Chapter 40 Chapter 40 Your Highness, are you... trying to coax me...?
These past few days, Nie Xiangyi always felt that the atmosphere in the mansion was strangely quiet.
The annoying Aunt Wu had long disappeared, but even without Aunt Wu, if Nie Xiangyi wanted to go out to play, she would be stopped by Ling Zhu.
"Madam, the remnants of Prince Jin have been causing chaos recently. To avoid further trouble, it would be best if you don't go out."
Perhaps because the last incident had caused such a big commotion, Nie Xiangyi was afraid of causing more trouble for Xie Zhi, so she had to give up in disappointment.
But recently, Xie Zhi seemed to be busy investigating the rebels and was rarely at home, often returning late at night. This left her alone, with nothing to do but play with Xi Shi, which was extremely boring.
"When will His Highness come back?" Nie Xiangyi yawned, and resisted the sleepiness. He lay on the couch, reading the storybook, and waiting for Xie Zhi.
With a "creak", the silence of the night was broken by the sound of the door being pushed open.
It was early winter, and Xie Zhi felt a chill on his body, his sharp eyes and eyebrows cast into the bulging brocade quilt.
The little figure inside had almost wrapped itself up like a small mountain, with only a furry head showing. Its eyes, which usually sparkled brightly, were now half-open, perhaps because it was extremely sleepy. Its head tapped lightly on the book like a chicken pecking at rice.
Beside her, Xishi also curled up into a ball, dozing off beside her. The man and the cat dozed off in almost identical movements.
She opened her eyes when she heard the noise outside. When she saw Xie Zhi, her eyes instantly brightened up, "Your Highness! You are finally back."
Xie Zhi took the storybook from her hand and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping yet? Are you preparing for the imperial examination?"
"I'm waiting for you..." Her sleepy voice carried a soft, nasal tone, as if she was acting coquettishly. She knelt in front of Xie Zhi and looked up at him eagerly, "Your Highness... I want to go out and play..."
"No." Xie Zhi rejected her without hesitation.
Nie Xiangyi still refused to give up. "If Your Highness is not worried about my safety, why not let Master Lingzhu accompany me... With Master Lingzhu and Yang Qiu here, I'm sure everything will be fine."
Xie Zhi paused, "No."
Ever since returning from the autumn hunt, rumors have been rife outside, saying that Nie Xiangyi is colluding with the Zhong family to form a rebel faction. Otherwise, how could a little girl escape from the rebel faction unscathed? This is clearly a sly attempt to deceive the public.
At first, the rumors were nothing more than hearsay and not worth mentioning. But later, they became more and more intense, and even the emperor heard about it and asked about it.
It is a turbulent time now. If Nie Xiangyi heard these rumors, who knows what he would do.
Nie Xiangyi pulled his sleeve and shook it, then clasped her hands together and looked at him, "Your Highness..."
She drew out the last syllable of her words, her brows slightly drooping as she prayed, her eyes shone with a pitiful light, as if condensed with a layer of water, which made people unable to refuse.
"Don't act like a spoiled child." Xie Zhi's tone became stiff.
How could there be such a heartless person! Nie Xiangyi snorted heavily, turned his back angrily, and looked like he didn't want to pay any attention to you.
When she got angry, she looked like a pufferfish, with her eyes wide open, cheeks puffed out, and her whole body curled up into a ball.
The next day, the sun was setting, and Xie Zhi was off duty early, a rare occasion. Nie Xiangyi had been clamoring to go out and play, and she had been in a rare temper, so it would be best for him to return home early to keep an eye on her, Xie Zhi thought.
Seeing that he was not staying up late as usual, Pei Jue casually asked, "Your Highness, is there anything going on at home today?"
The Crown Prince beside him curled his lips and chuckled, "Third brother has a lovely wife waiting at the door, and Master Pei is single, how could he understand these things?"
Pei Jue's gentle smile faded slightly, "I'm just a lonely man, so of course I don't understand."
Xie Zhi frowned unhappily at the frivolous tone in Xie Chengxin's words. "My Royal Brother is quite understanding. Since he doesn't have a lovely wife, it seems he has many beautiful concubines. Of course, I can't compare to them."
When passing by Changjie, Xie Zhi heard the hawking outside the evening market. It was a small vendor selling golden cricket cages.
He suddenly remembered the cricket cage that Nie Xiangyi had secretly hidden that day.
"Wait." The carriage stopped here abruptly.
When returning home, Nie Xiangyi was teasing Xi Shi with a peacock feather.
"Your Highness, why have you come back so early today?" When Nie Xiangyi saw him come back, her eyes lit up at first, but then she suddenly remembered that she was still angry, snorted heavily, and turned away.
"Ah Si, come here."
The cold voice carried the usual condescending command. Nie Xiangyi became even more angry and tilted his head to the side, "I won't!"
Xie Zhi simply walked up to her, pinched her cheeks, and made her turn her face. Nie Xiangyi's chubby cheeks were pinched by him and she pouted.
She was even more dissatisfied, and started to show her teeth and claws like a kitten with its fur standing on end, punching Xie Zhi's clothes and making some slightly messy wrinkles.
She pouted and gruffly said, "That's so annoying! I'm still mad!"
"Hands out."
"I just want to go out and play! You want to slap my palm?" Nie Xiangyi stared at him in disbelief, his eyes bulging and he looked even angrier.
Xie Zhi sighed helplessly.
He grabbed Nie Xiangyi's wrist and forcibly opened her palm.
Nie Xiangyi thought he was really going to hit her, and subconsciously closed her eyes. "Aunt Wu is gone! You hit my palm again! I must tell...eh?"
The cool touch on her palm made her half open her eyes, and a beautiful golden cricket cage was placed in her palm.
“This…this is…”
Xie Zhi looked away as if feeling a little uncomfortable. "I just bought it on the way back."
This seemed to be... the first time Xie Zhi took the initiative to give her something.
"Your Highness, are you...trying to coax me?" Nie Xiangyi blinked, curiously looking at Xie Zhi's rare wandering eyes.
Xie Zhi pursed his lips and said, "No."
Nie Xiangyi automatically ignored his denial, and the corners of her mouth were already raised high.
But she was unwilling to admit that she was so easily coaxed. She suppressed the smile on her face, pouted her lips and snorted softly, "The crickets are all dead, what's the point of having a cage!"
Xie Zhi frowned slightly this time, "Then just throw it away."
"Alright." Nie Xiangyi didn't deny it. She pretended to be suspicious and said, "Your Highness, you don't know that this golden cage is only for viewing. If you want to put crickets in it, it's better to weave it with straw."
Xie Zhi's expression turned cold in an instant.
Pei Jue's straw cage was enough to make her so captivated that she would hide from him to keep it. But now that it was with him, she started to find fault with him?
Seeing Xie Zhi's frosty expression, Nie Xiangyi finally chuckled, shook the golden cage in his hand towards Xie Zhi, and winked slyly.
“I don’t want to lose it now!”
Like a kitten that has gotten away with something bad.
Xie Zhi looked at her smug expression with a serious gaze, and when he saw her plump cheeks, he suddenly felt his teeth itching.
Nie Xiangyi felt much better and moved closer to him. "Your Highness, I heard Ling Zhu say that the third day of the middle of winter is your birthday. We can go out and have some fun then, right?"
She tilted her head, her eyes full of anticipation, "It's a good opportunity to celebrate His Highness's birthday! This is the first time I'm celebrating His Highness's birthday with him."
"No." Xie Zhi still said these two words.
"Why!" Nie Xiangyi put her hands on her hips and looked at him, "Is it not okay even if His Highness accompanies me?"
"That day was the anniversary of the late queen's death," Xie Zhi said calmly. "My father ordered all officials and noble families to fast for three days to mourn the late queen. All royal relatives in the palace were required to go to Shengshui Temple to pay their respects to the late queen."
He and the crown prince were born on the same day, which was also the day when Empress Wencheng suffered a difficult delivery.
Nie Xiangyi was startled when he heard this, and couldn't help but feel distressed. She looked at Xie Zhi, "Doesn't that mean His Highness has never celebrated his birthday?"
"Not only me, but also the prince."
Nie Xiangyi let out a long sigh.
She was thinking about it over and over again. Even though she couldn't make it public because of the late queen's memorial day, she always wanted to give Xie Zhi a different birthday on that day.
On the first day of the second lunar month, all the royal family members followed the emperor's sedan chair to Shengshui Temple. Shengshui Temple was a state temple, only a dozen miles from the capital, and preparations for worship were already made.
The worship lasts for three days.
Every day, the royal family members had to burn incense and offer sacrifices to the late queen in the morning, at noon, and at dinner. They also had to copy scriptures and pray for her. On the third day of the first lunar month, a high monk would perform a ritual and burn all the scriptures.
It was truly a difficult task. However, the Emperor had a deep affection for the late Empress, so no one dared to say anything.
"Now I can finally go out for a walk."
Nie Xiangyi always thought that she might be able to relax a little when she arrived at Shengshui Temple, but she never expected Ling Zhu to watch her even more closely. Apart from going to the treasure hall to burn incense, she could only move around near the meditation room at other times.
"Please forgive me, Madam. It's not like the mansion outside. There are many people and eyes. I'm afraid the rebels will take advantage of the opportunity and something like last time will happen again."
Not only is my movement restricted, but I rarely even see people!
"Lord Ling Zhu, will the Duke of Qi's Mansion come to this worship ceremony?"
After all, the Duke of Qi's Mansion was now headed by Princess Yang Hui, so she should have come. But like a strange coincidence, every time Nie Xiangyi went to burn incense, he would always miss her.
Ling Zhu was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Then Lord Lingzhu, could you please tell the Crown Prince's wife to come play with me for a while?" Nie Xiangyi looked at her tentatively. "I'm really a little bored." Lingzhu showed hesitation on her face, and after a long while, she said, "Madam, you need to remain calm when paying homage to the late Queen. If the Emperor knew that you were only focused on having fun, I'm afraid... he would blame you..."
Nie Xiangyi always felt that something was wrong.
Although these words were all for her own good, she felt as if she was under house arrest.
She rubbed the corner of her clothes, and suddenly felt uneasy.
No! She had to find cousin Lingyu to find out what happened.
As Ling Zhu said, there are many people here and it is easier to climb over the wall than in the mansion.
As she slid down the courtyard wall, she suddenly heard a sharp and familiar female voice, "Nie Xiangyi? What are you doing?"
It's true that enemies meet on a narrow road!
Nie Xiangyi turned away and shushed her, asking her to speak more quietly. "Pei Lang? Why are you here? Aren't only members of the royal family here to pay their respects?"
Pei Lang said proudly, "My grandfather was a Jinzi Guanglu doctor. Coming here to pay homage is naturally a special permission from the emperor."
As she spoke, she looked Nie Xiangyi up and down, "I haven't seen you for a long time. I thought the Third Prince had already divorced you!"
"What do you mean?" Nie Xiangyi was stunned. "Why would Your Highness divorce me out of the blue?"
"You don't know?" Pei Lang's face was filled with surprise. "There's been a lot of rumors out there, saying that when you were kidnapped during the autumn hunt, it was the Zhong family who used you to collude with the rebels."
"You're talking nonsense!" Nie Xiangyi flew into a rage upon hearing this. "That's pure nonsense!"
Pei Lang scoffed, "It's all based on facts. The Emperor is already suspicious. How can it be considered nonsense? I'm not only implicating His Highness, but also causing the Emperor's suspicion."
She glanced coldly at Nie Xiangyi, who was standing there in a daze. "The Third Prince has been busy these days. I'm afraid he's preparing to divorce you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
