Qi Xuan followed Ah Qi out of the bamboo house, and Qin Zhao stood up: "The person has left."
Only then did Jing Li raise his head.
He first turned around to look at the direction where the little emperor left, and pretended to be indifferent: "He left if he wanted to. What does it have to do with me?"
As he said this, he wanted to get closer to Qin Zhao's hand and take a bite of the sweet potato, but the latter dodged and said, "You didn't do it on purpose, how dare you knock on my door?"
The little fish didn't quite understand things yet, but he had been taught to be polite. He knew that he shouldn't make loud noises when outsiders were present, and he wouldn't come to disturb Qin Zhao when he was talking.
It was obvious at first glance that it was Jing Li's instruction.
"It's me, so what?" Jing Li snatched the sweet potato from his hand and took a bite sullenly. "Who asked him to talk to you for so long? Don't you know that it's very rude to disturb someone's home during dinner time?"
Qin Zhao chuckled helplessly.
He knew that Jing Li had never had a good impression of the little emperor.
The reason for his lack of affection was not just because he suspected that the little emperor had hurt him, but more likely because of the past teacher-student relationship.
In short, the young husband was jealous.
He gently wiped off the stain on Jing Li's face from the roasted sweet potato and whispered, "I just told the little emperor that I will not go back to be Prince Rong."
Jing Li was stunned.
Hasn't he worked so hard for so long just to seek justice for himself and get back everything he had in the past
If I can't become an honorary prince, then what are all the efforts over the years
"Why?" Jing Li blurted out.
Qin Zhao said: "I thought you would prefer me to make this choice."
Jing Li opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer.
No.
Although... he sometimes found it difficult to connect the rumored regent with the man in front of him, he absolutely had no intention of hoping that Qin Zhao would give up his power.
What he least wanted to see was Qin Zhao giving up something that he should have for him.
He has lost so much...
Jing Li's eyebrows dropped: "Are you... because of me?"
"Of course not, don't think too much about it." Qin Zhao said, "I did it for myself."
Jing Li looked up: "Huh?"
"I want to live a few more years." Qin Zhao looked into Jing Li's eyes and smiled. "I should have taken good care of my body a long time ago and stopped working on government affairs. Do I think I am not short-lived enough?"
"Don't talk nonsense." Jing Li scolded, "You have to live a long life, what nonsense are you talking about."
"Well, I said the wrong thing."
Qin Zhao was so busy talking to Jing Li that he didn't feed the little fish for a long time. The little fish lost his patience in front of the delicious food and waved his two fat arms to snatch the half piece of sweet potato from his hand.
The soft, sweet and fragrant sweet potato flesh is all over my face.
Qin Zhao took out a silk handkerchief and squatted down to wipe the kid's face: "Xiao Yu, I won't make you worry anymore in the future."
Jingli blinked.
“… This is all going to be over soon, I promise.”
Qin Zhao's promises were never wrong. With the threat of the general who protected the country, the situation in the capital became clearer day by day. Over the years, the queen mother repeatedly tried to call Xiao Yue back to the capital in the name of the young emperor because she was afraid of the military power in his hands.
The reason why Xiao Yue avoided it in the first place was because the Xiao family was loyal to the Qi family's imperial power and did not want to intensify the conflict.
Now that we know that it was the Queen Mother who was behind it, there is naturally no need to worry about anything.
No matter in which era, whoever holds military power holds the greatest advantage.
The years of accumulated hard work of the Queen Mother's lineage quickly disintegrated under such intense pressure, and they were defeated like a landslide.
In the second year of the Yan Guang reign, on the fifth day of the first lunar month, it was the Lantern Festival.
A fire started in the Queen Mother's bedroom and burned all night. After the fire was extinguished, the Queen Mother's body and the bodies of her trusted eunuchs were found in the ruins. Rumor has it that the Queen Mother committed suicide out of fear of punishment after failing to assassinate the Emperor. Others say that His Majesty discovered the Queen Mother's ambition and secretly executed her.
But no matter what the truth is, the chaos in the capital that lasted for more than a month finally came to an end in this fire.
The weather was getting warmer day by day. In early spring, a carriage stopped in front of a villa outside the capital.
Before getting off the carriage, Jing Li heard a very iconic loud voice yelling, "Be careful! If you dare to bump into anything, I'll chop off one of your legs."
Even the little fish cub was frightened and shrank into his arms.
Jing Li rubbed his kid's head soothingly, and looked over. Xiao Yue was walking towards them briskly and in high spirits: "Come on, come on, come on, please come in, don't be polite to me."
"This was originally my home, why should I be so polite to you?" Qin Zhao then jumped off the carriage, without any joy on his face.
This manor was naturally the one that Qin Zhao had promised to give to Xiao Yue after the matter was accomplished.
Prince Rong was originally from a wealthy family and owned numerous shops and businesses in the capital, but this villa was considered the most valuable among all the businesses under his name.
He just gave it to Xiao Yue like this, and even Jing Li felt bad for him.
"What are you talking about? This is a gift from His Majesty to this general."
Xiao Yue pointed to a plaque placed by the door that had not yet been hung up. On it were four large characters written by the little emperor himself - "The General's Mansion".
This villa was confiscated and sealed off by the Empress Dowager after Prince Rong got into trouble. Now, due to the agreement between Xiao Yue and Qin Zhao, the young emperor took the opportunity to give it to Xiao Yue as a reward for his contribution in protecting the emperor.
Now that everything in the capital has been settled, Xiao Yue has been busy preparing for the move. Before he has put everything in place, he can't wait to invite Qin Zhao and Jing Li to come over as guests.
Jing Li always felt that he was taking revenge on Qin Zhao for secretly leaving Beijing a month ago and leaving all the mess to him.
Qin Zhao acted very indifferent. He was not the kind of person who cared about material things, and he knew that if he showed his care now, it would only make Xiao Yue's tail stick higher.
Qin Zhao congratulated him indifferently on the new house, then took his young husband into the general's mansion.
The furnishings and layout of the mansion have changed, but the general structure will not change. Qin Zhao took the little fish from Jing Li's arms, took Jing Li's hand, and walked through the front yard full of flowers and plants, the hanging flower gate with peach branches hanging, and the nine-curve corridor beside the artificial lake.
The further Jing Li walked in, the more stunned he became.
How rich was Qin Zhao before...
Qin Zhao always paid attention to her husband's reaction. When Xiao Yue wasn't paying attention, she quietly asked him, "Do you like it here?"
"Hmm?" Jing Li withdrew his gaze.
Qin Zhao continued: "If you like it, I will find a way to trick you back."
Jing Li: “…”
Ever since his true nature was exposed, Qin Zhao had concealed nothing in front of him and could now calmly say the word "liar".
And Jing Li had no doubt at all whether he could do it.
The former regent is full of evil intentions and is likely to do anything.
Jing Li looked back at Xiao Yue, who was still naively admiring the courtyard and had no idea what was happening. He suddenly felt a little sympathetic: "Just let him live a few more days in peace."
"Okay, I'll do as you say." Qin Zhao replied with a smile.
The group walked through the corridor and came to a pavilion on the artificial lake.
There is already someone waiting inside.
The current emperor was dressed in civilian clothes, sitting in the pavilion drinking tea and eating melon seeds. When Qin Zhao came over, his originally leisurely demeanor was completely restrained, and he even seemed to want to stand up to greet him.
But before he stood up, he thought of something and stopped.
"Ahem..." Qi Xuan cleared his throat, trying to maintain his dignity, and said seriously, "Sit down."
Qin Zhao frowned slightly and asked directly: "Your Majesty, why are you here? Have you finished your affairs in the court?"
There has been unrest in the capital recently and it's time to be busy, but this man is still here leisurely drinking tea
"..." Qi Xuan complained: "I haven't had a rest for ten days!"
Qin Zhao didn't buy his tricks and said calmly, "As a king, this is what you should do."
Qi Xuan: “…”
He decisively changed the subject: "The doctors I sent people to look for earlier have been found. They are all famous doctors with many years of practice. They will be sent to your home in a few days. Don't worry, they are very tight-lipped and don't know your identity."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Qin Zhao's attitude remained lukewarm.
Qi Xuan naturally didn't dare to argue with Qin Zhao, and continued: "Also, the servant who poisoned you before..."
He paused. "I have kept him locked up all these years because I thought that if you were still alive, you might want to see him. You said last time that you didn't want to bother about these things anymore, but I thought... you would want to deal with him yourself."
"… He is now locked in a room in the backyard. If you want to see him, Xiao Qing can take you there."
Qin Zhao didn't answer.
Jing Li quietly held Qin Zhao's hand under the table.
Qin Zhao had already told Jing Li the truth about what happened, but he just told him what happened in a straightforward manner. He promised the young emperor not to care about the past, but that didn't mean he could really let it go.
Who can let go of this kind of thing
He was clearly such a gifted child in the past.
But now that things have come to this, what else can he do except let it go
His body could no longer return to its original state. No matter how many doctors he found, or even if he brought the culprit to justice, he could not get back what he had lost, nor could he make up for the suffering he had endured over the years.
The atmosphere was a little heavy, and even Xiao Yue couldn't help but speak: "If you don't want to see him, forget it. I'll help you chop him up with a knife-"
"No." Qin Zhao interrupted, "I'll go see him."
He stood up: "Lead the way."
The two quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor, leaving only Jing Li and Qi Xuan in the pavilion.
They both looked young and were of similar age, so they should have gotten along well. Unfortunately, due to their different social status and Jing Li's inexplicable hostility towards Qi Xuan, the two had never spoken to each other alone.
There was silence in the pavilion for a while.
Jing Li could sit still, but Xiao Yuzai was not so calm. There were a lot of snacks in front of Qi Xuan, which he could not eat on weekdays.
The little fish knew that the uncle in front of him was different from others and he couldn't be rude to him as usual, so he just stared at the snacks and didn't dare to ask him for any.
Qi Xuan noticed the longing in the boy's eyes and took the initiative to push the snacks over to him: "Do you want some? Here you go."
The little fish looked up at Jing Li.
Jing Li responded, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"No need to be like that. Just call me A'xuan when no one is around." Qi Xuan did not act like an emperor at all. He distributed cakes to Xiao Yuzai and Jing Li, and chatted with Jing Li about gossip while cracking melon seeds.
Without Qin Zhao and Xiao Yue present, he seemed more at ease. After chatting with Jing Li, he took the opportunity to ask a lot about Jing Li and Qin Zhao: "I heard that you and Rong... uh, Mr. Qin met in the village?"
"Yes."
"You were the one who took the initiative to pursue him, right?"
"..." Jing Li blinked, "Why do you ask?"
"How could he take the initiative to pursue someone else." Qi Xuan grabbed a handful of melon seeds, "You don't know how unkind he was before. People who liked him could line up from the beginning to the end of Chang'an. I thought at the beginning that if I could find him a princess as soon as possible, maybe he wouldn't bother me with this and that. What a pity, I collected a lot of unloved scrolls and sent them to him, but he didn't like any of them."
Jing Li: “…”
Qi Xuan was completely unaware of Jing Li's emotional changes, and sighed: "He is a little unromantic. If he bullies you in the future, you can tell me. Although I dare not blame him, we are teacher and student after all, so there is some courtesy in talking..."
"Your Majesty, you worry too much." Jing Li was unhappy when Qi Xuan mentioned the teacher-student relationship, and said seriously, "My husband treats me very well, and is very gentle and considerate. He obeys me in everything and will never bully me."
"Cough." Just as he finished speaking, he heard a light cough behind him.
Qin Zhao and Xiao Yue had returned at some point and were standing behind them.
Jing Li: “…”