Chapter 53 Chapter 53 Ah Si can do whatever he wants to it.
Nie Xiangyi never thought that this thing would be so unpalatable, sour and bitter, with a faint burnt taste.
She also didn't expect that Xie Zhi would drink this stuff silently for several days without changing his expression.
She suddenly felt an inexplicable irritation. "Do you think I'll soften my heart just because you're being so tolerant and forgiving? I won't be fooled!"
Retreat to advance!
"No." Xie Zhi just picked up the porridge and prepared to drink it, "I think it tastes very good."
He looked so calm and composed that Nie Xiangyi felt that she was wrong.
She snatched the bowl from his hand in frustration, "Is there something wrong with your taste buds? You threw the jade crumb cake I used to be so good at into the dirt! And you didn't even leave a drop of this disgusting porridge!"
"Jade Dust Cake?" Xie Zhi was startled when he heard this, frowning as if trying to recall something. Then he remembered that she had indeed given him a plate of cakes before, but at that time, he suspected she had ulterior motives and asked Ling Zhu to deal with it.
"You actually forgot?" Xie Zhi's stunned look made Nie Xiangyi even angrier.
He really doesn't care about anything!
She had been sad for so long, but in Xie Zhi's eyes it seemed like a trivial matter, not worth mentioning at all.
Xie Zhi keenly grasped the message in her words and suddenly turned to look at Ling Zhu, "Thrown it into the soil?"
"You think I don't know?" Nie Xiangyi pouted, thinking she had concealed her grievance well. "I saw it with my own eyes! Not only did he throw it into the ground! He even crushed it several times with his feet."
As she spoke, she stretched out her toes and deliberately rolled them heavily on the ground, "Just like this!"
Ling Zhu suddenly felt Xie Zhi's sharp gaze.
Ling Zhu belatedly recalled the scene of that day. What an unprovoked disaster! He cried out in injustice! He had only lightly covered it with dirt! How could he crush it so hard?
After a moment, Xie Zhi silently withdrew his gaze. Ling Zhu was indeed right. After all, it was he who asked Ling Zhu to deal with the plate of cakes.
He had indeed let her down.
The atmosphere suddenly became stagnant. Xie Zhi was silent for a while, pursed his lips and said, "Sorry."
The sudden apology left Nie Xiangyi somewhat bewildered. She looked at Xie Zhi. His face was still pale, contrasting with the snow outside the window, adding a touch of fragile, morbid beauty to it that inexplicably moved her heart.
Xie Zhi's dark eyes were like a deep spring, staring steadily into her heart.
For some reason, she suddenly felt like crying.
At this point, what does this belated apology mean?
Xie Zhi had been setting off fireworks, waiting in the wind and snow, or silently drinking the bitter porridge these past few days. Nie Xiangyi thought that he was really a cunning man.
She is a person who responds to soft words and not to hard ones. If she were trapped in the mansion like the day before yesterday, she might not give in.
But Xie Zhixian bowed his head to her first. Someone so noble and aloof, like a god, someone so unattainable as the bright moon, actually bowed his head to her first and admitted his fault.
Even though she knew that he was after the Zhong family's military power, Nie Xiangyi was almost blinded by him.
She would rather he just pour out the bowl of porridge with an indifferent look on his face as he did before.
She didn't want to show any strange expression, so she just kept a straight face and said viciously, "You deserve it! You only deserve to drink this porridge!"
Having said that, she still poured out the bowl of porridge with a sullen look on her face, turned around and walked out of the room, not looking at Xie Zhi anymore.
"The matter that His Highness asked me to investigate has been resolved." Ling Zhu whispered to Xie Zhi after seeing her leave.
Xie Zhi coughed lightly and said, "Speak."
"I followed your Highness's instructions and searched for Empress Wencheng's friends, but discovered they were all dead," Ling Zhu said. "Most of Empress Wencheng's maternal family died on the battlefield, and her close friend, Madam Wen'an, is also deceased. Even Empress Wencheng's servant died during childbirth, and the Emperor punished her for failing to care for her."
Xie Zhi hesitated for a moment, "There is no one alive?"
"Yes. There is only one person." Ling Zhu finally said, "Empress Wencheng's wet nurse, Lin Qiao. After the emperor punished her, Lin Qiao fled the palace out of fear of punishment and her whereabouts remain unknown to this day."
"Lin?" Xie Zhi's expression suddenly froze upon hearing her last name. "Is she also from Empress Wencheng's mother's family?"
"Yes. Lin is a distant concubine of the Lin family. If we count generations, she should be considered the aunt of Empress Wencheng. More importantly..." Ling Zhu glanced at Xie Zhi's expression, "Lin and the Zhong family... were once related by marriage... Lin Qiao's husband is Zhong Qi's distant cousin."
The clues in Xie Zhi's mind suddenly became clear.
Why did they know Empress Wencheng's maiden name, why did they let Nie Xiangyi go, even their ages roughly matched.
The Lin family was also a family of military commanders, so it was no wonder that woman was so experienced. It seemed likely that the "general" Nie Xiangyi had heard that day must be this wet nurse, Lin Qiao.
However, they went to such great lengths to target the remnants of Prince Jin, so why would they target the Imperial Concubine? Even more puzzling is why they would target Empress Wencheng's only son.
They must be hiding some unspeakable secrets.
"Track down on this Lin and capture him alive!" Xie Zhi ordered coldly. Then, as if remembering something, he said, "Focus on patrolling in the direction Zhong Qianyue left the city! Keep quiet and don't alert the enemy!"
"Your Highness means..."
"That day, they were intercepted by the Crown Prince and rescued by someone. I think it was them. After searching the city for several days, no one was found. They must have left." Xie Zhi said calmly, "The city gates are guarded by the Divine Strategy Guards. The only one who left the city was Zhong Qianyue, who had the emperor's personal permission."
Perhaps Lin Qiao and Zhong Qianyue had reached some kind of deal, or perhaps Zhong Qianyue quietly took her out of the city because of their former relationship.
"yes."
Ling Zhu bowed and replied, "Also, Mo Jiu has been frequently entering and leaving the East Palace these past few days, seemingly trying to gather information and report something."
"Got it." Xie Zhi frowned, "Speed up. We must capture Lin Qiao alive before the Crown Prince."
At the same time, Mo Jiu informed the prince of the news he had obtained.
"Wet nurse? No wonder." Xie Chengxin's eyes seemed to be full of meaning, and he smiled, "He is a loyal one."
"She gathered the old members of the Lin family and occupied the old iron mine of the King of Jin. She is acting under the banner of the remnants of the King of Jin. She is quite scheming."
"The Imperial Concubine is truly useless." Xie Chengxin sneered, a cruel look flashing in his eyes. "How could such a person actually let her escape from the palace alive?"
Mo Jiu lowered his head and said nothing.
"Send someone to track down Lin." The smile on his face was filled with a sinister chill. "If you encounter them, kill them on the spot!"
"yes."
So, Ling Zhu was busy tracking down Lin Qiao's whereabouts, while Xie Zhi stayed in the courtyard for a few days.
He was in good health, and although he didn't take any medicine, after ten days or so, his cold was mostly gone.
Since that day, Nie Xiangyi had been even less friendly towards him. Her deliberately stern expression didn't seem like anger, but rather... awkwardness.
"Go back as soon as you're well." She placed the porridge Hanxu had cooked in front of Xie Zhi, "I don't want to see you."
Xie Zhi's eyes dimmed when he heard this, and Nie Xiangyi could actually see a hint of loss on his face, which had just recovered from his illness.
"Ah Si, tomorrow is the Lantern Festival." He looked up at Nie Xiangyi, "Can you let me stay one more day?"
His eyes were dark and deep. He was usually a cold and indifferent man, but his words carried an imperceptible pleading, which made Nie Xiangyi at a loss as to how to refuse.
Nie Xiangyi turned his head away, as if to give up, "Whatever you want!"
Xie Zhi raised the corner of his lips.
In the early morning, the crackling sound of firecrackers woke Nie Xiangyi from her dream. She looked around, but there was no one around, and the bed was cold.
This was the first time in half a month that she hadn't woken up in Xie Zhi's arms. People are always like this, after getting used to something, they always feel lost when it suddenly changes.
Xie Zhi probably left. After enduring her cold words for half a month, he finally left.
She couldn't explain the feeling in her heart, but she forced a smile. She was the one who asked him to leave, and now that her wish had come true, she should be happy.
She won't be lost!
When Xie Zhi brought the Yuanxiao into the house, he saw Nie Xiangyi with a dazed look on her face, and the smile on her face was uglier than crying.
"Asi?"
Xie Zhi was wearing a crimson suit today, and the bright color did not look out of place on him. He did not look as cold and stern as before, but rather had a somewhat elegant and romantic look.
The contrast between the horse riding and the red sleeves waving on the building is so bright that it is almost impossible to take your eyes off.
This look made Nie Xiangyi lose his mind. He stammered for a long time before he remembered what he wanted to say, "You! Why didn't you leave?"
Seeing her reaction, Xie Zhi pursed his lips slightly, suppressing the slight curve at the corner of his mouth.
"I'm going to make some Yuanxiao for Ah Si." He handed the Yuanxiao in his hand to Nie Xiangyi, "Ah Si, do you want to eat?"
Nie Xiangyi looked at the Yuanxiao in his hand suspiciously. There seemed to be traces of flour on his crimson clothes.
She felt that Xie Zhi must be possessed by a ghost.
Not only did she wear such brightly colored clothes, she also personally cooked in the kitchen. You know, a gentleman stays away from the kitchen, so how could Xie Zhi's jade-like hands possibly do such a thing?
"You made this yourself?"
Xie Zhi nodded calmly, "I want to spend the Lantern Festival with Ah Si."
He was dressed elegantly, yet his expression was so resolute. Nie Xiangyi's heart skipped a beat and jumped.
She turned away with a stern face, trying her best to suppress the excited beating of her heart, and said coldly: "Don't think that I must eat it just because you made it yourself!"
"Yeah." Xie Zhi replied softly, "Asi, you can also pour it out. You can also run over it a few times."
He held the Yuanxiao in front of Nie Xiangyi's eyes and said, "A-Si, you can do whatever you want with it."
His words always sounded like a tease to Nie Xiangyi, but his expression was serious and his eyes were sincere, as if he was not joking.
Nie Xiangyi seemed defeated. He accepted the bowl of Yuanxiao with a look of despair and said angrily, "I'm not someone like you who doesn't know how to be kind!"
Xie Zhi rarely smiled.
By the evening, Pei Jue, the person Xie Zhi least wanted to see, appeared in front of the courtyard gate.
"Sister Ah Si." He curved his lips and smiled for a moment, "There's a Lantern Festival tonight. Would you like to go with me to watch it?"
Before Nie Xiangyi could say anything, she heard Xie Zhi's cold voice behind her rejecting her, "She's not free."
Pei Jue seemed to have just seen Xie Zhi. He looked Xie Zhi up and down and said, "Your Highness's attire today is quite unique."
Xie Zhi simply stood in front of Nie Xiangyi and asked, "Master Pei, don't you have any family of your own? Why do you always come to play with Ah Si during every festival?"
"I'm just asking for Ah Si's opinion." Pei Jue said calmly, his eyes fixed on Nie Xiangyi. "Sister Ah Si, what do you think?"
"She's not free." Xie Zhi repeated coldly.
Pei Jue smiled slightly, "I think the one who is not free today should be His Highness."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ling Zhu came hurriedly and whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, the man has been captured. He was discovered by the Crown Prince's men."
Pei Jue looked at him leisurely.
Xie Zhi curled his fingertips tightly into his sleeves. There was a moment of hesitation in his eyes.
He had already missed her Lantern Festival once, and she didn't want to miss it a second time.
However, Ling Zhu urged in his ear, "The prince's men seem to want to kill him, and now they are at a stalemate!"
Xie Zhi took a deep breath and looked at Nie Xiangyi intently, "Ah Si, I'll wait for you at the Lantern Festival in the city tonight at 11:00 p.m."
When he left, he passed Pei Jue, and then he turned around and glanced at Nie Xiangyi, his deep eyes almost pleading.
"Ah Si, I will wait for you."
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