Chapter 259: Ending Part 4

It takes only half a day to get from the town to the south city.

The prefect of South City received the news early and prepared a temporary residence for Xia Jinghe. He also personally went to the city gate to welcome him into the city.

He did not want to be too conspicuous and have his identity concealed by the prefect, so he took a shortcut to the mansion.

When they arrived at the residence, the doctor who had been invited in advance was already waiting at the door. He had someone carry Shen Qingxi into the mansion and arranged a separate courtyard for her.

Prefect Yang found it strange at first. He had never heard that the Crown Prince was married, so why was he traveling with a woman? He quietly asked the guards.

The guard said, "This is the girl that Your Highness accidentally saved on the way. I heard that she was kidnapped to Xuan Cang by a trafficker."

Prefect Yang thought Shen Qingxi was born a slave, so he said, "It turns out that this woman has such a rough life experience. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is really kind and benevolent."

"No." The guard lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness rarely cares about such trivial matters in the past."

Prefect Yang understood: "I'm afraid His Highness has taken a fancy to this girl."

The guard remained silent, and Magistrate Yang took that as his tacit agreement.

So, Magistrate Yang sent two maids to Shen Qingxi's room that day, saying that he was worried that she would fall ill and no one would take care of her.

Xia Jinghe had no habit of bringing a maid with her when traveling. She was surrounded by a group of burly men, and it was indeed inappropriate to ask them to take care of a woman, so she acquiesced to what Governor Yang did.

Coincidentally, he came to Nancheng this time to investigate a human smuggling case, and the incident with Shen Qingxi accidentally gave him a breakthrough.

When he let the two men go, he had already sent people to follow them secretly in order to catch the mastermind behind the incident.

In Kyushu, the trafficking of human beings is actually in compliance with national laws, but there is a prerequisite: only those who voluntarily sign a slave contract can be sold at will.

Some people, in order to make money, kidnap women and children for illegal smuggling and selling, and make huge profits from it.

Recently, my father found out that someone in Xuancang country was doing this kind of thing, and the person behind it might be a high-ranking official in the court, so he sent him to investigate it secretly. This can be regarded as a test for him.

But on the surface, Xia Jinghe only came to Nancheng to check some old files.

He went out early and came back late every day. Although Shen Qingxi lived in the same mansion with him, they hardly ever saw each other.

Her cold was indeed quite serious, and she stayed in bed for three days before she was finally able to get out and walk.

Because she had been living a coquettish life for many years and had never suffered any hardship, she was abducted from Tiangan Kingdom to Xuancang Kingdom. She had to travel by boat and train all day long and had no food to eat. In addition, the wind and snow in the cold winter month swept across the floor. How could her frail body withstand such torture?

Xia Jinghe originally wanted to send someone to send her back to Tiangan after she recovered, but he completely forgot about it when he got busy.

So, at this moment, when he saw Shen Qingxi standing at the gate of his yard, he was stunned for a moment and frowned slightly: "Why are you here?"

Shen Qingxi was wearing a plain white dress with a cloak of the same color on the outside. As soon as she opened her mouth, she couldn't help coughing, which made her look even more frail.

She paused for a moment, then said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I saw that Your Highness came back a little late, and I guessed that you might not have time for dinner, so I personally made a stomach-nourishing soup and sent it to you."

"You haven't recovered from your cold yet, so just let the servants do this." He glanced at the food box in her hand and said, "Besides, I don't like to drink soup, so you don't have to waste your efforts."

Shen Qingxi frowned slightly and said, "I asked the guard in your courtyard, and he said that you like to drink soup, so I..."

"My favorite is the lotus seed and pork rib soup cooked by my mother herself. At the very least, it is the soup cooked by Chef Yu from the Yu Kitchen. Do you think your cooking skills can compare to Chef Yu's?"

"I..." Shen Qingxi lowered her eyelashes and said softly, "I just want to do something for you within my ability."

Somehow, Xia Jinghe's heart choked when he saw her aggrieved look, and he said faster than his brain: "Forget it, come in."

After saying this, he was stunned for a moment, then he glanced at Shen Qingxi who was looking at him with joy, rubbed his aching forehead helplessly, and walked towards the yard.

After entering the house, Shen Qingxi put down the food box, scooped a bowl of soup for him and placed it in front of him, smiling and saying, "Your Highness, please try it. Maybe your cooking skills are not as good as those of the kitchen assistant Yu, let alone the queen, but it is also a token of my love."

Xia Jinghe looked at the steaming soup in front of him, pursed his lips, and finally scooped up a spoonful and put it into his mouth.

It was just ordinary chicken soup. To his picky appetite cultivated by Jiang Muyu, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t delicious either.

He only drank two sips symbolically and stopped, turned to look at Shen Qingxi, and said: "You have been missing for such a long time, your family must be worried. Please write a letter first, and I will send someone to deliver it to the Shen Mansion in the capital for you."

Shen Qingxi was very happy, bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Um."

After a while, he saw Shen Qingxi still standing there, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Anything else?"

Shen Qingxi said distressedly: "There is no paper or pen in my room."

She lived in a new courtyard. The furnishings in her bedroom were quite complete, but the study next to it was empty.

Xia Jinghe just remembered this, so he took her to his study. When they entered the inner room, he sat on a chair, casually pulled out a book from the shelf and looked at it. He pointed to the table next to him and said, "Pen, ink, paper and inkstone are all available. Start writing."

"yes."

Shen Qingxi rolled up her sleeves, ground her ink, and then picked up her pen to write. The flickering candlelight beside her cast a shadow on her face, and the candlelight stained her plain dress with a warm color.

Xia Jinghe looked at her for a long time and felt that this scene was familiar, as if he had seen it many times. However, he and Shen Qingxi rarely had contact, let alone being in the same room.

Why is it so strange every time I meet her...

"Your Highness, I have finished writing." It was not until Shen Qingxi's voice brought his thoughts back that he suddenly realized that he had been staring at her for nearly two quarters of an hour.

Xia Jinghe quickly looked away, coughed unnaturally, and said, "Well, leave it there. I will have someone deliver it."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Shen Qingxi came over and bowed slightly in front of him, with a faint smile on her face, and said softly, "I will take my leave first."

He waved his hand: "Well, go ahead."

Shen Qingxi turned around and walked out.

She didn't know when a light snowflake started to fall from the sky. She reached out her hand to catch a snowflake. It landed in her palm and instantly turned into a small puddle of water, with a slightly cool touch.

Xia Jinghe obviously noticed the falling snow outside, and came out with an oil-paper umbrella, handed it to her, and said, "Take it with you. You might get even sicker if you get wet in the snow."

"Thank you, Your Highness." She took it, opened it, bowed to Xia Jinghe, and then prepared to leave holding the umbrella.

At this moment, I suddenly heard a woman's cold and calm teasing voice: "It turns out that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince already has a beautiful woman by his side. I came at the wrong time."

They were both stunned and looked in the direction of the sound.