Chapter 7: The mother was held tightly by the warm, dry palm, and his cock...
The Chunhui Palace where Rong Fei lived was in a secluded place. It was moved there so that she could recuperate in peace, and people in the palace generally did not move around.
Yu Qing had also heard the conversation in the Queen's Palace. As they walked together, Xie Jing explained in a low voice, "The Concubine Rong of Chunhui Palace is my biological mother. The Prince Consort should have heard of her. Her residence is quite far away, and it's still quite a journey."
Yu Qing nodded.
"...I took the liberty of taking you there. It won't take long. After we meet her, we'll go back." said the princess.
She was still a little apologetic, but Yu Qing immediately said, "It's okay. I'll stay with Your Highness for a while. Your Majesty will definitely be delighted to see Your Highness."
Xie Jing smiled and said, "She is not conscious and I don't know if she can recognize me."
Yu Qing's heart tightened. The princess looked melancholy, and she didn't know how to comfort her. She quickly held the princess's hand.
The two men were of similar stature and their hands were close to each other. Xie Jing didn't react for a moment and almost threw Yu Qing out, but he barely held himself back.
Being pressed against his warm, dry palm, goose bumps crawled up his forearm. He thought: What's wrong with this man? Why is he suddenly touching me while we're talking? Is he trying to grope me?
The princess's hands were still cold, and her lips were tightly pursed, as if she was enduring pain.
He left his mother's care at a very young age and had to beg for permission to see her.
Just now, I suffered another injustice in the Queen's Palace.
The Seventh Princess was actually a pitiful girl. Looking at her snow-white profile, Yu Qing couldn't help but feel pity for her.
"Just now in the Central Palace, I actually wanted to say that I was willing to go visit my mother with Your Highness, but I was concerned about the Empress, so I hesitated and didn't speak rashly," Yu Qing said. "I'm sorry."
Xie Jing was stunned. He didn't expect Yu Qing to apologize to him. He didn't expect Yu Qing to stand on his side.
"If Your Highness wishes to see her again in the future, I will accompany Your Highness. It shouldn't be difficult to visit her during palace banquets and festivals. I will also try to ask for her grace during other times."
She felt the princess's arms stiffen a little, and seeing her eyes flicker, she seemed to be wavering.
Yu Qing thought that her comfort would make her feel better.
She didn't let go of his hand and held it for a while.
Of course, she didn't use much force, as the princess's hands seemed to be so delicate and smooth that they couldn't be warmed up.
In fact, Xie Jing didn't feel comfortable at all, he just felt uncomfortable from being held like that.
To be fair, Yu Qing is actually a clean man. Not only his clothes, but his overall aura is not unpleasant.
These days, when Yu Qing came to his Wenhua Garden, the two of them ate at the same table, which did not affect Xie Jing's appetite too much.
Although Yu Qing practiced martial arts, his palms were not broad and rough. Instead, they were slender and somewhat bony, and the palms looked like calluses from weapons.
Xie Jing didn't want to feel it so delicately at all.
The problem was that he had no choice but to do so, the touch in his hand was too vivid.
Xie Jing couldn't stand the thought that this was a man, her nominal husband, and felt that this journey was so long that it was a torture.
Xie Jing gritted his teeth, suppressing the discomfort in his heart, and thought bitterly that he must not let Yu Qing touch him.
But Yu Qing didn't notice. She looked at the princess and glanced at her. She smiled gently and said, "We're almost there."
“…”
Yu Qing looks very strange. He is obviously a man, but he has some strange temperament mixed in. He has almost no sharp or hard feeling. When he smiles, he looks unusually soft and natural.
The gate of Chunhui Palace, which was always closed, opened a crack. It was heard that the emperor had graciously allowed Princess Qingjia to visit with her husband, and the palace maids had come to greet them in advance.
"After my mother became ill, she rarely saw strangers, and outsiders hardly ever came here. Only a few elderly people were left in the palace to serve her. I will go and see her first and have a chat. You wait for me. If she is in a good mood today, I will let her see you."
Yu Qing said, "It's alright. If your Majesty is feeling unwell, please don't force yourself. Your Highness, please convey my regards to her."
A maid stood at the palace gate and said, "Your Highness!"
Yu Qing watched her quickly step forward, her gaze lingering for a moment on her and Qing Jia's clasped hands, before bowing and saying, "Your servant Yu Jin pays respects to His Highness and the Prince Consort."
Qing Jia quickly helped Yu Jin up and said, "Hurry up, Prince Consort, this is Aunt Yu Jin who is beside Mother."
He thought to himself that he had finally pulled his hand away from Yu Qing.
Yu Qing also nodded to Aunt Yu Jin, and then followed her into the palace gate.
"Yujin, is the queen okay?"
"Your Majesty is awake now, I will take His Highness in."
Yu Jin turned to Yu Qing and said, "My Lord, please rest here for a while and see if the Empress can come out to see you later. I just heard that you and His Highness are coming. I have asked someone to prepare these snacks. Please try them first."
Yu Qing said, "Thank you, auntie."
Everything in Chunhui Palace was elegant and simple in furnishings. Yu Qing waited in the outer hall with peace of mind. She ate two pieces of Chunhui Palace snacks and was surprised to find that they tasted quite good, sweet and not greasy.
Before Xie Jing entered the inner hall, he looked back at Yu Qing. Seeing that he was sitting upright, he retracted his gaze and winked at Yu Jin.
Yu Jin knew that this meant she was asked to keep a close eye on the prince consort and not let him move around, so she nodded and went back.
Xie Jing walked in alone.
There was a maid in Rong Fei's bedroom. When she saw Xie Jing bow, she stepped aside.
A slightly thin hand pushed aside the gauze curtain, revealing Rong Fei's face.
Concubine Rong was a beauty when she was young. Even though her beauty has faded and she wears plain clothes now, she still can't hide her former beauty.
She was thin and pale, and she was indeed ill. However, her eyes, which resembled Xie Jingxiao's, were not at all hazy.
It is said that Concubine Rong was heartbroken because the second prince Xie Tingzhao was deposed. She has been in a trance and even behaved improperly in front of the emperor. She could not even recognize her own daughter. She is still alive because of the emperor's remaining affection and sympathy.
Although she was weak now, her aura was calm and her eyes were focused. She didn't look crazy at all.
"Ajing, come here." She called softly.
Xie Jing suppressed the grievance rising in his heart, walked up to his mother, and said, "Mother."
"How have you been these past few times? Are you doing okay outside the palace?" Concubine Rong looked him up and down, unable to conceal her worry. She stroked his hair. "Is there room for you in the Marquis' Mansion? Has the Yu family ever given you any hardship?"
Although he understood what she meant, Xie Jing still felt strange when he heard it, as if he was really married...
Xie Jing shook his head: "Everything is fine, nothing happened."
He didn't go into detail. After all, it was embarrassing for him to marry as a woman in disguise, and he didn't want Concubine Rong to worry about him. Yu Qing was a decent person, respectful, and didn't do anything to him except touch his hand.
Concubine Rong sighed. If there had been a way, she would definitely not have let Xie Jing be in such a dangerous situation alone. Although he only reported good news and not bad news, she knew that he was feeling bad.
Xie Jing said, "The Queen won't be able to reach me anymore. I'm afraid she'll come to Chunhui Palace."
Rong Fei said calmly, "Not really. I'm safe here. She has her own fights to fight, so she won't care about me. Staying in the Yu Mansion forever is not a long-term solution. It would be best if we could get you out as soon as possible... Yu Qing is not one of us, she's too dangerous."
"Yu Qing and I get along well. He doesn't have many family members, so he feels more at ease than in the palace."
Concubine Rong: "Did you give him the poison?"
Xie Jing coughed and said, "No. Mainly because I couldn't find an opportunity at the moment."
The poison that Concubine Rong mentioned was the one that Dong Li mentioned earlier. Xie Jing specially prepared it for him before leaving the palace.
Rong Fei knew that although Xie Jing said that he could poison her at worst, he might not really take the initiative to do it. There were so many people in the palace who were willing to take human lives and do whatever they wanted. Xie Jing had been in the situation for twenty years and had not developed a vicious and cruel heart.
It is not known whether this is good or bad for him. Concubine Rong does not want hatred to affect his life, but she cannot give him enough protection. In this world, the softer-hearted people are, the more likely they are to be hurt.
"The Yu family... has generations of distinguished generals and loyal warriors. Well, if he can't threaten you, just wait and see. Remember, your own safety is paramount at all times. Speaking of which, we have a history with the Marquis of Xuanbei. When your brother was a teenager, he was attacked by a wild beast in the hunting grounds. Yu Heng saved him, and we still owe him a debt of gratitude."
Xie Jing asked, "Is there such a thing?"
Rong Fei smiled and said, "You were too young then."
Xie Jing had met the old marquis several times. He was in poor health, taciturn, and no longer as brave as before.
Rong Fei listened and said calmly: "Things and people have changed."
Not only could Xie Jing not imagine how the elderly Yu Heng had saved someone from death, he also could not imagine how his son Yu Qing had fought on the battlefield.
Yu Qing has the appearance of a pretty boy, with neither a strong figure nor a fierce temperament. If he puts on a green shirt, he can be said to be a weak young man.
"Didn't the Marquis of Xuanbei usually stay outside the Great Wall?"
Rong Fei thought for a moment and said, "Before Yu Qing, there was a prince in the Xuanbei Marquisate. He was seriously injured on the battlefield and returned to the capital to recuperate. During those one or two years, the Xuanbei Marquis would often come back. However, the child didn't survive and died of lung failure."
Xie Jing was stunned. He wasn't entirely sure about this. No wonder the Yu family was so old, while the only prince was so young. It turned out he had an older brother. The dead are gone, and usually, they're not mentioned much to avoid unnecessary sentimentality.
He thought to himself that it was really troublesome. Yu Qing's father and brother had made many contributions and sacrificed a lot for the country, and he himself had military merits as well. How could he attack him?
If something really happened to Yu Qing, wouldn't he become the biggest villain?
Yu Qing is really something. She is such a grown-up, has a good family background and good looks, but why didn't she get engaged earlier? Otherwise, why would it end up like this?
Xie Jing felt extremely upset when he thought about having to endure being Yu Qing's wife for the next few months.
He has bad luck and is destined to encounter this obstacle.
Their original plan included the "princess getting married". If this arranged marriage had not been so quick and the Queen and the Crown Prince had not been so impatient, he would have succeeded.
In the middle of this year, Lu Zhian, the third place winner in the last spring imperial examination, completed his three-year overseas assignment and was transferred back to Beijing.
Qingjia is about to fall seriously ill. After the Imperial Astronomical Observatory predicts his fate, it points out that Qingjia and Lu Zhian have a compatible horoscope, and if they get married, the disaster can be avoided.
After the marriage, Xie Jing and Lu Zhian were together. Once the time was right, Lu Zhian would help Xie Jing escape.
However, the emperor did not want the Yu family to hold sole power in the northwest. The northwest border had just been stabilized for a short time, and he was eager to keep Yu Qing in the capital.
The Empress and the Crown Prince's lineage had no military power. In the past two years, they had seen the Fifth Prince supported by his mother's family and repeatedly made achievements, and they had long been jealous. If they could get the support of the Xuanbei Marquis' Mansion through Qingjia's marriage, it would just fulfill their wish.
This resulted in Xie Jing being sent away before Lu Zhian returned.
The plan was in chaos and the incident happened suddenly. Xie Jing had no choice but to obey the emperor's order.
"Nanzhao just sent a message. We will speed up our operations and get you out as soon as possible."
Xie Jing frowned and said, "The Yu Mansion isn't in dire straits. There's no need to risk your life for me. Tell my brother to prioritize the overall situation. It's not convenient for me to contact our people right now. There are many servants in the Yu Mansion, and I'm afraid there will be complications. Mother, please write a letter for me and tell them that I'm safe."
Concubine Rong nodded, asked the palace maid to help her with her hair and dress, and stood up and said, "Go out and meet that Young General Yu."
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