Chapter 358 Disguise
Qi Jun couldn't bring himself to say that he had become rougher, after all, it was all because of him.
Seeing the heartache in his eyes, Qi Yuxuan realized what he had seen, withdrew her fingers, and smiled:
"What's wrong? It was pretty much the same when I was at the Ye family. I'm used to it. It's nothing."
Qi Jun pursed his lips: "The Ye family treated you harshly. It's a pity they died young, otherwise I would have made them pay the price. But since you returned to the Xiao family, you've never done these things yourself again, all because of me..."
Qi Yuxuan looked bewildered: "What, go back to the Xiao family?"
She blinked. "And what is the Xiao family?"
Her innocent and bewildered expression instantly captivated Qi Jun's heart.
As if realizing something, he tentatively asked in a soft voice, "Yu Xuan, the Xiao family, Xiao Su, Lin Hui, your biological parents, don't you remember them?"
Qi Yuxuan's gaze was blank. She racked her brains, but couldn't find the answer. "The Xiao family are my biological parents? I... I'm not an orphan kindly adopted by the Princess? Wait..."
She patted her slightly aching head, her brow furrowing slowly. "I can't remember how I was adopted by the Princess. What happened last spring and summer? I have absolutely no recollection of it..."
"Is it because my adoptive parents passed away? Or something else, cousin? My head hurts so much."
She patted her head vigorously, as if trying to recall all the memories she couldn't remember.
"Yu Xuan, Yu Xuan!" Qi Jun quickly grabbed her hand, which was still patting her head, with his left hand and pulled her into his arms. "Don't hit yourself, Yu Xuan. It's okay if you can't remember. It's not a big deal."
"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have said those things. It's better to forget them, better to forget them."
Qi Yuxuan broke free from his embrace, looking as if she'd seen a ghost: "Cousin?!"
What do you mean by "it's better to forget"?
Those were things she experienced; how could she just forget them?
She stared at Qi Jun in disbelief. "What exactly happened? What is the Xiao family?! Why are you saying I'm a child of the Xiao family?"
She was too stubborn. Now, her small face, so thin that her chin was pointed, had a pair of wide, frightened eyes that stood out, making her look somewhat frightening. But Qi Jun only felt heartache for her.
He carefully considered his words before speaking:
“Yu Xuan, listen to me. Something bad happened to you in the Xiao family. You have now severed all ties with the Xiao family and will never have anything to do with them again. It’s a good thing that you forgot about it by chance this time.”
"If you really want to know, I'll tell you after we get back to Beijing, okay?"
They are leaving Pear Blossom Village today.
They waited there for a long time, but the search and rescue team did not come to find them.
It is clear that either the imperial court has already searched without success and believes they are dead without a complete body, or Qi is currently beset by internal and external troubles and no one has even bothered to search for them.
Regardless of the possibility, they cannot delay any longer.
When the two bid farewell to Lady Ji and Ji Youtian, they received a small request.
As expected of mother and son, Ji Niangzi and Ji Youtian even wanted the exact same favor from them.
They hoped that after Qi Jun and Qi Yuxuan left, if they still had the energy, they could help them find out whether Ji Youtian's biological father, a scholar named Jiang Luan, had passed the imperial examination.
Regardless of whether they get into high school or not, let them know.
Qi Yuxuan agreed, saying that once she returned to the capital, she would immediately send someone to investigate the matter.
Although neither of them revealed their identities from beginning to end, given that Madam Ji was capable of inoculating and carrying a child together, and had stripped them of all their clothes and jewelry, it was clear that these two were either rich or noble. So on this day, the two sets of clothes they had worn when they fell were returned to them.
However, both sets of clothes were so tattered that they barely covered their bodies, and there was no need to mend them.
The two did not take any clothes, but only took all their jewelry and other valuables as travel expenses back to the capital.
After bidding farewell to Madam Ji and her son, the two set off.
One month later.
As the first snow of winter fell, the once bustling Zhuque Street in the capital was now deserted. Even when two ordinary people passed by, they walked quickly with their hands tucked into their sleeves and their heads down.
The sight of everyone on edge made Qi Jun and Qi Yuxuan, who had just entered the city, exchange a glance and frown in unison.
They had been missing for a month and a half. The jewelry they had acquired had been almost entirely sold off, and neither of them had any identification documents. Their journey back to the capital was incredibly arduous.
While making inquiries along the way, I heard that the Nangong family of Yue Kingdom plotted a rebellion and helped Xuanyuan Ze's younger brother, Xuanyuan Shun, ascend the throne. Yue Kingdom experienced a bloodbath from top to bottom before finally stabilizing.
As for the Crown Prince of Qi and Princess Chang Le, there was not a single piece of news about them.
Sometimes, no news is the worst news.
They dared not gamble on the bad possibilities, so they could only continue to live in anonymity, thinking of coming to the capital to take a look first.
Unexpectedly, this is what the capital city looks like.
It was the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the end of the year was fast approaching. Tomorrow would be Qi Yuxuan's sixteenth birthday, but the capital was desolate. There were also guards patrolling in formation from time to time. They were all unfamiliar faces, with fierce and menacing appearances that kept strangers away.
The two lowered their heads, intending to find the nearest notice board first to see the latest news in the capital.
However, they hadn't gone more than a few steps when they were stopped by a group of guards.
"You, stop right there!" The head guard frowned at the two plainly dressed men and women. "What are your names? Where do you live? Why are you so timid? Raise your heads!"
Qi Jun held Qi Yuxuan, who was deliberately feigning trembling, in his arms, looked up to meet the guard's gaze, and said apologetically:
"Your Honor is wise. My name is Jing Yu'an, and I live in Yangliu Lane. I was with my wife when we left the city to visit her family."
He clasped his hands and said, "My wife is afraid of strangers. She was a little frightened when she saw you gentlemen from a distance. Please forgive her!"
Qi Jun now looks completely different from how he did a month and a half ago.
The lower half of his face was almost entirely hidden in his messy beard. His skin had become darker and rougher from the long journey. His hair was simply styled in a low bun and wrapped in a headscarf. His clothes were made of coarse cloth, and he deliberately hunched over.
If you weren't a familiar face, who would recognize him at first glance as the crown prince, a member of the imperial family?!
The guard believed most of what he said, but he had to do his job. He had been told to patrol whenever he saw a man and a woman, and there were no exceptions.
He glanced sideways at the young woman with her head down, pulled a scroll of portraits from his pocket, and impatiently unfolded it: "And you! Raise your head."
Qi Yuxuan could only timidly raise her head, revealing a face with her right eye covered by a dark bruise.
"Ugh! Your birthmark is really ugly!" The guard was disgusted after just one look and quickly waved them away.
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