Chapter 415 Enlightenment
The King of Yue and his envoy stayed at the post station where Nangong Nian and his party had stayed before. However, in order to show goodwill, the State of Qi specially expanded the post station so that the King of Yue would not feel so cramped.
However, this was of no use.
For some reason, the King of Yue requested to stay in Qi for the New Year before returning home.
Now that Yue has surrendered, it's perfectly reasonable for him to stay in Qi. After all, the affairs of Yue are controlled by regents from powerful families, and Xuanyuan Shun has long been willing to be sidelined.
In the autumn of the fourth year of Yongning, the palace was very lively.
Qi Zhan and Qi Yuanyuan are already two years old.
They are becoming more and more fluent in their speech these days. The difference is that one likes to act like an adult and speaks in classical Chinese, while the other talks a lot and has a loud voice.
Today, Qi Yuxuan plans to take the two of them to the Zichen Palace to visit her father, the Emperor.
Halfway there, Qi Yuanyuan refused to be carried and wriggled, wanting to jump down, saying she wanted to walk like her brother.
Hearing his sister say that, Qi Zhan's original idea of giving in and letting the wet nurse hold him vanished immediately. He kept a serious expression on his chubby face and continued walking with his head down.
Qi Yuxuan flicked each of them on the forehead, saying, "Listen to me, you're still young. If you break your legs, you won't be able to ride horses when you grow up."
The two little ones have recently been completely charmed by Qi You and Xiahou Yin. One minute they're told they can ride horses outside the palace, the next they're told they can ride horses and fight at the border. The two children are incredibly excited, wishing they could grow up tomorrow so they can gallop freely across the vast land.
Upon hearing this, Qi Zhan and Qi Yuanyuan immediately became obedient and offered to be held by their wet nurse instead of struggling to get down and walk on their own.
The distance from Changle Palace to Zichen Hall is not far, but the two children had already played wildly in the Imperial Garden in the morning and were covered in sweat. Walking this not-so-easy route with their heads down and being covered in sweat again might make them catch a cold on the way back.
The two children were obediently held by their respective wet nurses, and the adults walked quickly, so the group soon arrived at the entrance of the Zichen Palace.
Before we even went inside, we suddenly heard a commotion coming from around the corner.
It sounds like a young woman's voice.
Qi Yuxuan stopped and listened carefully, and recognized Qi Minying's voice.
Qi Minying said with a sob in her voice, "I order you to carry me back immediately! Otherwise, I will have my brother cut off your head!"
She got agitated, switching between "this empress" and "mine," which showed how aggrieved she was.
The other voice was male, and his tone was somewhat nonchalant: "Very well, Princess Min-young can kill me now, and I will have no complaints."
Qi Minying: "You! What makes you think you can look down on me?!"
"I've already said I don't mind if you go to the battlefield to fight, and I won't stop you from taking concubines. You're just a lowly military officer, how dare you refuse me again and again!"
This statement carries a sense of resignation and despair.
Qi Yuxuan looked dazed and somewhat incredulous.
Min-young is sixteen this year. She was originally thinking that she should start looking for a husband next year, but unexpectedly, she already has someone she likes.
I wonder which young man is so ungrateful for his good fortune that he was chosen by Min-young and then rejected her!
She considered sending a palace maid to secretly follow and see who it was, but the next moment, the male voice rang out: "Princess, as you said, I am but a lowly military officer, and I am not worthy of Your Highness. There are many talented people in Qi, and each of them is a thousand times better than me. I beg Your Highness to be merciful and spare me, and also spare the Xiahou family."
The Xiahou family?
Qi Yuxuan's pupils dilated. Could it be... Xiahou Yin?
Xiahou Yin was six years older than Minying, and was already twenty-two this year. He was not at all among the candidates she had in mind for Minying's husband.
Moreover, Xiahou Yin has been fighting abroad for many years. Even if the Yue Kingdom in the southwest is pacified, Qi Jun plans to let him continue to take over Xiahou Zhong's responsibilities after the New Year and go to the northwest to guard the Western Regions. If he marries the Princess, it will either mean separation between the two places or Minying will have to go with him to the harsh border region. Neither of these is a good outcome.
She had a bit of a headache, and then she heard Qi Minying continue, "I don't care, I don't care! I only want you, and if I say you're good enough for me, then you are!"
"You clearly like me too, why won't you admit it? If you weren't interested in me, why did you save me last year?!"
"I've already told you, I can go to the border with you, I can even learn martial arts for you, and I can ride a horse and escape if I encounter danger, why won't you agree? Waaaaah..."
As she spoke, her suppressed and painful sobs drifted out, making Qi Yuxuan's heart clench.
Xiahou Yin saved Min Ying last year? What's going on here? She hadn't even heard of it.
However, even after all that had been said, that brat Xiahou Yin still didn't get it and didn't utter another word for a long time.
She stood there, somewhat anxious, but also knowing that it was not a good time to disturb her. After thinking for a moment, she could only beckon Bihui over and whisper a few words of advice to her.
"Your Majesty?" Bi Sui stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"Go ahead, go prepare, you'll be ready in half an hour..." After Qi Yuxuan finished speaking, Bi Sui obediently agreed and quickly turned and left.
Judging from Min-young's appearance, she's completely devoted and it's not easy to change her mind. She has to step in and help them.
Sun Miao was guarding outside the Zichen Palace, while Qi Jun was inside discussing important matters with his ministers.
Upon seeing her approach, Sun Miao immediately bowed and jogged over to greet the three masters.
He looked troubled: "Oh dear, Your Majesty, please wait a moment. His Majesty is discussing important matters with the King of Yue. This servant will go and report to him immediately. Please rest in the side hall for a while."
Qi Yuxuan nodded and led the two children to the east side hall first.
The Zichen Hall was the emperor's study where he handled state affairs, the east side hall was a library, and the west side hall was a bedroom where he could rest.
So, a quarter of an hour later, Qi Jun, who had personally gone to the west side hall, witnessed this scene—
A beautiful and gentle woman leaned back on the chaise longue as if she had no bones, holding a travelogue in her hands, engrossed in reading it.
On the left and right sides of the daybed are two small jade figures.
The boy on the right stared at the book he couldn't yet recognize all the words in, his brow furrowed, occasionally glancing at the chaise lounge, as if hesitating whether to ask his mother for help.
The little girl on the left was already fast asleep, lying in her book, with some suspicious moisture showing at the corner of her mouth.
Upon seeing him enter, a book on the chaise lounge was carelessly tossed aside. Qi Yuxuan, disregarding the presence of the child, rushed into the emperor's arms, wrapping her arms around his waist, her voice soft and sweet:
"I haven't seen you for several days, I miss you so much."
Qi Zhan, being small and short-legged, quickly jumped off the daybed, put down the book that was enormous compared to his size, and hesitantly approached his father, looking up at him and giving a slightly shaky bow: "Your subject greets Your Majesty—"
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