Chapter 55 Of Course It Counts: "Will the Crown Prince help me?"
The setting sun melts into gold, its rays like brocade. The slanting red sun ignites the leaden-gray evening clouds, and even the small, lonely cluster of unnamed wildflowers in the corner of the wall is bathed in orange-red light.
At the foot of the mountain, the lanterns of Chang'an light up like stars one after another. From afar, one can see throngs of tourists moving among them, making it the busiest time of day in Chang'an.
The white jade hairpin at her temple quietly reflected the afterglow of the setting sun. Xue Rongyue lowered her head and untied the red string binding the pastry: "Did the young master come back today specifically to pay respects to his elder brother?"
Just like that night before they parted, when they were drunk and gazing at the moon, the two sat side by side on the roof ridge, and Qin Jin replied, "It's time to come back."
Xue Rongyue picked up a piece of white jade cake with her slender, pale fingers. She had little appetite, took a small bite, and after swallowing, asked slowly, "Did Your Highness's trip go smoothly?" Qin Jin was silent for a moment before replying, "Smoothly."
Xue Rongyue pouted and glanced at him sideways: "It's obviously not the truth. The young master is just giving me the runaround again. He's only just come back and he's already giving me the runaround."
"I didn't just brush you off; the job really went smoothly."
Qin Jin chuckled, hesitated for a moment, then took out the little wolf doll he had been carrying: "I just accidentally damaged it, can it still be... mended?"
"Was this cut by a sword or knife?"
Xue Rongyue took the doll and examined it closely, her brow furrowing: "It seems this journey was very dangerous. Has the young master been injured?"
Although their relationship had improved considerably, Qin Jin was still taken aback by this clear and gentle concern. It wasn't until Xue Rongyue looked at him suspiciously that he came to his senses and nodded in response, "They're just a bunch of rabble; they can't do anything to me."
"But what can you do to this rag doll?" Xue Rongyue's lips curved into a smile as she traced the tear with her fingertips. "Does the Prince not have any embroiderers in his office?"
There were a few elderly women in the village at the foot of the mountain who were quite skilled at embroidery, but Qin Jin kept thinking that this was a cloth doll that Xue Rongyue had given him, and he shouldn't have entrusted it to others to sew.
Qin Jin said in a low voice, "If it's inconvenient for you, I'll think of another way."
Xue Rongyue glanced sideways: "What other way is there? Does the young master intend to find other embroiderers in Chang'an to mend clothes?"
It's not a big deal if it's not sewn.
Qin Jin didn't speak, and tried to take the doll back. Xue Rongyue glanced down at his outstretched palm, then suddenly snorted coldly and struck him hard without hesitation: "You really want to find another embroiderer to mend it?"
With a "smack," the white pear-scented balm Xue Rongyue had applied to her wrist scattered with the force of the impact, its fragrance intoxicating. The stinging sensation lingered in her palm for only a moment, replaced by a tingling, soft feeling.
Qin Jin subconsciously clenched his palms, feeling as if a feather had brushed against them, an itch that went straight to his heart.
Xue Rongyue warned him, "This is a cloth doll I sewed. You are not allowed to show it to other embroiderers."
Upon hearing this, her eyelashes trembled involuntarily. Qin Jin didn't dare to look at her, obediently nodded, and then asked in a hoarse voice, "Why?"
"Why? What else could it be?"
Xue Rongyue glanced at him strangely, then said matter-of-factly, "This style of doll is only sold in the toy shop I run. Very few embroiderers know the style. Do you know how many shop owners outside are trying every means to find out the style? What if other embroiderers see it and learn it?"
Qin Jin: "......"
The blush on his face vanished instantly: "Oh."
Xue Rongyue warned repeatedly, "Don't just show it to other embroiderers. Do you remember? You're not allowed to show it to other embroiderers. If the design gets out, I'll definitely make trouble for you."
"Definitely!"
Qin Jin moved aside expressionlessly: "I remember."
Xue Rongyue noticed: "What's wrong with you?"
Qin Jin uttered two words in a cold tone: "It's nothing."
Xue Rongyue pouted and looked at him: "Are you angry? I didn't say I wouldn't help you mend it."
She raised her voice and called down, "Jingnu, throw the needle and thread up here."
Jingnu, who was hiding under the eaves eating pastries, quickly responded, took out a purse she was carrying, swung her arm in a wide arc, and threw it upwards with all her might.
Xue Rongyue caught up: "Are you busy tonight?"
Qin Jin shook his head: "No."
Xue Rongyue opened her purse: "Since that's the case, while there's still some light, wait a moment and I'll sew a few stitches for you."
So neither of them spoke again.
Xue Rongyue skillfully threaded the needle. The sunset was now past its zenith, with half the red sun hidden behind the distant mountains. The sky was already getting dark. Qin Jin got up and took a bright lantern to light it for Xue Rongyue.
A lone star or two has already emerged from the clouds. In the tranquil mountains and fields, a gentle night breeze rustles through the bamboo grove not far away. Lanterns have been hung under the eaves, and the candlelight in the Taoist temple dispels the gradually darkening night.
The soft candlelight shone on Xue Rongyue's eyebrows and eyes, illuminating her delicate skin very clearly.
Qin Jin stared intently, then suddenly asked, "How have you been these past few days?"
Xue Rongyue was focused on mending the cloth doll and didn't hear clearly for a moment: "What?"
Qin Jin said in a low voice, "You've lost a lot of weight."
Her hands paused for a moment before resuming their normal movements. Xue Rongyue casually replied, "I gained a lot of weight after Liu Ruyu's accident. Now that my smugness has passed, I naturally have to be more restrained in my diet. How can I continue to eat and drink recklessly?"
She didn't want to talk about it, so Qin Jin didn't ask any further, and instead smiled and said, "It seems that it has indeed been quite effective."
Xue Rongyue also smiled slightly, and after a moment of silence, asked in a low voice, "I helped the young master, could the young master help me in return?"
Qin Jin asked, "What is it? Tell me."
Xue Rongyue sighed and stopped sewing: "You must have heard that General Xue returned to Chang'an not long ago. I am currently staying at the Princess's residence and cannot find out much about what happened in the Xue family. Could you please ask the young master for a favor?"
Qin Jin keenly noticed her address to Xue Xiude, and his brow twitched slightly: "What is it?"
Xue Rongyue lowered her voice: "I would like to ask Your Highness to help me find out the purpose of General Xue's return to Chang'an this time. At this critical juncture when the Liu family is in trouble, I feel uneasy."
Qin Jin understood the implication in her words. His thin lips tightened into a straight line, but he still lied and said, "Your guess is correct. Before I came here, I went to the palace and learned that General Xue still intends for you to marry into the Liu family."
Although she had expected it, Xue Rongyue still couldn't help but be flustered for a moment.
She took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, saying, "...That Liu Ruyu, that Liu Ruyu has already been executed. Whether she can survive is still unknown. How can she be allowed to marry?!"
Qin Jin shook his head and said, "The Liu family has more than just Liu Ruyu as a young master."
"Even so, I have already incurred the enmity of the Liu family, so how can I possibly marry into their family!"
Xue Rongyue's brows furrowed with barely concealed anger: "There are so many powerful families in Chang'an, why does he insist on targeting the Liu family?!"
"The Liu family isn't particularly prestigious, so what exactly attracted him and made him so persistent?"
Qin Jin was silent for a moment, then looked up at her and took the initiative to remove the veil that the two had avoided talking about in the past: "The Liu family has a close relationship with the Empress Dowager's faction. The second wife of the Liu family is the niece of the Empress Dowager's aunt. General Xue's insistence on doing so... is probably for this reason."
What was bound to happen has finally happened.
Xue Rongyue closed her eyes wearily, a chill running down her spine. She parted her lips slightly, wanting to ask something, but ultimately swallowed it back down.
Since Qin Jin learned about this matter from the palace, the emperor must have already known about it. No matter what she says, it will be useless. It all depends on how long the emperor can tolerate the Xue family.
Qin Jin asked her, "What are your plans for the future?"
Xue Rongyue laughed twice, but the laughter didn't reach her eyes, replaced by bitterness: "What else can I do? No matter what my private relationship with General Xue is like, he is still my biological father in name. Marriage is a major event that my parents decide. How could I possibly have the right to speak about it?"
Watching the cold needle tip pass through Qin Jin's fingers, Xue Rongyue's embroidery skills were among the best in Chang'an, where there were countless embroiderers. In just a few words, she had finished mending most of the needle.
Qin Jin's gaze fell on her drooping, listless eyes.
Xue Rongyue rarely showed such an expression. She was always proud and confident, like a peacock that would never bow its head.
With a barely perceptible tremor of his knuckles, Qin Jin pursed his thin lips and looked away from the darkening sky. A new moon hung atop a distant mountain, its bright light like cold, white frost.
He said, "It's not that there's no way."
Xue Rongyue seemed genuinely puzzled, and asked blankly, "What?"
Qin Jin said, "Marriage is a major event that not only parents can decide, but even the emperor can?"
After frowning and pondering for a moment, Xue Rongyue suddenly realized: "Your Highness means, the Emperor has bestowed a marriage upon us?"
“This is indeed a good idea, but…” Xue Rongyue smiled bitterly, “My father is determined to board the Empress Dowager’s ship, and how does His Majesty view me, a daughter of the Xue family? How could he be willing to bestow a marriage upon me?”
"That's not necessarily true."
Qin Jin said, "As long as you can show your sincerity in not wanting to marry into the Liu family, I... I think... His Majesty will grant your wish."
Xue Rongyue felt relieved: "Of course I don't want to marry into the Liu family. After what happened with Liu Ruyu, how could I possibly find a place in the Liu family?"
After saying that, she sighed calmly, and hesitated, "If... if he insists on doing this, will His Majesty kill him?"
Qin Jin uttered a single word without hesitation: "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Xue Rongyue seemed unable to bear it, and a sorrowful expression appeared on her face. She lowered her eyes and sighed, "...He is, after all, my father."
With a slight upward twitch of his sword-like eyebrows, Qin Jin stared intently at her, then suddenly smiled, his words carried away by the rising night wind: "That sentence reveals your weakness; you're not putting on a convincing act, Madam Xue."
He emphasized the name "Lady Xue" very heavily, almost as if he were gritting his teeth.
The sorrowful expression vanished, and Xue Rongyue abandoned her pretense, a sly smile appearing in her almond-shaped eyes as she asked bluntly, "Will the young master help me?"
Although it was a question, her tone was very certain.
Qin Jin gave a short, cold snort, looked down at the doll in her hand, and asked instead of answering, "Is it mended?"
Xue Rongyue handed it over with a smile: "Your Highness, take a look, are you satisfied?"
Xue Rongyue not only sewed the damaged parts perfectly, but also embroidered a bamboo leaf in the wolf cub's mouth and a lifelike little wooden sword in its left front paw.
Xue Rongyue said, "When I was young, a prince bullied me when I went to a banquet in the palace. The heir, entrusted by his elder brother, rushed up to protect me with a small wooden sword in his hand."
"I still remember, the Crown Prince, his face bruised and swollen, holding a bamboo leaf in his mouth, said to me with feigned nonchalance that he would protect me from now on, forever. I have never forgotten those words. And the Crown Prince?"
"Does Your Highness still remember whether this statement is still valid?"
Taking the doll, Qin Jin's gaze fell on the wooden sword in the wolf's paw. His long, curled eyelashes cast a small shadow, obscuring the emotions flickering in his eyes.
Despite the howling night wind, his hoarse reply remained clear: "...Of course it counts."
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Author's Note: Ji Dian sneered: See? What did I tell you? He never learns his lesson and always falls for Xue Rongyue's tricks! I really hate people who are love-struck!!!
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