Court Lady | 大唐女儿行 | 丽歌行

1.1 Spring

Second reign of the Tang Dynasty. Springtime.

Life was booming in spring. The great yellow plains stretched as far as the eyes could reach as the boundless green grass of the paddy field waved in the wind. Two horses cut through the wind, kicking up puffs of sand, causing the sun to appear red. It looked as if someone had painted a haze over the scenery. The view was picturesque.

On the horses' backs, there was a master and his servant. Luggage hung from the horses, they looked like they were going to a faraway place. The young master was refined and graceful. He wore a green garment, and anyone could tell that he was a scholar.

The young man suddenly heard someone shout for him from behind.

"Du Ning, Du Ning!" Sheng Chumu was sitting unsteadily on his horse. His horse was slightly uncontrolled, and he looked as if he would fall off at any moment.

Sheng Chumu had come out of his residence, wanting to find his good friend, Du Ning, to go have some fun. Who knew that Du Ning would not be around? He was told that Du Ning was headed to Guangzhou to attend a wedding. When Sheng Chumu found out, he rushed over, not wanting to miss out on the fun.

When Du Ning heard Sheng Chumu's voice, he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. With this guy around, nothing good would come out of it. Usually it was fine, but this time he was going to attend a wedding. He was not going to create trouble for his relatives. Although this was what he thought in his mind, he still pulled on the reins of his horse and waited for Sheng Chumu to catch up. After all, Sheng Chumu only had him as his only friend.

"Du Ning, why are you going so fast? Is your cousin's wife that beautiful?" Sheng Chumu's butt was sore from getting rubbed against the saddle. It was so painful he could not sit still as he kept on hissing in pain.

Du Ning could not bother to reply. He was not like Sheng Chumu who only had eyes for beautiful ladies and would eye his younger cousin's future wife whom he had yet to meet.

All of a sudden, an army appeared in front of them. They moved in formation and their armour shone. They all wore satisfied looks upon their faces. Sheng Chumu caught sight of the flag that was waving in the air. The huge "Lu" character displayed on it caused him to squint. Acting according to the Emperor's orders, Lu Yunji had led an army to subdue rebel troops and was returning victorious.

"Great General Lu has divided and conquered the rebel army. Brilliant!" Chang'an had received news and Du Ning was no exception.

Sheng Chumu rolled his eyes at Du Ning.

Lu Yunji and Sheng Xiaojing were both founding officials to the Emperor. However, Sheng Xiaojing was much older and has suffered numerous injuries throughout his years. The Emperor no longer sent him out to the battlefield. On the other hand, Lu Yunji dominated on matters relating to the army and was extremely prominent in court. Their fathers silently competed against each other, so naturally, Sheng Chumu would clash with Lu Qi whenever they meet.

At this moment, Sheng Chumu's personal manservant, Junhui, hurried over with a carriage. Sheng Chumu slowly got off his horse with Junhui's help. Wincing and limping, he made his way to the horse carriage, crying out in pain with every step.

"Your father, Sheng Xiaojing, is famous all over the land especially back in his days. Yet, you didn't inherit even a single bit of his powerful demeanor." Du Ning did not care about Sheng Chumu's eyeroll and said what he thought.

Sheng Chumu climbed onto the carriage clumsily and sat in. He turned back and grinned at Du Ning, not showing any hint of self-reflection.

"Ah ah, don't be jealous. This is called fate! Predecessors plant trees so that the later generation can sit in the shade. Grandfather served the country his entire life, of course I have to enjoy the benefits on his behalf. If not, why would the emperor confer the title of Duke on our Sheng family? It's for us to enjoy the rest of our lives!"