195 Birthday
◎ "Only by giving yourself to me can it count."◎
Ever since Xie Qi arranged the affairs of Yingzhou and Lanzhou, he has been completely idle. Every day he either tutors his daughter in school or watches Xu Qinghe drink medicine.
The girl was seriously injured, but she was afraid of suffering. She boiled bowl after bowl of medicine, and sometimes she pretended not to see it even when it was about to cool down.
Because the wound was on her heart and could not be touched easily, Xie Qi did not dare to feed her medicine using the original method, so he could only coax her in a low voice.
Fortunately, everyone in Jizhou knew that the princess was injured and needed to rest, so they would not invite her even if there was a banquet. Xu Qinghe could only stay in the mansion every day, and Xie Qi could see through her every move.
Even if he could occasionally escape from his sight while this man was handling military affairs, there was a daughter who had long been bribed waiting for him.
"Daddy said that Ping An should accompany him to supervise Mom taking the medicine."
Ping An came over with the medicine bowl and said to Xu Qing He with a smile, "Mother, you must take the medicine on time so that you can get better quickly. Ping An is still waiting for you to take him to go horse racing."
Although there is no more snow in the southern border, the weather is getting colder day by day. Going horse racing at this time is no different from suffering.
Xu Qinghe sighed in his heart, but in the end he had no choice but to drink the bowl of bitter medicine.
Ping An immediately handed over a piece of Tengluo cake to relieve the bitterness on his tongue.
By the middle of winter, the weather was extremely cold. Even though Xu Qinghe didn't want to take medicine, he would rather stay in the dormitory.
She was leaning on the couch by the window reading a book, and Xie Qi hugged her from behind and read with her.
The man was warm, like a big stove, which was especially useful in this winter, so Xu Qinghe did not push him away.
After reading a page, he was about to turn the page when the person behind him extended his long fingers and held them back.
The sound of jade colliding was very clear, but the heat on Xu Qinghe's neck still made her ears red.
"Why are you turning the page? I haven't finished reading yet."
With a "snap", Xu Qinghe slapped his hand away.
"If you want to read it, go and take the book yourself. Why do you have to come to see me?"
He said he wanted to coax her, and this is how he did it? How insincere.
After turning a few more pages, Xu Qinghe's throat felt a little dry. Before he could open his mouth, warm tea was already handed to his lips.
When she looked up, she met Xie Qi's smiling eyes.
Humph, that’s pretty good.
She drank the tea, and soon, perhaps because her body was too warm, she felt a little drowsy.
I couldn't read the words in the book anymore, and my head had no strength left, so I kept banging my head against the small table.
"Just sleep if you're tired. There's nothing to do right now, so why force yourself to do anything?"
Xie Qi promptly stopped the girl's head, which was about to get a bump, and there was an obvious smile in his voice.
Xu Qinghe covered her lips and yawned, glancing at him sideways.
Xie Qi raised an eyebrow in understanding, picked up the girl's legs, lifted her up horizontally, gently carried her back to the bed, took off her shoes and socks, and tucked her tightly into the quilt.
Seeing him turn around and leave, Xu Qinghe half raised her eyes and hooked the man's little finger.
"Aren't you coming?"
The voice was soft and mellow, and also confused.
Xie Qi looked back and couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her lips.
Xu Qinghe leaned forward and raised her arms to hook them around his neck.
Xie Qi took advantage of the situation and pressed down, and the originally spacious bed suddenly became much smaller.
Although the wounds on her body had already scabbed over, Xie Qi did not dare to act rashly. He entangled her tongue and kissed her for a few breaths before letting her go.
He raised his hand to brush away the strands of hair on her forehead and said in a hoarse voice, "I have some military matters to attend to. You go to sleep first. I'll come back to accompany you in the evening. Is that okay?"
Xu Qinghe closed her eyes and nodded. She was so sleepy that she quickly let go.
Xie Qi did return to the study in the front yard, but not to deal with military affairs.
The table was covered with fine rice paper, and his daughter was already waiting there with a smile. He picked up the pen and pondered for a long time, and after a few breaths he finally decided to put pen to paper.
**
On the twenty-fifth day of the winter month, Doctor Fan came to see Xu Qinghe again.
"Well, that's right. The injury is completely healed. Although it affected the heart meridian, it was treated promptly and he was well cared for, so there's no root cause of the disease."
Today, I no longer have to worry about my diet and can finally eat spicy food.
From mid-August to now, she has been recovering from this injury for more than three months. During this period, she could not do anything. Apart from reading and painting, all she did all day was take medicine and enjoy the scenery. Even Xie Qi and Ping An had to supervise her if she wanted to take a few more steps.
Now that she was finally well, her first thing to do was to take a stroll in the garden on a sunny day.
The Princess's Mansion actually still looks like the old Nan'an Prince's Mansion. There is a large plum garden in the southeast, a five-story Star-Picking Tower in the northeast, a huge lotus pond in the northwest, and a bamboo forest in the southwest.
Standing on the Star-Picking Tower, Xu Qinghe could overlook the entire princess's mansion.
The red plum blossoms are in full bloom, the green bamboos are lush and green, and although the flowers in the lotus pond have not yet bloomed, when the breeze blows, ripples appear on the water surface.
In addition to these, there are various flowers cultivated by professionals blooming in the mansion, adding bright colors to the quiet and gray mansion in winter.
Although there was a cold wind blowing, Xu Qinghe didn't feel the cold wind as he was holding the hand warmer. Instead, he felt very comfortable.
Now that everything is over, it's time for them to enjoy life.
**
On the twenty-ninth day of the winter month, when the sky was just getting light, the person beside him began to grope to get up.
Xu Qinghe turned over and hooked her finger around his, then asked him drowsily, "Why did you get up so early today?"
Whenever she was woken up by him, Xie Qi always liked to turn around and kiss her, and this time was no exception.
After only a few kisses, Xu Qinghe's breathing was still steady, so he pinched her fingertips and softly told her to fall asleep first.
"I have some military matters to attend to. It's still early, so you should sleep a little longer."
Xu Qinghe hummed and fell asleep again.
When I opened my eyes again, it was already bright outside.
After washing up, she waited in the main room for dinner, but saw that all the maids in the room were smiling strangely with their heads down, even Nanzhi was no exception.
Just when I was suspicious, familiar footsteps were heard outside the house. There were two people walking, one fast and one slow.
It’s Xie Qi and Ping An.
Xu Qinghe glanced over and found that both of them were holding trays decorated with gold-painted and colorful treasure-shaped flowers.
"Didn't you say there was military business to deal with?"
She first looked at Xie Qi, then at her daughter: "Shouldn't Ping An also be listening to the teacher's lecture today?"
Xie Qi didn't answer his own question, but spoke up for his daughter: "Today is a special day, I gave my daughter a day off."
Is it a special day?
It was not until Xu Qinghe saw the bowl of steaming noodles on Xie Qi's plate that he remembered what was so special about today.
It's her birthday.
Xie Qi laughed and, without any hesitation in front of his daughter, scratched the girl's nose with his warm fingers.
"It's okay if you forgot my birthday, but why can't you remember your own?"
Ping An didn't find it strange to see her parents being so close. Instead, she excitedly said to her mother, "It's okay if Mom forgets. Ping An will remember your birthday for you! Look, this is the wisteria cake Ping An made for Mom. Mom loves it the most!"
The crust of the vine cake was golden and crispy, yet as thin as a cicada's wing, with a few plum blossom patterns baked on it, and the lavender filling was faintly visible.
Take a deep breath, and the faint and cool fragrance of wisteria will penetrate your heart.
There shouldn't be wisteria flowers at this time of year, but the gardeners in the palace are very skilled and have actually grown quite a few in the greenhouse.
Xie Qi raised his eyebrows slightly, unable to resist pointing the finger at his daughter: "Did Ping An really do this himself?"
Ping An touched her nose guiltily, looked at her mother and said, "Ping An picked the flowers herself, mixed the filling herself, and... this smallest one was kneaded by Ping An herself, and... finally, Ping An personally handed it to Mom!"
As for kneading the dough, mixing the fillings, drawing the patterns and taking the food out of the pot, the cook is busy.
Xu Qinghe didn't expect her five-year-old daughter to cook seriously, and the young lady from the princess's mansion didn't need to do that.
It is enough that my daughter has such a heart.
She picked up the smallest piece of wisteria cake. Although it was a little deformed and the pattern was crooked, it was made by her daughter.
When I put it in my mouth, I felt it was sweeter than any cake I had ever eaten before.
Seeing the beautiful smile on her mother's lips, Ping'an couldn't help but stick close to her mother and said happy birthday to her with a smile.
Xu Qinghe lowered his head and kissed his daughter's forehead, "Thank you for being safe."
The mother and daughter were expressing their affection here when two knocks were heard from the table over there.
Xie Qi supported his chin, looked over with a resentful look, and then nodded at the bowl of noodles in front of him.
"Have you had enough cakes? If you delay any longer, the longevity noodles I made 'by hand' will become clumpy."
He emphasized the word "with his own hands" particularly strongly.
In fact, when he was about to come in, Xu Qinghe had already felt a warm and fragrant wave hitting his face.
Looking over now, one can see thin, white, and evenly shaped noodles in the jade bowl, with a double-yolk poached egg lying horizontally, interspersed with emerald green onions, coral shrimp, white jade bamboo shoots, and a few fresh vegetable leaves.
More importantly, there was obviously enough chili in the noodles, with a thin layer of red oil floating on it, which was just what Xu Qinghe liked. Just looking at it made one's mouth water.
Xu Qinghe raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but wonder: "Did you really make this yourself?"
Xie Qi also raised his eyebrows and replied: "Of course, including the firewood for the fire, all was chopped by this general himself. From kneading the dough to serving it in bowls, I never asked anyone else to do it."
Ping An snorted softly after hearing this, thinking that her father was deliberately competing with her.
She is still a child, her father is so shameless!
Xu Qinghe raised his hand and touched his daughter's head, but he laughed at him: "You might as well rebuild the stove."
"It's best to even grow and chop your own firewood!"
Ping An has her mother's back, feeling justified.
Xie Qi laughed. How could he really compare himself with his daughter?
He pushed the jade bowl in front of Xu Qinghe and stuffed the chopsticks into her palm. "Try it and see how it tastes."
This noodle smells very fragrant and looks very chewy.
Xu Qinghe took a mouthful of noodles, then drank a mouthful of soup with a spoon. After a pause, he suddenly recalled some past events.
She raised her eyes and met Xie Qi's expectant gaze.
She said calmly, "It's delicious. Have you tried it yourself?"
Xie Qi seemed to be relieved at first, but soon became proud again, "How can I possibly taste your longevity noodles? But when I tried to make it before, I asked someone else to taste it, and as long as there was no problem, it's fine."
Ping'an poked her head out to look at her mother's face, swallowed, and looked at her mother expectantly.
"Mom, can I have a taste of Ping An?"
Xu Qinghe stroked her daughter's cheek and said, "This is my longevity noodles. No one else can eat it. Wait until next year for your birthday and ask your father to cook you another bowl."
"Ping'an wants four bowls. Daddy owes Ping'an four years of birthday gifts!"
Xie Qi naturally smiled and agreed.
The father and daughter were talking while Xu Qinghe was concentrating on eating noodles.
After eating a few more bites, she put down her chopsticks.
Xie Qi saw this and advised her, "At least eat the fried egg."
Looking at the man's expectant face, Xu Qinghe couldn't bear to refuse, so he slowly ate the fried egg.
However, even so, there was still half a bowl left.
She looked over helplessly: "I really can't eat anymore."
Xie Qi stroked her hair and said with a smile, "I didn't ask you to eat it all."
He ordered the food to be taken away, and then mysteriously took his daughter away, saying that he had a birthday gift for her.
And a birthday gift?
But Xu Qinghe didn't have time to worry about this. When his back finally disappeared from his sight, Xu Qinghe urged Nanzhi, "Water, pour me some water quickly."
Seeing the princess gulp down three cups of water in one breath without even caring about her manners, Nanzhi couldn't help but be amazed.
"But the Marquis' bowl of longevity noodles tasted bad? Did it make the princess feel too salty?"
Xu Qinghe shook his head: "It's not just salty... Go and secretly tell Uncle Fan to come see me today. I have something to ask him..."
Thinking that he might not be free today, Xu Qinghe changed his tone and said, "No, let him do it tomorrow..."
She paused, remembering what she had said to Xie Qi about being honest, and changed her tone again: "Forget it, I'll ask him myself, there's no need for Uncle Fan to bother."
Nanzhi didn't understand why, but she had no choice but to agree.
After a while, Xie Qi and Ping An came together and asked her to go to the study.
When they arrived at the study door, the father and daughter did not go in. They just smiled and let her push the door open by herself.
Xie Qi lifted the thick curtain for her, and she pushed the door open suspiciously.
When the wind blew, all the beauties in the room swayed and the papers rustled.
Not real beauties, but dozens of paintings.
All the paintings are of her.
Some are laughing, some are sad, some are proud, and some are reserved.
In addition, there is both childhood and teenage years, from infancy to adulthood, no year is missed.
"Back then, you hid my portrait in your studio in Kyoto. It was based on my original appearance. After I found it, I had Fu Zongying make a human skin mask based on that look so that I could pretend to be Xie Qi."
Xie Qi brought Ping An in, lifted the curtain, and put his arm around her shoulders. "There are also portraits in the study in Lanzhou City. I saw them when I returned to Lanzhou this time. So today, I will also give you a few."
She likes painting, and she paints people and scenery, but rarely depicts herself.
It doesn't matter. Since she doesn't want to paint, let him do it. Back then, General Xie and the little princess were also taught by the master painter. Although his paintings are not as good as the real people in the paintings, they are not bad either.
Xu Qinghe looked at the paintings one by one and found that some of them even included portraits of babies in swaddling clothes.
She was very small at that time, giggling, but she didn't even have any teeth, only her hands as if wanting someone to hold her.
She looked up in surprise, only to see Xie Qi smiling and saying, "I can remember since I was three years old. I've known you since then. Back then, you were just a little kid who could only call me 'dede'."
"But I don't remember what you looked like in your cradle, so I had to ask the elders in the mansion. Also, during those five years in Kyoto, except for the first year I didn't dare visit you, I visited you secretly in the remaining years. As for the five years we were apart..."
He looked at his daughter.
Ping An also went over and hugged her mother's legs, smiling and saying, "Ping An said that Daddy painted the portraits in those years, so this portrait was not only painted by Daddy alone, but also by Ping An!"
Xu Qinghe's eyes had already turned red. She stroked her daughter's delicate cheek, then looked at Xie Qi and corrected his previous words: "What do you mean by 'dede'? I was calling you brother."
Xie Qi also laughed: "Really? You haven't called me brother for so long, I've long forgotten what it feels like."
Xu Qinghe liked quietness, so Xie Qi did not arrange a grand banquet for her birthday party. In addition to the dozens of portraits he painted himself, he and Ping An also prepared a very sumptuous lunch for the birthday girl. After Xu Qinghe had carefully admired these portraits, she could go to eat.
Although they were not made by himself, all of them were Xu Qinghe's favorites. They were colorful, fragrant and delicious, sour and spicy, and paired with a few sweet soups, they really made people's stomachs feel a lot more comfortable.
The mother and daughter ate happily. Xu Qinghe secretly raised her eyes and glanced at Xie Qi, only to see that he also had a happy expression and there was nothing unusual about him.
In the afternoon, the family of three went to the plum garden to appreciate the plum blossoms.
Xu Qinghe loved red plum blossoms the most, so Ping'an rode on his father's neck, and the father and daughter picked the highest branches of the plum trees in the forest. They used the glazed willow-leaf bottles that Xie Qi had specially ordered people to find, arranged them beautifully, and placed several bottles in the room.
At night, people from the entire princess's mansion and even Jizhou City watched a magnificent fireworks display.
With a few "bangs", colorful fireworks bloomed in the dark dome, as if all the stars in the sky turned into falling rain, gorgeous and dazzling.
The family of three stood on the Zhaixing Tower in the mansion. Xie Qi held Ping An in his arms. The mother and daughter watched the fireworks with their eyes wide open. However, Xie Qi stared at the person beside him for a moment.
Xu Qinghe noticed it, glared at him, and then looked outside again.
"Why are you staring at me instead of just watching the fireworks?"
Xie Qi smiled at her momentary panic that she couldn't hide, and whispered, "Madam's bright eyes are more brilliant than countless fireworks."
Xu Qinghe's ears blushed, but she couldn't help but complain in her heart, they haven't even gotten married yet, but this guy calls her Madam so easily.
Not only was this man smooth-talking, but at night he also walked straight into her bedroom without any hesitation.
I thought her birthday was over after this busy day, but when she was about to go to bed at night, Xie Qi brought a small box in a mysterious way.
Xu Qinghe looked over curiously and saw him take out a set of ruby-inlaid gold-wire headpieces from a box, which shone brightly under the candlelight.
Just one glance and her attention was completely drawn to it.
No matter whether she is an unmarried girl or a married woman, no woman would dislike those shiny jewelry, even Xu Qinghe, who is used to seeing the fine things in the world, is no exception.
What's more, this headpiece was so exquisitely made. The solid gold frame was extremely luxurious, and there were golden filigree hooks and hooks wrapped around it to form her favorite plum blossom. The plum blossom petals in the middle were several clear, shimmering, fine rubies. Even the hanging tassels were made of ruby fragments, which sparkled with tiny light under the candlelight.
Half a minute later, Xu Qinghe turned her eyes, which still contained a look of astonishment, to the man who was looking at her with a smile.
He looked at her for as long as she looked at the headpiece.
"You made this yourself again?"
Under her suspicious gaze, Xie Qi smiled and nodded.
"So... when was this prepared?"
The two of them had been together all these days. If those paintings were made in the study by this man while he tricked her into handling military affairs, then what about this headdress? He couldn't have sneaked out and made it while she was asleep at night, could he?
Xie Qi stretched out his rough fingers and plucked off an eyelash that fell on her face. His eyes dimmed slightly, and he did not answer.
Xu Qinghe's heart sank slightly, and he had a vague guess.
After a moment, she finally heard him speak.
"It was prepared when you left the Southern Territory."
Xu Qinghe's heart sank to the bottom.
It was when she broke off the engagement and went to Beijing.
——The previous marriage was arranged by our parents and matchmaker, but I don’t like you anymore.
——Xie Qi, let go. Don’t let this ridiculous marriage between you and me delay my good marriage in the capital.
The harsh words that were said at that time echoed in her ears without missing a word.
Seeing the slight moisture in her eyes, Xie Qi smiled, and without paying any attention to the dazzling headgear, he leaned over, picked up the girl's legs, and carried her back to the bed.
"I gave you this to make you happy, not to make you sad."
Xu Qinghe clutched his collar tightly. "Why did you do this? Why did you do this then?"
Xie Qi took her hand, placed it on his lips and kissed it. "The pattern on the headpiece was already drawn when I made you that red agate bracelet. I originally wanted to make it in advance and give it to you as a coming-of-age gift to make you happy. Who would have thought..."
Who would have thought that she would be so cruel as to break off the engagement with him.
Xie Qi smiled and said, "At that time, I thought, the pattern has been drawn, the material has been found, if it is not made, what a waste? It just so happens that at that time... Isn't this also a way to find something for myself to do? It will save me from being obsessed with you and having to drink to drown my sorrows."
"Later, I spent the better part of a month, locked up in my room, finishing the things. By then, my second brother and Sister Yueying had already gone through the betrothal ceremony, so I simply sent the things to Sister Yueying's house."
"You didn't want me anymore at that time, so you definitely didn't want to contact me. But I couldn't stop contacting Sister Yueying, so I thought, if you really found your soulmate in Beijing, I'd let Sister Yueying give this thing to you, which would also be considered..."
"--dowry."
If not for this, this headdress would have been burned to death along with the Xie family.
Tears welled up in Xu Qinghe's eyes. She stood up, hooked her arms around Xie Qi's neck, and hugged him tightly.
She did not blame herself for what happened back then. It was also a helpless act on her part. She just felt sorry for the proud young general who had been broken off the engagement by his lover but still had to prepare his dowry for her in the future.
Xie Qi patted her back gently. Hearing her choking voice, he said angrily, "Since it's an old item, it can't be used on this year's birthday. You still owe me a birthday gift."
Xie Qi raised his eyebrows slightly. It was rare to see her being so shameless.
"Don't the longevity noodles count? Don't the dozens of portraits count? Don't the fireworks count? And don't those bottles of red plums count, either?"
Xu Qinghe hugged his neck tightly, almost hanging on him, and her voice was muffled.
"No, none of it counts."
Xie Qi laughed and leaned over the bed, allowing her to sink completely into the soft mattress.
He looked into her watery and clear eyes and asked what exactly would be the solution?
Xu Qinghe loosened her grip slightly, but still kept her hand on his neck.
She looked into his eyes.
Xie Qi's affectionate eyes still only hold her.
He smiled and complained to her, "Not only did you forget my birthday this year, you didn't even give me a birthday present. What did you give me? Oh, you just gave me a poem and a wisteria leaf."
"If what I gave you today is not a birthday gift, then what is?"
Xu Qinghe hooked her arm around his neck and leaned forward, kissing the man's affectionate eyebrows, high nose bridge, thin lips, and slightly collapsed jaw.
She said, "It will only count if you promise yourself to me."
【Author’s words】
Sorry it's a little late [burst into tears]
I actually didn't even plan to write about my birthday, I wanted to just fast forward to my wedding [burst into tears]
But later on I still didn’t want to leave any regrets, after all, my daughter hasn’t had a good birthday yet [burst into tears]
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