Yue died... After Taizu founded the country, he specially kept this brick to warn future generations, 'If you are unruly, you will have your own destiny'..."

Night Terror Hall followed him up the outer city wall, listening to allusions that happened in various places along the way, such as a certain emperor committing suicide, a certain prince usurping the throne and breaking through the door, etc.

The imperial city is very large, and the external security is entrusted to the Forbidden Army, while the internal security is handled by secret guards. The eleven of them entered the palace to temporarily add manpower to guard against accidents in the palace.

This is not the first time that the chief arresters have done this kind of job. Every time they go a certain distance, two people leave the team together and disappear among the scattered buildings. When they reach the turret of the east city wall, only three people are left. .

Ye Jingtang stood under the turret, looked at the inside and outside of the palace, and asked:

"Should I follow the two adults, or should I just stand here and look out?"

According to the custom of Hei Yamen, no matter what errands are done, two people should accompany each other and cannot go alone.

However, there were no teammates in the Night Terror Hall, and King Jing did not specify where he would patrol, so how to arrange it became a problem.

Shang Jianli thought about it for a while: "The duty of patrolling the imperial city is important, and we still have to focus on errands. Prince Jing asked Young Master Ye to come over by name. He didn't give a specific explanation, but he just trusted Young Master Ye. Young Master Ye can just patrol by himself..."

?

Ye Jingtang was surprised when he heard that he was allowed to patrol the palace alone - wasn't this letting Sun Wukong enter the Peach Garden?

"As a man, I am walking alone in the palace, I am afraid..."

"Prince Jing has appointed Mr. Ye to this position. We have no right to make arrangements. Mr. Ye can arrange these matters by himself."

Shang Jianli turned around and gestured to the center of the imperial city:

"But there are some rules that I still want to talk about. The Yongle Palace in the center is the residence of the Holy Emperor, and is under the responsibility of secret guards. We cannot enter the Yongle Palace for any reason, otherwise we will kill without mercy. Every other hour, someone will come Let’s meet here to avoid any accidents.”

Night Terror Hall was able to act alone, which was something he never expected. Seeing this, he held his hands and said:

"Then I will make my rounds myself, while you two adults go about your business first. See you in an hour."

Shang Jianli and She Long stopped talking and jumped down the palace wall lightly with a tap of their toes, hiding among the buildings...

————

Boom, boom, boom...

The evening drums sounded, the sunset in the horizon sank into the mountains, the palace doors closed one after another, and the imperial city gradually became quiet.

Outside the Chen'an Hall of Yongle Palace, a dozen maids dressed in cool clothes were playing takraw ball in the garden outside the hall. Two tall figures among them were the most eye-catching, namely the current empress and Prince Jing.

The empress did not wear a dragon robe, but a red tube top and a red skirt with a high slit on one side. As she trotted with a sepak takraw ball, you could see her voluptuous and slender legs, and her breasts wrapped in the tube top were also bumping up and down with the movement. .

As she ran, her snowy shoulders and white collarbones were all on display. Crystal beads of sweat slid down her neck and rolled into the bottomless ravine on her chest. The scene could only be described with the word "sexy".

Dongfang Liren's attire is much more serious. It is a pure white hunting suit, even her ankles are covered. She looks heroic, more like a young emperor playing with his beloved concubine than the empress.

There was endless laughter in Yongle Palace, but Fushou Palace, also in the imperial city, was silent with few people around. Only the dim palace lanterns swaying in the wind cast mottled reflections of flowers and trees on the walls.

The Fushou Palace, also known as the West Palace, is the residence of the Queen Mother and the Dowager Concubine. It fell into silence just after nightfall, with only a few dim lamps burning in the huge palace and pavilions.

In the Queen Mother's palace, there were also few people.

The Queen Mother, wearing a crimson house dress, sat upright on the tea couch near the window, holding her sleeves in her left hand and a paintbrush in her right hand, slowly sketching on the white paper.

Kneeling and sitting, a full and tense curve is drawn behind the Queen Mother's waist. She looks like a master of calligraphy and painting with a bee-waisted fat butt and a beautiful figure. The silver moon outside the window shines between the eyes of Shenshui. See that faint smile.

The palace maid Hong Yu, who has been waiting at her side all year round, knelt down beside her, with cinnabar, green water and other paints in front of her. She would hand them to the Queen Mother from time to time, staring at the painting she was writing with a slight doubt:

"The Queen Mother."

"Um?"

"What...are you painting?"

"You'll know when the painting is finished."

The palace maid Hongyu carefully looked at what was drawn on the paper - it could be roughly seen that it was a person, but the eyes were slender, dull, the lips were straight, and there was a ball drawn on the shoulder...

Even after the painting was completed, Hongyu wasn't sure she could figure out who it was.

"Hmm...could this be a handsome man?"

"Ha~ You have good eyesight."

The Queen Mother's posture was dignified and elegant. She carefully outlined the man's sword eyebrows and asked:

"How does my painting skills compare with Prince Jing's?"

"Well……?"

Hongyu sat up a little straighter, with a strange expression.

Prince Jing studied under Xuanji Zhenren. He was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and showed signs of being better than his master. In the capital city of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, he would be regarded as a famous painter.

And the Queen Mother...

The Empress Dowager's hometown is Jiangzhou, where the literary style flourishes. She is indeed good at playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but she was born as a general and only knows a few things.

Hongyu really didn't dare to offend the Queen Mother, who was in good spirits, so she seriously commented:

"Prince Jing's paintings are too realistic and realistic, but lack artistic conception and charm. But the Queen Mother is not like that. Ink paintings are mainly freehand. Although the Empress's paintings seem to be separated by clouds and mist at first glance, she does not know what is going on; But if you think about it carefully, you will find this wonderful thing~ just like the water of the Qingjiang River, flowing in an endless stream, well... it is quite the style of Master Xuanji~"

"Yeah?"

The Queen Mother was quite pleased with the obvious flattery and smiled.

Zhenren Xuanji is the tutor of the Empress Sisters and a master of Taoism in Yuxu Mountain. When the Queen Mother was not in the palace, she visited Yuxu Mountain. After that, they got along with each other for several years in the capital. She is regarded as the Queen Mother’s best friend. best friend.

Unfortunately, since the empress sisters left the army, Master Xuanji returned to Yuxu Mountain and rarely came to the capital. The last time they met was last year.

Hearing Hong Yu mention it, the Queen Mother thought for a while and sighed:

"She only cares about herself in the world. She doesn't know how to come to the palace to visit her every now and then."

"Alas... Counting the days, it should be here soon. Don't be anxious, my dear."

The Queen Mother painted it carefully for a long time, and the man in the portrait gradually took shape. She looked at it carefully:

This painting...is not bad...

The paper seems a bit narrow...

In other words, the painting is off-center, and the portrait is not centered...

The Queen Mother blinked, thought for a moment, took a paper knife from the small case, and wanted to cut the scroll so that the characters were centered.

But before he took action, he heard a voice coming from outside:

"Sir, you are in the wrong place."

…