"Li Ce, Bian Tang is so nice." People on the ground were picking up money, but no one was fighting. Chu Qiao stood there in a daze and suddenly said this.
Li Ce smiled, shook his head and said, "It's OK, but what you see are all good, but it's better than Daxia anyway."
Since the two of them couldn't watch the circus, they just wandered around the street and chatted casually.
Li Ce bought some snacks, including honey cubes, dates, osmanthus cakes, and chestnuts. He put them in two bags, one for each of them, and ate them as they walked.
Chu Qiao felt relaxed, and the fatigue of the past few days gradually faded away. She asked, "Li Ce, you know, right? Daxia is looking for me. I am now the most wanted criminal in the world."
"Wanted criminal?" Li Ce was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "That's a fresh way of saying it."
"Then won't you hand me over to Daxia?"
Li Ce frowned strangely and asked, "Give it to Daxia? What's the benefit? A thousand bounty, humph, it's better to keep you to accompany me."
"But," Chu Qiao shook her head, "I have to go back to Yanbei."
"Alas, Qiao Qiao, you just want to hurt my heart." Li Ce shook his head and said, "But never mind, I know you didn't come to Bian Tang to see me on purpose."
Chu Qiao thought for a long time, and finally asked a little embarrassedly: "Li Ce, by marrying into Daxia, do you want to be an enemy of Yanbei?"
Li Ce turned around, looked Chu Qiao up and down, and finally said with a sigh: "Qiao Qiao, on a night like this, can't you forget about Yanbei and Yan Xun a little bit? Can't you live a little easier?" Chu Qiao didn't say anything, Li Ce continued, "The war between Yanbei and Daxia is your own business. Besides, why should I travel thousands of miles to kick Yan Xun's tent? He is so fierce, what if he hits me? I also heard that the Yanbei Plateau is very cold and windy, and the skin of the women there is blown red and rough. I don't want to do anything that has no benefits."
The wind blew the thin sleeves and caressed the wrist bones, like the touch of a butterfly's wings. Chu Qiao smiled slightly, looked at Li Ce, and suddenly said: "Li Ce, although I always can't see through you, I don't think you are a bad person."
Li Ce snorted coldly, raised his chin and said, "This prince is of noble status, with a golden exterior and splendid interior. If you can see through me so easily, wouldn't it be very embarrassing for me?" As soon as he finished speaking, he came forward and said with a smile, "Qiao Qiao, I'll give you a chance to see through me, do you want it?"
Chu Qiao curled her lips and said, "You should keep it for yourself."
"Alas," the man sighed, "What an unromantic woman."
Passing by a fish stall on the road, Chu Qiao stopped slightly and took a curious look. I saw a lot of red-tailed goldfish in a large water tank, their crimson color was like clouds, and they were cute and adorable.
Chu Qiao was very good at raising fish. She had always liked small animals and had thought about raising a puppy. However, she didn’t have time to take care of it in the army, and the dormitory didn’t allow it, so she could only secretly raise a few tropical fish. Later, the dormitory head found out but did nothing about it, so she continued the habit of raising fish. However, so many years have passed and life is difficult now, so how can I have the energy to raise fish?
Seeing that she liked it, Li Ce immediately paid for it. The stall owner rarely saw such a generous customer, so he gave them a porcelain jar to hold the fish.
It was already very late at this time. Chu Qiao was still seriously injured and felt a little tired. The two of them discussed going back.
When we returned to the lake, the horses were still grazing leisurely. Several children squatted nearby and tried to pull the reins several times, probably wanting to steal the horse. However, they were afraid that the horse would kick them, so they hesitated and refused to leave. Suddenly, they saw their owner coming back, and they dispersed.
Chu Qiao and Li Ce got on their horses, and because they had an extra jar of goldfish, they walked slowly on the long street.
Chu Qiao suddenly felt a little strange. Thinking back to the days in Daxia when it was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe with Li Ce, it felt like it happened in her previous life. As expected, just as Yan Xun said at the beginning, Zhenhuang City was like a huge cage, lifeless and gloomy. Anything inside would be suffocated.
Yan Xun, I don’t know where he is now? He disguised himself as Liu Xi and took Datong's money in Xianyang. He must have wanted to take the southern border and transport the property back to Yanbei. Now that they are under the banner of rebelling against Daxia and joining Bian Tang, it is not difficult to understand why Yan Xun disguised himself as Liu Xi. In this case, he will definitely come to Bian Tang. As for the reasons and purposes behind this, it is not something she knows.
The sound of the night watch drum was getting closer and closer, and Chu Qiao was becoming more and more sleepy. Ever since she was poisoned by the assassin from the caravan that day, she had become more and more sleepy. She sat on the horse, her body becoming softer and softer, her forehead resting on Li Ce, and she slowly fell asleep.
The man sitting in front was stunned for a moment. He turned around curiously and saw Chu Qiao's forehead resting on his shoulder. She was breathing shallowly. She actually fell asleep like this.
The night wind blew, and the magnolia fragrance wafted through her hair. Li Ce's face no longer had the usual cynicism. He just looked at Chu Qiao quietly, letting the horse go forward without pulling the reins.
Bian Tang is a country of flowers, with flower trees everywhere on both sides of the road. When the breeze blows, petals occasionally fall, like fluttering butterflies. Chu Qiao's goose yellow brocade skirt swayed in the wind, and she looked like a fairy among the colorful flowers and trees.
The horse kicked lightly, and Chu Qiao suddenly frowned, staggered slightly, and fell backwards involuntarily.
Li Ce acted quickly and put his arms around her waist. Then, the man who was not good at martial arts turned around, pressed the saddle with one hand, and flew up. The next second, he jumped from the front to the back, put his arms around Chu Qiao's waist, and let her sleep in his arms.
When the night wind blew, the remaining rain water on the flower trees scattered and fell along with thousands of petals.
"Bian Tang will soon be in trouble," Li Ce sighed, then smiled gently. His smile did not show how relaxed or happy he was, as if he was just used to talking this way. "When you get better, I'll send you to see your old lover. Where is the paradise in this world, you little fool?"
The moonlight spread like frost and fog, and the huge Jinwu Palace gradually appeared before our eyes. When she woke up, it was already late. The little maid named Qiu Sui was still sitting on a small footstool waiting for her. Seeing her wake up, she smiled happily and quickly brought her a bowl of tea, saying, "You're awake, do you want some water?"
Chu Qiao shook her head, and the maid continued, "The imperial physician is waiting outside to take your pulse. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has ordered them to come in once you wake up."
Chu Qiao washed up simply, rejected the girl's intention to do something with her hair, and tied her hair into a bun casually. She was not a wealthy person, nor had she ever had a good life. Seeing more than a dozen people surrounding her just to wash her face, she was inevitably stunned. After she instinctively refused, she saw more than twenty imperial doctors coming in one after another, taking her pulse one by one.
The little maid prepared a large table of food, including more than thirty kinds of soups, desserts, and both meat and vegetable dishes. There was a maid kneeling on each side of the table. Chu Qiao didn't have to do anything. The imperial doctors took her pulse while the maids fed her. He would look at her every time he picked up a bite of food. If she nodded, he would put it to her mouth. If she shook her head, he would put it down and change to another one. Chu Qiao didn't feel comfortable shaking her head continuously. After finishing the whole meal, her stomach was bloated and uncomfortable.
After finally completing the examination, more than 20 old men went to a side hall to discuss the treatment plan.
At this moment, there was a clanging sound coming from outside. Chu Qiao asked, "What are you doing outside?"
Qiu Sui was obviously the leader of this group of maids, and she answered crisply, "They are repairing the pond."
The pond was right under Chu Qiao's window. She was a little curious and asked, "Why build a pond? What happened to the original one?"
"The original pond was too low, so His Highness ordered a waterwheel to be built here, and a high pond with running water to raise the goldfish you brought back."
Chu Qiao was stunned and quickly walked to the window, only to see about two hundred men working outside, sweating profusely, but not daring to make too much noise. Basically everything was being assembled somewhere else and then carefully dragged over. Chu Qiao was a little stunned when she heard that so many people worked so hard just to raise a few worthless goldfish. I've heard that Bian Tang is rich, but I didn't expect the royal family to be so extravagant.
She couldn't stay here for a few days, and Li Ce's behavior made her feel a little embarrassed.
She turned and asked, "Where is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
"After the morning court session, I haven't seen His Highness come back."
Chu Qiao nodded. She didn’t even know how she got back last night. It seemed that there was something seriously wrong with her health. Anyway, she had to wait for an opportunity to find Yan Xun in Bian Tang, so she might as well recuperate here first. Thinking of this, she slowly sat down on the couch.
"Girl, are you from Daxia?"
Chu Qiao raised her head and asked, "Who told you that?"
"I heard from Commander Tie that he and His Highness brought you to the palace that day. He said that the girl was a noble of Daxia and asked us to serve her well."
"oh."
"I thought you were another lady at first! But His Highness told me last night that you were his friend. Come to think of it, you are His Highness's first female friend."
The little maid seemed to think Chu Qiao was easy-going and easy to talk to. She fanned her gently and said, "His Highness is really good to the young lady. I have never seen him be so nice to any other lady."
"Does your Highness have many wives?"
Qiu Sui replied, "Yes, the entire Qiuhua Palace, Changqing Palace, and Qiushui Pavilion are full of them. There are probably... well, I can't tell you exactly, anyway, there are a lot of them."
"Oh," Chu Qiao nodded, "The rumors are true."
The little maid said with a smile: "Your Highness is just crazy and loves to play. We all like His Highness very much. His Highness is the Crown Prince, and he is very kind to us little palace maids. He doesn't put on airs at all."
At this time, a maid suddenly came in from outside and said, "Miss, Madam Hongluan is here and is waiting outside. She said she wants to see you."
Chu Qiao was stunned, and Qiu Sui quickly said, "Madam Hongluan is a new lady brought in by the prince. She is the dancer given to the prince by Huai Song."
Chu Qiao nodded, naturally knowing what this person wanted to do, and asked in a deep voice: "Can I not see her?"
Qiu Sui said, "Of course you can. When the prince left, he said that if the lady doesn't want to, no one is allowed to disturb you at will."
"Oh," Chu Qiao said, "Then tell Madam Hongluan that I am seriously ill and cannot see guests. Thank you for coming to visit."
The maid retreated.
Within half a day, more than a dozen ladies came to visit, some of whom were from noble families. It seems that Li Ce's ridiculous reputation is not for nothing. With so many women, she really doubts whether he still remembers their names.
In the afternoon, the weather became hotter. Chu Qiao was drowsy. Qiu Sui made a bowl of ice cubes, added some cherries and honeydew melon, and was about to give it to Chu Qiao when suddenly someone came to report that Mrs. Tang wanted to see Chu Qiao.