Prime Minister Pei rose shakily, and said with a wry smile, "Prince An, look at my body. Half of my body is no longer able to move. I only came out today to maintain appearances because I was afraid the children wouldn't have enough fun. If it weren't for waiting for His Majesty and Prince An to come, I would have gone back to bed long ago."
"Alright, sit down." The regent frowned.
Qiu Su glanced at the emperor, who hadn't uttered a single word since entering, with a puzzled look.
The regent also glanced at the man in bright yellow and said with a smile, "Didn't His Majesty say he was coming to the Pei residence to celebrate the festival?"
"I've changed my mind again." The man in bright yellow crossed his legs with an air of nonchalance, tapping his thigh with his index finger and smirking. "Uncle, what brings you here halfway? Are you afraid I have some kind of conspiracy with the Pei family?"
"Oh dear, Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Pei knelt down tremblingly. "This sinful subject knows that he can no longer serve Your Majesty. Your Majesty, you cannot allow this sinful subject to meet a bad end."
The man in bright yellow smirked. "You met a terrible end long ago."
As she spoke, she stood up and said to Pei Yuan, "Let's go out for a stroll. It's really boring being with those old scholars." As she spoke, she glanced at Qiu Su.
Pei Yuan nodded, helped Qiu Su and followed, with Eunuch Wu naturally following behind.
The thick snow hadn't completely melted, and it froze again overnight. Occasionally, stepping on the remaining snow by the roadside produced a crunching sound. Ming Huangnan wandered aimlessly for a while, then looked back at Qiu Su and said, "I heard Ling'er is back, but I haven't seen her?"
Qiu Su looked at Pei Yuan. How come she hadn't heard that Lingling and Ming Huang were dating? Besides, wasn't Ling'er always by her side?
Pei Yuan replied, "I've been back for a while now, and I was here just now. Perhaps Your Majesty didn't notice?"
"Hmm? The one in the pale yellow cotton dress? She kept her head down the whole time. I thought your maid had changed her dress color."
Qiu Su's lips twitched, and then she heard Ming Huangnan say again, "When will Madam take Ling'er to the palace to play? I have found a lot of things for her. It's a pity that she has been back for half a year. She doesn't even come to the palace to see her Qi-gege. Alas, she is truly a lonely man. She has been forgotten so quickly."
Qiu Su was confused, but then Ming Huang Nan suddenly turned around and started walking back. After passing a small bamboo grove, she saw Ling Ling coming this way. Could this be called telepathy? Qiu Su was dumbfounded.
The man in bright yellow coughed, his pale yellow figure paused, looked up for a moment, and called out timidly, "Brother Qi."
"This is indeed an old acquaintance!" Qiu Su exclaimed in surprise, her mouth slightly agape. Pei Yuan, however, had already taken her hand and said to the man in the yellow robe, "My wife and I will go ahead and take a look."
The man in bright yellow casually waved his hand, glanced sideways at Eunuch Wu who was standing motionless beside him, and snorted, "Are you protecting me or spying on me?"
"This servant will be leaving now." Eunuch Wu took a step with his head down, then turned back and said, "This servant will stand at the outer gate. If Your Majesty needs anything, just call out."
Lingling and Sun Qi were often together, but that was all in their childhood. As a child, Lingling, relying on being the daughter of a prime minister, practically ruled half the palace. With an unreasonable young emperor backing her up, she was even more domineering. However, as she grew older, she lost interest in the dull palace, and no amount of enticement from the young emperor could entice her. Later, to separate the two, Prime Minister Pei sent Lingling to live with relatives outside the capital, and they saw each other even less.
The sudden meeting was a little awkward. Lingling tugged at her sleeve, glanced at Sun Qi, and thought about how to start the conversation. She couldn't just cling to his arm and act all cute like she did when she was little. Besides, it had been so many years since they'd last seen each other.
Sun Qi, with his hands behind his back, glanced sideways at Lingling and snorted, "You're back?"
"Brother Qi~" Lingling moved forward and tugged at his sleeve, "Brother Qi, why are you here?"
"Can't you come to the palace to see me if I don't come? How long have you been back? Don't tell me you just got back."
"Brother Qi, you already know, why are you asking?" Lingling let go of his hand and took a step forward. "I don't like that place, it's weird. And your concubines... in short, they're all so strange."
Sun Qi looked up at the sky and after a long while said, "If Ling'er doesn't go, won't I have even less people to talk to in the palace?"
Lingling kicked the protruding pebbles under her feet, pouted and said, "Then next time Brother Qi goes out of the palace to play, Ling'er will take you to fun places and eat delicious food."
How old is Ling'er?
"Fourteen." Lingling took another step back, broke off a dry branch, and whispered, "Brother Qi, you promised you wouldn't force me, I don't want to..."
"So you ran off to outside Beijing? Didn't you even think about me?"
Lingling pouted and remained silent.
"I won't force you. Wait for me for a year, and after that, I'll take you away, okay? I'm tired of that place too."
"Ling'er?" Sun Qi followed her and asked in a worried whisper, "Did you meet someone else during the year you were gone?"
"No!" Lingling turned around, blushing, and bumped her head against his chest, saying in a muffled voice, "I just went out to play, and now I'm back. It's not that I don't want to see you, but I always feel that the house is strange, and going out is strange too. I won't force you to leave there. If you can't let go... just leave me outside the palace, and I will still stay with you."
"Sigh, what do I have to be reluctant about? I couldn't wait to leave. If it weren't for your eldest brother's delays, I would have left with Ling'er long ago."
Just like when she was little, Ling'er put her hands inside his sleeves to warm them. After a while, she giggled and asked, "Where are you going, Brother Qi?"
“I’ve thought it all out.” Sun Qi whispered, pressing his forehead against hers, “I have someone secretly build a villa in Jiangnan. Prime Minister Pei is considering retiring, so we will all move there in the future and never get involved in court affairs again.”
"Your concubines..."
"I'll handle it." Sun Qi held Lingling on his feet. Lingling didn't dare to exert any force, clinging tightly to his waist and hanging slightly. Sun Qi moved forward step by step with her, whispering, "Good Ling'er, don't run around on weekdays, stay by your father's side more often. Next year, after your sister-in-law gives birth, the day we can be together won't be far away."
“Brother Qi, I can’t say for sure since you’re in the palace. Actually, I wanted to come see you, but Father said it wasn’t the right time. Anyway, please take good care of yourself. Don’t worry, I’m willing to wait. I’m still so young, waiting another three or four years won’t hurt.”
Sun Qi smiled as he looked at the snow that shimmered white against the black background, his voice as gentle as spring water.
“It’s not that I’m afraid you’ll wait, it’s that I’m anxious. I dream of taking you to Jiangnan. If we have more children, I’ll teach the boys to read, make wood, or do business, and the girls to play musical instruments, play chess, and practice calligraphy and painting. In short, I want them to grow up happily.”
"Why make woodenware?" Lingling asked, puzzled.
"No matter what you do, you don't study governing a country. Heh, let others worry about those trivial matters."
40
40. Give me reasons why I believe in you...
Before we knew it, it was the 27th of the lunar calendar, and another snowfall blanketed the ground, adding a thick layer of snow to the remaining snow from the previous one. Whether it was due to the weather or because he caught a chill during the Kitchen God Festival, Zhu Yuan's illness suddenly worsened.
Pei Yuan started frequently running to the neighboring courtyard, and Qiu Su couldn't stop him, nor could she. It was truly heartbreaking to see someone like him suddenly unable to get out of bed. Sometimes Qiu Su would wonder, if Zhu Yuan remained ill forever, or even passed away after the New Year, would she agree to marry Pei Yuan? Every time this thought crossed her mind, Qiu Su silently berated herself. She had no intention of letting her die, truly no.
The snow was still falling heavily that night, each snowflake like a flower in her hand. Qiu Su leaned against the door, looking at the white-covered courtyard, feeling a little restless. Pei Yuan hadn't come over since the day he ran here, touching her belly and breathing heavily through her nose. She suddenly realized that being a woman, especially one like her who had given her heart away and constantly used methods that others saw as spoiled and childish to maintain her pitiful dignity, was actually a kind of tragedy.
"Miss." Huang Tao walked back with an umbrella, brushing the snow off her cotton robe. "Miss, the young master is in the study. The one over there seems to be doing better. I don't know what happened, but the young master hasn't left the study since he went in at noon. Later, the Prime Minister went in too, along with another young master. I don't know which family he's from."
Qiu Su looked at the snow, which had fallen even heavier, and frowned, "Didn't you have dinner?"
"Probably not." Huang Tao rolled her eyes and deliberately sighed, "I wonder if there's any charcoal in the study. Charcoal braziers aren't allowed there on weekdays, as Miss knows. But the young master isn't afraid of the cold, so he definitely won't get cold."
Qiu Su glared at Huang Tao, touched her belly, and after thinking for a moment, asked Huang Tao to fetch the heater and go to the study.
Actually, that day, as he sat on the small couch, venting his anger while gently stroking her belly, all her anger vanished. That was his child; how could he bear to use it as a pawn? Call her selfish, call her despicable, she didn't want to give Zhu Yuan an opportunity at this time. If, if she really became seriously ill and couldn't be cured, then, then she could only say she was unlucky.
Qiu Su glanced at her lower abdomen, which was now covering her legs, and frowned. She thought, "That's indeed a bit malicious. Whatever it is, I'll take my revenge on her." She was selfish; regarding her husband, she truly didn't want to give in. She had always been timid, like the rabbits in Qingfeng Village, retreating to their burrows at the slightest disturbance. Why not try taking a step forward? Regardless of the outcome, years later, she wouldn't regret her current inaction.
Standing not far from the study was Pei Yuan's attendant, Xiao Shun, who had only recently joined him. Seeing her enter, Xiao Shun quickly bowed and stopped her, whispering, "Young Master is discussing matters in the study. Young Madam, you should return first. I'll send you a message later."