quarrel
That night, when His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were discussing matters in the Xuanming Hall, they suddenly received a copy of the Buddhist scriptures sent by the Crown Princess, along with some simple food.
Cheng Xi, who made this trip specially, praised the Empress to the skies, saying that this was made by the Empress herself.
The emperor was rarely confused. "It's fine if the prince enjoys the feast, but how come I have it too?"
Cheng Xi bowed and smiled apologetically, "Your Majesty has confined Your Majesty to your house. Your Majesty was worried about her parents at home and accidentally forgot about it, so I'm making this apologetic gesture."
"Tell your Majesty not to worry about such a trivial matter." The Emperor laughed and dismissed Cheng Xi, asking her to return to the palace to answer questions. He glanced at the Crown Prince from the corner of his eye, "What do you think, Crown Prince?"
"I'm sorry for being rude, but I allowed this." Xiao Junbai stood up and saluted, his voice flat and without a trace of emotion.
"The house arrest is a minor matter." The emperor put down the rice paper in his hand and said with a hint of meaning, "I think the Crown Princess is here to discuss Qi Lin's bribery."
"She won't." Xiao Junbai said firmly.
"It's up to you to handle this matter." The emperor smiled meaningfully and waved his hand for the palace attendant to send the guest away. "It's getting late. Go and rest."
Qi Qinghe was completely unaware of this. In the evening, she sent Xiao Junluo away, who had come to visit her in the garden. The two chatted for a while and ate maple leaves before leaving.
At this moment, he was sitting with Qi Qingyu and talking in private, and the palace servants around him did not come near.
"It's all here, sister." Qi Qingyu placed a few banknotes on the table and stuffed a purse into her sister's pocket during the day, which contained at least a few hundred or a thousand taels of silver.
Qi Qinghe flipped through the banknotes and relaxed his frown. "These are enough."
As the Crown Princess, she received nearly 100 taels of silver as monthly salary, which was usually given by the Emperor, Empress and Imperial Concubine. It was difficult to pawn them, so she only selected one or two items and asked her sister to pawn them, and only then was she able to collect the money.
"Look here, sister." Qi Qingyu unfolded a simple map made of rice paper and pointed to each map. "Fengshan is outside the capital, so we don't have to go to the capital to ask questions. Going around Fengshan and heading south, we'll reach the nearest town, Liushan. We can change carriages there and go with Aunt."
Qi Qinghe stared at the map, lost in thought, without saying a word.
Soon, a crisp knock on the door echoed in the hall, and Cheng Xi's voice slowly rang out, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince invites you."
Qi Qinghe suddenly came back to his senses, rubbed his eyebrows, covered his lips and yawned.
It's completely dark now, with no trace of moonlight. Why is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looking for her now?
"Please keep it well, have a good rest and take care of yourself." She stood up, gave her sister a few words of advice, and followed Chengxi to Qingyaju.
"Your Highness, haven't you rested yet at this hour?" she asked casually. Her right eye had been twitching and her heart was beating very fast along the way.
"I don't know." Cheng Xi led the way in front, his tone more cautious. He was leaving His Majesty's place, and before he walked out of Xuanming Hall, he was stopped by the palace servant beside the Crown Prince and asked to invite the Crown Princess.
As for the reason, he really didn't know.
When Qi Qinghe arrived in front of Qingyaju, a crazy voice in her heart told her not to go in.
She paused for a moment, then heard the prince's voice from the study, "Since you're here, why don't you come in?"
She had no choice but to bite the bullet and trudged into the study. She put on a submissive smile and bowed gracefully. "Your Highness, why did you summon me here? What's the urgent matter?"
Xiao Junbai said nothing, his eyes sweeping over the person from head to toe. The delicate person wrapped in a bright red palace dress looked even thinner. On her fair and delicate face, her round eyes were filled with a deliberately flattering smile.
He unconsciously clenched his fingers and motioned her to come closer to look.
Qi Lin took twenty taels of silver from someone but did nothing, leaving the person with no one to turn to for help. He cried every day and fell seriously ill.
All the details of this case are on the prince's desk.
Qi Qinghe's heart beat faster and faster, almost as if it was about to jump out of her throat. She smiled awkwardly, not moving a step, "Your Highness, just speak frankly. I don't understand government affairs."
Was it because her substitutionary marriage was discovered and the Crown Prince confronted her? Or perhaps she and her younger sister had conspired to escape, and someone overheard them, so they came to the Crown Prince to complain.
No matter which one, there is no escape from death.
So she didn't dare to get close.
Xiao Junbai looked at her, watching her trembling with cold eyes, her voice shaking, and her loosened fingers sliding across the table, a harsh sound echoing in the quiet study.
"Then I'll tell you what I've said." He turned his eyes away from her and stopped looking at her. His cold voice slowly rang out as he explained the cause of the case. He glanced at people out of the corner of his eyes and carefully observed the Crown Princess's every move.
Hearing the prince mention Qi Lin, Qi Qinghe secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as long as it was not a matter between her and her younger sister.
After saying this, Xiao Junbai casually put down the memorial and asked the Crown Princess in a calm voice what she thought.
The prince's sharp brows fell on her body, as if peeling off the skin and pulling out the tendons. Qi Qinghe's whole body was covered with hair, and her heart, which had fallen, was lifted up again. She raised her eyes and looked at His Royal Highness the Prince. The remaining trace of clarity was still making her think about what to say at this moment.
According to the character of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, she should sacrifice her own family for the sake of justice.
Thinking about all the plotting she had done these days, she closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again. She steeled herself, avoiding the Crown Prince's gaze and determined to do the opposite. She lifted the hem of her skirt and knelt down with a plop. "My father was confused for a moment and made a grave mistake. I have no face to plead for mercy, but he is getting old and cannot endure the calamity of imprisonment. I beg Your Highness to show mercy and spare his life. I will pay for all the money and other things. I will definitely find a way to make amends for this. I beg Your Highness to show mercy."
Her head hit the ground with a crisp sound. When she stood up again, the Crown Princess's forehead was covered in blood.
She thought clearly that people can leave and rewards can stay, but love is something that cannot be explained, so it is better to put an end to it once and for all today.
Xiao Junbai curled up his fingers, tightly grasped the memorial, and threw it away in an instant.
The memorial written in black and white slammed against the door with a thud, startling the people outside.
After a while, Cheng Xi knocked on the door gently, his voice as soft as a mosquito: "Your Highness? Your Majesty? Would you like me to come in and serve you?"
"Get out!" Xiao Junbai almost roared, his calm face cracked, storm brewing in his ink-black eyes, his two thick sword-like eyebrows pressed down, his face full of rage.
Even though Qi Qinghe had expected this, he was still shocked. His true form trembled violently, his head dropped and he dared not raise it. His hands tightly grasped the corners of his clothes, not daring to breathe.
Xiao Junbai was breathing heavily, looking at the person huddled together, still too angry to speak.
He just wanted to grab her up, hold her in front of him, make her unable to escape or move, and make her confess everything honestly.
Tell everyone about the substitutionary marriage and the secret escape, don't hide a single thing.
If not, why would he take over this case specially? As long as she said, there was nothing that he, the prince, could not do.
After a long while, Xiao Junbai regained his breath and asked calmly, "Crown Princess, do you really have nothing to say to me?"
Qi Qinghe bit her lip, and slowly straightened her half-bent waist. Her watery eyes sparkled, and her voice trembled and stumbled: "Your Highness, what do you want me to say?"
Xiao Junbai closed his eyes tightly and called for someone to come over. "From now on, the Crown Princess is confined to Mingcheng Palace and is not allowed to go out until the autumn hunt."
"Your Majesty, I was just joking. I wasn't." He pushed the table aside, stood up and stood in front of the Crown Princess, looking down at her. "Send the Qi family girl back. No one is allowed to visit her."
Qi Qinghe slumped on the ground, covering his face with his hands, unable to believe what he had heard. He was to be confined to his room until the autumn hunt, and he also wanted to send his little sister back?
Her eyes were filled with tears, but no tears rolled down. She bit her lip to hold them back.
This is what she wanted, to be disliked by the prince, isn't it? There is nothing wrong with that.
She thanked His Royal Highness the Crown Prince softly and allowed the palace servants to half-support and half-drag her away.
Xiao Junbai stood with his back to the throne, not looking at the Crown Princess. He only glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She was staggering, her chest heaving, and she was still angry.
The Crown Prince's sudden attack made all the palace servants in the Eastern Palace panic and confused.
The Crown Princess had been married into the Eastern Palace for several months, and she and the Crown Prince were in love with each other. Even when the Queen made things difficult for them, the couple had never had a quarrel. Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened overnight.
Qi Qinghe met the palace maids with eyes that were either filled with pity, contempt, or as if they had known this would happen, and her expression was numb and lifeless.
Yun Tao and Yun Xing heard the noise, ran out hurriedly, and carefully helped the empress into the hall.
Yun Xing confronted Yun Tao, who then boldly asked quietly, "Your Majesty and the Crown Prince, what's going on?"
Qi Qinghe seemed to have lost all his strength. He lay motionless on the bed, not even having the strength to speak. He just waved his hand slightly.
Seeing that they could not get anything out of them, the two maids looked back every few steps as they walked out of the hall.
The whispers of the palace servants were particularly harsh, so Qi Qinghe covered her face with the quilt to block out the noise.
After a while, faint sobs came out, almost inaudible, and her tears rolled down uncontrollably, wetting the soft pillow.
After a long time, she pulled down the quilt, revealing her face. Her red and swollen eyes were particularly noticeable, and her watery eyelashes trembled slightly.
She turned over and sat in front of the dressing mirror, looking at herself in the mirror.
Look at her, her eyes are swollen from crying. Why bother?
That's right. She raised a mocking smile and cursed herself for daydreaming. This Eastern Palace was not the place for her to be. It was only a matter of time before she left.
Qi Qinghe took a deep breath and consoled himself secretly. His aching heart finally felt better and he fell into a deep sleep on the half-wet soft pillow.
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