Chapter 51 His Highness deliberately went out for a walk to create an encounter
Concubine Jing Gui was extremely anxious, but after entering the room, she smiled calmly and saluted.
The Imperial Concubine put down the account book in her hand, raised her eyes and looked at her with a smile: "Sister is here, sit down."
Concubine Jing Gui thanked him and sat down as he said.
The Imperial Concubine ordered tea to be served, and the two of them sipped the tea from their cups slowly, neither of them speaking a word.
After a while, Concubine Jinggui couldn't hold back her anger and spoke first: "It's interesting to say that I encountered a strange thing today."
The imperial concubine pretended not to know: "What's so strange? Tell me about it."
Concubine Jing Gui told the story of how she met several princesses on the road, how she overheard the conversation between the strange man and the Ninth Princess, and how she wanted to catch up with the man to get to the bottom of things, but was unable to enter the Fengyi Palace and was instead sent to the Furong Palace.
After she finished speaking, seeing that the Imperial Concubine showed no sign of surprise, Concubine Jing leaned towards the Imperial Concubine, lowered her voice, and asked tentatively: "Sister, what do you think, for such a weird thing, should we ask a master to perform a ritual to exorcise the evil spirits for the Ninth Princess?"
"Is this what Concubine Jing thinks?" The Imperial Concubine raised her eyebrows slightly and her tone turned cold.
This was the first time anyone had offered to exorcise evil spirits for Xiaojiu since everyone had heard him and Tongtong chatting.
Concubine Jing was just testing the waters. Seeing that Concubine Huang no longer called her sister, she quickly changed her words with a smile: "I just said that. After all, this matter is really too weird. Could it be that my sister also heard that conversation?"
"Not only me, but also Your Majesty, the Queen... everyone can hear it." The Royal Concubine said the names of all the people who had heard Tong Tong speak.
At last, he said, "The fight between the two noble ladies in the Jade Palace, the falling out between Concubine Shun and Concubine Jiang, and the quarrel between Fourteen and Thirteen were all because of what Tong Tong said. Besides that, there are some other things that have nothing to do with you, Concubine Jing, so I won't tell you about them."
Listening to the long list of names, thinking of the many concubines who were under house arrest, and the uproar over the demotion of Concubine Li, Concubine Jing Gui felt a wave of fear.
It turned out that so many people could hear it. Fortunately, she came to inquire first and did not directly punish the little girl who spoke rudely.
But so many people heard it, how come it was kept so secret that it never reached her ears?
Seeing that the Royal Concubine was still looking at her, she could only suppress her doubts and pretended to be shocked and exclaimed, "No wonder there have been so many incidents in the palace in recent days. It turns out that it's all because of this reason. This is really true that people's hearts are separated from their stomachs. What you see may not be the truth."
"That's right." The Imperial Concubine chuckled. "So, Concubine Jing said before that she wanted to exorcise the evil spirit for Xiao Jiu, but she heard some of your secrets from Tong Tong, and she wanted to silence you in the name of exorcism?"
These words were very harsh to hear, and Concubine Jing was extremely unhappy, but she also knew that Concubine Huang was someone who even dared to confront His Majesty, so how could she dare to show any dissatisfaction?
She smiled and glared at the Imperial Concubine, "Sister, what are you talking about? We have been sisters for so many years, don't you know what secrets my sister has?"
The Imperial Concubine smiled and said, "Come to think of it, I really have something to ask my sister."
Seeing the Imperial Concubine's smile, Concubine Jing felt a pang in her heart, but she pretended to be calm on the surface: "Sister, just tell me, I will tell you everything I know."
"It's not a big deal." The Imperial Concubine took a sip from her teacup and continued, "It's just that someone put a prostitute next to my Xiaoliu. I heard that it was your third son who did it."
The smile on Concubine Jing Gui's face froze instantly, and she thought to herself, "Oh no!"
She knew that the Third Prince had secretly arranged this. She also knew that the Sixth Prince had discovered the identity of the brothel girl.
She asked the third brother, who assured her not to worry, saying that everything had been arranged and that he would not be the cause of the crime.
But the Royal Concubine said this now, could it be that the truth has been revealed?
Concubine Jing was panicked and thought quickly. She changed her mind and decided that this shouldn't happen. Given Concubine Huang's bad temper, if she really had something to hold against the Third Princess, she would have exploded long ago. How could she sit here and chat with her in a friendly manner?
After figuring out the key, Concubine Jing Gui quickly regained her composure, "Sister, you're joking. The Third Brother has always liked the Sixth Brother. How could he do such a thing?"
Knowing that she would not admit it easily, the Imperial Concubine sneered in her heart and continued to lie to her: "Xiao Liu has already found out that it was Lao Wu, but the child was reluctant to report it to His Majesty because of their brotherly love. He said that he would give Lao Wu a chance. If Lao Wu was willing to take the initiative to admit his fault to him, he would let bygones be bygones."
The two have been dealing with each other for nearly twenty years, and they both know that the other is scheming and that what they say is true and false and cannot be fully trusted.
"It turned out that it was that stupid old fifth brother who did it." Concubine Jing Gui pretended to be filled with righteous indignation, and then perfunctorily said, "Little Six is kind, no wonder his brothers like him."
She didn't know how much truth there was in what the Royal Concubine said, and she was afraid that if she said too much she would make mistakes, so she just responded and said no more.
The Imperial Concubine stared at her for a while, and seeing that she only lowered her head to drink tea, she sneered in her heart and continued, "I know that the third child values brotherhood. I didn't think of the third child at first, but everyone knows that the fifth child always follows the third child's lead."
Knowing that the fifth child herself would be a useless chess piece in the end, Concubine Jing Guifei hurriedly distanced from the matter: "Don't think too much, sister. The third child saw that the fifth child was too stupid and occasionally gave him some advice. Who would have thought that the fifth child would rely on the third child and always hang around him. In fact, the third child is also impatient in his heart."
"Oh, so that's it." Imperial Concubine said, and just when Jing Concubine was obviously relieved, she said, "But that day, Tong Tong mentioned it so much, saying that this matter was related to the third brother."
That Tongtong said that? Concubine Jing's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, and she looked up at Concubine Huang, not knowing how to respond for a moment.
The two looked at each other silently, trying to figure out what was in the other's mind.
After a long time, Concubine Jing Gui finally decided to take a gamble. If she won, she could get away with it. If she lost, His Majesty would punish her and her son, so she wouldn't mind telling another lie.
After making up her mind, she chuckled, "Sister, you scared me. The third child has always been filial and never hides anything from me. If he really did it, you don't need to tell me anything. I will personally apologize to His Majesty."
The Imperial Concubine saw that she could not find out the fraud, so she lost interest in dealing with it. She put the teacup on the table and said, "I have a lot of things to do. I will not chat with you today. Please go back."
Concubine Jing originally wanted to ask more about Tongtong, but when she saw Concubine Huang's cold face, she had to put down her teacup, stood up, bowed according to the hierarchy, and turned to walk out.
The moment she turned around, her expression changed, her smile disappeared, and her eyes showed anxiety and worry.
Now that the Royal Concubine has become suspicious, she has to quickly send a message to the Third Brother, asking him to make sure everything is in order and not let anyone trace him back through that idiot Fifth Brother.
She quickened her pace and walked out. Just as she was about to reach the door, the Imperial Concubine spoke again, her tone was leisurely: "Oh, by the way, I almost forgot that His Majesty's previous demotion of Concubine Li was also related to my sister."
When Concubine Jing Gui heard this, she immediately turned around and asked in confusion, "Does it have anything to do with me?"
The Imperial Concubine picked up the account book and said casually, "It is said that Concubine Li will frame my sister for having an affair with the eunuch in the future."
Having said that, he started to calculate and said nothing more.
Just a few simple words made Concubine Jing Guifei feel extremely disgusted. She wanted to ask for details, but then she felt that if she did, she would only be causing trouble for herself. Her face darkened and she turned around and walked out.
When she got outside, she called her personal maid and left. The maid saw that Concubine Jing looked unhappy and asked her in a low voice what was wrong.
How could Concubine Jinggui say such a dirty thing? She frowned and shook her head, whispering, "Go back and send a message to the Third Prince, asking him to come to the palace to see me as soon as possible."
When the palace maid saw her serious expression, she knew that something serious must have happened, and she quickly responded.
Seeing that Concubine Jing Gui was not heading back to the palace, the maid asked curiously, "Madam, are we not going back to the palace?"
Concubine Jing gritted her teeth and said, "Let's go talk to Concubine Jiang first."
After the Imperial Concubine finished checking the account books, she called Hong Yu in and asked, "What's going on with Imperial Concubine Jing? Did she go to see Imperial Concubine Chun, or did she go to see Concubine Jiang?"
Hong Yu replied, "Jing Guifei didn't go to Concubine Chun's place, but went directly to Feixuexuan. After closing the door, I don't know what she talked about with Jiang Cairen. Later, she asked the palace maids to go in and slap Jiang Cairen twenty times. When Jing Guifei left, her face was so dark that you could scrape off a layer of ash."
The Imperial Concubine calmly and instructed, "Send a message to Xiao Liu, asking him to pay more attention to what Lao San and Lao Wu are doing in the next few days."
---
In Fengyi Palace, the Queen held Xiaojiu in her arms and listened to the Seventh and Eighth Princesses vividly describing how Xiaojiu was able to do arithmetic.
The queen was very surprised, and immediately gave Xiaojiu a few more questions, such as four plus three, five plus two, eight minus five, etc., all of which were addition and subtraction within ten.
Ji Jinyou was helpless, but she had to answer. In order not to appear too evil, she would count on her fingers and pretend to calculate very hard before answering.
The queen was so happy to see that the little girl could guess correctly every time. She hugged the little girl and praised her for a long time, and then asked someone to call Rupin.
Dangui thought that Rupin was timid, so she did not send other palace maids to go. Instead, she went there in person and gave Rupin a message, saying that it was good news.
Rupin was relieved and followed Dangui to Fengyi Palace. After entering, she bowed to the empress sitting on the couch and said, "I am here to see the empress."
Upon seeing this, Ji Jinyou immediately stood up from the Queen's arms and ran to the other side of the couch on his short legs to avoid being treated with respect by his mother.
"Hurry up and get up. Look how scared Xiaojiu is." The queen said with a smile, amused.
Rupin stood up with a smile, and the seventh and eighth princesses greeted her again. Then, the queen called Rupin to sit on the couch.
Ji Jinyou was very happy to see Rupin. She walked over to her, leaned against her, and called out in a baby voice, "Mother."
Rupin also smiled and reached out to touch her little hand: "Are you good?"
Ji Jinyou nodded and said seriously, "Youyou is very well behaved."
The queen couldn't help laughing. She pulled the little girl back into her arms, stroked her little head, and praised her again.
Finally, she said, "Xiaojiu is kind-hearted, well-behaved and sensible. At such a young age, he speaks eloquently and can even do arithmetic. This is all due to the good teaching of you, her mother."
Rupin was somewhat overwhelmed by the favor and quickly bowed to express her gratitude, "Thank you very much for the compliment, Your Majesty. I didn't teach you anything, it's Youyou who is sensible on her own."
Ji Jinyou was afraid that everyone would focus their attention on her again, so she turned around to talk to them. When she found something wrong with her, she quickly said, "Youyou is stupid. It's all because of your mother's teaching."
The little girl's serious look made everyone in the room laugh.
The queen looked at the mother and daughter who were laughing happily, and sighed in her heart, feeling quite emotional. If all the princes and princesses were as well-behaved and sensible as Xiaojiu, and all the concubines in the harem could live their lives peacefully like Rupin, then the harem would be so peaceful and harmonious.
Seeing that it was almost time for dinner, the Empress asked Concubine Ru to stay for dinner and sent for the Imperial Concubine to come. The three adults and three children had a happy and lively meal together.
After the meal, the Queen rewarded Rupin for her good teaching of her daughter and gave her many things, including jewelry, fabrics, utensils, food, and everything else.
When Rupin took Ji Jinyou to say goodbye and leave and return to Miaoyunxuan, four palace maids and six eunuchs followed behind them, each holding something in their hands. It was quite a spectacular sight.
Soon, this matter spread throughout the harem and naturally caused quite a stir.
After the mother and daughter returned, not long after they had finished packing up the rewards, two concubines of low rank came to visit.
Rupin knew what they were here for, and she didn't want Youyou to listen to those hypocritical words, so she sent Jinxing to take Youyou out for a walk to digest the food.
Ji Jinyou walked out of the gate of Miaoyunxuan holding Jin Xing's hand and strolled leisurely on the path. As they were walking, they saw Xue Yili and Cong An walking towards them from a distance.
Ji Jinyou walked towards him, and when she got close, she bowed and greeted him with a smile: "Your Highness, what a coincidence, we meet again."
Xue Yili smiled and bowed in return: "What a coincidence."
Cong'an followed behind Xue Yili and paid his respects, but he thought to himself that this was no coincidence. His Highness had learned that the little princess had returned to Miaoyunxuan, and he had deliberately come out for a walk to create an encounter.
He had been walking back and forth along this path with His Highness for several times, and finally he had waited for the person.
Although the little princess was very cute and took good care of his Highness, he really didn't understand why his Highness had to come to see the little princess with an injured arm that he couldn't lift. Couldn't he wait a few days until his injury got better?
Ji Jinyou looked at the sunset in the sky and asked curiously, "Your Highness, why are you out so late? How are you injured?"
"It's not a serious injury." Xue Yili reached out and touched the little tuft of hair on the little girl's head. "I ate a little too much, so I came out for a walk."
In the past, he and Cong'an had to cook, fetch water, chop firewood, clean the house, and wash clothes every day. These daily chores alone took up most of their time.
Now Emperor Wen Zhao assigned him palace maids and eunuchs. The four of them worked quickly and efficiently, taking care of all the work, and the two of them had the whole day free.
Now that he had an injury on his arm and could not practice martial arts, he read books all day. When it got dark, Cong'an snatched the book away from him and stopped him from reading, saying that his eyes would be damaged if he continued reading.
As soon as he was free, he felt bored and began to think about what had happened in the past few days. As he thought, he thought of the chubby little princess and the warm feeling when he held her in his arms. Suddenly, he could not sit still anymore and wanted to see her, and even better, hold her again.
He walked around the area several times but didn't see anyone. He thought he wouldn't see her today and was quite disappointed. He was about to go back, but unexpectedly she came out. He was really lucky today.
Seeing that Xue Yili seemed to be in a good mood, Ji Jinyou smiled: "What a coincidence, I also ate too much and came out for a walk."
Seeing the little girl laughing so hard that her teeth were showing, Xue Yili couldn't help but smile too, "How about we go together?"
Ji Jinyou nodded: "Okay."
Xue Yili then stretched out his good hand and asked tentatively, "Do you want me to hold you?"
Ji Jinyou was used to being led by everyone, and thought Xue Yili was afraid that he would fall down if he walked improperly, so he pulled his hand out of Jin Xing's and put it in his hand: "Let's go."
Xue Yili wrapped the little girl's soft little round hand with his palm and squeezed it a little harder. He felt warm in his heart and said, "Let's go."
The two little ones held hands and walked leisurely in front, while Cong'an and Jinxing followed silently behind.
Ji Jinyou was curious about the life of the little proton and asked many questions. Xue Yili answered them patiently one by one. The two of them asked and answered each other, chatting about everything from daily life to reading and studying.
Ji Jinyou curiously asked Xue Yili: "Your Highness, you didn't go to school, so who did you learn to read from?"
Xue Yili: "Before I came to Dasheng, I had already started to learn to read, and I had learned all the characters I was supposed to know."
At the age of four or five, he knew so many characters, which was quite early. Ji Jinyou asked again: "So you have never attended classes anywhere since you came to Dasheng?"
Xue Yili nodded: "No, I mentioned it to His Majesty two years ago, but His Majesty did not agree. Later, I asked His Majesty for books, and His Majesty gave me quite a few."
Thinking that he came from an enemy country, Ji Jinyou thought about it for a moment and understood why His Majesty did not allow him to go to school.
She then asked, "I heard that you know Kung Fu, who did you learn it from?"
Xue Yili: "When I was in Dayao, I had a martial arts master, and I learned some from him since I was young. After coming here, I learned some more from An Xue, and then I read books and practiced on my own."
Just like this, without any master or teacher, he finally became a man of both civil and military talents. Ji Jinyou admired him very much and looked at him with admiration in his eyes.
Seeing the little girl looking up at him with her big, sparkling eyes, Xue Yili was very happy. He held her hand tightly and asked, "What about you, Ninth Princess? Can you read?"
Ji Jinyou said: "I can't read, but I'm planning to learn."
Originally, she thought that she would not live long, so she had no time to think about these things. However, with the current situation, it seems that their survival is not a big problem, so she has to put the study on the agenda as soon as possible, so as to avoid accidentally revealing something and arousing suspicion.
Xue Yili's eyes lit up, "Who do you want to learn to read from?"
Ji Jinyou thought about it and said uncertainly, "I have to ask my mother."
Seeing that she hadn't chosen anyone yet, Xue Yili hurriedly said, "How about I teach you?"
Ji Jinyou was a little surprised, tilted his head, and wondered: "Why do you want to teach me?"
Xue Yili explained: "You know, I'm alone in that small courtyard, and I don't have any friends. Now you're the only one willing to come to my place. If I teach you to read, we can play together for a while longer."
Thinking about his situation, Ji Jinyou had no doubts and seriously considered the possibility of learning to read from Xiao Zhengzi.
Little Proton is young, so if she learns to read from him, he probably won't doubt it even if she "learns" much faster than a normal person.
That way, she can quickly learn all the words she needs to recognize without having to pretend to be stupid all the time.
If someone asks her later why she learns so quickly, she can say that it was because Xiao Hongzi taught her well.
Thinking about it this way, it really is a good idea, so Ji Jinyou nodded readily: "That's fine too."
Xue Yili smiled, stopped, and held both of the little girl's hands: "Then shall we start from now?"
Ji Jinyou looked up at the sky which was getting darker and darker, and shook his head: "It's too late today, how about we start from tomorrow?"
Xue Yili thought that he was too anxious, nodded and said yes, then led the little girl forward.
Seeing that they were walking further and further away, Jin Xing reminded: "Young Master, it's getting late, let's go back, the Queen should have finished her work there."
Ji Jinyou agreed, holding Xue Yili's hand and walking back. The group slowly walked back to the door of Miaoyunxuan.
Ji Jinyou pulled his hand out of Xue Yili's and said goodbye to him: "Your Highness, you should go back and rest early. I will come to see you tomorrow."
Xue Yili was a little reluctant, so he bent down, picked up the little girl with one hand, and stepped over the threshold: "It's dark now, and the road is not easy to walk on. I'll take you in."
Ji Jinyou was startled when he was picked up without warning, and quickly hugged his neck tightly: "Your Highness, I can walk by myself. Your arm is still injured, don't stretch it."
When she was there, he carried her in and out of the chair, so they didn't have to walk, so it was no big deal.
But the courtyard gate is so far from the house door, be careful not to let her fall. Last time when she was running, she accidentally fell and it hurt so much that she couldn't get up for a long time.
That time she fell on flat ground. If she falls from such a high place this time, she might get hurt.
Seeing that the skinny little boy dared to hold his chubby little master with one hand, Jin Xing was so frightened that she quickly reached out to take it: "Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness. Please give it to me. Our little master is heavy, please don't drop him again."
Jin Xing's words were very straightforward, but Xue Yili had not yet experienced the warmth, so he was not willing to give it to her. He moved his feet, walked around Jin Xing quickly and walked forward: "I can hold her."
After saying that, he even raised his hand upwards, which frightened Ji Jinyou so much that he hugged his neck tightly and said in a fierce voice, "Walk carefully."
Jin Xing caught up with him, put her hands on Ji Jinyou's back, and helped support him.
Xue Yili didn't dare to show off anymore. He held the man steadily and walked him to the door of the house before putting him down.
After experiencing the warm feeling, Xue Yili was in a very good mood, with an especially bright smile on his face. He squatted down and squeezed the little girl's hand: "Okay, little princess, you can go back, don't forget to come see me tomorrow."
Ji Jinyou was frightened by him, so she pulled her hands back and put them on her waist, and warned him very seriously: "Next time you hug me like this, I won't come to you again."
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