Chapter 68 Thunderclap A head sprouted from the gap in the bed curtains...
Shen Yan knew that it was impossible for her to personally kill Prince Ning or Consort Gui. Not only did she know no martial arts, but even if she were a true expert, she would find it difficult to get past the heavy guards and approach them. If they were to actually face each other one day, she would be lucky if she didn't become a burden to everyone.
She didn't want to be protected and hide away when that day finally came, so she wanted to learn archery. It would be nice to be able to hide in the shadows and shoot a stray arrow.
Wasn't this the case when A Qing chased Qi Jingxuan in previous lives? No matter how good his kung fu was, he couldn't possibly break through the encirclement and kill Qi Jingxuan on his own. But he succeeded every time thanks to his excellent archery skills.
Shen Yan didn't aspire to master his archery skills; she was content with simply being able to shoot down a few people from afar.
Seeing that she only wanted to learn archery, Qi Jingxuan suggested in a low voice, "There are many people in the army who know how to shoot arrows, and there are also a few skilled archers in the Prince's mansion. Why don't you ask them to teach you?"
The shadow that Aqing had cast on him was too great; he didn't want that person to appear in the Prince's mansion, much less in front of him.
Shen Yan shook her head: "If you're going to learn, you should learn from the best."
With a renowned teacher at hand, wouldn't it be a waste of time and effort to learn from someone else while neglecting what's right in front of you?
Seeing that he couldn't stop them, Qi Jingxuan could only sit to the side with a bitter face and watch helplessly as He Yuan brought A Qing in.
The moment he saw Aqing, all those past wounds surged back, making him feel uneasy. He instinctively leaned back, as if he wanted to get as far away from him as possible. But the room was only so big, and where could he hide? Besides, Chen Yan was here; he wouldn't leave even if she told him to.
As always, Aqing ignored Qi Jingxuan and walked directly to Shen Yan, bowing with clasped hands.
Shen Yan asked him if he would be willing to teach her archery. A Qing was taken aback at first, then patted his chest confidently. Although he couldn't speak, his meaning was clear: I'll take care of it.
The two hit it off immediately and made the agreement. However, it was already late and not appropriate to start practicing right away, so Shen Yan asked He Yuan to take A Qing to settle down first, find him a place to stay in the Prince's mansion, and arrange a place for him to be taught archery the next day.
He Yuan agreed, turned around and left with A Qing, patting him hard on the shoulder as they walked out: "You little rascal, you still managed to freeload off the Prince's mansion after all."
Aqing scoffed, thinking to herself, "What do you mean by 'freeloading'? It's only right."
…………
That night, a strong wind suddenly started blowing outside the window.
Qi Jingxuan had been in a bad mood ever since he left the palace, and his mind was still racing with thoughts of many things when he went to bed at night.
Lin Si, Consort Hui, the He family, Prince Ning, and the Imperial Concubine—these people kept appearing in his mind, and even A Qing popped up a few times.
He tossed and turned, unable to sleep. As the wind picked up and rumbled thunder outside the window, he found it even harder to fall asleep. So he got up and tiptoed to the bedside.
Knowing who she was about to face, Shen Yan felt more at ease and slept more soundly. She was breathing evenly with her eyes closed, completely undisturbed by the wind outside.
Qi Jingxuan carefully lifted the bed curtains a crack, and after confirming that the person inside was fast asleep, he boldly poked his head in.
He was initially very uneasy, but seeing Shen Yan's sleeping face, he gradually calmed down without realizing it.
This feeling of peace made him reluctant to leave, so he simply sat down on the footstool, rested his chin on the bed, and silently watched her.
His Aci is truly remarkable. Aside from being somewhat impulsive at the beginning due to her unpleasant experiences in her past life, she remained calm and composed after regaining her composure. Even after learning of Lin Si's death and guessing the possible mastermind behind it all, she was still able to arrange everything properly and sleep peacefully at night.
Unlike him...
Qi Jingxuan felt that same sense of powerlessness he had felt during the day, feeling like a useless person who couldn't do anything.
He sighed softly, wanting to take Chen Yan's hand, but he didn't dare. In the end, he only gently held the corner of her blanket with two fingers, as if he could get some comfort from her in this way.
The wind outside the window grew stronger and stronger, and raindrops began to fall, but Qi Jingxuan was completely unaware. He sat on the edge of the bed with his head tilted to the side, holding onto Shen Yan's blanket and grinning foolishly.
Shen Yan was fast asleep, but tonight was a thunderstorm, and she vaguely sensed the approaching wind, though she was too sleepy to open her eyes. Then, several flashes of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a sudden clap of thunder. Startled, she abruptly opened her eyes and was startled to see a head emerging from the gap in her bed curtains, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, as if it were about to pounce and devour her.
She gasped and kicked at the head, her legs moving as fast as a rabbit's, landing several kicks on the face in the blink of an eye.
When Qi Jingxuan saw that Shen Yan had been startled awake by the thunder, he instinctively leaned forward to comfort her, only to collide head-on with a pair of flying kicks. He was kicked out of the bed curtains and fell to the ground with a thud, looking extremely disheveled.
Chidou, who was on night duty outside the door, was startled by the thunder and was worried that the sound of wind and rain might disturb the two masters' rest when he suddenly heard a scream and the sound of something heavy falling to the ground from inside the room. It sounded like someone had rolled off the bed.
Ignoring Qi Jingxuan's dislike of maids serving in the room, she hurriedly pushed open the door and asked, "Your Highness, Your Highness, what's wrong...?"
Before she could finish speaking, Qi Jingxuan was lying on the ground, clutching his face and groaning in pain, while Shen Yan sat on the edge of the bed, her face filled with terror.
Chi Dou's intrusion brought Shen Yan, who had been momentarily stunned, back to her senses. Realizing that she was not in a nightmare, she quickly got up and left the bed. Without even putting on her shoes, she hurried to Qi Jingxuan's side and, together with Chi Dou, helped him up.
"Are you... are you alright?"
She asked with concern.
Qi Jingxuan was in so much pain that he felt like his nose was broken. Afraid that she would blame herself and worry, he covered his nose, shook his head, and mumbled that he was fine.
Just as he said he was fine, a trickle of blood flowed out from between his fingers, startling both of them.
"This...this is bleeding, how can she be alright?"
As she spoke, Chidou called out loudly to Qingtuan, urging her to quickly fetch the royal physician.
The physician rushed in shortly after, carrying his medicine box. After carefully examining Qi Jingxuan, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, he just bumped his nose and bled a little. His nose isn't broken."
After saying that, he asked with some surprise, "Your Highness, how did you fall? How did you manage to hurt your nose?"
Even if you fall off the bed and land on the footstool, you'd usually only hit your shoulder or back, right? How come you just happened to hit your nose? Did you fall face down?
Qi Jingxuan couldn't very well say that he was kicked to the ground by Chen Yan, so he waved his hand and said, "I just happened to fall by accident. Alright, that's none of your business, get out of here."
The physician, looking suspicious, took his leave, and the red bean and green rice dumpling also left the room.
Once everyone else was out of the room, Shen Yan leaned over to examine Qi Jingxuan's red nose. After confirming the bleeding had stopped and he was alright, she said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I just opened my eyes and saw a head by the bed, and it startled me..."
She then asked, puzzled, "What are you doing lying next to my bed?"
Qi Jingxuan stammered twice, then subconsciously reached out to touch his nose again, only to hiss in pain as soon as he touched it, and quickly withdrew his hand.
"N-nothing... I saw thunder outside and was worried you'd be scared, so I went to check. But you were woken up by the thunder, and then..."
He chuckled sheepishly and shut his mouth, not daring to admit that he had actually been spying on her while she was asleep. He had seen her not only today, but also yesterday.
Shen Yan believed her and nodded in realization, saying earnestly, "I'm not afraid of thunder, you don't need to worry. Next time there's a thunderstorm, don't..."
The following words seemed to imply that Qi Jingxuan's actions were unnecessary. Although it was true, it was still somewhat unpleasant to say, so she skipped the middle part and only said, "So that I don't accidentally hurt you again."
Qi Jingxuan nodded repeatedly, afraid that she would continue the topic, and pushed her towards the bed: "I'm really fine now, go to sleep."
Shen Yan glanced at him a few more times and asked if he had fallen anywhere else. When he said no, she felt relieved and went back to sleep.
After the bed curtains were lowered, Qi Jingxuan lay down again. As he lay on his side, his face pressed against the pillow, which aggravated his nose, and he almost couldn't help but hiss in pain.
He suppressed his cries of pain, covered his head with the blanket, and felt so ashamed that he didn't dare to peek at Shen Yan's bedside again for the rest of the night.
…………
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Qi Jinghong's attempt to frame Qi Jingxuan failed, and he was instead caught red-handed and demoted to a prince. Now, apart from his brothers who have not yet been granted the title of prince, there are only two princes in the court, him and Qi Jingxuan, which is truly shameful.
Whether it was true or just his imagination, he felt that no matter where he went recently, people were secretly mocking him. Everyone's eyes seemed to say that he had fallen to the same level as Qi Jingxuan, or even worse, since Qi Jingxuan still had his father's favor.
He was already in a bad mood, and the unpleasantness with the He family made him decide to leave Beijing these past few days, thinking he could take a walk around the neighborhood to clear his head.
While he and several friends were enjoying themselves at a villa, someone from the capital suddenly arrived, saying that his father, the emperor, urgently summoned him to the palace and ordered him to return immediately.
Although Qi Jinghong didn't know what had happened, he knew it couldn't be anything good. But he couldn't figure out what mistake he had made recently that warranted his father sending people to search for him in such a big way.
The eunuch who came to deliver the message didn't explain the reason, but just kept urging him on, so he was practically escorted back to the capital. After entering the palace, he didn't see the emperor immediately, but was instead taken to Consort Hui's palace.
Consort Hui's palace gates have been closed for two days. They have been kept tightly shut except when someone brings her food, and no one is allowed to enter or leave.
Suddenly, the palace gates swung open, and a person entered. The palace servants in the courtyard were overjoyed and hurriedly went to spread the word that the Sixth Prince had arrived.
His Majesty even sent the Sixth Prince to visit Consort Hui. Does this mean he wasn't so angry, or that his anger had subsided?
When Consort Hui heard the news, a hint of joy appeared in her eyes, but it was different from the joy she felt when Qi Jinghong visited her in the past; it was like the last light before fireworks burned out.
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