Reunion
The rumors were spread again and again, and the princess's life experience remained a mystery. Her father, Qi Lin, was sentenced to three years in prison.
When the verdict came out, it was almost the end of the year and every household was decorated with lights and smiling happily.
Because of this verdict, the issue of the true and false Crown Princess, which had faded from people's minds, became a hot topic again.
There were different opinions on whether the Crown Princess was real or fake. However, before the people could get any conclusion, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who used an iron fist, arrested two hooligans who had made false comments about the Crown Princess, tortured them severely, and then released them.
Since then, no one in Beijing dared to mention this matter.
Autumn and winter passed in a flash. After the New Year, the sun gradually became warmer, and buds appeared on the peach trees in the imperial garden of the palace. The small buds were no bigger than the palm of your hand.
Xiao Junbai and his two younger brothers were walking hurriedly through the Imperial Garden. He took a quick glance and couldn't help but stop.
"Royal brother, what's going on?" Xiao Junqi and Xiao Junhui looked at each other and asked in confusion.
Xiao Junbai stopped for a moment and looked at the flower bud carefully. The pink and white petals looked like the unmelted snow on the branches in winter, sparkling and very beautiful. It attracted a group of people from the harem to appreciate the plum blossoms and walk in the snow, and stroll in the imperial garden.
If the Crown Princess were still alive, she would probably bring the Imperial Sister along for a stroll.
He looked away, collected his thoughts, said calmly that it was nothing, and continued walking forward.
Although the two imperial brothers hesitated, they did not dare to ask more questions and followed the person in three or two steps.
This time, the three of them were discussing the tour to the south of the Yangtze River.
In recent days, strange things have happened frequently in Jiangnan, and the emperor has personally selected three people to go to Jiangnan to solve these problems.
Therefore, the three of them only talked for a moment, then separated at the corner, each packing their clothes and belongings, preparing for tomorrow's trip to the south of the Yangtze River.
…
Thousands of miles away in the south of the Yangtze River, in a county by the water, the gradually warming sun makes the peach blossoms on the branches bloom in full bloom.
That morning, the tightly closed doors creaked open, people stepped out, greeted each other briefly, and started their busy day.
The Xu family in Zhendong is no exception.
Qi Qinghe took her mother's surname and used the pseudonym Xu He. Although she had a cloth shop in this small town and was quite popular among the people, she didn't like to dress up.
She often wore a cloth strip on her head, covering her thick black hair. She did not wear any hairpins, jade, pearls or flowers. Her gray shirt was washed white. Her beautiful face was not made up, but was often stained with a little mud.
Qi Qinghe yawned as he walked out the door, greeting everyone around him as usual. "Auntie Li, why are you up so early today? Is Zhou's breakfast shop still closed?"
"Oh, Miss Xu, you probably don't know that. Old Zhou and his wife have gone to the capital to visit their daughter, so they haven't opened the door for the past few days." Aunt Li smiled, carefully examining the girl in front of her, then changed the subject, "The county magistrate's son is so fond of you. He's rich and powerful, but Miss Xu isn't moved at all?"
Qi Qinghe's long, jet-black hair was casually scattered on her shoulders, her delicate skin was as white as snow and frost, and her almond-shaped eyes, like black grapes, were bright and lively, making her particularly pleasing.
In the old lady's eyes, she felt a little regretful that such a good girl was still unmarried.
"Well..." Qi Qinghe yawned continuously, not listening carefully to what the old lady said. He just talked nonsense and ended the chat in a few words, "Let me think about it."
As she said this, she said goodbye to Aunt Li, walked through the streets and alleys, and headed south.
On the south side of the lake, people were washing and cleaning, chatting loudly.
She avoided people and found a secluded place by the water. She squatted down and watched the fish swimming around. Suddenly, with quick hands and eyes, she reached into the water and actually caught a slippery fish.
She casually threw it into the bamboo basket behind her and went back to looking for crabs.
By the time the bamboo basket behind her was half full, the sun was already directly overhead, making it so hot that she was sweating.
Qi Qinghe casually wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and went home.
Qi Xu and Qi Qingyu had been waiting for a long time, and their eyes lit up when they saw the person.
"Sister, let me see." Qi Qingyu trotted forward and looked carefully at the bamboo basket. Seeing fish, shrimps, and crabs, she smiled heartily, "This is a real treat."
"You only know how to eat." Qi Qinghe nodded at her little sister's head and told Qin'er to take the things away. "And your storybook is full of nonsense. You are not allowed to read it today. Come with me to the shop later."
Qi Qingyu stuck out her tongue and agreed readily.
The yard where they lived was not big. Apart from the three of them, all the servants that Qin'er had bought were also here. There were at least ten people in total, occupying the entire yard.
After dinner, Qi Qinghe coaxed A Niang to take a nap, and took Qi Qingyu and Qin'er to his own cloth shop.
The two sisters laughed and joked all the way to the shop.
Qi Qinghe blinked in confusion. There should be people here at this moment, but why was there no one to be seen? Not even the shadow of the two waiters.
"Strange, where is this person?" Qi Qingyu grumbled dissatisfiedly, "Could he be slacking off? Sister, wait a minute, I'll go get him."
As she said this, she raised her foot and walked into the inner room.
Qi Qinghe took her arm and went in together. "Since we're here, these few steps won't make any difference."
Passing through the outer shop, there are various dye vats, several spinning wheels and looms in the inner room.
The shop assistants outside, the weavers and dyers inside, were all invisible.
Qi Qinghe rubbed his twitching brows and walked to the back of the hall where faint noises could be heard.
There were faint voices in the hall.
"Look, sir, all the account books of our cloth shop are here. There is absolutely no way they can be forged. Please rest assured, sir."
This clever voice was obviously that of Zhao Nian, the waiter outside. Although he was still young, he was very good at reading people's expressions and spoke in a somewhat slick way, but he was not annoying.
Auditing the accounts? We just checked them at the beginning of the year, why are you doing it again?
Qi Qinghe frowned unconsciously and pushed the door open.
She never imagined that the room would be full of people.
All the shop assistants were here. The two men with their backs to her, the one with a slightly rounded figure was obviously the county magistrate himself, and the other was quite tall with an upright posture. His jet-black robe was extremely luxurious, obviously not made of the material of this shop.
Thinking of this, Qi Qinghe raised the corner of her mouth, suppressed the inexplicable familiarity in her heart, and went to greet him, "How come the county magistrate came today without informing me so that I could make preparations, so as not to neglect him."
"Who is this?" She smiled and looked at the county magistrate who came to look at her after hearing the voice. She followed the county magistrate's gaze and fell on the man with his back to him.
Her gaze moved up over the broad shoulders and fell on the man's face. Her expression suddenly changed, and she covered her lips with her fingers and stepped back repeatedly until she bumped into Qi Qingyu who was guarding the door.
Qi Qingyu only loved storybooks and had no interest in checking the accounts. She felt that she could not help much, so she stayed at the door. Seeing her sister panic, she hurriedly supported her and looked in the direction her sister was looking.
Isn’t that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?
Qi Qingyu opened her mouth wide, looked at the prince and then at her sister, and was speechless for a moment.
After the surprise, unspeakable fear overwhelmed Qi Qinghe, making her whole body tremble.
Will she be recaptured? Will she return to the palace? Or will she be imprisoned and await her punishment?
It was only half a year ago. She closed her eyes to hide the tears in them, then opened them again to avoid the prince's gaze.
The county magistrate didn't know what was going on between the two. Seeing the complicated expression on the young lady's face, he assumed she had a secret crush on the prince. He added a bit of warning when he spoke: "Miss Xu, what are you doing standing there? The higher-ups are checking the accounts."
Qi Qinghe's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she lowered her eyelids. She answered yes, lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, and kowtowed politely, "This humble lady greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Xiao Junbai deliberately avoided people, his eyes slowly falling on the account book, scanning up and down, and the feeling of dull pain swept through his whole body.
Why, why is he suffering so much in the capital, while his former Crown Princess is living happily here?
His hands hanging at his sides slowly clenched into fists, suppressing the urge to help the person up, and his calm eyes gathered storms.
The county magistrate looked at this and that, and finally noticed something wrong in this strange atmosphere.
A moment later, Qi Qinghe filled the cup of tea for His Highness and handed it to him respectfully.
Xiao Junbai and the county magistrate sat in the middle, while a group of cloth shop employees dispersed, looking back every few steps as they left.
It would probably take less than an hour for the news of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's arrival to spread throughout the small town.
At this time, the only people left in the hall were the Qi sisters, Zhao Nian who was settling accounts, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and the county magistrate.
Zhao didn't even dare to raise his head. He opened the account book and read it one by one. The county magistrate tried to reduce his presence and said nothing.
"Let her speak." Xiao Junbai picked up the teacup and sipped the tea slowly.
There is no need to say much about her.
Zhao Nian hurriedly stuffed the account book into the boss's hands, gave her a helpless look, and slipped away as fast as he could.
Qi Qinghe continued to read as if nothing had happened, her clear voice telling the story.
Xiao Junbai listened without any intention of speaking, until he had finished the entire cup of tea, then he said, "Go away."
The county magistrate was in a hurry and slipped away.
Qi Qinghe put away the account book and turned to walk out.
Unexpectedly, before she had taken a few steps, footsteps approached from behind. Before she could turn around, the open door was closed by a big hand, and the familiar clear breath flooded her.
She tightened her waist and turned around, only to see the prince's eyes, as dark as clouds covering the sun.
Big hands pinched the man's cheeks, forcing him to look up. Xiao Junbai slowly leaned over and said, "Now, you don't have anything to say to me, right?"
The words were in the form of a question, but the tone was quite affirmative.
Qi Qinghe swallowed hard and whispered, "What do you want to hear me say?"
Xiao Junbai laughed angrily, suddenly grabbed her wrist, pinched her cheek and kissed her.
The warm and soft touch covered her lips again. Qi Qinghe blinked slowly, looking at the jade crown on the prince's head, and in a trance she returned to the time when she was in the East Palace.
The prince was not very keen on sex and was quite unfamiliar with kissing, often biting her. It was only after spending time together that he got better, mostly by holding her lips and rubbing them.
It was nothing like now, his pearly teeth biting her lips with such force that it seemed as if he wanted to make them bleed.
Only when a hint of blood lingered between their lips and teeth did Xiao Junbai let her go.
Qi Qinghe's rosy lips were even redder, with tiny drops of blood oozing out from the corners of her lips. Her eyes were covered with a layer of water, and her whole face was red and hot. Her wrists were pinched purple by the prince, which was very scary.
The whole person looked pitiful, his eyes full of grievance and unwillingness, and he secretly cursed the prince for being vulgar and shameless!
She asked the prince what he wanted to hear from her, but the prince took advantage of her in such a rude way. What did he want her to say?
What else can she say?!
Xiao Junbai stood up straight and looked down at her. "Let me ask you, do you want to go back to Beijing with me?"
This was his only purpose for coming here today.
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