Chapter 17 Xie Zhuo stared at him...
Xie Zhuo's gaze was too intense, making Xie Baoqiong feel unusually uncomfortable.
He picked up the tea that Xie Zhuo had poured, the teacup obscuring Xie Zhuo's face in his view. He drank it all in one gulp before replying, "No. Oh, wait a minute."
Holding the teacup, he recalled what Lin Zhechun had mentioned and hurriedly refuted his previous statement, not noticing Xie Zhuo's somewhat nervous expression.
"The Imperial Preceptor Lin asked me to do him a favor during the Spring Festival."
Xie Zhuo secretly breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What kind of help?"
"The Imperial Preceptor Lin didn't say," Xie Baoqiong said, looking puzzled.
"If you don't want to go, Dad will help you refuse." Xie Zhuo's eyes changed slightly, but he ultimately didn't ask the question.
Xie Baoqiong shook her head even more: "I've never seen the Spring Festival before, I want to go."
Xie Zhuomo sighed, "Okay."
As the two were talking, the servant guarding outside the tent suddenly bowed his head and entered.
"My lord, the eldest son of General Qi requests an audience."
"Please let him in," Xie Zhuo said.
While the servant was out, Xie Baoqiong looked up and asked curiously, "Does the Qi family have any dealings with the Marquis's mansion?"
The investigation naturally had to start with those connected to the Marquis's residence.
Xie Zhuo did not hide anything from him: "Aside from political affairs, I have no personal relationship with the Marquis's mansion. However, that young master Qi is a classmate of Jing'er."
He nodded thoughtfully, just as footsteps came from the doorway, and Xie Zhuo stopped speaking at the right moment.
The servant led the group of people into the tent.
The leader was dressed in indigo riding attire, with a quiver hanging from his leather belt. The quiver was empty, with no arrows in sight, suggesting he had just come out of the forest.
"This humble one, Qi Yan, greets Lord Xie." After exchanging greetings with Xie Zhuo, Qi Yan cut to the chase and stated his purpose directly:
"I heard from others that Prince Xie once brought back a white baby bird." Although he said this, his gaze went straight to Xie Baoqiong, who was standing next to Xie Zhuo.
"To be honest, I happened to have brought a white fledgling with me on this trip, but it got lost while we were hunting in the forest, so I thought I'd come and see if it was the one I raised."
Xie Baoqiong didn't need to think too much to know that the baby bird Qi Yan mentioned was the one above his head.
The reason was simple: he could feel the baby bird perched on his head peeking out and fluttering in his hair as Qi Yan entered.
Qi Yan's gaze was less on him and more on the white bird above his head.
"Xiao Gui".
As soon as Qi Yan finished speaking, the weight on his head suddenly lightened, and the little white bird flew crookedly into the air, but after lingering in the air for a few seconds, it fell down.
Xie Baoqiong caught the falling fledgling with lightning speed, unaware of the subtle change in Xie Zhuo's expression:
"Qiong'er, return the baby bird to Young Master Qi. Father will find another one for you later."
He had only rescued the baby bird at Xie Rongjing's request, and hadn't developed any feelings for it during their brief time together.
Therefore, without any hesitation, he simply handed the baby bird back to Qi Yan.
The baby bird was carefully taken by the outstretched hand. Qi Yancha glanced at the baby bird's condition before turning his attention to him.
A questioning gaze swept across those eyes, but without uttering any unnecessary words, he spoke gratefully:
"You must be Young Master Xie. I have prepared some small gifts, and I hope you will not find them offensive."
After he finished speaking, the people behind Qi Yan brought up a small box as instructed.
He accepted the box, and Qi Yan did not linger. After bidding farewell, he left with his men.
When Xie Rongjing returned, he saw him sitting on the couch, rummaging through the items in the box.
"Father, what is Qiong'er looking for?" Xie Rongjing saw that he didn't look up and didn't go up to disturb him. He turned to ask Xie Zhuo, who was sitting on the other side.
Xie Zhuo explained the origin of the box and then said, "Qiong'er said that the baby bird was rescued with your help, so you should also receive a share of the gift of thanks from Young Master Qi. Now we're picking out something you like."
Upon hearing this, Xie Rongjing immediately moved closer to Xie Baoqiong.
Actually, he noticed Xie Rongjing when he heard the voice, but he was busy flipping through the last item and couldn't spare the time.
Upon seeing Xie Rongjing approaching, he immediately handed the last item he had found to Xie Rongjing.
It was a book with an antique cover. He glanced at the title, which read "The Diary of XX" in the upper left corner.
He flipped through a few pages at random; it was a travelogue about local customs and anecdotes. Xie Rongjing had read this kind of book to him when he was putting him to sleep that day, so he figured Xie Rongjing would like it.
"For me?"
Although Xie Rongjing already knew from Xie Zhuo's words that Xie Baoqiong was going to share the contents of the box with him, he was still somewhat surprised to be given a book as soon as he arrived.
"Mm." Xie Baoqiong nodded, pointing to the other items in the box, "Brother can take whatever he likes."
Xie Rongjing glanced at the remaining items in the box, some of them exquisitely crafted and ingenious, things that Xie Baoqiong's age would likely like. He looked at them briefly, then closed the box to see her reaction.
"If I liked them all, would Qiong'er be willing to give them up?"
He lowered one eyebrow slightly, finding it hard to understand why Xie Rongjing had asked such a question, but still answered boldly:
"Then brother, take them all."
Xie Rongjing stared at him for a while: "This book is enough for me. Qiong'er can keep the things in the box herself."
Xie Rongjing's sudden change of heart caught him off guard, but before he could figure it out, he heard Xie Rongjing glance at the book in his hand and continue:
"I can tell you the stories in this book while we rest in the tent for the next few days."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Baoqiong no longer cared about the reason for Xie Rongjing's change of mind; he didn't want to stay in this tent all day for the next few days.
So he hurriedly pulled Xie Rongjing, who had just sat down, and changed the subject: "I haven't seen the prey that brother brought back yet. Did brother hunt any rabbits?"
His words successfully diverted Xie Rongjing's attention, and the topic was successfully shifted: "We've already taken the game to the servant to process it. We'll take you there after it's done."
Despite saying that, Xie Rongjing followed his movements, casually placing the books on the box and getting up as he pulled:
"Dad, I'm taking my little brother to see the rabbits we hunted."
Xie Zhuo, who had been observing the interaction between the two brothers, glanced at the books on the box with a smile and said, "Well, go ahead."
—
As dusk fell, a young man slept soundly on a couch in a tent.
"Father, aren't you going to wake Qiong'er?" Xie Rongjing asked, looking at Xie Baoqiong sleeping on the bed.
After playing outside all day, Xie Baoqiong ate some roasted wild rabbit in the afternoon and then went to sleep.
"Let him sleep." Xie Zhuo sat on the edge of the bed and tucked the blanket around him. His face was turned away from Xie Rongjing's, so his expression was not visible.
"Although the bonfire was lively in the evening, there were many people who came for this spring search, including officials of our dynasty and envoys from the Western Regions."
Although the only apparent evidence of Chu King's involvement in the A Jin incident was the King himself, the Princess and I suspected back then that someone was helping him behind the scenes.
"Father, are you referring to the King of Chu back then..."
Before Xie Rongjing could finish speaking, Xie Zhuo interrupted him: "Jing'er, some things cannot be said."
Xie Rongjing shut his mouth and recalled a royal secret: After losing the struggle for the throne to the current crown prince, the King of Chu "committed suicide" in his mansion. It is said that his death was horrific and could not have been done by an ordinary person like the King of Chu.
Xie Rongjing was slightly lost in thought. His wandering gaze caught Xie Zhuo's hand tightening on the bedsheets, and his scattered thoughts gradually came together. Then he heard Xie Zhuo's tense voice:
"Qiong'er suddenly appeared in front of me again at this critical moment, and I was always worried that something bad would happen."
"Father, Qiong'er has returned." Xie Rongjing didn't offer any words of comfort, only stating a fact.
"Yes, Qiong'er is back." Xie Zhuo said, "Wen Feng, you stay here and watch over the young master."
"yes."
—
When I opened my eyes again, everything was pitch black, and I was covered with a soft quilt.
Xie Baoqiong got up in the dark, sat on the bedding, and looked around. Xie Zhuo and Xie Rongjing, who had been beside him before he went to sleep, were nowhere to be seen, and there was no trace of them in the tent.
He groped his way out of bed, and before he could find his shoes and socks, the curtains were lifted, and moonlight and candlelight streamed into the tent.
He stopped looking for his shoes and socks, and when he looked up at the person who had come, he was filled with joy that he himself did not notice. However, he was slightly taken aback when he saw the face reflected in the candlelight.
He remembered that the person who came was someone who followed Xie Zhuo, and his name seemed to be... Wen Feng.
Wen Feng lit the lamp beside the bed first, and then called the servant to help him wash and dress.
After Xie Baoqiong finished dressing and sat down in the armchair, she finally had time to look at Wen Feng, who was standing guard to the side: "Wen Feng, where are my father and brother?"
"The Marquis and the Heir Apparent went to a banquet. Seeing that you were still asleep, they didn't wake you," Wen Feng said truthfully.
Xie Baoqiong took the handkerchief handed to her by the servant and wiped her face. Her eyes were glazed over, and she was clearly not fully awake yet. She did not feel that there was anything wrong with Xie Zhuo not going with her.
"Oh." After responding, he realized what Wen Feng had mentioned about the banquet, smacked his lips, and said in a daze but clearly, "I'm hungry."
Soon someone brought over a bowl of warm venison soup.
After he finished eating, he gradually regained consciousness, put down his spoon, and walked out of the tent.
But Wen Feng raised his hand to stop him, and he looked at Wen Feng with a puzzled expression: "Lord Xie, won't you let me out?"
Wen Feng carefully recalled what Xie Zhuo had said and realized that Xie Zhuo had never said anything about not letting Xie Baoqiong leave the camp, so he said, "The Marquis told me to follow you."
Xie Baoqiong glanced at him, nodded, and said, "Then you can come with me."
—
The night was not yet summer, and a slight cool breeze blew through the air, carrying the scent of grass and trees.
A cacophony of voices and insect chirps drifted from the west side of the camp to Xie Baoqiong's ears.
He looked up at the sound and saw the flickering flames dancing faintly in his pupils. He then turned and walked in that direction.
Before even getting close, I could see two somewhat familiar figures talking in the distance.
A rather unpleasant voice drifted into his ears on the wind:
"You want me to deal with two greenhorn brats? Why don't you do such a lowly job yourself?"
"Those twins may be young, but they are not to be underestimated in the art of witchcraft. Other sorcerers and demon cultivators in the court may not be their match. As for you, you and they can be considered to be fighting poison with poison..."
Seemingly sensing someone approaching, Lin Zhechun stopped speaking and looked in his direction.
At the same time, the other person who was standing with his back turned around, revealing the face of Chishong, whom he had seen during the day.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
