Shannai
Sunlight streamed in, curtains fluttered gently, and the soft chirping of birds drifted in from outside the window.
Their eyes met, and they both suddenly laughed at the same time. Xie Xiangsi's gaze fell on the dark circles under his eyes, and she gently touched them with her hand, asking softly, "Have you been very tired these days?"
Zhou Yanzhi took her hand and gently stroked it in his palm, a gentle smile curving his lips: "I'm fine, I'm not tired."
Jie Xiangsi nodded gently. Suddenly, she used the momentum to snuggle into his arms, wrapping her arms around his lean waist. When she looked up, the corners of her eyes curved into crescents: "Then...can I hold you for a while?"
Zhou Yanzhi chuckled softly, pulling her closer into his arms and gently resting his chin on the top of her head.
"I couldn't have gotten it."
As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them closed their eyes simultaneously.
The birdsong outside the window faded into the distance, leaving only the soft murmur of their breaths. Sunlight streamed through the windowpanes, casting dappled shadows on them and gilding their embracing figures with a gentle golden hue.
Jie Xiangsi buried her face in his chest, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat, and the fear and unease of the past few days gradually dissipated...
...
"Cough cough."
Suddenly, two soft coughs came from outside the door, breaking the quiet and tender atmosphere of the room.
The two people, who were nestled together, opened their eyes at the same time and looked in the direction of the sound. They saw that Qi Minghua and Su Feng had been standing outside the door at some point. One of them was dressed in a blue robe and looked elegant, while the other stood with his arms crossed. Both of them had an expression that said "do not look at what is improper".
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
Jie Xiangsi: "..."
"Excuse me, gentlemen," Qi Minghua said, raising the tray he was carrying. The bowl of ginger soup was steaming sweetly. "I was thinking that Miss Xiao will be taking medicine later, so she should drink some ginger soup to warm her stomach first."
Zhou Yanzhi raised an eyebrow: "Chief Qi's arrival is truly timely."
Su Feng chuckled to himself, "Looks like we've come at the wrong time."
Caught in this scene, Jie Xiangsi blushed slightly. She stood up from Zhou Yanzhi's embrace while adjusting her sleeves and said gently to the two people outside the door, "Thank you, Headmaster Qi. Please come in."
Catching a glimpse of the blush on her earlobes, a smile flickered in Zhou Yanzhi's eyes as he adjusted the cushions behind her.
The two people outside the door approached.
Qi Minghua placed the tray on the side table, his gaze shifting between the two for a moment, a faint smile playing on his lips: "It seems, Miss Xiao and Ce'an have already..."
Suddenly, Qi Minghua paused, looked down, and saw that Zhou Yanzhi's hand, which was still holding his sleeve, had not yet been withdrawn.
Meeting Zhou Yanzhi's calm gaze, Qi Minghua smiled brightly. As he looked up, he gracefully took two steps back, nodded slightly to Jie Xiangsi, and said gently, "It seems that Miss Xiao is recovering quite well. I suddenly remembered that the pharmacy is still decocting medicine, so I will take my leave first."
After saying that, Bianli landed and pulled Su Feng, who was about to continue watching the show, to turn around and leave. Before leaving, she thoughtfully closed the door behind her.
...
Watching the door close gently, and recalling Qi Minghua's hesitant words earlier, Jie Xiangsi pursed her lips thoughtfully. Turning her head, she looked at Zhou Yanzhi, who was carefully stirring the ginger soup: "Cousin."
"Hmm?" He responded gently, focused on his work.
The ginger soup in the porcelain bowl exuded a sweet aroma. Zhou Yanzhi scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and brought it to Jie Xiangsi's lips: "The temperature is just right."
Jie Xiangsi obediently swallowed, the slightly spicy, warm liquid flowing down her throat into her stomach, but she still remembered the question from earlier: "What was Chief Physician Qi trying to say just now? Why did my cousin stop him from saying it?"
Zhou Yanzhi's eyes flickered slightly, and he scooped up another spoonful of ginger soup, a smile playing on his lips. "I know what he wants to say." He coaxed gently, "After you finish this bowl of ginger soup, I'll tell you slowly."
The spoon gently touched her lips, with an irresistible tenderness.
Hearing him say this, Jie Xiangsi nodded thoughtfully, suppressed the strange feeling in her heart, and swallowed the ginger soup on her lips.
A gentle breeze blows through the window, and in the courtyard, the soft white galangal flowers, nestled among green leaves, sway gently in the wind, with wisps of pale purple occasionally flickering by.
Even though Zhou Yanzhi tried to slow down, the bowl of ginger soup was quickly emptied.
He put down his bowl, met Jie Xiangsi's burning gaze, sighed softly, and slowly said, "After that day in Zichen Palace, Emperor Zhaowen abdicated and was succeeded by Crown Prince Ji. The Fourth Prince rebelled and has been imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison."
Jie Xiangsi nodded blankly, never expecting such a thing to happen in just one day. It was truly unexpected...
Thinking of something, she grabbed Zhou Yanzhi's sleeve urgently and asked, "Where is Consort De? Where did Consort De go? I was brought to the palace by Dao Ying. Consort De is the one who has been poisoning Emperor Zhaowen. Has she been brought to justice?"
Seeing her fingers gripping his sleeve so tightly they turned white, Zhou Yanzhi shook his head with difficulty: "We searched the Forbidden City, but found no trace of Consort De or Dao Ying."
Jie Xiangsi frowned but remained silent.
"But don't worry, we've already sent people to hunt them down." After a pause, Zhou Yanzhi patted her hand reassuringly and added, "Your brother went too."
"My brother?" Xie Xiangsi raised her eyes.
Zhou Yanzhi nodded: "On the day you disappeared, I had Wu Goulang send a message to General Xiao. After discussing it, we felt that the most likely place for you was the Forbidden City, so we had General Xiao disguise himself as a member of the Imperial Guard and enter the palace."
"I see." Xie Xiangsi nodded in understanding, but the next second, she shook Zhou Yanzhi's hand anxiously: "Was my brother injured after entering the palace?"
Zhou Yanzhi shook his head, took her hand, and said gently, "Don't worry, General Xiao is fine."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief, then a hint of pride flashed in her eyes: "That's good! With brother's abilities, finding Consort De shouldn't be a problem."
Seeing her like this, Zhou Yanzhi lowered his eyes and smiled faintly.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, the smile on Jie Xiangsi's lips froze. She looked up at Zhou Yanzhi in disbelief and exclaimed, "You... knew my true identity back then?!"
Otherwise, why would they have sent a message to Xiao Jiangsheng so immediately?!
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
He suppressed his laughter, turned his head away to avoid her gaze, and a soft "Yes" came from behind him.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Yanzhi felt the person next to him gasp.
And Jie Xiangsi's gaze toward him did indeed become more complicated—if he had known her true identity all along, then wouldn't her behavior in front of him all those days have been a joke?
After a long silence, she asked in a strange tone, "When exactly did you find out my true identity?"
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
For some reason, he always felt that no matter how he answered this question, it would be fatal.
Xie Xiangsi seemed to sense Zhou Yanzhi's intentional silence, so she straightened up, moved closer to him, grabbed his shoulders, and waited for his answer with her eyes wide open.
Zhou Yanzhi had no choice but to obediently answer, "I had my suspicions after the Yangqu kidnapping case, but I was truly certain after the day you cut your wrists, which was after my secret visit to the governor's mansion in Danzhou."
Jie Xiangsi: "..."
An eerie silence quietly spread between the two.
After a long silence, Xie Xiangsi spoke softly: "So... you've been watching me act and lying to you all along?"
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
“That’s not quite right…” Zhou Yanzhi stammered.
The next second, Zhou Yanzhi's arm was suddenly twisted, and a sharp pain shot through him. Looking up, he saw Jie Xiangsi smiling gently at him, her voice unusually soft: "It seems Lord Zhou enjoys watching a show..."
Zhou Yanzhi gasped in pain and quickly apologized, "I was wrong, I shouldn't have watched you act. I swear! I'll never watch a play again! I don't like watching plays, not at all!"
"Really?" Jie Xiangsi smiled gently.
“Really!” Zhou Yanzhi nodded vigorously.
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi finally let go. Watching him rub his arm repeatedly, she tried to hold back but finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
She couldn't help but sigh to herself—Zhou Yanzhi, who used to be so ruthless towards her, probably never imagined that one day he would let her bully him.
Outside the window, the galangal flowers swayed in the wind, as if they too were rejoicing that the two lovers had finally opened up to each other.
...
"Oh, right." Thinking of something, Zhou Yanzhi stopped rubbing his arm, his expression gradually becoming serious: "We found this in the hidden compartment of Consort De's pipa when we searched her palace."
He took out a small, hollowed-out, gilded ball from his pocket.
The small ball was exquisitely crafted, with specks of white powder clinging to its hollowed-out areas, and a tiny "cloud" character was clearly engraved on its bottom.
“You told me earlier that the voice you heard in the governor’s mansion was that of your confidant named He Yun.” As Xie Xiangsi took the small ball and examined it carefully, Zhou Yanzhi lowered his voice and said, “And the ‘foreigners’ I mentioned earlier, who colluded with foreign tribes, refers to this person.”
Looking at the gilded ball in her hand, Xie Xiangsi unconsciously pursed her lips. After a long silence, she placed the ball back into Zhou Yanzhi's hand and replied softly, "I understand."
Thinking of something, she raised her eyes and looked at Zhou Yanzhi: "It was my fault that the Xiao family colluded with foreign tribes, but the Xiao family has never betrayed the country."
"I know."
Zhou Yanzhi put away the small ball, his gaze fixed on Xie Xiangsi, and earnestly repeated, "I know that the Xiao family has never betrayed the country."
"The disaster relief funds in the Marquis of Jin'an's mansion were the work of He Yun. He colluded with Zhou Yu'an to deliberately frame the Xiao family."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi couldn't help but tear up.
Raising his hand, Zhou Yanzhi gently brushed her eye with his fingertips. His voice was softer, but with a solemn tone: "The Emperor Emeritus and His Majesty also know."
"...You know?" Jie Xiangsi asked in disbelief.
Zhou Yanzhi looked serious and solemnly said, "They know that the Xiao family is innocent."
Jie Xiangsi's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if the huge stone that had been weighing on her heart for so long had been lifted a little. She took a deep breath, trying to calm the turbulent emotions in her heart.
After a long silence, Jie Xiangsi spoke again.
"But..." her voice was slightly hoarse, "why didn't the Emperor Emeritus make a decision immediately that day in the Zichen Palace?"
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