178 Rejected
◎ "Xu Qinghe, when do you plan to marry me?"◎
Xu Qinghe also came to Yingzhou several times when he was young.
Compared with the bustling Lanzhou, the people of Yingzhou are more solemn and taciturn. Although there are small stalls on the streets, no one is shouting to sell things. They just quietly guard the stalls, selling when someone comes, and waiting when no one comes.
She actually likes this kind of tranquility.
"Unlike Lanzhou and Jizhou, Yingzhou is often at war, so people are more taciturn. You don't know, when I first came back five years ago, there was no one on the streets. I spent a lot of effort to make everyone feel lively again."
Xu Qinghe sat sideways on the horse, deliberately looking forward, not giving him any chance to see her expression.
"Who asked you?" she said calmly.
But Xie Qi could hear a hint of lightness in the voice.
It seemed that his decision to go out and greet her immediately was a good one, as it prevented her from remembering his sin of leaving without saying goodbye a few days ago.
"I've bought a house in Yingzhou City in recent years. How about taking you there?"
Xu Qinghe finally turned around and looked at him, but frowned: "Jing'an told me that Qi Sheng came with an imperial decree. His Majesty wants to take away your military power and imprison you back to the capital."
It's such a big thing, but this person has no reaction at all.
Xie Qi smiled at her: "So you were worried about me, so you set out from Jizhou early in the morning to look for me?"
Xu Qinghe glared at him: "I'm talking to you about serious matters."
"Okay, okay, let's get down to business. Don't worry, I know you want to use your status to support me. After all, many of the soldiers in the army today are still the prince's subordinates. However, I have already resolved this matter, so there is no need to worry."
Solved?
"How did you solve it?"
Xie Qi suddenly touched his nose and said with a guilty conscience, "I shot Qi Sheng, and he's still lying in bed."
"What?"
Xu Qinghe squeezed his arm tightly and widened his eyes.
Qi Sheng was seriously injured, so naturally he couldn't take over the military command.
"But you are clearly challenging His Majesty's authority by doing this. Do you think others can't see what you are planning?"
Xie Qi said indifferently, "I don't care whether he can see it or not. It was his fault for not distinguishing between loyalty and treachery. Now there is no one available in the Da Ling army, and Qi Sheng is injured. What else can he do except leave everything to me? As for what happens next..."
He leaned close to the girl's ear.
The hot air spread beside his ears, and Xu Qinghe subconsciously shrank his neck and avoided him again.
Xie Qi pretended to be dissatisfied: "I want to talk to you about serious matters."
Only then did Xu Qinghe put her ear close to his lips again.
Xie Qi smiled lightly and said to her seriously, "The one sitting on the dragon throne won't be able to sit there for long."
"What do you mean?"
Xu Qinghe turned around and bumped into his nose.
Xie Qi straightened up, rubbed his nose, glanced at the Xie Mansion on the plaque, and said, "We're here. I'll go in and talk to you."
This time, Xu Qinghe didn't let him hug her. She just walked upright beside him, and the two of them kept a proper distance.
After entering the inner courtyard, he discovered that the scenery and layout of the main courtyard where he lived were exactly the same as their Fenghe Courtyard when they were in the Fuguo Mansion.
When they got married, he specially decorated the yard according to her boudoir in the palace.
Now, he has arranged this place according to Fengheyuan.
Xu Qinghe glanced at the surrounding scenery lightly, but said nothing, as if he didn't notice this.
Xie Qi ordered someone to prepare tea and took her directly to the couch in the second room.
"I don't come to this house often, but my people work very quickly. Tea will be here soon. Please wait for a moment."
Xu Qinghe ignored his bright smiling eyes and was still thinking about the serious matter he was talking about.
There was no ice in the room yet, so Xie Qi took out a folding fan to fan her.
While fanning himself, he explained with a smile, "Do you remember that Queen Wei?"
Queen Wei.
It was that person who discovered her and Wei Che's private meeting in the rockery on New Year's Eve.
It was said that he was seriously ill and did not care about the important affairs of the palace, but after Queen Mother Wei lost power, that man miraculously began to manage the palace affairs again.
Soon afterward, the Wei family fell from power, Concubine Zhao was implicated and banished to the cold palace, and Concubine Chen was not interested in external affairs, so Empress Wei was the only one in power in the palace.
Xie Qi said, "In the past, we all underestimated this person. Later, I found out that Empress Wei was in love with someone else, but was forced to enter the palace by the Queen Mother Wei. She has always held a grudge against him, and in the end, she even..."
This person deliberately dragged out the tone, waiting for her to ask.
Although Xu Qinghe was curious, he refused to let him have his wish. He just calmly looked at the wisteria trellis outside the window.
Xie Qi had no choice but to speak up himself: "She secretly poisoned our Majesty."
"…What?!"
Xu Qinghe looked back in shock.
It was clearly such a serious matter, but Xie Qi insisted on smiling and saying to her, "Within six months, there will be a national mourning. So, Qinghe, when are you planning to marry me?"
Xu Qinghe was still thinking about Queen Wei, and glared at him in dissatisfaction when she heard this.
"Why are you glaring at me? I'm serious. Do you really want me to serve you every night without a name or status? I'm not happy with that. I must have an identity."
Xu Qinghe snorted, "I don't think I've even settled the score with you for putting our daughter in danger that night and then leaving without saying goodbye."
Seeing the opportunity, Xie Qi immediately explained.
"It was indeed a moment of negligence on my part regarding my daughter. Next time I take my daughter out to play, I promise not to let her out of my sight, even for a moment."
"As for leaving without saying goodbye, Ancestor, that's really not my fault. If you want to blame someone, blame Chen Tai. It was that kid who took it upon himself to bring me out and even forgot to inform you. My wounds had worsened at the time, and no one treated me. I was unconscious and unconscious. If I hadn't been treated in time, I wouldn't be able to see you today."
Xu Qinghe looked over dimly: "Your second thing, are you blaming me for not sending a palace doctor to you?"
Xie Qi smiled flatteringly: "How dare I? But speaking of which, when do you plan to marry me?"
At this moment, the butler was waiting at the door with tea and a group of servants carrying ice.
Xie Qi had ice brought in, personally went to get the tea, and poured it for her personally. He saw that she really sipped the tea slowly and leisurely.
This tea is served at a really bad time.
So he asked again: "When do you plan to marry me?"
Xu Qinghe finally looked up at him and calmly revealed his trump card: "Do you think Ping An has accepted you as his stepfather?"
At this time, she actually deliberately led him to misunderstanding.
Xie Qi thought of the time when she was waiting to give birth in Ting'an Town, and the more she thought about it, the more heartbroken she felt.
He should have been by her side when she was so vulnerable and important.
But in the end, not only did it not happen, but she was also exhausted by spreading the false news, which caused her to have a miscarriage and eventually a difficult delivery.
The expected teasing did not appear. Xu Qinghe saw tears gradually appearing in the handsome eyes of the man in front of her.
She subconsciously clenched the teacup in her hand, and her heart couldn't help but beat wildly.
Has he discovered something?
"Qinghe, Ping'an is my daughter's business. How long are you going to keep it a secret from me?"
His voice trembled slightly, but he still looked over with a raised corner of his mouth.
Little did they know that this smile was a million times uglier than crying.
Xu Qinghe hurriedly avoided his gaze.
She was rarely flustered and made up her mind several times, but she was never satisfied.
In the end, he just said: "I didn't mean to hide it from you, you are just too slow."
"You insisted on telling me that you were married and had a daughter with another man, and now you blame me?"
After sipping enough tea and the room feeling cooler, he simply stood up, walked around the small table, picked up the girl who was still unwilling to look up at him, and went straight to the inner room.
"Xie Qi, what are you doing in broad daylight?!"
Her back had already sunk into the soft bed, but Xie Qi didn't say a word. He just looked at her deeply, and then pressed down to kiss her.
Xu Qinghe grabbed his clothes and tried to push him away, but heard him groan.
"Ancestor, be gentle, you are still injured."
She paused, remembering what Ping'an told her after waking up, that her father was hit by the beam of the house.
He was sure that she would be soft-hearted, so he brought up this matter on purpose so that he could push her onto the bed and kiss her hard.
When it was finally over, the tip of her tongue felt numb. She looked at the person on her body and didn't say anything for a long time.
Xie Qi lowered his head and sucked her swollen lips again. When he met her tearful eyes, his heart ached.
He tucked the messy hair around her ears behind her ears.
"I never doubted what you said, so I really thought you had another man and another man's daughter."
"After returning from Caoqu Township, I sent someone to Lanzhou City to inquire about your husband. I found out that there had been no such person since you came to Lanzhou."
"But you have a child, a child who looks just like you. That child looks like you, has your temperament, and is undoubtedly your child. However, his age is obviously irrelevant to me."
"But I want to be with you. I've wanted to be with you since I was a child, for over twenty years. So, even if you ask me to be your child's stepfather and raise another man's child wholeheartedly in the future, I'm willing to do that."
"But I didn't expect that you would actually lie to me. Xu Qinghe, you've deceived me so badly in the past six months."
Hot liquid dripped down his cheeks. Xu Qinghe blinked and found that tears were rolling out of the corners of his eyes.
Two tear marks converged from different directions and finally merged into one.
She could guess the pain he was talking about and even empathize with him.
"But I don't regret it, Xie Qi. I don't regret lying to you."
"I know, I know..."
Xie Qi was afraid that she would see him crying, so he lightly pressed on her and buried his head in her neck.
He muttered, "Because I lied to you like this before, right? So, you want to lie to me like this too, so that I can experience the struggle and pain you felt back then..."
Thinking back to those days, Xu Qinghe felt aggrieved and wanted to cry.
She bit her lip, but tears still fell.
She raised her hand and hit the person on her back hard.
"It's good that you know this. You deserve it, Xie Qi. You deserve it."
Xie Qi said nothing and let her hit him.
After they had fought enough, he bent down and kissed her again.
He licked the tears from her cheeks inch by inch and apologized sincerely: "It was my fault back then. I shouldn't have lied to you all the time, whether it was about my identity or the truth. But now, you've also lied to me once. After going back and forth, let's call it even, okay?"
Xu Qinghe didn't respond to him.
Xie Qi held her lips and kissed her again.
After a long time, Xu Qinghe pushed him away, panting, and calmed her breathing.
Xie Qi suddenly smiled: "If you don't say anything, I'll take it as your agreement. When I defeat Nan Yi, we'll get married, okay?"
Xu Qinghe's breathing gradually calmed down. He turned to ask him, "If the crown prince is not appointed yet and His Majesty dies, who will inherit the throne? Prince Shun?"
"Don't change the subject, answer me first."
Xie Qi was furious and bit her smooth cheek.
Xu Qinghe pushed him away and avoided his gaze.
"I'll think about getting married again."
"Think about it? Why do you still need to think about it?"
Xie Qi was in a panic. Hadn't she, like him, been looking forward to their engagement coming true?
Xu Qinghe said, "What I said to you in the living room that day wasn't entirely false."
The words from that day would often echo in Xie Qi's ears for a long time. He felt extremely painful every time he heard them, but he still recalled them over and over again with great nostalgia.
Because that was the first time the girl had spoken so much to him since they met again.
Therefore, he could quickly repeat the words in his mind.
Finally, I think of two sentences.
—Over the past few years, I've finally managed to tear you out of my heart, and the wounds there have finally healed. Why should I start over again with you just because you say you regret it? There's no such good thing in the world, and there's no need for me to suffer the same pain again.
—What happened back then has made me see you clearly. I no longer dare, and will not, like you. Perhaps what I loved before was just the young general in my imagination. So, let's end it here.
Xie Qi's eyes turned even redder. He stared at her intently for a moment and asked in a trembling voice, "So, you really don't like me anymore? You really don't want me anymore?"
Xu Qinghe's lips curved slightly, and she raised her hand to gently stroke his cheek, saying softly, "How could I really not like you? If I didn't like you, I wouldn't have done that with you. It's just... I don't like you as much as I did when I was young, or as much as I did when we were in Kyoto. I don't like you so much anymore that I have to marry you."
Xie Qi suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything must be done step by step. He will engrave these four words deeply in his mind in the future.
"It's okay, I can wait until you are willing again."
The two finally talked it out, and Xu Qinghe reached out and gently pushed his chest.
"Get up, you're pressing me so hard I can't breathe."
Xie Qi stood up with a smile, and took her hand to help her sit up.
After this incident, it was already dark. Xie Qi took out the night pearl from his arms and used it to light up all the lights in the room.
Xu Qinghe looked at the house again along the direction where the light was coming from.
It was exactly the same as it was back then, even the paintings on the wall were the ones she had painted back then.
After Xie Qi lit the lamp, he sat down beside her, pulled her into his arms, and leaned her against his shoulder.
"In the past five years, whenever I have time, I will come back and stay overnight."
Xu Qinghe just responded with a dull "hmm".
Xie Qi didn't want to force her to say anything, but asked, "When can I see my daughter?"
Things are different now. She is his daughter, but he has never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father.
Even though he was thick-skinned enough in front of her, he was too embarrassed to ask directly.
Xu Qinghe said, "Qi Sheng is injured, Jing'an will definitely come to see him. Tomorrow, I'll send Jing'an a message and ask her to ask Ping'an if he's willing to come."
Xie Qi smiled and said, "I was wondering why you were going back to Jizhou out of the blue. It turns out that Princess Jing'an has come. How is it, meeting an old friend? Is it a pleasure?"
Xu Qinghe hummed, "Of course it's more enjoyable than meeting you."
Xie Qi snorted angrily, "But I have to tell you, there are military regulations. No unrelated women are allowed to enter, not even princesses. Those who violate the rules will be punished with military sticks. Back then, you sneaked in on my birthday, and it was me who was punished and beaten with twenty military sticks..."
Xu Qinghe was about to retort, "Weren't you happy about her coming back then?"
But I found that the man's voice was getting weaker and weaker.
She looked up and suddenly realized that Xie Qi's face had become redder and redder, but his lips were pale.
She reached out and touched his forehead, which was burning hot.
And her hands were stained with blood.
She had put it on when she hit him on the back just now.
"you……"
Xie Qi closed his eyes, held her wrist, and comforted her softly.
"Don't be afraid, Qinghe, it's just a wound. Just ask the housekeeper to go find Uncle Fan in the army, don't be afraid..."
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