Chapter 58: Riding on the Same Horse in Jiangnan
At noon, at Qixian Post Station.
In the lobby, the maid Qiulai stood at the table and bent over to serve food to Luo Qingling. The latter looked around the post station, wondering what he was thinking.
Last night, the emperor ordered Prince Rong'an to embark on a southern tour today, and Lady Luo "happened" to be heading to her fiefdom in the south of the Yangtze River, so the two of them headed south together and agreed to meet at the post station in Qi County, outside the capital, early this morning.
After setting the dishes, Qiu Lai retreated behind Luo Qingling and glanced at Luo Qingling silently, his eyes full of admiration for the beauty.
Qiulai was given to Luo Qingling by the Queen last night. The Luo family had no maids in the capital, and the only one who served Luo Qingling on weekdays was Aunt Zhao from the Luo Mansion. Now that he was going on a long journey, he naturally could not take the servants who looked after the Luo Mansion with him. So the Queen ordered Qiulai to stay with Luo Qingling.
It was Qiulai's first time to behold such a spiritually beautiful woman. She looked different from the ordinary noble ladies of the capital. Lady Luo was unassuming, her face always maintaining a gentle smile. Qiulai was extremely fond of his new master, and he felt that Prince Rong'an was truly fortunate to have such a beautiful woman accompany him on his southern tour.
"Prince Rong An hasn't left the city yet. Madam, would you like to go back to your room and rest for a while?"
Qiulai stood by the door, holding the door frame with one hand and looking out. There was a crowd of people at the city gate not far away. Everyone knew that Prince Rong'an was leaving for the south today, and they all rushed to see the young man's true appearance. At this moment, they were stuck in traffic on the official road. It seemed that Prince Rong'an must still be in the city.
"If you are tired, please go back to your room and take a nap. I will stay here and call you to get up when Prince Rong'an arrives." Qiu Lai was worried that Luo Qingling got up too early today and would feel sleepy on the way.
"No need. It's almost the agreed time. Your Highness is always punctual. I can just sit in the main hall and eat some cakes." Luo Qingling covered his mouth and yawned.
After the palace banquet last night, Qin Yanheng had asked her if she wanted to leave the city together this morning. Luo Qingling thought that their story was already spreading like wildfire in the capital. If she continued to make such a high-profile move, wouldn't it be a disguised announcement that she, Luo Qingling, had gone south with Prince Rong'an? So Luo Qingling shook her head and refused Qin Yanheng's offer.
Although the news that the saint had decreed to give her a city in the south of the Yangtze River and ordered her to immediately set off to inspect her fiefdom had reached everyone's ears, it was naturally misunderstood as the saint giving her a reason to tour the south with Qin Yanheng - but this was indeed the case.
However, the Saint and the Queen's move was indeed a brilliant plan. Not only did it allow her to get the reward, but it also allowed her to go south with Qin Yanheng to find out the truth and clear her father's name.
Luo Qingling's ultimate purpose of going to Beijing was also for his father.
Over a decade ago, a rebellion broke out on the frontier. General Luo, receiving an imperial decree, led his troops south to quell the conflict. However, for unknown reasons, he mistakenly killed a high-ranking official, resulting in the failure to deliver the order in time and countless casualties on the front lines. Although General Luo fought tooth and nail to suppress the rebellion and quell the conflict, he was still suspected of treason by the emperor, who revoked his command and exiled him to the frontier.
The following year, Luo Qingling was born.
After that, even when the border was in chaos again, the Luo family could not return to the capital...until General Luo was seriously ill and needed to return to the capital to recuperate. At that time, the Queen happened to want to choose a princess for Prince Rong'an, so Luo Qingling decided to go to the capital to take a gamble.
After all, Prince Rong'an is the only one in this world who can influence the emperor's will.
Now that she finally had the opportunity to tour the south, she was determined to find out what had happened to her father in the Jiangnan area! There was no way her father would have accidentally killed an important official of the imperial court. There must have been injustice.
Her nose felt sore, and her eyes were blurred with tears. Luo Qingling sniffed and tilted her head back to force the tears back. The waiter who was cleaning the main hall assumed she was tired and walked over to ask if she needed another cup of hot tea.
"Have you ever been to our shop? I think you look familiar, I must have seen you before." The waiter held the teacup and poured tea for Luo Qingling.
Luo Qingling smiled but said nothing.
Of course she had been here before. Not only her, but also four Taoist priests including Qin Yanheng and Bai Rushue had been here. It was about two months ago.
At that time, in order to capture the corpse demon and find the real culprit for Cui Susu who died by the river, everyone even set up an array by the river and stayed in this inn at night. Now, looking back, it is incredible that she and Qin Yanheng had experienced so many things.
The tea in your hand is warm, and the fragrance drifts into your nose, making you feel comfortable.
But it would be more comfortable if there was no one shouting outside the door.
"Don't squeeze me! Can you please tighten your big belly? It always knocks me two miles away."
"Hey, how can you talk like that? When I was catching monsters and warding off disasters, you didn't even look down on my fat body, and now you're talking nonsense again. Get out of here!"
The voice is familiar, it should be——
A white bun jumped into the room, a whisk draped over his right shoulder. He looked around and then stopped his gaze on Luo Qingling. He walked towards her with a smile: "Madam Luo, didn't Prince Rong An go south with you? Why don't you see him?"
When Luo Qingling heard the voices of the four Taoist priests, she had the waiter pour four more cups of tea. She was now sitting at the table, looking calmly at Bai Ruxue and the three men behind her, Hei Rutie. She replied, "Your Highness and I have an appointment to meet here. What do the four Taoist priests want from you, Young Highness?"
"Oh, it's just some monster thing...Ah! What are you doing?!"
A pair of hands suddenly reached out from behind Bai Ruxue, grabbed one of the cups of tea on the table, and drank it all. The sudden movement startled Bai Ruxue so much that his waist twisted and he almost fell to the side. He put his hands on his hips and angrily looked at Hei Rutie and said, "Old Black, you are trying to scare me to death!"
"Don't be so startled." Qing Rudian had sat down at the table at some point, sipping tea calmly and giving advice.
Beside Qing Rudin, Chi Ruxue suddenly stood up and knocked the two men who had been fighting since they entered the door on the head, and they finally quieted down.
"Madam Luo," Taoist Master Bai Ruxue stopped playing around and said seriously, "Ever since the demonic aura was discovered in the Seven Star Pagoda of Xiangshan Temple that day, His Highness the Young Prince Qin has ordered the four of us to search for it in the capital."
"Searching for demonic energy?" Luo Qingling sat up straight upon hearing this. "Master, have you found anything?"
I haven't seen the four Taoist priests for so many days. It turns out they went out to look for monsters in secret.
Hei Rutie leaned his head against Bai Rushue's shoulder, and the two of them shook their heads like rattles. Hei Rutie continued, "There haven't been any evil spirits in the capital for over a decade. Some time ago, for some reason, demonic energy was everywhere. So far, the four of us haven't found anything unusual."
"Although His Highness the Young Prince Qin can certainly suppress the monsters, the southern tour cannot be delayed... Madam Luo and the Young Prince can go on their journey without worry, we will take care of everything in the capital." Qing Rudian was very steady.
After saying this, the four Taoists stood up and saluted Luo Qingling, then turned and left, disappearing into the crowd.
Luo Qingling then understood that the four Taoists had actually come to see her and the young prince off, and their enthusiasm was beyond words.
The sound of horse hooves and wheels whirred around the corner, and then a figure came into view, instantly absorbing all the surrounding light. The person wore a jade crown, their hair tied up in a bun, and a dark brocade robe. A white jade pendant dangled from their waist, making them particularly eye-catching.
He strode towards her in the warm sunshine.
"After sending you back home last night, I drank some wine alone in the palace. I'm sorry for keeping Madam Luo waiting for so long. Madam Luo, please don't blame me."
Qin Yanheng casually pulled out the chair next to Luo Qingling and sat down, pouring himself a cup of tea and drinking it all in one gulp. His movements were very natural, as if they had always been together like this.
Last night, after getting drunk, Qin Yanheng suddenly came to a realization. Regardless of whether the story about the Golden Jade Marriage Stone was true or not, he and Luo Qingling were now inseparable—after all, the Golden Dragon Sword hadn't broken his bond yet, and he couldn't be more than ten miles away from her.
Besides, Luo Qingling is much better than those noble ladies in the capital who can only embroider. With her on the southern tour, we will definitely get twice the result with half the effort.
As for what Master Daoxian said in his dream last night, no matter whether the gold or the jade was moved first, Qin Yanheng always did things casually and only followed his inner thoughts.
He does whatever he wants to do.
Thinking of this, Qin Yanheng nodded secretly, but suddenly met Luo Qingling's eyes. The latter looked at him with big blinking eyes, which made his mind suddenly go blank.
She really looks like a white jade dumpling...
"Your Highness."
Luo Qingling looked at him intently and spoke softly, causing Qin Yanheng to unconsciously lean closer to her. He couldn't help but sniff the lingering fragrance of flowers.
"Hmm? What do you want to call me for?" Qin Yanheng tilted his head slightly, with the corners of his mouth raised, and he was looking forward to what Luo Qingling would say to him.
"If we delay here any longer, we'll probably have to sleep outdoors in the mountains tonight." Luo Qingling urged him to hurry up in a serious tone.
Hearing this, he chuckled and his shoulders shook. Just as Luo Qingling was about to raise her hand to punch him on the shoulder, Qin Yanheng suddenly looked up at her, with waves in his eyes.
"Let's go, Miss Luo."
*
Two days later, at night.
Perhaps because Luo Qingling and Qin Yanheng both wanted to get to Jiangnan as soon as possible, they had been traveling non-stop for two days and two nights, and were now extremely tired.
This place was a forest with many wild animals. Just when Luo Qingling thought that Qin Yanheng would order them to pass through the forest quickly, the carriage slowly stopped.
At the front, Qin Yanheng sat on a tall horse, dressed in a black and gold round-collared robe. His dark hair was tied up high with a jade crown, leaving only loose strands on his forehead. He smiled and turned his head to answer the order, his face full of excitement, and he looked even more youthful than he had in the capital.
"There will definitely be ferocious beasts lurking in the mountains at night. Why not go hunting with me and have a good meal!" The crossbow on the young man's back was as imposing as he was.
"Your Highness is leading a hunt. Madam, would you like to go with us?"
Qiulai lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. At this time, his followers had already set up camp by the roadside and started a fire to boil water.
Before Luo Qingling could think it through, Qin Yanheng, who was not far away, crossed his legs on both sides of the horse's belly, pulled the reins and walked towards her, stopping just beside the car window.
"Whatever meat Madam Luo wants to eat, I will go and catch it for you," Qin Yanheng said with a bright smile, his brows painted in the firelight. He continued, "Or perhaps you want to go hunting with me?"
Before he finished speaking, laughter broke out all around, and the soldiers and followers who followed him pushed and shoved to make a fuss.
"It seems that Madam Luo's trip to the fiefdom was fake, and the real story is that she accompanied the young prince on his southern tour!" Someone said boldly.
“Tsk.”
Qin Yanheng turned around and glanced at everyone, but there was no dissatisfaction on his face. He said slowly: "If you say one more word, you won't eat meat tonight."
Everyone fell silent, lowered their heads and continued to work on the things in their hands.
Seeing this, Luo Qingling couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh softly, her eyebrows curved and her eyes twinkled with stars.
At first, she thought that Qin Yanheng was always impatient no matter who he was facing. She didn't expect that he would lower himself and get along with his followers like this. It really surprised her.
During this southern tour, the two of them became closer than when they were in Beijing, so close that she even wanted to ride on the same horse with Qin Yanheng to hunt in the mountains!
"Okay!" Luo Qingling nodded with a smile.
Qin Yanheng immediately understood what she meant. He smiled and stretched out his hand to her, motioning her to sit down.
With a stamp of their horses' hooves, the two of them galloped through the mountains.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
