Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Tangtang, it’s me.
At the same time, there were three people in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion who had not slept for a long time.
In the study of Songfengyuan, under the flickering candlelight, Wei Qingyan looked tired and absent-minded, and the scene of Qiao Tang getting off the carriage in front of the restaurant kept flashing before his eyes.
It was Mu Li's veil that covered Qiao Tang's face. He stood in front of the window on the second floor of the inn opposite, lowered his eyes slightly, and recognized her at a glance.
After three years of marriage, no one knew Qiao Tang better than him. He remembered everything about Qiao Tang very clearly and could not forget it for a moment.
His eyes followed Qiao Tang into the restaurant, watching her take off the curtain, revealing a familiar and beautiful face.
She was still the same Qiao Tang, the same Qiao Tang who had been his wife. The expression on her face while eating snacks was no different from when she was in Jizhou.
The only difference is that she entered the palace.
She is very much loved by His Majesty. His Majesty condescended to ask me for a harp for her. How could I not accept her request?
The candle flame burned out and went out suddenly. The small statue in Wei Qingyan's hand could no longer be seen, but he still held it tightly.
Outside the courtyard, the room darkened. The Duke's wife, who had been standing there for a long time, relaxed her stiff body. She put her arm around Wei Ruomei and asked, "Your brother has been distracted these past few days. Do you know why?"
Wei Ruomei lowered her head and did not dare to answer. She was not stupid. Her brother could recognize the perfume made by Sister Qiao and the letters written by Sister Qiao. It was obvious that her brother and Sister Qiao were old acquaintances.
Her brother came up with a plan for her to coax Sister Qiao out of the palace. She didn't know the reason, but she did it nervously. During this time, she wanted to ask, Sister Qiao, do you know my brother Wei Qingyan?
But her brother had told her not to tell Sister Qiao the truth, so she had no choice but to keep silent and sent Sister Qiao away nervously.
That day she rushed into the inn and saw another side of her brother for the first time, a Wei Qingyan who was left with only pain after Han Shuang was cut off.
She wished she had never seen it.
She understood in an instant that something must have happened between her brother and Sister Qiao, but her brother did not allow her to tell anyone, so she had to hide it from everyone, including her mother.
She had a hard time hiding it, especially when the Duke's wife asked her such a question, tears started to fall. She hugged the Duke's wife and said coquettishly, "Mother, I'm so sleepy that tears are coming out! I want to sleep!"
"Okay, okay, go to sleep. I see you haven't been doing well these past two days. You've been talking much less."
The Duke's wife sent her to bed, watched her fall asleep with her own eyes, tucked in the quilt for her, and sat by the bed in deep thought.
My son must be worried about something.
She had to find a way to ask, so the next day she asked the servants in Songfengyuan.
No matter how cautious Wei Qingyan was, he couldn't help but be seen by the maids and servants.
The maid quietly told the Duke's wife, "The Second Young Master always sits in the study looking at a small portrait. I'm not allowed to get close to him, and I don't know whose portrait it is."
When the Duke's wife heard this, she smiled inwardly, thinking that her son had a crush on a girl. However, she was not so anxious as to secretly look through her son's things. She carefully considered her words and went to find her son.
After entering the study, she ignored Wei Qingyan's cold face and sat down and said, "I heard that you gave your most precious zither to His Majesty. Are you willing to do so?"
Wei Qingyan gestured to the maid to serve her tea. "It's just a zither. It's not a question of whether I'm willing to part with it or not."
"That's not right. You clearly treasure this zither very much. Your Majesty cannot take it away by force. Just tell us frankly that you can't bear to part with it."
"Besides, our family is the Empress Dowager's maternal family, and your father is the Empress Dowager's brother. If we really talk about this unbreakable blood relationship, you are also His Majesty's cousin, so it doesn't matter if you refuse."
Wei Qingyan shook her head slightly. "The zither has already been given to me. Mother, there's no need to say more."
"Okay, whether you open your mouth or not, I don't care about face or anything like that. I will go to the palace and get it back for you!"
The Duke's wife stood up and was about to leave, but Wei Qingyan stopped her, saying, "Mother, I truly have no regrets about leaving. I willingly gave the zither to Your Majesty."
He had something to say in his heart. The zither was originally made for Qiao Tang, and he had no chance to give it to Qiao Tang before. Now that he was giving it to Qiao Tang through the hand of His Majesty, it could be considered as fulfilling one of his wishes.
The Duke's wife was unaware of this connection, and when she saw him trying to stop her, she became extremely anxious, "My son! Don't you know that good things in this world must be fought for?"
"Today it's a harp. Tomorrow, if it's the girl you like and someone else wants to snatch her from you, you will be as indifferent as you were today and willingly give her to someone else!"
Wei Qingyan's expression finally changed, but it became even colder and colder, and his eyes stared straight at him.
The Duke's wife was startled at first and took two steps back, then she was secretly happy. It seemed that something was different. It seemed that there really was a girl in his heart!
She smiled for a moment, "Don't be upset, son. I just said whatever was on my mind. Well, the zither is fine, but if you really find a girl you like and you can't find her yourself, don't do something like giving her a zither. Just tell your mother!"
The corners of Wei Qingyan's lips twitched, as if he was really going to spit out a name. The Duke's wife waited with a motherly smile on her face.
After waiting for a long while, Wei Qingyan finally agreed and said, "I will tell my mother when the day comes."
"Hey, that's right. Don't worry, our whole family will help you when the time comes."
The Duke's wife gently raised her sleeves and stroked Wei Qingyan's shoulders. Wei Qingyan said nothing and just lowered his shoulders.
In Taiji Palace, Qiao Tang went to bed late last night and woke up late too. The warmth beside him had long since disappeared.
Nanny Wang looked over with a smile, "Miss, are you going to get up?"
Qiao Tang stood up and listened to Nanny Wang say, "His Majesty originally sent someone to take the young lady to the Qinzheng Palace for breakfast. Seeing that the young lady was still asleep, he told her to get some sleep."
Qiao Tang knew that if they couldn't have breakfast together, Pei Chengjue would definitely come back for lunch. If he really missed a meal with her, he would have to make up for it with ten meals.
Pei Chengjue really came back during lunch, hugged her and kissed her without feeling annoyed. Even Qiao Tang herself was puzzled. How could there be someone in the world who liked to hug and kiss her so much?
The two had lunch together.
Pei Chengjue saw that she was not in a good mood, and he was reluctant to let her go to the Qinzheng Palace with him. "Sister, please take a rest. I will summon Wei Qing to the palace at sunset. You can go there then."
Qiao Tang understood that her understanding was not in vain, and habitually raised her neck, signaling Pei Chengjue that she could kiss her.
Pei Chengjue really liked her like this. He leaned over and kissed her for a while, then put his thin lips against Qiao Tang's ear and whispered, "Sister, you still understand me."
Qiao Tang just wanted to glare at him, but he was reluctant to leave. He sat for a while and kissed Qiao Tang on the cheek before leaving.
As he watched him disappear, Qiao Tang thought of Wei Yushi, who had offered to teach her how to play the qin. Suddenly, he recalled something he had said, "His tenderness should be directed towards his wife."
Does Censor Wei have a wife?
Qiao Tang's head, which had not been well rested, suddenly became buzzing with doubts.
Pei Chengjue’s words should be correct, but Wei Ruomei clearly said that her brother is not married yet, so she should also be right. So, is Wei Yushi married?
Qiao Tang couldn't help but recall more information about this person, most of which came from Wei Ruomei's mouth. She suddenly thought of Wei Ruomei's unusual reaction when she took her to the restaurant for snacks. Somehow, her eyelids twitched.
"Mammy, I feel uncomfortable."
She anxiously sought out Nanny Wang and sat beside her. Nanny Wang hugged her tightly and patted her back gently, "Miss, you are overthinking again. Don't be afraid, we have His Majesty here."
Qiao Tang was so shocked that he lost all his distracting thoughts. No matter how many things he had, compared to Pei Chengjue, they were nothing.
She pursed her lips and thought to herself, if she was worried, she should be worried about her future. It would be a shame to be worried about a Wei Yushi whom she had never met.
She quickly calmed down and returned to her charming smile. Nanny Wang was very pleased, thinking that although the girl didn't say it, she still liked His Majesty in her heart.
Qiao Tang had no idea that she had misunderstood to this extent.
At sunset, Cheng Ying asked to see him. Qiao Tang knew that she had already done her business. Sure enough, she saw her holding a box and bowing, "Miss Qiao."
Qiao Tang did not send a palace maid, but took the box himself and carried it into the bedroom. Cheng Ying followed him and whispered to him what the box was used for.
Qiao Tang listened carefully. Before leaving, Cheng Ying repeatedly reminded her to be careful and not to hurt herself.
She nodded repeatedly in resignation. After sending Cheng Ying out, a palace servant came to report, "There's news from the Qinzheng Palace. His Majesty wants Miss Qiao to come over on a sedan chair, bringing her zither."
Qiao Tang then picked up his zither, got on his sedan chair and went to the Qinzheng Palace.
Somehow, my eyelids kept twitching along the way, and my heart felt uneasy, like the light and shadows flitting in the water.
In this way, they slowly arrived at the Qinzheng Hall. Qiao Tang glanced at the glazed tiles reflecting the afterglow, got off the sedan chair, and asked the palace servants to leave first.
She walked to the steps holding her zither, and suddenly saw a young official standing beside the pillars in front of the hall.
The official was wearing a crimson official robe and standing with his hands behind his back. He was tall and strong, with a dignified posture.
At this time, there was more than one person in front of the hall. Guards and palace maids were standing on both sides, but he seemed to be in a deserted place, like a solitary pine standing in the mountains, not stained by a speck of dust, just raising his neck to look into the distance at the sunset.
The evening glow on the horizon was red, and flames from the sky reflected back at him, covering his sharply defined profile, blurring its outline and making it difficult to see clearly.
Wei Qiaotang recognized her immediately. He paused on the stairs, his heart pounding. This profile! This profile!
Not to mention the distance that is neither far nor near, even if it is far away at the horizon, even if this profile is burned to ashes, she can still recognize it!
Isn’t it her dead ex-husband!
Qiao Tang immediately thought she had seen it wrong. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. When she opened her eyes wide again and tried to see clearly, the profile had slowly turned around, revealing a handsome face that she was very familiar with.
He still had those cold eyebrows and eyes, like thin blades, blowing towards her with the wind and snow. Suddenly, he saw that it was her. His cold eyes froze, and the wind and snow melted into spring water, rippling gently in his eyes.
With a "bang", the new piano fell to the ground.
Qiao Tang's eyes widened, and he took a few steps back as if he had seen a ghost. The dazzling light emanating from his body faded away in an instant, and even his soul was taken away, leaving only a dull and confused look in his eyes.
It was as if everything around her had vanished, her eyes frozen in place, unable to move. She stared blankly at the man who walked towards her step by step, bent down to pick up her new zither, carefully held it in his arms, and said in his unchanging cold voice, "Tangtang, it's me."
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