Chapter 194 Lowering one's noble head
The King of Qin hurled the cup in his hand at Lin Xiaoxing's forehead, and warm tea mixed with blood trickled down his head.
"You come to ask me? If you had reported this earlier, would this have happened?"
"Go and deal with it! Give the money that's due. If anyone... insists on pestering you and won't listen to advice, you should know what to do!"
Lin Xiaoxing trembled, agreed repeatedly, and hurriedly retreated, not even bothering to wipe the blood that covered his face.
Pei Yanzhi received the news on the afternoon of the day the accident occurred in the mine.
After listening, his dark eyes flashed with coldness, and he said in a cold voice, "Issue an edict ordering the King of Qin to come to see me the day after tomorrow."
Wu Yang understood immediately; His Majesty intended to deal with the Prince of Qin.
As for how the King of Qin tossed and turned when he learned that he was to be summoned that night, that remains unknown.
Early the next morning, Ji Shu took Qinghe to the market and bought a lot of delicious food and fun things.
They did not return home until lunchtime.
Looking at Qinghe's rosy cheeks, he chuckled and asked, "Are you happy today?"
"I've never been so happy!" Qinghe's eyes sparkled. "My mother is so good to me!"
Ji Shu rubbed his head and couldn't help but step forward and kiss him.
Pei Qinghe hurriedly covered her face, her ears turning bright red, "Mother, kiss me!"
"I don't care, I want to kiss you too, and I want to kiss my mother too!"
As Pei Yanzhi listened to the sounds of the two people inside the room laughing and accepting the gift on the soft couch, his heart seemed to be completely melted in this moment of peace.
A slight smile played on his lips. Hearing the sounds inside had subsided considerably, it seemed they were saying something.
She took two steps forward and knocked on the door. Ji Shu opened it upon hearing the knock.
When she saw that it was him, a look of surprise flashed across her face; she had originally thought it was Chunzhi.
His tone softened: "Why has Your Majesty come?"
Pei Yanzhi had long since grown accustomed to her attitude towards him, so he said calmly, "Now that our son is with you, can't I even come and freeload a meal?"
Ji Shu's expression turned cold upon hearing this. "I had no idea that the Emperor couldn't even afford a meal?"
After saying that, she didn't even glance at him and went straight inside.
Pei Yanzhi touched the tip of his nose, secretly comforting himself that it was nothing to be teased by her.
What's wrong with being a little thick-skinned? Men shouldn't care about saving face when pursuing a wife.
That thing can't be eaten, so isn't this just agreeing to let him in?
When Pei Yanzhi entered, he immediately saw Qinghe staring at him with bright, curious eyes.
He naturally heard the commotion outside, but remembering his father's instructions from a few days ago, that his mother was only angry with him and that he came to Ganzhou so that his mother could go back with them, he remembered the commotion.
Tell him to help properly and not to upset his mother.
The room fell silent for a moment. After Chunzhi served tea, she saw the young man sizing up the two people who seemed to keep everyone at arm's length.
She couldn't help but find it a little funny, so she beckoned to the young man and whispered, "Shall we go out and play? It's not convenient for them to talk while you're here. Shall we go out?"
Qinghe saw her father slowly take a sip of tea, and when he looked over, he only nodded almost imperceptibly. Only her mother stared blankly ahead, lost in thought.
After a long while, the child, holding Chunzhi's hand, was led outside.
Looking at her unapproachable face, Pei Yanzhi suddenly said, "I'm sorry. If I had known your thoughts sooner, perhaps you wouldn't have had to be separated from the moment Qinghe was born."
Ji Shu snapped out of her daze and looked up at him, but Qinghe Xiaoxiao was no longer in the room.
For some reason, perhaps it's because I think of my baby who was still an infant three years ago, and who has now grown up so much. Do you regret it?
He certainly wouldn't regret it; his only regret was that he hadn't been a part of those three years, and they certainly wouldn't have stayed in Ganzhou for long.
Once separated, it may be for a lifetime, and they may never see each other again.
She lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, "What's the point of talking about this now? Can we pretend that nothing happened that year?"
"Now that you have ascended to the throne, Qinghe is a prince, and I am but a country doctor, with no connection whatsoever with you!"
Pei Yan stepped forward and walked up to him, mimicking how she treated Qinghe, slowly squatting down and lowering his arrogant head.
His hawk-like eyes were fixed on her, and he said in a low voice, "Is there nothing about me that you would want to miss? Was all that whispering and intimacy that year... just a lie?"
"For the past three years, I've often thought that it's fortunate you left Qinghe behind. If it weren't for him, I don't even dare to imagine how I would have gotten through those days and nights."
He almost sighed aloud, "Shu'er, I am no longer young. How many more four-year periods do we have left to miss?"
After saying that, he slowly rested his head, which was adorned with a white jade hair crown, on her knee, raised his hand and removed the hair crown, and Ji Shu was shocked.
A few strands of silver hair had appeared among the black hair. Although there weren't many, they could easily be covered up with some hair cream.
But he didn't; he even pointed it out to her on purpose.
"The other day, Qinghe asked me, 'Father, why have you grown white hair...'"
“I said, yes, Father is no longer young.”
Ji Shu's eyes reddened, and she paused as she raised her hand, then gently placed it on the top of his head. Pei Yanzhi's tall and imposing figure stiffened slightly.
He felt her warm palm brush past his earlobe and finally stop at his hair bun.
An indescribable joy welled up in his heart.
Ji Shu gently stroked his hair, which was tied up with silver strands, her heart aching with unbearable sorrow, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words.
She couldn't help but recall the time she took his pulse a few days ago; his pulse was extremely erratic, a result of injuries sustained from years of warfare, now that the world was at peace.
Who could know that this peace was won little by little by this man with his own flesh and blood?
The original book says that he died suddenly in his early forties because of severe diarrhea. Thinking of this, his mind was in turmoil.
This shouldn't have been her concern. There were imperial physicians in the Luoyang palace; she was just a country doctor. How could she compare to them?
Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, Pei Yanzhi took it and placed it against his chest.
“I am much older than you. Four years ago, I thought that if one day I were to leave you before you, Xingjian would imprison you by my side as I had forced you to…”
He smiled bitterly, "Just thinking about that scene makes me feel that even if I were in hell, I would probably be too jealous to be reincarnated."
"Those words... I only meant to warn him, I didn't really intend to do anything to you, how could I... bear to?"
Ji Shu looked at him with a complex mix of emotions, but this was the first time since their reunion that he had spoken to her so openly.
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