Chapter 34: His Royal Highness Prince Duan was killed by a water ghost
Zhao Jie has lived in this villa since he was two years old. He has never seen outsiders, let alone children of the same age as him.
I was so happy to see little Lingling today. I took Lingling's little hand and took her to the room to play.
Lu Ze followed him worriedly.
Zhao Jie took out a wooden box and opened it. Inside were more than ten ceramic horses about three inches long, and there were also ceramic soldiers on the side.
Lingling's eyes lit up when she saw the set of soldiers and horses. "Lingling has this too. Uncle gave it to me! Daddy, where is Lingling's ceramic horse?"
Lu Ze touched Lingling's head and said, "Go wash those dirty ones. I'll give them to you after they're clean."
Now Zhao Jie has not yet given the ceramic soldiers to Lingling.
Zhao Jie said: "This ceramic horse was given to me by my uncle."
Lingling said: "My uncle said he would give me a horse! How about I exchange the horse my uncle gave me for the ceramic horse your uncle gave you?"
Zhao Jie was extremely reluctant and said: "I can only give you one horse, because I am here, and these are the only ones I can play with..."
Lingling asked, "Why doesn't little uncle go back to the palace to play?"
Zhao Jie pouted and said, "Mother said that the palace is full of bad people, so we can only hide here."
Lingling nodded and said, "Yes, there is a bad guy in the palace who can strangle people."
Lingling thought of the bad guy who was strangling her neck, so she let go of the ceramic horse in her hand and ran to Lu Ze to ask him to hold her.
Lu Ze picked up Lingling and saw the envy in Zhao Jie's eyes.
After Lu Ze comforted Lingling, he put her down and said to Zhao Jie, "Do you want your cousin to hold you?"
Zhao Jie blinked his eyes, flashing a pair of bright eyes, walked up to Lu Ze and opened his arms towards him.
Lu Ze picked up Zhao Jie, looked at the tears in his eyes and said, "Do you miss your daddy?"
Little Zhao Jie said: "I don't even know what my father looks like."
Lu Ze thought of his third uncle and said slowly, "Your father looks a lot like you. He is very kind and gentle, with a good temper. When your cousin is free, I will draw a portrait of your father and give it to you."
Zhao Jie leaned on Lu Ze's shoulder and said, "Thank you, cousin."
Lingling played with Zhao Jie for the whole afternoon, and Qi Yuning also asked Princess Duan about raising children for the whole afternoon.
It was almost dark when Qi Yuning stopped asking questions and returned to the palace.
The servants in the palace had already prepared dinner.
After dinner, Lu Ze said to Qi Yuning, "It is certain that Zhao Jie is the uncle that Lingling mentioned."
Qi Yuning took the teacup handed to her by Lichun and waved her hand, asking Lichun to take Lingling out.
In the huge dining hall, there were only Lu Ze and Qi Yuning.
Qi Yuning said: "When I was asking Princess Duan for advice on how to raise a child, I remembered that Princess Duan had a daughter before. If Princess Ruoshan hadn't died, she would have just reached the age of marriage this year.
Princess Shan's body has not been found since she fell into the water. Could it be that she is not dead and finally married my brother? After all, if Zhao Jie ascends the throne in the future, she will also be the eldest princess. "
Lu Ze picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip and said, "It is indeed possible."
Although coming back to life from the dead was too absurd, it was still more acceptable than Princess Pinghe divorcing and marrying Qi Yu'an.
Lu Ze put down the teacup and said, "Whether Sister Zhao Jie is alive or not, we will know within this year. I will arrange for someone to protect Zhao Jie."
Qi Yuning took a sip of tea and said, "There is one advantage to the fact that Princess Duan and Zhao Jie are living here. At least if something unexpected happens in the capital, no one will think of this little Prince Duan."
Lu Ze watched Qi Yuning pick up her own teacup and sip it, frowning: "Princess, you are drinking from my teacup."
Qi Yuning took a look and saw a teacup on Lu Ze's right hand side. "This cup of tea is originally mine. Your tea is on your right hand side. Did you just drink my tea?"
Lu Ze glanced at the teacup on his right hand side, and his ears turned red.
The two of them stood up and went back to their own bedrooms.
Qi Yuning returned to her bedroom and saw Lingling crying again.
Lingling said with tears in her eyes: "Mother, Guigui."
Qi Yuning said: "Lingling, be good.
"Woo woo, ghost, ghost."
Qi Yuning felt uneasy when hearing Lingling's crying, but when she thought about it carefully, she realized that this was the Zhao family's royal mausoleum.
Originally, the Zhao family's empire was on the verge of extinction forty years ago, and the Qi family helped the Zhao family continue its prosperity. Even if the ghosts of the Zhao family's imperial ancestors came out, they would not repay her with hatred, right?
Lingling does have Zhao family blood in her.
Jingzhe and Guyu trembled when they heard this. "They say that children can see things that adults can't. There's an imperial mausoleum next to this place. Could it really be haunted?"
Lingling sobbed loudly, "Ghost."
Qi Yuning tried to coax Lingling but failed, so she could only carry Lingling and knock on Lu Ze's door.
Lu Ze seemed to have just finished taking a shower. When he saw Qi Yuning, the blush on the tips of his ears had not yet faded.
When Lingling saw Lu Ze, she rushed over and said, "Guigui, Daddy, Guigui."
Lu Ze took Lingling from Qi Yuning and asked, "Why is she crying so hard?"
Qi Yuning said, "Your daughter said there are ghosts. Could this imperial mausoleum really be haunted?"
Lu Ze patted Lingling on the back and said, "Ghosts are also ancestors of the Zhao family. Don't be afraid."
Lingling cried in Lu Ze's arms, feeling very aggrieved. Lu Ze coaxed her softly, "Lingling, don't cry. Tell me what you want."
"Ghost, the ghost in the water."
Lingling sniffed and pointed to a lotus pond outside the palace courtyard, where there were still some remaining lotus leaves in the pond.
No matter how bold Qi Yuning was, her face turned pale when she heard about the ghost in the water. The four maids who followed Qi Yuning were trembling with fear.
Lu Ze said: "Ghosts are all supernatural and magical. There are no ghosts in this world."
Lingling said: "There are ghosts, there are ghosts, Lingling wants ghosts to play together!"
Qi Yuning looked at Lu Ze and said, "Lingling will sleep with you tonight."
When Qi Yuning turned around to leave, Lingling shouted, "Mother kiss, Lingling wants mother to kiss."
Qi Yuning walked to Lingling and said, "You can't play with Guigui, so mother will sleep with you."
Lingling said: "I want Guigui to sleep with my mother."
Qi Yuning: “…”
The eunuch who was on night watch outside heard the noise inside and came in to greet him, "Prince, Princess, is there anything wrong?"
Qi Yuning coughed and asked, "Is there a ghost here?"
The chief eunuch's eyes moved and he said, "It is haunted. Two years ago, His Royal Highness Prince Duan was killed by a water ghost here!"
"Ah!" The timid Jingzhe screamed.
Qi Yuning maintained her princess' demeanor and said, "Jingzhe, stop yelling. Didn't His Royal Highness Prince Duan fall into the water and die? How could he be killed by a ghost?"
"His Royal Highness Prince Duan was dragged into the water by a water ghost and died. We saw it with our own eyes."
The eunuch's voice was shrill, and it was even more creepy when the cold wind blew through the late autumn night.
Lu Ze's eyes shone. "How can there be a saying in this world that a water ghost kills people? It's all just a myth."
Qi Yuning only felt that her feet were very cold, but Lingling was still saying, "Lingling wants to play with Guigui in the water."
"No, Master Lu, there really was a rumor in my hometown when I was a child that a water ghost needs to find a substitute before it can be reincarnated if it falls into the water."
Jingzhe trembled and said, "So there really is a ghost here! Could it be the ghost of Prince Duan..."
Lu Ze said slowly: "If it is really the ghost of my third uncle, he will never hurt anyone. I will go to the lotus pond first to take a look."
(End of this chapter)
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