106 Chapter 106
"No, I'm on my period."
——Not only did you deceive her, you even led her into recognizing the thief as your father, becoming a completely unfilial person.
Wei Che clenched his fists tightly behind his back, but his face remained expressionless as he denied, "I don't understand what you're saying."
Wei Fu sneered, "Stop pretending, Xie Qi. How could I not know the character of my only legitimate brother? How could such a tyrannical man suddenly care about these half-brothers and sisters who he never took seriously?"
Wei Che pretended to be nonchalant, "It's not surprising that people's personalities change drastically after experiencing sudden misfortunes and life-or-death experiences. My parents never said anything, but it's really hurtful for my elder sister to start doubting her own brother just because of this."
Wei Fu suddenly laughed. "Feelings? They dote on their legitimate son like his own life, so naturally they think everything about him is good. But I'm different. I hate the old Wei Che."
In the past, Wei Che was pampered by his parents. As the only legitimate son in the family, he always acted in a domineering and arrogant manner, never caring about others.
When he was young, because she was unwilling to give him her ancestral hairpin, he snatched it away from her and disfigured her, leaving a horrible scar on her forehead that still exists today.
But suddenly one day, the younger brother who escaped from the sea of fire still looked very similar to before, but he was no longer as arrogant and bullying as he was. Instead, he helped them, his half-brothers and sisters, intentionally or unintentionally behind the scenes.
At that time, Wei Fu discovered that her brother had become a different person. Even though he imitated Wei Che's habits, he was still unable to learn his cruelty.
Wei Che had never imagined that she would have such an opinion of his past self, nor had he ever imagined that his occasional soft-heartedness would become a handle for others to discover everything.
"Then how can you be sure that I am Xie Qi and not someone else?"
Wei Fu suddenly clenched her teeth, and her bare hands tightly clasped the small table until her fingertips turned white.
"Ever since you insisted on marrying that Princess Qinghe, I knew who you were. Xie Qi, do you remember that we once met?"
In the misty drizzle in the southern border, she was driven off the carriage by her former lover Wei Che halfway, and her umbrella was snatched away. She walked alone on the long muddy road, her clothes and hair in disarray, and she looked in a mess.
At this time, the sound of horse hooves came from behind.
The young general in silver armor came galloping towards her. Wei Fu subconsciously dragged her feet to avoid him, praying in her heart that he would stop and help her.
As she watched the figure galloping away, Wei Fu's eyes suddenly dimmed, but the next moment, the sound of horse hooves came again.
She looked up and saw the young general dismounting his horse swiftly, striding to her side and asking her if he could mount.
His eyes were extremely clear, looking at her in such a state of embarrassment, but without a trace of mockery.
Wei Fu's originally rainy world was suddenly filled with light.
She rode the young general's horse, and he held the reins and led the horse for her in front.
Wei Fu admired his restraint and courtesy at first, but after entering the city, she realized that he was just avoiding suspicion.
As soon as I entered the city gate, I saw a blue-green figure coming from a distance with an oil-paper umbrella in her hand. The umbrella moved slightly, revealing the young girl's tender but beautiful face.
The young girl saw them and immediately ran over. She moved the umbrella in her hand towards the young general's head and said fiercely, "Xie Qi, why are you so slow? I've been waiting for you for an hour!"
The young general was not angry and kept apologizing.
At that time, Wei Fu thought that if it were her, she would definitely not treat him so harshly. A good person like him should be obeyed and held in the palm of someone's hand.
After leaving the southern border, she thought she would never have the chance to meet the young general again. Later, her brother's temperament suddenly changed. Although he was sometimes absurd, he never embarrassed his brothers and sisters at home.
It was not until he suddenly insisted on marrying Princess Qinghe that Wei Fu intuitively guessed that her current brother was the young general who once illuminated her world during the continuous rain.
"...But what's so good about Xu Qinghe?! She's unruly and willful, and she ignored all your love and offered no response. She called off the engagement immediately. Why on earth do you still miss her? Xie Qi!!"
"Wei Fu, if I had known you would harm her again and again in the future, I would never have helped you."
At the time, Xie Qi would never have imagined that the girl he accidentally rescued would one day attack his sweetheart again and again.
After saying this, he didn't even look at her again and turned away decisively.
Just like when he was in the southern border, he threw away the reins in his hand when he saw the princess.
Wei Fu lay silently on the small table, and after a long time she finally burst into tears.
**
"What are you going to do with this person?"
Fu Zongying tracked down the case all the way and personally captured Wei Fu from the Prince of Fuguo's Mansion. He had been guarding outside the door just now. He had good hearing and naturally heard the conversation between the two people in the room clearly.
Wei Che rubbed his forehead and said in a hoarse voice, "Since she has guessed my identity, let's lock her up for now."
Fu Zongying was puzzled: "Aren't you afraid that if she doesn't return home, her people in the mansion will tell others about your identity?"
Wei Che shook his head and said no.
"Didn't you tell me that she was struggling when you tied her up and tried to escape even after arriving here? She must have left no tricks up her sleeve. You were just trying to trick me. Don't take it to heart."
After everything was settled, he boarded the carriage back to Beijing. When he returned to Fengheyuan in the twilight, Xu Qinghe was already asleep on the couch.
Wei Che walked over and looked at the girl's cold face under the light, and suddenly felt suffocated.
——Not only did you deceive her, you even led her into recognizing the thief as your father, becoming a completely unfilial person.
Wei Fu's words rang in his ears again. Although she said them deliberately to irritate him, they were still like a sharp dagger, piercing straight into Wei Che's heart.
He brushed away the loose hair on the girl's forehead, kissed her between the eyebrows, and then whispered "I'm sorry".
Unexpectedly, such a slight noise would wake her up.
"You're back..."
Xu Qinghe rubbed her eyes, her voice unusually soft. She didn't hear clearly what he had just said. She just looked at the sky outside and turned to ask him, "Have you eaten outside?"
Wei Che shook his head: "No, what about you?"
Xu Qinghe also shook his head and said softly, "I'm waiting for you."
--I’m waiting for you.
These four simple words threw a huge stone into Wei Che's already rippling heart.
He said nothing, just lowered his head and kissed her.
After a long while, Xu Qinghe pushed him away with a heavy breath, "It's time for dinner."
Wei Che hummed, but buried his head in the crook of her neck and refused to get up.
After hesitating for a while, the two finally had someone serve the meal.
While stirring the rice porridge in the bowl, Xu Qinghe glanced at Wei Che, then quickly looked away.
After taking a bath at night, Wei Che hugged her very tightly, as if he was afraid that she would run away.
"Wei Che, what's wrong with you?"
Something has been wrong with him since he came back today.
Wei Che was silent for a moment, then muffled his words, "When I recover from my injuries, I'll be taking up my post at the Honglu Temple. I can't bear to leave you. How about I stab myself a couple more times with the dagger?"
"What nonsense."
Xu Qinghe raised her hand and gently patted his shoulder. "I heard before I left the palace today that Nan Mingzhao will be coming to the capital in about half a month. If you don't go to the Honglu Temple and find out the ins and outs of it now, how will you find an opportunity to contact him in the future?"
The other person in the portrait has not been found yet, and Nan Mingzhao is their only clue.
No matter how reluctant Wei Che acted, Xu Qinghe watched him closely and made sure he took every meal and medicine. Finally, he entered the Honglu Temple a few days before the Nanyi Kingdom's delegation arrived in Beijing.
After he left, Xu Qinghe had a lot more free time and had more time to go to the restaurant to take care of the business.
The restaurant had only been open for over two months, and not only had it made a lot of money, but its reputation had also spread quickly because of the southern style that permeated the building. In recent days, it had been bustling with people.
Xu Qinghe looked at the account book, seeing the money coming in one by one, and her beautiful eyes rarely narrowed, revealing a slight smile.
On the way back home, she got off the carriage and personally went to get the men's waist belt that she had drawn earlier and had the shop make with precious silk thread. When she went to bed at night, she pretended to put it next to Wei Che's pillow in advance.
Wei Che saw it and naturally smiled happily: "Did you make it yourself?"
Xu Qinghe glanced at him and said, "I drew the pattern."
This girl's hands were the ones that held the brush and painted, and she had never touched a needle and thread before, so how could she do these things for him with her own hands?
"That's enough."
Wei Che lowered his head and kissed her lightly on the lips a few times, intending to just touch and leave, but in the end, as they kissed, he couldn't control himself and started to kiss deeply.
Xu Qinghe's hand was held by him and placed on the pillow. Slowly, his fingers were interlocked with his. His breathing became more rapid. As his chest rose and fell, he realized that the man's hand had slowly moved down.
She quickly held him down and panted softly, "No, I'm having my period."
As soon as Wei Che entered the Honglu Temple, he had to start working on the reception of the Nanyi Kingdom's delegation, and he was almost too busy to do anything.
Now that I heard her say that, I realized it was already late September.
He rested his head on her shoulder, breathing heavily. When his breathing finally stabilized, he brushed away the scattered hair from her forehead and asked, "The weather has been getting colder lately. Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
Xu Qinghe shook his head: "No."
Ever since Wei Che was injured, he felt unbalanced drinking bitter medicine all day long by himself, so he grabbed Xu Qinghe to take the medicine together.
Her hands and feet were still warm even on the early autumn nights, and this time when her period came, she didn't feel as uncomfortable as before.
This time Wei Che was seriously injured, and Xu Qinghe would not mess around with him anymore. As a result, the two of them had not been close for more than a year. To Wei Che, those passionate days seemed like they were in his previous life.
He sighed heavily, held the person in his arms and let him sleep, his mind uncontrollably thinking about what Wei Fu said today.
"If I..."
Xu Qinghe was about to fall asleep, so she asked him drowsily, "What?"
Wei Che sighed heavily and said it was nothing.
Xu Qinghe mumbled something, but she looked very disgusted. However, she finally fell asleep with her head resting on his arm.
**
As October approached, the weather became increasingly colder. The floor heating had been turned on indoors, making the house warm.
Even though Xu Qinghe covered himself with a cloak, he was still shivering in the cold wind when he first went out.
Nanzhi helped to gather her disheveled cloak and advised, "There's no time to check the accounts. It's too cold today. Princess, please go another day."
Xu Qinghe pressed her lips tightly together, burying the lower half of her face in the rabbit fur outside her cloak. She shook her head and waited until she was in the slightly warmer carriage before speaking, "Didn't you want to eat the roasted sweet potatoes in our building? This kind of weather is perfect for eating hot sweet potatoes."
Nanzhi felt warm in her heart, and naturally stopped saying those words of dissuasion, and was looking forward to the sweet and soft roasted sweet potatoes.
After noon, the clouds dispersed and the sun finally came out, making the whole street warm again.
Xu Qinghe finished checking the accounts, and Nanzhi finally got to eat the roasted sweet potatoes as she wished. The two of them, along with Lin Xiao, who had a rare day off, strolled along the street, which was bustling with people again.
After walking around for a while, they saw two teams of imperial guards marching in with spears in hand, and they quickly cleared a path on the street.
Xu Qinghe then remembered that Wei Che had told her that today was the day when the Nanyi Kingdom's delegation would enter the capital.
She suddenly remembered that he had gone to the Honglu Temple before dawn this morning, and she wondered if he had eaten lunch by now...
With the sound of horse hooves, the delegation entered the city gate and walked into the Suzaku Street, surrounded by the imperial guards.
Since the Nannan Kingdom's delegation was led by Prince Nan Mingzhao, Daying naturally sent Prince Yong and two young officials from the Honglu Temple to greet them. The young men rode on tall horses and came slowly. The spacious Zhuque Tianjie was wide enough for four people to walk side by side at the same time.
Xu Qinghe hid in the crowd with everyone else, looking at the man in the crimson official uniform from afar. He looked solemn for the first time, and together with another Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, he protected Nan Mingzhao and Prince Yong.
However, she only took a glance and quickly shifted her gaze to the center. The handsome man in the purple robe was Nan Mingzhao, the fifth prince of Nannan Kingdom.
He sat firmly on his tall horse with a warm smile on his face, making it impossible to imagine that he was a young general who killed countless people on the battlefield.
Perhaps it was because her gaze was too bright and direct, Nan Mingzhao, who was looking straight ahead just now, suddenly shifted his gaze and met hers.
Xu Qinghe was startled, but before she could react, the man in the crimson official uniform immediately rode his horse forward a few steps, blocking Nan Mingzhao's sight.
"Fifth Prince, be careful ahead."
Wei Che smiled at Nan Mingzhao.
Although he knew that he did it on purpose, Nan Mingzhao was not annoyed. He smiled and said "good", then asked, "I wonder if the Shaoqing has ever been to the southern border?"
Wei Che became alert, but remained calm as he replied, "I went there with my father when I was young. What's wrong?"
Nan Mingzhao tilted his head and looked at him with a smile: "Nothing, I just felt that the Shaoqing was somewhat similar to an old acquaintance of mine. Even the girl I just saw seemed to have met her before."
Xie Qi had fought with Nan Mingzhao on the battlefield many times before, but he believed that he had not revealed any flaws in front of this man from beginning to end, and was not worried about being recognized by him.
But Xu Qinghe, this girl has never been to the battlefield, how could Nan Mingzhao have seen her?
"Kyoto is a place of outstanding people and talents. I believe that the Fifth Prince's old friends are also extraordinary people. It is not surprising that they have some similarities."
"Your Excellency is right." Nan Mingzhao still replied with a smile.
Wei Che still had to meet with the delegation at night, so Xu Qinghe naturally didn't wait for him to eat. After taking a shower, he leaned on the couch with a blanket and read a book.
I don't know how long it took, but suddenly I saw the candlelight on the small table flickering, and a man walked in with a slightly unsteady step.
Xu Qinghe raised his nose slightly, "Have you been drinking?"
【Author’s words】
Sorry I'm late again...
I should be busy soon...
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