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At noon in the Mingcheng Palace, the golden sunlight was even brighter, but it was blocked by Fu Jingxuan who was standing at the palace door.
Xiao Junbai propped himself up and sat up, and told him to go to Qingyaju to wait. This was the Crown Princess's bedroom, so it was inconvenient after all.
"Here, this is what you asked me to investigate." Fu Jingxuan threw down a letter and a portrait, which was rolled up and tied with a red string. "Your Highness's light words have caused me so much trouble."
"Your Highness, why are you tracking down the Crown Princess?" Fu Jingxuan sat down at the desk, facing the Crown Prince, waving the folding fan in his hand, his words full of confusion.
Xiao Junbai stared at the letters and portraits for a long time without moving.
Investigating this matter, I became suspicious when I went to Qi's house with the Crown Princess... It was obvious that the Crown Princess cared about her mother very much, and the tension and concern in her words did not seem fake. However, when she returned home, she did not say a few words to Qi Zhang, and it seemed as if they were not very familiar with each other.
Now that Fu Jingxuan had found out, Xiao Junbai hesitated.
His hands were clenched under the table, with no intention of opening the things. "You say."
Fu Jingxuan recounted his findings one by one: "Qi Lin's ancestral home is in Yangzhou, Jiangnan. His ancestors made a living by farming for generations. By Qi Lin's generation, there were four brothers and sisters, and now he is the only one still alive."
"I asked around, including Qi Lin's brothers and sisters, and finally found out that Qi Lin's eldest brother has a daughter who is about the same age as the Qi family's daughter. Your Highness, would you like to open it and take a look?"
Fu Jingxuan lightly tapped the portrait, drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, and complained casually, "This trip was really tiring. The Qi family isn't a famous or wealthy family. I've been asking around most of Yangzhou City to find out this. Your Highness, why don't you open it and take a look?"
Although they are of similar age, it is not necessarily a replacement marriage.
Xiao Junbai thought so, raised his hand and slowly unfolded the portrait.
The person in the painting has bright eyes, white teeth and a sweet smile. The almond-shaped eyes that he can't forget are lifelike.
He threw the portrait away violently, still filled with rage. With a wave of his arm, the teacup, pen, and ink on the table rolled to the ground, breaking into pieces and landing at his feet.
Xiao Junbai looked down at the fragments at his feet, his inky eyes as cold as a pond.
The study was silent for a moment.
After a long while, Fu Jingxuan touched his nose and asked cautiously, "Your Highness, are you going to expose her?"
The Crown Prince chose a concubine and found someone to marry her instead, which was tantamount to deceiving the emperor. According to the law, the whole family should be executed.
"Besides you, who else knows?" Xiao Junbai heard himself asking this, and his usually calm voice was mixed with a hint of resentment.
"I'm the only one who knows about this." This matter was of great importance, so how could Fu Jingxuan tell anyone? Suddenly, his eyes widened, "You don't mean to..."
The Crown Prince actually wanted to keep this a secret? Was this still the Crown Prince he knew?
"Don't mention this matter to anyone else. As for other things... I'll think about it again." Xiao Junbai said, and ordered them to leave.
Fu Jingxuan seemed to see the sun rising from the west. He came closer to look at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince carefully. After a while, he left quickly before His Royal Highness could get impatient.
Only after leaving the palace did I realize that those letters and portraits were also left in the East Palace.
Fu Jingxuan put away his fan with a snap and walked away humming a little tune.
Anyway, it was the Eastern Palace's business, and even if something happened, it had nothing to do with him. It was just a pity for his sister, Fu Jingyuan, who was so infatuated with her.
…
The sun gradually sets, and the strong sunlight becomes milder.
Xiao Junbai sat in Qingyaju for so long that he almost became stiff.
After a long time, Cheng Xi's voice came from outside the door, "Your Highness, the Queen is here."
Qi Qinghe stood nervously in front of the steps, with Yuntao carrying a huge food box behind him.
She heard that the prince was angry and had a very bad temper, and that the visiting Master Fu had already left, so she came to the door.
I wonder if the prince will punish her less severely because of her initiative.
Inside the house, Xiao Junbai moved his fingers slightly, his eyes fell on the portrait on the table, asked someone to come in, glanced at it, and put these things into the box.
"Your Highness has been hungry all day. Why not have something to eat to fill your stomach?" Qi Qinghe smiled, pinching the edge of his clothes with her fingers, getting tighter and tighter. "Your Highness, why are you in such a bad mood today? What caused this injury? What happened in Tongzhou?"
She didn't dare to look at the prince's eyes, but only stared at his wide sleeves, and her voice became more cautious.
After a moment, before His Highness could speak, she looked up in surprise, only to meet Xiao Junbai's eyes, as dark as ink and unfathomable.
Xiao Junbai looked down at her, his face calm as usual, but his heart was beating wildly. He wanted to pull her up and ask her why she lied to him.
He looked away as if nothing had happened and said calmly, "Nothing, just an assassination."
Since he became the crown prince, there have been countless assassinations like this, most of which were committed by assassins. Even torture could not reveal anything. As time went by, he got used to it and there was really nothing to mention.
Qi Qinghe curled her fingers together and responded softly, then opened the food box and put out the items one by one. As usual, it was light porridge and some of the prince's favorite side dishes.
"I'll go see my father later." Xiao Junbai said this and drank his porridge in silence.
The orange-red light sprinkled on the water, the ripples flowed, and reflected the shadows of two people, one in front and one behind.
Xiao Junbai strode ahead, Qi Qinghe followed quickly behind. It was unknown what the two of them were arguing about, and neither of them paid any attention to the other.
Cheng Xi was overwhelmed and hurriedly stopped the two masters, "Oh, my two ancestors, His Majesty is currently in the Qinsi Palace discussing matters. Why don't you take a rest? It won't be too late to leave after I prepare the sedan chair."
After much persuasion, the two masters finally sat down in the corridor, but remained silent.
Qi Qinghe felt baffled. He was clearly fine this morning, but how could he become like this at noon? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince frowned, his eyes looked like a storm was coming, and his handsome face showed signs of rage.
She had no idea why this happened. Could it be because the government affairs were difficult?
After a while, I heard the person beside me sigh, "Do you have anything to say to me?"
Xiao Junbai stared at her, looking into her eyes. There was no one around at this moment, and the serving palace maids were ten steps away and could definitely not hear what their master was saying.
Isn't this a good time?
Xiao Junbai thought that if she confessed, there would still be room for recovery.
"Your Highness, what do you want to hear me say?" Qi Qinghe was confused and bewildered. What could she say?
Could it be that His Highness saw through her little tricks and knew that she was sick on purpose?
Thinking of this, her heart skipped a beat, her thick eyelashes trembled, and she carefully raised her eyes to look at the prince, "Your Highness, did someone say something to you?"
Is it Miss Fu? Miss Fu was clearly sitting next to His Highness yesterday.
Qi Qinghe wanted to say something but stopped herself. After thinking it over, she felt that it was not her place to talk about this matter, so she simply shut up.
Since His Highness has someone he loves, she, the Crown Princess, might have to give up her position.
It would be better if she gave up her position, then she could forget about these things and take her mother back to Jiangnan... After all, she couldn't be found out about her substitutionary marriage.
The more Qi Qinghe thought about it, the faster his heart beat, as if it was about to jump out of his throat.
In just a moment, the Crown Princess's thoughts drifted away uncontrollably.
Xiao Junbai frowned even more tightly, but in the end he said nothing more. He stood up as if nothing had happened and said, "It's time to go."
Inside the Qinsi Hall, the emperor and his ministers had just finished their meeting, and the noisy hall suddenly became quiet.
It was at this time that the emperor heard the report from the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, "The Second Son is good in every way except that he is too rigid."
Your Majesty's casual complaints are just casual remarks and should not be taken seriously.
The eunuch, surnamed Wang, stepped forward with great tact and put the cloak on His Majesty. "Your Highness, the Crown Prince has followed His Majesty's lead, always thoughtful and prudent."
The emperor smiled faintly and said nothing, then walked out of the Qinsi Hall.
Xiao Junbai and Qi Qinghe bowed together, but the emperor waved his hand and the palace maids around them quickly helped them up.
"It's just a family dinner, not a big deal. Your health is more important." The emperor glanced at Qi Qinghe casually, then passed him and looked at Xiao Junbai, "I was just about to go see your mother, but now that the prince is here, let's go together."
Qi Qinghe quietly took his leave, took the lamp from the palace maid, and walked straight back.
After walking for a while, she could no longer see the shadow of the Qinsi Palace. She breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension in her head suddenly relaxed, causing her to break out in a cold sweat.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure out how the prince discovered this.
I have to leave the palace in a few days.
Qi Qinghe thought secretly, and returned to Mingcheng Palace, wrapping himself in all the bedding. It seemed that only in this way could he feel a little relieved.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not return until late at night.
The hall was dark, with only a dim yellow light left on beside the bed. The person on the bed had already fallen into a deep sleep and was unconscious.
The emperor's words were still ringing in my ears. "I know what you want to ask. You doted on your mother, but in the end, she was only a noble concubine, and the empress was superior to her."
"Everything in the world has its own laws and regulations, which cannot be violated. I made you the crown prince because I value your composure and self-discipline. As for women, there is nothing wrong with pampering them, but don't go too far. Crown prince, take care of yourself."
The emperor's meaning was very clear. He was afraid that he would dote on the Crown Princess too much, to the point of disregarding the distinction between high and low.
Xiao Junbai took off his coat, lay down, and held the person in his arms.
The faint aroma of wine wafted over, making people drunk. The person who was sleeping restlessly moved around, his hands and feet never moving, until he was tightly held by the prince and could not move, and only then did he calm down.
He looked at the person's beautiful face and suddenly made a decision in his heart.
He really couldn't bear to watch Qi Qinghe being thrown into a cell, tortured, and finally being put on the guillotine, with blood splattered on the spot.
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