33 Chapter 33
◎Xie Qi was wronged, he really didn't want to go out for a drink◎
A strong wind started blowing outside the window again.
It was spring now, and the grass and trees in the courtyard were coming back to life, swaying and rustling in the wind. Even the palace lanterns under the eaves were swaying and almost being blown away. The dim candlelight inside jumped violently a few times, and finally went out with a puff.
Xu Qinghe asked someone to light the lamps again, and then, for some reason, he asked the palace servants to add a few more lamps to hang under the eaves.
She had a rash on her body that was very itchy, but she couldn't scratch it, so she could only use a handful of silk thread to make tassels to divert her attention.
Since the accident when he was ten years old, Xu Qinghe had only accidentally eaten the longevity fruit once again, but it had been six years since then. He no longer had the habit of keeping cooling and soothing ointment with him, so he asked Nanzhi to go to the pharmacy to get some.
After applying the cool ointment on my body, the itching finally subsided a lot.
"Why did the princess suddenly think of threshing ears of corn again? Didn't you just thresh one a few days ago?" Nanzhi asked as she packed up the ointment.
Xu Qinghe just shook his head and said nothing.
Only then did she remember that the princess' throat was swollen and sore, and she couldn't speak.
"Fortunately, I didn't take too much this time, otherwise the princess wouldn't have the leisure to pick ears of corn like she does now." She sighed with some resentment.
Xu Qinghe curled her lips and smiled, knowing that the girl was still complaining about her bold behavior.
Because he had obtained the secret letter and physical evidence, Xu Qinghe was in a much better mood than before. He asked Nanzhi to bring him a pen and leaned over the small table on the soft couch to write.
"I understand. I won't eat it again next time, okay?"
Nanzhi curled her lips and shook her head, "I don't believe what the princess said. You said the same thing when you were twelve, wasn't it still..."
She suddenly stopped talking and didn't say anything else.
The smile on Xu Qinghe's face froze for a moment, and then quickly disappeared. She lowered her eyes and continued to beat the ears of corn without saying a word, but her mind had already drifted to the distant past.
It was because of Xie Qi that she accidentally ate the longevity fruit when she was twelve years old.
**
The war was intense at that time. In order to prevent his young son from being in danger, General Xie rushed back from the military camp under the pretext of letting him recuperate.
Xie Qi was still young at that time, and he felt that his father did not trust him, so he was depressed.
The fourteen-year-old boy had already learned to eat meat and drink wine in big mouthfuls in the military camp, so he wanted to go out and get drunk to relieve his sorrow.
Xu Qinghe has been alone in the mansion for a long time. Although she has her aunt Xie as her company, now that Xie Qi is back, she naturally prefers to stay with Xie Qi.
But he was in a bad mood and didn't want to take her with him, so she followed him secretly.
Xie Qi spotted her as soon as he left the house. He sighed and said helplessly, "I'm going out to drink. What are you, a little girl, doing following me?"
"Who are you looking down on?" Xu Qinghe straightened his back, raised his chin and said proudly, "If you can drink, why can't I? You are only two years older than me, why are you pretending to be mature beyond your years?"
Xie Qi was amused, and the worry on his face finally faded a little. He reached out and rubbed her hair, sighing, "If you want to drink, ask the people in the mansion to make you some fruit wine, or go find my mother. Don't you like the jujube wine she makes?"
"I don't want it!" Xu Qinghe slapped his hand down. "It's just a drink, why don't you take me with you?"
Later, she slowly widened her eyes and pointed at him aggrievedly, "Are you going to drink wine behind my back?"
"Ancestor, please don't talk nonsense!" Xie Qi quickly stepped in front of her and covered her mouth with his hand. The little girl was still glaring at him angrily, her eyes red with grievance.
Xie Qi's heart softened and he compromised, "Okay, okay, I'll take you there, okay?"
Xu Qinghe, however, was certain he was going to drink and have fun, so she suddenly turned around and walked back, "I'm not going with you! How dare I block the young general's free and easy path!"
Xie Qi was speechless at this point, so he ran after her and took her hand in his. He had grown so fast in recent years that he was now a full head and a half taller than Xu Qinghe, and he had to bend down when he spoke.
"I really didn't mean to drink any flower wine. Flower wine, flower wine, do you know what it means? Why are you accusing me of that?"
Xu Qinghe: "Of course I know! That's... that's what I mean."
Xie Qi laughed and sighed: "You stay in the mansion all day, where on earth did you learn all this nonsense from?"
The girl in front of him tilted her head, looking angry and unwilling to pay any attention to him.
Xie Qi had no choice but to chase after her. He would not speak until he looked into her eyes. He sighed and said, "I'm going here to get drunk and forget all my worries. I'm afraid that after I get drunk... I might scare you."
Which man in the military camp didn't lie on the ground in a daze after getting drunk? Although everyone around him said that he was very quiet when drunk, he didn't dare to take the risk in front of Xu Qinghe.
Xu Qinghe was still furious, but she finally spoke: "Do you think I'm a coward? Can you scare me just by getting drunk?"
Xie Qi knew that she still didn't understand what he meant.
In fact, he was not afraid of scaring her, but he was afraid... afraid that Xu Qinghe would think bad of him.
She is the only daughter of the Prince and Princess of Nan'an, a princess personally appointed by the Emperor. She is smart, clever, charming and lovely. Which of the young men in the southern states would not want to marry her?
But it happened that Xie Qi was the first to get engaged to her because he was close to her.
Even so, Xie Qi was always afraid that she might not like him anymore, or that she liked him in the past, but one day she discovered something bad about him and no longer liked him anymore.
He didn't dare to gamble, he just wanted to show his best side to her, hoping that the girl would always like him.
"Don't be angry, I'll take you there, okay?" He bent down and coaxed her softly, without any of the decisiveness he showed on the battlefield.
Xu Qinghe snorted. Now the initiative was finally back in her hands, but she started to act like a spoiled brat instead.
"I won't go, even if you beg me to. I want to go back home and find my aunt."
"Hey, hey, hey." Hearing that she was going to go find her mother, Xie Qi quickly pulled her back, "What did we agree on in the beginning? No matter what bad things the other party did, they were not allowed to complain to our parents. It was you who proposed this, so why are you breaking it? You said that once a word is spoken, it cannot be taken back."
Xu Qinghe choked, but still argued, "Who said I was going to complain? Can't I just go ask my aunt for some wine?"
"Okay, okay, of course." After being teased by her, Xie Qi's resentment was reduced a little, and his eyes were filled with deep affection when he smiled. "But I'm all alone, princess, could you please give me some face and pity me and go have a drink with me?"
He was begging in a very humble manner. Xu Qinghe finally vented his anger. He folded his arms and snorted, looking very arrogant. "Why don't you lead the way for this princess quickly?"
"Okay, I'll obey your command." Xie Qi took her hand and walked towards the restaurant.
The moment he led her up, Xu Qinghe's heart trembled, as if dozens of deer were stuffed into it, making a thumping sound.
But even so, she never let him go.
The two of them walked all the way to the restaurant. Xie Qi first ordered a few plates of snacks for her, and then asked for a jar of wine for himself, which he poured into large bowls and drank one bowl at a time.
Xu Qinghe propped up her head, ate snacks nonchalantly, and watched him drink.
She knew that he was unhappy about being sent back by General Xie this time, but she was also secretly grateful for this move.
The battlefield was dangerous, and her father had to be lucky to escape death several times. Naturally, she didn't want Xie Qi to encounter these things.
But she also knew that becoming a great general who protected the people like her father and General Xie was Xie Qi's lifelong pursuit.
Seeing him drinking so miserably, Xu Qinghe felt uncomfortable. He grabbed a bowl from the table and poured himself some wine.
Xie Qi quickly held her down. Although he had swallowed a few sips of liquor, his mind was still clear. "This liquor is too strong. Be obedient, you can't drink it."
Xu Qinghe couldn't drink much, and they both knew it.
But she looked pitiful and really wanted to taste it, so Xie Qi used chopsticks to dip some wine from his bowl and handed it to her lips.
Xu Qinghe stuck out the tip of his tongue and licked it. After tasting just a little bit, he began to feel drowsy and couldn't help shaking his head.
Xie Qi laughed when he saw it: "Now you know how powerful it is, right? If you want to drink, practice your alcohol tolerance first."
Smile, smile, smile, and she will laugh.
Xu Qinghe glared at him and immediately put away the heartache she had just felt. He drank his wine while she ate her cakes.
She didn't know what kind of pastries the store served, but the flavor was something she had never tasted before, so she couldn't help but eat a few more pieces.
Not long after that, she began to feel itchy on her neck and hands. When she looked down, she found that they were covered with red rashes again.
The memories of when he was ten years old came flooding back into his mind. Xu Qinghe panicked and quickly called out to Xie Qi. Only then did he realize that his throat was also swollen and painful, and he could hardly speak.
"Thank... Thank you Qi..."
Xie Qi raised his head from his wine bowl and saw her red eyes. The drunkenness that had just come to him disappeared instantly because he saw the red rash on her neck at a glance.
"Waiter, what are you using to make this pastry?" He asked as he walked over and picked up Xu Qinghe.
Xie Qi often came to this restaurant. Over time, everyone in the restaurant knew his identity. Who else but the princess could be brought into the restaurant and served so kindly by the major general?
The shopkeeper came forward and said anxiously, "Young General, this cake is made with longan, a new product from our store—"
Upon hearing that it was the work of the Longevity Fruit, Xie Qi was completely panicked. Without even listening to the end of the words, he picked up Xu Qinghe and ran to the nearest clinic.
He was not present when she accidentally ate the longevity fruit at the age of ten, but later she realized that this thing could be fatal to her.
If he hadn't been so focused on drinking, how could this have happened to her?
Xie Qi regretted it deeply.
"Qinghe, I'm taking you to the clinic. Don't fall asleep, don't."
Xu Qinghe could vaguely hear his voice, and followed her heart to hug his neck tightly. Although her throat was sore that she could no longer speak, she still insisted on comforting him.
"Xie...Qi, don't be afraid, I'll be fine..."
Later, she didn't know what she said. She only remembered Xie Qi begging her not to sleep over and over again in her ear.
But Xu Qinghe still fell asleep.
When I woke up again, I didn't know what time it was, and Nanzhi was standing by my bed.
"My princess, you are finally awake!"
Xu Qinghe opened his mouth, wanting to ask where Xie Qi was and if he was frightened, but then he found that he couldn't make a sound.
Nanzhi explained with red eyes: "The princess's condition is more serious this time than last time. She will be unable to speak for a long time."
Xu Qinghe didn't care about this, she just wanted to know where Xie Qi was. Fortunately, Nanzhi understood her lip shape and guessed what she was thinking.
But he hesitated when he replied, "The Major General... is in the ancestral hall."
【Author’s words】
It’s broken, write to me.
Fixed the previous timeline
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
