Chapter 321 Silver Notes
Despite her thoughts, seeing the little girl like this, Zheng Yanling felt a pang of sadness and bitterness in her heart. If she could choose, she would rather lead her troops to fight in Yue than exchange a woman's life for a brief period of peaceful coexistence.
Qi Yuxuan raised her head, met her gaze, and asked firmly, "Sister Zheng, do you believe me?"
She believed it, of course she believed it.
Even if no one else believes it, she will believe it.
The words from Yuxiu Academy were a wake-up call. The phrase, "Looking back on the loyal ministers and righteous men of the past, they risked their lives for the country in times of crisis. Though their bodies were torn apart, their merits were inscribed on the bell and their names were recorded in history," would occasionally come to Zheng Yanling's mind.
She always felt that with Yu Xuan's abilities, there was nothing she couldn't do if she wanted to.
But these words, when spoken today, seem to carry a deeper meaning.
Zheng Yanling hesitated for a moment, "Princess, don't do anything impulsive."
Hopefully, I'm just overthinking it. Yu Xuan probably didn't mean to assassinate that damned prince of Yue.
Qi Yuxuan shook her head. "Don't worry, Sister Zheng. I just want to say that no matter what situation I end up in, I will try my best to live my life well. As for the rest, I will do my best and leave the rest to fate. I only ask to have a clear conscience."
Sure enough, after saying these words, Zheng Yanling's expression visibly relaxed.
She carefully wiped away the little girl's tears with a handkerchief, her tone like that of someone comforting a child:
"Then you mustn't shed tears. Seeing you cry makes me want to cry too. Tomorrow you'll get married happily, and I'll personally see you off."
"Mmm." Qi Yuxuan nodded obediently.
Tomorrow, we don't know whether it will be a wedding or a funeral. In any case, one side must be satisfied, and that would be considered a happy occasion.
The maids, being sensible, did not disturb the two's conversation. It wasn't until Zheng Yanling was called away by Xiao Jue to discuss the handover ceremony for the marriage alliance the next day that they came over and started talking all at once about what had happened in the capital recently.
Lanxin was the first to shed tears. "Whenever the Eldest Princess thinks of the Princess, she can't eat or sleep. If it weren't for Master Nie's frequent visits to the residence, the Eldest Princess would have fallen seriously ill a month ago, and I'm afraid..."
Qi Yuxuan asked with difficulty, "How is Mother now? Has she taken the medicine and rested as instructed by the imperial physician?"
Her question sounded weak, and Lanxin nodded hastily:
"Since learning that the Princess is safe and sound, the Eldest Princess has been much better. However, she is unable to come to Kuncheng to reunite with the Princess in person, and the Princess will soon be..."
She didn't say anything more. The best news was that the person was alright. As for whether they would ever meet again in this life, separation was better than death. Knowing that the person she cared about was living well under the same sky was more healing than any medicine.
After recounting many events that had occurred in the capital, Bi Sui suddenly said:
"And the Crown Prince, ever since the Princess left, he has been locking himself in the Eastern Palace..."
"Bi Sui!" Lan Xin hurriedly interrupted Bi Sui.
Before the princess disappeared, everyone knew that the marriage between the crown prince and the princess was just one imperial edict away from being announced to the world.
But at this critical juncture, the princess disappeared, the war between Qi and Yue intensified, and Qi suffered repeated defeats, while Yue demanded that the princess be married off.
The events that followed were completely out of everyone's control. Princess Chang Le, who was expected to be the mistress of the Eastern Palace, was reduced to a candidate for a political marriage and would spend the rest of her life in a foreign land.
Mentioning Qi Jun made Qi Yuxuan feel depressed. She pretended not to have heard about it and changed the subject by talking about other things.
As night fell, the inn returned to tranquility. Outside Qi Yuxuan's bedroom, a tall and elegant figure appeared.
Tonight, it was Qin Yuan's turn to keep watch. She looked at Lord Xiao, who was coming in the middle of the night, with wary eyes and stood resistingly at the bedroom door.
“Lord Xiao, the princess has already gone to bed. If there is anything important, you may speak with her tomorrow.”
She wasn't lying; tomorrow's schedule, arranged by Qi Yuxuan, wouldn't be easy. So she washed up and went to bed early. Qin Yuan felt sorry for the princess, who had been living in that chaotic military camp since her return, with a spy from Yue Kingdom serving her. He wished he could stick close to the princess and protect her at all times.
When Qin Yuan saw Xiao Jue coming over, she was very resistant.
Lord Xiao was only in charge of the wedding procession and had no connection with the princess for a long time. Now that he has come, it is unknown whether he is a friend or foe.
Seeing the maid's attitude, Xiao Jue spoke gently:
"Please inform the princess that I am, after all, the princess's own brother. I have only come here to give the princess some advice and have no other intentions."
Hearing him dare to mention his former brother, Qin Yuan's face grew even colder: "Lord Xiao, I've already told you, the princess has already gone to sleep."
It was unclear whether one of them was speaking louder, but a sleepy, languid voice came from inside the bedroom: "Qin Yuan, who is outside?"
Oh no, the princess has been woken up. In that instant, Qin Yuan disregarded all hierarchy and glared fiercely at Xiao Jue.
She turned and went into the bedroom, afraid of catching the damp chill from outside, so she only stopped in front of the screen and whispered inside:
"Princess, Lord Xiao is up late at night and has come to tell you something. Perhaps I should ask him to go back first and come back to speak with you tomorrow morning?"
After a brief silence inside, the princess's voice, now mostly conscious, finally came through:
"Fine, let him in."
No sooner had she finished speaking than a rustling sound came from outside. It sounded like the princess had put on her coat herself. Qin Yuan had no choice but to give up on trying to persuade her further. She turned around and went out, inviting Xiao Jue in with a less-than-friendly attitude.
Upon entering the room, Xiao Jue saw Qi Yuxuan casually draped in an outer garment, her long, smooth, black hair loosely gathered behind her, holding a candlestick and relighting a candle that had gone out.
"Please sit down, Lord Xiao. I'm currently asleep and too lazy to dress up to greet guests. I hope you don't mind."
As she spoke, she covered her face with her hand and let out a small yawn, which brought tears to her eyes.
Xiao Jue then realized that she had really fallen asleep and wasn't deliberately trying to avoid seeing him.
He suddenly felt uneasy, with a sense of guilt for disturbing her sleep.
“I don’t mind… I came here mainly to give this to you.”
He didn't sit down, nor did he dare to look up at his sister's expression. He quickly pulled out an extremely thick envelope from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
"The journey is long and arduous, spanning thousands of miles. It's inconvenient for our family to prepare large trunks and boxes... Naturally, we are not qualified to send trunks and boxes as a gift for the princess's marriage. These are silver notes from the Quan Family Bank that I prepared long ago. They can be exchanged for silver in both Qi and Yue. Please accept them as a way for my Xiao family to make up for some of the debts we owed the princess in the past..."
After Xiao Jue finished speaking, he stood there as if awaiting judgment, not daring to breathe.
Suddenly, a small, soft, white hand reached out from my line of sight and picked up the envelope with its fingertips.
Qi Yuxuan pulled out silver notes, each worth a hundred taels of silver. After a long while, she let out a laugh that was hard to decipher.
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