Chapter 80: Infatuation: Come to my palace tonight, the princess will be inside...
Xie Jing's voice was not loud, and the ending tone was still trembling slightly.
But his questioning caused a violent buzzing in Yu Qing's ears, and she felt like she was hit in the heart.
"Yes," Yu Qing said, "I just like the princess, and I just want to be her consort."
Her heart started beating wildly when she blurted out the words, and she felt very refreshed for a moment, and she couldn't help closing her eyes.
She had suppressed this feeling for far too long. Now that Xie Jing had noticed it and asked about it, she would confess it to him. Xie Jing might be surprised, horrified, and try to avoid her, but she didn't care.
Even if the princess died, she still missed her; even if the princess disappeared, she still missed her. The peaceful and gentle land was actually a deep quagmire.
Yu Qing raised his eyes again and saw that Xie Jing looked extremely bad, his eyes were red, but there were no tears.
Yu Qing thought that facing a man's confession and knowing that the other party had been coveting his disguise for a long time and could not forget it was indeed a big shock.
Xie Jing felt dizzy for a while.
"...What about Princess Qingjia?" he asked slowly, "Do you no longer care about Princess Qingjia?"
God knows how tormented he'd been these past few days. He'd just learned that Nan Yue and Duan Zhirui were getting along, and before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, his mother tactfully but reluctantly told him that the prince was indeed considering marriage. He'd been haunted by the rollercoaster of emotions, his mind racing all night. Today, he'd come desperately trying to convince Yu Qing to give up, but she was so stubborn.
It is heartbreaking to see my beloved transfer the passion he once gave to me to someone else.
Yu Qing was stunned for a moment: "Princess Qingjia?"
His reaction and his words left her completely puzzled.
"...Which princess do you think it is?" Yu Qing asked blankly, "Didn't you understand what I said?"
Xie Jing looked like a cracked vase, ready to shatter at the slightest touch. He stared at Yu Qing blankly and said, "...I really don't understand."
"Besides Qingjia, who else is there? If I don't care about her, who else can I care about?" Yu Qing asked back, "...I married a second princess? Have I ever been the consort of a second princess?"
Xie Jing opened his eyes wide and said with difficulty after a while: "Let me confirm. The princess you are talking about is Qingjia, not Nanyue, correct?"
Yu Qing: “…”
She really wanted to grab Xie Jing and shake him a few more times to hear how much water was in his pretty head. Even at this time, she still couldn't figure out who she was talking about.
"What Nanyue!" She was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "Listen carefully, I have no feelings for Nanyue at all. I won't compete with you for Nanyue, don't worry! In the past and in the future, there will be no possibility of any relationship between her and me."
Xie Jing was dumbfounded again: "...What do you mean by competing with me? I have no relationship with Nan Yue, right?"
Yu Qing frowned and said, "You've been courting her since you met her. You even brought her to the palace to take care of her. Didn't you also give her a necklace?"
"...I asked Duan Zhirui to give me the necklace. I was just doing him a favor." Xie Jing was stunned. "I let her into the palace because I didn't want you to be with her every day! I thought you liked her and wanted to marry her!"
Yu Qing was confused again. She said, "When have I been with her every day? We haven't known each other for long, not even as long as you have... Why would you think that? Do I want to marry a princess just because I see one?"
Xie Jing said: "...I haven't had contact with you many times. You should have been there every time."
At this time, the guards from the palace came back outside.
"Your Highness? Your subordinate..."
Yu Qing and Xie Jing said at the same time: "Don't come in!"
Guard: “…”
He quickly lowered his hand, which was about to push the door open, and took a few steps back. He then approached the guards standing guard not far away and asked suspiciously, "What are the commander and the prince doing in there?"
"I don't know," the guard said sincerely, "and I don't dare to listen. I'm afraid I'll be silenced if I do."
·
After being interrupted, the two slowly came back to their senses and talked for a long time without making any sense. Each of them was confused and anxious in his own way. When they heard the other's explosive misunderstanding, they felt even more dizzy.
Yu Qing sat down, feeling pain in his temples, sighed, and rubbed his forehead.
Xie Jing also stood there stiffly for a long time, his expression chaotic and disordered, changing several times before finally returning to an innocent yet aggrieved expression.
"But... didn't you say that Princess Qingjia is not good?"
"..." Yu Qing sighed, "Please stop talking in your sleep, okay? I've never said a single bad word about her. Don't you know that? In the past, I treated her... and you so well that I was afraid of dropping you. Xie Jing, you should at least be more careful. After all, we've been together for so long, and you can't see these things?"
"I..." Xie Jing was speechless and said, "You said last time that a blind marriage is not suitable at all. The last time you drove me away, you also said... I'd rather die than live."
He had thought about these words countless times in his mind, and after he finished speaking, his nose felt sore again.
Yu Qing had forgotten the exact words herself. Unexpectedly, Xie Jing remembered every word clearly, as if he had a special book to remember the grudge.
She paused and looked at Xie Jing, her eyes filled with regret and helplessness.
"...Well, I'm sorry for being harsh. However, this mainly refers to you, not Qingjia," Yu Qing said slowly, "After all, you're not Princess Qingjia. You're His Royal Highness Prince Jing. So I'm not wrong to say it's inappropriate, am I?"
Xie Jing was stunned.
His emotions had become a mess. At first he was anxious and sad, but later when he heard that Yu Qing still liked Qing Jia, he felt relieved and thought he was dreaming. Now, he felt extremely sad and bitter.
The string in his mind snapped in an instant.
"Suitable," Xie Jing leaned forward, leaning on Yu Qing's desk, and said, "I can be a princess. Do you want to see a princess?"
As long as Yu Qing likes Princess Qingjia, it will be easy.
How could he not be a princess? He was already a princess.
Whatever Yu Qing likes, he will do it, as long as it is his way!
Like women, like princesses...it doesn't matter.
Yu Qing didn't react to what Xie Jing meant for a moment. After she understood, she was shocked.
"..." Yu Qing said in a daze, "What are you talking about? Don't joke."
Xie Jing moved closer. His face was still filled with panic, but his eyes were blazing with a startling brilliance, so bright it was terrifying. Yu Qing could clearly see herself in those eyes.
"I'm not kidding," Xie Jing said seriously, "If you like, I can show you."
Yu Qing also stood up. She felt that Xie Jing was a little crazy. She herself was not very calm either. She vaguely felt that something was wrong.
"Wait a minute, don't be impulsive." She wanted to push Xie Jing away and let him stand a little further away, but Xie Jing held her hand in return, and Yu Qing subconsciously pulled it away.
With all the pushing and pulling, the plate of snacks on the table was scratched by someone and fell over. The snacks rolled all over the table and some even fell to the ground.
Xie Jing lowered his head and looked at the scattered snacks. His face turned even paler, but he didn't care about feeling sad at the moment.
"I'm very sober now," Xie Jing said softly, "Listen to me, I can really give you the princess, as long as you are willing to come and see her. Come to my palace tonight, okay? The princess will be waiting for you inside."
Yu Qing's heart started pounding as he watched Xie Jing leave. He opened his mouth but couldn't call out his name.
She suddenly realized that the hairpin on the other person's head looked very familiar. He was quite tall when she saw him before, so she didn't see his whole face clearly. Now she didn't know if it was her own eyes that were blurring her vision.
·
The guards outside the door finally stepped forward cautiously. Through the wide-open door, they noticed the mess in front of Yu Qing's desk and hesitantly asked, "Commander, Commander, may we clean up for you?"
Yu Qing said: "No need, just close the door first."
Yu Qing sat back, supporting his head with both hands, his heart still in turmoil.
What did Xie Jing mean by that? Was he asking her to go to the palace and then dress up as a princess for her? But... what was he even doing? This was ridiculous. She couldn't understand his intentions.
The princess is waiting for you inside...
Thinking of his words, she felt a splitting headache again.
Her sanity had been completely destroyed by Xie Jing, and she couldn't recover it now. The table was in a mess, and there was only one clean piece of dessert left on the overturned plate.
“…”
Yu Qing picked it up dazedly and took a bite. It was quite sweet. As she ate the snack, she struggled to calm down.
All afternoon and into the afternoon, her mind was full of Xie Jing and Qing Jia. Xie Jing's few words were enough to make her imagine all sorts of things, and Yu Qing couldn't control it at all, almost going crazy.
How was he going to show her the princess?
Could it be that he was changing into a skirt, combing his hair, sweeping his eyebrows, and putting on his pearl hairpins and hairpins one by one...was he waiting for her like he did in Wenhua Garden before?
Intellectually, she found this a bit horrifying. However, the thought of that scene made her feel so compelled to burst forth that her mouth went dry. After all, she missed Qingjia so much that she had dreamed of seeing her again since her death.
The subordinates came to report to her, but Yu Qing listened to a part of it and ignored it. Seeing that she had no reaction, the subordinates wondered if the commander had any objections and hesitated whether to continue.
"...You should go back first and come back later," Yu Qing said, "No, come back tomorrow. Today... I'm a little too busy."
She returned home early that day, and when she arrived at the courtyard, she was quite absent-minded. Even when Qiying asked her to have dinner and Xuetuan came over and circled around her feet, she took a long time to respond.
After thinking about it, I still think Xie Jing is ridiculous.
At the same time, she finally realized that he seemed to have some unusual feelings towards her. He didn't like Nan Yue, and he was looking for her. Could it be that he had become a little too into the role after pretending for so long?
If she were to judge, it would be best if the two of them had nothing to do with each other. And that was her original plan. She really couldn't imagine what kind of trouble would arise if Xie Jing, a prince, became entangled with her in the future.
Was Xie Jing just doing this on a whim? Was he looking for something unusual and interesting?
She also thought that Xie Jing's motives might not be pure. Who knows what he wants to do? Maybe he knows her thoughts and then uses her?
She had warned herself not to be tempted again.
The time was getting later and the sky was getting darker. After nightfall, the entire mansion fell silent.
Although Yu Qing was in her own bed, she hadn't changed her clothes or even taken off her sword. She lay there in silence, completely unable to fall asleep.
…Forget it, she thought, I shouldn’t go.
She closed her eyes, and Qingjia's tearful face appeared in her mind again, and her gentle call seemed to be in her ears again.
If anyone could allow her to see the princess again, it would be Xie Jing. He really could...
Xie Jing said that the princess was waiting for her at the palace.
·
The sound of night watchmen was heard outside the window, and the clappers struck twice.
Yu Qing opened his eyes, clenched his hands, then suddenly stood up and pushed the door open.
Without disturbing anyone, she left the quiet mansion and moved quickly through the streets and alleys like a ghost.
The imperial guards were on duty on Xuanwu Street. No one knew that the commander was quietly passing by them, nimbly crossing numerous obstacles and jumping onto the high walls of the palace.
Yu Qing had never been to the palace before, and suddenly thought, how could she know where Xie Jing was in such a big place? It was so late, the doors were locked, and the servants were all asleep... Was the princess still waiting?
Her gaze fixed, and she suddenly discovered that in the darkness, only a courtyard at the back was still lit.
Yu Qing went straight towards the courtyard.
When she got closer, she realized that the bright lanterns were all outside the yard, while the house was completely dark. She was undecided, but finally calmed down and pushed open the half-closed door.
There was nothing but darkness.
But Yu Qing paused as she smelled a familiar fragrance.
She could clearly hear her own heartbeat, and following her intuition, she walked in. Her eyes hadn't adjusted yet, and she still saw nothing. But... she heard another person breathing.
Then, there was a slight noise over there, and someone lit the bedside lamp and put the lampshade back in place.
There was only one source of light, and under the warm light, the princess's beautiful face was revealed.
“…”
Yu Qing opened his eyes wide, his heart was so agitated that he didn't even know how to get over there.
"...You're too late," the princess sighed softly, her expression mournful. "I've been waiting for you for a long time. From just after dusk until now."
"I..." Yu Qing wanted to speak, but she choked. She knew who this person was, but she didn't want to ruin this illusion.
"At the first watch, I told the servants to go and rest. At the second watch, the lights were extinguished. Just now, I thought you wouldn't come, and was about to wash off your makeup. But then I thought I'd better wait until daybreak."
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