Chapter 43 An Incognito Tour "Gu Xi greets the Sixth Prince!"...
Outside the Cining Palace.
With Xiao Heng's help, Gu Xi stepped down from the palanquin. As she looked up, she inadvertently saw Xiao Che walking towards them in the distance. She looked up at Xiao Heng and said with slight surprise, "Your Majesty, look, it's Che..." Xiao Heng looked at her with a stern face. Gu Xi immediately remembered what he had said at breakfast and quickly changed her words, "It's the Sixth Prince."
Xiao Heng followed her gaze and hummed in response, his face showing little expression.
From the moment Gu Xi appeared, Xiao Che's gaze was fixed on her, the light in his eyes impossible to hide, and he even quickened his pace. But when he saw Xiao Heng standing next to her, his eyes instantly darkened.
He first called out Gu Xi cheerfully, then called out Xiao Heng somewhat reluctantly.
Gu Xi smiled slightly at him and said, "Gu Xi greets the Sixth Prince!"
Xiao Che's smile froze instantly: "Xiao Xi, what did you just call me?"
Gu Xi pursed her lips, bowed slightly to him, and said, "Greetings, Sixth Prince."
Xiao Che froze on the spot.
Xiao Heng glanced at Xiao Che, his eyes like a deep pool, unfathomable. Then he took Gu Xi's hand and said, "Let's go." With that, he pulled Gu Xi towards the Cining Palace.
Gu Xi turned her head and glanced back at Xiao Che, only to find that he looked indescribably dejected and lonely at that moment.
Brother Che, I'm sorry, but I didn't want him to be unhappy. Please forgive Xiaoxi.
Xiao Heng tightened his grip on her hand suddenly, and Gu Xi turned around and quickly followed him.
Inside the Cining Palace, a warm fragrance filled the air. The Empress Dowager sat on a cushioned rosewood chair, her eyes closed, her hand holding a string of Buddhist prayer beads.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
"Greetings, Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager slowly opened her eyes, her gaze falling on Xiao Heng. Her face remained expressionless as she said in a detached tone, "The Emperor and Miss Gu have both arrived. Please sit down."
Xiao Heng and Gu Xi had just sat down when Xiao Che stepped into the Cining Palace.
Xiao Che bowed respectfully and gently, saying, "Greetings, Empress Dowager."
Upon seeing Xiao Che, the Empress Dowager's expression softened, and she gradually revealed a smile, even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes became gentler: "Ah Che has come too. Please sit down. My Cining Palace is truly unusually lively today."
A moment later, the palace maids served tea to everyone present.
The Empress Dowager turned to Xiao Che and asked, "After returning to the capital, did you visit your mother at the temporary palace? Is she well?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My mother is doing well and specifically asked me to inquire after her health," Xiao Che replied sincerely.
The Empress Dowager smiled faintly and said, "She is very thoughtful."
Xiao Che raised his hand and picked up the teacup beside him, his sleeves rolled up slightly, inadvertently revealing the gauze wrapped around his palm.
The Empress Dowager frowned and asked, "How did you hurt your hand?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Che paused for a moment, glanced quickly at Gu Xi, and then looked away, casually saying, "Your Majesty, on my way back to the manor last night, I was accidentally scratched by a dead branch by the roadside. I have already treated it simply at the manor and it is nothing serious. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
The Empress Dowager put down her prayer beads and said with disapproval, "Although it is a minor injury, do not take it lightly. Have the imperial physician examine it properly later."
"Your subject will certainly remember this."
Gu Xi listened to the Empress Dowager's concern for Xiao Che and felt very uncomfortable.
She recalled the day the Empress Dowager returned to the palace. Knowing that assassins had entered the palace, she didn't say a word about whether Xiao Heng was injured. In contrast, her attitude towards Xiao Che now seemed much closer than towards Xiao Heng.
But she is clearly Xiao Heng's biological mother.
Gu Xi turned to look at Xiao Heng, who was holding a teacup and sipping tea. The rising steam obscured his eyes, making it impossible to discern any emotion from them.
Gu Xi suddenly felt a pang of heartache; he must be very sad.
She really wants to hug him right now.
The Empress Dowager gave Xiao Che a few more instructions, and her gaze inadvertently swept to their side. She seemed to only then remember that Xiao Heng was still in the hall, and asked, "Did the Emperor bring Gu girl here today because he has something to say?" Her tone was already somewhat indifferent when she spoke.
Xiao Heng put down his teacup and said, "Your Majesty, I plan to set off in two days to visit the Jiangnan region and observe the lives of its people. Gu Xi will accompany me on this incognito journey."
Xiao Che asked in surprise, "Your Majesty and... Consort Gu are going on an inspection tour?"
Xiao Heng looked up at him and hummed in response.
The Empress Dowager lifted the lid of her teacup and asked, "I remember the Emperor originally intended for Consort Li, didn't he? Why did he suddenly change his mind?"
"Your Majesty, Li'er has been unwell recently. She is always delicate, and the climate in Jiangnan is hot and humid. I am also afraid that she will not be able to adapt."
Gu Xi lowered her eyes upon hearing this, feeling inexplicably downcast.
"Since the Emperor has made his decision, I will not say anything more. Just have the people below make proper arrangements along the way." The Empress Dowager lowered her eyes, but a sharp glint shone in them.
Xiao Che suddenly stood up and said, "Empress Dowager, I have some important official business to attend to, so I will take my leave now."
"Go ahead, come and sit here with me whenever you have free time," the Empress Dowager said with a kind expression.
Not long after Xiao Che left, Xiao Heng also left. The Empress Dowager kept Gu Xi for a while before returning to Weiyang Palace.
As Liu Mama watched Gu Xi's disappearing figure, she said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor's trip this time is probably not just a simple inspection of the people's conditions; he must have other purposes."
The Empress Dowager continued drinking her tea, remaining noncommittal.
"Your Majesty, are we really just going to let them go like this? The Emperor seems to be favoring Consort Gu quite a bit right now. Are we really not going to keep her here? If the Emperor does anything, we'll have someone holding her in our hands," Granny Liu continued to ask.
The Empress Dowager glanced at her and said, "It's alright. The person the Emperor truly loves is still in the palace. A substitute is just a substitute; she can't win his heart."
“The Empress Dowager is right,” replied Granny Liu.
*
Inside the Qianqing Palace.
As soon as Xiao Heng stepped into the Qianqing Palace, he saw Xiao Che already waiting there. Without stopping, he sat down at the desk, picked up his pen, and began to review the day's memorials.
"Royal brother!" Xiao Che called out urgently.
"What is it?" Xiao Heng asked without looking up.
"Your Majesty...may I accompany you on this imperial tour?" His voice was filled with both probing and anticipation.
What are you going to do?
"I..." Xiao Che was speechless when asked.
Yes, what is he going to do?
He couldn't tell his elder brother that it was for her, so that he could see her.
During the countless days and nights at the border, he longed to see her every single day. When he fell on the battlefield, the thought that she was still waiting for him to return in the capital was enough to make him rise from the pile of corpses.
Now that he has finally returned to the capital, she has become his sister-in-law, her brother's woman. He can no longer see her, can't even think about her, and can't tell her that he misses her.
His infatuation will only bring her trouble and drive her to despair.
Now she can't even call him "Brother Che" anymore; she has to call him "Sixth Prince."
Why did everything change in just a few months?
It's his fault, all his fault. Why did he have to achieve military merit before asking for her hand in marriage? He could have done it sooner, he was so close to having her.
Xiao Che staggered away from the Qianqing Palace, looking as if he had lost his soul.
Xiao Heng looked up at Xiao Che's departing figure, his eyes unfathomable.
Zhao Fuquan stole a glance at Xiao Heng, feeling a sense of unease about an impending storm. What if the Sixth Prince found out the truth?
*
Nighttime, Weiyang Palace.
Gu Xi hugged Xiao Heng tightly, wanting to offer him some comfort.
She had wanted to hold him like this when she was in Cining Palace today.
She whispered to herself: Your Majesty, it's alright, I'm willing to give you all my love.
Xiao Heng was unaware of her thoughts; he only felt that she was particularly clingy today, clinging to him from the moment he stepped into her room, unwilling to let go.
Her attachment made his heart melt completely.
"What's wrong today? Missing me?" Xiao Heng stroked her hair and asked softly, afraid of disturbing the peace of the moment.
"Mmm." Gu Xi hugged him tighter and responded in a muffled voice.
After a long while, Gu Xicai gradually let go of him, and Xiao Heng pulled her to sit side by side on the couch.
Gu Xi suddenly remembered the imperial tour and asked, "Your Majesty, where are we going on this tour?"
"Jiangnan".
“Jiangnan…Jiangnan? Will we pass through the water towns of Jiangnan?” She remembered that Cailian had said that her hometown was in the water towns of Jiangnan.
Perhaps.
"Your Majesty, may I bring some people with me?"
"Hmm, you can bring that maid from your old household with you to take care of you," Xiao Heng said casually, while kneading her soft, white hands.
"May I bring one more?" Gu Xi asked nervously.
She wanted to bring Cailian along too; it was a rare opportunity, and perhaps she could go home. But wouldn't he think she was spoiled? Taking two people with her on a long trip.
"Yes, you can bring it if you want," Xiao Heng said nonchalantly.
“Thank you, Your Majesty…” Gu Xi hesitated, “Your Majesty, there is something else I would like to discuss with you.”
"What is it?"
Gu Xi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, I would like to recommend Yun Ke to the Empress Dowager so that I can take care of her health on a daily basis. Is that alright?" She was worried that after she left the palace, the people from the Imperial Hospital would cause trouble for Mu Yun Ke. If she could stay by the Empress Dowager's side, she would probably be safer.
She knew that Xiao Heng and the Empress Dowager were at odds, but she couldn't think of any other way to satisfy both sides for the time being.
Xiao Heng suddenly stopped what he was doing. Gu Xi, afraid that he would be unhappy, said anxiously, "Your Majesty, I was just saying it casually. I won't go to see the Empress Dowager." She thought about it again; there must be other ways. She couldn't hurt his feelings.
Xiao Heng said, "It's alright, she will agree. She simply hates me and won't make things difficult for your people."
Gu Xi felt even more upset upon hearing this, and she suddenly hugged him tightly again.
Xiao Heng seemed to only now understand the reason for her inexplicable attachment to him tonight.
She has always been soft-hearted.
*
Two days later.
As dawn broke, two carriages slowly emerged from a side gate of the Forbidden City, heading south.
Inside the carriage, Xiao Heng, dressed in a black brocade robe with the collar slightly loose, leaned comfortably against the carriage wall, the jade pendant at his waist swaying gently with the carriage.
He lowered his eyes and looked at Gu Xi's face. She was fast asleep with her head on his lap. The occasional jolts made her frown slightly. He raised his hand and gently stroked her brow, soothing her softly.
Half a day later, the carriage arrived in Tongzhou.
"Young Master, Young Madam, there's a famous tavern not far ahead. Our men are already waiting there. We'll rest there for a while before continuing our journey," Zhao Fuquan said from outside the carriage window.
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Author's Note: Guess who's waiting there? [Winking face] Finally, we're getting to this point! [Laughing and crying with facepalm]
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