Chapter 14: Frightened Xie Jing didn't dare to move at all, he almost went crazy. ...

Xie Jing listened quietly and said, "So that's how it is."

When mentioning his brother, Yu Qing's calm expression also revealed an indescribable sadness. He did not show it obviously, but Xie Jing could notice it.

Xie Jing also has siblings, so he understands Yu Qing.

Yu Qing said, "Besides my brother, I also offer lamps to the soldiers who die on the battlefield every year. So I often come to see them, dust the lamps, and light some incense."

Qing Jia said: "Then I also want to burn a stick of incense with you, is that okay?"

Yu Qing was stunned.

She and Qingjia entered the hall together and placed the incense on the altar.

Qingjia looked at the words on the rows of lanterns seriously. In the dim light, her face was as compassionate as a bodhisattva. Yu Qing looked at her silently.

"I also have a brother, but I haven't seen him for many years." Xie Jing pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Forget it, let's not talk about him."

Xie Tingzhao is still a criminal. If he says more and makes more mistakes, it will only arouse the fear and disgust of outsiders.

However, the next moment Yu Qing reached out and touched his shoulder, causing Xie Jing to freeze.

"I understand your Highness's feelings," Yu Qing whispered, "Even if we can't meet, as long as we are in this world, we must miss each other."

Somehow, the touch of the hand on his shoulder did not make Xie Jing feel unbearable.

The two of them emerged from the hall, the atmosphere still slightly oppressive. Yu Qing suggested, "This place also leads to the back mountain. The scenery over there is quite nice and rarely visited. Your Highness, would you like to go and see it?"

The back mountain sounds a bit far, and to be honest, Xie Jing doesn't really want to go there.

Then he nodded.

There was no way out. Since Yu Qing had already said so, he had to agree reluctantly.

After walking for a few incense sticks, Xie Jing was tired. Fortunately, the path leading to the back mountain was covered with dense trees and was quite shady.

Just when he felt he was losing his patience, he reached the end of the path and saw an open plain and a clear stream with silver splashes of water accompanied by the sound of clear water.

"Your Highness, would you like to rest here?"

Xie Jing took a look and saw that it was a large bluestone. He then looked at Yu Qing and saw that he had nothing in his hands and no cushion.

"I'm not tired," he said, not wanting to dirty his clothes. "It's okay if I don't rest."

Yu Qing was just asking casually; she wasn't tired at all. After hearing what the princess said, she continued walking forward with her.

"Look, there are lots of fish in this mountain stream," Yu Qing said. "Catching them and grilling them would be delicious. But every time I think about this being a Buddhist holy place where we can't kill, I've never actually eaten any."

Xie Jing: "...How do you eat it? Grill it directly?"

"Yes, just put it on the fire and sprinkle some salt and spices. It tastes very fresh," Yu Qing said. "If Your Highness wants to eat it, we can go down the mountain and grill it later."

Xie Jing declined politely, "I don't like fish."

Yu Qing said: "Oh... okay, I'll remember it."

The clouds passed by slowly, and the afternoon sun was blazing. Xie Jing was scorched by the sun, so he walked a few feet to the side to let the branches block out the sunlight.

He thought to himself, Yu Qing doesn't know how to take care of others...

There was no umbrella to block the sun, no fan to give him air, and his talk of grilling fish didn't sound very good. Besides, if he wanted to catch fish, he couldn't catch it now. Was he going to carry the fish all the way back? Really.

When they were talking with Master Anren, they dismissed the other followers and did not ask anyone to serve them during meals.

If Xie Jing had known Yu Qing was like this, he wouldn't have come with him. Next time, he must bring his maid with him...

He was just thinking about waiting for another cup of tea when he suddenly caught a glimpse of something moving on a branch two feet away.

Xie Jing turned his head and looked over, and a small emerald green snake made eye contact with him.

Xie Jing: “…”

Xie Jing didn't dare to move at all and was almost scared to death.

"...Yu Qing, Yu Qing!" He blurted out, "Come here quickly..."

He was afraid that the noise was too loud and would startle the snake. The little snake spit out its tongue again, and Xie Jing opened his eyes wide.

"It's okay, it's okay, Qingjia, don't be afraid."

When Yu Qing heard the princess calling her, she had sharp eyes and saw the snake at once.

She drew the dagger from her waist and threw it out.

With a single blow, the snake was pinned to the tree trunk, coiling around the sword and struggling. Xie Jing's legs went limp.

"Your Highness, how are you? Everything is fine." Yu Qing quickly pulled Qingjia over.

Xie Jing's breathing was rapid, and he was still in shock.

He was most afraid of things like snakes and insects, which was a shadow left over from his childhood.

After a while, he was still feeling palpitations. When he came to his senses, he found himself holding Yu Qing's hand as if it were a life-saving straw.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here. The snake can't touch you," Yu Qing said. She felt the princess's hand was still trembling slightly, and her voice had changed when she called her just now. She must have been frightened.

Yu Qing said: "It's dead and not moving."

She raised her hand, and Xie Jing said, "Don't take it!"

Yu Qing said hurriedly: "No, no, I don't hold a snake, I hold a sword."

She pulled out the sword nailed to the tree trunk. The sword went in very deep, and when it was pulled out, there was a "puff" sound. Xie Jing also heard the sound of something falling on it, and his heart sank. It should be the corpse of a snake.

"Is that snake poisonous?" Qing Jia asked, "Will it get on the sword?"

Yu Qing: "No, patterns like this are not poisonous. Look..."

Yu Qing fiddled with it twice with the tip of his sword as he spoke, wanting to show it to him. Xie Jing said, "I don't want to see it. Don't touch it!"

Yu Qing said: "Okay, okay, let's go over there, come on."

Xie Jing took a moment to recover. He glanced at Yu Qing with resentment and said, "I want to go back."

Princess Qingjia's eyes were red, and she felt very aggrieved. Yu Qing felt ashamed: "Let's go, let's go back now..."

Halfway through, Xie Jing was no longer panicked, but embarrassed instead.

I really lost my composure just now and even held on to Yu Qing. It was so embarrassing.

Yu Qing was skilled in martial arts and agile, so Xie Jing subconsciously regarded him as his savior.

Yu Qing was indeed reliable. He dealt with the snake with just a wave of his hand, which made him look even more embarrassed.

Yu Qing also wanted to hold his forehead and sigh, why did he always make things worse with the princess?

Last time when I took her to appreciate the lotus and feed the fish, the princess almost fell into the water; this time when I took her into the mountains to see the scenery, she encountered a snake again.

Is she really a bit of an unlucky person? That shouldn't be the case. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory said before that their horoscopes are very compatible.

There were trees and grass on both sides of the mountain road. There was nothing wrong when he came, but when he was going back, everything looked like a snake to Xie Jing. He walked very carefully, fearing that a snake would suddenly jump out and run onto his legs.

Yu Qing said, "Your Highness, how about I carry you on my back?"

Xie Jing: “…No need.”

"Then I'll lead you away," Yu Qing coaxed, "Don't worry, there won't be any more snakes. If there are any, I'll get rid of them right away and won't let them get close."

Xie Jing was very upset when he realized that Yu Qing had discovered his worries.

However, he did not pull his hand out of Yu Qing's hand. Yu Qing's hand was very steady. Although it was not broad, it accumulated strength and conveyed a sense of security.

As they walked, Qingjia suddenly paused, and Yu Qing asked, "Hmm?"

"You just killed something." Qingjia whispered.

"...Oh, I forgot," Yu Qing touched his nose, "It should be fine, we are not in the temple."

"But didn't the master just tell you to practice and accumulate merit? Killing is not good." The princess said worriedly.

Yu Qing didn't take those words to heart at all. She didn't expect the princess to take it more seriously than she did. She said, "Then I'll just copy a couple more scriptures when I get back. It's okay. I didn't kill for no reason. It was this creature that first threatened Your Highness."

The princess said, "...It's my fault. This is my fault."

Hmm? Yu Qing said hurriedly, "No, why would I blame you? If it's for His Highness, it doesn't matter how many more I kill. His Highness is more important than anything else."

“…”

Xie Jing lowered his eyes: "Yeah. Stop talking about killing or not. Be careful with your words. Be more careful next time."

Yu Qing nodded obediently, and the princess's concern made her feel warm again.

The two walked side by side, already quite close. The princess was dressed plainly today, wearing only a jade hairpin and earrings. She wasn't as bright and gorgeous as before, but still elegant and refined. She couldn't help but stare at the jade beads swaying gently with her steps, until the princess said, "...What are you looking at me for?"

Yu Qing looked away and thought, you look so beautiful.

When they returned to Tanyin Temple, the attendants who were resting in the Zen room heard that the two had returned and stood up to greet them.

Qiu Lian noticed Xie Jing's pale face and asked, "Your Highness, where did you come from? What happened? Are you feeling unwell?"

Xie Jing shook his head: "Nothing."

He felt there was no need to tell her that he was frightened by a snake, but Yu Qing honestly explained, "Just now I wanted to take you to the back mountain for a walk, but I didn't expect to run into a snake."

"Ah? There are snakes in this mountain?" Qiu Lian asked, "Did they hurt you? Your Highness is most afraid of those creatures."

"...Thanks to the prince consort, I wasn't hurt." Xie Jing said.

Yu Qing was stunned. She thought Qingjia was just afraid, but she didn't expect it to be more serious.

After getting on the carriage, she carefully asked, "Your Highness, are you afraid of snakes? Have you been hurt before?"

"Well, when I was a kid, I can't remember clearly." Xie Jing evaded the question.

No wonder Qingjia took a long time to recover. Once bitten by a snake, it is not too much to remember it for ten years.

"Why are there snakes in the palace? It's too dangerous..." Yu Qing said.

Of course, this is not common in the palace. Someone just wants to harm him, but Xie Jing didn't say it.

He simply thanked Yu Qing: "Thank you, Prince Consort, for saving me, otherwise I would be in trouble."

It is natural for a husband to protect his wife. Why should I thank him? Besides, it was my fault for not noticing Qingjia in time.

Yu Qing felt quite guilty and decided to remember this next time and not let Qingjia be in danger again.

Despite the incident in the back mountains, they had basically enjoyed a full day. Yu Qing had originally wanted to take the princess for a stroll around the city on the way back. Hadn't she said before that the palace was boring? But thinking that the princess was frightened, it would be better to return to the mansion, so they had dinner there.

That night, in Wenhua Garden, Xie Jing asked, "Do you still have the vanilla? Add some calming herbs and put it in a sachet. I'll send it to the Prince Consort later."

Dong Li asked curiously, "Give it to the prince consort? Why?"

Xie Jing had a blank expression on his face: "Don't ask, just give it to me."

He still remembered that Yu Qing had asked him for a sachet, so he decided to give one to her as a thank you gift.

"Oh, okay," Dong Li muttered as he walked out, "Let me see if there are any sachets left..."