Old Minister (1)
Mu Mingtang didn’t expect him to speak so frankly, and her cheeks got hot, making her shy. She gave Xie Xuanchen an angry look, and when she turned her head, her eyes were full of smiles.
Usually the capital was very lively every night, in addition, Shangyuan Festival[1] was remarkable, so the lantern market was set up outside Donghuamen[2]. With Xie Xuanchen’s and Mu mingtang’s status, they wouldn’t go outside and move with the crowd. Their carriage parked in front of the largest store, and the shopkeeper rushed out to meet them.
Xie Xuanchen got out of the cart first, then picked up Mu Mingtang. When the shopkeeper first saw the guards around him, he knew that today’s customer was a big deal, and he was mentally prepared, but when he saw the two immortal figures getting out of the cart one after another, he was still stunned.
The shopkeeper had experience in lantern business for years, and he had seen many rich and noble people coming and going. So when he saw Xie Xuanchen and Mu Mingtang, he welcomed them respectively .
Neither Xie Xuanchen nor Mu Mingtang wanted to publicize, so the maids only called them “Lang Jun” and “Niangzi”[3], without revealing their true identities. The shopkeeper’s diligence led Mu Mingtang and Xie Xuanchen into the store. Mu Mingtang looked at the dazzling lanterns and waved to the shopkeeper and others: “You can do your own business, and Lang Jun and I will take a look.”
The shopkeeper hesitated for a while, but didn’t dare to leave Xie Xuanchen and Mu Mingtang, so he followed them not far or near, to ensure that he would not disturb the interest of the nobles, and that he could call at any time if they had anything.
The last time Mu Mingtang went to buy lamps was before the age of twelve with her family, when her parents selected everything. So Mu Mingtang had no idea about what kind of lamps to buy. After watching for a while, she said to Xie Xuanchen in a low voice, “How was the palace decorated during the Shangyuan Festival before?”
Xie Xuanchen thought about it seriously, and said, “I don’t know, I haven’t noticed.”
Mu Mingtang had no choice but to ask him again: “Then do you remember how your family bought the lanterns before? How big is it and how much is it?”
Xie Xuanchen thought about it for a while and shook his head. Mu Mingtang was desperate, she shouldn’t count on Xie Xuanchen.
Xie Xuanchen became distressed when he saw Mu Mingtang’s dejected look on her face. “You don’t have to worry about this. Anyway, there are only two of us at home. No one dares to tell you if you buy more and buy less. You can buy what you like, and you don’t need to think too much about the rest.”
Mu Mingtang thought about it, but she has no parents-in-law above her, and no sister-in-law below her, so she doesn’t have to worry about being caught by her concubine and aunts. So Mu Mingtang relaxed and looked at the lamps more calmly. There were many kinds of lamps in the store, such as lamp balls, silk lamps, sun and moon lamps, and horse riding lamps. There are also some exquisite ones, which are made of various exquisite shapes with lanterns such as glaze, feathers, and colorful silk. Mu Mingtang paid attention to several of them, and finally pointed to a glazed lantern and a double-layered palace lantern, and asked Xie Xuanchen: “The palace lantern is elegant, and the glazed lantern is exquisite, which one do you think suitable for our Yulintang palace?”
Xie Xuanchen was stopped by the question, and he came and studied the two lamps. The two were talking when a man’s rough voice came from behind: “I’m disturbing you, please greet His Royal Highness, Prince An.”
Mu Mingtang paused, glanced at Xie Xuanchen from the corner of his eyes, and then slowly turned around. Xie Xuanchen’s expression was still light, and he said, “I accompany the princess to go out to see the lights today, and I don’t want to make a statement, general.”
After hearing Xie Xuanchen’s words, how could Zhu Yang Hong make a sound?
Zhu Yanghong was shocked when he saw Xie Xuanchen jumping out of the cart on the street. He thought that Xie Xuanchen was dead.
Zhu Yang Hong was once a military general on Guo Rong’s side and also worked with Xie Yi and Xie Xuanchen. Later, Zhu Yang Hong was transferred to the southwest by Guo Rong to guard the borders. He had not returned to the capital for many years, and naturally missed a series of power transitions in the capital. The last time he met Xie Xuanchen was in the third year of Hongjia, when Xie Xuanchen went to conquer Houshu.
The two of them sent troops together, Xie Xuanchen was the commander, and he led the left army to defend. In fact, Zhu Yanghong didn’t do much, and by the time he arrived with his troops, Xie Xuanchen had already gained control of the Houshu Palace.
Although they had not seen each other for many years, Zhu Yang Hong had never forgotten Xie Xuanchen. Anyone could join the army, but anyone could not become a great general, especially a person like Xie Xuanchen who was gifted with divine power and had an excellent combat intuition. How can he forget such a person who was like a hero of the sky?
But after that, there was less news about Xie Xuanchen. Zhu Yang Hong had to stay at the border and could not leave without permission. He only heard vague clips from other people. For example, Xie Xuanchen seemed to be crazy and had been banned by Xie Yi. Later, it was rumored that Xie Xuanchen was gone, dead.”
TL Notes:
1. Shangyuan Festival – The Lantern Festival, also called Shangyuan Festival, is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar, during the full moon. ↵
2. Donghuamen – Night market ↵
3. “Lang Jun – husband” and “Niangzi – wife”↵
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