It's not like
After Zhou Ziye left, Tang Qi didn't rush to leave. He stared at the unfinished wine on the table, downing one cup after another, and finally just grabbed the wine jar and drank it all down. He had a high alcohol tolerance, but tonight's retaliatory drinking left him quite drunk.
He wandered out of the tavern, roamed aimlessly through the streets, and once he lost his reason, his emotions took over.
Tang Qi raised her eyes, took a leap, and comfortably lay on the roof with her legs crossed.
The owner of the house heard the noise, put on his crane cloak, and slowly came out. When he looked up, he saw the person lying on the roof of his house.
Tang Qi rested her head on her hand, tilting her head to look at him in the moonlight, her eyes sparkling as she smiled: "Ye Qian, come up and buy me a drink."
Having grown accustomed to Tang Qi's shameless behavior, Ye Qian smiled helplessly and shook his head, but he actually brought two jars of wine and took them to the roof.
"How many years ago was the last time a few of us lay here?"
Ye Qian sat next to Tang Qi and, after thinking for a moment about his sudden question, replied, "It's been about five years."
Tang Qi stared silently at the inky sky.
"The house that General Ye arranged for you is in a really good location; it's quiet and comfortable."
Ye Qian glanced at him and said sarcastically, "With you around, these past few years haven't been peaceful at all."
Tang Qi laughed and kicked him: "What do you know? I'm just helping your new house gain some popularity, so you won't have to keep company with those bamboo and flowers every day."
Why did you suddenly decide to drink?
Ye Qian prepared to open the wine jar.
"I saw Zhou Ziye."
Tang Qi continued to stare quietly at the vast night sky: "He scrapped his military license plate."
Ye Qian paused in his grip on the wine jar, but Tang Qi suddenly sat up, pushed Ye Qian's hand away, picked up the wine jar, and laughed, "Forget it, why talk about this? Let's drink!"
Ye Qian pressed his hand down and took the jar back: "If you drink any more, you'll be pickled in the smell of alcohol."
"Pshaw, I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk."
Tang Qi leaned back, bracing himself on the roof tiles, and continued to say to himself, "He said that people change, and no one will live their whole life holding onto their old dreams."
His tone was low, but his gaze fixed on the starry sky remained intense.
"Back then, wasn't this the very sky we were facing?"
Ye Qian turned his head and gazed at the same starry sky they had looked up at together five years ago.
"Right here, under the same moon as witness, he told us that he would be invincible, that he would become a great general revered by all."
Ye Qian listened as Tang Qi continued to ramble on: "Back then, my father disagreed with me joining the army, but he also made a promise with me that we would guard Da Shuo and defend our homeland together."
He paused, staring at the high-hanging moon, and murmured, "The moon is still the same moon, but... how come it's different?"
Ye Qian picked up the wine jar and took a sip. It was spicy and burned his throat. He choked and said, "Different paths don't mean different hearts."
Tang Qi turned to look at him, and Ye Qian continued, "Even without going to the battlefield, you can still protect Da Shuo. The Zhou family has always opposed Zhou Ziye joining the army. Your father stopped you back then because he was worried, but the Zhou family really wanted to clip his wings."
"Most of the Zhou family members are civil officials, but only Zhou Ziye is determined to become a military general. A civil official's words can be a deadly weapon, especially when they are directed at his closest relatives."
Ye Qian looked at Tang Qi: "Zhong Le, walking this path will be much more difficult for him than for you."
Tang Qi remained stunned, as if lost in thought. Ye Qian handed him another jar of wine, and the two jars clinked together, causing the wine to slosh around. Ye Qian smiled and said, "Perhaps you should wish him true freedom."
Tang Qi was speechless, then took a big gulp: "I was being dramatic. You're right, even if we take a different path, he'll still be Zhou Ziye."
"Zhong Le".
"Um?"
Ye Qian suddenly called out to him, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "Ye An sent me a letter."
Tang Qi felt a tightness in his chest, and his grip on the wine jar tightened unconsciously.
"After the siege ended, Ye An secretly sent troops to search for that team. They couldn't find the leader, but they found the remaining soldiers a hundred miles away."
He glanced at Tang Qi, his expression showing reluctance, but continued, "Forty-seven people, all were buried alive, no one survived."
Tang Qi sobered up completely.
His voice was hoarse as he stared into Ye Qian's eyes and pressed, "Which battalion?"
"South Camp."
Tang Qi's heart trembled, and he clenched his fists, gritting his teeth as he choked out, "My soldiers."
He closed his eyes tightly, tilted his head back, and tried to calm himself down. He said, "When Hecheng was attacked, I took most of the troops with me to fight in Qing Teng Valley. Only new recruits remained in the Southern Camp. I will go to the garrison commander and ask him why we sent troops to Hecheng."
"Has your brother found anything?"
"He found the mole among the scouts, but before he could question him, he committed suicide. The men he caught insisted that someone was selling military license plates in private, and that they had all bought them from there. My brother is already staking out based on the clues they provided."
He sighed and looked at Ye Qian, reminding him, "Be careful of Li Guangjun."
Ye Qian patted him on the shoulder, indicating that Tang Qi could rest assured.
"Qiqi!"
The sudden shout startled Tang Qi, who quickly craned his neck to look down.
"No way!"
After seeing who was below, Tang Qi immediately started to move his legs, preparing to escape as fast as he could.
"Oh! You guys actually came here drinking behind my back! Qiqi, you've gone too far!"
Yun An stood with his hands on his hips, pointing at the two people on the roof and cursing.
Tang Qi tried to escape but Ye Qian grabbed her clothes tightly. Ye Qian shook his head slightly and said, "Forget it. When have you ever run away?"
After the servants set up the ladder, Yun An slowly lifted her skirt and climbed onto the roof, saying as she went, "Well, Qi Qi, you've been in Jingzhou for so long and haven't come to see me at the Princess's residence. And you, Ye Qian! Why did you secretly drink with him without telling me!"
Yun An sat down next to them, crossed his arms, and glared at them angrily, questioning them.
"He's been very busy lately; he hasn't even been back to the Tang residence in Jingzhou more than a few times."
"real?"
Yun An glanced at Tang Qi, listening suspiciously to Ye Qian's explanation.
"real."
Tang Qi nodded.
"Alright, I'm a magnanimous princess, I won't hold it against you."
Yun An clapped her hands and asked Ye Qian for wine: "But drinking without me is still a heinous crime! If I hadn't heard that Qi Qi came to Jingzhou again, and happened to be at your residence today and bumped into you, would you have forgotten about this princess?"
Ye Qian had someone bring up another bottle of wine for Yun An, and smiled as he pointed at Tang Qi, saying, "He was just reminiscing about the days when the five of us lay here."
Princess Yun'an, whose real name is Sheng Changge, is the fifth princess of the Shuo Dynasty. Her mother died early, but her father, the emperor, doted on her. When she was ten years old, she accompanied the emperor on an incognito visit and fell in love with the human world. As a result, the emperor built a princess's residence for her in Jingzhou City. Yun'an became the first and only princess to be raised outside the palace from a young age.
“In recent years, there haven’t been many times when the five of us can get together at the same time. The banquets I host at the Princess’s residence are either when Qiqi and Zhou Ziye are fighting on the front lines, or when Qingqing is traveling with Uncle Shen on business trips.”
She looked at Ye Qian and sighed dramatically, "Sigh~ It seems that only the two of us are the most idle."
"Didn't you come to see Ye Qian today? What brings you here?"
Tang Qi suddenly spoke.
"Oh right! I almost forgot!"
She got up, moved to the front of Ye Qian, and squatted down, staring at him intently.
Ye Qian frowned, puzzled, but let her stare at him.
"I heard you asked my father, the Emperor, to issue a decree for your marriage to Qingqing?"
Tang Qi squatted down next to her, propped her head up, and stared at Ye Qian, asking, "Why are you so slow to get news?"
"I just returned from my trip to Jiangnan! Qiqi, don't interrupt me!"
Ye Qian felt a chill run down his spine from their intense stares and said helplessly, "I'm the one who asked for your hand in marriage. Don't look at me like that, it's creepy."
Yun An snorted, turned her back, and moved back to sit down: "Qingqing will be unhappy."
She propped her head up with her hand, blinked, and stared blankly: "Will it be even harder for the five of us to sit down and drink together in the future?"
Ye Qian kept his head down and didn't say anything, but Tang Qi, sitting next to him, put his arm around his shoulder and said to Yun An, "Don't worry, she can tell the difference. Even if she dislikes someone, Shen Zhiqing only dislikes a certain person~ It won't affect the rest of us drinking."
Looking at Tang Qi's smug look, Ye Qian felt for the first time that he really wanted to shut him up.
"However, I'm actually a little happy for Qingqing because she's unhappy."
Yun An turned his head and looked at Ye Qian very seriously.
Not only Ye Qian, but even Tang Qi was stunned.
“I hope Qingqing can marry the man she loves,” Yun An continued, “but the man she loves may not be the right person for her.”
"Some people are only suitable to be friends, not lovers."
Yun An tapped her toes repeatedly: "Qingqing is stubborn, she must resent you now. I won't help you persuade her, you have to resolve your issues with her yourself."
Tang Qi suddenly laughed out loud and teased her, "You've thought quite deeply about this."
"Qiqi! I'm already fifteen years old! You can't treat me like a child anymore."
Tang Qi got up, went over and tapped her on the head: "Why are you calling me Qi Qi? You're not much different from my sister."
Is it Tang Yan?
Yun An's eyes lit up: "Why didn't you bring your sister this time? I really want to see Xiao Yan'er. I'll protect her when she comes to Jingzhou."
Yun An patted his chest and assured him.
Tang Qi chuckled lightly: "She's got a wild side, you might not be able to handle her."
Yun An laughed and said, "Don't worry, she can come. I will make sure she is safe when she gets to Jingzhou."
"Okay, I'll bring her to Jingzhou next time, and let her Sister Changge and Brother Yeqian show her around."
"The last time I saw Xiaoyan was when she was little. She must be over ten years old now, right?"
She's only eleven years old this year, and she'll be of marriageable age in a few years.
Tang Qi answered quickly.
"Then as the older brother, shouldn't you prepare your gift well in advance?"
Ye Qian looked at him with a smile.
Tang Qi crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at him: "I've been preparing for this for a long time. My sister's coming-of-age ceremony must be grand and magnificent. What I've prepared for her is one of a kind in the world."
Yun An suddenly smiled and asked, "Qiqi, how many times have you brought your sister to Jingzhou?"
Tang Qi paused for a moment and then replied, "Not much. I only take her to stay at the Tang residence for a short time each year."
Yun An propped her head up and continued to ask, "Why didn't you stay a little longer? And Uncle Tang and Madam Tang, why haven't I seen you two come back to the Tang residence together?"
Tang Qi choked up. How was he supposed to answer?
Should I tell her it's because my father doesn't want to see him return to Jingzhou? Or should I tell her that every time he and my sister return to Jingzhou, there are always extra eyes around the Tang residence?
Yun An was raised outside the palace since childhood and rarely had any thoughts about palace affairs. She had more of a chivalrous spirit. Tang Qi did not treat her with the same wariness as a prince or princess in the palace, but her bloodline destined her to be a descendant of the royal family. There are always things that subjects and royalty cannot reveal to each other.
Finally, he looked into Yun An's eyes and said, "She prefers to stay in Luo City, as do my mother and the others."
"Although Jingzhou is prosperous, Luocheng has the best scenery, with green mountains and clear waters, and misty fields among the clouds. The local customs and culture of Luocheng are also unique. Not to mention them, my younger brother Ye An also liked to stay in Luocheng when he was a child."
"Really? I've never been to Luo City. I've wanted to go several times but haven't been able to." Yun An pouted and then suddenly asked as if she remembered something, "Is Qingqing also in Luo City? I remember Uncle Shen's newest Baibu Tower opened there. It's a pity that when I said I was going to deliver a congratulatory gift, Father Emperor suddenly summoned me back to the palace. Otherwise, I could have gone to Luo City that time!"
Tang Qi didn't say anything, but just nodded and said, "Yes, I saw her before I came."
How is she?
Tang Qi shrugged and didn't say anything.
"Yes, she must be feeling terrible right now," Yun An sighed and looked at...
Ye Qian asked, "When are you getting married?"
"The ninth day of next month."
Ye Qian replied, but despite the marriage, he did not show much joy.
He didn't want to force Shen Zhiqing into marriage like this; in fact, he had never even hoped for it before, and he was used to hiding his feelings for her.
But now... he has a reason to do so.
Even if she hates him.
"The ninth day of next month? Will your father be able to make it back in time?"
Ye Qian nodded.
Seeing his silence, Tang Qi spoke up: "Qu Chi, although I don't know why you did this so suddenly, you must have your reasons. I don't want to say much, but I'll just say this: once you've made your decision, there's no turning back. You cut off Shen Zhiqing's escape route, so you have to give her one in return."
He glanced at Ye Qian quietly, continuing indifferently and confidently, "If you can afford it, she can definitely accept it."
Ye Qian looked into Tang Qi's eyes and said to them, just as he had promised countless times, "I did have my own selfish reasons for asking for this imperial edict. But whether or not this imperial edict exists, my feelings for her are the same. I only hope that she can be safe, and always be safe. It doesn't matter if she resents me, is angry with me, or hates me."
Yun An chuckled: "As expected."
Two pairs of eyes looked over, and Yun An continued, "Ye Qian, did you fall in love with Qingqing a long time ago?"
Ye Qian didn't answer, but Tang Qi asked in surprise, "How did you know?"
"Oh dear, I, the princess, have never made a mistake in judging people. Qiqi, you are far inferior to me in this regard."
Yun An looked at Ye Qian and continued, "I told you I wouldn't help you persuade Qingqing, but compared to Zhou Ziye, I actually secretly wish for Qingqing to be with you."
Ye Qian was taken aback, but Yun An said seriously, "I had already thought this way before tonight. I will listen to what you said tonight on her behalf. If you treat Qingqing badly in the future, I will definitely sever ties with you."
She pointed at Tang Qi: "Qi Qi, you be the witness!"
"Okay, I'll be your witness."
Tang Qi stood aside, arms crossed, watching the show.
"Why... cough, why did you have such selfish thoughts? I thought you all wanted Qingqing to be with Zhou Ziye..."
Ye Qian blushed slightly and stared intently at Yun An, seeking an answer.
Yun An looked at him and replied earnestly, word by word, "Some people say they rely on their words, but you are not like that. Your eyes see far more than your mouth says."
"Ye Qian, you will be a good match for Qingqing, both as a friend and as a wife. However, I am not sure if she is a good match for you to marry."
Ye Qian smiled faintly, his tone indifferent, but his words weighed heavily on their hearts: "Qingqing doesn't need to like me, it's enough that I like Qingqing."
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