187 Mother and Daughter
"I want the princess and the young lady to come with me."
The situation in Mengyuan Valley was tense, but in Jizhou City, it was peaceful.
In the early morning, when the sky was still a little light, Xu Qinghe had already gotten up.
She leaned against the window, flipping through the photo album of people who had come and gone in Jizhou City in the past month, while waiting for news from Nanzhi.
Unexpectedly, I heard the voice of the maid at the door welcoming the young lady first.
She looked up from the book and saw her daughter running in with red eyes.
The little girl took off her shoes and climbed onto the couch, then snuggled into his arms.
"What's going on? Wasn't he fine yesterday?"
Yesterday was the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, and it was also my daughter’s first birthday in public. The little girl received many birthday gifts from the elders of Jizhou and was very happy.
Plus, I played late and went to bed late, so I shouldn't have gotten up so early today.
Ping An cried, "Mom, they all say Dad has been poisoned and is dying, and we are going to lose the war again. Is this true? Wuwu..."
The weather was not cold during the day, and Xu Qinghe's clothes were still thin. After a while, her chest felt wet.
She lifted up her daughter's tear-stained face, dipped a handkerchief in water, and wiped away the tears on her face bit by bit.
"After yesterday, Ping'an is already a five-year-old child. Why is he still crying so much, huh?"
Ping'an sniffled and sobbed. After a long time, he finally realized that something was wrong.
Why was her mother so calm and composed despite such a big incident?
“…”
She suddenly had a guess: "Mom, is this fake? Did you know about this a long time ago, so you are not afraid, and therefore not worried about Dad?"
Xu Qinghe nodded and praised her daughter for being so smart.
Ping An was angry, his fair little face puffed up with anger: "Such an important thing, but Daddy didn't tell Ping An! Ping An, don't like Daddy anymore, humph!"
But when it came down to it, it was clear that Xu Qinghe had also concealed the truth from her.
But she didn't think of her mother's faults at all, and instead put all the blame on her father who had been absent from her life for five years.
At this time, Xu Qinghe would definitely speak for Xie Qi.
"Your father thinks Ping An is still young and doesn't want to worry Ping An by talking about these serious matters. He just wants Ping An to have a happy birthday."
Ping'an was silent for a moment, then looked up and asked seriously, "But Mom just said Ping'an is already a big boy. Who should Ping'an listen to?"
“…”
Xu Qinghe coughed lightly, and between maintaining his own face and maintaining Xie Qi's face, he chose to maintain his own face without hesitation.
"Of course you have to listen to your mother. When your father comes back, I will teach him a lesson with you."
"good!"
Ping An nodded heavily, but after a while, he still felt angry.
"It was Ping An's birthday yesterday, but Daddy didn't prepare a birthday gift for him. He must have forgotten."
Xu Qinghe had personally experienced forgetting her birthday on the Chinese Valentine's Day not long ago, so she couldn't help but want to speak up for Xie Qi and explain that he didn't forget it on purpose, after all, she did the same thing at that time.
However, before he could open his mouth, Nanzhi came in through the curtain, her beautiful face full of smiles.
She looked at Ping An and said with a smile, "The Marquis sent a birthday gift from Yingzhou to the young lady. It should have been delivered yesterday, but the messenger took the wrong route, so it has only arrived now."
Xu Qinghe also looked at his daughter with a smile.
But Ping'an was extremely reserved and didn't show any curiosity at all. He just asked Nanzhi to put the package on the table while he went to look at the yard outside.
There is a tall golden osmanthus tree in the yard. Xu Qinghe had it transplanted four years ago. Now it has grown very well. The tree is tall and spread out, with lush and glossy green leaves. Clusters of golden flowers have already bloomed on the tree, clustered on the branches.
When the breeze blew, a burst of clear and sweet fragrance came in.
The daughter raised her nose as if she was sniffing the fragrance of flowers.
But those beautiful eyes would glance over from time to time.
Xu Qinghe smiled softly and deliberately said to Nanzhi, "Is there still no news about the person who sneaked into Jizhou City from Lanzhou? Come with me and ask him again."
"yes."
The master and servant left together.
Ping'an stretched her neck to look outside. When her mother had completely left the yard and she could no longer see what was happening in the house, she immediately opened the package her father had sent her.
It's an eagle made of broken arrow shafts!
This eagle's wings can actually move!
Ping'an happily stood up from the couch, turned the mechanism on the eagle's wings, reached out and lifted the eagle high, and then let go.
After letting go, the eagle's wings opened and closed, and it glided to the high display cabinet!
Ping An immediately clapped his hands and laughed.
Daddy is so awesome!
Outside the courtyard gate, Xu Qinghe poked her head out and secretly looked through the window at her daughter jumping on the couch, and couldn't help laughing.
It’s a good thing that Xie Qi didn’t forget his daughter’s birthday after all.
"The young lady looks exactly like the princess." Nanzhi beside her suddenly said.
Xu Qinghe knew that Nanzhi was not talking about appearance, but personality.
As expected, she continued, "Just like the princess, the young lady is also hard on the outside but soft on the inside. Even her reaction to receiving the gifts is exactly the same."
"I remember when I was little, it was the princess' birthday. The young general was in the Yingzhou military camp, and the birthday gift arrived a day late. The princess accepted the gift but refused to open it, even looking very displeased. But when I was on guard that night, I heard the princess quietly get up and, in the dead of night, open the gift. The princess was even laughing at that moment."
Xu Qinghe's face turned slightly red, and he immediately coughed lightly and walked out on his own.
"What is this? Why don't I remember it? You must have been too busy recently and misremembered it. That's why I haven't done such a thing."
Nanzhi just smiled and didn't expose it.
"Princess, there is someone outside who wants to see you."
The little maid suddenly came trotting over to report.
Xu Qinghe was stunned for a moment.
"Who is it?"
If it is a normal visit, you should send a post first.
The little maid replied, "The other party didn't reveal his identity, only that he had the antidote for the poison that our Marquis was poisoned with."
Antidote?
When Xie Qi wrote to her not long ago, he mentioned that he had been poisoned and told her not to worry, as he had found the antidote and that no matter which poison it was, it had been cured.
If there is any news in the future that she has been poisoned again, tell her not to believe it, it's just a ploy.
This guy has some conscience, and he finally knew to let her know this time, so that she wouldn't worry like she did five years ago.
Therefore, Xu Qinghe was not fooled this time.
"Find a guard with a similar build to mine, disguise him as me, and go with him to test the waters first."
**
After Xu Qinghe estimated that his daughter had played enough, he walked back to his room.
Ping An seemed to be tired from playing. He was holding the eagle's wings in one hand and taking a nap on the soft couch.
How come I'm so sleepy?
She laughed inwardly and wanted to carry her daughter to bed.
However, as soon as she turned over her daughter's face, her pupils suddenly shrank.
Ping'an's smooth and delicate little face was extremely pale, and her usually rosy lips were now blue and purple.
This is clearly a sign of poisoning!
Her hands and feet suddenly felt cold, and all the laughter, relief, and doubts she had just felt were thrown behind her.
Since she came back, she has been strengthening the defense of the princess's mansion, especially being extra careful with the eating utensils. How could she be poisoned for no reason?
Where did this poison come from? Who was it that wanted to harm a child as young as Ping An?
Xu Qinghe thought quickly, his eyes falling on the eagle tightly held in his daughter's hand.
Nanzhi just said that Xie Qi had planned to deliver this birthday gift to his daughter yesterday, but because the person delivering the gift took the wrong way, it was postponed to today.
However, could someone who was entrusted with such an important task by Xie Qi really do something as stupid as taking the wrong path?
She asked Nanzhi to bring a towel and took the eagle from her daughter's hand through the towel.
When Nanzhi discovered that something was wrong with the young lady, he ordered someone to find the palace doctor.
The court doctor came hurriedly and first examined the young lady. Later, he really set his sights on the eagle.
After a careful examination, the court physician replied respectfully, "The young lady has indeed been poisoned, and the poison indeed comes from the eagle made from the arrow shaft. However..."
"Just what?" Xu Qinghe asked with a frown.
"But I have never seen this poison before. It doesn't look like the poison from Da Ling."
If we don't know what the poison is, we won't be able to find an antidote by fighting poison with poison.
Xu Qinghe held his daughter's cold little hand in silence.
The little girl on the bed closed her eyes tightly and did not move, as if she was just taking a nap.
But the pale little face, the purple lips, and the black nails on the little fingernails all made her, as a mother, feel extremely heartbroken.
"Is the person who just said he would give Xie Qi the antidote still here?"
She suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Nanzhi.
Nanzhi nodded and said, "I'm still waiting in the pavilion in the front yard."
"First, dispatch some troops to the Princess's residence to provide protection, then bring that man here. Remember, be sure to remove his weapons first."
The news of Xie Qi's poisoning had been spread in Jizhou City for such a long time. Why did that person come just when his daughter received the birthday gift instead of earlier or later?
The most likely scenario is that the poison my daughter was poisoned by was given by that man.
Half an hour later, Nanzhi arranged everything and ordered people to tie the man up and take him to the room.
It was a face Xu Qinghe was not familiar with, but the man's eyes were staring at her with great interest, like a poisonous snake that was spitting out its tongue wantonly after it had set its sights on its prey.
Having lived in this world for more than twenty years, Xu Qinghe had been looked at with countless strange looks.
What's more, now she is in her territory and everyone around her is her people, so she doesn't need to be afraid.
So she ignored the man's naked gaze and said coldly, "I don't care who you are or what your purpose is, but since you are willing to come now, you must have the antidote for my daughter."
She raised her eyes and met the man's gaze: "Hand over the antidote."
"Of course I can give the antidote to the princess, but I have a condition."
Although the man was tied up, his posture was relaxed.
Xu Qinghe's patience was almost exhausted.
"explain."
"I want the princess and the young lady to go with me."
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