go home

"Leaving the palace?"

The next morning, Xiao Junbai's chopsticks froze for a moment, then he casually picked up a side dish and said, "I have a lot of things to do today and can't accompany you. Please go and come back early, and don't cause any more trouble."

Qi Qinghe was used to the Crown Prince's words about etiquette. He nodded in response, his eyes moving downwards to rest on Xiao Junbai's waist. "How does your injury feel, Your Highness? Would you like a doctor to take a look?"

As she spoke, she raised her hand and called for the palace maid to call the imperial physician.

Xiao Junbai wore a dark grey robe with a black outer shirt on the outside. His belted waist was even darker in colour and soaked with water. He was indifferent to this and continued to eat his meal at a leisurely pace.

Qi Qinghe opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "How could Your Highness be so seriously injured? What happened in Tongzhou? Is Your Highness having trouble investigating the case?"

When it came to state affairs, she spoke in a very light tone, fearing that His Highness might not be pleased.

"It went smoothly, I was just assassinated." Xiao Junbai put down his bowl and chopsticks, walked to the basin to wash his hands, and spoke in a flat tone, as if he was not talking about himself.

Qi Qinghe was startled, his brows furrowed, his lips trembling and he said nothing.

How could anyone be so calm when talking about matters of life and death, she didn't understand.

After dinner, the prince handled government affairs in Qingyaju as usual. Qi Qinghe changed her clothes and was about to leave the palace with two maids.

Cheng Xi knocked on the door at this moment, "Your Majesty, His Highness has ordered that Your Majesty must not return home empty-handed, as it is against etiquette, so he has sent a servant to pick out some good things and bring them home with Your Majesty."

As she spoke, the palace maid behind Chengxi put down the box and opened it. Inside were mostly medicinal herbs and some gold, silver and jade ornaments.

"Your Highness is so thoughtful. I've troubled you to make this trip." Qi Qinghe raised her slender eyebrows slightly and smiled. "These two girls are enough for me when I leave the palace. There's no need to go through so much trouble. Why don't you stay by His Highness's side and serve him?"

Are you kidding? If I take Chengxi with me, how can I discuss what will happen after the replacement marriage with my uncle?

The two maids were easy to deal with, they could just find an excuse to avoid him, but Chengxi was not easy to fool.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. His Highness has left the palace today." Cheng Xi said with a smile, "The capital has been in turmoil lately, so it's best for me to stay with Your Majesty."

Thinking about the casual chat this morning and the assassination that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince mentioned so casually, Qi Qinghe shut up.

The carriage stopped steadily at the gate of Qi's mansion. Qi Lin, who had received the message, stood at the gate to greet them, but there was no sign of Qi Zhang.

“…Father is fine, why is mother not here…” Qi Qinghe was helped out of the car by Yuntao. He clenched the handkerchief in his hand tightly, and his fingers turned white from exerting force before he called out “Father and Mother”.

Her right eye twitched, and she felt vaguely uneasy.

"She is not in good health, don't bother her." Because Cheng Xi was here, Qi Lin forced a smile and led the person into the house.

In the main hall of the front yard, there were many servants and maids, hurrying in and out, holding all kinds of exquisite and gorgeous teacups in their hands.

A cup of tea was placed beside him. "Is mother in good health? I just happened to bring some back this time..."

As she spoke, she signaled the palace servants accompanying her to put down the box.

Unexpectedly, before he could finish his words, a person suddenly jumped out from the side door leading to the backyard, which was blocked by a screen, and rushed straight towards Qi Qinghe.

Cheng Xi reacted incredibly quickly, moving to stand in front of the Empress and waving for several guards to surround the person. "Who are you?"

"Girl, save me! They want to kidnap me and sell me out!" The man ignored her and cried incoherently at Qi Qinghe.

A slightly childish face was revealed, with red and swollen corners of the mouth, half of the cheek swollen, and dark eyes, all of which showed what this person had been through.

If this isn't Qin'er, then who else could it be?

Although there were many people between them, Qi Qinghe recognized Qin'er instantly. She pushed the person in front of her aside and half-knelt down to pull Qin'er. "What's going on? What's the matter? What happened?"

Cheng Xi and several guards looked at each other in bewilderment. Cheng Xi still remembered that the last time she came back with His Highness and the Queen, this little girl looked pretty, neatly dressed, and spoke clearly. How could she become like this in just a few days?

Qi Lin's face darkened, and he feigned composure, saying, "This girl has done something dishonest. Sending her away is already a mercy. Your Majesty is of noble status, how can you stay with her?"

Qi Qinghe gently embraced the trembling Qin'er, her heart pounding violently. She raised her head, her eyes cold as ice beneath her thick lashes, and her words were even colder. "Father, may I ask, when has she ever been dishonest? Qin'er is mine, and even if there's a fate to be decided, it should be my decision. Why didn't you tell me?"

Perhaps because she had been in the palace for too long, she had an air of not to be offended. Her ink-black eyes stared at him without blinking, without a trace of a smile, which made people feel uneasy and want to retreat.

Qi Lin coughed lightly, lowered his thick black eyebrows, and sneered: "What a joke, I sent a little girl, how could I alarm the queen?"

Provoked by Qi Qinghe, Qi Lin apparently forgot that the Crown Prince's men were accompanying him.

"What are you talking about, sir?" Cheng Xi raised an eyebrow and took a step forward to separate the two. "Since she is the Majesty's maid and has made a mistake, why not hand her over to the Majesty for punishment? What do you think, sir?"

Cheng Xi was discussing this with a firm tone that would not tolerate any objection. He had only one purpose in accompanying her, to protect the Empress.

"Nonsense! How could I have stolen anything from you? It's obvious that you are looking for an excuse to drive me away! You have bad intentions and are so heartless..." Qin'er, who had become more sober, came back to her senses and said hatefully.

She leaned over to the girl's ear and explained the whole story in detail.

On that day, Qi Qinghe gave her a bag of small change and told her to buy some tall servants and hide them quietly in the mansion. If she found anything from the palace in the future, she should send it all to Qi Xu.

Everything was going smoothly. Qin'er took advantage of the time when she went in and out to do some shopping to bring people into the mansion and arranged them around the lotus courtyard.

All the things that Qi Qinghe had sent back some time ago were brought into the Heyuan.

Although Qi Lin and Qi Zhang's faces turned pale, they didn't say anything.

Unexpectedly, they suddenly launched an attack today and ordered some maids and servants to surround the lotus courtyard. Except for Qi Xu, no one else was spared and they were all thrown out of the house.

Finally it was Qin'er's turn. If Qi Xu had not protected her with her own death, she would never have been able to see their daughter here.

"Girl, I...you have to make the decision for me, girl. I really didn't do those things..." Qin'er said with a sob.

In extreme fear and anger, Qin'er still remembered the girl's substitutionary marriage, so she dared not speak without restraint and say anything.

At this moment, the only sound in the hall was Qin'er's sobbing.

Qi Lin didn't dare to say a word. He only raised his eyes occasionally and glared at Qi Qinghe fiercely. Then he turned his back and stood still.

Cheng Xi looked at them quietly, feeling strange. In this family, the father didn't look like a father, and the daughter didn't look like a daughter.

Qi Qinghe pulled Qin'er up and said, "Father, please sit down first. I will go and see mother."

"You all stay here. You don't have to follow me. I'll be back soon." She glanced around and without waiting for Chengxi to say anything, she pulled Qin'er to the backyard.

She was very familiar with the road to Heyuan.

The simple courtyard was now in a mess, the arranged flowers fell to the ground, the gray and yellow mud was everywhere, the door was open, and broken bowls could be vaguely seen.

"Mother!" Qi Qinghe shouted loudly and ran into the house holding up the hem of her skirt.

Upon hearing the noise, Qi Xu came out of the house, and the mother and daughter hugged each other.

"Mother, are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they give you any trouble?" Qi Qinghe said as he looked Mother over carefully from head to toe. After confirming that she was fine, he finally let go of his worries.

Qi Xu shook her head repeatedly to indicate that she was fine. The mother and daughter supported each other and dragged Qin'er into the house.

The messy house was in a state of disarray and had not been cleaned up in time.

"Why did you send so many things last time? I didn't even need them." Qi Xu was supported by her daughter and slowly sat down. "How are you doing in the palace?"

Qi Qinghe had already thought of a response to all these words, and did not mention the matter of falling into the water. "I'm fine in the palace..."

The mother and daughter exchanged a few more words before Qi Xu let them go. "You didn't come back alone, did you? You'd better not stay here, to avoid arousing suspicion."

Qi Qinghe hesitated for a moment, her eyes curved and she smiled softly, "Don't worry, mother. I know what's going on."

"My uncle will take care of it. You just stay here and take good care of mother." She turned to Qin'er and gave her a few more detailed instructions.

We paid money to buy those servants, how can we just let them go like this?

Seeing Qin'er nod, Qi Qinghe felt relieved. He told his mother to take good care of herself and got up to leave.

She left the lotus garden, but did not go to the front yard. Instead, she turned and headed west.

Qi Qingyu, the eldest daughter of the Qi family, lives here.

She knocked on the door, and soon it opened from both sides.

Qi Qingyu's eyes were dull, and only lit up for a moment when she saw her. "I knew my sister would come."

"Did you come up with a good solution for what you said last time?" Qi Qinghe asked hesitantly.

While the two sisters were whispering behind closed doors, Qi Lin had been waiting impatiently in the main hall, fearing that Qi Xu and her daughter were plotting something. With Cheng Xi here, he couldn't get away, so he could only smile and say, "Miss Yu has been spoiled at home, so she's disrespectful. She's been causing a lot of trouble in the palace."

"Your Excellency is joking. How could the Queen get into trouble?" Cheng Xi's smile faded a little, and he picked out two harmless and funny stories about the Queen to tell.

As soon as he said that, Qi Lin realized that something was wrong. He smiled awkwardly and said nothing more.

"Thank you for waiting for me, father. Mother is in good health. It just so happens that His Highness has sent some things to nourish her." Qi Qinghe lifted her skirt and walked up the stairs, then slowly walked over the screen. She was wearing a neat palace dress, a smile on her beautiful face, and her ink-black eyes were like stars and moons, shining brightly.

She is no longer the cold-spoken Crown Princess.

"You..." Qi Lin was about to scold her for being rude and abandoning her, but then he remembered what he had just said wrong and stopped talking for a moment.

"His Highness specifically instructed me to return to the palace early, so I won't stay any longer." Qi Qinghe smiled, "Thank you, father, for sending me off."

Qi Lin snorted coldly, but finally followed her.

The father and daughter were in front, and the palace maids were behind.

"Your Highness seems to have discovered the substitutionary marriage. What good plan does father have?" Qi Qinghe whispered softly. Before Qi Lin could speak, she continued, "Father, why don't you think about it carefully and come find me again when you've made up your mind."

Qi Lin was horrified and his eyes suddenly widened. Before he could question her, he saw the Crown Princess, supported by her maid, holding up the hem of her skirt and getting into the carriage.

The carriage creaked away, leaving Qi Lin shivering in the autumn wind.