Before he knew it, June was only at its tail end. On the 24th, Shen Huaixu heard the commotion outside with his good hearing.
There was a new rattan chair in her yard, placed under the locust tree in the northwest corner of the yard. Next to the rattan chair was a mahogany table with food and books on it.
The sun in Nanxia was too hot, so she only came out to sit in the morning and near dusk.
She pricked up her ears and listened for a while, then turned to ask the maid standing beside her, "What's going on outside?"
After spending nearly half a month together, she and the maid became closer and could exchange a few words, but that was all.
The maid smiled and explained softly, "These past two days are the Torch Festival, to pray for a good harvest. Every household in Xiangyi City will light torches in front of their doors. You're from Dajin, so you may not have seen this before. If you have the chance, you can come and see it for yourself. It's very lively both day and night during these two days."
Her tone was very sincere, so Shen Huaixu smiled at her and said, "Thank you for your good wishes."
As the maid said, Xiangyi City is very lively today, and there is another thing that is even more lively -
On the largest street in Xiangyi City, a carriage drawn by four horses was slowly moving from east to west. The wide carriage almost occupied half of the street, and it caught everyone's attention the moment it appeared.
The carriage was entirely black, with only the front curtain embroidered with a crane totem in silver thread. The white crane was in a posture with its wings spread, looking proud and noble.
The curtains of the car swayed in the wind, and the figure of the person sitting inside was looming, making people want to peek and guess who was sitting inside.
Soon, the carriage stopped at the gate of the Princess's Mansion. Unknowingly, a lot of people gathered outside the Princess's Mansion. A man wearing a black robe with silver threads walked down from the carriage. The silver threads outlined a delicate crane shape, and the movements were agile, like a living thing.
The loose black robe could not clearly outline the man's figure. His tall height made him stand out like a crane among chickens. The black mask on his face covered his face completely.
It's hard to imagine that in such hot weather, this man is wrapped up tightly as if he is afraid of the sun.
Due to the serious expressions of the guards beside the carriage, the people of Xiangyi City only dared to speak in a low voice. They only dared to raise their voices after the man disappeared into the Princess's Mansion.
"Who is this person? Could he be another lover of the eldest princess?"
The man who spoke made an expression that said 'everyone understands'. He seemed to be asking the people around him, but his tone was very firm.
"I think this person is not good-looking, otherwise why wouldn't he show up? Her Royal Highness the Princess is stunningly beautiful, and Prime Minister Qin isn't particularly good-looking, but he possesses a remarkable bearing. We can't let a pockmarked toad eat the swan's flesh."
Someone looked in the direction Fu Yin left and said, "This guy also looks very impressive!"
"It looks a bit strange. Why are there white cranes everywhere? They're like enemies in the west of the city."
"Don't mention it, many officials believe in this, and there are also many people in the community, it's not surprising..."
The young emperor was young, and the regent was in control of the government. The eldest princess, who was able to return home with the help of the regent, also received many preferential treatments from the regent, such as the extremely luxurious princess residence and the opportunity to participate in government affairs appropriately - in private.
Given her close association with the Prince Regent, it's no surprise that some romantic rumors have surfaced over time. The once aloof Tianshan Snow Lotus has become tarnished by the escalating rumors, so it's no surprise that such rumors would be the first thing on someone's mind.
Princess Qiao Man doesn't care about such rumors.
She was half lying on the beauty couch, pinching grapes with her fingertips and putting them into her mouth, her expression lazy and nonchalant, no longer as noble and detached as she appeared in front of outsiders.
The next moment, the sourness on the tip of her tongue made her frown slightly. She raised her eyes and glanced at the palace maid holding the glass plate. With just one glance, the palace maid knelt on the ground. Before she could say anything to beg for mercy, another palace maid came in to report.
"Your Highness, Princess, someone wants to see you. His name is He Yin."
Qiao Man's eyes lit up slightly, and she said, "Please wait a moment, Mr. He. I will be there right away."
The maid replied yes and left.
After getting off the bed, Qiao Man went to the dressing mirror and fixed her appearance until there was nothing wrong. Then she left slowly. The palace maid kneeling on the ground behind her did not dare to stand up even in the silence in the room.
"Mr. He's presence here truly brings honor to this princess's humble residence."
He Yin only bowed slightly and said in a deep and mature voice, "Princess, you are too modest. I am honored to receive your invitation."
The deep eyes under the mask looked up and met Qiao Man's narrow and long phoenix eyes for a moment, then slowly lowered, and a dark color flashed in the bottom of the eyes.
From today on, a man named He Yin was forcibly pushed into the sight of everyone in Xiangyi City by the eldest princess Wei Nishang. However, within a few days, the famous regent of Nanxia saw this "Mr. He" with his own eyes, and he was in the Nanxia palace.
At that time, he was walking quickly on the wide avenue of the palace, and walking towards him were the eldest princess and He Yin, whom he had not seen for a few days.
With a smile on his face, he slowly bowed to the princess. After a brief greeting, his eyes fell on the man in black robes, "This is Mr. He, right?"
"Prime Minister Qin, your words are too kind. I am He Yin." His attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, and his tone was calm without any flattery. Although he called him Prime Minister Qin, there was no sense of respect.
Qin Xiao had a smile on his face, not caring about the other person's attitude. He looked at the princess again and asked, "Princess, are you here to see His Majesty?"
"This princess has not seen Your Majesty for a long time. I heard that Your Majesty caught a cold last night, so I came to visit you. Now that Prime Minister Qin has seen Your Majesty, I wonder how Your Majesty is doing?"
"The weather has been hot lately, and Your Majesty sought some coolness. Coupled with the unrest at the border, your mind was restless, and you caught a cold. I have already advised the princess that if you are concerned about Your Majesty's health, that is fine, but please do not disturb Your Majesty over irrelevant matters."
The princess's indifferent expression finally rippled. She said "Oh?" meaningfully. "Thank you, Prime Minister Qin, for reminding me. I brought Mr. He here out of concern for your majesty's health. Mr. He is proficient in medicine and I believe he can help your majesty recover soon."
After saying this, the princess bowed slightly and left.
Qin Xiao looked at the group of people going away, the corners of his mouth gradually fell back, and he stared at the tall man in black robe with narrowed eyes. After hearing the eunuch's reminder, he continued to walk out of the palace.
He Yin, also known as Fu Yin, recalled the scene when Qiao Man and Qin Xiao met just now, and remembered the question he had asked Chen Huaixu - Qiao Man could clearly kill the little emperor and Qin Xiao together, why didn't she do it?
Shen Huaixu's answer was very simple. Although Qiao Man was a daughter of the royal family, she was not legitimate, not to mention that ascending the throne as a woman was a great offense against the world. If Qin Xiao was killed, there would be another Qin Xiao. If he wanted to achieve his goal simply by killing people, it would only cause rebellion and unrest across the country. Killing until there was no one left to use would be too barbaric and stupid.
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