Chapter 85 Crossing the Dark Boat "You did this?"...
Mom is right, birthdays shouldn't be postponed.
It's bad luck.
The belated longevity noodles did not bring Xie Qinghe any good luck; instead, he suffered from a persistent high fever.
On the morning of the Beginning of Spring, the charcoal fire was warm.
The agarwood commonly used in the bedroom has been replaced by several fruit platters, their colors glossy and full of vitality.
Xie Qinghe lifted his upper body, leaned back on the cushion, and his neck, unable to support him, bent backward.
From head to toe, only the pink, velvety hand warmer in his arms showed any sign of life.
Physician Luo carefully put the silver needles into his bag, and unexpectedly made eye contact with the fluffy, crooked-mouthed rabbit in his arms.
The usually dignified old man couldn't help but twitch his lips as he glanced at Ning Lu, who was slumped over a table to the side.
Xie Qinghe's high fever had just subsided, and he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand, let alone pick up a pen to write.
The young girl volunteered, claiming to be Xie Qinghe's direct disciple and capable of handling the important task. Here, she would be imitating Xie Qinghe's handwriting from his previous documents.
I already thought this girl was careless and unreliable, and after seeing her embroidery skills, I became even more worried.
Seeing Xie Qinghe unconsciously caressing the velvet with affection, Physician Luo couldn't help but let out a soft hum.
That fluffy pink rabbit was, in the end, nothing more than a hand warmer cover.
Ning Lu, having missed Xie Qinghe's birthday, insisted on giving him something. When she went to the Xie family's storeroom, she found it already filled with mountains of gold and silver sent by the emperor.
Without hesitation, I did the opposite of what was expected, and spent the whole night learning needlework, resulting in this ugly embroidery.
It is entirely pink with white trim, and its two black eyes are different sizes. Its three-lobed mouth is also uneven, with the left side higher than the right.
The only decent-looking rabbit ears were sewed on by Xie Qinghe himself, who couldn't bear to see her eyes red from staying up all night.
She proudly showed it off everywhere, calling it her "debut work".
If others made jokes, the ruthless Lord Xie would go to great lengths to defend her, saying, "Ning Lulu's major is not here. It's already very good."
Even so, it wasn't enough. People who used to refuse to use hot water bottles even when it was cold now obediently hold that ugly rabbit hand warmer every day after getting this hand warmer cover, never letting it out of their sight.
The purple brush in her hand wasn't quite right for her, so Ning Lu got up and went outside to find another brush.
Seeing Xie Qinghe's gaze follow her every step, Physician Luo felt a pang of jealousy and couldn't help but snort and make sarcastic remarks.
"Two years ago, your health was much better than it is now. I advised you then not to waste your life and to stop in time. Now, you regret it, don't you?"
Hearing the sound, he lowered his eyes, gently tugged at the little rabbit's earlobe, his expression aloof, but his words softened considerably.
"As you know, if things were still the same as they were back then... then there would be nothing to miss."
The Imperial Physician Luo abruptly stopped stroking his beard, gasped, and leaned back.
When the Crown Prince brought him out of the imperial prison that year, he was just a teenager, and he silently endured a high fever that lasted for several days and nights.
After waking up, he has been like a soulless walking corpse for the past few years, acting ruthlessly and without any scruples.
He shouldered the infamy that others were unwilling to bear, and he did the dirty deeds that others dared not do.
He's been plagued by illness for so long, bearing the brunt of public criticism. When it comes to life and death, he treats it all with a laugh.
He was worried that this man would abandon Changzhou after the pacification of Prince Jing's party, given his prolonged absence.
Thankfully not...
"Even Heaven couldn't stand your foolishness, so it sent that young girl to enlighten you." Physician Luo glared at him. "That girl may seem simple-minded, but she's actually very insightful. You're calculating in everything, yet you still fall into a trap."
Yes. Since I already know.
The mountain stream babbles, nourishing any passing traveler.
He is the one who needs him the most.
He ran wildly out of the desert, his lips dry and his tongue cracked, on the verge of despair.
To him, she was like rain after a long drought, a gentle glow in the cold night, and a lifeline.
His gaze returned to the adorable little rabbit with the crooked mouth, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"From now on... I beg you, sir..."
"As long as you stop worrying about court affairs like you do today, I guarantee that a scourge like you won't die before me."
After saying this, the two looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Just then, Ning Lu returned from outside and, seeing the relaxed atmosphere between the two of them, poked her head over to join in the fun.
"Divine Doctor, what jokes can make our cold and aloof Lord Xie laugh? Tell me one too."
Physician Luo and Xie Qinghe exchanged glances, shook their heads, and said in a serious tone, "A death joke."
Ning Lu stared blankly for a while, then leaned back with a pout, looking at Physician Luo with disdain.
Finally, she turned to Xie Qinghe's sleeve and tugged at it: "In our area, Physician Luo's kind of joke has another name."
"Call it a lame joke."
Are you cold?
Xie Qinghe gently covered the top of her head with his large hand and stroked it lightly. Ning Lu was quite pleased and then gave Doctor Luo a flirtatious wink.
The elderly man could not resist her frivolous teasing and stumbled away, only to bump into Wei Zhan, who was hurrying towards him with a heavy expression.
Upon seeing this, Physician Luo straightened his expression, nodded, and left immediately.
"My lord," Wei Zhan bowed and said in a deep voice, "Qin You's memorial has been submitted to the palace."
Ning Lu turned her head to look at Xie Qinghe.
The man raised an eyebrow, appearing calm and composed, as if he had known about this all along.
"The other officials of the Censorate have already been ordered to enter the palace. The Emperor has sent someone to ask if you are able to enter the palace for a meeting?"
The person who was lying quietly and obediently by the bedside a second ago suddenly sat up straight, glaring at Wei Zhan with a fierce look in their eyes.
Almost simultaneously, her small hand was firmly covered by a warm, cool palm.
The man spoke coldly and indifferently: "This official's old ailment has flared up again... I cannot rise..."
That's true, but it doesn't sound like Xie Qinghe's style.
While Ning Lu was satisfied, she also harbored doubts and looked at Xie Qinghe with a mixture of belief and suspicion.
Wei Zhan accepted the order and withdrew.
The person tilted their head, their bright eyes blinking innocently: "Ning Lulu..."
It's a scam.
Ning Lu asked warily, "What are you doing?"
"Could you help me write a memorial to the throne?"
This seems like a good option.
The deer glanced smugly upwards with its eyes, nodding proudly.
With no one else in the room, Ning Lu placed the letter on the stool and sat on the wooden steps by the bed, listening to Xie Qinghe dictate the inscription, much like when she was a child doing her homework in front of her house.
[Please determine the subsequent handling of the case involving the remaining followers of Prince Jing, Jiang Yi]
As soon as she put pen to paper, she realized that what she was writing for Xie Qinghe was an official document. She immediately adjusted her expression, focused her gaze, and adopted a focused demeanor.
"Your subject Xie Qinghe respectfully reports."
"The case of Prince Jing began in Changzhou, involving military affairs, taxes, and officialdom. It was a complex and long-standing affair."
"The Vice Minister of Revenue, the Director of the Military Selection Department, and the deputy general of the rebel army have all been executed; Prince Jing is escorting them to the imperial prison..."
He spoke very slowly, pausing several times for almost every sentence.
Coincidentally, Ning Lu was holding a wolf-hair brush, and her writing was not fast either, which perfectly matched his speed.
"The Grand Master of the Censorate, Tan Zhang, committed suicide out of fear of punishment. His son, Tan You, submitted a memorial to the throne to confess his guilt and testify against his father. The whole story is now clear."
Xie Qinghe paused due to coughing, and Ning Lu also put down her pen.
My gaze fell on the last line of text.
My brow furrowed slightly; something just didn't feel right.
"Didn't Qin You's memorial just get sent to the palace? How do you know that his memorial is implicating his father?"
What was originally a casual, unintentional question has become as powerful as a gust of wind ruffling the surface of spring water.
Xie Qinghe's chest heaved, and he could no longer speak.
The person focused on appreciating the handwriting didn't notice anything amiss and said to himself, "I saw that young master Qin when I came back from the shop that day. Wenxi said that his father is always talking badly about you behind your back."
"I wanted to come back and tell you then, but I got so angry with that person in the palace that I forgot to tell you."
"I've never heard you mention this person before, so I thought it was nothing. But these past few days, I've heard from Wei Chun and the others that he was responsible for ruining your and the Emperor's reputations in Changzhou. It's really...outrageous..."
Turning her head, Ning Lu saw Xie Qinghe's head turned inward, his eyes closed and his lips pursed. Realizing something was wrong, she swallowed back the words she was about to say.
In that instant, she suddenly remembered why she thought Qin You looked familiar.
Not long after returning to the capital, she got lost in the Xie residence and stumbled into the woodshed in the backyard, where she met that person.
She seemed to have overheard Wei Chun and Xie Qinghe discussing Qin Zhang's name some time ago.
It is said that Qin Zhang's son went missing, and when he could not find him, he went to the emperor for help, but the emperor avoided seeing him.
If that's the case, then the direction from which Qin You led the carriage that day was precisely where the Xie residence was located.
Ning Lu looked at the letter on the stool, then at Xie Qinghe, as if she already had an answer.
"You...did this?"
If that's the case, then Qin Zhang died at the Xie family's house?
No matter how many ruthless methods Xie Qinghe employs, there is only one advantage.
He never lied to her.
After staring at each other for a long time, Xie Qinghe gave up struggling and nodded.
"Qin Zhang refuses to confess and must die."
His tone was calm and indifferent, as if he were talking about something trivial.
Ning Lu had seen Qin Zhang's corpse from afar, and a chill ran down her spine.
"So how did you convince his son to testify against his father?"
“He is a henchman of Prince Jing, and his entire family is implicated.” Xie Qinghe slowly raised his head, the bloodshot veins in his eyes clearing. “I gave his son… a way out…”
Would he really be that kind?
Ning Lu didn't know the relationship between these people, but she was fairly clear about what kind of person Xie Qinghe was.
Moreover, this kind of plot seems familiar.
"Qin You dared not choose, and Qin Zhang, not wanting to put his son in a difficult position, committed suicide by hitting his head against a pillar, his blood splattering everywhere." A look of bewilderment appeared in those calm eyes as he added in a low voice, "It happened in the study."
“Then… Qin You has even less reason to accuse his father of having an affair with Prince Jing.”
"Lulu, what a coincidence." Xie Qinghe said with a sneer, "Qin You also has a child."
He looked unwell and could barely sit still.
Ning Lu couldn't bear to ask any more questions, so she quickly kicked the stool next to the steps aside and made a move to help him lie down.
The man remained motionless, silently watching her.
The hand warmer in the palm of your hand rustles along its metal edges.
Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw fingertips trembling, knuckles clearly visible.
His frail body betrayed his true feelings first.
"I know you're very capable. Take a break, and we'll continue writing once you've calmed down."
Upon hearing this, Xie Qinghe, who considered himself intelligent, was even more unable to discern her attitude. He stared intently at her profile, trying to decipher the unspoken meaning.
She's such a good person.
If she knew that he detained court officials, threatened remonstrating officials, forced his father to death, and then threatened to frame his son to admit his father's faults, how would she view him?
Ning Lu, who was usually the least adept at hiding her emotions, appeared perfectly normal at this moment, and he couldn't detect anything unusual about her.
There was no anger, no alienation, and no fear.
“Ning Lu…”
"Um?"
"They...back then..."
He was indeed a coward.
Xie Qinghe spoke in a trembling voice, but Ning Lu interrupted him.
"You survived the same way back then. I know."
The pain in Xie Qinghe's eyes was so obvious that Ning Lu felt a lump in her throat, and her lively little face softened with a gentle light.
Her fingers ran through his dark hair, gently stroking it as if coaxing a child.
"I told you I'd stand by you, have you forgotten?"
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