35 Chapter 35
◎Did he get beaten up?◎
Xu Qinghe did not answer his question. Under his half-smile, she took out the hairpin that had been put away and wrote on his palm again.
She wrote: It has nothing to do with you.
Wei Che laughed, "How is it irrelevant? Princess, you're about to become my Crown Prince's wife. Don't I know if you've severed your relationship with your 'ex-fiancé'?"
He was talking about Wei Ming, but Xu Qinghe was stunned for a moment and didn't think of him.
Seeing the sadness in her eyes, Wei Che's eyes darkened. In the end, he didn't want to push her too hard, so he compromised and said, "If you don't want to say it, then forget it. I don't have the habit of forcing people to do things against their will."
He raised his hand and supported Xu Qinghe's chin again, looking at her in the dim light that seeped in. A few small red dots appeared on her fair face, which were more obvious against the background of the color.
Pressing his thumb gently next to a rash, Wei Che asked, "Does it itch? Does it hurt?"
Xu Qinghe opened his hand and shook his head.
"Did you apply the ointment?"
Xu Qinghe nodded and showed her rash-covered face openly, not caring at all whether she was beautiful or ugly at the moment.
Wei Che stared at her for a while, then stood up and prepared to leave. "Remember to leave the window open for me tomorrow night."
Xu Qinghe didn't ask him why he came tomorrow, but just pulled his sleeve and wrote on his palm: Please help me go see Jing'an.
Perhaps because she was in a hurry, she even forgot to take the hairpin this time. She held his knuckles with one hand and wrote on his palm with the other.
The soft and delicate fingertips wrote on the big palm, stroke by stroke, like a feather, scratching his heart again and again, making him feel itchy.
Wei Che looked at her furry head and saw that she was unusually well-behaved. Her thick long eyelashes drooped down, covering her eyes. She just held his hand and wrote slowly.
When she was about to leave, Wei Che's eyes darkened, and he suddenly clenched his palm, holding her fingertips that had not yet moved away, and looked at her steadily with a pair of passionate eyes.
Xu Qinghe only trembled when their skin touched, and then looked back without any expression.
She must not be pretty now, and might scare the man in front of her.
Then be scared.
But Wei Che was not frightened by her. Instead, his smile deepened. He pinched her fingertips and suddenly leaned over to do something.
The two of them suddenly became closer, and a strange smell hit them in the face, and it was a bit hot, forcing Xu Qinghe to step back unexpectedly.
Wei Che immediately stepped back and released her hand, saying with a smile, "Princess, wait until you're brave enough before trying to scare me again."
Then he reached out and took the hairpin she used to write on the small table and put it in his arms, "I'll take this thing with me, Princess, sleep well."
Xu Qinghe looked at his back, watching him disappear into the darkness without making any sound.
The next day, she asked Nanzhi to sort out the money they had collected over the years, excluding the jewels and artifacts in the palace and the rewards from the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
After calculating in this way, I finally found out... it was almost nothing.
Facing the princess's look of disbelief, Nanzhi said awkwardly, "Princess, we didn't bring any money when we first came to the capital from the southern border. We had nothing but the red jade bracelet on your hand. Later, after entering the palace, all we ate and used were palace items. If we exclude these things as you said, we are indeed... penniless."
This was true and not exaggerated at all, but Xu Qinghe still felt discouraged when she heard it.
"The princess is fine, why is she suddenly worried about money?" Nanzhi asked.
He was fine yesterday, why did he suddenly have such a sudden thought today? Could it be that Prince Wei said something?
Xu Qinghe sighed softly, picked up the pen and wrote on the paper: Dowry, dark web.
Marriage is a union of two families, but now Xu Qinghe's father and mother are no longer around.
She was raised by Queen Mother Wei, but she was always treated as her nephew's wife.
Now that her nephew's wife is gone, she has to marry Wei Che instead. The empress dowager will naturally not prepare a dowry for her. She will most likely hand the matter over to the palace ladies-in-law, and in the end it will fall on Concubine Zhao's head.
Marrying Wei Che is the most appropriate way to enter the palace now, but it is only a temporary solution.
Wei Che claims that he loves her, but whether it is true or not is still unknown. How can we know how long this so-called love will last?
Therefore, the dowry at the time of marriage will be her only confidence in the future.
If Wei Che becomes indifferent to her or gets tired of her in the future, she can naturally leave alone and go far away.
In fact, to be specific, the dowry she wanted was actually for the dark web. She wanted to find a witness who could find out the truth about the death of her father and mother.
It is absolutely impossible to pin all hopes on Wei Che, and it is also impossible to fight alone. Only when there are more people, there will be greater hope.
If she could build a dark web in Beijing and let more people help her find clues, wouldn't this matter be much easier?
After understanding the princess's plan, Nanzhi's disbelieving gaze shifted from the paper to the princess's face, "Isn't this... a little too difficult?"
In the capital, every inch of land is worth a lot of money. Any tile that falls down can make you a fifth-rank official. It can be said that there are powerful people everywhere. Who would be willing to work for them?
Xu Qinghe knew her doubts, so he picked up the pen and wrote on the paper: People.
It is true that Kyoto is full of powerful people, but without the support of the common people, how can they show their power and wealth?
Nanzhi thought for a moment, clapped his hands and sighed, "I understand!"
Then he calmed himself down and said softly, "Unlike the powerful, the common people are most easily moved by gold and silver. Can the princess use gold and silver to lure them into our service?"
Xu Qinghe smiled and nodded, then wrote the word "慧" on the paper.
Although much of the evidence of what happened back then is in the hands of officials and dignitaries, these people's lives cannot be separated from the support of the people, and they also have their own weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
As long as they can get someone to do the job and get hold of something they can use against these people, they will naturally get the information they want.
But when Nanzhi looked at the scattered objects on the table, the light in his eyes dimmed.
"When the princess and I were young, we grew up in the Nan'an Prince's Mansion, and later moved to the palace. We were provided with food, clothing, and daily necessities. Now the princess says that the things in the palace cannot be used, but where can we get the money?"
This was what Xu Qinghe had been worried about, so he fell silent. After a while, he thought, isn't there Lin Xiao?
She quickly asked Nanzhi to call Lin Xiao in and asked her, "How did you raise the money to travel all the way from the southern border to the capital?"
Lin Xiao blinked, not understanding the meaning of the princess's question, but still answered honestly: "Begging."
Xu Qinghe: ...
She remembered that the first time she saw her, the little girl stopped her bicycle under the pretext of begging.
It turns out that this is not an excuse, but a fact.
The expressions of the two people in front of him suddenly turned sad. Lin Xiao was confused, "Why is the princess asking this?"
Although Xu Qinghe still couldn't trust Lin Xiao as much as he trusted Nanzhi, he knew how to hold the line, so he wrote on the paper: make money.
Lin Xiao was a little surprised. It turned out that not only common people like them were short of money, but royal princesses were also short of money?
"When it comes to making money, Lin Xiao actually has some experience."
Xu Qinghe looked at her and motioned for her to continue.
Lin Xiao then said, "Lin Xiao believes that there are four ways to make money. Officials rely on salaries from the court, as well as corruption and exploitation of the people's wealth. Farmers rely on the weather and make money by selling grain. Craftsmen sell their skills, and those with superior skills are naturally highly valued. Finally, businessmen need capital, brains, and the ability to seize opportunities and understand business operations. This way, they can naturally expand their business."
She was born in a peasant family and her job was to sell grain, but she did not make any money and was also oppressed by the government.
When she escaped from the southern border, she had neither capital nor skills, so the above four methods were not feasible. She could only rely on the kindness of others and beg for a living.
Xu Qinghe seemed to be lost in thought.
The first two options are naturally not feasible for her, and the last option requires capital for business, which they do not have.
Only the third option remains.
She asked on the paper: Do you two have any special skills?
Nanzhi hesitated and said, "I think I only know how to serve the princess..."
Nanzhi has been her personal maid since she was young. It seems that she can only serve others, but in fact she needs to manage the servants under her. Xu Qinghe feels that she must be well versed in management.
She looked at Lin Xiao again, who replied without hesitation: "Begging."
Xu Qinghe: ...
She begged her way into Kyoto and was indeed very good at asking for favors.
Lin Xiao rubbed his head, realizing his knowledge wouldn't be of much use, so he asked, "What about the princess? I've heard that daughters of wealthy families are all proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I've also seen many people in Kyoto who enjoy collecting calligraphy and paintings, both scholars and businessmen. They're very generous when it comes to buying calligraphy and paintings, and they spend money lavishly."
"...The princess is good at painting!" Nanzhi said in surprise.
Xu Qinghe did learn painting since he was young.
The reason was that Princess Nan'an loved painting, but although she had some experience in weapons, she was not good at painting, so she placed her dream of becoming a painter on her child.
It is said that when Xu Qinghe was still in her womb and the gender of the baby was unknown, the princess spent the entire day admiring calligraphy and paintings, and even invited a famous painter to explain them.
She had to fight for her country on the battlefield, but she hoped that her children could retreat behind the scenes and live a peaceful life. It didn't matter if they didn't love her in the future, she could just treat her as a hobby and enjoy her.
Fortunately, Xu Qinghe did not disappoint the princess after he was born. When he was doing the "grabbing one's first birthday" ceremony, he grabbed a painting from a famous teacher in the southern region, and he stumbled over to the famous teacher with the painting.
The princess was overjoyed and immediately asked her wet nurse to hold her while she performed the ceremony of becoming a disciple. After that, she practiced every day without stopping, and even after entering the palace, she never stopped writing.
Xu Qinghe lowered his head and stroked the pen in his hand, thinking that he had probably already made up his mind.
At night, she still let Nanzhi rest on her own, leaving the back window to Wei Che, leaning on the couch while thinking deeply and waiting for him.
However, after waiting for a whole night, she fell asleep with her head propped up on the small table, and Wei Che never came.
The next day, Xu Qinghe got up, squinted her eyes and sat in front of the dressing table, letting Nanzhi comb her hair.
"What did Prince Wei say to the princess yesterday? Why is the princess so sleepy?"
Although Xu Qinghe closed his eyes, his mind was awake. He grabbed Nanzhi's hand and wrote on her palm: He didn't come.
Nanzhi was shocked and said, "Wouldn't that mean the princess waited all night in vain?"
Xu Qinghe nodded and closed his eyes again.
"It's just that this prince is unreliable. I originally thought that since he could enter the palace to find the princess without anyone noticing, he must have some ability. I didn't expect that he would be such an untrustworthy person!" Nanzhi said angrily.
Although Wei Che seemed casual and untrustworthy, after spending some time with him, she felt that he was not the untrustworthy person that Nanzhi said.
Perhaps something delayed him? I just hope he can come tonight and bring him some news about Jing'an.
At night, Nanzhi hesitated whether to close the window. Xu Qinghe thought about it, shook his head and asked her to keep it open. He continued to lie on the couch and wait.
At about three o'clock in the morning, there was another noise at the window.
She looked over and saw Wei Che limping in.
When he approached, a cloud had just passed by outside the house, and a ray of light fell on his bruised face.
Xu Qinghe slowly opened his eyes.
Could it be that he was beaten up?
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