Ban Shan and Ban Heng both stopped moving. They turned around and saw a man in a plain brocade robe and a silver crown standing a few steps away with two guards. He looked like he came out of the forest.
Ban Shan calmly shoved the shovel into Ban Heng's hand. She stood up and patted the dirt off the corner of her robe. However, because her hands were stained with dirt, the dirt got dirtier and dirtier. She simply bowed to him as if she was a man. "Greetings, Uncle Cheng An. My brother and I are playing a treasure game."
"A treasure game?" Rong Xia looked at the two siblings who were covered in dirt. If it wasn't for the complicated and gorgeous embroidery on their riding clothes, they really didn't look like children of nobility.
"My brother is still young. After reading a few novels, he wanted to learn from the seniors who did good deeds in the books." Ban Shan turned around and gave Ban Heng a look that told him to shut up. "For example, a fated person finds the silver he buried and gets rid of poverty and illness."
Rong Xia's expression was a little complicated at this moment, but he soon smiled. He took out a handkerchief and handed it to Ban Shan. "Your brother is really kind."
"Thank you, but there's no need." Ban Shan rolled up his sleeves and wiped his face. How could such a small handkerchief clean? However, this Rong Xia was really good-looking. She looked so perfect when she looked at him up close. Shen Yu, the last person who wanted to break off the engagement with her, didn't have such good skin and a straight nose.
Seeing that Ban Shan didn't take her handkerchief, Rong Xia smiled faintly and took it back. "Do you need our help?"
"Forget it. This can only be done secretly. If it's discovered, there won't be any sense of mystery." Ban Shan kicked the two bags on the ground and said to Ban Heng, "Go ask the guards to tidy up this place."
"Oh." Ban Heng saw that he could escape this awkward atmosphere and immediately jumped up from the ground. He turned around and walked outside. Being discovered doing such a stupid thing, even if he was shameless, he still felt that the current situation was so embarrassing that he wanted to bury his face in the hole he had just dug.
"It was unintentional to disturb Uncle Cheng An's view. I'll take my leave now." When the guards came over and took away the two sandbags with silver in the middle, Ban Shan cupped his hands at Rong Xia. "Goodbye."
Rong Xia bowed and apologized, "I've disturbed the fun between you and your brother. Please forgive me."
"You're too polite. Then … do you want to continue?" Ban Shan was willing to spend more time with a handsome man like Rong Xia if she was dressed up. However, her hair was tied up in a man's bun and her body was covered in dirt. If she spoke to others in this state, it would be an insult to her appearance.
"Take care, Miss." Rong Xia bowed to Ban Shan as an equal. Ban Shan had no choice but to bow back. He turned around and kicked the dirt into the hole he had dug and ran away.
The forest regained its silence. Rong Xia looked at the hole in front of her and chuckled. Her tone became cold, "Have you found out?"
"Uncle, Ban Xiangjun and Young Master Ban did not intend to go up the mountain." A middle-aged man walked out from the grass behind her. "It is said that this pair of siblings are famous playboys in the capital city. They have never done anything serious."
"Ban Xiangjun?" Rong Xia thought for a moment. "The one whose engagement was broken off a few days ago?"
"Yes, that's her." The middle-aged man thought to himself, "Which family could raise a child who would bury money for fun? In the entire capital city, there were few families other than Marquis Jingting's Mansion."
Rong Xia walked to the side of the mountain path and looked at the siblings who were slowly walking down the mountain. She said in an unclear tone, "They have a good relationship."
"They are siblings with the same father and mother. Naturally, their relationship is not that bad." After the manservant beside Rong Xia replied, he suddenly remembered something in the past and immediately became silent in fear.
"Sister, your lie just now was not clever at all." Ban Heng snorted. "As a famous playboy in the capital city, how could I do such a boring thing?"
"If you have the ability, then go." Ban Heng took the handkerchief that the female guard handed to her and wiped her face. "I have never been so humiliated in my life."
Ban Heng whispered, "But you can't let me be the scapegoat."
"Have you heard of the saying that when you take someone's money, your hands will be short-circuited?" Seeing Ban Heng's unhappy look, Ban Heng turned the handkerchief over and wiped away the mud marks on his face. She whispered, "Alright, I have no choice. We can't let him suspect our motives."
Ban Heng took the handkerchief and rudely wiped his face a few times. "It's so early in the morning. What is he doing in the forest? Looking at the scenery?"
"Elegant gentlemen like him can't help but have some quirks. Maybe he wants to stay on the mountain at night to look at the stars and moon and compose poems and songs." Ban Heng glared at Ban Heng. "Why do you care about him?"
Ban Heng looked around and whispered in Ban Heng's ear, "You said that the new Emperor in your dream looks good, and his surname is not Jiang. Could he be Uncle Cheng?"
"How is that possible?" Ban Heng shook his head. "This kind of elegant gentleman does not seem like someone who would do such a thing."
"You can know a person's face but not his heart. You can't rule him out of suspicion just because he is elegant." Ban Heng snorted. "Which of the guifei niangniang in the palace is not gentle and charming? But they might even forget their own natures."
"Who could pretend to be a gentleman for so many years? Wouldn't they go crazy?" Ban Heng thought about it and felt that this was unlikely. "Those beauties in the palace are gentle and charming, but they are just pretending in front of His Majesty. Uncle Cheng's literary talent and grace are not something that can be achieved just by pretending."
"That's true." Ban Heng nodded. "If you let me be so tense, I won't be able to take it in three days."
The siblings rode side by side. There were many people lining up at the city gate, waiting to enter the city. Nobles like Ban Heng did not need to line up like this. She rode on the back of the horse and faintly heard the sound of a child crying.
Looking towards the direction of the sound, she saw a young woman wearing coarse cloth holding a child of one or two years old. Her face was full of anxiety, but she could not pacify the child. She was so anxious that tears were about to fall.
Ban Heng put down the whip that she had raised. She snorted and dismounted from the horse. She walked in front of the woman. "What happened to your child?"
The young woman saw that the young woman in front of her was dressed like a young man. She wore a brocade robe, and the boots on her feet were embroidered with phoenix patterns and embedded with pearls. She guessed that the other party was of noble status. She thought that her child was crying too hard and had disturbed her. She apologized profusely, "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I will pacify him now."
Ban Heng saw that the cheeks of the child in her arms were red and the color of his lips was not normal. He asked, "Is the child sick?"
The woman with a slightly haggard expression nodded. The tears in her eyes were swirling, but she did not dare to fall.
Ban Heng looked at the long line in front of them and reached out to touch the child's forehead. It was frighteningly hot.
"Come with me." Ban Heng saw that the woman was hesitating and did not dare to move. He raised his voice. "Come quickly."
The woman did not dare to resist. She hugged the child tightly and timidly followed behind Ban Heng. She had heard from the villagers that some noble ladies in the city had bad tempers. If someone did not have eyes and offended them, a whip or two would be a light punishment. It was also possible that they would be thrown into prison for a period of time.
She was not afraid of punishment, but what about the child?
Just as the woman was letting her imagination run wild, Ban Heng handed his waist tag to the city gate guard. The guard bowed to her and did not even look at the woman holding the child. He let them pass.
"Alright, you take the child to see a doctor." Ban Heng got on the horse and patted its butt. The horse trotted to catch up with Ban Heng.
The woman was stunned for a moment. Only then did she realize that she had met a kind benefactor. She lowered her head to look at the crying child and took a deep breath. Even the benefactor had come to help. Her child would definitely be able to survive.
"Sister, what did you do just now?" Ban Heng saw that she had caught up with him. He turned his head and glanced behind. There was nothing unusual.
"I went to do a good deed." After Ban Heng said this, he saw Ban Heng looking at her with suspicion.
"What does a good deed have to do with you?" Ban Heng knew his sister very well. Her biggest hobby every day was eating, drinking, and dressing. She ate the most exquisite food and wore the most exquisite clothes. She was usually too busy to go out and show off her new clothes and jewelry. How could she have the mood to do a good deed?
Ban Heng rolled his eyes at her. However, even if a beauty rolled her eyes, she was still beautiful. Therefore, when she did this rough action, she looked cute.
However, in Shen Yu's eyes, this scene wasn't that cute. He wanted to hide at the side before the siblings noticed him. Who knew that Ban Heng would call out to him first.
"Shen Yu!" Ban Heng pointed at Shen Yu. "Stop right there!"
"This lowly official greets Prince Ban." Shen Yu glanced at Ban Heng who was on horseback. "Greetings, Lord Ban Xiang."
"Yo, today isn't a day off. Why isn't Shen Tanhua on duty?" Ban Heng swung his horsewhip and glanced at the woman beside him. He sneered. "I thought you were some kind of beauty. Tsk."
"A woman's beauty is in her bones, not her skin. Prince Ban and this lowly official have different tastes. This lowly official has nothing to say." Shen Yu took a step back. "Please, both of you."
Even if Ban Heng wasn't that smart, he could tell that he was scolding his sister for only having a good appearance. He was so angry that his face changed.
"Pa!" A whip landed on Shen Yu's body. Shen Yu groaned in pain. The woman beside him was so scared that she screamed.
"In my entire life, I hate men who beat around the bush the most." Ban Shan whipped Shen Yu again. Shen Yu was a scholar, but before he could react, the whip landed on his body again. "If you point at me and say that you, a woman, have no other good points other than your good looks, I can still respect you as a man. Now you are saying a few sarcastic words and pretending to be sanctimonious? "
"Xiangjun Ban, this lowly official is still an official of the imperial court. You whipping this lowly official in the middle of the street is a bit too much." Shen Yu looked around at the commoners who were watching the commotion.
"Hmph." Ban Heng raised his chin slightly. "This Xiangjun is just so willful. What can you do to me?"
"You shrew …"
"Pa!"
Another whip landed on his body.
"Although pointing at my nose and scolding me makes you look very manly, I still want to whip you. You, the grand Tanhua, actually dare to insult a woman in the middle of the street. Is this the demeanor of a scholar? "
Please visit novelhi to read the whole novel.
Translator : adDR
评论
发表评论