Chapter 43 Jin Chan simply took off the jewelry on her head and threw it all into...
At the end of the Yin month, in the capital.
It is a cold winter this year, and after the Lantern Festival, it is still freezing cold.
The imperial physicians had been urgently summoned to the Xuanbei Marquis's residence two days prior. They were now circling the princess's bedroom, unable to do anything. Ultimately, they could only apologize to the Marquis and his wife: "Your Highness... I'm afraid..."
Princess Qingjia was dying, her face pale, and Qiu Liandongli was crying beside her bed.
She spoke her will to Madam Yu and Qiying with difficulty, then closed her eyes and died.
*
Xie Jing took a drug that caused him to fake his death, but he didn't expect the drug to be so effective. His whole body became unresponsive, he couldn't breathe, and couldn't open his eyes. He even suspected that he was really going to die.
I don't know how long he was unconscious, but when he woke up again, someone brought several secret guards into the imperial mausoleum, pried open the coffin, pulled him out, and stuffed the antidote into his mouth.
Xie Jing was already weak and nearly choked to death. These secret guards had no idea how to take care of people, so they could only groan weakly.
Before the princess was buried, a special person took care of her appearance. Even after death, members of the royal family had to show their dignity.
Xie Jing's burial garments were an elaborate formal dress, his lips painted with rouge, and his hair adorned with pearl hairpins. Duan Zhirui wanted to hug him, but he didn't know where to begin. He stammered, "Your Highness, Princess, I'm sorry..."
Xie Jing: “…”
Xie Jing said in his original voice: "We are all men, what are you afraid of?"
Duan Zhirui: “…”
Xie Jing wiped the corner of his lips with his sleeve, then took off the jewelry on his head and threw them all into the coffin without any regrets.
The coffin lid was closed, and those gorgeous ornaments never saw the light of day again, buried here in place of Princess Qingjia.
"Let's go." Xie Jing whispered.
Xie Jing had not eaten or drunk anything for several days and had no strength at all. Duan Zhirui and his men carried him to the carriage and gave him some water and food.
He was bumpy all the way and fainted and woke up again and again. He was carried to a soft bed in a daze. After being carefully cared for by doctors for two or three days, Xie Jing finally woke up completely.
He struggled to stand up, and for a moment he didn't realize where he was. The servants didn't recognize him either. When he looked down, he found that his shroud had been changed.
"Your Highness, Your Highness is awake?"
"Where is this..." Xie Jing's voice was also hoarse.
"This is a stronghold in the suburbs of Beijing. It's safe."
While the waiter was explaining to him, another waiter ran out of the room, vaguely calling out something like "Master" or "Wake up".
Xie Jing's mind was in a state of confusion when he heard a crisp sound and finally understood the situation.
"How many days have passed?" he said hoarsely, "My royal brother..."
"The master is outside. I have just called him." The waiter said hurriedly.
At this moment, the door was opened, and bright light shone into the dark inner room. Xie Jing's pupils shrank. Although his eyes were dazzled, he still looked at the backlit figure.
When he came in front of him, Xie Jing almost didn't dare to recognize him.
Xie Tingzhao asked, "Awake?"
"you……"
Xie Tingzhao: "Why, you can't recognize me?"
For many years, the two of them only communicated with each other through paper and pen, and they could not see each other's true appearance.
Xie Jing was speechless for a moment, his heart agitated, staring at Xie Tingzhao in a daze. The man in front of him gradually overlapped with the gentle brother in the depths of his memory.
"Royal brother..." he said, "Why has your hair turned a lot whiter? How... have you become so old...?"
Xie Tingzhao: “…”
Xie Tingzhao laughed and held his forehead: "A Jing, you are really good at talking. Don't say it next time."
The sad atmosphere of the brothers' reunion was almost gone after his brother's words were like a hammer.
The main reason was that Xie Jing's eyesight was not very clear and his mind was in a mess, so he blurted out the words when he saw Xie Tingzhao's white hair.
In fact, Xie Tingzhao is only in his thirties. His temples have turned gray due to the hard work over the years, but his face is still normal. Apart from the lingering vicissitudes and gloominess, he still looks like a middle-aged man.
He was also moved when he saw Xie Jing, but Xie Jing was still unconscious at that time. After a few days, his mood calmed down.
Xie Tingzhao knew that Xie Jing had had a hard time these years, but seeing him slumped in the bed, looking weak and pale, as if he was still suffering in a coma, Xie Tingzhao couldn't bear it.
Xie Jing should have been a healthy and carefree child.
It took Xie Jing a long time to come back to his senses. He hugged his brother and cried and laughed. He hadn't shown his emotions for many years. His sorrow and joy were like water from a floodgate that could not be stopped. The only time he cried more miserably than this was when he sent Yu Qing out of the capital last time.
The man was already half dead, and the servants were so frightened that they tried to pull and persuade him, fearing that the little prince, who had been rescued with great difficulty, would not be able to catch his breath and faint again.
Xie Tingzhao has always believed that "a man doesn't shed tears easily". A real man has to swallow his anger and grit his teeth. What's the point of crying?
But he couldn't say a harsh word in front of Xie Jing, thinking that this hesitant brother had been raised as a girl since childhood, so let him cry.
Xie Jing struggled for a long time before calming down.
"I didn't expect to see you this time, my royal brother," he said. "Now is not the time for you to show yourself in the capital. It's too risky to come here."
"I've already cleared out the Nanzhao area and left someone to pretend to be me, so no one will notice," Xie Tingzhao said. "I won't be at ease unless I see with my own eyes that you're safe. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to explain to Mother."
Speaking of his mother, Xie Jing couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his heart.
He escaped from the cage for the time being, but Concubine Rong was still in the deep and dark palace.
"It won't be long," Xie Tingzhao whispered. "The Crown Prince, the Empress, Chen... I want them all to pay back what they did to us back then."
The fierceness in Xie Tingzhao's eyes was fleeting and did not escape Xie Jing's eyes.
He was very sensitive to people's expressions and felt a little worried for a moment.
But Xie Tingzhao quickly changed his tone and said, "Rest well, I'll send you south in three days. I've checked your pulse and meridians over the past few days. The medication will take too long, so we can't delay any longer."
Xie Jing used drugs to forcibly suppress his body, causing great damage. Now he needs to remove the drugs as soon as possible and take good care of himself.
Once he fully recovers, the road ahead will be paved.
"...Yeah." Xie Jing responded.
His moods were up and down, and he had a lot on his mind, so even though he was tired, he couldn't sleep well.
In addition to his long-lost royal brother, he was also concerned about another person who was far away.
I don’t know how she is doing now, and Xie Jing can’t write to her anymore.
From then on, there was no longer any Princess Qingjia in the world.
Everything from the past twenty years was buried in the grave, along with that marriage that was destined to happen by mistake.
*
Outside the room, servants were decorating items. Xie Tingzhao saw a square box with elegant patterns among them. The style looked unusual.
"What is this?"
"Master, this is the burial object taken from the young prince's tomb."
Xie Tingzhao: “……?”
The secret guard explained, "This was prepared by the young prince before he was alive... er, before he faked his death. He specifically instructed that it be placed in the coffin during burial. When we bring him out, we must also take this box with us."
Xie Tingzhao became curious upon hearing this, wondering what treasure Xie Jing had, so he opened it and took a look.
...What are these?
It's like a treasure box, with a lot of things in it.
A round and clear bracelet wrapped in silk cloth, a large phoenix hairpin shining with gold, a jade hairpin carved from blue jade, a... long gold wire rope with a loop, a ball of white fur, a travel diary, two boxes of rouge, and... a few letters.
He took a look at the letter and realized...is this a letter from the son of Xuanbei Hou?
Xie Tingzhao frowned, feeling that things were not simple.
*
Three days later, Xie Jing boarded a carriage heading south.
He wanted to stay with Xie Tingzhao, but now he had no useful identity and was unable to protect himself due to his health. He was afraid that when the crisis came, he would not only be unable to help, but would also have to distract people to take care of him. So he went to Jiangnan to hide as planned.
Before leaving, Xie Jing lifted the curtain of the car, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Xie Tingzhao: "What?"
"I... want to ask my royal brother something," Xie Jing said hesitantly, "The Northern Barbarians' surprise attack came at the perfect time... you..."
Xie Tingzhao immediately understood what Xie Jing meant.
"It wasn't me," he said lightly, "but I also want to know, if there really was someone behind this, who was it? ... Someone got ahead of us and couldn't sit still."
After hearing what he said, Xie Jing finally felt relieved.
After the Northern Barbarian incident, Xie Jing had a premonition. After sending Yu Qing away, he soon received a message from a secret agent, telling him to prepare to escape.
He originally thought that he would have to wait at least a few months after the New Year to find a suitable opportunity.
But once the war broke out, Yu Qing left Beijing. The situation became turbulent and many parties were unable to take care of themselves. The emperor and the crown prince were both affected. There was no better opportunity than this.
Qing Jia died quietly at this time. Similarly, Xie Tingzhao's plan could be secretly accelerated during the chaos.
Among the inside information Xie Jing knew, there was nothing related to the Northern Barbarians. He thought about it over and over again, and always felt uneasy.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally asked Xie Tingzhao.
"I haven't reached that far yet. Besides, I won't use the lives of thousands of people as bargaining chips," Xie Tingzhao said. "Don't worry."
"I'm not worried about anything else," Xie Jing sighed, "I'm worried that my brother will do something he'll regret."
Xie Tingzhao was stunned, and his eyes softened in an instant.
"I know." Xie Tingzhao said.
Xie Jing felt relieved, said goodbye to his royal brother formally, and then lowered the curtain.
Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps, Xie Tingzhao caught up with him and lifted the curtain of the car.
"I have something to ask you too." Xie Tingzhao seemed hesitant.
Xie Jing: “?”
Xie Tingzhao coughed and said, "The other day I saw my attendant packing their luggage and there was a box. They said it was yours."
"..." Xie Jing said, "Yes, it's mine."
Xie Tingzhao: "...It seems to be filled with a lot of things. It looks quite strange."
Xie Jing's attempt to hide his mistake only made it more obvious: "...Really? It's okay."
Xie Tingzhao narrowed his eyes: "For example..."
Xie Jing raised his eyes and looked at him dimly.
Xie Tingzhao: "...For example, what do you want to do with that rope?"
Xie Jing said, "Oh, that's the leash I use to lead my dog. I have a dog in the mansion, and it's quite obedient. I can't take the dog away, so I bring the leash."
Xie Tingzhao: “…”
I still remember that when Xie Jing was a child, she often collected all the little things she liked. How come she still acts like a five-year-old girl even when she grows up?
But that wasn't important. What he cared about was how Yu Qing's letter came in there? And thinking further, where did the other things come from?
Xie Jing said, "If there's nothing else, I'll leave first. Take care, my royal brother."
Xie Tingzhao silently watched the secret guards escort the carriage away, and then thought of the intelligence rumors he had heard before about the princess and her husband being in harmony with each other, and his heart skipped a beat.
In the carriage, Xie Jing opened the box, his eyes wandering back and forth, and his hands gently touching his few collections.
When will we meet next time?
Unfortunately, I couldn't hold her hand anymore then.
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