Chapter 137 Grandma Asks

A thought naturally came to grandma's mind - her disciple was with the prince.

No, he is now the deposed crown prince.

When inquiring about the Xi family's news, it was necessary to mention the dethronement of the crown prince. She was not paying attention to the succession of the royal throne at the moment, and she did not have any special feelings after knowing that the crown prince was dethroned. Some things happened too long ago, so long that those people were about to disappear from her memory.

Grandma sighed, but her eyes quickly returned to seriousness.

She didn't care who sat on the dragon throne, nor did she care who would sit on the dragon throne next, but the premise was that her good disciple was not the deposed prince's concubine.

It is a well-known fact that one of the twin sisters of the Xi family married the deposed crown prince and the other married the third place winner in the imperial examination. Since the one in the Song family is Xi Qingtong, the one next to the deposed crown prince should be her good disciple.

What is going on?

"No, I want to see it with my own eyes."

Qing Wu, who knew nothing about it, was accompanying Xiao Ji on an inspection of the farmland. Most of the land around the palace had been reclaimed, and many people were now diverting water to irrigate the fields.

Looking at the few acres of fields with little green spots, Xiao Ji couldn't help but smile, "By the middle of next month, these seedlings should be ready for transplanting, right?"

Qingwu helped him walk forward and replied with a smile: "Yes, in mid-May, we can transplant the rice into the fields."

Looking at the girl with a bright smile beside him, "Qingqing," Xiao Ji couldn't help but start to imagine, "When these rice are ripe, we will eat the first bowl of new rice together."

"OK……"

Looking at the endless land in front of them, although it was bare and there was nothing on it, both of them felt refreshed.

They walked forward together like this, causing the spies who were monitoring them from a distance to yawn out of boredom. In less than half a minute, they felt sleepy and fell asleep accompanied by the chirping of cicadas.

Qing Wu looked at Xiao Ji limping and felt a little uncomfortable. "Let's go back. There's nothing to see ahead."

Xiao Ji, however, was oblivious and chuckled softly, "What are you going back for? I just took off the splint on my leg. I haven't felt this light in a long time."

But Qingwu still remembered that Zhao Tong had said that Xiao Ji's leg would not heal. Although in her opinion, the leg had recovered quite well, Xiao Ji's performance was not the same, which made her a little worried.

The girl's worried expression was so obvious that the young man was stunned for a few breaths. After a while, he couldn't help laughing and touched her cheek and said, "Qingqing, you won't let me fool you with this look, right? Aren't you pretending to be a fool for others?"

"But didn't the imperial physician say..."

Glancing at the smile that suddenly faded from the boy's eyes, Qingwu stopped talking in annoyance. Why did she bring up something that was not relevant to the topic?

She lowered her head and muttered after a while, "If only grandma were here, she would definitely be able to tell."

Of course, this is just Qingwu's expectation. She knows her grandmother's ambition, so how could she be willing to come to the capital?

However, when this thought arose, she heard a sound.

"Liu Lang, there seems to be the sound of horse hooves?"

"Huh? Why didn't I…"

The words stopped abruptly, and Xiao Ji also heard it. It was indeed the sound of horse hooves, and it was not a carriage.

They both turned around and saw a horse galloping towards the palace. The person on the horse was bent over, so his face could not be seen clearly. Only a head of silver hair shining in the sun could be seen.

As the horses got closer, the two men could gradually see the face of the person on the horse. It turned out to be an elderly woman!

Xiao Ji was a little surprised and also a little impressed. He was still able to ride on horseback at such an old age, which showed that he was still strong.

He kept looking at the fast horse and didn't notice Qingwu's expression beside him, which changed from curiosity to shock and then to disbelief.

After vaguely seeing the old woman's face, Qingwu's pupils suddenly dilated, and the hand that was originally holding Xiao Ji's arm unconsciously dropped. Her lips trembled, and tears gradually filled her eyes.

That seems to be her grandma?

But why is grandma in the capital?

Qingwu felt like she was dreaming, but the horse in her dream was indeed getting closer and closer to her, and finally stopped in front of the palace gate.

An impulse surged in his chest. At this moment, Qingwu's eyes were only on the old woman on the horse. She lifted her skirt and galloped across the ridges of the fields, leaving behind a confused young man who stretched out his hands helplessly.

Finally, he accepted his fate and limped along.

Grandma had noticed the two people on the ridge a long time ago. When she got closer, she naturally recognized that the girl on the ridge was her beloved disciple. Seeing that her beloved disciple also recognized her and was running towards her, she quickly pulled the reins and dismounted.

His movements were so agile that he didn't look like an old man.

"Grandma!" Qingwu threw herself into the old woman's arms, her voice filled with tears, "It's really you!"

Grandma's rough hands gently stroked her disciple's hair, her eyes full of love: "Silly girl, who else could it be if not me?"

She pushed Qingwu away, carefully wiped away her disciple's tears, and said calmly, "Don't cry, don't cry, let grandma take a closer look."

Hearing this, Qing Wu barely managed to control her emotions and raised her head. Her eyes were red, but she forced a smile. His old, wrinkled fingers gently stroked her cheek, and a gentle light gleamed in his weathered eyes.

"You've grown up." Grandma gestured at Qingwu's height, "You've grown taller than me now. That's great, that's great."

Hearing this, Qingwu couldn't help but burst into tears again. The year her grandma parted with her, she was just fourteen years old and only grew to the height of her grandma's eyebrows. Now, four years have passed, and she has grown taller than her grandma.

And maybe it wasn't that she was too tall, but that grandma was too short. Looking at the old woman in front of him whose hair was half whiter than four years ago and whose figure was thinner, Qingwu couldn't help but hug her again and buried himself in her arms.

"Grandma...I missed you. Why did you come just now?"

When grandma didn't come, Qingwu understood her and didn't have any resentment. But when grandma really came, the grievances accumulated in his heart came flooding back and he couldn't help but burst out.

The grandmother, who thought her little apprentice didn't seem to have suffered much just a second ago, suddenly panicked. This child has been strong since childhood, and it is rare for him to express grievances in such a tone.

She quickly hugged Qingwu and patted and coaxed him: "Silly child, grandma misses you too. Isn't grandma here? But what's wronged you?"

Xiao Ji finally caught up. After hearing a few words, he knew the identity of the old woman in front of him. She was the grandmother who raised his wife. He couldn't help but observe her secretly.

The old woman before me was thin, yet not a stooped figure. Her back was straight, like an old pine tree that had stood firm for years. Her silver hair was neatly tied, with only a few strands scattered at her temples, which were slightly lifted by the wind.

Noticing that he was looking at her, the old woman raised her eyes and glanced at him, which made Xiao Ji's heart rise in an instant.

The old woman's eyebrows were like blades and her eye sockets were deep. The look in her eyes was not kind, but rather sharp. However, when she looked at the girl in her arms, her expression suddenly changed to gentle and loving.

Xiao Ji breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't matter if he was mean to him, as long as he was nice to his wife.

But his eyes couldn't help but wander around the old woman's eyebrows and eyes. He always felt that he had seen this pair of eyebrows and eyes somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. Finally, his attention was attracted by Qingwu's red eyes from crying, and he forgot this familiarity.

Seeing Qingwu crying, he felt distressed, so he cleared his throat and diverted her attention: "This... is grandma, right?"

As soon as he spoke, the two people who were hugging each other naturally loosened their embrace. Qingwu introduced him to her grandmother with a little shyness, "Grandma, this is my husband... He is..."

Before Qingwu could finish, the grandmother had already given the answer, "Deposed Crown Prince?"

Qingwu's expression changed slightly, and he looked at Xiao Ji in an instant, afraid that he would be unhappy about this.

But he was not angry at all. Instead, he bowed to the grandmother and said, "It is the junior."

Seeing him being so polite and not arrogant or impatient, grandma felt a little relieved. Although he was that child's child, he seemed okay?

However, the grandmother did not show any joy on her face. Instead, she looked at Qingwu and said seriously, "You should know what I want to ask?"

Hearing this, Qing Wu shuddered for a moment, remembering the days when she was scolded by her grandma. Her eyes turned, and a flattering smile appeared on her face. She took her grandma's arm and said coquettishly: "Grandma, you must be tired after running all the way. Let's go in and rest for a while first?"

Seeing her beloved disciple in such a state, begging for mercy, grandma pinched her nose helplessly: "Okay, okay, we'll talk later."

As the group walked towards the yard, the spy who was lying on a tree in the distance slowly woke up. Seeing that grandma was wearing simple old clothes, he thought she was a peasant woman from Hedong Village.

After all, villagers from Hedong Village were coming and going at this time. At first, they could still pay attention to them one by one, but after seeing them so many times, they relaxed their vigilance.

The group entered the palace and walked straight to the main hall. During this time, grandma's eyes inevitably fell on the limping Xiao Ji, but she didn't ask anything.

She was seated in the main hall and drank the tea served by her apprentice. After resting for a while, she slowly said, "Tell me, what's going on?"

Seeing her disciple clasping his hands in front of his stomach, lowering his eyes and pursing his lips, looking guilty and not knowing what to say, the grandmother's heart sank slightly. She raised her head and glanced at Xiao Ji, "Tell me, I'm already here, how could I not know anything?"

For some reason, Xiao Ji felt like he was being watched with suspicion, feeling pressured. His legs, which were slightly apart, unconsciously came together. All the pride he had accumulated as the crown prince for more than ten years was now suppressed. He looked extremely well-behaved, like a student being lectured.

But his teachers had never made him feel this way. The last person who made him feel stressed was his mother who was angered by him.

What is going on?

Xiao Ji was extremely obedient, and Qing Wu was also listless. The young couple became quails under the gaze of their grandmother.

After a while, Qingwu slowly spoke, but his eyes turned red again when he spoke.

At first, the grandmother saw that her disciple was guilty and thought that she had caused some trouble, but the next moment she saw her disciple throwing herself at her knees, just like when she was a child, but at that time, her disciple was just depressed, not crying.

"What's going on?"

Grandma was about to pull Qingwu up, but Qingwu grabbed her hand and said, "Grandma, please, please let me lie on your lap. I want to do this..."

The girl's beautiful eyes were full of crystal, and the stubbornness in them shone brighter than her tears. Grandma's heart softened immediately.

"Okay, just say that..."

Xiao Ji, who had already stood up, hesitated for a moment. Instead of helping Qing Wu up, he lifted his robe and sat on the ground like her. Not too close, not too far away, he slowly placed one hand on her back to give Qing Wu a little strength.

This series of actions fell completely into the eyes of grandma, who couldn't help but be a little surprised. Is this really the former crown prince?

Of course, besides being surprised, she was also a little unhappy. In her heart, how many men could really be worthy of her apprentice, even though the man in front of her was her grandson and had a blood relationship with her.

But soon, grandma's mind was no longer on Xiao Ji. As Qingwu spoke, her brows quickly furrowed. When she heard about her experiences in the Xi family, especially when she was squeezed out by Xi Qingtong and criticized by Madam Zheng, grandma's face became more and more gloomy, a cold light seemed to flash in her eyes, and her knuckles were pinched white.

She had personally taken care of the child for ten years and raised him personally. She thought the child would live a rich and prosperous life when he returned home, but she never expected this kind of situation?

However, she did not get angry. Instead, she touched her beloved disciple's head and continued to listen, suppressing the anger in her heart.

Qing Wu leaned on her knees, his voice choked with sobs: "...Actually, these are not a big deal. She has generally treated me well in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, but later..."

"What happened next?" Grandma's voice was as cold as ice.

Qing Wu looked at the young man beside her who was also comforting her, and tearfully said, "My father originally promised me to my cousin Song Yunhe. At the end of last year, I married him first..."

This sentence made the grandmother's pupils tremble. She had prepared herself mentally. After years of wandering around the world, she had witnessed many strange things and had guessed a few things. However, she just thought that the two sisters had exchanged identities when they got married. Who could have imagined that...

"Bang!" Grandma slammed her hand on the table, causing the teacup to jump up and spill tea all over the floor.

Xiao Ji's back tensed instantly, and he subconsciously stretched out his hand to block Qing Wu. The tea splashed on his sleeves, but no one cared about it at this moment.

"Did you exchange identities after getting married?!"

Qingwu nodded slowly.

"Then you..."

Grandma's eyes wandered between the young couple, finally landing on Xiao Ji's face, "You and Xi Qingtong were also married?"

A trace of shame and embarrassment crossed the young man's face, but he nodded honestly, "Xi Qingtong and I got married at the beginning of this year." He didn't want his elders to misunderstand him, so he quickly explained, "But I haven't... I haven't consummated my marriage with Xi Qingtong."

It was really shameful to talk about the private matters in the bedroom, but the fear in Xiao Ji's heart was greater than his shyness.

This matter really had nothing to do with Xiao Ji. Qing Wu didn't want him to be embarrassed by grandma, so he quickly defended her, "Grandma, he is the victim in this matter."

The girl's intention to protect the boy was too obvious. Grandma felt inexplicably unhappy, but she still withdrew her gaze from Xiao Ji and said, "Tell me in detail, what is going on!"

In order to prevent her grandmother from scolding Xiao Ji, Qing Wu calmed down and told her grandmother the whole story of the husband swap in detail.

Because Nanny Xia, Shanshan, Qingmian and others had already discovered it and came to express their condolences, Qingwu had recalled this matter several times. When he talked about it again, he was not as sad as before, and could even be said to be calm.

But it was the first time that grandma heard about it. She was so shocked that she couldn't recover for a while after hearing that the mother and daughter forced their beloved disciple to exchange identities because the crown prince was deposed and they didn't want to live a hard life.

How could there be such a mother and biological sisters in this world?

Grandma hurriedly looked at her apprentice, but saw that Qingwu looked calm. She felt that her apprentice had been heartbroken by his relatives, and the anger in her heart could no longer be suppressed.

"That's simply too much!"