Fifth Princess
Turning to look out the window, thoughts of unrequited love quickly formed in his mind.
It is now mid-to-late December. It will take about two days to travel from the capital to Yangqu. Since Zhou Yanzhi wants to arrive in Yangqu before the tenth day of the first lunar month, he must set off no later than the evening of the seventh day of the first lunar month.
But given Zhou Yanzhi's personality, he will definitely arrive in Yangqu before the tenth day of the lunar new year. If nothing unexpected happens, he will set off as soon as New Year's Eve is over.
Therefore, all things considered, she only has one month to prepare. In any case, she must go to Yangqu with Zhou Yanzhi!
...
"Sister Qingshu, do you know what's wrong with my young lady?" Yuhe sat on a low stool in the outer room, propping her head up and looking at the person behind the beaded curtain. Seeing that the person was still motionless, she said with a hint of melancholy, "Why is she sitting there blankly for the whole day?"
"This... I don't know either." Qing Shu was also a bit confused.
Ever since returning from the library that day, Jie Xiangsi has been preoccupied with her thoughts. All she does is copy scriptures and sit by the window watching the snow fall outside, neither speaking nor moving, as if she is in a daze.
Mo Yue, who had been observing Jie Xiangsi for a long time, couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement and said, "How can you sit for so long, young lady?"
That's truly admirable; she certainly couldn't do that.
As the center of the three's discussion, Xie Xiangsi didn't realize how long she had been sitting there. She was just staring blankly at the snow falling outside the window, wondering how she could get Zhou Yanzhi to take her to Yangqu to investigate the case.
Yangqu is not far from the capital, but it is not as prosperous as the capital and is even somewhat desolate. This is because natural disasters are frequent in the area. Before the people can recover, a new round of disasters will strike.
In addition, being right under the emperor's nose, the court did not believe that local officials would dare to embezzle, accept bribes, or harm the people. Therefore, it focused most of its attention on remote areas, making this place the most desirable destination for officials sent out to other regions.
Natural disasters compounded by man-made calamities, creating a vicious cycle that leads to outward stability but inward decay.
The fact that the disaster relief funds for Yangqu have run into problems and have even reached the Dali Temple in the capital is probably a very serious matter, so much so that Zhou Yanzhi needs to conduct a covert investigation in Yangqu rather than an open one.
I've been thinking about this.
Since this disaster relief fund is related to the Xiao family's evidence, and natural disasters cannot be foreseen, and there is currently no news of any disasters in Yangqu, and the Xiao family was raided in early November, it means that the problem with this disaster relief fund occurred at least before the Xiao family, but it was suppressed beforehand.
The night Zhou Yanzhi mistakenly entered her boudoir, he still smelled of blood. Could this be related to the case?
After a short while, Jie Xiangsi let out a deep sigh.
It's a complete mess; I can't make sense of anything at all.
If she weren't currently inside Jie Xiangsi's body, she would really want to drift away to Yangqu without a care in the world, and not care about Zhou Yanzhi at all.
But then again, if I weren't in Jie Xiangsi's body, I probably wouldn't have had a chance to overturn the Xiao family's case. Even if I got a clue, I couldn't tell Zhou Yanzhi.
Speaking of Zhou Yanzhi, Xie Xiangsi sighed helplessly.
Five days had passed since that day in the library, and she had kept that cloak hidden for five whole days. Zhou Yanzhi hadn't even remembered that he had left a cloak with her.
It seems that being the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is quite a busy job. When he gets busy, he's nowhere to be seen. For five days in a row, she didn't even catch a glimpse of him.
Fine, fine, if he won't come looking for her, she'll go looking for him.
Thinking this, Jie Xiangsi stood up nimbly, turned her head and called out to the three people outside the beaded curtain, "It's almost New Year's Eve, shall we go out for a stroll?"
"Yay!" Yu He and Mo Yue were the first to cheer.
...
Perhaps because the year was coming to an end, even though there were still soldiers in armor patrolling the streets, the people in the city were still happily setting up their stalls, and crowds were constantly coming and going.
Xie Xiangsi's body had been ill before and was still somewhat sickly. After strolling around the streets in a thick fox fur coat, Xie Xiangsi suddenly felt a little bored.
Looking at the stalls selling New Year's supplies on both sides of the street, she suddenly thought of the time before the Jin'an Marquis's mansion was in trouble. Although her father and brother were far away on the frontier and could not come back to celebrate the New Year with her, New Year's gifts would always appear in the mansion before New Year's Eve.
Most of them were ornaments for girls, but there were also some sharp swords, which she said were for self-defense.
In the letters her father would always send along with the letter, he would ask her how tall she had grown and whether she was studying diligently with her teacher.
Although the letter was short, Xiao Yan could imagine the usually dignified general in front of his soldiers, with a loving expression as he wrote it.
Her brother's letter was quite long, much more trivial than her father's. He asked her how the year had gone, whether anyone had bullied her, and if anyone had, she should slap them across the face, no matter who they were, and so on.
Every time Xiao Yan saw her brother's letter, she would think inappropriately that if everyone knew that the spirited and handsome General Xiao in their eyes was actually a grumbling and fussy young man, they would probably be shocked.
Thinking of this, Xie Xiangsi's upturned lips flattened, and her eyes reddened slightly.
But this year, no one will send letters anymore.
Xiao Yan couldn't receive it either.
...
"Miss, what's wrong?" Qing Shu keenly noticed the sudden melancholy in Jie Xiangsi's expression and asked softly with some concern, "Is it too cold?"
Jie Xiangsi paused for a moment, then looked up towards the direction of the Marquis of Jin'an's residence and tugged at the corners of her mouth. She said softly, "Yes, it's too cold." After saying that, she pointed to the shops not far away and said, "You guys go and rest at the teahouse in front. I want to take a walk by myself."
"Eh? Miss, didn't you say you were cold?" Yuhe was young and didn't notice Jie Xiangsi's low mood. Afraid that Jie Xiangsi was really cold, she wanted to take her to the teahouse.
Just as Jie Xiangsi was about to say something, Qing Shu gave Mo Yue a wink, signaling her to pull Yu He away.
He then turned to Jie Xiangsi and said gently, "As the year draws to a close, the capital is a melting pot of all sorts of people. Perhaps Qingshu should accompany you for a walk."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi glanced at Qing Shu and saw the concern in her eyes. Not wanting to disappoint her, she nodded slightly and said, "Okay."
Qing Shu smiled faintly.
"Then... miss, where are we going?"
Where to?
Actually, Jie Xiangsi didn't know that the snow in the capital was regularly cleared by people, and at this moment, there was only a thin layer of snow on the ground. She took two steps forward, thought of something, turned to Qing Shu and said softly, "I heard that Su Ji's Golden Silk Pastry is the most famous in the capital. I want to buy some to take back. Let's go there."
"Then we will do as you say, young lady."
...
Su Ji's Golden Silk Crispy Cake truly lives up to its reputation as the most famous pastry in the capital. Even in winter, there was a long queue in front of the store. When it was Jie Xiangsi and her friends' turn, it happened to be the last one.
"Here you go, young lady. This is the best Golden Silk Pastry Cake from Su Ji!"
As the shop owner handed the pastries wrapped in oil paper to Qing Shu, he called out to the long queue behind them, "Our pastries are sold out for today. If you all want some, please come early tomorrow!"
Immediately, a chorus of complaints rose from behind them, revealing just how disappointed they were. Hearing this, Jie Xiangsi and Qing Shu exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly; they were indeed lucky.
Just as they were about to turn away, a fierce whip tore through the air and rushed straight towards them.
In the cold wind, the stray hairs at Jie Xiangsi's temples fluttered in the breeze. Her eyes narrowed, and she suddenly reached out to push Qing Shu aside, only to be struck squarely by the whip herself.
"Smack!"
Suddenly, a burning pain shot through her forearm, and Jie Xiangsi's eyes immediately reddened with pain.
At the same time, a horse's neighing sounded, and its hooves barely grazed Jie Xiangsi's hem before landing heavily on the bluestone bricks.
"girl!"
Ignoring the pastries that had fallen to the ground, Qing Shu staggered over and shielded Xie Xiangsi behind him, gently lifting her forearm. Even the usually composed Qing Shu couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh my god!"
Bloodstains were visible on the brocade sleeves. Winter clothes are thick, and Qing Shu could imagine what lay beneath them without even lifting the sleeves.
Pressing down Qing Shu's hand that was about to lift her sleeve, Jie Xiangsi raised her eyes and coldly looked in the direction from which the whip had come.
"Apologize."
Upon hearing this, the girl being stared at by Jie Xiangsi smiled contemptuously, casually tugged at her whip while sitting on her horse, and lazily looked up at Qing Shu, saying, "I was going to hit her. You were the one who insisted on pushing her away, and that's why you took this hit for her. You brought it on yourself, so why should I apologize? I won't!"
Hearing her illogical words, Qing Shu was about to step forward to argue, but Xie Xiangsi forcefully stopped him.
Looking at the arrogant woman in front of her, Jie Xiangsi thought to herself: As expected of the Fourth Prince's younger sister, she is just like her brother, arrogant and unreasonable to the point of being annoying.
Her whip was clearly aimed at Qing Shu's face. If she hadn't pushed Qing Shu away, he would have been disfigured today!
It's true what they say, you can tell what a child will be like at three and what they will be like at seven. In her opinion, Zhou Yuyi is an absolute jerk!
It was true before, it is true now, and it will be even more true in the future!
Xiao Yan had experienced this deeply since childhood. As the daughter of a general, she had accompanied her father to the palace to pay homage to the emperor when she was young. At that time, the crown prince was forced to lead a group of little children to play. Xiao Yan was cute from a young age, and with her good personality, everyone preferred to play with her.
However, this behavior angered the Fifth Princess Zhou Yuyi, who was the same age as Xiao Yan at the time. She felt that she, a princess who was the center of attention, was not as good as a marquis's daughter. She was aggrieved and angry and kept making a fuss until everyone had to surround her before she stopped.
But only Xiao Yan knew that the Fifth Princess had secretly pinched her many times during the chaos, leaving her arms, legs, and waist covered in bruises.
He even deliberately tripped her and plotted to push her into the Imperial Lotus Pond several times, showing that he was vicious at such a young age.
They faced each other with nothing but disgust.
Xiao Yan hated her for being targeted for no reason, and Zhou Yuyi hated that Xiao Yan had taken her place.
As a result, Xiao Yan's relationship with the Fifth Princess was not good even when she grew up. If she and Zhou Yanzhi were like bickering lovers, then she and Zhou Yuyi were like mortal enemies, the kind who would want to slap each other's faces as soon as they met.
For example, at the beginning of this year, Zhou Yuyi was punished to go to Huguo Temple in the suburbs of Beijing to practice Buddhism. When Xiao Yan heard the news, she provocatively rode her horse around the suburbs of Beijing a few times.
Thinking of this, Jie Xiangsi sighed inwardly.
Upon hearing the news of Xiao Yan's death, Zhou Yuyi was probably overjoyed.
This is so frustrating!
Thinking about it this way, Jie Xiangsi felt the wound on her arm from Zhou Yuyi hurt even more. Today, she had to crush Zhou Yuyi's morale!
With a sneer at Zhou Yuyi's disdainful expression, Jie Xiangsi coldly said, "What you're saying is laughable. If I hadn't pushed her away, your whip would have struck her face. Have you considered that it would have disfigured her?!"
Hearing Xie Xiangsi say this, Zhou Yuyi became even more disdainful. She glanced down at Qing Shu beside her and said unhurriedly, "Didn't we fail to hit him?"
Jie Xiangsi chuckled, "So what?"
Zhou Yuyi said in a flat tone: "That's why I won't apologize."
She paused, then added nonchalantly, "Besides, do you even know who I am? I can hit whoever I want. Do you need to lecture me?"
After saying that, Zhou Yuyi gave the two a provocative smile, pulled on the reins, and was about to leave.
But before he had taken more than a few steps, Xie Xiangsi's cold voice came from behind him.
Did I say you could leave?
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