The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and the palace pavilions were silent.
The white-feathered Niaoniao hopped forward one by one along the battlements of the palace wall. When it met someone, it would stop and tilt its head to look at them, its eyes filled with the look of—so boring~
Ye Jingtang, dressed in a black brocade robe and resting his hand on the saber at his waist, walked on the city wall. Before he knew it, he had circled the imperial city once and met with Shang Jianli and other chief constables.
The buildings inside the imperial palace were all surrounded by flowers and plants, making it difficult to see the scenes between the houses, but in the dead of night, sounds could be heard.
By walking around the imperial city, he could confirm that the buildings along the city wall were inhabited by palace maids and eunuchs doing miscellaneous work. There were more people on the southern city wall in the front of the imperial city, while there were fewer figures on the northern city wall at the back.
In the northwest corner of the imperial city, there was a large garden, which should be the imperial garden. There were some lights in the nearby palaces.
After wandering around for a long time, Ye Jingtang felt that there was no real risk. Pretending to have detected something unusual, he lightly crossed the palace wall and landed near Fushou Palace.
Behind the wall was a laundry room. Many women's clothes were hanging there, and some of them were quite gorgeous. The sound of breathing could be heard among the houses.
Ye Jingtang walked through the buildings, acting as if he was on patrol, looking around openly to check if there were any secret sentries.
After walking for a while, the scenery he saw gradually became more elegant. In front of him, there appeared a rather magnificent hall, and the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree that stood out among the trees was in the courtyard behind the hall.
There were many palace maids living among the buildings, and most of them had already gone to bed.
Seeing that there were so many palace people here, Ye Jingtang couldn't help but feel worried. It was not easy to sneak in rashly, so he first observed the situation of the palace from the periphery.
From above the corridor, he could see that there were lights on in the hall. The window on the left was open, with flowers and plants outside and a tea couch inside.
There was a candle lamp on the tea couch. A noblewoman dressed in a deep red home dress was sitting on her knees in a dignified and elegant manner, holding a paintbrush and painting on the paper.
Beside her was a palace maid with a rather good appearance, looking at her eagerly.
Ye Jingtang observed carefully and could see that the noblewoman had a rather graceful figure. Her kneeling posture fully revealed her plump buttocks, and her clothes were also quite eye-catching.
As for her face, she had a charming and gentle demeanor, and it was hard to tell her age. There was an innate nobility between her eyebrows. Her almond-shaped eyes were large and sparkled under the candlelight, just like two stars under the night sky.
Although the noblewoman had an outstanding appearance and temperament, to the extent that just a slight bite of her lip could make a young man's heart race, Ye Jingtang was not here to be a womanizer. His mind was full of the "Minglong Diagram" and he didn't pay attention to these aspects. He was just observing her clothes to figure out the identity of this mysterious noblewoman, what she was doing, and if there was an opportunity to pass through the hall to the back garden.
It was obvious that the beautiful noblewoman was painting, but as for the content of the painting...
Ye Jingtang squinted his eyes to look at it and could see that it was a portrait. Judging from his painting level:
The painting was really good and looked quite like a person...
But why was there a big bag painted on the shoulder?
Ah, I see. It symbolizes carrying the sun and the moon! The concept is truly extraordinary...
Why was half of it cut off?
Oh... It turned out that the painting was off-center...
Couldn't she add some flowers and plants as decorations...
Ye Jingtang looked at it with a strange expression. Before he could figure it out, a voice sounded not far away:
"Sir, you've gone to the wrong place."
He turned his head and saw a middle-aged woman coming out from behind the flower bed. She had an ordinary appearance, was dressed in a palace maid's uniform, had an official saber hanging from her waist, and a badge of a secret guard.
Since Ye Jingtang was on an open patrol, he was naturally not flustered. He immediately walked out of the shadow.
-----
Inside the hall, the Empress Dowager, who was holding a small knife to cut the paper, heard the noise and looked out the window:
"Yang Lan, what's going on?"
When she turned her head, she found a figure in the corridor under the moonlight.
The Empress Dowager looked carefully and could see that the figure was a man, dressed in a black brocade robe, also with a badge of a secret guard hanging from his waist. He had sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, a cold and solemn temperament, and he cupped his hands and saluted with a serious expression:
"I am Ye Jingtang. I am patrolling the palace city by the order of Prince Jing. This is my first time entering the palace, and I'm not familiar with the terrain..."
Ye Jingtang?!
When the Empress Dowager heard this name, her face first showed surprise, and then she was stunned!
She lowered her head and looked at the "lifelike" portrait of the handsome man...
My goodness!
The Empress Dowager secretly thought something was wrong and quickly lifted up the portrait and hid it behind her back.
Hongyu beside her secretly nodded—The Empress Dowager really reacted quickly. She knew that this kind of scribble couldn't be shown to outsiders to be laughed at...
Yang Lan, the secret guard, looked serious and examined Ye Jingtang, asking:
"When the Black Yamen enters the palace to assist in the defense, they should work in pairs. Why are you alone?"
Ye Jingtang replied calmly: "I'm not a chief constable of the Black Yamen. I helped Prince Jing out of a predicament yesterday, so I was temporarily called to patrol the palace city and wasn't assigned a partner."
Yang Lan was about to ask more questions, but the Empress Dowager behind her had already spoken:
"I know him, Yang Lan. You can step down."
Upon hearing this, Yang Lan stopped speaking and turned around to salute:
"Understood. It's getting late. Your Majesty the Empress Dowager should go to bed early."
As she said this, she disappeared into the garden.
The Empress Dowager...
When Ye Jingtang heard this address, he was slightly surprised. He didn't expect that this beautiful and young noblewoman was actually the "mother" of Prince Jing and the female emperor.
No wonder she lived in such a large palace and had experts protecting her all the time. In this case, it was almost impossible to dig for the "Minglong Diagram" behind the palace...
Ye Jingtang stood in the corridor calmly and cupped his hands in a salute:
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. I'm new here and not familiar with the terrain. I barged in rashly. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
The Empress Dowager sat upright on the couch, looking very dignified, but she was actually panicking inside, because she had just been imitating Prince Jing's portrait of the handsome man.
If Ye Jingtang saw that the current Empress Dowager was painting his portrait late at night...
Wouldn't she be regarded as a lustful Empress Dowager who was dissatisfied and lonely in her boudoir?
The Empress Dowager coughed lightly and put on a dignified and serious look:
"Ye Jingtang, did you see anything just now?"
I saw you painting...
The painting was okay, but I didn't understand it...
Ye Jingtang had no talent in calligraphy and painting, so he didn't flatter her randomly. He replied earnestly:
"There is nothing unusual in the palace. I was patrolling around. As soon as I came here, I was stopped by that female official. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me for any offense."
The Empress Dowager felt a little relieved when she saw that Ye Jingtang didn't look strange, but she was still not at ease.
Because of the position where Ye Jingtang was standing, he could definitely see what she had been painting.
The Empress Dowager couldn't ask this directly, so she said seriously:
"My status is special. You barged in tonight. No matter what you saw, it's best to keep your mouth shut. If any rumors spread outside, I won't let you off."
Ye Jingtang nodded sincerely: "Your Majesty, don't worry. I'll act as if I've never been here."
The Empress Dowager raised her hand slightly: "Step down. If you patrol here in the future, greet the palace maids in advance and don't just barge in rashly."
"Yes, I take my leave."
Ye Jingtang quickly left.
The Empress Dowager sat there in a dignified manner. Only when it was completely quiet outside the hall did she secretly heave a sigh of relief. She took out the portrait from behind her back and looked at it, feeling very embarrassed...
And Hongyu behind her was still looking eagerly at the corridor:
"Your Majesty, this guard is the young master who was in Prince Jing's carriage yesterday, right? He's so handsome~"
"What's so handsome about him? You're such a lovestruck girl..."
The Empress Dowager considered for a moment, unfolded the portrait, and asked:
"Hongyu, what do you think of this painting compared to that guard just now... Hmm?"
??
What does "hmm" mean?
Is there any connection?
Hongyu was confused, but how could a palace maid serving beside the Empress Dowager be stupid?
She immediately showed a surprised expression and carefully examined the painting:
"So Your Majesty was painting this guard?! I said it looked familiar. Now that I look at it, it's truly both in spirit and appearance. Look at this nose, look at these eyes, look at this mouth..."
When the Empress Dowager heard this, her heart skipped a beat. She secretly thought: It's over!
She knew that Hongyu was flattering her, but it couldn't be completely made up. At least one-tenth of it was the truth, right?
Although she thought her painting skills were average, even the silly Hongyu could see some resemblance, so Ye Jingtang might also be able to tell who she was painting...
A man carrying a chubby bird on his shoulder, who else could it be...
Painting someone's portrait late at night and being seen by that person, how embarrassing...
Ye Jingtang had a close relationship with Liren. In case he wanted to avoid suspicion, he might report this matter to Liren...
The Empress Dowager secretly spying on her stepdaughter's sweetheart...
If this spread, how could she still be the Empress Dowager? With Liren's temper, she definitely wouldn't take her out of the palace to relax in the future...
Should she go and warn Ye Jingtang again?
No, if she talked to Ye Jingtang directly, what if he said—Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, you don't want the matter of you painting my portrait to be known by Prince Jing...
...
Hongyu chattered and praised for a long time. When she found that the Empress Dowager was frowning and in a daze, she waved her hand:
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Go and find out where Prince Jing is tonight. I'll go and take a look..."
"Yes, Your Majesty..."
...