148 Reunion
"I have never met the Marquis before."
Nanzhi only said that Xu Qinghe was in Lanzhou, but did not specify where exactly, and just let him go there to find him himself.
So Xie Qi rode at full speed all the way and finally arrived at Lanzhou City at dusk.
After handing over the pass, the guards at the city gate saw that the visitor was actually Lord Xie, and hurriedly sent two people to take them to see the Governor of Lanzhou.
But I saw a crowd of people in front of me, blocking the intersection.
He Yu asked the person next to him what happened.
The man raised his hand and pointed, "Look, look at the window on the third floor of the restaurant. Some kids were arguing there just now, and during the shoving, a little girl fell out of the window and has been hanging there for half a quarter of an hour."
Someone nearby squinted their eyes and exclaimed, "Ah! Isn't this Ping An? This fall is terrible. Quick, find someone to look for Boss Xu first!"
Xie Qi looked over.
The height of the floor is such that even an adult would be crippled if falling from it, let alone a child of four or five years old.
"This is Boss Xu's daughter. We have to rescue her," said the guard who led the two of them.
Another guard sighed, "Save him? How? The window is low, and a child could easily fall out. It's deep, and anyone inside can't pull the child out. The tiles outside are slippery, and climbing up is impossible. Countless people have fallen out in the past, either dead or maimed. The governor has urged him many times, but Boss Wang won't change. What can we do? I think this child is in great danger today."
The guard who had spoken earlier also sighed and apologized to Xie Qi, "My Lord, I have to excuse myself. I'll go find the child's mother so that we can have an explanation later."
Xie Qi's eyes were still fixed on the little girl who was neither crying nor making a fuss, but was holding tightly onto the window sill with one hand.
He twisted his shoulders. Although it hurt, he could still hold on. So he handed the reins to He Yu and pushed through the crowd to walk towards the restaurant.
He Yu hesitated: "General, your shoulder injury has not healed yet, let me go..."
"Look, look, it's going to fall!"
"Ouch, be careful!"
"careful!"
I only heard a childish voice screaming "Ah", and the child actually let go!
Xie Qi didn't have time to think about it. He stepped lightly and took advantage of the wine jars piled in front of the wine shop to jump up.
There was a cold wind blowing past his ears. Fortunately, he was tall and had long arms. He stretched out his hand and finally grabbed the girl's collar in time.
But this time, the wound was pulled, and he groaned in pain. He only had time to hold the girl in his arms to protect her, but it was difficult for him to land safely.
With a loud crash, Xie Qi rolled down from the eaves holding the child, smashing the wine jars on the ground.
The crowded streets were suddenly filled with the strong aroma of wine.
"General!"
He Yu ran over and saw that the general's face was pale, his lips were bloodless, and the clothes on his shoulders were stained red by the torn wounds.
He was immediately panicked.
More than 20 days ago, the war in Lanzhou was still going on. The general was stabbed several times while trying to save others. The wound on his shoulder was so deep that the bone was visible. It took more than half a month of recuperation before the wound healed.
The general had been traveling day and night and was exhausted. His complexion was already not good, and now that his wound was torn, it was even more unbearable.
Xie Qi was helped to sit up by him, and everything in front of him was dark.
When he recovered and looked down, he met the girl's eyes that were looking at him.
He was stunned.
The pain in his shoulders and back made his head buzz, but when he saw the girl's face with his own eyes, he suddenly felt a bit dazed as if he didn't know what day it was.
At that moment, Xie Qi felt as if he had returned to his youth.
At that time, the young princess accidentally fell and looked at him like this.
Her eyes were red, but she didn't let the tears fall for the sake of face. She just pursed her lips and looked into his eyes with her pair of dark eyes, which made people feel pity for her.
How come this four or five-year-old girl in front of me looks so much like Xu Qinghe when she was a child?
While he was staring at the girl in a daze, the girl was also staring at him.
Those big, black, watery eyes, although not yet fully opened, were already extremely beautiful, and always made him feel as if he had seen them somewhere before.
The little girl stared at her, seemingly in disbelief, and then raised her hand to rub her eyes. When she found that the person in front of her was still the same person, she believed that she was not hallucinating.
"Who are you?" she asked in a childish voice.
Xie Qi came back to his senses, and the pain in his shoulder made him gasp. He paused for a moment, but answered the question irrelevantly: "Are you hurt anywhere?"
The little girl didn't answer him and asked again stubbornly: "I am Ping An, who are you?"
Even this stubborn look is the same as hers.
He couldn't help but laugh weakly: "I'm Xie Qi."
Hearing the name, the little girl pursed her lips, tilted her head to one side, and suddenly burst into tears.
This made Xie Qi feel a little helpless.
In his life, he had only sincerely coaxed one girl, Xu Qinghe, but today he really didn't know how to talk to this crying child.
But for some reason, he was unusually patient in front of this child.
"What's your name? Where are your parents?" he asked softly.
It would have been better if he hadn't asked. After he asked, the child cried even louder, making He Yuxin, who was standing beside him, anxious and distressed.
"General, didn't she just say her name was Ping An? The guard also said they've gone to look for the child's parents. Well, forget about the father and mother for now. The most urgent thing is to find a clinic to check on your injuries!"
If it’s any later, something serious will happen!
The little girl suddenly stopped crying after hearing this and glared at him with red eyes: "I only have a mother, no father!"
He Yu had a headache and was too lazy to be perfunctory: "Okay, okay, if you don't have a father, then you don't have a father. Come on, I'll have someone take you to find your mother now, be obedient."
He reached out, took the little girl's arm, took her out of the general's arms, and handed her to the guard beside him.
"I'll leave this child to you. Excuse me, where is the nearest clinic?"
After receiving the reply, He Yu turned around and saw that the general had fainted on the ground at some point, with blood oozing from his shoulders and back.
He quickly carried the person on his back and ran to the nearest clinic.
When Ping An was held in someone else's arms, he stopped crying, but the tears on his fair and tender face were still there, and he couldn't help sobbing.
She watched the two men hurried away, took a deep breath, and asked softly, "He lost so much blood, will he die?"
The guard thought for a moment and coaxed her, "No, the Marquis is only slightly injured and won't die. Someone has already gone to look for your mother, and Boss Xu will be here soon. Don't be afraid, be safe."
Ping'an is not afraid, he just wants to see his mother as soon as possible.
At this time, Xu Qinghe was on his way on horseback.
It is now around the Lantern Festival, and there are many people on the streets, and the speed of fast horses has been restricted.
She carefully avoided pedestrians on her horse, and in a trance she seemed to see a familiar face among the crowded crowd.
However, in just a moment, the man disappeared.
Her fingers gripped the reins tighter.
...It must be just an illusion.
That person should still be in Yingzhou reorganizing his army at this moment, so how could he appear here with injuries?
Before she had time to think about it, the sound of wind whistled past her ears and she finally arrived at the restaurant.
When Ping'an saw his mother, he twisted himself out of the guard's arms and threw himself into her arms.
"mother……"
Hearing his daughter's weak cry, Xu Qinghe felt a pang of fear in his heart.
At this time, the crowd around had dispersed, but the broken pieces of wine jars in front of the wine shop showed the thrilling scene that had just happened.
She didn't dare to think about what would happen if her daughter really fell out of the window.
When Ping'an stopped crying, she picked up the child and thanked the guard.
The guard shook his head: "Boss Xu thanked the wrong person. It wasn't me who saved the young lady today."
Xu Qinghe: "Who is that?"
The daughter in her arms suddenly hugged her neck tightly and whispered in her ear: "Mom, it was Daddy who saved Ping An."
The sound was so soft that only the two of them could hear it.
"……What?"
Xu Qinghe recalled the figure that had just flashed by in the crowd on the street.
She lowered her head and saw clear sincerity in her daughter's affectionate eyes, which were no different from her father's.
That's true.
Xie Qizhen came to Lanzhou and saved her and his daughter without knowing it.
**
Ever since she was old enough to understand, Ping'an knew that she was different from other children and that she didn't have a father.
Or rather, her father was not with her and her mother.
But because her family was wealthy and powerful, before today, no one around her had ever said anything to make her sad, and most of them just expressed pity.
"Mom, why don't we live with Dad?"
Because he was frightened during the day, Ping'an, who was almost four and a half years old, was no longer coaxed to sleep by his wet nurse, but could lie in his mother's sweet and soft arms.
When talking about what happened back then, Xu Qinghe is now able to respond calmly, and even his facial expression has only changed slightly.
She said: "Before Ping An was born, my father and mother had a quarrel and separated."
Ping An looked up at her mother's expression and asked tentatively, "Did Dad make Mom angry?"
Xu Qinghe: "Yes, it's your father who made mother angry."
Ping An asked again: "Will mother forgive father?"
Xu Qinghe was silent for a moment. When her daughter yawned in her arms, she came back to her senses: "No. Mother will never forgive your father again."
Ping An stopped talking.
After a while, Xu Qinghe heard her daughter's voice again in her arms, saying, "Then mother will find a new father for Ping An."
She lowered her head to look for her daughter's eyes, and saw only the same sincerity as during the day.
"really?"
Ping An nodded.
Xu Qinghe recalled the thrilling experience his daughter had just had during the day.
She pursed her lips, lowered her head and touched her daughter's tender cheek: "Okay, then mother will find a new father for Ping An, and Ping An can choose one herself when the time comes, okay?"
Ping An buried his face in her arms and mumbled "Okay".
After his daughter fell asleep, Xu Qinghe tucked her in and walked out of the room.
Under the eaves, the maid had been waiting for a long time. When she finally came out, she whispered, "Madam, we've investigated everything. During the day, it was the young master of that restaurant who bullied our young lady, saying she was a fatherless and uneducated child. The young lady was so angry that she beat him up. The fat man was very strong and pushed her, causing her to fall out of the window."
Half of Xu Qinghe's face was hidden in the shadows, and his expression was unclear.
After a long while, she finally spoke: "Report the name of the restaurant to Lin Xiao. You can put other things aside for now. Within three days, it must be named Xu."
"Yes." The maid bowed and retreated.
Xu Qinghe returned to the room, looked at his daughter's sleeping face, and imagined the little girl's helplessness when facing the ridicule alone.
After a moment, she hugged her daughter's soft little body.
"Ping'an, it's Mom's fault."
"It was because mother was too impulsive at the time."
It was she who insisted on keeping the child, it was she who was too proud to tell him about it, and it was she who made Ping An a fatherless child.
The daughter in her arms was not asleep yet. She heard her mother calling her in a daze, so she reached out and hugged her tightly, softly calling out "Mom".
It's just enough to melt one's heart.
**
Xie Qi was trapped in a nightmare.
He ran in the long, dark corridor, but could not find any light.
Suddenly, there seemed to be a glimmer of light ahead.
He walked towards the light for a long time, but unexpectedly ran into a bloody sea of corpses and blood.
The next moment, he woke up suddenly.
It's almost dusk outside the window.
He lay on an unfamiliar bed, with a strong smell of medicine lingering in his nose and waves of pain in his shoulder.
"General, you are finally awake!"
He Yu walked in carrying a bowl of medicine.
Xie Qi sat on the headboard, calmed down after taking the medicine, and asked, "Where is this? How long have I been sleeping?"
He Yu exaggeratedly said, "You slept for three days and three nights! I told you that you were injured and couldn't travel, but you refused to listen. I told you that you were injured and couldn't save people, but you refused to listen. Now, your old injuries have relapsed and new ones have been added. Finally, you have a high fever and will have to stay in this clinic for a long time. Are you satisfied?"
Xie Qi was annoyed by his noise and drove him out.
Five days later, his high fever finally subsided completely and he was no longer trapped in nightmares.
After taking the medicine, Xie Qi took He Yu to visit the governor's residence.
The Lanzhou Governor was a thin, gray-haired man in his fifties. After hearing about his request to raise military funds, he paused for a moment and said, "Although Lanzhou isn't wealthy, business has been booming in recent years. If Your Majesty needs to raise funds, I can act as a matchmaker and invite a few wealthy merchants to a banquet in the city. What do you think?"
Xie Qi nodded: "That's very good. Besides, there is one more thing I need to trouble Governor Qin with."
The Governor of Qin: "My Lord, please speak up."
Xie Qi considered and said, "I want to find someone."
Since the girl asked Nanzhi to take the title of Princess Zhaoning for her, she stayed in Lanzhou under an assumed name. She didn't want to reveal her identity, so he naturally couldn't cause trouble for her for no reason.
Therefore, when the Qin governor asked him who he was looking for, he couldn't explain it clearly.
Finally, after pondering for a long while, he simply said, "I'm looking for a girl. Governor, please help me spread the news. When the girl knows it's me who's looking for her, she'll surely come looking for me."
During the time he was unconscious, Nanzhi should have told Xu Qinghe that he had gone to her to raise money. As long as the girl wanted to and knew that he was in Lanzhou, she would be able to find him.
She was so scared that she didn't want to see him at all.
Five days later, in the name of Governor Qin, Xie Qi hosted a banquet for several prominent and wealthy businessmen in Lanzhou City at the Guixiang Building in the city.
The first month of the lunar year is almost over, but the weather is still a little chilly. Today the sky is gloomy and covered with dark clouds, and it looks like it is going to rain.
There were six wealthy businessmen attending the banquet, and five of them had arrived before the rain started.
Governor Qin smiled and said, "Boss Xu may have been delayed by something. Please don't blame me, Your Majesty."
"...The boss's surname is Xu?"
Just a surname made Xie Qi's heart tighten.
Governor Qin nodded and said, "Maybe they are some of the big families in the southern border, and there are two of them among these bosses."
Among the five wealthy businessmen who had arrived, there was a wealthy man who said yes in agreement with Governor Qin.
From this point on, Governor Qin introduced these prominent and wealthy businessmen to Xie Qi one by one.
"...There is another one, Boss Xu who hasn't arrived yet."
Boss Xu laughed and said, "My Lord, please don't underestimate Boss Xu. Although she is a woman, she is very capable. Half of the industries in the city belong to her. In the past, the business of Lanzhou City was developed by her. She is more capable than us men!"
Her surname is Xu, and she is an extremely powerful woman...
Xie Qi tightened his grip on the wine glass, but he knew that there would be no such coincidence in the world.
However, he had come with a purpose. Seeing everyone chatting and laughing happily, he also laughed and said, "You all speak so highly of this Boss Xu. Then Xie really wants to meet him."
At this moment, a loud thunder sounded outside the window, and the roar resounded through the sky. Someone said, "It's raining heavily outside. Boss Xu might be stuck on the road."
For no reason, Xie Qi thought of that girl again.
Whether it was in Jizhou more than ten years ago, or in Kyoto six years ago, she had trouble sleeping because of thunderstorms.
But he knew that the girl was not afraid of the thunderstorm, but was afraid of being separated from her loved ones on a stormy night.
As soon as the thunder died down, the door of the private room was knocked open.
Xie Qi immediately turned his head to look.
The person who pushed the door open was a round-faced maid. She said respectfully, "It was raining heavily on the way, and the carriage broke down halfway. My wife got caught in the rain and is now changing her clothes. I beg for your forgiveness."
Someone laughed and said, "Boss Xu is such a great man, even if I have to wait for another two hours, it will be enough."
Caused a good-natured laugh.
"I haven't seen you for a few days. How come Boss Zhou is still so talkative? It makes me feel even more embarrassed."
Before they saw anyone, they heard the voice of Boss Xu and looked out the door together.
Hearing the familiar voice, Xie Qi could no longer sit still.
Suddenly, everyone heard a few "clang" sounds.
Everyone in the room turned their heads and saw that it was the young and talented Lord Xie who stood up in a panic. His movement was so big that the chair behind him fell to the ground, making a messy noise.
As everyone looked at him, he seemed to be in a state of embarrassment, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet.
The moment the noise came from his side, the door was opened and the late boss Xu walked in.
Boss Xu was wearing a green jacket and skirt, holding a hand warmer in his palm, and there was a circle of fluffy white fur around his collar, which showed that he was a little afraid of the cold.
But when she smiled, her beautiful face seemed to brighten the dark outside the window and brighten everyone's eyes.
Even the knowledgeable Governor Qin took a moment to come back to his senses.
He introduced the person next to him: "My Lord, this is Boss Xu... My Lord?"
But the person next to him seemed to have lost his soul, staring blankly at the person who had just stepped into the room. For some reason, his eyes were even slightly red.
Staring at a woman so blatantly is actually a bit impolite.
Governor Qin took a half step back, blocking Xie Qi's gaze, and deliberately raised his voice: "Lord Xie, this is the extremely powerful Boss Xu we have been talking about, who is no less powerful than a man."
Xie Qi certainly knew that she was extremely powerful, and of course he also knew that she was not inferior to men.
Because the person who came was not someone else, but Xu Qinghe, whom he had been thinking about for many years.
After not seeing her for many years, she is still as beautiful and elegant as ever, like a lotus blooming in a wide pond. Against the backdrop of green leaves, she is so attractive that one can't take their eyes off her.
As long as it is her, all beautiful words can be used to describe her.
He stepped forward and wanted to call her, but no sound came out even after moving his lips.
What should he say?
Ever since coming to Lanzhou, he has imagined the scene of their reunion countless times.
It could be an accidental passing by on a busy street, a cold question in front of the governor's mansion, or an unexpected encounter at a restaurant table.
But I never thought that we would meet again at this banquet today.
Besides being excited, he also felt a little homesick and helpless.
But the girl opposite was extremely calm. She greeted everyone calmly before finally looking at him.
"Who is this?"
Xie Qi was unable to answer for a moment.
Seeing this, someone asked in confusion, "Could it be that Boss Xu and Lord Xie don't know each other?"
When he saw Lord Xie's excited look just now, he thought that they had known each other for a long time and were now meeting again after a long separation.
Xu Qinghe said, "Boss Liu, you're joking. I'm talking to this Lord Xie..."
"——We are strangers, never met before."
We have never met before.
Just eight words brought Xie Qi back to his senses from the surprise of their reunion.
On the day of separation, the girl's resolute face is still in front of my eyes.
——From now on, whether you, Xie Qi, live or die has nothing to do with me, Xu Qinghe, and it's best if we never meet again. Even if fate plays tricks on us and we meet, it's best to pretend we don't know each other. From now on, you and I will just be strangers.
Yes, she had said that they had been just strangers since then.
Xie Qi raised his lips and smiled bitterly, closed his eyes, and when he opened his eyes again, he had finally regained his composure.
"Yes, I don't know this Boss Xu at all. I just recognized the wrong person."
"Wrong person?"
Xie Qi: "Yes, Boss Xu's voice and appearance are similar to mine..."
Xu Qinghe suddenly looked over, with a cold look in his eyes.
Xie Qi swallowed the word "Madam" and changed his words, "Boss Xu looks a bit like an old friend of mine. I just accidentally recognized the wrong person."
Xu Qinghe slowly turned his gaze away.
After the interlude, everyone started to discuss business.
The amount of money Xie Qi wanted to raise was not a small amount, but the southern border had been plagued by war for a long time, and everyone had a sense of justice in their hearts. After hesitating, they waved their hands and decided to donate most of their subordinates' property to the Marquis, just hoping that the Marquis could pacify Nanyi as soon as possible.
Only Xu Qinghe, who arrived late, hesitated for a moment and pretended to be embarrassed: "Unfortunately, business has run into trouble these days and money is tight. It may take another ten days or half a month to raise the military funds."
"No problem, no problem."
Xie Qi's voice was filled with caution: "Whenever it's convenient for you, just give it to me. I'll be in Lanzhou these days and won't leave."
To everyone's ears, it actually sounded somewhat flattering.
Xu Qinghe responded coldly with "Okay" but didn't look at him.
Xie Qi felt disappointed, but with others around him, he couldn't say much.
After the banquet, everyone left one after another. Xie Qi wanted to call Xu Qinghe, but was afraid of making her angry, so he opened his mouth but finally gave up.
Seeing his distraught look, Governor Qin deliberately reminded him, "Boss Xu has a lot of family matters to attend to, and he also has a lovely daughter. He's usually busier than others."
Xie Qi didn't hear what he was saying at all, and just stared at the familiar figure that was gradually moving away.
After the figure completely disappeared, he asked again: "Boss Xu's surname is Xu, what's his name?"
The governor of Qin was silent for a moment, then sighed and replied, "My surname is Xu, and my name is Qinghe."
Xu Qinghe.
Xu Qinghe.
Xie Qi suddenly laughed.
Isn't that her?
This girl doesn't even want to think about her pseudonym.
But Qinghe and Qinghe were clearly waiting for him to pacify Nanyi as soon as possible and restore peace to the southern border.
That night, Xie Qi tossed and turned and could not sleep all night.
At dawn the next day, he called He Yu and told him, "Go and prepare a generous gift."
He Yu said in embarrassment: "General, your injury has just healed a little, where are you going now?"
Xie Qi: "Xu's house."
When they met yesterday, he only said one sentence to her, but it had been on his mind all night long.
The similarity to last night was so intense that it almost drove him crazy.
Therefore, today he would go to Xu's house and ask her to see him in the name of raising military funds.
【Author’s words】
Qin Governor: Don't think about it, she has a baby
Xie Qi: What are you talking about? I don’t understand.
**
I've been revising the last few chapters so many times, and I still can't quite capture the feeling I want when we meet again [burst into tears]
The version left now is the one I am most satisfied with [burst into tears]
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