Chapter 109: Enthusiasm I have nothing to say to those who dislike His Majesty the Ninth Prince...
Xie Tingchen looked at the brocade box in disbelief.
He carried that pretty boy's thing in his arms for so many days?
He angrily said, "You...you're all playing tricks on me! Even you're on his side. What's so good about him? How am I inferior to him?"
Yu Qing: “…”
She almost laughed out loud at the man's brazenness: "At least take a look at your own face."
She paused, but couldn't help but say, "The Ninth Prince is young, beautiful, and virtuous. How can you compare to him? Not even a hair of his can compare to you."
Xie Tingchen: “…”
He once suspected that he had heard it wrong. Yu Qing's words made him feel like he was struck by lightning.
"...a smooth-talking bastard," he said. "Since his return, he's taken away so much good fortune and glory! I despise none of his tricks! If I let that bitch fight me face to face, I'll see if he can withstand it..."
Yu Qing couldn't bear it anymore and raised his hand to slap him.
"Keep your mouth shut," she said. "I don't want to do anything."
Xie Jing is so docile and sweet-talking, so endearing. It's only right for the emperor or anyone else to favor him. Otherwise, why would they favor this idiot? Did Xie Tingchen even look down on him?
Xie Tingchen's eyes widened as he struggled to his feet, veins popping out of his forehead. He said bitterly, "Do you understand how much I'm unwilling to accept this? If I had known he'd been stirring up trouble, I shouldn't have let my guard down and should have killed him long ago. Father was bewitched by him, and even you have been bewitched by him! I feel sick just looking at him! Can't you hear that he even speaks—"
Before he could finish his words, he was knocked down head-on. He fell to the ground with a thud, bleeding from his forehead, and was stunned for a moment.
"you--"
Yu Qing interrupted him and asked, "Do you still remember Princess Qingjia?"
Xie Tingchen didn't know why he suddenly mentioned Qingjia.
He knew Yu Qing's wife, of course, and had spoken to her a few times earlier. He vaguely remembered her as a gentle beauty, but her more detailed features were a blur and he could no longer recall them.
"Remember," Xie Tingchen swallowed a mouthful of blood foam, "She died of illness, what a pity..."
"No. You must have never looked her in the eye, nor treated her as a relative. Otherwise, you would have understood why I was so close to His Royal Highness Prince Jing," Yu Qing whispered. "I also regret not catching you from the beginning and letting you do whatever you wanted for so long."
Xie Tingchen was confused and his mind was blank.
"If you had put your intentions of harming others aside and focused on doing something more serious, perhaps you could have achieved something. With your background, if you had the ability, you would have been the crown prince long ago. Your mother, a noble concubine, has stayed out of public affairs these past few years, devotedly worshipping Buddha. She saw that you were hopeless, but your uncle's family's greed got the better of them and they were determined to help you rise, and she couldn't stop them. Do you think those noble families truly support you? They simply think you're stupid. If you ascended to the throne, everyone's life would be better."
"It's clearly not King Jing who's standing in your way, yet you're only opposing him. Do you think that because he doesn't have a family background or the support of his ministers, he should be manipulated and subordinated to you? You're the one who bullies the weak and fears the strong, and is filled with jealousy. Why have you never dared to directly challenge the current emperor? Is it because you know you can't match him?"
Xie Tingchen's chest heaved violently.
"I have nothing to say to those who dislike His Majesty the Ninth Prince. Let's leave it at that," Yu Qing said calmly. "I didn't come here to visit you today. I came here mainly to settle accounts with you."
"You and your uncle hold the imperial decree, but it only exempts you from one death penalty. I will immediately report your other death penalty to His Majesty."
"……What?"
Yu Qing said, "I already got the intelligence when the Northern Barbarians rebelled, but I kept it to myself. Over the past few months, I've investigated the situation at the border and in the capital, and I'm almost done with it. I can now convict them."
More than two years ago, before she went to war, she had some suspicions, and later she got confessions from prisoners of war and kept them deep in her heart.
Far from the border, it's inconvenient to act rashly. Someone capable of betraying their country and collaborating with the enemy, while commanding the Northern Barbarians' loyalty, is no ordinary individual. If we fail to capture them once and for all, we might just alert the enemy, rendering all our efforts in vain.
The situation in the capital was not clear either. She did not fully trust either side, so she could only wait for the time being.
She had once suspected Xie Tingzhao, but after returning to Beijing and after a period of contact and scrutiny, and repeated verification, she confirmed that he had no arrangements in the northwest, and gradually dispelled her doubts about him.
Now the truth is out.
Marquis Zhongwu had long harbored rebellious ambitions, but a few years ago, the Third Prince and the Empress were too powerful and secure to challenge. He finally found the right opportunity and attempted to exploit the Northern Barbarian incident to stir up unrest.
The commander-in-chief of the northwest at that time was a member of the He clan. Although they suffered repeated defeats at the front line at first, there were actually signs of this.
However, she did not initially suspect the Zhongwu Marquis's faction - they were also generals who had fought bravely in battles, many of their descendants had defended the territory, and even the fifth prince himself had made military achievements.
Putting herself in their shoes, she thought that the other party would be more or less the same as her own family. Although Marquis Zhongwu had been fighting for power in the capital in recent years, his position on family and national affairs was still clear.
However, people's hearts are fickle, and the glory of the past can prove nothing. Now it only seems ironic.
However, the chaos that Marquis Zhongwu painstakingly created and the opportunity he anxiously awaited did not produce the expected effect.
Yu Qing quelled the rebellion with lightning speed, without delaying the war. After a few months of unrest, the situation finally subsided. They wanted to use the Northern Barbarian assassins to harm the emperor and attack the prince's party, but the effect was not satisfactory. Even more unexpectedly,
Xie Tingzhao, who was far away in southern Xinjiang, actually took action at that moment. In the end, he did not gain any benefits, but instead paved the way for the second prince, allowing him to enter the capital directly.
After Xie Tingzhao was crowned king, his status rose steadily, and the Marquis of Zhongwu had to endure it. Last year, when the late emperor suffered a stroke and power fell, they began to plot again. After finally making some progress, they heard rumors at the beginning of the year that another prince was about to return to the palace. They were afraid that
If the situation changed again and the disaster happened again, he would immediately send a group of assassins to Jiangnan to kill them. The two Golden Feather Guards in the escort team were the spies.
After learning everything, Yu Qing couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
In fact, when the fifth prince was young, he was honest and upright, without too many thoughts. He was obsessed with martial arts, riding and shooting, and always exchanged sword manuals with her.
Yu Qing didn't have many friends, and even though he had severed all ties with him now, he still felt a little regretful when he thought about the past.
"Yu Qing," the Fifth Prince trembled, "you must..."
At this time, light footsteps were heard outside the cell. Yu Qing's heart moved and he turned around to look. Sure enough, Xie Jing's face was reflected under the torch at the corner of the passage.
"Didn't we say we were just going to talk for a few minutes? Why did it take so long?" Xie Jing frowned and said, "The smell here is so strong."
The fifth prince fell silent.
Yu Qing said: "It's already a filthy place, what are you doing here? Be careful not to get fumed."
She left Xie Tingchen and walked out. Xie Jing looked down at the cell and met Xie Tingchen's eyes.
"Hey, Royal Brother, I haven't seen you for a few days. How did you become like this?" Xie Jing asked with concern, "Are you bleeding? What happened?"
Xie Tingchen: “…”
Yu Qing said: "He hit himself, stay away from him."
"Okay," Xie Jing said softly, his face full of pity, "He's so miserable. I can't bear to see him. Let's go quickly so we don't feel bad."
Yu Qing couldn't help laughing and said, "Yeah."
Xie Jing took Yu Qing's hand, walked a few steps, turned around and smiled at the shocked Xie Tingchen.
Then he mouthed silently, "Thank you."
Xie Tingchen almost fainted and wanted to shout, but the cell door was closed, the two people disappeared, and no one could hear him.
·
After coming out, Xie Jing asked, "Did he say bad things about me again?"
Yu Qing said: "Anyway, I don't understand what he is saying. He is seriously ill. You don't need to pay attention to him."
Xie Jing sighed, "I used to always take the initiative to toast him at palace banquets, but I never thought he would hate me so much."
Yu Qing suddenly felt that he hadn't hit him hard enough. The man was truly unrepentant. However, thinking that he wouldn't live much longer, he decided not to continue.
In fact, she was also very puzzled. Xie Tingchen had been struggling in the royal family for many years, and his greed for power had changed him beyond recognition in the end. She could still understand that, as the struggle for the throne had always been like this.
But she really couldn't understand why he hated Xie Jing. If he couldn't even stand Xie Jing, who could he stand? The gods in heaven?
Yu Qing judged: "He must have gone crazy a long time ago."
·
The Fifth Prince and Marquis Zhongwu and his gang committed treason and treason, their crimes are unforgivable and they will be executed at a later date.
The He family, a prominent and aristocratic clan, was implicated extensively. Many of the women and young sons were innocent, and many of the men had military merit. Ultimately, the new emperor pardoned them, investigating and punishing each person individually. If they were truly innocent, they would not be imprisoned or enslaved, but would instead live as commoners. The capital was spared from the bloodbath.
Yu Qing took a total of more than ten days of leave before he resumed his duty.
All the important matters have been completed, and with the accumulation over the past six months, the system in Xuanlin Guard has been established. Those who should be promoted have almost reached the appropriate positions, and all the rules and regulations have been established. The management will gradually become easier in the future and will no longer be as busy as in the early days.
But she had been with Xie Jing most of the time these days, and her bones were so tired that she felt completely bored when she suddenly went back to work. Looking at the backlog of important tasks waiting for her to decide, she felt a headache and wanted to go back home in just a few hours.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, court meetings were changed to once every three days, which was a reasonable schedule. However, it was a bit difficult for Xie Jing.
In terms of the volume of official business, the Ministry of Revenue was always at the top of the list, constantly having to submit reports to higher authorities. Furthermore, matters at hand could not only be reported privately, but often had to be discussed at grand court meetings.
Xie Jing was writing a memorial reluctantly in his mansion. He only wrote two or three lines after a long while, and would be depressed for a while if he couldn't finish.
Yu Qing looked at him and couldn't help but laugh: "Anyway, this is all for your brother to see, so why bother with every word? No one will find fault with you anyway."
Xie Jing lamented, "I don't want to, but I just feel uncomfortable reading it."
He is a person who cannot tolerate any flaws. He is like this when it comes to his face and clothes. Naturally, he has the same temper when doing things and will not let things go sloppily.
Not to mention the many officials in the Ministry of Revenue, all of whom were talented people who had passed the imperial examinations. If his articles were written in a mess, he would always be worried about being laughed at.
…In the past, when the princess embroidered, she was also slow to work. She would tear it apart and modify it if she wasn't satisfied with it, but the finished product was always exquisite.
When Yu Qing thought of this, she felt that Xie Jing was cute again.
Seeing him now bent over his desk thinking seriously, his brows slightly furrowed, and occasionally putting pen to paper, she would hold her chin and watch from the side, not finding it boring, and seemed to be able to keep watching.
After a long moment, Xie Jing raised his head and whispered, "Don't keep looking at me. I can't continue writing if you keep looking at me like that."
Yu Qing thought, what's the point of looking at the woman she's married to? Not only did she want to look, she also wanted to kiss her, and she had been holding it back for a long time.
Xie Jing said, "I want to tell my brother that I won't go to the Ministry of Revenue anymore."
Yu Qing asked, "What?"
"There are too many things to do. Wen Xu always urges me to do this and that, and tests me from time to time. The Ministry of Revenue is full of smart people, and I am very tired there. I have to write memorials myself, and I don't want to go to court anymore..." Xie Jing said aggrievedly.
This is a great position that others would beg for, but Xie Jing has no ambition for it.
He was still young and intelligent, so letting him work hard and do things himself was clearly a deliberate act of training. This was far better than giving him a nominal position or having a large staff to manage things for him. Xie Tingzhao might even be interested in having him participate in government affairs in the future.
Yu Qing understood the reasoning and wanted to advise him, but seeing Xie Jing like this, she thought: Indeed, why should he understand so many things? Isn't it good enough to just live a leisurely life with fine clothes and delicious food every day, raising flowers and dogs? Princesses are meant to be spoiled...
Xie Jing added: "I want to go back to Beichensi."
Yu Qing was silent for a moment. Facing Xie Jing's expectant gaze, she struggled with her emotions for a moment before finally declining, "You'd better not come. Stay in the Ministry of Revenue. Your brother just ascended the throne. You should help him out."
Xie Jing's heart immediately broke: "Why?"
The thing that made him happiest was serving tea and water to Yu Qing, sorting out official documents, and arranging itinerary.
Yu Qing said, "If you were there, I wouldn't be able to do even one thing every day. When I get to Beichen Division, I'll kiss you first. In a few months, the commander will have to be replaced."
She wasn't exaggerating, she really felt that way.
In the past, when they were still a princess and her husband, they were husband and wife in name only, but not in reality.
Now I know what it's like to be a real couple.
Just looking at him makes me feel happy. I want to talk to him and touch him. There is always a warm longing in my heart.
I don’t know when this passion will end.
Yu Qing estimated that it would take at least ten to twenty years...or perhaps it would never be resolved.
She began to trace his face and neck with her eyes again, then held his wrist.
Xie Jing was hesitant to accept it, but he also refused: "What are you going to do? I haven't finished writing the memorial yet."
Yu Qing instructed, "Ask Wen Xu to write it for you tomorrow..."
Xie Jing also put his hand on her waist.
The two of them turned off most of the lights in the room and stayed in a sticky mess for more than an hour before the clouds and rain finally stopped.
Xie Jing no longer had any melancholy in his expression, only showing a hint of pity in bed, always shedding a few tears when his emotions reached a certain point. Seeing this, Yu Qing lost all self-control and felt completely soft-hearted.
The corners of Xie Jing's eyes were still a little red. Yu Qing asked, "Why are you crying again..."
She held Xie Jing's face and kissed him gently a few times.
Xie Jing said: "I'm so happy. I've never been so happy before. I'm so scared..."
He rested his forehead on her shoulder and whispered, "I'm so scared that one day you'll leave me. If you don't like me anymore, I'll die."
"No," Yu Qing touched his hair, "I promise you, I will always love you and never leave you."
Xie Jing asked: "What if I'm not pretty anymore?"
Yu Qing smiled and coaxed, "Impossible, you are the most beautiful in the world."
Xie Jing thought for a moment and then said, "But there is always..."
Yu Qing continued, "Even when we're old, I'll always be with you."
Xie Jing always had a lot of worries, and Yu Qing had gotten used to it. Now she could handle it easily, and she could speak sweet words to him without hesitation. As expected, Xie Jing got better. He held her quietly for a long time, then hesitated and said, "Am I a little annoying?"
"No," Yu Qing said, "I just like you like this."
She had enjoyed the princess's support in the past, and she still enjoyed it now.
Her excessive desire to protect and sense of responsibility, which had nowhere to go before, were no longer in vain with Xie Jing. He could reveal his insecurities and vulnerabilities, and she was willing to spend her energy on him. This was not a burden at all.
For her, if someone is really a strong and independent person who does not need her to take care of and pamper him, she would find it meaningless.
She hopes that the other person will always be so lovable and act like a spoiled child, and that he will always rely on her and need her, and cannot live without her.
The more this happened, the more satisfied she became.
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