98 Chapter 98
"What? You want to coax me?"
Xu Qinghe didn't dare to look over and just ignored the gaze.
Perhaps because she'd been hanging out with Wei Che so much recently, she'd become a bit more confident. She could handle it with ease: "After all, we're already married. I'm embarrassed to be called a girl anymore."
"oh--"
Jing'an smiled and nodded: "I understand, the Crown Prince's wife."
Then he continued, "Actually, I'm also very happy that you get along so well with Prince Wei. To be honest, I wasn't optimistic about this marriage at first. I even thought—I thought that perhaps Cousin Wei would be a better match for you."
When the news of this marriage first came out, the capital was abuzz with discussions, and everyone was ridiculing Princess Qinghe for being ungrateful and giving up the good husband of the First Young Master to marry a playboy.
Later, the two got married, and then there was the incident of him taking a concubine and being forced out of the house. Everyone watched the fun with even more schadenfreude.
Later, some people in the capital claimed that they had seen Prince Wei staying overnight in Yichun Tower. Everyone sighed that Prince Wei's novelty must have worn off, so he abandoned his newly married wife.
"Plus, since your marriage, you've never appeared with the wife of the Duke of Fuguo at banquets in various mansions. Everyone has been saying that you're afraid of being talked about, so you're too embarrassed to show up."
Some even made her story into a vulgar little story, specifically to educate unmarried girls at home.
Tell them to pay attention to the character of the man when choosing a husband, and not to be deceived by sweet words just because the man is good-looking.
As the protagonist of the whole incident, Xu Qinghe listened to all this quietly and found it interesting.
He even sighed, "It's good to be a negative example with my own strength and awaken those young girls who are immersed in love and can't extricate themselves."
“…”Princess Jing’an was almost overwhelmed by her broad mind.
After having lunch chatting about this and that, Xu Qinghe followed Jing'an into the Qi Mansion's carriage. They had the Qi Mansion's sign removed from the carriage and let Nanzhi drive the car herself.
Jingan asked her, "What is this for?"
Xu Qinghe replied, "I have to go out of the house to do something important. I can't let others know, so I can only ask you to come and block it."
That's why she repeatedly warned Wei Che today that she had to stay with Jing'an and asked him not to come looking for her unless necessary.
Jing'an then asked, "What's so important that you have to leave the city to do it?"
Xu Qinghe took out the small wooden box that he had asked Nanzhi to hold in his arms, and took out a red jade bracelet with a lustrous texture from it.
Jing'an quickly recognized it as the one she had worn on her wrist for the past five years.
Xu Qinghe lowered her eyes, and her thick eyelashes cast a shadow, covering up all the emotions in her clear and bright eyes.
She reached out and gently stroked the red jade bracelet, saying slowly, "In previous years, I could only spend the seventh day of the seventh month in the palace. Now that I'm finally out of the palace, I've been thinking... the Xie family is now deserted, so I should definitely go and build a cenotaph for him."
——The seventh day of the seventh month of every year is not only the Daughters' Day, but also the birthday of General Xie from the southern border.
Regardless of the truth, the Xie family was accused of treason and therefore could not be worshipped openly.
Now, this is the only thing that belonged to Xie Qi left on her body, so she could only use it to build a cenotaph for him.
This morning, when Wei Che saw Nanzhi holding the box tightly, he specifically asked her what good things she had taken, as if she was afraid that he would see it.
Xu Qinghe coaxed him by saying that it was a gift for Jing'an and asked him to mind his daughter's affairs.
The man who was usually so unreasonable actually believed everything she said and didn't ask any more questions.
But she had no idea that this was the last thing her childhood sweetheart fiancé left for him.
And her so-called business today was to go out of the city and build a cenotaph for him on his birthday.
Because it is Kyoto, even the suburbs are not deserted, but rather very lively.
Xu Qinghe had previously specifically asked someone to inquire about the situation, and then decided that the final destination was a forest twenty miles south of the city. The place was somewhat sparsely populated and had a quiet environment.
The carriage rumbled on for half an hour before finally arriving at the forest.
Xu Qinghe got out of the car, but asked Nanzhi to take care of Jing'an in the car while she walked alone.
Nanzhi hesitated: "This is a desolate place, let Nanzhi accompany the princess."
Jing'an also said: "I'm fine, I'll just rest in the car. Let Nanzhi go with you, I'll be at ease."
Xu Qinghe lowered his head and stroked the wooden box in his arms, a smile appearing at the corner of his lips.
"I haven't seen him for five years. Please do me a favor and let me talk to him alone."
Somehow, even though she spoke so calmly, Nanzhi's nose suddenly felt sore and her eyes immediately turned slightly red.
She responded with a choked voice, turned around first and didn't dare to look again.
Xu Qinghe held up the hem of her skirt with one hand and held the box tightly in her arms with the other. She didn't walk too far and only stopped at the edge of the dense forest.
When Xie Qi was young, he fought on the battlefield. When he came back from the front in his spare time, he always liked to lie under a tree in white clothes, take off his silver armor and put it aside, and then look up at the sky with his arms as a pillow.
When she came, he raised his hand and smiled at her, but he was so casual and unrestrained that he didn't even want to put down his crossed legs.
Xu Qinghe searched for a long time in the forest, and finally found an open place with good sunlight and a big tree for shade.
She pulled out a hairpin from her head and used it to slowly dig a hole in the earth. She stopped only when the hole was big enough to fit the small wooden box.
Then, she took out a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped her fingers that were covered with dirt one by one. Then she opened the box and held the red jade bracelet that had been with her for many years in the palm of her hand.
She sat under a big tree holding the bracelet, just like when she was little, and looked up at the blue sky.
When she tilted her head to look to the side, the mist in her eyes moved slightly, as if she could see the young general smiling at her again.
She lowered her head, stroking the bracelet with her slender fingers, her voice very soft, as if she was afraid to disturb this hard-earned reunion.
"The Xie family's stigma has not yet been cleared, so I cannot erect a monument for you for the time being. Once this matter is settled, I will definitely erect the most beautiful monument for you."
"I know you like cleanliness, don't worry. I asked someone to find that box specially. It's very valuable. It won't rot even after hundreds or thousands of years. It's such a large sum of money. In the future..."
"Forget it, we already have no future."
"...Then, I'll pay you back in my next life. But I probably won't be able to see you in my next life. If reincarnation really exists, you should be a little kid of four or five by now. I just wonder if you're still like that when you were little, climbing up the roof and tearing up the tiles, always making General Xie angry."
She looked into the void, but it seemed as if the young general was still by her side. He was smiling at her, and she also pursed her lips and raised a faint smile.
But the tears in her eyes couldn't stop falling, falling directly onto her new light blue dress.
Xu Qinghe glanced at him and became a little annoyed. "It's all your fault. Today is your birthday, and I dressed up beautifully. We agreed to spend every birthday beautifully with you, but now it's all your fault. You've ruined my makeup and stained my clothes. You have to compensate me."
She seemed to see the young man in the void raise his eyebrows in surprise: "Ah? This is also my fault?"
Then he surrendered and quickly admitted his mistake: Okay, okay, it’s my fault, it’s all my fault. I will definitely compensate you in the future, okay?
Xu Qinghe snorted angrily, but the tears in her eyes surged even more violently, falling down and quickly soaking her beautiful skirt.
"You lied to me again... You always lied to me. You lied to me that you weren't hurt, you lied to me that a caterpillar had fallen from my head, and you lied to me that the stone on the ground was a mouse..."
"You said you would marry me, but you were lying to me... If you lie to me again, I will really ignore you and don't want you anymore..."
But this time, the young man in the void could no longer utter a single word in a soft voice.
Now, it's not him who is deceiving her, but she is deceiving herself.
But what's the use of deceiving yourself? Today is his birthday, as long as she is happy.
So she continued to deceive herself, holding Xie Qi's jade bracelet in her arms, looking up at the dome, and talking a lot, until she could no longer see the dazzling golden crow in the forest.
It was not yet dark, but the sun was no longer visible.
"Okay, I should go. Wei Che is still waiting for me."
Xu Qinghe wiped away her tears. She herself had not expected that Wei Che's name would come out of her mouth so naturally.
"...Wei Che, you don't know, right? He is my current husband. You said you would marry me but then broke your promise, so naturally I have to find someone else."
"You said at the beginning that if you died early, I would find my lover. Now I have found him as you said. Are you happy?"
After chattering on for a few more words, Xu Qinghe finally wiped away her tears, wrapped the bracelet in her hand in another clean and soft handkerchief, and then put it into the small wooden box.
"Xie Qi, I really have to leave."
She placed the wooden box into the hole she had just dug, and covered it with soil in handfuls from her palms.
"Don't worry. What happened back then wasn't just the injustice of the Xie family. It's also the truth that our Xu family demands. Even if it's not for you, for my father, mother, and the innocent soldiers of the Southern Border Army who died in battle, I will definitely find out the truth."
When the last handful of soil fell, the pit was finally filled. However, Xu Qinghe felt lost and didn't know what to do next.
She stayed there in a daze for a long time before finally getting up, memorizing the location of the big tree firmly in her mind, and then left without looking back.
Although she was facing away from the cenotaph and getting farther and farther away from the last item Xie Qi left her, her steps never stopped, and the tears in her eyes never stopped.
There was one more thing she had never said to him.
"Xie Qi, actually I miss you very much."
But not anymore, never again.
In the years to come, she would only set aside this day to remember him. She should be fair and leave the rest of the days for another person.
**
The last ray of light in the sky was swallowed up by the night, and soon, lanterns were lit one after another in the streets.
Colorful lanterns are interwoven on the boats along the street. From a distance, although they are not as bright as during the day, under the blessing of the hazy night, they appear to have a bit of a fairyland feel.
People on the street gathered in groups of three or four. There were little girls of similar age, holding hands and laughing, and there were also young men who were just beginning to fall in love, pinning an exquisite hairpin on the girl they loved.
However, next to the luxurious carriage, there was someone looking unhappy.
The young man, dressed in a red brocade robe, was leaning against the carriage. He happened to be standing near a lantern shop, his silhouette illuminated by the dim light. He had a carefree and relaxed air in his bones, and looked like an immortal who had taken a break from his busy schedule to visit the human world.
But the immortal's expression was not really good-looking.
The pair of peach blossom eyes that used to be full of affection were now filled with resentment, coupled with the gloomy face, which made children avoid them when they saw them.
Wei Che glanced at the child who ran away quickly, and his expression became even gloomier.
That's all.
He exhaled heavily and was about to turn his gaze back to the bustling restaurant entrance when a familiar fragrance rushed into his nose.
The next moment, the sweet and soft girl suddenly threw herself into his arms.
A pair of soft and boneless arms wrapped around his waist, and then tightened inch by inch.
Wei Che was angry at first and didn't want to hug her, but the stalemate only lasted for a few breaths.
The girl was so tempting to him that he finally accepted his fate and hugged her.
"Why, do you know that you've kept me waiting here for a long time, so you want to coax me?"
Wei Che gritted his teeth, the man he had just seen in front of the restaurant flashed before his eyes. He said unhappily, "...or maybe he's done something bad and is afraid I'll find out?"
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