Chapter 91 My Bright Moon Xiao Xi is Angry at Xiao Xie + A Kiss from Afar...
Ying Xi wouldn't let him move, and Xie Qianli's fingers stiffened slightly.
She remained frozen in that position, leaning forward to pull the blanket over herself.
This "not to move" doesn't mean he has to stay completely still; it just means they don't want him to move around too much. Xie Qianli's interpretation made the situation in the room look ridiculous, and he himself seemed a bit dazed.
Ying Xi felt a fluffy tail brush against her heart.
She didn't care whether the other person was well-groomed or not, and sat down on the edge of his bed.
His heart sank, because the closer he got, the clearer the full picture of the wound became. Xie Qianli's old wounds were piled on top of new ones, and the war he had started was constantly ravaging another vibrant life.
Ying Xi frowned slightly: "Lean on the bed."
Xie Qianli nodded slowly. He relaxed his body and did as he was told, his gaze somewhat ethereal, a stark contrast to his usual cold and bright eyes.
"Your subject... thanks you for your grace."
Some of the polite phrases used in the court were almost fixed, and one had to say them in that way.
He exempted Xie Qianli from the kowtow ceremony and allowed him to meet the emperor while lying in bed, for which the other party was naturally obliged to express his gratitude.
Ying Xi's heart clenched again, and he slowly frowned: "Don't say it." His intention was that there was no need to stand on ceremony.
But Xie Qianli kept his mouth shut. He dared not speak.
Ying Xi's expression was very serious, and Xie Qianli was extremely cautious. However, a question silently raced through his mind: Does your throat still hurt?
Xie Qianli did not ask.
They won't let us speak.
Striving for a balance between propriety and impoliteness, he sized up the emperor and pointed to the water glass on the bedroom table.
Ying Xi had originally come to demand an explanation, but now, for some reason, only a fraction of his anger remained. His rage had transformed into an emotion he couldn't describe in detail. He felt incredibly frustrated.
The emperor, with a stern face, asked, "General Xie, how old are you this year?"
Xie Qianli didn't understand, and his mind wasn't working very fast at the moment.
He struggled to hold up two fingers, and then shakily held up two fingers with his other hand as well, raising both hands at the same time.
Like two pliers.
General Xie has become General Crab.
This feedback made Ying Xi feel deeply helpless for the first time—at least in his life, he had never encountered anything like it when dealing with state affairs.
Ying Xi: "Does Ju'er want to drive me to my death?"
Xie Qianli vaguely heard his childhood nickname. A pale smile appeared on his face, and his eyes even brightened slightly.
Ying Xi was slightly flustered by the other party's smile.
Perhaps due to excessive blood loss and cerebral ischemia, Ying Xi felt that Xie Qianli looked more adorable than usual, when he was more proper and upright.
Ying Xi suppressed her association with canines again and admonished, "When you were seventeen, you served as the vanguard officer and followed your father to quell the rebellion. You rode into the enemy camp on horseback. I could still understand that it was just youthful arrogance and impetuous courage."
"You're twenty-two this year, and ten years from now you'll be thirty-two, forty-two, fifty-two... Will you, General, still make such a fool of yourself when you're old?"
His mind was a bit hazy, and Xie Qianli heard "old" and "showing off" intermittently. His heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his eyes.
Dogs tuck their tails between their legs.
Ying Xi ordered him to look up and face the question directly: "Look at me."
Xie Qianli raised his eyes.
He met Ying Xi's deep gray eyes.
When a person's mind is completely focused on the person they love, Xie Qianli feels that he is not good enough in any way.
He was indeed older than Ying Xi, a bit older.
His wounds from charging into battle were also quite unsightly, pockmarked like orange peel. He wasn't the most sought-after type of man in Chang'an.
Xie Qianli opened his mouth in a hoarse voice: "Your subject..."
"You deserve to die!" Ying Xi said sternly.
Xie Qianli's heart skipped a beat again. Although he kept his head up, the light in his eyes dimmed. His sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes turned downwards.
Ying Xi reprimanded, "You acted rashly and recklessly. As the commander-in-chief, you did something illogical. If you fail, the entire army may be left without a leader. This is the first offense."
"Misjudgment, underestimating me, and directly activating emergency strategies, this is the second crime."
"He concealed the truth from me beforehand and never informed me, which is suspected of deceiving the emperor. This is the third crime."
"All three of these charges against you are outrageous!"
"Besides, if I hadn't ordered the dragon boat to be launched to coordinate with your actions, how would you have escaped unscathed? Don't tell me you planned to die there!"
Ying Xi's voice rose higher and higher.
The emperor grew increasingly serious. At this moment, his thoughts drifted back to the intense unease he felt when he learned that Xie Qianli had led his ships into battle.
A fleeting memory flashed before Ying Xi's eyes: the many times she had saved Xie Qianli and spent time with him.
"This person is innocent, so why is he imprisoned in Fanglan Palace?"
"There's a pastry shop in Chang'an that sells flaky pastries for two coins each. The pastry is sweet and the filling is soft and chewy. I'll take you there."
"Xiao Xi, who hit you?"
"I'll help you escape from the palace."
Is Your Majesty feeling unwell?
"Drink water."
"..."
—Your Majesty, I will always be loyal to you.
The fragment of the voice was resounding and gentle, echoing Xie Qianli's vow in the camp.
Ying Xi's dark gray eyelids suddenly became veiled with thick mist.
This is the person who has been with him for ten years.
Ying Xi's lower lip trembled slightly, and her eyes grew increasingly misty.
He subtly adjusted his breathing; his throat burned and ached. Having barely managed to suppress his intense emotions, fine droplets of tears had already gathered on his eyelashes.
He couldn't let Xie Qianli see the emperor in such a state. He pretended to rub his eyes.
He was terrified because of the recent naval battle, this person with whom he had shared countless ties had almost been completely wiped out.
Ying Xi was deeply terrified.
It seems that he never wanted Xie Qianli to die in his entire life.
Is it because they value his talent, or because they cherish their past friendship?
Ying Xi had a vague feeling of unease, and her brows furrowed slightly, but she didn't hesitate to warn the person in front of her: "Ju'er, I'm very angry."
Xie Qianli looked flustered.
A man who killed the enemy's commander with a spear, he was originally full of vigor and could make the enemy retreat. He was the number one fierce general in the Qin army, but he could not find any fierceness or sharpness in front of the emperor.
He stared at Ying Xi, his pupils dark, the light in his eyes almost gone.
That look stung Yingxi again, and her gaze inadvertently fell once more on Xie Qianli's body covered in wounds.
He paused, his tone softened, and his imposing manner diminished.
"I am worried about you."
"..."
A patch of flowers.
A few petals fell from the sky. The flowers gradually grew denser.
The petals are all light pink, slightly whitish, and have a cool, refreshing fragrance.
Scattered petals enveloped the bed curtains, and through the floral screen, Xie Qianli's eyes suddenly lit up.
The flowers left Ying Xi momentarily bewildered, her brows twitching wildly!
The emperor looked up but saw only a gray ceiling. The romance system, desperate to survive, typed something in the air before him, already prepared a reason: "Celebrating General Xie's triumphant return, congratulations Your Majesty on capturing Linchuan. I didn't think much of it~"
Ying Xi smiled helplessly.
Sweet Tong couldn't resist any longer. Seeing that Koko was naked and the two of them were alone, he wanted to kiss her passionately.
An emperor is magnanimous and will not get angry with a young girl.
Anyway, it's not the first or second time it's bumped into things randomly.
Ying Xi slowly parted the petals, made up an excuse, and casually explained, "The wind picked up, the skylight came down, and the wind blew into the bed."
The reasons given were actually not very good.
Because the rain had stopped outside, and it even seemed like the sun was out, Lian Qing shouted in the courtyard with his hoarse voice, "The rain's stopped, everyone come out and air your nails!!!"
The emperor seemed to have been exposed on the spot, and even the composed Ying Xi was a little embarrassed.
But Xie Qianli nodded in agreement.
His eyes, once as black as lacquer, now shone brightly as if filled with two balls of fire, staring intently at Ying Xi.
The intense gaze made Ying Xi's heartstrings tighten suddenly. She didn't realize that her cheeks had become a little red, but she felt that after the heavy rain, summer was full of brilliant warmth.
He exhaled warm breath, deliberately fiddling with the flowers hidden in the folds of his clothes. He fiddled with them for a moment, making rustling noises.
The petals were tiny and scattered, falling one by one.
Ying Xi tried to act naturally and avoided eye contact.
He came to educate Koma, and shouldn't have stayed long; he should have left once he finished his business.
"There are still matters in Linchuan that I need to attend to. I have asked a few advisors to take care of them, but I am not entirely at ease with them. However, I grant you leave, and Lian Qing will take over your duties. You should rest first."
Little did they know that Xie Qianli, with his keen insight, had long been accustomed to discerning the details that his beloved cared about from Ying Xi's words and actions.
The diligent emperor set aside his official duties to visit him.
Worried about himself, trying to save himself, afraid that he would pass away...
He was overcome with intense emotions but dared not confirm them with the other person. His burgeoning love was forced deep into his bones, and his loyalty enveloped his taboo. He desperately looked up at the other person in the dark!
Xie Qianli felt that he had fallen even more for Ying Xi.
He never really thought that getting injured was a big deal.
He was used to getting hurt, but this time, the injury made him truly feel the pain. The pain of the wound turned into sweetness.
Xie Qianli said in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, there are still many flower petals in your hair."
Ying Xi frowned. The emperor needed to go to work and couldn't afford to embarrass himself in public, so he ordered, "Bring it to me."
"yes."
Her hair was sweet and her cool fragrance lingered on her face.
Xie Qianli slowly reached out, suppressing the excitement filling his chest and controlling the trembling of his fingertips, and picked up a strand of Ying Xi's hair. He gently stroked it with his fingertips. Ying Xi's hair was very soft.
Xie Qianli's fingers were rough, and when his fingertips pierced through his hair and touched his scalp, it felt like a massage. It was somewhat comfortable.
Ying Xi remained expressionless, closed her eyes and concentrated, her breathing gradually becoming even and fine, like that of a cat.
This gave Xie Qianli an opportunity, and he took the chance to kiss his beloved's forehead from afar. He did this secretly, his heart pounding, but his lips curled up in excitement, and a bittersweet feeling welled up inside him.
Xiao Xi... is my bright moon.
"Is it ready?" Mingyue asked.
Mingyue was in a hurry to get to work.
Xie Qianli always had a deep-seated ulterior motive. Just as Ying Xi opened her eyes, he nodded and handed her the few petals he had secretly hidden in his palm.
"Okay, here you go."
***
Leaving his bedroom to handle official business, he pushed open the door to find the outside world bathed in bright sunlight.
Lian Qing and several soldiers were drying their nails in the courtyard. Unexpectedly, they were drying them while wearing them, so both the men and their nails were probably already dry.
Sweetie hummed happily, "That big wolfhound is so delicious~"
Ying Xi had a headache. Luckily, it was just the two of them in the room. If there had been anyone else, he wouldn't have been able to cover up the pile of flower petals earlier.
Due to excessive blood loss, Koma became mentally impaired.
Yingxi shook her head and said, "You're not allowed to be willful next time."
Sweet Tong retorted, "Then His Majesty is also willful... I was the one who saved His Majesty. Was I a big whistle?"
Ying Xi suddenly fell silent, reflecting: He had indeed done something irrational.
For the first time in his life, he risked the fate of his nation to save someone he wanted to save.
But an emperor is an emperor, and Ying Xi would never admit it, still forcibly concealing it: "I know what I'm doing."
"Hmph hmph hmph!"
At this moment, a soldier walked in from outside the courtyard and said, "Your Majesty, after the naval battle, our army captured several enemy soldiers. At present, both General Xie are unable to handle affairs, and these people are waiting for trial in the front hall. Please make a decision, Your Majesty."
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