Chapter 11: Did they quarrel?
This was the first sentence He Jiuyue said after landing.
"...Yes." Chen Jin broke out in a cold sweat.
Did they have a fight? A fire in the city gates affects all the fish in the pond. Wen Zheliu has always loved freedom, and the princess's words "lock him up" are tantamount to torture.
Wen Zheliu clenched the letter hidden in his sleeve, endured the pain in his stomach, and slowly moved off the boat.
"Why?"
"This is a punishment for running around." He Jiuyue crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at him with his back hunched.
"I didn't run around, I was just relaxing in the Princess's Mansion," Wen Zheliu argued. "You only ordered me to wait in the side hall every night, but you didn't say I couldn't go out for a walk during the day."
He sneezed violently, covered his mouth with a handkerchief, and the tip of his nose that was exposed turned red.
Like a docile pet that has caught a cold.
Pets are real, obedience is fake.
"Please investigate clearly, Princess."
He told her to investigate clearly, but his cheeks were puffed with anger, and it was clear that he only accepted the answer of "I am not wrong".
He has a very bad temper and is arrogant because of his favor.
Maybe Guan Ze was right. She should really send Wen Zheliu to the Dali Temple and thoroughly investigate his background.
He Jiuyue picked him up without saying a word, half carried and half embraced the plush-wrapped man back to the side hall, and threw him onto the thick quilts piled high.
“Woo!”
Her movements were quite rough, and even though Wen Zheliu had anticipated this, he was still hurt.
"Chen Jin, lock the door."
He Jiuyue withdrew his gaze from Wen Zheliu's suddenly red eyes, turned around, walked out of the side hall, and called Chen Jin to command the red-armored soldiers outside to lock the main gate and the side gate, and at the same time add a circle of spikes to the courtyard wall.
"Watch out Wen Zheliu! He's not allowed to go anywhere without my permission."
"yes!"
At that time, He Jiuyue returned victoriously and noticed that Emperor Jingming was wary of her. So, on the grounds that the country was peaceful and the people were safe and the army should cut down on staff and reduce expenditure, she divided the elite of the Red Armor Army into small teams of fifteen people at a time and transferred them to the Princess's Mansion as attendants, or to Zuifeng Tower to help the brothel owner train handsome men.
Although they no longer have to go to the battlefield and risk their lives, they still maintain strict discipline.
The Red Armored Army who stayed in the Princess's Mansion as attendants knew that He Jiuyue was not a person who did not remember old friendships. They witnessed He Jiuyue personally carrying Wen Zheliu into the house, but they did not expect her to turn around and give such a ruthless order, "Look at me, I look at you."
Using a gold lock as thick as a baby's arm to lock up Wen Shijun, who is weak and powerless, is really an exaggeration. The princess is very angry with Wen Shijun!
Wen Shijun is the only one who has received the princess's favor. The princess's heart is as deep as the sea.
"Princess, the golden lock has been put down."
Chen Jin didn't dare to guess why He Jiuyue was so angry with a cold face, but she knew that she was not angry with anyone but the matter, so she probably wouldn't lose her temper with her.
Seeing He Jiuyue go to the stable and lead Xingyun out, she asked cautiously, "Where are you going?"
"Dali Temple."
"But there are still a lot of official business in the palace waiting for you to deal with."
"Then let them say that I'm a playboy and not doing my job properly," He Jiuyue shrugged indifferently, "After all, I've been carrying this reputation for a long time."
Only when He Jiuyue rode away on his horse did Chen Jin feel strange.
My princess, I had a disagreement with Guan Ze last night at the Dali Temple. What are you doing back there now? Is it to continue the argument with Guan Ze from last night?
The cloud of doubt passed, and He Jiuyue had already galloped two miles on his horse, leaving Chen Jin in a state of panic.
"Wait for me!"
Xingyun was a fast walker and brought He Jiuyue to the Dali Temple in no time.
Guan Ze was flipping through the files. When he looked up and saw that it was He Jiuyue, his anger rekindled.
"Hey, what a rare guest, Princess, what can I do for you?"
Normally, most people would feel uncomfortable when interacting with someone they had just had an argument with. Guan Ze is obviously the best example, but He Jiuyue is different.
At the moment, she only wants to find out the identity of Wen Zheliu's biological father, Chen Yi, and has no objection to the sarcastic Guan Ze.
"Is Wen Zheliu's biological father's body still there?"
"It's still in the morgue." Guan Ze was puzzled when He Jiuyue brought up the information related to the Wen case again. "Didn't you say that this matter was over? Why are you bringing it up again?"
He Jiuyue originally didn't want to go back on his own words, but Wen Zheliu was not the type to leave misunderstandings unclarified. It was really strange that he avoided answering the question. There must be something fishy going on.
"Can I lend you a pen and paper?"
He Jiuyue picked up the wolf-hair brush that Guan Ze had placed on the pen holder, dipped it in ink, and put his hand on the rice paper.
With just a few strokes, a lotus flower appears on the paper.
"What are you doing...?" Guan Ze was puzzled.
He Jiyue picked up the paper with the ink still wet on it and stuffed it into Guan Ze's hand: "Shave the hair on the top of Chen Yi's head and look carefully to see if there is a lotus pattern similar to this one."
"Okay!" Finally, he could continue investigating the unfinished case. Guan Ze didn't bother to ask He Jiuyue why she suddenly wanted to reveal the information, so he just did as he was told.
She went all the way to the morgue, but He Jiuyue stopped outside the threshold and didn't follow her.
She wanted to see the result, but she was a little afraid to do so.
From afar, she watched Guan Ze cut a piece of Chen Yi's hair on the left and shaved a piece on the right, his brows furrowed tighter, and she couldn't help but ask.
"how?"
Guan Ze picked up the candlestick hanging in the corner and shone it on Chen Yi's bald head: "I shaved his head, but there is nothing underneath."
He Jiuyue was not surprised.
Maybe Chen Yi is from the royal family of Xiyue. The lotus pattern cannot be seen with the naked eye and can only be revealed when blood is seen.
"Try throwing blood on it."
There happened to be torture going on in a nearby cell, so Guan Ze took a wooden bucket to collect the blood. Soon, half of the bucket was full. She sprinkled the blood on Chen Yi's head, waited quietly for a while, and still shook her head: "Still no, it's too clean."
Seeing that Guan Ze couldn't be found, He Jiuyue stepped inside to confirm it personally.
As Guan Ze said, Chen Yi's head was very clean. Not only was there no lotus pattern, but there was no trace of scalp scraping.
Guan Ze rubbed his chin with his fingers.
"Strange, Wen Zheliu's biological father isn't from Western Yue. Then why did Wen Yu only start contacting Western Yue after he entered the mansion?"
He Jiuyue didn't think too much about it, she just breathed a sigh of relief.
At first, she thought Chen Yi was from Xiyue. Wen Zheliu had long known that he had a close relationship with Xiyue, but he felt guilty and dared not answer when she asked him. Now, thinking back, he might have felt dizzy on the boat and was frightened by her, so he kept silent for a long time.
He... must be innocent.
Maybe she had wronged Wen Zheliu.
But Wen Zheliu wasn't dumb, so why didn't he say anything when she misunderstood him? Normally, he couldn't stand even the slightest bit of anger, so why did he have to suffer this silence?
Unlike He Jiuyue who had already made a conclusion in her heart, Guan Ze did not think that finding out the truth meant the case was closed.
She looked serious: "The clue is broken again."
"Well, you'll have to trouble yourself to investigate elsewhere." He Jiyue's mind was full of Wen Zheliu. With red eyes and a look of tears on his face, he turned and left. "I have news for Chen Jin."
He Jiuyue wanted to return home, but was stopped by Chen Sanxi on the way. She was annoyed by his nagging of "Your Majesty has orders", so she finally went to the imperial study.
When she finished her official business and returned home, it was already late at night.
"Princess, Wen Zheliu has been curled up on the couch for most of the day. He refused even a glass of water and didn't respond no matter how we called him. He even coughed up a spittoon of blood."
Chen Jin hesitated to speak: "If you have time, why not go to the side hall and see him."
He Jiuyue lifted her skirt and walked into the house.
"What? Go on a hunger strike?"
Wen Zheliu lowered his eyebrows and looked listless. She pinched his chin, forcing him to raise his head, but he still clenched his teeth and said nothing.
He is dying and can't even drink medicine, so why waste food?
He Jiuyue just thought he was still being upset.
Yes, he was locked up for most of the day without seeing anyone, and he was used to freedom, so it must have been uncomfortable for him.
To be honest, it was indeed her fault that she locked Wen Zheliu in the room without any reason.
But He Jiuyue has been used to being the only one in charge since she was a child. Except for the time when she did something wrong in front of her mother and father and was scolded, she has never apologized.
She knew that Wen Zheliu was unhappy, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
"What are you hiding from?"
Wen Zheliu struggled violently but failed to break free, which made He Jiuyue use even more force.
"Afraid of me?"
He was indeed frightened when he heard about the willow being broken, but he was more heartbroken.
Since she had already found out, she could have just dealt with it impartially and sent him to the Dali Temple to be convicted. Why was she teasing him here? Was she thinking he wasn't shameful enough?
As he got excited, his stomach started to feel uncomfortable again. Wen Zheliu covered his mouth and swallowed the fishy and sweet taste that was rising in his throat.
"I dare not."
"You don't dare to mess with me, but you're quite daring." He Jiuyue leaned down, slowly closing the distance between them and Wen Zheliu, her peach blossom eyes drooping. "You haven't eaten for two or three days, and you keep vomiting. Are you trying to cultivate immortality?"
"That's perfect, it won't bother you, my lady."
Wen Zheliu's attitude was weak, like a straw without support, but it just happened to touch upon the flame of anger that was about to ignite in He Jiuyue's heart, and successfully added fuel to the fire.
"Wen Guiyun, who are you showing this half-dead look to?"
Wen Zheliu didn't know that he looked so half-dead. He just had been coughing for a long time, and his throat was uncomfortable, and his heart and stomach were also uncomfortable.
He hadn't meant to antagonize her.
"I didn't mean to pollute your eyes. It's just that you happened to come here, so, cough, cough..."
His voice was hoarse and he spoke very slowly, pausing from time to time to cough. Most people would find it irritating, but He Jiuyue felt an indescribable sadness in his heart.
He is weak and if he keeps coughing like this, he will really die.
What is it like when a person dies? It is cold, soft, then hard, and finally soft again.
Because of the sacrifice of her sisters on the battlefield, and because her mother He Yuyao's body was transported back from outside the Great Wall, she went through all these steps again. She felt her mother's hand getting colder and colder, but she was powerless to do anything.
Wen Zheliu escaped the punishment of beheading because of her protection, but he still couldn't escape death. Would he die in her house?
"Princess!" Wu Yang's voice suddenly rang out from outside. "Xiao Qing has been calling you. Why don't you go over and take a look?"
Wen Zheliu didn't know what He Jiuyue was thinking. She only caught the word "Xiaoqing" coming from outside, and her eyes lit up.
“Cough cough cough…”
With a stuffy chest, Wen Zheliu had originally leaned his back against the headboard, forcing himself to sit up and talk with He Jiuyue. Now he was coughing violently, and thinking that He Jiuyue was in Cao's camp but his heart was with Han, he felt very disappointed and let himself slide into the soft pillow in such a loss of composure.
He might as well cough to death.
She doesn't care what happens to him anyway.
He Jiyue strode to the door and pushed it open: "Come in and show Wen Zheliu first. He's been coughing up a lot of blood and can't eat."
After Wu Yang took the pulse, he reported everything.
"Wen Zheliu has lung problems. Being exposed to wind or frightened can cause coughing and wheezing. It's normal for him to lose his appetite when he's sick. The main problem is that he's not in good condition right now. Even if I prescribe some medicine, he won't be able to drink it. He still needs to stay in bed and rest first."
He said he was going to bed to rest, but Wenzheliu rested for most of the day and there was no improvement. Instead, he looked even more haggard.
"It's alright, you can go to Xiaoqing."
Perhaps he found out that he and Xiaoqing fell ill at the same time, Xiaoqing was unconscious, while he was just vomiting blood. It was inappropriate for He Jiuyue to stay with him alone, so Wen Zheliu took the initiative to give in.
He smiled sadly: "It's my fault. I made the princess worry."
It was not difficult for He Jiuyue to see that Wen Zheliu was speaking in anger.
His hands were clenched into fists, and it was obvious that he was unwilling to let her go.
But why was he getting mad at her again? How many times had this happened in the past two days? Could it be that she always fell for his tricks, and he was trying to perpetuate this habit of petulance?
If this is the case, then we really can't indulge him anymore.
"Okay, if you're okay, I'll go to Xiaoqing's place. After all, he's been poisoned by Xiyue's strange poison and is very ill."
He Jiuyue squeezed out every word from between his teeth.
She stared at Wen Zheliu's pale cheeks, trying to find a hint of jealousy in his dead expression.
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