Chapter 20: Awkward "If one day, I leave, will you be sad...
Wen Zheliu buried his entire face in the fox fur, leaving only his smooth forehead, as white as snow, exposed to the wind.
He shook his head and said softly, "No one."
Wen Zheliu told the truth, but He Jiuyue didn't believe it.
If he was fine, why would he cry?
There must be someone evil behind this!
He Jiuyue thought that Xiaoqing was the only one in the mansion who would upset Wen Zheliu. She turned her head and asked Chen Jin, her voice, which had been deliberately lowered, returning to a steady tone: "Xiaoqing was here?"
"yes."
"What did he do? What did he say?"
Chen Jin explained everything in detail: "Xiaoqing came with the food box, but she only wandered around outside for a few times, didn't go in, and didn't talk to Wen Shijun."
He Jiuyue ordered in a cold voice: "Go to the places where he has been and see if there is anything unusual. I'm afraid he has cast a spell somewhere."
"No need to check." Although Wen Zheliu and Xiaoqing did not get along, he did not want to frame him. He tugged at the corner of He Jiuyue's clothes and slowly shook his head.
"I'm unhappy myself, it has nothing to do with Xiaoqing."
His figure was three times softer than the finest silk tributed from Jiangnan, and his voice was even gentler like spring water, which melted He Jiuyue's ice-hard heart.
"Why are you unhappy?" She raised her hand and gently wiped away the tears that were about to fall from the corners of his eyes.
"I want to go out for a walk."
Wen Zheliu spoke with tears in her eyes, her voice delicate and vulnerable: "It's so stuffy in this room. There's not even anyone to talk to. You have official duties to attend to, so you may not always be able to accompany me. I've been ill for the past ten years, and I'm tired of waiting in this room."
As he spoke, he was about to cry again.
He Jiuyue put her arms around his slender waist.
"Why don't you go back to the house and rest for a while? We'll set off south of the Yangtze River tomorrow. You can take as long as you want to enjoy the scenery along the way."
Leaving tomorrow?
Wen Zheliu was startled and made even more noise.
"Tomorrow is tomorrow, today is today. There are still more than ten hours until tomorrow, but I can leave now."
He blinked and a tear fell.
"Please."
Tears meandered down, and He Jiuyue almost lost her rage. She twisted her arm tightly, pinching her forearm until it turned purple, so that she did not indulge in lust in broad daylight.
"Don't cry, you're going to become a tabby cat."
Afraid that the thin calluses on her hands would make Wen Zheliu cry again, she took out a handkerchief she rarely used and gently touched his cheek: "Chen Jin, go out with him and come back in an hour."
Wen Zheliu left the house as he wished, said "Thank you, Princess", and left without looking back. He Jiuyue saw him turn a corner and his back completely disappeared, then he turned around to look for Guan Ze.
"He's angry again and insists on leaving the house."
After thinking about it for a long time, He Jiuyue still couldn't find a suitable answer. As soon as she met Guan Ze, she asked, "But when I left this morning, he was fine, and Xiaoqing didn't bother him either. What's going on?"
"You've locked him up for too long. Any normal person would have problems. You should let him out for a walk occasionally," Guan Ze took a sip of tea. "But, won't you accompany him?"
"I can't just leave you hanging... What's with that look in your eyes? I'm not as devoted to love as you think."
It was hard to tell whether it was out of respect for Chen Jin or simply to avoid Wen Zheliu's tears, but He Jiyue urged her, "Don't you want to see Xiaoqing? Let's go."
The front hall was not far from the courtyard where Xiaoqing lived, and the two of them walked quickly, arriving there in less than half a minute.
"Welcome, Princess."
Xiao Qing politely bowed and asked Guan Ze, who was following behind He Jiuyue, "Who is this...?"
He Jiyue was too lazy to help him, and Guan Ze didn't introduce himself either. He got straight to the point: "How did you get poisoned?"
Xiaoqing wanted to push the blame onto Wen Zheliu again, but when she thought about how he had framed Wen Zheliu last time, He Jiuyue, who was usually as calm as water, was extremely angry and did not dare to say anything.
"I don't know."
He panicked for a moment, then managed to regain his composure, thinking he had hidden himself perfectly. Guan Ze raised his eyebrows, looking away from him pinching the hem of his clothes, and turned to He Jiuyue: "Was it the Minister of Revenue who sent him in?"
"Well," He Jiuyue followed her out of the house and asked in a low voice, "Any results?"
"My initial speculation is that this poison is closely related to the Minister of Revenue. It's just that it's difficult to investigate openly, so we have to act in secret. Xiaoqing looked panicked just now, but she didn't seem to be very scared. She must not have known that it was linked to treason, and the serious consequences would be the death penalty.
"He's just a pawn floating on the surface. We won't get anything out of him by asking him, and it's easy to alert the enemy."
Guan Ze bowed slightly and said, "My lord, I'll take my leave."
On this side, Wen Zheliu pretended to walk around the stone pond, sent Chen Jin away, and quickly took out the secret box hidden in the gap. The two letters he had stuffed in before had disappeared without a trace. There was a letter from Xiyue, but no letter from his brother Wen Liuqing.
Wen Zheliu glanced at the reply letter, frowned at the last sentence "An envoy will be sent to pick you up soon", and then destroyed the letter on the spot.
If you don’t make the date clear, you won’t clash with the southeast.
He said that it is impossible to flash back to the capital from Jiangnan, and then flash back to Xiyue from the capital?
"Master Wen, where have you been?" Although she was used to calling him that, Chen Jin still liked to call him Master Wen in private. She ran all the way here, panting. "I almost didn't find you. If I lost you, the princess would definitely punish me!"
"Sorry," Wen Zheliu said the words he had memorized earlier, "I just got lost."
"It's okay, it's okay. My eyesight is not good."
Chen Jin waved his hand: "It's almost time to go back home. The princess is still waiting for you."
She kept nagging to Wen Zheliu, exaggerating He Jiuyue's secrets, but the more Wen Zheliu listened, the more confused she became.
Wuhuan actually values him so much.
But he is the only son of the queen mother who is living away from home. If she wants to keep the wealth within the family, she must capture him and bring him back to inherit the throne.
But now that he is gone, what will happen to Wuhuan?
"Why aren't you happy after coming back from outside?"
He Jiuyue fully expected that Wen Zheliu would happily share his experiences outside with her when he returned, but she never expected him to be so depressed. She reached out and poked his cheek.
Wen Zheliu forced a smile and said, "I'm just a little tired, it's nothing serious."
Having just learned a new trick from Guan Ze on how to coax a man, He Jiyue hurriedly put it into practice: "You've been walking around, are you thirsty? Hungry?"
She waved her hand, signaling Chen Jin to get two or three plates of delicious side dishes from the kitchen.
Wen Zheliu shook his head: "I can't eat it."
He Jiyue personally picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and handed it to his mouth: "You have to eat it, or you will starve to death."
Feeling upset, Wen Zheliu shook his hand and let the silver chopsticks fall to the ground with a "clack".
“No.”
"Are you really that bold?" He Jiuyue frowned.
Wen Zheliu spoke each word with emphasis: "Yes, I have no respect for the superior and I shall be punished."
He Jiuyue said nothing, bent down and picked up the silver chopsticks.
Could it be true as Guan Ze said, that she locked him up too harshly?
But didn't she let him go out for some fresh air?
"Why are you angry?" she asked patiently.
He never thought that such rudeness could not drive He Jiuyue away, and even did not make her angry. Wen Zheliu was anxious and angry, and spoke without thinking.
"If one day I leave, will you be sad?"
"Where are you going? Towards a mountain of swords or into a sea of fire?"
Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, as if he wasn't joking with her, He Jiyue also became serious: "If you want to leave, then I'll go with you. Is there any place in this vast territory that I, He Jiyue, can't go to?"
Wuhuan could naturally go, but because of her special identity, once she went, war between the two countries was inevitable.
"……Um."
He Jiuyue spoke with great confidence, but Wen Zheliu just lay down and snorted from his nose.
"Why, you don't want me to follow?"
Wen Zheliu changed the subject: "I'm not feeling well and would like to be alone for a while. Princess, please do as you please."
"Are you ordering me to leave?"
"I just wanted to be alone for a while, I didn't mean to force you to leave. Even if you stay here, I can't do anything about it."
He Jiuyue has a headache.
They started to quarrel again. Official business is not as difficult as his.
"Chen Jin, go to the street and buy some candy." She pressed her forehead lightly.
Brown sugar, white sugar, and malt sugar were spread out in a row. He Jiyue peeled off the candy wrapper and stuffed it into his mouth: "Don't you like sweet food? Here are all, you can eat as much as you want."
My teeth hurt from time to time, and I feel uncomfortable when I smell willow branches or see candy.
"I don't want to eat."
The better Wuhuan treated him, the more guilty he felt.
He is full of lies and doesn't deserve her kindness.
"This matter has nothing to do with the princess. You don't have to bother coaxing me. Just let me be quiet for a while."
A huge sum of money cannot make a beautiful woman smile. He Jiuyue really couldn't do anything about him. Seeing the corners of his eyes were red, the more she coaxed him, the angrier he became. He Jiuyue had no choice but to push the door and leave.
"Well, you should take a good rest. There will be a palace banquet tonight."
He Jiuyue went to the study, took out the map of the southeast, and based on the memorial that had been brought up, he made a preliminary battle plan.
These areas are all connected to bandit dens, some large and some small. The same thing is that they are unwilling to submit to the imperial court. To catch a thief, you must first catch the leader. First, you must defeat the largest one, and then release the news to let them fight among themselves.
You have to rush there, but you can take it easy on the way back.
On the way back, we'll go to Pingyang County. There are hot springs in the county. Wen Zheliu loves medicinal baths, so we might stay a little longer...
After counting the hours several times, it was finally time for the palace banquet. He Jiuyue hurried to the side hall, but found that Wen Zheliu had already boarded the carriage.
He was dressed in a clear blue, as beautiful as a lotus emerging from the water.
He Jiyue pinched his cheek: "Are you calmed down?"
Wen Zheliu let her play with him without saying a word.
He Jiuyue pulled off the fox fur coat that covered him and bit his neck several times, but he only breathed faster and still didn't speak.
Did she make him angry again?
In the imperial garden, people were drinking and chatting.
"My Lord, I offer you a toast."
After all, it was He Jiuyue's farewell banquet. She was in a high position and was the protagonist of the banquet. Many ministers came to toast her. He Jiuyue had a big appetite and drank dozens of cups of wine, but her mind was still clear.
"Is it delicious?" Wen Zheliu was watching from the side, fascinated. "This wine."
"It's still not as strong as the wine from the Western Regions. Although the people of Western Yue are cunning, their wine is first-rate and delicious."
Finally hearing his words, He Jiyue couldn't wait to express her feelings. Jianwen Zheliu remained silent, her eyes glued to the wine glass, anticipating his greed: "Want to try it?"
"Yeah." Wen Zheliu nodded repeatedly.
Not sure if he was still angry, He Jiuyue wanted to comfort him, so she took a small cup without asking anyone else to help her and filled it halfway for him.
"Come, have a taste."
Wen Zheliu took it, turned it around in his hands, and put it back on the table: "Thank you, Princess."
"Why are you still staring at me?"
Jianwen Zheliu's gaze shifted from the wine glass to her face. He Jiuyue tapped the wooden table with a muffled "tap" sound: "Little greedy cat, the wine is here."
Wen Zheliu licked his lower lips.
"I know. I just feel that the wine in your glass is sweeter."
He Jiuyue was stunned.
"This is what I used. It's dirty."
“It’s not dirty.”
Wen Zheliu reached out to take the cup, and He Jiuyue picked it up quickly. The two of them fought back and forth for dozens of rounds, and Wen Zheliu was always one step slower than He Jiuyue.
She would tease a cat, placing the wine glass in front of him but always moving away when he was about to take it.
I can't get the wine glass I like, and I pout when I hear about willow branches being broken.
"The princess refuses to give me a cup, does that mean she thinks I'm dirty?"
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