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"As for the storybook, I have it here too."
Qi Xu was not feeling well, so she accompanied Xiao Jun and Jun Mei to chat and relieve her boredom. There were only two sisters from the Qi family.
Qi Qingyu always loves storybooks. She is particularly interested in the bizarre stories described in the dialogue books and can't stop talking about them whenever they are mentioned.
After listening to a few words, Xiao Junmei also became interested and took the two sisters to the library.
The library hidden behind the palace is a small two-story attic. All kinds of books are placed on the neatly arranged golden nanmu bookshelves.
The ones related to the storybook actually took up an entire row, which made Qi Qingyu bewildered.
"When I have nothing to do on weekdays, I will come here and browse casually." Xiao Junmei said with a smile, "I especially like this one very much..."
As she spoke, her slender fingers slid across the books, landing on one and pulling it out, "This one..."
She was halfway through her words when a maid came in with a hurried look and interrupted her.
Xiao Junmei was suddenly interrupted and asked unexpectedly, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
The maid raised her eyes and glanced at Qi Qinghe, then quickly lowered her head, "Princess, His Majesty has sent someone to look for the Crown Princess."
Qi Qinghe was stunned.
In front of the palace, a group of palace maids were waiting outside, but were prevented from entering by the guards. They were quite impatient under the scorching sun. Seeing someone approaching, they forced a smile and said, "Princess, how is your Majesty? How is your Majesty? We are here to take your Majesty's pulse by His Majesty's order."
"Since you're here, let's go in and talk." Xiao Junmei waved his hand, not wanting to hear these flattering words, and signaled the guards to step back.
Qi Qinghe raised her eyebrows, suppressed her surprise, smiled gently, and welcomed the guests in with the eldest princess.
The palace maid nodded repeatedly, "I'm sorry to bother you, Her Majesty and the Princess."
In the elegant and quiet hall, the refreshing fragrance of flowers wafts in the air.
"His Majesty has ordered us to take the Empress's pulse. Please extend your hand," the palace servant said gently, and the accompanying doctor stepped forward.
Qi Qinghe stretched out her fair wrist, which was padded with a gouache-painted handkerchief.
The doctor took the patient's pulse carefully, his two thick eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and his other hand was stroking his beard. He did not speak for a long time.
Qi Qinghe's face was gentle and soft, but she was particularly confused in her heart. She tried to think about what the emperor meant and what the prince had done.
In an instant, a thought came to her mind, her heart trembled, and she had an impossible idea.
Could it be that the prince is saying that she is pregnant? That makes sense. No wonder the emperor sent a doctor.
But she was not pregnant, and she and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had not done that since they met again.
The shock in her heart was beyond words. She silently lowered her eyes to hide the complex emotions in them. Her free hand clenched tightly as she swallowed.
The doctor stroked his beard and sighed, "The queen is indeed pregnant, but she is worried too much and has become weak. She needs to be taken care of."
"Since we are here with the princess, the scenery is beautiful and it is also suitable for recuperation." The doctor looked serious and there was no sign of pretense.
The palace maid smiled and bowed to Qi Qinghe, "Congratulations, Your Majesty."
"The Empress is pregnant, and the whole world celebrates. However, her words and actions are inappropriate. Considering this is her first offense, she is punished by being confined for half a month and required to copy Buddhist scriptures a hundred times as a warning." The palace maid spoke sincerely and relayed the Emperor's original words.
Qi Qinghe widened his eyes, looking at these people with disbelief.
But she clearly...
The palace maid only thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had kept it a secret and had not informed the Empress, so she spoke in a softer voice and explained a few more words, "Your Majesty's reward will be delivered to you after we report it to the palace."
"Your Majesty, please be at ease. Even though His Royal Highness has angered the Emperor, he is still the Crown Prince. Just kneel for half a day and the Emperor will calm down."
After saying this, the palace maid congratulated him again and bowed to take her leave.
At this moment, Qi Qinghe seemed to be in the void of clouds and mist, which was intangible and invisible. It was a vast expanse of white and indistinguishable.
This brief moment was like a dream, and it shattered completely with a slight touch.
She vaguely understood something, but couldn't even laugh.
The prince must have bribed the doctors in the Imperial Hospital to do something for her, which angered His Majesty and led to his punishment.
Although it was only half a day, I still felt uneasy.
Xiao Junmei, hiding behind the screen in the hall, pricked up his ears and then went into the courtyard, ate some fruits and snacks, and chatted with Qi Qingyu.
Only after the maid came to report and the palace servants left did she get up and go into the house.
Seeing that the person was absent-minded, Xiao Junmei curiously asked what happened.
Qi Qinghe shook his head, seeming to hesitate to speak.
There are so many things on my mind that I don’t know where to start even if I want to talk about them.
Xiao Junmei listened and made some guesses, but didn't take it seriously. He said casually, "It's just a punishment, what's so strange about it?"
Qi Qinghe couldn't help but tilt her head and asked, "Has the princess been punished too?"
Xiao Junmei said: "Yes, that's what the old emperor likes."
Qi Qinghe suddenly clenched her younger sister's hand, and Qi Qingyu held her breath and kept silent, not daring to say a word. The two sisters never thought that the eldest princess would speak so bluntly.
"What are you afraid of? The old emperor is just a coward. Can he really punish his beloved son for this matter?" Xiao Junmei sneered when he saw the sisters like this.
Qi Qinghe touched her nose, and the guilt in her heart eased a little. She briefly told the story about her pregnancy and the prince's punishment.
Xiao Junmei understood a little after hearing this. It was indeed difficult to speak directly about a girl's concerns. "Since the pregnancy was the Crown Prince's concern, he should be concerned. The punishment was also expected. There is no need to feel guilty."
Qi Qingyu nodded in agreement, "Since the prince doesn't want you to get involved, why bother?"
Having said that, Qi Qinghe pursed her lips, swallowed the unfinished words, and echoed.
Xiao Junmei saw it all and directly pointed out her worries to avoid any future rifts. "He wasn't punished for you. He deserved it."
"You could have just walked away. He forced it on you. Everything was caused by his lust. You should have endured it. Why should you feel guilty?"
Qi Qinghe stared at her in a daze for a long while before asking, "Aren't you blood relatives? Why are you so biased towards me?"
Xiao Junmei sneered.
After asking, Qi Qinghe realized that he had asked a stupid question. The third prince Xiao Junqi was planning to rebel, so what about his blood relatives.
This was nothing to Xiao Junmei. He just liked the girl and gave her some advice.
The emperor's reward came quickly, as did the imperial concubine's reward, two large boxes of wine, and the matter was over.
The matter of confinement is becoming less and less important.
The palace was built against the mountain, with hot springs brought into the room. A separate hot spring courtyard was also built, divided into large and small bathing houses, specifically for people to rest and relieve their restlessness.
In the hot summer, there is no one here.
When Qi Qinghe heard the eldest princess mention this place, she changed into a comfortable and smooth bathrobe, soaked in the hot spring pool, let the spring water submerge her, relaxed her whole body, leaned her head lightly on the jade pillow, and closed her eyes to rest.
Behind the ink-and-wash landscape screen, the mist is hazy and everything is blurred, only the outline of the woman's exquisite figure is extremely clear.
Xiao Junbai hadn't seen any maids or servants along the way. There was only a maid waiting outside the bathhouse.
He waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to salute, and strode in. As soon as he entered the door, he saw this scene. His Adam's apple moved slightly, his steps slowed down, and he approached quietly.
Qi Qinghe relaxed physically and mentally, her head nodding as she fell into a deep sleep. Suddenly she woke up with a start. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the black official boots with gold patterns. She turned around abruptly and hurriedly covered herself with her bathrobe.
At a glance, it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The tense nerves suddenly relaxed. He leaned on the edge with his hands, looking at him with a smile, and said in a delicate voice, "How come His Royal Highness is here at this time without sending anyone to inform us?"
Xiao Junbai said nothing, slowly squatted down, reached out and lifted her cheek, and leaned in to look at her carefully.
Qi Qinghe always suspected that she was plain-looking, but in fact, she had delicate features, a pair of almond-shaped eyes as bright as stars, red lips that were naturally bright, and round cheeks that were very cute.
She looks like a beauty no matter how you look at her.
Xiao Junbai lowered his eyes, looked at her carefully, the meaning in his eyes became more and more difficult to describe, and he leaned over and kissed her.
Qi Qinghe was caught off guard by his silent gesture. Her eyes widened slightly as she subconsciously clenched her hands while supporting herself.
Xiao Junbai protected her head and approached her.
With a loud splash, they both fell into the water, their faces covered with water droplets, looking very embarrassed.
Qi Qinghe kept breathing heavily, his palms pressed against the hot and strong chest, as if he could penetrate the chest and touch the person's heart beating like a drum.
She quickly retracted her hand and stepped back a little, her cheeks flushed, making her look particularly pitiful.
Only now did she see the prince's appearance clearly.
Xiao Junbai was wearing a dark blue brocade robe that clung to his body due to the dampness. His strong chest, broad shoulders and narrow waist became more and more obvious. His eyelashes were stained with water, and his chin was dripping with moisture.
She swallowed and kept backing away, putting some distance between herself and the prince, until her back touched the edge of the jade pool wall, where she stopped.
Xiao Junbai followed her, approaching step by step, without taking his eyes away for a moment.
The towering figure loomed over Qi Qinghe, leaving him with nowhere to retreat. He racked his brains for a conversation starter and said dryly, "What did Your Highness do today to anger His Majesty?"
After she said it, she realized that it was a stupid thing to say. She raised her hand and gently hit herself, secretly cursing herself for being so stupid.
A faint smile drifted down from above his head, and Xiao Junbai laughed and said, "Don't you know?"
The words whispered close to her ear were so gentle and low that they made the tips of her ears turn red as if dripping blood.
She touched her nose, and when Xiao Junbai came closer, she put her hand on his shoulder and said intermittently: "Why would His Highness use the pregnancy as an excuse? If then I..."
Stupid things are said in a hurry.
She bit her tongue, covered her lips and cleared her cough, her eyes darting around, but not at anyone.
Seeing her constant little movements, Xiao Junbai found it amusing. He lifted her cheek and looked straight into her bright almond eyes, "She must have gotten pregnant in the past few days."
When Qi Qinghe heard his bold words, her eyes widened and her open mouth was unable to close for a long time.
After a while, she saw the prince's hands on his waist without moving. He met Xiao Junbai's eyes again, and there seemed to be a questioning look in his ink-black eyes.
If you ask her if she is willing.
Qi Qinghe's heart beat faster and faster. After a moment, he lowered his head and nodded almost inaudibly.
The calm hot spring water stirred up ripples, and the clothes were mixed together, floating on the water and gradually moving away.
The noise in the misty bathhouse lasted until midnight.
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