145 Chapter 145
◎Production. "Stop liking him, okay?"◎
Yang Ye nodded. He was not used to the respect from everyone, but he did not show it on his face.
"Where's the letter?"
Someone then handed over several letters with both hands: "Mrs. Xu has written a letter almost every day these days, and we have confiscated them all. The reply from the Southern Territory today is also here."
Yang Ye opened the letter and read it. The content of the letter was no different from the previous few days. It just asked whether the child's father was safe and some family matters. There was no useful information.
"I thought that with her relationship with Xie Qi, she could get some useful information about the Southern Border Army from the letter, but I didn't expect to get nothing."
As before, Yang Ye took a candle and burned the reply letter from Nanjing, and only carefully kept Xu Qinghe's handwritten letter and put it in his arms.
The attendant then asked, "Your Highness, do we still need to intercept their correspondence?"
Yang Ye nodded: "Everything is normal. Also, I have to go back in the next few days. You should keep an eye on Xu Zhaijian. Remember, no harm is allowed. I want to see her well when I come back."
After giving a few more detailed instructions and settling everything, Yang Ye was about to leave.
As soon as I went out, I found that countless torches were suddenly lit around the City God Temple.
Dazzling pillars of fire illuminated the night, surrounding the small City God Temple. There were at least dozens of people there. Upon closer inspection, one could see that each of them was still holding a weapon, clearly well-trained soldiers in the army.
Yang Ye immediately drew out the sword in his hand and finally realized something was wrong.
He suddenly remembered Xu Qinghe's sudden attentiveness and flattery, weakness and requests during this period of time.
When his attendants failed to escort him out of the encirclement and fell one by one in front of him, and finally he was the only one left tied up with ropes, Yang Ye could not help but smile bitterly.
"I knew she wasn't that simple, but I still fell for her honey trap."
**
From Yang Ye's room, Xu Qinghe found two geographical maps of Da Ling's territory, which were carefully marked with strokes and marks.
She recognized that these were Lanzhou and Yingzhou in the southern border. Both places bordered the Nanyi Kingdom and were vital border areas.
Xu Qinghe’s eyes went dark and he almost fell to the ground.
It turns out that Yang Ye is actually a spy from the Nanyi Kingdom.
She almost gave the thieves an opportunity to harm the southern border!
The matter was of great importance, so she did not dare to delay. After calming down, she asked Lin Xiao to find her paper and pen, and quickly drew a portrait of Yang Ye.
"Give these two maps and Yang Ye's portrait to Nanzhi, and ask her to try to deliver them to Xie Qi."
"Remember, tell Nanzhi not to use my name."
As soon as Lin Xiao left, Princess Jing'an walked in.
"I've ordered the Imperial Guards to imprison Yang Ye in the woodshed, and he's under strict guard now. Fortunately, you asked me to contact Qi Sheng ahead of time and ask him for some help. Otherwise, those people are highly skilled in martial arts and are determined to protect Yang Ye. If we only rely on the people in our mansion, we may not be able to capture him."
Jing'an sighed, a little scared: "I thought he was just a lovelorn man, but I didn't expect him to be a spy. But, how do you plan to deal with him?"
Xu Qinghe said, "Nanyi's spies are naturally best dealt with by the imperial court. Let's send him back to the capital tomorrow morning, but..."
Jing'an understood her hesitation and said gently, "Don't worry, I'll have Qi Sheng find a suitable excuse so you won't be implicated. But you originally approached him to pretend to be a couple because you were worried that the people in town might have other ideas when they saw you were alone and wealthy. Now that Yang Ye is being sent away, what are you going to do in this mansion all by yourself?"
In fact, this is also what is giving Xu Qinghe a headache now. It was her fault at the beginning that she failed to find out Yang Ye's true background, but instead let the wolf into the house, which almost caused a disaster.
After a moment, Princess Jing'an suggested, "Since we're looking for someone to pretend to be your spouse, why not consider someone you know better?"
Someone you know?
Xu Qinghe thought for a moment and shook her head: "Although I've been in Beijing for five or six years, I don't really know anyone, let alone a suitable man."
Princess Jing'an lowered her head and sipped her tea. In between glances, she hurriedly glanced at the girl beside her. Seeing that she was still confused, she had no choice but to point out directly: "If you have anything to ask for, there is someone who will do his best to help you."
Xu Qinghe asked: "Who?"
Jing'an said, "Cousin Wei."
Wei Ming.
Xu Qinghe was suddenly stunned. She seemed not to have heard this name for a long time.
The last time she mentioned him was probably during the Lantern Festival last year, when she was arguing with Xie Qi and bringing up old grudges.
Jing'an continued, "Since the divorce, cousin Wei has never remarried..."
"He can't."
Xu Qinghe interrupted her.
"Why not?"
Jing'an was puzzled and said, "We both know Cousin Wei's character, and he has you in his heart. After he comes here, he will definitely follow your lead and will never have his own little thoughts. He is already the most suitable candidate right now. To be honest, since you appeared at the last birthday banquet for my father, he has come to me more than once to ask about you, wanting to see you again. Qinghe, he still has you in his heart."
But because she didn't have Xu Qinghe's permission, she never told Wei Ming anything. She just said that Qinghe was doing well now and asked him not to worry.
However, it was Wei Ming's sincere affection that made Xu Qinghe reluctant to take advantage of him, otherwise it would turn into harm in the end.
Princess Jing'an could only sigh, "Forget it. You have your own ideas, and I won't try to persuade you any more. If all else fails, I'll ask Qi Sheng to give you a few more men to secretly guard this house. If anything happens, report it to the capital, so I can rest assured."
Xu Qinghe laughed, "You're abusing other people's power more and more easily now."
Princess Jing'an scolded her: "It's all for you."
Because of these requests, she suffered a lot from Qi Sheng.
However, the next morning, the commander of the imperial guards who had led the night before came back with a sad report: "I am incompetent. The thief injured one of our men and has already escaped."
Xu Qinghe's heart sank and he felt extremely regretful.
Knowing that this person was no ordinary person, she should have sent him to Kyoto overnight.
I don’t know where that person will go after this incident, and whether it will have any impact on the war in the southern border.
She was worried about this matter and the news about Xie Qi in the southern border at the same time. She couldn't sleep at night and couldn't eat during the day. The doctor took her pulse several times and his face was full of worry.
"Don't worry too much during pregnancy. It's not good for you or the baby."
Xu Qinghe tried hard not to think about it, but she didn't feel much better. After all, the only good news in the past few days was that she finally found some old ginseng a few days ago, which finally gave her some security.
Seeing her like this, Jing'an refused to leave no matter what.
Xu Qinghe's face was pale as he advised her, "Mid-Autumn Festival is coming in a few days. There will be a family banquet in the palace. How can you not go?"
Jing'an shook her head. "It's a family dinner, and I've never been in good health. I'll just say I'm sick. With Qi Sheng here, Father won't say anything. But you haven't been feeling well these past few days, and you're about to give birth, but there's no definite news from the Southern Territory, so I'm really worried. Just let me stay here, it'll give me some peace of mind, okay?"
The word "will it work" made her think of Xie Qi and she almost cried.
"Okay, Jing'an, thank you very much."
Jing'an's eyes turned red, and she smiled and said, "Between you and me, why should I thank you? If you hadn't jumped into the water to save me, I would have died long ago. What does this mean now?"
The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and in order to make Xu Qinghe less depressed, everyone started preparing according to the Mid-Autumn Festival customs so that they would have something to do.
On the night of August 14, Xu Qinghe and Jing'an sat in the yard together, watching Lin Xiao and several other little girls making lanterns together.
After a while, the doorman came to report that two letters had been delivered from the Qi Mansion.
One letter to Xu Qinghe and one letter to Jing'an.
Xu Qinghe took a look and saw that it was Nanzhi's reply.
The letter began by assuring her that everything was fine with Nanjing and Xie Qi, that the serious injuries and deaths were just rumors, and that Madam should not worry. It then briefly recounted the matters she had previously explained and how everything was going smoothly. Finally, fearing she might not believe it, Nanzhi reiterated that everything was indeed fine with Nanjing and Xie Qi, and urged her not to worry and to focus on her pregnancy.
But the more Nanzhi emphasized this, the more deliberate Xu Qinghe felt it was.
She raised her eyes to look at Jing'an, and saw that she had just put away her sad expression and turned to smile at her: "It's a letter from Qi Sheng, asking me when I will be back."
Xu Qinghe pretended not to notice and nodded. Not long after, he said that he was sleepy and didn't want to be outside in the wind, so he turned around and went back to the dormitory.
At midnight, Jing'an beside her was already fast asleep. She opened her eyes, walked to the dressing table, and found the letter in Jing'an's hand during the day in the moonlight, which was said to be sent by Qi Sheng.
She opened the envelope and saw Nanzhi's handwriting.
——Everything is white, preparing for the funeral.
In just eight words, her eyes went dark and she accidentally knocked over her makeup box. The clanging sound immediately woke up Jing'an, who usually slept lightly.
When she heard Jing'an's panicked cry, her five senses finally returned and she realized that warm liquid was flowing out from under her body.
When everyone helped her lie on the bed, Xu Qinghe held Jing'an's hand, took a deep breath, and asked her: "Tell me the truth, how is he?"
Jing'an felt deeply regretful. Nanzhi had written her a letter to tell her the truth, just to get her to keep it a secret from Qinghe. She should burn the letter today and put an end to it all! It was better than letting Qinghe get pregnant now!
"What Nanzhi said in the letter is just the information she got. Who knows, it might even be false. If they were really preparing for a funeral, how could there be no news from the emperor in the palace? You are so worried that you don't see the key to this. So don't worry about it for now. The most urgent thing is to give birth to the child safely. We can deal with the rest later. Okay?"
Xu Qinghe was sweating from the pain on her head. Her eyes were red, but she nodded in the end.
The backyard of Xu's house suddenly became busy.
Some were boiling water, some were getting medicine, and some were making soup. Because the doctor said she would be in action in the next few days, the mansion had made preparations in advance. In addition, with the help of several maids sent by the Concubine Chen, there was order in the chaos.
Xu Qinghe clenched the hanging soft thing in his hand, and felt pain in his lower body, even breathing was painful.
The nanny handed her some egg custard, but she shook her head and had no energy to eat it.
The nanny gently coaxed her, "Don't worry, Madam. Giving birth is a strenuous task. Madam, the labor hasn't started yet. You need to eat something to save your strength."
After hearing this, Xu Qinghe had to distract himself and swallow some of it, but he discovered in despair that his body also hurt when he swallowed.
She suddenly felt a little regretful.
Giving birth was so painful, why did she insist on keeping the child?
The bloodline of the Xu family and the descendants of the Xie family are far less important than herself. What if she really died during childbirth?
She still has so many regrets that have not been made up. She has not even returned to her hometown, never met her old friends, and never said to her parents' tablets: My daughter is back.
Just this once, she thought, just this once.
No matter what, even if the sky falls, she will never have another child.
Outside the house, Princess Jing'an was extremely anxious.
Qinghe's groans of pain gradually turned into screams, almost making people's hearts tremble.
When a maid finally came out from inside the room, she rushed over and asked, "It's been two or three hours, why isn't it healed yet?"
The nanny wiped the sweat from her forehead and said with embarrassment, "Master, this baby of yours is not considered premature, but unfortunately, your wife has been restless recently and has no strength to give birth. In addition, the baby is in a slightly abnormal position, so it is particularly difficult."
Jing'an almost cried out: "Then quickly correct the fetal position!"
She had seen women who had difficulty giving birth due to malposition of the fetus, so she naturally knew the pros and cons involved.
The nanny hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Master. A doctor has already taken care of it. He has also prepared some ginseng soup. I believe he will be well soon."
It was said to be fast, but Jing'an felt that the days were passing by slowly. The screams inside were getting louder and louder. She couldn't help it and simply lifted the curtain and rushed in.
The man who used to be cool and dignified was now so pale that no trace of blood could be seen. He lay on the bed in a mess, and even his clothes were soaked with sweat.
She clenched her hands; her palms felt sticky yet ice-cold.
Before she could even open her mouth, Jing'an had already burst into tears.
Xu Qinghe squeezed her hand tightly, unable to tell whether it was sweat or tears on her face. She felt that all the sensation in her body had disappeared, leaving only the pain there.
"Thank you, thank you..."
Princess Jing'an cried, "Qinghe, can you please just leave him alone for now? If you continue like this, his life or death is unknown, but you'll be halfway to death first!"
Xu Qinghe was in so much pain that he couldn't breathe and passed out.
Princess Jing'an was even more at a loss. Fortunately, the nanny quickly brought ginseng soup and fed it to Xu Qinghe spoonful by spoonful. A doctor came with a needle and inserted a few needles into the important acupuncture points, which made the person on the bed slowly wake up.
Jing'an cried, "Qinghe, please don't like him anymore, okay? He treated you like that, you should hate him, it's all his fault, it's all Xie Qi's fault..."
It’s all Xie Qi’s fault, it’s all his fault.
Hot tears rolled down Xu Qinghe's eyes, mixed with cold sweat and flowed into his hair which was already wet with sweat.
Yes, it’s all Xie Qi’s fault.
If he hadn't insisted on marrying her, how could she have gotten pregnant?
If he hadn't caused her so much worry and made her life or death uncertain, how could she be in this situation today?
"Madam, madam, push harder, I can already see the child's head!"
Xu Qinghe exerted more force, and the hatred in his heart became even stronger.
"Xie Qi, you should..."
But no matter how much she hated him, she couldn't say the word "damn it".
After all, people who are going to the battlefield are most afraid of this.
In the end, that mixture of love and hate finally turned into a cry: "Xie Qi, you bastard!!"
As the morning light faded, along with the last curse, everyone was finally greeted by the clear cry of a baby.
At the same time, thousands of miles away in Yingzhou in the southern border, Xie Qi woke up from his sleep.
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