Chapter 37 Love Rival Yu Qing said: "But I'm busy during normal times, and after I get married...
The Byzantine dog was well taken care of by Qingjia. It was very lively and its fur became more and more shiny and smooth.
Yu Qing also liked this little dog very much. Sometimes she would wake up early in the morning and go to Wenhuayuan to take the dog for a walk. When she came back, Qingjia also got up with sleepy eyes.
She told Qingjia that she didn't need to get up so early and should sleep a little longer, but Qingjia insisted on sending her to court.
"Let me tie your hair," Qingjia said softly, "and make it look nicer, okay?"
So Yu Qing sat down obediently, and Qingjia stood behind her and untied her hairband.
The princess combed her hair very carefully, just like Yu Qing usually took much more care when tying her own hair. Her fingertips gently gathered the hair, and from time to time they passed through her hair, making it feel tingling.
Why hasn’t she finished combing her hair yet…Yu Qing thought.
"Look."
Qingjia led her to the mirror. It turned out that she had braided a strand of hair on each side of Yu Qing's hair, from the temples to the crown.
Yu Qing looked around. Since the princess had done it herself, it was naturally impeccable. However, she had rarely tied her hair so delicately before, so she felt a little embarrassed.
"How handsome," Qingjia said with a smile, "Go to court."
*
The fifth prince, Xie Tingchen, had been ordered to investigate a case of corruption in Huzhou and inspect several dams. He only returned to Beijing yesterday.
It had been more than a month since the palace banquet, and this was the first time Yu Qing met him at the morning court. After the court was dismissed, Xie Tingchen called her over and walked with her for a while.
"I've been exhausted this month, running around all day and night," Xie Tingchen sighed. "Oh, who would have thought I'd still be here? Thanks—the prince has already lifted the house arrest."
Yu Qing knew that he and the prince had always been at odds, so he just patted him on the shoulder and didn't say anything to agree.
Xie Tingchen only felt that Yu Qing's appearance had changed a lot. In the past, the Xuanbei Marquis's appearance was cold and neat, but now, after looking him up and down, he saw that Yu Qing had a sachet hanging around his waist, a pearl tassel on his sword, a gold rope tied around his wrist, and even his hair was braided into patterns.
Originally, Yu Qing was the most handsome among all the generals, and now he has become a handsome man with a romantic and elegant demeanor, comparable to Pan An.
However, Xie Tingchen was not well-informed and didn't know how to describe it. After a long pause, he said, "Why do you look so much more flamboyant?"
"......?" Yu Qing was speechless for a moment. "Think it over. Say it again."
Xie Tingchen laughed.
"I'm planning to go hunting in a few days to stretch my legs. Would you like to come?"
The sons of aristocratic families who practiced martial arts would go horseback riding and hunting in the suburbs of Beijing together. Xie Tingchen and the young men from the He family often organized parties, and Yu Qing would occasionally join them, but this time she declined.
"It's too hot this time of year. You guys go ahead," Yu Qing said. "I'll stay in the mansion to cool off."
In fact, she mainly wanted to stay with Qingjia. How could she waste such a good rest day?
It would have been fine in the past. But now, on one side, he was jumping around with a group of men, shouting and fighting, and on the other side, he was playing chess, drinking tea, and playing with a puppy with the gentle and beautiful Qingjia. Yu Qing firmly chose the latter.
"Okay then," Xie Tingchen didn't insist, "If we kill any prey, we'll send it to your house."
Yu Qing agreed casually, thinking that he was just being polite. However, at the end of the afternoon on his day off, someone came to report that the Fifth Prince had come to the mansion and was waiting in the front hall.
"Hmm?" Qing Jia asked, "Fifth Brother?"
Yu Qing was also surprised and said, "It seems they went hunting in the mountains today. I'll go over and take a look."
After all, he is a prince, so he must treat guests well. Qing Jia said, "Well, you go first, I will change my clothes."
Yu Qing arrived at the front hall and found that there was more than just Xie Tingchen as a guest.
A young girl in a dress with tight sleeves was also there. When she saw her, she jumped up and said, "Brother Yu Qing!"
Yu Qing paused, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Oh, Miss He Ying? Long time no see."
He Ying is the daughter of the Marquis of Zhongwu and the cousin of Xie Tingchen.
"I sent the prey to my uncle. Ah Ying heard that I was coming to the Marquis' Mansion, so she followed me here," Xie Tingchen said with a smile, "Look what this is?"
Yu Qing took a look and saw that it was a half-deer.
"I've saved the best for you," Xie Tingchen said. "How about it? You have to leave some for me to eat. I've been hungry all afternoon."
Yu Qing smiled and said, "Is this for me, or is it because Your Highness is greedy? Come, take this away first."
The Fifth Prince came specially, so it would be unreasonable not to entertain him. Therefore, Yu Qing took the two of them to his own courtyard first.
The servants set up a grill and roasted half of the prey for food, while the kitchen prepared the other half to be cooked into a dish.
She stood deliberately away from the guests and turned the roasted meat with the servants.
It didn’t really matter that Xie Tingchen was here; it was actually He Ying who made her feel more uncomfortable.
This little girl doesn't have bad intentions, but she's a little spoiled and clingy, so Yu Qing isn't very good at getting along with her.
A few years ago, He Ying accidentally fell on her. She pushed him away in a fit of anxiety, which resulted in his forehead being swollen for half a month. To this day, she still feels embarrassed and ashamed when she sees Yu Qing, after all, she almost disfigured her.
Xie Tingchen said that when he got married, He Ying was crying in the mansion. Yu Qing was skeptical about this, thinking that he was just making it up and that the eldest lady of the Zhongwu Marquis's mansion was just angry at most.
In her opinion, He Ying didn't really like her, but just had a fantasy about heroes. Plus, she had grown up being the center of attention, so Yu Qing didn't spoil her much, which made her feel special.
After a few years, I will come to terms with it.
However, in order to avoid suspicion, He Ying came over after a while and said, "Brother Yu Qing, you haven't been to my house in the past few months."
Yu Qing thought that she only went there two or three times a year at most, and that was only during the holidays when she was in Beijing and would give small gifts to various old friends, and she would meet them by chance when she went to the Mansion of Marquis Zhongwu.
"My cousin said you are now the commander of the cavalry. You must be very impressive."
Xie Tingchen interjected, "Not as good as before. He used to have an army of 200,000 men, but now he only has one battalion."
He Ying turned around and glared at his cousin. Then he said to Yu Qing, "You must be very busy with military affairs, right?"
"Military affairs are fine, quite easy. We used to have an army of 200,000, but now we only have one cavalry battalion." Yu Qing said seriously.
He Ying: “…”
Yu Qing said: "But I'm busy during normal times, and I have to take care of the family after I get married."
He Ying: “…”
Xie Tingchen shook his head and wiped his face.
He Ying pursed her lips and stood there for a while before asking, "Does the princess have a lot to do?"
Yu Qing: "Not much, mainly because I want to accompany her, otherwise she would be bored in the mansion."
He Ying whispered, "...We are all human beings. Why don't you just find something to do? Why do you keep pestering me?"
Yu Qing said: "You can't say that. This is how it should be between husband and wife. You will understand when you grow up."
Yu Qing continued to grill the meat with full concentration.
He Ying had always considered Yu Qing her ideal husband, and even her parents wanted to arrange a marriage for her. However, Yu Qing was snatched away by the Seventh Princess. Upon learning that the marriage granted by the imperial decree could not be withdrawn, He Ying was so angry that blisters appeared on the corners of her mouth.
Although she had never seen the Seventh Princess, it did not prevent her from believing that the Seventh Princess was a bad woman.
"I'm grown up now, I understand everything!" He Ying said, "Does the princess understand what you like? Can she practice swordplay with you, go hunting and horseback riding with you? Brother Yu Qing, you won't be happy with her."
Yu Qing couldn't pretend she didn't hear anymore. She took a deep breath, and before she could refute, a servant came to the door and announced, "His Highness Qingjia has arrived."
Just after she finished saying something bad about the other person, the real person arrived. The young lady paused for a moment, but quickly adjusted her expression and looked up with pretended disdain.
A graceful and elegant girl walked towards them.
He Ying's heart skipped a beat.
She had only heard that the Seventh Princess was a sickly and unfavored girl, and she imagined that she was an unattractive girl who looked like a daylily.
Now she immediately began to regret: I should have dressed up more carefully!
"Fifth brother, I hope you are well." Qing Jia greeted.
Xie Tingchen said, "I came here without warning. I hope I disturbed you. Qingjia, you seem even more beautiful than the last time I saw you."
He Ying scratched her cuffs, wondering why her cousin's elbows were so crooked! She stared at Qing Jia with a frown for a long time, but still couldn't find any flaws.
Qing Jia smiled and said, "Don't bother me. This is—"
"This is my cousin He Ying," Xie Tingchen said. "I went hunting outside the capital today and had a good harvest. I'm sending some to your residence. Ah Ying came along. I always brought her along when we went out together."
"Is that so..." Qingjia turned around and said, "Hello, Miss He."
He Ying originally didn't want to greet her sympathetic enemy, but Qing Jia's expression was calm and her voice was soft, which instantly made people unable to express even annoyance. She opened her mouth and said, "...Hello, Princess."
"What are you doing?" the princess asked curiously.
Seeing her coming over, He Ying subconsciously took a step forward and said, "Brother Yu Qing and I are grilling meat. The few of us are enough. Princess, you should go and wait. There is not enough room for so many people."
Princess Qingjia paused, but before she could speak, Yu Qing also said, "Your Highness, don't come over."
"It's so smoky, don't choke on it, it's so hot," Yu Qing said, walking around He Ying, taking Princess Qingjia by the hand and leading her to sit on a bamboo chair nearby. "It'll take a while before it's cooked. Your Highness, please wait. I'll have them get some ice and snacks."
He Ying: “…”
Yu Qing came back and couldn't help but say to He Ying, "Why don't you go over and wait? You're not turning the dough evenly, so you should ask the servants to do it."
He Ying's face turned blue and red, and Yu Qing urged her, "Go quickly."
The eldest lady went back reluctantly. She didn't want to be close to Qingjia, and she kept a distance from her. She glanced at the princess out of the corner of her eye, thinking that although she was pretty, it was nothing great. Pretty looks couldn't be eaten.
From the moment he entered the room, He Ying's gaze was as real as substance, and Xie Jing couldn't help but find it funny.
For him, it was too easy to deal with this little disturbance.
Compared with the past in the palace, the hostility of this young girl seemed refreshing.
"Hey, little sister," Xie Jing said, "Do you want some snacks?"
He Ying was stunned and said dryly: "No, I'm not hungry."
"Oh." Xie Jing looked at her.
He Ying had been wary of the princess. Feeling that Qingjia seemed to be looking at her, she turned her body to the side to block her view.
"You... come here for a moment." Qingjia said in a low voice.
He Ying frowned, suspicion rising, and looked up at the princess: "What's wrong?"
"Your makeup seems to be a little off..." Qingjia kindly reminded in a whisper.
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