Chapter 63: Visiting the Prison Empty-Handed

Eunuch Chang respectfully advised, "Your Majesty, the sun is scorching, please don't burn yourself. Otherwise, wait until the young prince comes out, and I will tell him to come and pay his respects to you."

The Queen said nonchalantly, "It's alright, I just want to bask in the sun."

Eunuch Chang had no choice but to order someone to bring a chair for the Queen to sit on, hoping that the little prince of the Northwest would come out soon.

However, to the surprise of both Eunuch Chang and the Empress, the Emperor of Chu and Ye Qingyu seemed to be discussing something extremely important. An hour passed, then two... and still the Little Prince of the Northwest did not emerge from the Imperial Study. The Empress gazed at the tightly closed door, lost in thought. In the end, she did not see the Emperor, nor did she wait for the Little Prince of the Northwest.

The Queen sighed softly, her tone a little gloomy: "It seems that the Emperor has something important to discuss. It's getting late, and the sweet soup is cold. I'll go back first." After that, she took the palace maid and slowly left here and returned to her own palace.

As soon as the Empress left, the Emperor of Chu summoned Eunuch Chang to come in. Eunuch Chang looked up and saw the Emperor of Chu playing chess with the young prince on the chessboard, their expressions very focused.

The King of Chu asked casually without even looking up, "She's gone?"

"Your Majesty, the Empress has just left." Eunuch Chang reported respectfully, secretly guessing that the Emperor was clearly intentionally avoiding the Empress. Ever since the Emperor took in Concubine Mei, his attitude towards the Empress had become increasingly cold.

"Well, can Qingyu stay in the palace today?" Emperor Chu turned to look at Ye Qingyu.

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingyu hurriedly said, "Uncle Emperor, I haven't had time to deal with the affairs of the palace yet. I will come and stay for a while after I'm done with them." He had just left the palace earlier today and was staying here again at night, so he didn't want to stay. Besides, he hadn't seen Qingyi for most of the day, and he didn't know what he was busy with.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Chu laughed and said, "Hahahaha, I know you don't want to live in the palace and be restricted. Never mind, it's getting late, and I won't force you to stay for dinner. Go back quickly."

"Yes, Imperial Uncle, I will definitely do what you asked my nephew to do." Ye Qingyu stood up and said goodbye.

The King of Chu watched Ye Qingyu leave, thinking for a long time, and then asked: Chang Xi, do you think I am right or wrong in doing this?

"Your Majesty~" Eunuch Chang could see that the emperor was worried, but as a servant, he could see and guess, but could not say it out loud.

"Alas, no one can understand my painstaking efforts. I hope he won't blame me in the future." The Emperor of Chu sighed. Even if he was the emperor, what could he do? He couldn't express his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry too much. The young prince has been smart and kind-hearted since he was young. He will definitely understand your good intentions." Eunuch Chang comforted.

"I hope so! Let's go to Concubine Mei." Emperor Chu stood up and ordered.

While Ye Qingyu was still in the palace, Chief Steward Lin had already sent Qingqing to the imperial court in Beijing to visit Qingyi. Chief Steward Lin knew that Qingyi, now a murder suspect, couldn't openly go directly to Lord Zhang, lest he give the impression that the palace was shielding a murderer. So, he secretly arranged for the jailer to allow Qingqing to visit the prison, without revealing the prisoner's connection to the Northwest Palace.

"He... he is locked up here?" He stepped lightly into the gloomy cell and was stunned for a moment.

"Don't worry, young lady. The master has specially arranged a single room for him. The conditions are pretty good!" The jailer was naturally very attentive after receiving the benefit.

"..." A moment of silence followed. "Is there really such a thing as a good prison cell?"

"Hey, why are you here?" Qing Yi was sitting in the cell, bored, when he suddenly saw a few people coming in, one of them was a girl in red. He looked closely and saw who else could it be but Qingqing? He subconsciously glanced back, but did not see Xiaoye.

"Master Qingyi, your face?" She looked at Qingyi gently and was surprised to find that there was a cut on his left cheek. The blood had already scabbed over. Although it didn't look deep, it was a cut on his face after all!

"Ah, yes!" After being gently reminded, Qing Yi remembered that his face was injured by a hidden weapon. "Isn't it disfigured?" He touched his face with some worry.

When he touched the wound, Qingqing was even more frightened and asked anxiously, "Are you... okay? Open the cell quickly so I can see if the injury is serious."

"Oh, young lady, the cell cannot be opened casually. This is where serious criminals are held. If you want to open it, you must get the order from Lord Zhang himself. You can just take a look outside and ask your young man to move his head closer. If that doesn't work, we can just turn our backs and not look." The jailer said from the side. He thought the girl came to the prison to visit her husband.

"You, what nonsense are you talking about!" He was so angry that he almost drew his sword.

"Ah, why are you still angry? This girl has such a bad temper!" The jailer grinned and took two steps back.

"Hey, Qing girl, ignore him, I'm fine! Why did you come here alone? Where is Xiaoye?" Qing Yi asked.

"The master...went into...uh, the place where you lived a few days ago. Something happened and he was called there." Qingqing saw that there were people nearby, so she couldn't tell him directly that the master had been summoned into the palace by the emperor. She could only speak vaguely in words that Qingyi could understand.

"Oh, I thought he was angry because he saw me causing trouble! Tell him not to worry, I just came here to play, and I will go back if I find it boring." Qing Yi said in a relaxed tone.

Qingqing naturally believed what he said. This cell really couldn't hold Qingyi. For him, it was still free to come and go as he pleased. But the jailer standing nearby was glaring. Did this kid think the cell was a restaurant or an inn? He actually spoke such nonsense. If it weren't for the generous amount of money the girl had given him, he would have beaten this arrogant and ignorant boy.

"So...are you...going to leave?" He glanced at the jailer behind him and asked softly.

"I'm not leaving. I want to see how the case is handled in the capital of Great Chu." Qing Yi shook his head and said, "You go back! When Xiao Ye comes back, tell him not to worry. I have my own ideas."

"This... you really don't want to leave?" Qingqing was very hesitant. In her opinion, a prison cell was not a fun place at all. After all, this guy was the future princess of the Northwest Prince!

"Oh, by the way, Miss Qing, are you coming to visit me in prison empty-handed? You didn't bring me some good wine and food!" Qing Yi didn't know what Qingqing was thinking, and joked to Qingqing who came empty-handed.