Chapter 56: Obsession: I was married in a formal ceremony and entered the Marquis's Mansion in a sedan chair carried by eight people...

Xie Jing also placed the purse containing the gold beans that Yu Qing won for him in the box that was never allowed to be touched by outsiders.

Does she know how attractive she is?

How could it be so light, so casual? She twirled the bamboo arrow around her fingertips a few times, then, without even stopping, threw it, each time hitting the tiny ear hole in the pot's neck squarely. Regardless of the chorus of cheers, she simply smiled indifferently.

It wasn't just the pot that was hit, it was clearly pierced through the heart as well.

"A Jing."

“…”

“…A Jing!”

Xie Tingzhao was delayed for a while dealing with government affairs, so he asked Xie Jing to wait for him in the mansion. However, when he entered, Xie Jing was holding his forehead with his hand, his eyes flickering. He called out twice but got no response. Finally, as if waking from a dream, he looked up and said, "Ah? My royal brother is back."

Xie Tingzhao frowned and asked, "What were you thinking about just now?"

Xie Jing said: "Oh, I'm thinking about the Chen family."

Xie Tingzhao was skeptical.

"Someone from their family came to see me yesterday," Xie Jing said. "They're really anxious."

"As expected," Prince Rui said. "You should be careful with them. Duan Zhirui has selected a group of qualified personnel for you to bring back to the palace. You are currently at the peak of your fame, so you must not be careless. Keep more people with you when you go out."

Xie Jing: "Yeah."

Xie Tingzhao said casually: "Oh, there is one more thing."

Xie Jing: "What?"

Xie Tingzhao: "Mother is worried that you will be alone in the mansion every day without anyone to accompany you. It's not good at all. She has heard recently that several girls are well-educated, virtuous and kind, and I think their family backgrounds are also good. After the Queen's affairs are settled, I will arrange for you to meet them. If there is any one you like -"

The more Xie Jing listened, the more he felt something was wrong. He asked, "Why would Mother care about this? Royal Brother, could you please stop imagining this? What did you say to her?"

He said that Xie Tingzhao came to see him specially just to give him a few instructions, and he actually had other intentions.

"I didn't say anything," Prince Rui said calmly, "It's understandable that your mother cares about you. You're not young anymore, it's time to get married..."

Xie Jing said: "I'm married."

"...That's not what you call starting a family." Xie Tingzhao said.

Xie Jing thought to himself, I was married in a formal ceremony and brought into the Marquis's mansion in a sedan chair carried by eight people. I even have the Yu family's ancestral jade bracelet on my hand. How can it not be called getting married?

Prince Rui said earnestly, "Those in power are often confused. You are confused for a moment now. I don't blame you. But you have to let go. You can't always hang out with certain people..."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jing immediately said aggrievedly, "How could we have been hanging out together all this time? It's been so long, and we only met once yesterday."

Prince Rui: “…”

Xie Jing: "And he's not involved in any extramarital affairs, he's completely innocent."

Prince Rui: “…”

Xie Jing: "...Anyway, my royal brother, just stop worrying about it. You have more gray hair. Do you think there's any way to dye it?"

Prince Rui held his forehead in pain.

"Also, what kind of incense are you burning here?" Xie Jing asked, "I've been here for a while, and my eyes are heavy."

"An Shen San," King Rui said unhappily, "I can't sleep because of you."

When they were far away from each other before, Xie Jing missed Xie Tingzhao very much. Now that they are close, he finds that his royal brother is also a bit annoying.

Xie Jing looked at him helplessly and decided not to argue with him. After all, the emperor was old, so he should be more lenient with him.

Xie Tingzhao had been worrying a lot for more than ten years. Now he was up early and had to sleep late. He also had migraines, so he had to use a lot of incense and tranquilizers to help him sleep.

Xie Jing frowned as he opened the incense burner and then closed it again: "How much did you put in? It's too much. It will hurt your body if you continue like this. I have a recipe with herbs and other medicinal herbs that can also calm your mind. You can try it first to see if it works."

·

Xuanbei Marquis Mansion.

"Ouch, little ancestor, stop it!"

Yu Qing was about to go out when he walked into the yard and heard the servants shouting. He looked around and saw the Fulin dog kept in the yard running around with its short legs, holding a large ball of food in its mouth, and people were chasing after the dog.

Yu Qing: "What's going on?"

The Byzantine dog ran to her feet and barked twice.

"Sir, I was just about to take these clothes to the wash when this snowball came over and knocked over the clothes basket," the servant said, tears welling up in his eyes. "It's got your brocade robe in its mouth and won't let go. It's... totally torn."

Yu Qing took a closer look and vaguely remembered that this was the coat she had taken off two days ago. It had been dragged and rubbed by the puppy all the way and was in a terrible state.

Xueyun is usually very well-behaved. I don’t know what happened to her. Maybe she hasn’t taken care of it recently and always left it to the maids to take care of. It started to make trouble when it smelled her clothes.

"It's okay, it's broken, don't worry about it." Yu Qing said.

She leaned over and petted it, but the dog continued to bark, sometimes holding the piece of clothes in its mouth, and sometimes trying to pull at Yu Qing's legs. Yu Qing had no choice but to coax it, "I have something to do today. I'll come back to play with you tonight, okay?"

Tuanzi opened his watery eyes. Yu Qing finally stayed for another incense stick, smoothed its fur and patted its head before leaving.

She made an appointment to meet Wen Shuo today.

The location was chosen by Wen Shuo, who said that he hadn't relaxed for a long time and wanted to try something delicious at Zuixianlou.

The cuisine of Zuixianlou is unique in Beijing. Ordinary seats have to be booked one or two months in advance, and the private rooms and banquet halls are gathering places for the powerful and wealthy.

However, when they got downstairs, the shopkeeper became embarrassed: "Second Master Wen, the two floors above are full. Look at this..."

"It's full?" Wen Shuo stared, "Wasn't there a private room reserved for me before? You are so unkind, boss."

Wen Shuo used to be a frequent visitor here, but now he doesn't come here to visit with friends all day long like before. He thought that the shopkeeper was not giving him face because he had spent little money in the past two months.

The shopkeeper said, "Today is a special day. Our distinguished guests have reserved the entire place in advance, so there's nothing we can do. Next time you come, the private room will definitely be reserved for you! I'm so sorry..."

Yu Qing didn't really care where to eat. She was standing at the back with her arms folded and said, "Okay, let's change places."

·

In the elegant pavilion upstairs, Xie Jing glanced out inadvertently.

"That is..."

"Oh? Is that... the young marquis of Xuanbei Marquisate?" The person opposite also looked over as he was told.

·

Wen Shuo felt sympathetic. At this moment, a waiter hurried downstairs to whisper to the shopkeeper. Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper changed the subject and said, "Hey, Second Young Master, the guests above said that they are few in number and will be leaving soon. The elegant pavilion is empty and it's fine for you to use it. Come on, come on, please come in."

Wen Shuo and Yu Qing exchanged a glance, and then they went upstairs and sat down. Wen Shuo said in surprise, "I don't know whose family he is from, but he's quite easy to talk to."

"Maybe we'll meet later." Yu Qing calmly drank a sip of tea and started ordering food.

In her experience, no one would show kindness for free. In the end, they would have to come over and give face so that people would remember who did them a favor.

Sure enough, as the waiter began to bring the dishes to their elegant room, they could hear voices and footsteps in the corridor outside. It sounded like quite a few people. Just as Yu Qing had said, the other person stopped at their door before going downstairs, and revealed himself when the waiter opened the door to deliver the food.

"My Lord, Young Master Wen, it's a coincidence that we meet you two this time."

The man who came was a man in his thirties or forties. He looked a bit plump, but there was a shrewd look in his eyes.

Yu Qing couldn't recall who it was. She hadn't attended court much since returning to the capital, and the court had changed so much since two years ago, which made her confused. After a pause, she said, "What a coincidence! It's Master Chen."

After a few brief pleasantries, Yu Qing said, "Thank you, Lord Chen, for giving up this elegant pavilion. I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Ah, Your Excellency, you're too polite," Chen Wenhua said with a smile. "It's okay to give it to you. There wasn't anyone here originally, but the guests we're hosting today are so distinguished that I've booked both floors, mainly to avoid disturbing them. Since I'm the host anyway, why don't you keep your room in my hands, Your Excellency?"

This person was very eloquent. On the surface, he said that there was no need to be polite, but in fact, he clearly emphasized that he had important matters to attend to. This time, helping out would risk neglecting the distinguished guest. In the end, he also elevated Yu Qing to a status similar to that of the distinguished guest, so a small matter became a favor of some weight.

Yu Qing didn't care. It didn't matter if he didn't return the favor that was forced upon him.

At this time, several people escorted a young man out from the innermost part. Chen Wenhua turned around and raised his hand eagerly to lead the way for the man.

Yu Qing vaguely saw the outline of the "distinguished guest" and felt a sense of familiarity in his heart.

It was not until the man came closer that he raised his eyebrows in slight surprise - it was indeed Xie Jing.

"Your Highness Prince Jing."

Xie Jing saw Yu Qing in the private room and smiled, "We meet again. Is the prince meeting a friend here?"

Wen Shuo naturally knew that a Ninth Prince had appeared in the capital, but he had only heard of his name but had never seen him. He could not see Xie Jing from where he was sitting. As soon as he heard that a living prince was standing at the door, he walked forward respectfully to greet him.

"My name is Wen Shuo, nice to meet you... Your Highness." Wen Shuo's tongue suddenly got tied.

Xie Jing paused. He knew this man.

The other person was a friend of Yu Qing, who occasionally came to the Xuanbei Marquis Mansion to visit Yu Qing. Just now, he only saw Yu Qing's figure upstairs. Wen Shuo was already obscured by the crowd as he was closer, so he didn't notice who it was.

I guess they had only met each other two or three times, so Wen Shuo probably wouldn't remember him.

·

After His Royal Highness Prince Jing left, Wen Shuo closed the door of the elegant pavilion.

"...Qing, am I seeing things?" Wen Shuo turned around with a look of surprise, "That King Jing...why do they look so much like the same person?"

Yu Qing was stunned: "Who are you talking about?"

Wen Shuo whispered, "It's...your...his Highness."

Yu Qing exhaled and said slowly, "It really is similar, isn't it? Even you think so."

Princess Qingjia was very much in love with Yu Qing during her lifetime, and the couple were often together. Therefore, when he came to the Marquis's Mansion to look for Yu Qing, he happened to see her two or three times.

Although they only met from a distance, she was his good friend's beloved wife after all, so he couldn't help but have some impression of her.

After her death, her face gradually became blurred, but when Wen Shuo saw King Jing Xie Tingye, he immediately remembered that peerless beauty.

"Actually, I came to you for this very reason," Yu Qing said bluntly, "I'm investigating the life stories of Prince Jing and Qing Jia, but I've hit a bottleneck and haven't made any progress. I'd like to ask your brother to help me."

Over the past month, she has been investigating the origins of Concubine Rong's mother and Xie Jing's biological mother, but has yet to discover any connection. She has also tried to locate several of the palace maids who served in the palace back then, questioning them thoroughly, but has yet to uncover any suspicious points regarding the births of the two princes and princesses.

Over a decade ago, with Prince Rui's demotion, Concubine Rong's maternal family had fallen into decline. Xie Jing's mother was of humble origin, and records of her were few and far between. Yu Qing tried his best to trace the evidence, but the evidence he could gather was still limited. Wen Xu was the Minister of Revenue. His position and connections made him undoubtedly the best person for Yu Qing to turn to.

Wen Shuo asked, "Do you suspect him and His Highness Qing Jia...?"

"I can't really tell. Perhaps they are siblings from the same mother, or perhaps Concubine Rong is related to Prince Jing's mother..." Yu Qing said, "In short, no two people in the world would have such similar faces for no reason."

After hearing what he said, all kinds of palace secrets flashed through Wen Shuo's mind, and he understood Yu Qing's thoughts.

but……

Qingjia has already passed away. All the hidden secrets happened more than ten or twenty years ago. Even if we investigate thoroughly, what can be changed?

The lineage of Rong Fei and Prince Rui is now in great strength, and no one dares to challenge their arrogance. Prince Jing is also rising rapidly. If Yu Qing really gets involved in these grievances, he is afraid that he will be accidentally implicated.

"I don't care about anything else. I just want to know the truth, that's all." Yu Qing said.

Her tone was firm.

Looking at his friend's calm face, Wen Shuo sighed inwardly.

What is love in this world? Even if the person has left, I still care about everything related to her.

I dug deep into her life just to find out her background and give her an explanation now that she is no longer alive.

"Okay," Wen Shuo said, "I'll tell my eldest brother when I get home. If there's any news, I'll definitely tell you."