Chapter 74
How could Xie Qingya know Xu Duanyi's plan at this time?
Thinking that Guo Tianci was still there, their departure would only take two days.
Don't ask her anymore.
Otherwise she would look so pitiful again, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
No one can survive under Xu Duanyi's gaze.
Xie Qingya is naturally even worse.
He had no resistance to her in the first place.
Therefore, he did not mention the matter again. When they reached the fork in the road, he only told Xu Duanyi: "Don't go to dangerous places. Remember to bring Shi Yu and Lingji with you wherever you go. I probably won't go back for dinner tonight, so you don't have to come all the way here. Go back and rest if you are tired."
Xu Duanyi agreed to all of them.
Afterwards, the two separated, one went back to the county government office, and the other went back to where he had worked before.
After separation.
Xie Qingya looked at the bustling crowd in front of him, and felt that the buzzing sound in his ears seemed to have started again.
Xie Qingya knew that this was all psychological.
This book is compiled exclusively for you by the LK team. People here don’t even know what happened before.
Of course, I don't know who he is yet.
The way they looked at him at this moment contained nothing.
Xie Qingya took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then started walking forward again.
The common people on the street really didn't know what had just happened, and they still addressed him warmly as "Mr. Xie".
But Xie Qingya knew.
It won't be long before the whole city knows about this.
By then——
Xie Qingya didn't know what he would face, nor did he know how they would look at him then.
The battle was no secret after all.
Among the people of Yutian, there may be many who know about this... He doesn't know what they will think.
Thinking about this in my heart.
Although Xie Qingya looked calm at this moment, his steps were getting slower and slower, and it was obvious that he was avoiding something.
He didn't know it yet.
After Xu Duanyi separated from him, he did not return to the yamen immediately, but instructed Lingji to go find Master Wang first and ask Master Wang to tell the people in the county yamen first to avoid surprising them when he returned.
This made Xie Qingya feel uncomfortable.
She took Shi Yu back and found the old man she had met before.
Just now, Xu Duanyi also realized that the old man had some reputation in the local area, and thought that his words might be more effective than those of Master Wang and others.
After all, the people are afraid of the officials.
Who knows, this old man's words may be more useful to the people of Yutian.
She is lucky.
Not long after returning to the alley, I saw an old man walking out with a cane. This book is exclusively compiled by the LK team for you. Those people were still whispering and discussing what happened today.
He was stunned when he suddenly saw Xu Duanyi coming back.
So is that old man.
After realizing it, the group wanted to kneel down to Xu Duanyi again.
Xu Duanyi was polite at first, and said to them with a smile: "No need to be so polite."
After that, she looked at the old man again and said politely, "I have something to say to you, old man."
The old man looked slightly disappointed.
It seemed that he had not expected that she was coming to see him.
But not long after, he looked at Xu Duanyi and nodded first.
Without asking anyone to support him, he walked towards Xu Duanyi on his own, leaning on his crutches.
The others who followed him didn't know what was going on for a moment, but they didn't dare to move around, so they had to stand where they were.
"princess."
After the old man approached, he wanted to salute Xu Duanyi again.
Xu Duanyi reached out and held him.
"No need to be so polite, old man." Xu Duanyi's tone was gentle, but his actions were firm and he did not let anyone kneel.
The old man had no choice but to stand up straight.
When Xu Duanyi saw him looking at her, she got straight to the point and said, "I have something to ask of you, old man."
"Please?"
The old man looked surprised, obviously not knowing what a powerless old man like him could do for this noble princess. But before he could think about it, he quickly nodded and said, "Princess, please tell me. I will do my best."
Xu Duanyi never beat around the bush.
She looked at the old man and said, "I hope you can tell the people of Yutian on my behalf that they should treat the prince the same way they treated him in the past."
"Why?"
The old man was startled, and said subconsciously: "We were ignorant before and did not recognize the identity of the prince. Now that we know, how can we still treat him the same way as before?"
Without even thinking, he shook his head and said, "No, no, this is too rude."
"You and the prince are generous and kind, but how can we not know the rules? This is really not acceptable."
Xu Duanyi did not interrupt the old man.
Instead, she listened carefully to what he said before asking the old man, "Do you know how Old Master Wang died?"
This question, which had nothing to do with the previous one, made the old man stunned for a moment.
But the death of Old Prince is no secret.
When the news spread that the old King Nan'an and his eldest son had died in battle, almost all the people of Daxia came out of their homes, and wherever the army passed by with its coffins, the people knelt to see them off.
The old man was also accompanied by his family on the road, kneeling to welcome the old prince's coffin back to Beijing.
He even fainted in the middle of the speech because he cried so sadly.
After I came back, I was sick for more than a month.
When he saw the young prince earlier, he was so excited that he didn't remember it. But now after hearing what the eldest princess said, the old man finally remembered it.
Of course, I also remembered some other things.
Although the old man is old, his mind is still very sharp.
He almost immediately reacted to what the person next to him said, and asked quietly: "Is it because of this that the young prince refuses to admit that he is the King of Nan'an?"
Xu Duanyi looked at him and nodded.
The old man sighed when he saw that it was true. "Young Master, you have put yourself in a prison. Although I have never been to the battlefield, I know that things change rapidly on the battlefield. Regardless of whether the decision made by the young master was right or wrong, it was to protect us ordinary people from being bullied by others. What is wrong with the young master?"
No wonder the little prince looked weird just now.
The old man finally understood the reason and also understood why the eldest princess beside him came to him specially.
He did not refuse, but took the initiative to take charge of the matter and said to Xu Duanyi: "Don't worry, Princess. I will go and tell them right now. I will definitely not let the young prince feel uncomfortable here."
He sighed again after he finished speaking.
"The young prince is willing to come to our Yutian, regardless of his status, to do these hard labors every day, and to take great pains to protect us. We don't know what outsiders think, but we are not blind, we can see it."
"The little prince deserves the gratitude of all of us."
After he finished speaking, he suddenly bowed to Xu Duanyi.
"Old man..." Xu Duanyi saw him trembling and was about to reach out to help him, but she heard the old man bowed and said to her, "Princess, you too, like the young prince, deserve the gratitude of all of us."
"It is our blessing to have you in Yutian."
The alley is dark and dark.
But because of these words, Xu Duanyi's eyes were flashing with countless soft lights.
Although the people there didn't understand what was going on, they followed the old man's example and bowed to her.
Xu Duanyi stepped forward and helped the old man up.
“This is what we should do.”
She also became more determined to stay here.
…
Xie Qingya didn't know what happened in the alley, he returned to the place where he had done his work before.
The things under the shed have not been put away yet.
He went in and cleaned it up first, and then returned to the old place where he had built the house opposite.
When the men saw him coming back, they all smiled and greeted him, "Thank you, sir." Thinking of how he had just suddenly left with Qiao Zhubu, they couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Why did you leave so hastily just now? Did something happen?"
Xie Qingya picked up the stuff on the ground and said calmly, "Nothing much, just dealt with a few officials who were causing trouble."
He said it casually.
It doesn't seem like a big deal.
But when the people around heard this, their expressions changed.
All the movements of their hands stopped, and a group of people hurriedly asked: "Why would someone cause trouble? Is the lord okay?" They always felt that Lord Xie was not a high-ranking official, so they were naturally worried that something might happen to him.
After Xie Qingya said "no".
They thought of the lady who had left with Lord Xie earlier, and the rumors in the city over the past two days, and they felt a little relieved.
Fortunately, my wife is here.
Otherwise, you will definitely suffer a loss today...
They did not notice anything unusual about Xie Qingya at the moment, and when they heard that he was fine, they did not ask any more questions.
Xie Qingya also said nothing.
Silently doing the things at hand, waiting for the judgment that will come at an unknown time.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone hurrying over.
Xie Qingya had sharp eyes and recognized at a glance the young man in blue shorts who was jogging towards him. He was the young man who had supported the old man in the alley just now.
Then the man looked at him.
As if thinking that he hadn't noticed, he ran over first, looked at him and whispered a few words to one of them.
Then the man who was doing the work also looked towards him suddenly.
Then they passed it on one by one.
Even if Xie Qingya didn't turn around, he could still feel the gazes they gave him, like something heavy and substantial, weighing down on him.
They don't say.
Xie Qingya pretended not to know, but he felt very upset.
When facing Xu Duanyi before, he didn't want to make her worry, and was also afraid that she would blame herself, so he pretended to be nothing happened.
But how can it be okay?
What happened back then has always been a hurdle in his heart...
He thought, if it really didn't work, he would just follow Mei Xuezheng to work on the dike. Anyway, the city was becoming more and more orderly now.
Without him, nothing.
He Zongnan and others were also taken away, and no one would bully the people here at will.
何況還有李文高。
李文高這人做什麽都認真，也是最維護百姓的。
心裏正亂糟糟想着這些有的沒的，謝清崖就聽身側漢子，忽然先問了他一句：“大人，您……真是南安王嗎？”
意料之中的問題。
謝清崖沒回頭，只垂着眼，輕輕嗯了一聲。
“哎，我的娘哎！”
那漢子驚道：“我竟然跟一個王爺共事了這麽久，我家祖墳怕是要冒青煙了吧！”
“謝大人，您真是南安王啊？”
更多的漢子圍了過來，簇擁着謝清崖問道。
“您是不是還上過戰場啊？ ”
“這不是屁話嗎？王爺以前還被封過将軍呢！天爺啊，我也是出息了，回頭等這裏的事過去，我一定要去山上，告訴我那早死的爹娘，跟他們說，他們兒子出息了！”
一群人，你一言我一語的，吵得謝清崖的耳朵都快炸了。
嗡鳴之聲依舊。
但先前心裏的那種不安定感，卻未再出現。
他只是頗有些茫然地看着他們，一副沒想到事情會演變成這樣的樣子，這好像……和他最開始想的，有些不太一樣。
“……你們沒有其他想說的嗎？”
他忍不住看着他們問道。
“說啥？”
有人問道，未等謝清崖開口，那人便又自問自答了起來：“說您不跟我們說啊？這有啥好問的，您不跟我們說，肯定是因為怕影響我們跟您一起做事啊。”
“哎，這麽說起來……”
那漢子忽然撓了撓後腦勺，一副有些不好意思的樣子：“我們讓您幹這些苦差事，是不是不太好啊？王爺，您累了，可千萬要跟我們說啊！”
“對對對，王爺，您可千萬別跟我們客氣。”
“要不是咱們混熟了，您要一開始就這麽出現，我們可不敢跟您一起共事，這也太驚人了。”
“诶，別說，以後住在這些房子的人，可有福了，這說出去，誰敢信啊？”一群人說着說着，忽然覺得這話不太好，不由又朝謝清崖那邊看過去。
想看看他此刻是個什麽反應。
倒是原先一臉茫然的謝清崖，看着他們，一點點，重新笑了起來。
“沒事，要是有人來問我，我就說這是真的。”他也笑着跟他們開起了玩笑。
衆人一聽這話，自是紛紛松了口氣，也都跟着謝清崖一樣，大笑了起來。
之後城中，越來越多的百姓，知道了這件事。
但跟謝清崖原本想的截然不同，他原本以為，他們知道他的身份，肯定會變得拘謹，再也不可能像從前那樣對他。
未想他們竟是一點拘謹都沒有。
一個個，都和從前一樣。
甚至還有很多小孩，特地跑來找他問戰場上的事，拿着根樹枝當劍，嘴裏還十分有氣勢地喊着：“我們要跟王爺一樣，以後當一個保家衛國的大将軍！”
最後又被各自的父母，毫無形象的，先提了回去。
夜晚将至。
城中一切，卻都還和從前一樣，并無不同。
謝清崖雖然詫異，卻也覺得安心，比起被人當做奇珍異獸那樣“保護”着，他顯然更喜歡現在這樣。
這也讓他內心的不安，散去了許多。
從前聽到“南安王”三個字，他就隐隐感覺到一股不自在，今日大概是被人喊得多了，謝清崖竟然也漸漸有些開始适應起來了。
再也沒有從前的那種不适感了，大概是提前先麻木了。
夜裏。
謝清崖和徐端宜并沒有在一起吃飯。
徐端宜自在慈濟堂忙好之後，又在喬炳元的帶領下，在城中逛了一圈，而後便先回縣衙去了。
不過晚上的飯，倒是徐端宜喊人送過來的。
她傍晚跟着王師爺，又帶着時雨、令吉他們在廚房包包子，香噴噴熱乎乎的肉包子，做了不少。
正好喬炳元還要出門。
徐端宜等第一籠包子出鍋，便裝了兩大籃子，請人給謝清崖他們送過來。
這麽多人，包子自然做得不夠，只當做給他們先解饞補給了。
拿過去的時候，謝清崖一夥人也正好餓了。
喬炳元先讓謝清崖拿。
謝清崖拿了兩個，便讓其他人分了。
包子還很燙，咬一口，汁水十足，十分鮮美。
謝清崖洗完手才吃。
等喬炳元分完回來，他幾口一個，也正好吃完了。
“今天怎麽是你送的？”他随口問人，本想迂回幾句之後，再問問徐端宜如今在做什麽。
未想喬炳元就先回答了。
“這不是膳堂送的那批，是王妃讓我送過來的。”
謝清崖正準備吃第二個，聽到這話，手上動作不由跟着一頓。
其餘在旁邊的人，也都紛紛跟着看了過來。 本書由LK團隊為您獨家整理 “喬主簿，這莫不是王妃娘娘親手做的？”原本準備要吃的人，這會就跟拿着要給菩薩的貢品似的，一臉小心翼翼，不敢冒犯。
“可不是，我們王妃回去之後，跟王師爺在廚房忙了很久，這不，剛做好，便立刻讓我送過來了。”
喬炳元平日面對女子，總是容易害羞，有時候，就連話都說不清楚。
但在男人堆裏，倒是一副自如模樣。
他此時笑容明朗，笑着與他們說道：“王妃說你們都辛苦了。”
“這……這王妃待我們也太好了。”
“她這樣尊貴的身份，怎麽能做這些事啊？”
“是啊是啊，我們這……實在受不起啊。”
喬炳元笑着繼續說道：“王妃說了，王爺在這幫忙，她力氣不夠，便只能做些力所能及的事。”說完，見那夥人拿着包子，眼睛都泛起了紅，卻還是一副舍不得吃的模樣。
他忙又笑着說了一句：“大哥們，別幹看着了，快點吃吧，這是王妃的心意，你們要是只拿着不吃，可不是白費咱們王妃這麽辛苦做出來。”
“诶诶诶。”
這些眼含熱淚的漢子，不會說什麽動聽的話，答應完後便連忙啃了幾口，啃完之後，又跟謝清崖毫不吝啬誇贊道：“王爺好福氣，有王妃這樣的好妻子。”
“王爺是好人，王妃也是好人，咱們玉田有你們，真是我們的福氣！”
“等這裏的事情解決，我們一定要給王爺王妃立一個長生牌！”
一夥人喋喋不休。
皆是在誇贊謝清崖和徐端宜的好。
謝清崖沒說話，他看着手裏的包子，好半天，才垂着眼簾，輕聲說了一句：“我是好福氣，此生才能娶到她。”
“王爺在說什麽？”
喬炳元走過來，就見王爺嘴巴動了幾下，但那聲音，實在是太輕了，他自是聽不清。
謝清崖自是不會與他說。
在聽到喬炳元的聲音時，他就立刻收斂了自己的神情，只擺出一副和平時并無差別的樣子。
“沒什麽。”
喬炳元也沒多想，笑着問他：“這裏還有幾個包子，王爺還要嗎？”
謝清崖其實還挺想吃的。
這還是他第一次，吃徐端宜做的東西。
他都沒想到，她竟然還會做吃的。
做得還很不錯。
想吃。
但周遭人不少。
大家都只拿了兩個，雖然他多拿，也不會有人說他，但謝清崖向來以身作則慣了。
“不用，分給還沒吃的人吧。”謝清崖說。
喬炳元說了聲“是”，想到什麽，又說：“那我正好拿去給翠婆婆他們。”
“翠婆婆？”
謝清崖神色微怔，不由問：“翠婆婆那又出事了？還是王妃想吃紅薯了？”
他自覺徐端宜不會因為這些事，使喚別人，不由擰起眉。
喬炳元忙道：“是王妃提議，讓翠婆婆祖孫來衙門幫忙。”
“她說咱們平時事情多，個人事情上也顧不太上，平時讓瓜娃替咱們跑跑腿，翠婆婆則給咱們洗洗衣服、做做飯。”
“王師爺也覺得這法子不錯，我便打算先去問問翠婆婆的意思，要是他們答應的話，日後就讓他們祖孫住在咱們衙門。”
這法子倒是的确不錯。
謝清崖原本也想着，在離開玉田之前，幫忙把翠婆婆祖孫安置一下。
如今他們還在。
他們看在他和徐端宜的面子上，自然不會多加為難翠婆婆祖孫。
但等他們走了呢？
人心難測，何況翠婆婆今日還得了這麽一大筆錢，誰曉得會不會被有心人盯上？
因此謝清崖很快便點頭發了話：“這法子不錯，你現在就去辦，若他們答應，今夜就讓他們祖孫去衙門住。”免得夜長夢多。
喬炳元見他也同意，自是立刻笑着說了聲“是”，而後便與他拱手，先告辭了。
謝清崖看着他離開，又喝了碗茶，而後拍了拍手，站了起來。
打算繼續做完手頭上的事，再回去。
不過謝清崖也沒在這待太久。
夜色将至之時，他就又開始被其餘人驅趕了。
還是昨日那番話。
讓他早些回去陪王妃娘娘。
這次謝清崖沒有堅持，也沒準備在街上繼續逗留，洗幹淨手後，他就跟他們先告辭了。
而後他便提着燈籠往衙門走去。
半路的時候，他看到了策馬疾馳回來的梅雪征。
Seeing Mei Xuezheng walking in a hurry and looking around, Xie Qingya didn't need to guess what was wrong, he knew why.
It must be something that happened in the city and has spread to the dike.
"This!"
He shouted loudly in the direction of Mei Xuezheng.
really--
After hearing his voice, Mei Xuezheng immediately looked over in the direction of the sound. After a while, he was driving his horse towards him again.
Only when he was almost in front of him did Mei Xuezheng dismount.
He was anxious.
But at this moment, there are still many pedestrians on the street.
From time to time, passers-by would see them and call them "Prince, Lord Mei" with a smile. Mei Xuezheng had no choice but to suppress his emotions and continue to look towards Xie Qingya worriedly.
He was worried that Xie Qingya might be sensitive to this title.
But when he saw Xie Qingya being addressed as "Prince", he remained calm and even seemed to be in a very good mood.
Mei Xuezheng seemed a little anxious as he rushed here, but when he saw this scene, he gradually calmed down.
It seems that what happened today is different from what he thought.
The crowd dispersed.
After Xie Qingya responded to the greeting, he looked towards Mei Xuezheng.
Seeing that his expression was no longer as tense as before, Xie Qingya understood that he had seen through her.
"Let's go back to the yamen first." He said to Mei Xuezheng.
Mei Xuezheng had no objection.
Afterwards, the two of them rode on horses side by side towards the yamen.
Both of them were officials from the capital. Even though they did not get along very closely with each other, naturally no one would suspect anything if they walked together like this.
When I saw them talking, I just thought they were discussing something.
"What's going on? Why did the princess suddenly reveal your identity? Was it an accident, or..." Although he was no longer nervous, after leaving the crowd, Mei Xuezheng immediately asked Xie Qingya.
Xie Qingya thought about Xu Duanyi's actions and replied, "...was it her intention?"
"What!"
Mei Xuezheng cried out in surprise.
He couldn't hold back the sound for a moment, and seeing passers-by nearby looking at them in surprise, he quickly covered his mouth and coughed lightly.
After the pedestrians had passed, he lowered his voice and continued to ask with a frown, "What's going on?"
Could he be wrong?
This eldest princess...
But looking at Qingya's appearance at this moment, it doesn't seem like it.
Mei Xuezheng was still confused.
Xie Qingya simply summarized what Xu Duanyi had said to him before, naturally excluding the "Brother Qingya" and some interjections and adjectives that could easily lead to misunderstandings...
I just gave a straightforward narration.
After finishing speaking.
Without waiting for Mei Xuezheng to speak, he said to others, "It's good this way. Cheng Hao was also in Yutian, so this matter couldn't be kept secret for long."
Mei Xuezheng was no longer worried at all at this time.
On the contrary, he had a calm expression at this moment, looking at Xie Qingya beside him.
Xie Qingya knew what he was looking at.
Even if he knew, he felt awkward and pretended not to know. He looked at the man coldly and said, "What are you looking at?"
Mei Xuezheng looked at the man and said slowly, "Look at me all the way here, I was really worried for nothing. I was worried about you getting into trouble, so I kept running all the way, and my butt was hurt from the shaking."
Xie Qingya turned his face away and muttered, "You're worrying for nothing."