24 Chapter 24

◎Combined into one, the wild goose remains loyal and steadfast.◎

"My Lord, my cousin is ill, and my Lady has sent you to see her."

Through a door, Wei Che was lazily leaning on the couch, peeling an orange slowly and leisurely.

When the maid outside the room became anxious, he spoke softly, "If you're sick, go find the court doctor. Why are you looking for me?"

The words were so direct that Mammy knew he was trying to shirk responsibility, but she couldn't say it directly. Since it was Madam who wanted the two young people to spend more time together, she had to say it in a tactful way:

"Madam has already consulted the court physician, but if the prince goes to see her, perhaps it will also help relieve the pain of the cousin."

"Relieve pain?" Wei Che picked off the white fluff on the orange and threw a slice into his mouth. The extremely sour juice immediately burst out on the tip of his tongue, making Wei Che's teeth shake.

He squeezed his eyes and took a moment to relax, then continued, "Why, are my eyes some kind of magical weapon? Can I cure a disease with just one look?

"If that's the case, why should Mother still worry about my future? All she needs to do is build a private clinic for me in Beijing. I'll surely become wealthy and rich, and she won't have to worry all day long."

Fu Zongying, who was standing aside, couldn't help but burst out laughing, and was then given a cold glance by Wei Che.

The young master always had such a reckless temper, so the nanny was not surprised and softened her voice, thinking that the young master would agree because he would be soft-hearted and would not tolerate toughness.

"I am only following orders. Madam is waiting for the prince in the guest room. Since I have taken care of you and your wife for so many years, please come with me."

Wei Che ignored her this time and deliberately raised his voice and yawned, "Tell mother that my cousin doesn't want to see me, and I don't want to see her either. It's getting late, and I'm going to bed. When you go back, watch your step and don't fall."

"Someone, turn off the lights."

Fu Zongying suppressed his laughter and walked to the candle lamp to blow out the light.

The nanny was so angry outside the room that she blew out the lights in the room, leaving it pitch black. She didn't want to disturb them any further, so she had to return to her cousin's guest room in shame.

"Did that kid really say that?"

After hearing the nanny's word-for-word retelling, the wife of the Duke of Fuguo was also furious, but because the cousin Zhao was still there, she couldn't lose her temper. She comforted her cousin, "Che'er has always been naughty, don't take it to heart."

Of course, my cousin didn't take it to heart.

A man like Wei Che has a bad reputation. Which parent in the clan would be willing to marry their daughter to him?

She was the only one who was pushed out like this because her parents died early and she was an orphan with no one to rely on in the Zhao family.

She knew that the Fuguogong Mansion was extremely powerful. Even if it declined in Wei Che's generation, the savings in the mansion would allow her to live a wealthy and prosperous life for the rest of her life.

But when she thought of the concubines in the backyard, the cousin got a headache.

Never mind, at least Wei Che has his hands and feet intact and is not disabled, and he has a decent appearance and is handsome. Add to that the power of the Prince of Fuguo's Mansion, and this is her best choice.

The cousin forced herself to think it through again, and then she smiled and said "It's okay" to the wife of the Prince of Fuguo.

This cousin is quite well-behaved, otherwise the wife of the Duke of Fuguo would not have specially brought her from the Zhao family to stay for two days and get acquainted with Wei Che first.

But Wei Che was such a hateful brat that she immediately felt that she should confine him to her home to prevent him from always going out to fool around, ruining his reputation and hurting her niece's feelings.

But the child had lost his mind due to being frightened by a fire when he was young, and later lived away from his parents in the temple, living a poor and lonely life, so she felt even more reluctant to let him go.

Forget it, let him go for now.

**

The bedroom was pitch black, and there was no moonlight outside. Only the lights in the corridor could shine in.

Wei Che was still leaning on the couch peeling an orange. His hands moved quickly, but his eyes were distant, and he was obviously distracted.

He recalled the conversation between Xu Qinghe and Wei Ming in the woods during the day, and always felt it was strange.

It has been five years since they last saw each other. She lived in a deep palace with treacherous hearts, and they had only met a few times, and hadn't even exchanged a few words. Wei Che was really unsure of the girl's personality.

If it were in the past, she would have spoken to people in such a distant manner because she didn't like it.

But with her personality, if she doesn't like something, she will just reject it directly. Why would she hesitate and leave people with hope?

Thinking about it this way, maybe it means I like it.

Actually, it was true. Wei Ming had a good reputation and was not bad looking. Who knew, he might just be what she wanted.

So what's next? Rumors spread throughout the capital that the Wei family would propose marriage after the imperial examination. Was he really going to watch that girl marry someone else?

But what if this is what she really wanted?

Wei Che took another orange slice and threw it into his mouth. It was still sour, and this time it went straight to his heart.

She likes it, what can he do?

Just make it happen.

Finally, he ate the rest of the orange in one gulp, and his beautiful and affectionate eyes were immediately filled with tears.

He lit the lamp again and asked someone to fetch water for washing. When the lamp washed away his fatigue, he lay on the bed, but he couldn't fall asleep with his eyes open.

He stared at the dark tent ceiling, not daring to close his eyes.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he could see the girl's smile towards Wei Ming, or her determination when she broke off the engagement with him.

When he thought of breaking off the engagement, Wei Che suddenly reached out and felt under the pillow, and took out a pair of jade pendants.

The jade pendants were one big and one small, but both were pure white and felt soft to the touch. The big one was in the shape of a jade ring, while the small one looked like an ordinary jade pendant.

"Look, these two jade pendants, when put together, become a double-ring jade pendant, which is the engagement token between our Xu and Xie families."

The girl was only eleven years old when she first saw the jade pendant, but she was already extremely intelligent.

She took the jade pendant from his hand, and after looking at it for a moment, she understood its meaning.

"The inner ring of the jade pendant is carved with a pattern of two geese clustering in a flower cluster, and the outer ring is carved with a pattern of auspicious clouds. It represents the unity of the two and the unwavering loyalty of the geese, right?"

At that time, he met those clear and sparkling eyes, looked at her smile which was more beautiful than flowers, slowly nodded and said "yes", and then grinned foolishly.

Xu Qinghe felt strange and even a little embarrassed. She pouted her lips, her cheeks puffed up, and glared at him.

"What are you laughing at? But I was wrong?"

This girl looked even more beautiful when she was angry than when she was not angry. She was delicate and pretty. Thirteen-year-old Xie Qi's heart was moved and he couldn't help but stretch out his arms to hold her in his arms and hug her tightly.

"That's right, of course I'm not wrong."

Xu Qinghe let him hold her, not struggling to break free, but simply asked, "Then what are you laughing at?"

Xie Qi touched the back of her head, stroked her half-covered black hair, and said with a smile: "I laugh at myself for being lucky. I have the opportunity to become one with the princess, and to be loyal to you forever."

At that time, she shyly hid in her arms and disappeared, but her red ears betrayed her.

That place was bright red, like the ruby ​​pendant Xie Qi had seen before. His Adam's apple rolled, and he really wanted to kiss it to see if it was as warm as the ruby.

But she was so young, and he couldn't scare her, so he just used more force in his hands and hugged her tighter.

She must have liked it at that time.

Whether it's the jade pendant or him.

However, in the heavy snow that day, the girl still broke off the engagement and returned the jade pendant with a carved double goose cluster pattern on the inner ring to him.

Xie Qi was reluctant to throw them away, and later kept them with him. These two pieces of jade accompanied him in escaping death and in his transformation into the current prince Wei Che.

After so many years, the texture of the two jade pendants has become more and more delicate, warm and textured. However, the tassel of the larger one was burned in the fire, and now it is empty underneath, which looks very ugly.

He put the two jade pendants together, then separated them, put them together again, and separated them again.

I watched for a long time, but still couldn't fall asleep, so I just kept my eyes open until midnight, and then I fell asleep unknowingly.

The next day, when he opened his eyes, the first thing he did was to shake out the quilt and look for the two jade pendants.

After finding it, he solemnly put the two pieces together to form a heavy-ring jade pendant, and carefully placed it in his arms.

After a good sleep, Wei Che thought things through. As for the serious matters, the Wei family had many study rooms, and the secret letter might not be hidden in the study room. The Wei family was too big, and it was difficult to find it.

He could only let Fu Zongying continue to lurk and investigate the situation while he hung out with the other young masters of the Wei family, trying to get information out of them.

Although the Wei family looks bright and prosperous, it is actually supported entirely by Wei Ming. In addition to Wei Ming, there are many other playboys among the younger generation.

There were a few people who were close to Wei Che, and he would force them to drink every day and ask if they could go to their Wei house to play.

The youngster of the Wei family shook his head, as if hiding from a ghost, "Your Highness, don't dare do that. Our eldest brother has been studying for the exam these days, and the exam is coming up soon. How can you bring someone home and disturb his peace?

"If my father knew about this, my legs would be in tatters. How could I ever have the chance to come here and drink with the prince again?"

Wei Che remained expressionless, and said "never mind" with regret, then he joined everyone else in toasting and drinking.

But in his heart, he secretly cursed Wei Ming thousands of times.

Now he not only figured out the important matters, but also the personal matters.

As I said, if Xu Qinghe likes it, he will naturally not interfere. After all, it is said that Queen Mother Wei loves her very much. Once she marries into the Wei family, she should not be bullied.

After being busy with social engagements all day, he still didn't find any clues at all. When Fu Zongying came back at night, he looked exhausted.

"The Wei family is really fertile. They have so many sons and so many study rooms, and they're spread out so thinly. I can only focus on one person a day, and I'm so tired of lying on the roof."

Wei Che scoffed at him, "Why don't you just keep an eye on Minister Wei? Whichever study room he enters is his?"

Fu Zongying glanced at him coldly and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Go and see for yourself tomorrow and you'll know."

Wei Che threw down the cup in his hand and thought, why wait for tomorrow? He would go to Wei's house tonight to take a good look.

Unexpectedly, after taking only two steps, he felt dizzy and had to hold on to the door frame to avoid falling down.

"It seems that the prince is having a great time today. Which restaurant did you go to for a drink?" Fu Zongying looked at him with a smile.

Wei Che pressed his brows and had to come back and sit down.

"I couldn't get any information from those Wei family guys unless I got them drunk. By the time they were drunk, I was a little dizzy myself."

So the night visit to Wei's house had to be postponed to the next day. The next day, he sobered up and simply stayed in his room and slept all day to get enough energy for the night.

When the sun went down, Wei Che asked Fu Zongying to stay in the dormitory and pretend to be him, while he put on his nightgown and went to Wei's house.

After lying on the roof for several nights, Wei Che finally understood what Fu Zongying meant.

Minister Wei must have more cunning ideas than the holes on a piece of sugar lotus. He actually changes his study room every day and it’s never the same every day.

Fu Zongying gave him some advice, "Since you can't do it with the men, why don't you try with the women?"

Wei Che leaned against the soft pillow and pretended to doze off. "With my reputation, which daughter of the Wei family would dare to talk to me?"

Not to mention getting words out of the other person.

Fu Zongying smiled cunningly.

"No, no, the Wei family's daughter won't work, but the future young lady of the Wei family will work, right?"