deep feeling
Xiao Yiqing, overjoyed with Shangguan Zeyu's love for her, went to the front hall.
Her mother, unusually angry, pointed at one of the people kneeling on the ground and began to hurl insults.
"What good are you all? You don't even know what's gone wrong. How am I supposed to explain this to the master?"
He clutched his chest in anguish, but was helped up by his maid. He then pointed angrily at the man.
"Why aren't you informing the master yet? Do you want him to come back and chop off your heads???"
The man hurriedly retreated.
Xiao Yiqing also realized that things were not good, because she had never seen her mother so "shrewish" before. She hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Mother, what happened?"
As soon as her mother saw her, she hugged her tightly and cried loudly.
"It's over! It's all over!! Your father is going to lose his job!!!"
Xiao Yiqing did not understand her mother's meaning.
"Mother, what are you saying? What happened to Father's official position?"
"Daughter, your father has lost something very important! If it falls into the wrong hands, our entire Xiao family, numbering in the hundreds, will be doomed!!!"
"That serious?!"
Her mother wept bitterly, tears streaming down her face, crying, "My daughter, where is the Prince? Go quickly and beg him for mercy! Beg for mercy for the Xiao family!!!"
Xiao Yiqing understood the gist of it and was terrified, but she was still clear-headed. She held her mother's arms and urged her to calm down and not panic.
"Mother, have you asked Father about this? What was Father's attitude?"
"Your father is out of town; even the fastest a letter can arrive will take three or four days! How can our Xiao family wait three or four days? It's too late!!!"
Her mother seemed to have prepared for the worst, and she appeared somewhat dazed.
But Xiao Yiqing remained unusually calm.
"Mother! How can we be sure that thing definitely belongs to our Xiao family? Don't panic!!"
Upon hearing this, her mother gradually calmed down.
“Yes, how can you say that something belongs to our Xiao family is truly our Xiao family’s? It could be a frame-up by someone else.” She smiled slightly and looked at Xiao Yiqing, “Daughter, what do you suggest we do now?”
Xiao Yiqing already had an idea.
"Unless this matter becomes critical, we must not alarm the Prince."
He added, “The lost items must be related to Father, Prince Su, and others. Prince Su is currently a favorite of the Empress Dowager, so it won’t be easy to hold him accountable. Therefore, we should wait until Father returns before discussing this matter, lest we make things worse by doing something unwise.”
“Okay, I’ll do whatever you say, daughter.” Her mother finally calmed down.
"Qing'er, I heard you're taking the Prince to your father's library?" Her mother was helped by a maid to her usual seat.
Suddenly, a voice popped into Xiao Yiqing's mind:
Could Shangguan Zeyu be the one who trespassed into the library?
But before she could analyze or dissect it carefully, she shook her head inwardly and rejected it.
“Mother, the Prince heard that Father’s library contains rare books and wanted to see them, but the guards wouldn’t let us in.” Xiao Yiqing sat down in the first chair to her mother’s right.
"Qing'er, you must remember this clearly: Prince Duan and your father are enemies! Putting everything else aside, your first priority is to protect your father, understand?"
Xiao Yiqing seemed lost in thought, her eyes vacant.
Her mother took a small sip of tea, sighed, looked at her, and said again.
"Alas, your father and mother intended for you to marry Prince Su. In terms of looks, knowledge, and ability, Prince Su was no less than Prince Duan. But you... Alas, now that I think about it, since I knew this would be the outcome, I shouldn't have let you go!"
Xiao Yiqing slowly came to her senses, a mocking smile still lingering on her lips.
“Prince Su? He’s nowhere near as good as Prince Duan!” Then she looked at her mother, “Don’t worry, Mother, the Prince won’t neglect his daughter! Mother, you must trust your daughter!”
Her mother was clearly exhausted by the matter, and sighed helplessly.
"I hope everything goes as you wish, Qing'er!"
Xiao Yiqing comforted her mother for a while, and her mother, still shaken, went to rest soon after. Xiao Yiqing then returned to her room.
She walked quickly on her way back, thinking as she went: I wonder if Shangguan Zeyu is still waiting for her in her room?
She actually knew Shangguan Zeyu fairly well, and guessed that given his usual way of doing things, he had probably already gone back.
But she was unwilling to give up and still held a glimmer of hope. After all, she had just seen him in a disheveled state, and he had smiled at her and always put her first. How could he have left without saying goodbye?
But when she excitedly ran back to her little courtyard, full of hope, and pushed open the door to her bedroom...
He still left.
She actually ran back with both disappointment and hope!
Moreover, her disappointment far outweighed her hope, but when the result was laid bare before her, she found it hard to accept.
At that moment, all her grievances turned into bitter, hard-to-swallow tears, overflowing from her eyes, running down her cheeks, and falling onto her clothes and the ground.
Chunhua was even more upset than her, and tried her best to suppress her sadness and stay by her side.
When she was crying uncontrollably and felt that she had been presumptuous, she went inside and saw a piece of paper on the round table facing the door.
There were lines of writing on the paper, and one end of the paper was carefully weighed down with a teacup.
Without even thinking, Xiao Yiqing rushed over, picked up the paper, and began to read.
"Your Highness, I originally intended to wait for your return before speaking, but considering I am not feeling well, and fearing it might be detrimental to you, I have returned first. Do not worry. Shangguan Zeyu."
"Look! Look!! I told you the Prince wouldn't be so heartless! He does have a place for me in his heart!! Look!!!"
Xiao Yiqing laughed with excitement and innocence, like a child who had just received a new toy.
Tears still clung to her face, but her eyes were already smiling.
Her eyes sparkled, like two bright stars in the night, dazzling and captivating.
Before Chunhua could react, the paper was shoved into her hands, and she began to read it in a daze.
The two lines of text were simple and unremarkable, without any extra emotional expression. Yet, in that very moment, they brought a smile to the face of her master, who had just been grieving and weeping.
With such an incident occurring at the Prime Minister's residence, Shangguan Zeyu, as the son-in-law, should at least offer some response.
The next day, he went to see Xiao Yiqing's mother, his mother-in-law, early in the morning and talked to her about what happened the night before.
His mother-in-law told him that the thief had not yet been caught, and he offered to help, but she politely declined. He didn't insist further, and after saying goodbye, he returned to the Prince Duan's residence with Xiao Yiqing.
Upon returning to the Prince Duan's residence, Shangguan Zeyu immediately began to carefully study the "book" he had finally obtained.
That list contained the names of people who were associated with Prince Su, as recorded by Xiao Yiqing's father.
There were a total of one thousand people. Apart from twenty civil and military officials from the capital, the rest were local officials, most of whom were military officers.
It seems that Prince Su's plot to rebel is now an indisputable fact!
"Zhang Qin, where are the soldiers that Prince Su recalled without authorization?"
"Your Highness, our men reported yesterday that we are only 400 kilometers from the capital."
"It's been about ten days." Shangguan Zeyu said, then closed the book and handed it to Zhang Qin. "Take good care of him. I need to enter the palace around Shenshi (3-5 PM). Have someone make arrangements."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After Zhang Qin left, Shangguan Zeyu decided to go see Jiang Yan, who had been poisoned. She changed into clean clothes and went to Pear Blossom Residence.
Coincidentally, Jiang Yan woke up just as he entered Pear Blossom Residence.
"Master! You're finally awake!! I was so scared!!!" Huang Ying's voice, a mix of laughter and tears, quickly reached his ears.
He paused, then couldn't help but laugh, before rushing into the house.
In just one day, Imperial Physician Wang looked as if he had aged ten years, his face full of fatigue and vicissitudes.
Huang Ying wasn't much better off; she had dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were chapped and pale.
Shangguan Zeyu didn't have time to look at them; he hurriedly walked to the bedside and looked at Jiang Yan.
As he entered the room and walked toward the bed, the oriole automatically made way for him.
He stood there alone, his eyes filled with excitement and joy, and asked, "Ruyi, are you feeling any better?"
Jiang Yan had just woken up, her mind still a blur, unaware of where she was or what had happened.
Shangguan Zeyu anxiously asked the Imperial Physician Wang, who was sitting by the bed, "What's wrong with Ruyi?"
"Your Highness, Consort Liu has been unconscious for too long and has just woken up. She is not yet used to it, but she will be fine in a little while."
Shangguan Zeyu calmed down a bit, slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, and stared intently at Jiang Yan.
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