Chapter 16: Suspicion: How could a noble prince always be alone?
Wenhua Garden.
Xie Jing stared at him, "You said you sewed my handkerchief into a purse and gave it to Yu Qing?"
Dong Li cried and said, "...Yeah."
Xie Jing: "...You're going to piss me off to death."
"But I couldn't find the right material yesterday, and I happened to see the one you embroidered a few days ago; the size and pattern were just right, so..."
Xie Jing: “…”
He held his forehead.
A few days ago, he had nothing to do at home, so he embroidered a flower. But today, he couldn't find it. When he asked, he found out that Dong Li had used it and it had turned into a sachet. Xie Jing didn't care about the handkerchief. The main thing was that it was given to Yu Qing! Doesn't this mean he embroidered it for Yu Qing?
Dong Li explained aggrievedly: "I asked you last night, and you said 'OK, I got it', so I took it."
Xie Jing remembered that Dong Li seemed to have asked something, but he was distracted at the time, thinking about... Yu Qing's affairs, so he didn't listen carefully at all.
Dong Li tried to make amends: "I'll make another sachet, then go to Shizi and tell him he took the wrong one and exchange it with him."
Xie Jing: "...Okay."
Speaking of Cao Cao, here comes Cao Cao. Someone comes outside to report that the prince wants to see him. It’s not even the usual dinner time yet, why is it so early?
Xie Jing nodded. When Yu Qing walked in, he immediately saw the sachet hanging on the other person's waist.
Xie Jing spoke with difficulty: "This thing..."
Seeing the princess looking at her waist, Yu Qing said sheepishly, "I really like this sachet, so I'm wearing it. I'll cherish it."
Xie Jing: “…”
He turned his head and glanced at Dong Li coldly. Dong Li shrank and lowered his head even lower.
Yu Qing said: "Then, Your Highness gave me this, and I also want to give Your Highness a gift in return. I hope you like it."
Xie Jing was stunned.
"...The Prince Consort is thoughtful, but it's not necessary."
"I bought it specially. Your Highness, would you like to take a look?"
Yu Qing handed him a finely crafted, intricately carved gold box. It felt heavy, and Xie Jing thought, I really can't take the sachet back now. He hesitated as he opened it... and almost thought he was seeing things.
The gorgeous phoenix hairpin and the pearls and jade inlaid with phoenix tails blocked all his words.
"Is this something you specially gave to me?" Xie Jing asked, biting his back teeth.
Qiu Lian, who was standing nearby, peeked into the open makeup box and immediately felt unable to bear the sight. Naturally, she heard the gnashing of teeth in Xie Jing's words. The prince consort was oblivious and nodded with a smile, saying, "That's right."
Qiu Lian: “…”
Xie Jing closed his eyes and said, "I appreciate your kindness, but this..."
Yu Qing: "...Your Highness, don't you like it?"
Xie Jing never expected that the other party could speak so innocently. Could it be that he wanted to wear this big phoenix hairpin shining with golden light on his head and show it off in public?
"It's not that I don't like it, but after all, I only gave you a sachet, and this thing is too valuable."
So His Highness feels embarrassed to accept it? Yu Qing thought.
While this hairpin was gorgeous, it could be purchased at a high price among ordinary people and was not priceless. In the palace, there must have been countless items with finer craftsmanship and more translucent gems. I had thought Qingjia was accustomed to such things, but she found even this kind of jewelry precious.
"The value doesn't matter, as long as you like it," said Yu Qing.
Xie Jing: “…”
Later, after Yu Qing left, Xie Jing closed the wooden box as soon as the long voice of "Farewell, Prince" fell outside the house. Qiu Lian and Dong Li couldn't help laughing.
"The prince's vision is really... He is from an aristocratic family after all, how could it be so strange..."
Xie Jing asked them to put the thing away quickly and not to look at it again.
Yu Qing said that he grew up in the frontier and was a worldly person. This time Xie Jing believed him.
Even without any knowledge, it's not easy to accurately select such an outstanding piece of jewelry. If the gift wasn't from Yu Qing, Xie Jing would have thought she was making fun of him. In the past, in the palace, many of the rewards he received were things that no one else would like, or that didn't suit him. However, whether it was the old-fashioned jade, the gold tassels, or the brocade fabrics embroidered with clusters of flowers—in fact, Yu Qing was the better choice.
I really don't know what to say about him.
Thinking of the sachet dangling around the other person's waist, Xie Jing felt even more headache.
...No matter how I think about it, I feel uncomfortable.
He strolled back to the inner room. He had originally wanted to take a nap, but Yu Qing had come over and hadn't managed to get any sleep, so he wasn't sleepy anymore. With nothing else to do, he pulled a book from the shelf, held it in his hands, flipped through two pages, and then closed it again. It was the travelogue he had stumbled upon earlier, the one with Yu Qing's annotations.
Xie Jing changed the book to read.
After half a cup of tea, he put it back for some unknown reason, frowned and picked up the previous book.
What kind of person is Yu Qing? The few words in the annotations cannot reveal anything.
He has an extraordinary bearing and great martial arts skills, and the praise from others is not false.
After being together for so long, he has always been gentle and considerate, never complaining, and it is difficult for Xie Jing to find any fault with him.
He is obviously a young master from a noble family, but he is so clumsy that he can't even give a gift.
He seemed to care about Qingjia in every way, but in Tanyin Temple, he did not seem to mind not being able to be close to Qingjia.
He was so absorbed in his thoughts that it took him a long time to turn a page. He didn't even notice that Qiu Lian had added incense several times.
*
On the second day, Wenhuayuan welcomed a rare guest - Mrs. Lu came after lunch.
Xie Jing lived in this courtyard. Aside from Yu Qing's daily visits, he and the others in the Yu residence generally didn't interfere with each other. They'd see each other every three or five days, occasionally sending a servant to greet him and say hello, and that was it. Madam Lu would occasionally send some delicious food and snacks, but she never came directly to the residence.
"Your Highness, your humble servant greets you." Madam Lu bowed.
Xie Jing hurriedly said, "Madam, please take a seat. You can just call me Qingjia."
Mrs. Lu smiled gently.
Xie Jing had a decent impression of Yu Qing's parents. Although he hadn't seen them often, they didn't seem difficult to get along with. The Marquis of Xuanbei had been ill for months, so he didn't need to visit them or greet them, nor did he have to go through the formalities. This was a relief. And Madam Lu wasn't the vicious mother-in-law you'd see in the novels; on the contrary, she was kind and wise.
"Your Highness, these flowers are blooming beautifully."
Xie Jing had flowers growing in his living room and courtyard. Xie Jing said, "I'm just growing them casually. If Madam likes them, I'll bring a few pots over later."
Madam Lu smiled and said, "If you're not a meticulous person, you can't grow such beautiful flowers. Flowers and plants all have their own spirits. They bloom best here, Your Highness, but not necessarily here."
"Madam, you are so kind."
Madam Lu took a sip of tea and then stated her purpose: "I came here today to discuss something with His Highness."
Xie Jing said, "Hmm? Madam, please speak."
"In a few days, Qing'er will be attending court. I don't know what duties His Majesty will assign him, but it's better to have some free time now. Since Your Highness came into the palace, Qing'er has always said that you like quiet and peaceful times, so I haven't been busy with anything, for fear of disturbing Your Highness. Now that Qing'er's rest is about to end, and the fifteenth day of the month is approaching, I think it would be better to hold a family dinner, where the whole family can get together to enjoy the moon and drink wine, which would be a bit lively. What do you think?"
There was nothing wrong with Mrs. Lu's proposal, so Xie Jing naturally agreed.
A family dinner is not a big deal, but Mrs. Lu came to ask for his opinion, which shows how much she values Qingjia.
Before Xie Jing left the palace, he had already prepared himself for the challenges he faced. To be fair, Qing Jia wasn't a good choice for a wife. Firstly, her status was awkward, she lacked the support of her maternal family, and Yu Qing was constantly constrained by the imperial family. Secondly, her relationship with the Crown Prince was doomed to be anything but smooth, and a harmonious marriage was out of the question.
The Xuanbei Marquis family was quite famous in the military and held real power. They were the only family on par with the Zhongwu Marquis He family, and their status was higher than that of a princess without support. If they really made things difficult for Xie Jing, Xie Jing would have no choice but to tolerate it.
However, not only did Yu Qing visit him every morning and evening and show great care for him, but the Marquis of Xuanbei and his wife also treated him with great courtesy.
Xie Jing had always been treated coldly and harshly in the palace. If it were a harsh and harsh environment, he might have been more accustomed to it. However, the kindness of the Xuanbei Marquisate made him feel a little uneasy.
After all, before she got married, he had been secretly speculating a lot. Now that she was being frank, it seemed that Xie Jing was the villain.
After seeing Mrs. Lu off, Xie Jing put away his smile and rubbed his brows.
Little did they know that Mrs. Lu was also thinking about this at the moment.
Before Qingjia entered the mansion, she was so worried that she couldn't sleep, fearing that there would be no peace in the mansion and Qing'er would have a hard time.
However, Princess Qingjia wasn't one to stir up trouble. In their few encounters, she had always been gentle, polite, and courteous. These past few days, whenever Yu Qing mentioned the princess, it was mostly praise and defense.
"What a pity..." Madam Lu shook her head, "It's all bad fate."
Xie Jing spent another two days to finish reading the travelogue with annotations.
Looking up, he saw that it was almost evening. He put the book back and asked, "What time is it? Hasn't the Prince Consort arrived yet?"
Yu Qing is always punctual and would have arrived at Wenhuayuan by now.
"The prince consort is not coming today, so I'll go prepare dinner." Qiu Lian said.
"Not coming?"
Qiu Lian explained, "A servant just came over and told me that the Prince Consort wanted to finish copying a few sutras and send them to Tanyin Temple to be burned and prayed for blessings before his rest period ended. He was delayed a few days ago, and there's still a lot to do today, so he'll go ahead and copy the sutras first."
"Really? ... It's just as well that you didn't come," Xie Jing said. "It's been a while since I had a quiet dinner."
Wenhuayuan usually prepared dishes according to the two masters' portions, with many of the meat dishes reserved for Yu Qing. Since he wasn't there today, Qiu Lian prepared dishes that Xie Jing liked, small portions and light flavors. Xie Jing, however, didn't have a great appetite; he was already three-quarters full before he even started eating, and half the food was still left when the dishes were cleared away.
"Your Highness, is it not tasty? Why haven't you taken a few bites?"
"It's too hot to eat anymore," Xie Jing waved his hand. "Besides, Yu Qing usually eats the most."
Usually Yu Qing would stay in Wenhua Garden for a while longer, although he didn't talk much. But today when he was not there, the empty seat was particularly obvious.
Xie Jing paced around the room a few times, looking at the flowers he kept, but couldn't find anything else to do. He suddenly felt that his residence was a little deserted. It was still almost two hours before nightfall, which seemed a long time.
What is Yu Qing doing?
The moment this thought came to mind, Xie Jing was stunned. Why should I miss him? Yu Qing could do whatever he wanted. It had nothing to do with him.
But after a while, he began to have doubts again.
I felt strange last time at the Buddhist temple. Now Yu Qing is copying the sutras so diligently... he's even neglecting his dinner. Is that really the case? Can you really trust a monk's words?
Many speculations followed. Perhaps meditating and worshipping Buddha was just an excuse. Yu Qing might be hiding something. How could such a dignified prince always be alone? There was no guarantee that he didn't have a close female friend...
After reading too many popular storybooks, Xie Jing's thoughts had gone astray.
He pondered for a moment, stood up, and asked the maid to bring him a coat.
"I'm bored, let's go for a walk outside."
This was very rare for Xie Jing. Dong Li was surprised and said, "Okay, Your Highness, do you want to go to the garden? Do you want to pick some flowers? Or do you want to feed the fish? I'll go get some fish food."
"No need," Xie Jing asked casually, "What's the name of the place where Yu Qing lives? Huaifeng Pavilion, right?"
Dong Li blinked: "...Ah?"
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