Chapter 50 Hui Niang.
Before he could even think about it, Qin Xiaoshan heard the commotion inside and came over to report, "Your Highness, Princess, would you like to have your meal now?"
It was well past mealtime, but the princess had been unconscious and the meal had not yet been served.
Qin Lie grunted in response, and Qin Xiaoshan withdrew. Soon, two soldiers brought over trays, carrying steaming dishes. This was a remote mountain village, so the food was simple, consisting of a few wild mountain vegetables and scrambled eggs. The only meat dish was pigeon soup made from pigeons hunted by the soldiers in the mountains.
When Lingyi saw the pieces of meat in the pigeon soup, her expression immediately changed, and she turned her head away, remembering the severed head she had seen that afternoon.
Qin Lie frowned, and Qin Xiaoshan, sensing the situation, ordered the pigeon soup to be removed.
After the two soldiers left, Qin Xiaoshan took out his silver needles and tested each one for poison.
Seeing his caution, Lingyi pondered for a moment and asked Qin Lie in a low voice, "Is the person who wants to kill you the Crown Prince?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoshan couldn't help but look up at her.
Qin Lie did not answer, but said calmly, "You have quite the nerve to say such a thing."
His tone was not stern. Lingyi said, "After much thought, I believe that apart from the Crown Prince, no one else has such courage and means."
Although Qin Lie had made many enemies through years of war, those people were either already dead or had submitted to the emperor, so they would never dare to do such a thing.
Even if they dared, the defeated army was like stray dogs; how could they possibly know about Qin Lie's secret itinerary?
The only people in the world capable of bribing an insider are the Emperor and the Crown Prince, but why would the Emperor need such methods to kill Qin Lie?
Qin Lie gazed intently at her: "Princess, why don't you tell me why the Crown Prince wants to kill me?"
Lingyi said, word by word, "His merits overshadow the emperor's, leading to a struggle for the crown prince position."
Qin Lie gave a half-smile: "Does the princess think I would compete with my second brother for the position of crown prince?"
Lingyi sighed softly: "The struggle for the throne is never about whether you want to or not, but whether you can."
Throughout history, members of the imperial family who are skilled in both literature and martial arts may not have the intention to usurp the throne, and ministers who wield great power in the court may not have the intention to rebel.
But if they could potentially threaten the emperor, then not rebelling would be the same as not fighting, and not fighting would be the same as fighting.
Otherwise, why was her father so harsh on the imperial family in the past?
The seventh prince almost completely slaughtered the members of the imperial clan.
Qin Lie's expression turned cold and he remained silent.
Lingyi became even more certain of her judgment, "The world is not yet at peace, and the Crown Prince already cannot tolerate you. If he dares to ambush you on the road, what about Huan'er in the capital...?"
In the struggle for the throne, it is always necessary to eliminate all threats. Otherwise, what business is it of hers if someone wants to kill Qin Lie?
The thought of Huan'er possibly being in danger filled her with anxiety and made her restless.
Qin Lie remained silent for a while before saying, "It's not Second Brother, it's Second Sister-in-law."
He chuckled self-deprecatingly: "She must have kept this a secret from my second brother. She hired martial arts assassins. Of course, it would be best if I died. Even if I didn't, it would just be a matter of throwing away some silver. Only if I died would it be the last straw. As long as I'm still alive, she won't dare to lay a hand on anyone else."
He seemed extremely tired, and even his tone was desolate.
Since ancient times, the imperial family has been ruthless, yet the Qin family, which has only been in power in the capital for three or four years, has already reached this point.
Lingyi didn't know what to say, and she didn't want to offer any comfort.
He didn't need anyone's comfort. The desolation only lingered on him for a moment before he quickly regained his cold and domineering demeanor.
.
At night, Lingyi kept watch at Qin Lie's place.
He lay in bed, while she slept on a small couch by the window.
The surrounding courtyards were cleared out, and the area was extremely quiet. Apart from the small area illuminated by the oil lamp, the house was pitch black.
In such silence, and in such a small room, one's hearing becomes exceptionally sensitive; every cough of Qin Lie seems to explode right next to her ear.
Lingyi felt a tickle in her throat from listening, but she forced herself to endure it, not daring to even turn over, and just waited for him to fall asleep.
After an unknown amount of time, his breathing finally became steady, and Lingyi was able to close her eyes. She was extremely tired today, but before she could fall into a deep sleep, she heard his heavy breathing, like a bellows hissing. She pulled the blanket over her head, not wanting to hear it anymore, but she couldn't block out his low moans.
Unlike the inn where she could only vaguely hear him, now that they were in the same room, she could clearly hear him repeatedly muttering "no" in his sleep, his voice heavy and urgent, seemingly filled with countless fears and sorrows.
Then came low moans and heavy breathing, with the sound of clothes rubbing against each other on the bed, which never stopped for a long time.
It was unimaginable that someone like Qin Lie could have nightmares before their reunion.
But now that it's just the two of them here, and he looks like this, she can't sleep.
Unlike the inns outside, this place was pitch black and quiet, with only the two of them in the room.
Qin Lie seemed possessed, his movements a mixture of laughter and tears. Coupled with the fact that she had just witnessed him kill someone, Ling Yi couldn't help but feel fear.
Her eyes were open, and tiny goosebumps rose on her arms as her growing fear intensified with his indistinct murmurs in his sleep.
After a long while, she reluctantly got up, picked up the oil lamp, and went to Qin Lie's bedside.
He was dreaming about something, his eyes were tightly closed, his brows were furrowed, his forehead was covered in sweat, and he was tossing and turning in great pain, but he couldn't wake up.
Lingyi sighed and, forcing herself to speak, called out softly, "Your Highness, Your Highness, please wake up."
Seeing that he didn't respond, he called again, "General Qin Lie...?"
He suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes and stared intently at her.
The hatred in his eyes was so obvious, and the killing intent emanating from his body was almost tangible.
Ling Yi felt a chill run down his spine; he had just woken up from a nightmare and was clearly not fully awake.
She instinctively stepped back, but he pulled her close to his chest, his gaze growing increasingly sinister.
For a moment, Lingyi felt her hair stand on end, as if he were about to take her life.
But she was completely helpless when faced with Qin Lie, who was not fully conscious.
He already hated her, so killing her would have been perfectly normal.
Amid her endless terror, his expression suddenly changed, and a tenderness she had never seen before appeared in his eyes.
In this situation, the expression on his face was extremely eerie.
Lingyi's words were stuck in her throat, and she could only look at him warily.
He reached out and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers, his movements so tender and affectionate, as if he were facing some fragile, priceless treasure.
He was so strange that Lingyi held her breath, her heart pounding, until he mumbled and called her name: "Huiniang..."
Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief, guessing that he was having a nightmare because he dreamed of Huiniang's death. Then she remembered that she was the culprit's sister, and at this moment she dared not let him wake up even more. She could only cautiously answer him, "Husband..."
He paused for a moment, and Lingyi's heart jumped again—could it be that Huiniang didn't call him that?
Fortunately, he quickly regained his composure and said again, "I feel unwell..."
Lingyi was caught in a dilemma, and tried her best to ask gently, "...Husband, where do you feel unwell?"
"Here..." Qin Lie took her hand and placed it on his chest, his voice low and weak like a child's, "It hurts...it really hurts so much..."
Tears seemed to glisten in his eyes. "It's worse than death. How could you be so heartless?"
Considering that Hui Niang had only been married to him for a few years and was still young when they were separated by death, how could it not be cruel?
Lingyi pondered for a moment, not knowing how to comfort him, and could only gently soothe him: "Husband, go to sleep, the pain will go away when you're asleep."
He didn't believe it: "But you leave as soon as I fall asleep." He then became angry again, repeatedly questioning, "Why? Why do you always leave?!"
Lingyi quickly reassured him, "I won't leave, I'll stay here with you..."
He didn't speak, he just looked at her with such a cold and scrutinizing gaze, as if he were still sober.
Lingyi tentatively asked, feeling guilty, "...Your Highness?"
He paused, his eyes widening in confusion again: "Huiniang, what are you talking about? What prince?"
Lingyi felt relieved and continued to patiently coax him: "It's nothing, my husband, you should go to sleep. I'll stay here with you, and you'll see me as soon as you wake up tomorrow."
He still had doubts: "Really not leaving? Staying with me from now on, not going anywhere else?"
"I won't leave, I won't go anywhere, I'll stay with you forever." Lingyi held his hand tightly.
"really?"
"really."
Qin Lie was finally satisfied. He intertwined his fingers with hers and fell asleep again.
After he fell asleep, Lingyi tried to pull her hand away, but he held on tightly, afraid of waking her up. Lingyi had no choice but to sit on the side of the bed.
She never imagined that Qin Lie and his wife would get along like this, and she was even more surprised by the tears in his eyes just now.
It seems that only young couples, bound by a deep bond, could have such profound affection and unwavering trust.
When she was still waiting to be married in the deep palace, she also had the hope of being with her beloved forever.
She originally thought it would be Xie Yu, or at least someone like him.
She was naive then, thinking that since she had her elder brother, the Crown Prince, behind her, he would surely find her a good husband.
The princess and her husband are destined to be each other's one and only. She will cherish their relationship and be with him for life.
Even if the political situation becomes chaotic and the world turns upside down, having such a person by your side will provide a sense of security and support, even amidst hardship and displacement.
Unfortunately, she married Qin Lie, who never liked her from the beginning. How could she not feel that?
She has already missed out on that kind of love in her life, and she will never need it again.
.
Lingyi lay down to sleep by the bedside. Qin Lie woke up three or four times during this time. Each time, he had to look at her with bloodshot eyes and hear her softly coaxing him before he could slowly calm down, only to hold her hand tighter before falling asleep again.
Lingyi slept with a sore back and legs. When she woke up early in the morning, Qin Lie was still asleep, so she carefully pulled her hand away.
The circle of purplish-blue finger marks on the surface showed how much force Qin Lie had used last night.
After several days, Lingyi's hands were covered with numerous finger marks.
She observed carefully during the day and found that Qin Lie was completely unaware of her behavior at night, and had resumed his previous indifference towards her.
In this way, we could keep to ourselves, except that my hand would ache from being gripped so tightly every night.
Qin Lie had only stayed there for a few days when his recovery was astonishing. His injuries improved day by day. He could write and practice martial arts with his left hand, but for the first few days he needed someone to change his dressings and do other things that were inconvenient with one hand.
Now that his medicine only needs to be changed every two days and he can take care of everything else, Lingyi went to Qin Xiaoshan to resign and return to Ji'an Hospital.
Qin Xiaoshan naturally wouldn't agree: "The prince is not fully recovered yet, why is the princess in such a hurry?"
Lingyi said, "I'm of no use here. I'm still worried about Ji'an."
Qin Xiaoshan was respectful but not obedient: "I have made perfect arrangements for the young master. The princess can rest assured and take care of the prince here."
Lingyi asked in confusion, "Why does Steward Qin insist on keeping me here? Can't you see that your prince doesn't want to see me?"
Although Qin Lie ignored her, and she tried her best to remain unnoticed, the village was so small that they were bound to run into each other all the time. Occasionally, when she looked up and their eyes met, he would either frown or snort coldly, clearly showing his disdain. She truly didn't understand why he was keeping her here.
Qin Xiaoshan carefully said, "His Highness... is just still recovering from his injuries. Princess, please stay. With you here, His Highness will be able to sleep well at night."
Lingyi disagreed with what he said. Qin Lie often had nightmares at night, and even holding her hand would wake him up; he couldn't sleep well at all. But thinking about it carefully, it was still a little better than before, and his complexion looked less sickly during the day lately.
Lingyi said, "It's not difficult to make your prince sleep well. Perhaps when your prince was not injured, no one was there to keep watch over him at night, so he didn't realize that his nightmares were caused by missing the late princess. Therefore, all you need to do is have someone pretend to be the late princess when he has a nightmare. I don't need to be here; anyone else can do the same thing."
Qin Xiaoshan seemed to be choked by her words and couldn't speak for a moment. After a long while, he said, "These are all wounded soldiers. There is only one woman, Princess. I'm afraid this matter will have to be troubled by Princess."
Lingyi thought of Qin Lie holding a soldier's hand and calling "Huiniang" with affection, which was indeed hard to describe. Qin Xiaoshan would definitely not agree now, so she could only say, "In that case, I will stay. I will have to trouble Chief Steward Qin to keep an eye on things in Ji'an."
Qin Xiaoshan respectfully agreed.
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves outside.
Lingyi couldn't help but feel wary, worried that the visitors might be thieves. Qin Xiaoshan listened intently, and his expression clearly relaxed.
The man who arrived was Qin Lie's deputy general. He immediately knelt down to apologize for being late.
Qin Lie invited him into the room, and the deputy general began to talk about military affairs after Qin Lie left.
Unlike before in Huangzhou, this time the deputy general mentioned many of the names that Lingyi not only knew, but had even met before.
Especially General Song's sworn brothers. After being defeated by Qin Lie, they fled in disarray. Qin Lie originally intended to annihilate them in one fell swoop, but the situation was urgent due to the invasion of Japanese pirates, so he put them aside. He originally thought they were just defeated generals and not worth fearing, but unexpectedly they joined forces with Geng Qing and occupied Shu Prefecture.
Shuzhou is rich in resources and can be self-sufficient, but its terrain is rugged and easy to defend and difficult to attack. Geng Qing is also a former general of Shuzhou. If things drag on under his management, he will become a major threat.
Before leaving the army, Qin Lie submitted a memorial to the emperor, requesting permission to conquer Shu Prefecture.
The deputy general brought news that the emperor had issued three imperial edicts, ordering Prince Duan to return to the capital immediately without delay.
Qin Lie held the bright yellow imperial edict, sitting there motionless and silent.
Lingyi watched coldly from the sidelines. As the saying goes, "the bow is put away when the birds are all gone," and now that the cunning rabbit is not yet dead, the emperor no longer trusts his own son.
Qin Lie seemed to be born with an air of superiority, and those feelings of desolation and disappointment rarely lingered on him.
Or perhaps he simply didn't want to show it to outsiders. He quickly recovered and asked his deputy, "Has His Majesty mentioned how General Song should be placed?"
Lingyi couldn't help but listen closely. General Song had once liked her, this princess who had "abandoned darkness for light," but he never liked her as his daughter-in-law. It was only after she gave birth to a son that he reluctantly accepted her—accepting her as a concubine to stay in the Eastern Palace.
Because of Song Pingkou, she felt guilty towards him, so how could she not pay attention?
Qin Lie's face immediately darkened when he saw her listening intently.
The deputy general, who was not good at reading people's expressions, replied in a serious tone, "His Majesty has ordered us to take General Song back to the capital to live out his remaining years in peace."
Hearing this arrangement, Lingyi breathed a slight sigh of relief.
After all, General Song had fought with the emperor for the throne, and she was truly afraid that the emperor's plan for his disposal would be to let him die quietly.
It is likely that the emperor did this to demonstrate his benevolence and magnanimity.
In reality, they still didn't trust the Song family.
Although only the old general remains in the Song family, and he is now bedridden and unable to get up, how can anyone else be allowed to sleep peacefully beside his bed? Since the emperor raised an army in Jizhou, he will naturally not allow anyone else to do what he did, using the state as their home to gather people's hearts and build an army to establish themselves.
Even when General Song was on his last breath in Zhuozhou, he was still a banner, the heart of the people. A few years later, he became another Song family army.
Once he enters the capital, the Song family army will soon collapse as Chang Da and Zhao Pengrui vie for power in Zhuozhou.
She sighed inwardly. Of the four old generals who guarded the border in the past, General Song was arrogant and haughty, General Liang was sycophantic and opportunistic, and there was another who was elusive and rarely seen. Only the Prince of Dingbei had a good reputation for being courteous to his subordinates and broad-minded.
But once he sat on the throne, things changed drastically in just a few years.
The deputy general added, "Xie Yu also came to the capital with General Song. When he fled from the capital to Zhuozhou, he took the Imperial Seal with him. He sent people to spread the word that he would present the seal to the emperor. The emperor was overjoyed and ordered him to come to the capital in person."
Lingyi was making tea when she heard this and was momentarily distracted. A few drops of hot water fell on her hand, which made her shudder. She dropped the teapot and was about to pour it on her feet.
She only got a little splashed on her hands, which caused some redness and swelling, but if that pot of water were poured on her feet, they would definitely be scalded.
But she was too lazy to move, and just watched, not even thinking of dodging.
In a flash, a hand came over and knocked the teapot away, saving her from being scalded.
The teapot fell to the ground, but because the houses in the village were all made of earth, it didn't break. The lid rolled a few times on the ground before stopping.
Only then did Lingyi look at the hand that had saved her with lingering fear. The back of that hand was already scalded with blisters, and further up, the white cloth on the arm was soaked with blood.
She looked up and met Qin Lie's unreadable eyes. "Your Highness, the wounds on your hands and arms may have reopened. Please allow me to change your dressings."
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