Chapter 119 As the year draws to a close, the capital city…
As the year draws to a close, the weather in Beijing is gradually becoming freezing cold.
A stone was laboriously dragged out of the warm bed and stuffed into the carriage.
Xie Baoqiong, wrapped in a thick cloak, huddled half her body against Xie Rongjing: "Brother, where are we going?"
"The eldest princess hosted a banquet and sent invitations to the Marquis's residence."
The boy's cheek pressed against his arm, and Xie Rongjing took the opportunity to grab the child's warm hand, which was trying to slip into his sleeve:
"What kind of behavior is it to be timid and hesitant?"
He gave a light scolding, then dug out the child's hand and tightly wrapped it in his palm.
Xie Baoqiong yawned rather unceremoniously and muttered, "Why do I have to go too?"
The capital city is much colder than Sishui Mountain. At this time last year, he would have already been sleeping soundly in Xiaochun's cave. Moreover...
The boy opened his sleepy eyes and looked at another figure inside the car.
Since returning, he has never revealed his identity. The thing about dying and coming back to life is always bizarre, and he was the only one who came back to life. He didn't know how to bring it up, and there was also the sudden disappearance of Shuangmu... Annoying things kept popping into his mind, making him close his eyes again after opening them for less than a moment. Winter is indeed more suitable for sleeping.
The next moment, a mischievous hand climbed up his side, slowly covering his eye socket and lifting the eyelid of one of his eyes.
“Don’t be lazy. You haven’t even left the house these past few days. Besides, the person hosting the banquet is the eldest princess, so of course you have to go.” Xie Rongjing said matter-of-factly, assuming that Xie Zhuo had already made things clear to the young man.
The boy's body was wrapped in a cloak, and his hands, which he hadn't pulled away from his brother's palms to keep warm, were now firmly held. He could only wriggle about in protest and didn't hear Xie Rongjing's words at all.
Although he could easily break free from his restraints, he wriggled a couple of times before stubbornly collapsing onto his brother's lap.
"My brother is bullying me."
...
The Marquis's residence and the Princess's residence were not far apart. After the two quarreled for a while, the carriage slowly came to a stop. Xie Zhuo helped up his youngest son, who was lying beside him, and put the cloak that had been thrown aside back on him. The dark red hat was wrapped around his face, which was as white as mutton fat, and the red mole that was revealed when his hair swayed was also reflected in it.
A satisfied smile flashed in the young man's eyes as he picked up the person and got off the carriage.
As they left the charcoal stove in the carriage, a cold wind blew by, and the ochre-colored figure in their arms immediately curled up into a ball, pressing against them so that no one else could see a single detail.
Xie Zhuo led the two to pay their respects to the Princess. As usual, Lin Yu talked with Hong Qiuqiu, who had revealed her true identity, for a while. Only after other guests arrived did she let her go and play on her own.
"Brother, I want to go outside." But after staying at the banquet with Xie Rongjing for a short while, Xie Baoqiong tugged at his sleeve and whispered.
Before Xie Rongjing could speak, Meng Si, who was standing next to them, heard his voice and lowered her voice to ask, "Is Rui'er bored because he didn't come today?"
Xie Baoqiong nodded: "Brother Meng, I don't think I've seen him recently."
"He's been making a fuss about participating in the selection for the Anti-Evil Division lately, so your Uncle Meng locked him up." Meng Si gloated without any brotherly affection.
"Do you want to find some other people to play with?" Xie Rongjing bent down slightly, gesturing for his younger brother to look at the group of peers gathered not far away. Xie Baoqiong usually only had Meng Rui and Qi Gui by his side, and recently he could also see a fox, but he still hoped that his younger brother could make more friends.
Xie Baoqiong's gaze shifted, and a group of teenagers gathered in twos and threes came into his view. He stared at them for a while, and then rejected Xie Rongjing for some inexplicable reason.
Xie Rongjing wouldn't force him, and upon hearing this, he simply patted his head and said, "Don't go too far if you go out."
"Okay, I'm going to find Dad."
Following the stone path, Xie Baoqiong walked towards another garden where Xie Zhuo was. After going around the artificial hill, a figure suddenly blocked his way. He did not stop, but took a step to the side. Only when he was blocked by the person again did he look up at the person's face.
He had met him twice; he was Qi Gui's elder brother.
"Young Master Qi, what brings you here?"
Qi Yan lowered his eyes. The boy in front of him often stood with his younger brother, Qi Gui.
Have you seen Qi Gui? He's gone.
Upon hearing that name, Xie Baoqiong pursed his lips and did not answer directly. He carefully examined the person in front of him. Qi Yan and Qi Gui did not look alike; both of them resembled their mother more. If someone who did not know their relationship saw them, they would most likely not mistake them for brothers.
According to Qi Gui, Qi Yan was someone who stood apart from the rest of the Qi family, but Xie Baoqiong felt that Qi Yan's gaze was no different from that of the other people in the Qi family.
After a long silence, he spoke in a cold voice: "Young Master Qi is Qi Gui's elder brother, so why are you asking me about Qi Gui's whereabouts?"
The person in front of me froze for a moment, the aura surrounding him weakened, and the shadows between his brows and eyes shifted several times before finally settling on a somewhat sorrowful expression.
Seeing that Qi Yan had no intention of speaking, Xie Baoqiong prepared to take a detour.
"He's always with you, except for me."
Xie Baoqiong lowered his foot back to its original position and looked at the man standing in the shadow of the artificial hill again. The shadow cast by Qi Yan's eyelashes gave him a slightly dazed feeling. The two men, who looked completely different, revealed the fact that they were brothers when they showed the same expression.
Qi Yan's voice continued to reach his ears: "When he disappeared, you were also not in the capital. It was the same last time..." His voice weakened, and when it rang out again, the uncanny resemblance on his face had faded: "I'm sorry for bothering you."
After saying this, he nodded to the boy and walked towards the banquet.
Xie Baoqiong turned around and watched his figure disappear behind the artificial hill, then suddenly said, "He went to find his mother."
The corner of her clothes that peeked out from beside the artificial hill paused for a moment, then disappeared from his sight.
...
After parting ways with Qi Yan, Xie Baoqiong was found by a maidservant who was guarding outside the banquet and escorted to an octagonal pavilion. The pavilion was surrounded by gauze curtains, and a screen with plum blossoms stood at the entrance.
But he could see the familiar figure from afar through the gaps in the gauze curtains and screens. Without waiting for the maid to come forward and report, he walked straight inside and threw himself into the young man's arms.
"father."
Instead of taking the opportunity to pull him into his arms as usual, the young man helped him stand up straight and gently scolded him, "No manners."
Before Xie Baoqiong could even ask a question, a strange laugh suddenly came from beside her: "Xie Qing, is this Qiong'er?"
"Your Highness, please excuse my poor appearance."
Xie Zhuo gestured for Xie Baoqiong to step forward and pay her respects.
"Greetings, Your Highness." As Xie Baoqiong spoke, she did not forget to observe the person sitting next to Lin Yu at the head of the table. He was wearing a black brocade robe embroidered with cloud patterns, and his face was somewhat similar to Lin Yu's. He looked to be about the same age as Xie Zhuo, around thirty years old.
“It’s alright, we’re all family.” The young man was kind and, before the young man had finished accepting his greeting, he pulled him over to examine him closely: “You don’t need to call me Your Highness, just call me Uncle.”
Xie Baoqiong turned her head and glanced at Xie Zhuo not far away, then at Lin Yu beside her. Seeing that neither of them said anything, she followed the young man's words and called out, "Uncle."
"Good boy." The young man patted his head, chatted with the other two for a few words, and then looked at the child sitting in his lap who had taken a piece of pastry on his own: "Speaking of which, Qiong'er and Lin'er are about the same age. Qiong'er, would you like to come to your uncle's house to study with your cousin?"
The child's action of biting into the pastry and Xie Zhuo's hand holding the teacup both froze at the same time.
Xie Zhuo continued, "Your Highness flatters my son." He didn't need to say more; the unspeakable suffering on his face was enough to dissuade Lin Yan from his intentions.
"It seems that Minister Xie also has something to worry about..."
As the two were talking, the child sitting on Lin Yan's lap took the opportunity to slip down and come to Lin Yu, the only one who hadn't participated in the discussion about his studies. Lin Yan just smiled when he saw this and completely gave up the idea of using the child as a study companion.
The three chatted for a while, but Xie Baoqiong soon got bored. He held the pastry in his hand, ate half of it himself, and threw the other half into the lake to feed the fish.
Crumbs of pastry broke his reflection in the lake, and several fish heads emerged from the center of the ripples, their lips constantly opening and closing as they fought for the floating pastries.
Xie Baoqiong patted the bits of debris stuck to her hand into the lake. Just as she was about to turn around and sit down, a fish's lips suddenly stopped moving and gradually opened wide, with faint tears on both sides.
He used the railing to prop himself up, hanging half his body over the edge, trying to see what was happening.
A splash of crimson suddenly spread across the fish's body, causing its scales and flesh to burst open, forming a shape resembling a butterfly.
When he realized something was wrong, a flurry of snowflakes suddenly began to fall from above, and a tremendous force pressed him down.
As snowflakes brushed against his falling body, he finally saw that it was a snow-white butterfly.
"Thump."
The icy lake water quickly soaked through his clothes, dragging him down into the water.
Xie Baoqiong splashed in the water, floating towards the light above her head, but the light and shadow on the water's surface were instantly obscured by the overwhelming butterfly wings, and even her voice became blurred.
Another thud followed immediately.
The butterfly's wings were scattered by the water flow, revealing a sliver of light that allowed Xie Baoqiong to see the face of the person who had come.
He glanced at the newcomer with a strange look. The cloak that had been tied around his neck that morning was now being untied, and Xie Zhuo pulled him upstream.
The butterflies, wrapped in a thin membrane to prevent the water from flowing, swept towards them again.
Seeing this, Xie Baoqiong did not rush to use the backup plan that Xin Xuan had left him. Instead, he followed Xin Xuan's method and used his spiritual power to create a roaring flame that avoided Xie Zhuo beside him and engulfed the butterflies that tried to approach them.
Xie Zhuo had no doubts and pulled the boy towards the newly opened path.
Intense flames burst forth from the water first, causing the remaining butterflies on the surface to stop moving, gather together, and rush into the flames like moths to a flame.
Only after all the "snow" had melted away did Xie Baoqiong withdraw her spiritual energy, and Xie Zhuo dragged her to the shore.
Pulled ashore by servants who had already gathered on the bank, Xie Baoqiong shook off the water, and in the next instant, a fur coat was draped over her head.
Lin Yu, who hadn't seen what was happening in the lake, held his hand tightly, which was now icy cold from being in the lake water. Her voice rang out through his fur coat: "You can't be so naughty in the future."
Xie Baoqiong struggled to squeeze her head out and argued, "Grandmother, something in the lake pulled me down."
"Your Highness, perhaps we should ask the Criminal Investigation Department to come here," Xie Zhuo, who was also soaking wet, put on an outer robe and affirmed Xie Baoqiong's words.
As more and more people gathered, the two who had fallen into the water were first taken to a guest room to change their clothes.
Xie Baoqiong cast a spell to dry her and Xie Zhuo's hair, then circled around from behind to stand beside the motionless young man:
"Dad, what are you looking at?"
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