In the end, Qiao San's death was only rewarded with a posthumous honor by the emperor. Some people in the court advised against severe punishment of the murderer, but the emperor just brushed it off with a single sentence: All the enemies were brought to justice.
He had no intention of getting into the details.
During the funeral, Qiao Si did not send anyone to pay attention to the changes in the court situation. He was only focused on finding the cause of Qiao San's death and arranging people to escort Prince Qiao to Dingzhou.
By the time she learned about the political situation, Wei Nian had already requested to go to Yanzhou to deal with the aftermath in order to redress Qiao San's grievances.
Wei Nian left on the day Qiao San's corpse returned to the city. Zhang You listened to the news Qiuyue had found out and thought to himself that it was no wonder that he hadn't seen Wei Nian or Qiao Si during this period.
only……
Zhang You looked up at Qiao Si, who was keeping her head down and silent, wondering what she was feeling.
Qiuyue talked about Wei Qian again.
The day after Wei Nian left, Wei Qian was demoted and exiled to a fishing village in the southeast for contradicting the emperor in the court.
Zhang You hadn't expected Wei Qian to do such a thing. He had just been promoted not long ago, and he actually contradicted the emperor at such a time...
Zhang You was in a daze, lost in thought.
She had persuaded him to stay in the capital out of her selfish desire for him to become Qiao Si's helper, but she had not expected that this would lead to him being sent away.
After Qiuyue finished talking about the Wei brothers, she went on to talk about the current political situation, where only the prince and Li Guanghan's factions remained.
Ever since the Crown Prince killed the Princess Chiyan, Xu Yun became the Crown Princess, and Xu Zhicheng naturally sided with the Crown Prince.
After the Battle of Chiyan, Li Guanghan completely won the trust of the ministers in the court. All the military officers respected him as their master. Even the emperor praised him highly. For a time, his status rose rapidly, and he seemed to be competing with the prince.
Qiao Si listened calmly to the latest news he had obtained, and finally just told them to keep still for the time being and wait for them to fight each other.
Li Guanghan now has the ability to fight against the prince, and Qiao Si no longer needs any guidance.
It was only a matter of time before they started fighting, and there was no need for them to get involved.
The most important thing right now is to send someone to send Prince Qiao and Qiao San back to Dingzhou.
On the fifth day of the funeral, Zhang You was ordered to go out and buy some things.
I didn't expect to meet Wei Qian on the way back home.
He looked much more haggard.
He had already taken off his official uniform, leaving only a simple white robe, but it could not hide his unyielding uprightness.
"Master Wei."
Zhang You spoke first.
Wei Qian raised the corner of his mouth in a wry smile, which easily touched Zhang You's heart. "I am no longer Lord Wei. You should still call me Master Wei as before."
His voice was low and slow, like bamboo shoots that were trampled after rain. He had the ambition to serve his country but nowhere to display it, and was left with only melancholy.
Zhang You wanted to reach out with concern, but she held back, whispering comfortingly, "I'm sorry. I persuaded you to stay, but I didn't expect it would cause you so much pain..."
"It's not your fault. I would have made the same choice without you. What's more, the court is like this, how can a small official like me influence it?" Wei Qian looked at the woman in front of him. He wanted to say so many things, but unfortunately, there were eyes all around him, so he could only say goodbye to her simply.
Wei Qian's eyes seemed to be filled with a thousand words. Zhang You met his gaze and felt her heart beating faster. She looked away in panic and changed the subject: "I heard you were going to Southeast? When are you leaving?"
When she turned her gaze away, Wei Qian secretly raised the corners of his mouth, and his heart, which had been frustrated for days, seemed to regain some vitality.
"I'm leaving tomorrow, and I'm here to say goodbye to you today." Wei Qian's smile was replaced by sadness when he talked about leaving.
He was exiled partly because he had contradicted someone in public, and partly because some people wanted to take action against their Wei family when they saw that Wei Nian was not in the capital.
This is how the court is. People work diligently for the country and the people, but they cannot withstand the words of those with ulterior motives.
If the emperor didn't value his talent, how could he care about losing a minister like him?
"Last time we said goodbye, I asked you for a bag of candied fruit, and now I'm giving you a jade pendant." Wei Qian took out a white jade pendant as big as his palm from his arms. He took a step forward and handed it to her personally.
Only when he got closer did Zhang You hear him whisper, "This contains a token from Wei Nian. When he left, he asked me to take care of your princess. Now that I'm leaving, I'll give this to you. If you encounter any problems, take this out and his people in the capital will help you. There are spies around here, so be careful."
The sudden approach made her subconsciously want to push him away, but she didn't expect that Wei Qian wanted to deliver a token of love. Her body stiffened slightly, not knowing whether it was because of his approach or because she knew someone was watching her.
Wei Qian took a step back and kept some distance. The faint scent of his incense still lingered in the air. Zhang You looked up at his calm appearance and felt relieved.
After calming down, she realized that this might be their last meeting, and a slight reluctance arose in her heart.
Even the look she gave him was unconsciously complicated.
I want to keep you but I don’t have the right to do so, I want to say goodbye but I’m not decisive enough.
Zhang You could vaguely foresee in his heart that this would be the last time they met in this life.
It might not be a bad thing for Wei Qian to stay away from the capital.
What Qiao Si is going to do will probably happen in the near future. If they stay here, who knows if there will be a tomorrow?
Zhang You stroked the jade pendant in his hand and asked casually, "What are you going to do after you leave the capital?"
"Although I'm just a small official, I can still do some things. As long as it's for the people, I have to do it no matter how big or small the matter is. Maybe the emperor is far away and I won't be restricted." Wei Qian looked at Zhang You's slightly frowned brows, and deliberately spoke of his future plans in a relaxed manner, as if those things were no big deal.
Zhang You was amused by his expression, "You seem to be more open-minded now."
This is the best way. If you don't worry about the trivial things in front of you every day, you won't care about the right and wrong in the capital.
"After parting today, I don't know when we'll meet again." Zhang You said melancholy, then bowed to him. Everything that couldn't be said was contained in this bow...
"Thank you for your help over the past two years, Master Wei. I hope you will be safe and worry-free in the future."
Wei Qian, who had been enduring the sadness of parting since they met, was now deeply moved by her actions and words.
From beginning to end, he never told her about his love.
In the past, his status as a bastard stood in his way. His family would not agree, and he did not want to be a villain who made promises casually but could not keep them.
Later, he entered the court as an official as he wished, but because his ambitions conflicted with reality, he didn't want her to live in fear with him, so he never said it out loud.
But now, he has been exiled from Beijing and even his own life and death are uncertain, so how can he drag her down?
Wei Qian couldn't bear to look at her again. He lowered his dark eyes, suppressing the reluctance rising in them, and just said to her as he always did, "Goodbye."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
