After speaking with Meng Yilan for a while, Song Qi boarded his carriage.
The carriage slowly drove out of the palace, and gradually, the surroundings became lively, with noises that were not heard inside the palace.
Song Qi lifted the curtain and glanced outside.
Soon someone recognized her, and then shouts of recognition grew louder and louder.
"General Shao!"
"It's General Shao!"
"General Shao!"
Some people even threw purses at Song Qi.
Song Qi clutched a handful of purses, feeling both amused and exasperated.
But I also feel a bit emotional, wondering what kind of achievements Shao Jie must have made to earn the people's love and respect for her.
Zhao Zhi glanced back and clearly sensed that there were far more people calling for Shao Jie than for him.
He silently attributed it to the fact that his status was too noble, and those people dared not shout indiscriminately.
Song Qi chatted casually with the common people.
Their questions were very simple and basic, mostly about "how are you doing?"
Once outside the city, the number of people decreased. Song Qi talked for a while and felt a little thirsty, so he drank several mouthfuls of water.
In the afternoon, they arrived at the hot spring palace.
The palace where Song Qi lived had a hot spring pool, a privilege reserved for her and the Empress; everyone else had to go to a designated area for hot springs.
She had never soaked in a hot spring before, and stood by the pool watching for a long time.
"Your Highness, would you like to soak for a while?" The palace maid couldn't help but ask, seeing her standing motionless to the side.
"Let's go and invite Yata over first," Song Qi said.
I originally wanted to tell them not to let the Empress's people see it, but then I realized that was impossible.
"yes."
After Yata entered, she greeted Song Qi with perfect form.
Song Qi glanced at her with some surprise, then looked at the other palace maids: "You may all leave now."
Yata's two maids were somewhat reluctant, but after hesitating for a moment, they had no choice but to leave.
Song Qi looked at Yata, who was standing very obediently in front of him, and said, "Sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Yata drawled.
Song Qi frowned again. How could someone change like this in just over a month? "What happened?"
Yata looked up at Song Qi, a half-smile on her face: "General Shao, are you concerned about me?"
"Otherwise, why did I call you here? To have some tea?" Song Qi frowned. "There are only the two of us here. You can tell me what happened."
Yata gripped the cup tightly, then loosened her grip after a while.
"Fang Concubine?"
“It’s not her,” Yata sneered. “She’s just a fool.”
"You don't seem very smart either."
Yata looked up at Song Qi, somewhat dissatisfied, teetering on the edge of losing her temper. Song Qi finally saw a glimpse of the Yata he knew before.
However, she held back.
"Still unwilling to say?" Song Qi really wanted to ask if it was the Empress, but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to say that name.
Yata looked at Song Qi: "What should I say? What's the use of telling you? You can't go against others for my sake."
Song Qi looked at Yata and frowned: "Judging from the current situation, only if Dacheng destroys Dajin, or you escape on your own, can you leave the palace. You will spend the rest of your life in the palace. You are indeed an outsider, but in a sense, you are not an outsider."
“They may be hostile towards you, but they can’t kill you directly. Although the Great Jin was defeated, you are still the princess of the Great Jin. You can demand the respect you deserve because of your status, or even without considering your status.”
Yata pursed her lips: "I know my own affairs, I don't need your guidance."
“If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you. In any case, you have to admit that in the Great Jin, apart from your two princesses, the only person you know well is me. You know who I am.”
Yata kept her head down.
"Want to soak in the hot springs?" Song Qi asked.
Yata looked up at Song Qi, thinking there was something wrong with her ears.
“I know you won’t be going with them, so if you want to soak, you can soak here for a while.” Song Qi looked at her. “Since you’ve come to the hot spring palace, you can’t not soak at least once.”
Yata stared at Song Qi for a long time before finally asking her question: "What happened to you?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Song Qi said irritably.
Yata gave a slight smile: "Can I come tomorrow?"
"Can."
Yata had never been to a hot spring before, so it would be a lie to say she wasn't curious.
Although she didn't really want to have much contact with Song Qi, she still gave in.
"If you need any help in the future, you are still welcome to come to me," Song Qi said.
"Are you alright? If you are, I'll be going now."
"Go ahead." Song Qi waved his hand.
After Yata left, Song Qi sent someone to investigate what had happened, but the results were as she expected: everything was normal.
If there's anything that seems a bit off, it's probably that Yata has brought her grudges with various people to the Empress's attention many times, with the most frequent conflict being with Consort Fang.
Song Qi suddenly regretted letting Yata live next to Consort Fang.
When Meng Yilan arrived, she was wrapped in a thick cloak, her small face buried in the white rabbit fur, making her look exceptionally pitiful.
"I just soaked in the hot spring, it was so relaxing." Meng Yilan sat down next to Song Qi, glancing at the tea that hadn't been cleared from the table. "Has anyone else been here recently?"
“Hmm.” Song Qi nodded, observing Meng Yilan’s expression. “Yata, I noticed she wasn’t doing well, so I called her over to talk to her.”
"Should we call the imperial physician?"
"If it's not a physical reason, is it still possible to move her to another place?"
Yata was only nineteen years old, and she didn't want to see a young girl become so negative.
"Where do you want her to live?"
"I have quite a few empty rooms in my palace."
Meng Yilan frowned: "But there has never been a precedent of letting a concubine live with a noble consort."
"What if I want to set this precedent?"
“It’s possible, but… Princess Yata is so proud and arrogant, she probably wouldn’t want to live with you.” Meng Yilan looked at Song Qi. “Why don’t we ask her opinion?”
Without asking, Song Qi knew that she would never agree to live with him.
Meng Yilan looked at Song Qi: "Moreover, the Emperor probably wouldn't allow it, your identities are too special."
Song Qi rubbed his temples: "I understand."
"Did she say anything to you just now?" Meng Yilan asked casually.
"No." Song Qi took a sip of tea. "If I knew what had happened, I wouldn't be so agitated."
"It's clear she's proud and would rather be misunderstood than have us judge her right or wrong." Meng Yilan sighed. "Hopefully things will get better later."
"Mm." Song Qi nodded and didn't say anything more.
"By the way, do you want some pastries? Yuehong from my palace makes them, they're delicious." Meng Yilan waved to the palace maid standing to the side, took the food out of the food box, placed it on the table, and then looked at Song Qi expectantly.
Looking at the stack of exquisite pastries, Song Qi picked one up casually, took a bite, and said, "It's really good."
"I was worried you'd find it too cloying."
"I like sweets, and this one isn't too cloying." Song Qi took another one.
Meng Yilan smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it. If Yuehong makes any more in the future, I'll have someone send you a copy."
"Thank you." Song Qi looked at Meng Yilan's smile and slowly looked away.
Although they arrived at the hot spring palace, their activities did not change.
They continued chatting and playing chess.
When the time came, Song Qi and Meng Yilan had a meal together and then parted ways.
Song Qi soaked in the hot spring for a while in the evening, which was very comfortable and relaxed her whole body and mind.
"System, what is the ending of this story?"
“Normally, the male and female leads should be together and protect the country, but I feel that if they are together, it might not be possible to achieve this,” the system said.
"Well, then just defend the country." Song Qi climbed out of the water, frowned when he heard the sound outside the door, and quickly put on his clothes.
It only took a dozen seconds to put on the basic clothes.
A group of four or five people rushed in, each carrying a sword.
I can't hear the palace maids' voices, and I don't know what happened to them.
Song Qi didn't quite understand. According to the information she had given, it would have been more logical for this group of people to want to cooperate with her. Why did they want to kill her now?
Her sword was on the bedside table, out of reach.
Song Qi grabbed two stools and threw them at the person.
They swiftly approached as they dodged, snatched a knife from one of them, and then snapped his neck.
Although this knife wasn't very handy for Song Qi, it was enough to deal with a few people.
She beat them half to death, until they were on the verge of death.
The guards rushed over.
Zhao Zhi and Meng Yilan also came.
Song Qi was already wrapped in a cloak, and the knife in his hand was still dripping with blood.
"Are you alright?" Meng Yilan walked quickly to Song Qi's side, looked her up and down, and her hands seemed to be trembling.
Zhao Zhi glanced at Meng Yilan, feeling that something was amiss.
"It's probably not safe to rest here tonight, let's go to my palace." Meng Yilan took Song Qi's hand, which was very cold, and placed her hot water bottle into Song Qi's hand.
Zhao Zhi's face was grim: "I'll have someone investigate. You go and rest first, don't catch a cold."
"Mm." Song Qi nodded.
She wasn't planning on staying.
"Where are my palace maids?" Song Qi asked Zhao Zhi.
Zhao Zhi looked at Song Qi without saying a word.
She understood what he meant and didn't ask anything more. She just gripped the hot water bottle in her hand and glanced at Meng Yilan: "Let's go."
"Mm." Meng Yilan nodded and patted Song Qi's back reassuringly.
Meng Yilan's palace was nearby, not too far away.
Although Song Qi said he wasn't afraid of the cold, he couldn't help but shiver when he went outside.
After Meng Yilan noticed this, she didn't say anything, but quickened her pace.
Upon arrival, Meng Yilan immediately ordered someone to prepare ginger soup for Song Qi.
The charcoal inside the house was burning brightly, making it very warm.
Meng Yilan looked at Song Qi with concern: "Are you still cold?"
"It's not cold anymore." Song Qi nodded to her, put the hot water bottle aside, and felt inexplicably irritated.
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