Chapter 66: Cui Meilan's words were rough but the reasoning was sound. But the way she said it was just too rough…
As dusk fell, a biting wind howled, and sand and stones flew everywhere.
After escaping the carriage, Ning Lu felt momentarily lost, standing at the door of the east wing, unable to find her way.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. Rather than eating something hot, she suddenly wanted to talk to someone.
In the past, she might have taken out her phone to send a voice message to her best friend; when she first arrived, she could have closed the door and gossiped with Xie Qinghe; and if it were other court secrets, she could have talked to Yu Lanzhou about them...
But at this very moment, everything in her mind was chaotic and related to Xie Qinghe, a tangled mess she couldn't unravel...
She couldn't find any friends, couldn't talk to the person involved, and couldn't even bring herself to speak to Yu Lanzhou...
"Girl! You're back, why don't you come inside?"
Qingzhi opened the door from the inside, poked her head out with a bowl of cold soup, and her eyes lit up when she saw her, her voice rising eight octaves.
"The girl is back, quickly make the fire burn brighter."
"It's so cold outside, girl, come in and warm up."
Qingzhi placed the soup bowl on the cabinet and pulled Ninglu, who was standing outside the door, inside.
“Young lady, you must be starving. We heard you were coming back at noon, so we prepared some food. We waited and waited, but you didn’t come. We thought the adults had kept you here. When we asked, we found out… you must not have eaten well. I’ll go and tell the kitchen to bring up all the food we’ve prepared.”
Qingzhi muttered to herself as she walked out.
Upon hearing the sound, Qinghuai had already brought in warm water to help warm her hands and apply a hot compress.
Before long, her body and stomach felt warm, and a smile finally appeared on Ning Lu's lifeless face. She let out a comfortable hum and leaned on the table, waiting for Qing Huai to bring her the plate of cut fruit.
"Girl, have a taste of the fruit that was delivered today."
"It smells so good..."
"Of course it smells good. I heard that all the food delivered from outside is being brought to our east wing."
Seeing that she was satisfied, Qingzhi immediately chimed in.
"Xie Qinghe eats like a chicken pecking at rice; sending him over would be a waste."
“That’s different. In the capital, these things are all rationed.”
Qinghuai handed the peeled orange to Ninglu's palm: "Even if the person in the main seat doesn't like it, they can't bring it down without nodding."
Sensing their unspoken meaning, Ning Lu lowered her head and popped an orange into her mouth.
It's very sweet.
"Are you going out again tonight, young lady? You must be feeling stiff after being cooped up in the carriage all afternoon. How about we boil some water for you to bathe in?"
"Yes, it's good to relax and get some rest."
"How did you know I was in the carriage?" she asked in surprise, sitting up straight and looking around.
"We need to prepare food for the girl, so of course we need to keep a close eye on things."
Qingzhi didn't take it seriously and called the guards on duty outside to boil water. Turning back, she said mysteriously, "However, you may not know, but your story with our master is almost becoming a popular tale and is being circulated everywhere."
The other maids in the room, having received their duties, all withdrew and went about their tasks, leaving only the three of them chatting idly about anecdotes and gossip.
Ning Lu then learned that there were many different speculations circulating about her relationship with Xie Qinghe. Some versions said that Xie Qinghe locked her up in a secluded courtyard and forced himself on her, while others said that the Grand Secretary disguised himself and humbly begged for her love. The most outrageous version was that someone said she, an assassin, had been secretly in love with Xie Qinghe for many years and deliberately created a crisis to save the hero and take advantage of the situation...
"That's outrageous."
"Why doesn't anyone say that cats catch mice but don't eat them, they just play with them?"
Frustrated, she rubbed her cheeks, sighed, and looked pitifully at Qinghuai.
"What do you mean by that, young lady? Who is the cat? Who is the mouse?"
Qingzhi was folding clothes in the inner room when she heard Ninglu's murmur; her voice arrived before she did.
"Stop asking questions!" Qinghuai laughed and scolded the person back, then lowered the curtains one by one.
Noticing Ning Lu's unease, she softened her tone to reassure her: "Everything takes time to resolve. If there's something you can't figure out, why don't you put it aside for now?"
"Can we still put it in?"
Over the course of those four months, she and Xie Qinghe experienced misunderstandings and moments of panic, but ultimately, like sifting through sand, what remained was their tacit understanding.
Undeniably, that guy has inexplicably become her connection to this world.
Although she was too lazy to go to work, she didn't dislike seeing him every day. She wasn't interested in those struggles and conspiracies, but she hoped he could get away unscathed.
More importantly, she knew she had the ability to survive in poverty and didn't crave wealth and luxury, yet she still wished Xie Qinghe could live a more comfortable life...
Having been single since birth for over twenty years, Ning Lu doesn't really understand whether this kind of feeling can be considered liking someone.
If we're talking about it, this level of preference becomes quite awkward.
It wasn't enough to sustain her through the rest of her life in this world, but it was enough to torment her conscience, leaving her with little to no room for remorse.
What should she do if the opportunity to go home suddenly arises? What will Xie Qinghe do?
Ning Lu felt a shiver run down her spine when she recalled those bloodshot eyes.
"Miss, hot water is ready. Please take a bath and change your clothes first."
Qinghuai lifted the curtain and led Ninglu inside. Knowing she disliked fanfare, she left only the two of them inside to wait on her.
A comfortable temperature and a reassuring aroma.
Ning Lu poked her head out of the water, turned around in the bathtub, stared at the two girls who were focused on their work, and suddenly felt that she could entrust her troubles to them.
With her eyelashes fluttering, she spoke softly, "I have a friend who's been having some trouble lately. Could you help me think of a solution?"
Qinghuai and Qingzhi immediately stopped what they were doing and came to her side to listen attentively.
"She might not stay in Jiang Kingdom for long, but she seems to be having an ambiguous relationship with a young man here... Now the man is trying to make it official, and I... my friend doesn't know what to do."
"You won't be staying in Jiang Kingdom for long?" Qinghuai was taken aback.
"yes."
"Then can't the young master from Jiang Kingdom go with the young lady?"
Qingzhi was oblivious to his presence; her face was full of incomprehension towards the young man.
"It's probably not possible."
"What do you think, young lady... what do your friends think?" Qinghuai pondered for a moment, his smile turning heavy, his brow furrowing. "If you are in love, you should cherish the time you spend together. If you don't like each other, you should break it off decisively. You shouldn't waste each other's time and sincerity."
"What if my friend leaves..."
“Girl, I think your friend is underestimating the fragility of the men of Jiang Kingdom.” Qingzhi didn’t offer any grand theories. She waved her hand and added hot water to the bathtub. “Besides, women always fantasize about the other person’s devotion. Maybe they’re just after momentary pleasure.”
Upon hearing this, Qinghuai pinched Qingzhi's arm, causing the little girl to scream in pain.
"What's wrong? Am I wrong? Look at our master. His late wife passed away early, he lost his mother when he was young, his family was destroyed when he was young, and his mentor died when he came of age and became an official. He was all alone, but he's still living a good life, isn't he?"
"Of course, there aren't many people in the world with the same will as Lord Xie, but there aren't many people as unlucky as our Lord."
The words may be rough, but the principle is sound.
But that's such a crude way of putting it...
Qinghuai and Ninglu looked at each other, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Distracted by Qingzhi, Ning Lu's newly brewed sadness seemed somewhat affected, and she turned around, pulling her wet head back into the water.
She didn't know if Xie Qinghe's current situation could be considered good.
But Qingzhi was right about one thing: she seemed to think of him as too fragile.
He is Xie Qinghe, a man who can manipulate people and still make them count his money for him.
Underestimating your opponent is being cruel to yourself.
Ning Lu looked up and surfaced. Qingzhi had been sent away, leaving only Qinghuai to continue the charcoal fire.
"girl."
"Um?"
"Jiang Kingdom is not just Changzhou. Once the court is at peace, if you are willing to travel around and see the world, you might come to like the customs and culture of Jiang Kingdom."
Sensing the unspoken meaning in her words, Ning Lu felt a lump in her throat, mumbled a vague "hmm," and curled up.
Ji Ming had said something similar to her before.
After washing up and changing into her nightgown, Ninglu huddled under the covers, joking and teasing with Qinghuai and Qingzhi on either side.
As I was about to fall asleep, I suddenly heard the clatter of horses' hooves and the clanging of armor outside the courtyard wall.
His eyes, which had just closed, suddenly opened wide. Feeling uneasy, he simply sat up.
Before she could ask anything, Qingzhi rushed in to announce her arrival.
"Young lady, something has happened! Prince Jing! Prince Jing has led his troops into Changzhou City!"
"What?"
"The army rose in the afternoon, and moved stealthily under the cover of night. They have already breached the city gates and are heading towards the Changzhou government office!"
"Where is Xie Qinghe? Where is he?"
I jumped out of bed as if by conditioned reflex and pushed open the window facing the main room. Looking into the distance, it was all dark.
He's not in now.
"The gatekeeper said that the master did not get off the carriage and went straight to the government office."
Compared to the shock of Prince Jing leading troops in rebellion, Ning Lu's panic stemmed more from her worry about Xie Qinghe.
She hadn't seen him rest properly for the past few days. Besides, he'd long since run out of his emergency medication…
The chaos at this time would be like adding insult to injury for him.
"I'll go to the government office to take a look."
"Young lady, the master has ordered that you stay here."
“If someone really wants to rebel, nowhere is safe. I feel more at ease with him by my side.”
Ning Lu quickly put on her clothes and tied her long hair into a ponytail.
Before leaving, she turned back and pointed to the green locust tree branches: "Send someone to find a doctor to wait at the inn. Then, find a safe place to hide!"
Dressed in black, they sped along the night path.
The streets and alleys near the government office were brightly lit, and the two armies faced each other in silence.
The vermilion gates of the Changzhou government office were wide open, and soldiers from both sides lay in pools of blood.
Ignoring her shock, Ning Lu covered her mouth and nose, drew her dagger, and leaped over the courtyard wall.
Taking advantage of the darkness, he crouched down and hid in the bushes, quietly making his way to the hall where Xie Qinghe usually worked and held meetings.
The news from the gatekeeper was indeed a rebellion.
But this rebellion was so different from what she had imagined.
In TV dramas, rebellions are often depicted as involving thousands or tens of thousands of soldiers who shout and kill, massacring cities and villages, before the leading general dons a yellow robe and shouts "Long live the Emperor!"
At this moment, the courtyard was silent, with corpses lying around and blood seeping into the cracks between the bricks. The two armies faced each other in complete silence.
Thud—
The door was kicked open forcefully from the outside in, the abrupt sound breaking the tranquility of Xie Qinghe's closed-eye rest.
A cold wind swept in, and the doors and windows creaked.
Xie Qinghe, sitting at the head of the table, did not look up at the door, but supported himself with his hands.
After a while, he came to his senses, slowly picked up the medicine bowl that had been sitting on the table for a long time, and lowered his head to sip the medicine.
A bitter, acrid smell permeated the air, mingling with the rusty, bloody stench, swirling throughout the main hall of the government office.
"Lord Zhongcheng."
Zhao Yue took the lead, glancing coldly at Xie Qinghe, who was calmly leaning back in his chair. He frowned slightly, skipping even the gesture of clasping his hands in greeting.
After finishing the medicine, the bowl and cups were placed back on the table. Xie Qinghe leaned forward, looking past him at the golden-armored man who strode in.
"Your Highness Prince Jing, how have you been?"
"How dare you, Xie Qinghe! How could I not bow before Your Highness!"
Zhao Yue raised his eyebrows and spoke loudly, almost stepping forward.
"It's alright."
Instead, Prince Jing stepped forward, pressed down on the arm that was waving, and sat down in a chair on one side.
My palm touched the warm tea on the table, and I lifted the lid to taste it. The pre-Qingming tea was just beginning to release its fragrance.
"So, you're waiting for me, aren't you?"
"Waiting for the prince to come, and also hoping that the prince won't come."
"After all these years, you're still so arrogant."
"And isn't Your Highness the same?"
Upon hearing this, Prince Jing paused in his tea-drinking motion, glanced at Xie Qinghe, and then burst into loud laughter.
"Zhao Yue! You see, I was right! In this world, if anyone understands me, Xie Jiming is undoubtedly number one!"
Zhao Yue was called out by name, and glanced sideways at Xie Qinghe, daring to be angry but not daring to speak out.
He simply bowed and stepped back, then walked to the door and stood guard.
"How many men did Your Highness bring with you?"
"Not much, only three hundred."
Xie Qinghe raised an eyebrow slightly, then understood and chuckled.
"Then they've come for me."
"For hundreds of men to storm the capital is of course a pipe dream. But in Changzhou, capturing an official is more than enough."
Prince Jing didn't take it to heart and generously spread his hands, saying frankly, "That good-for-nothing Jiang Xu has neither courage nor ability. Of the several advisors in the Crown Prince's mansion back then, and now the Three Departments and Six Ministries, only you, Xie Jiming, are worthy of being my opponent."
"Without you, Jiang Xu will surely be thrown into chaos. At that time, things will be much easier for me. Don't you think so?"
Having said that, the man was very satisfied with his decision, slapped his thigh lightly, and was about to drink his tea when he remembered something and leaned closer to Xie Qinghe: "Besides, my rebellion should be what you, Ji Ming, want to see, right?"
"How can it not be that I came for you?"
Turning the loosely fitting black jade thumb ring on his left hand, Xie Qinghe's slight smile gradually disappeared, replaced by a chilling aura.
"Your Highness truly thinks highly of me."
"Xie Jiming, if you nod, I can spare your life. What he promised you, I can also grant."
Prince Jing stood up, placed his hands on the table, and looked down at Xie Qinghe.
"At that time, I will give you anything you want, whether it be the position of Censor-in-Chief or the position of Grand Secretary!"
"Your Highness should be mindful of your status."
Seeing that Xie Qinghe remained calm and composed, Prince Jing had a sudden inspiration, squinted and chuckled, and leaned closer to Xie Qinghe.
"Or perhaps, what you really want is that woman?"
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