Several ministers surrounded him, saying, "Your Majesty, you should return to the palace."
Sun Qi was panting heavily. Xiao Luzi timidly moved over, handed over the tiger tally in his hand, and whispered, "Um, Your Majesty, the tiger tally, two pieces."
Sun Qi stared in disbelief. "How did you get it?"
"That was given to me by Madam Qiu."
"You'd dare take it even if it were given to you?"
"Madam Qiu said that the Third Prince told me to take it first. He said that if I secretly told you, these armies might take advantage of the gap to cause trouble."
"Screw your mother's head!" Sun Qi grabbed Xiao Luzi by the neck and shoved him into the snowdrift. "You traitor, I'll strangle you to death."
Several ministers stood with their heads bowed, none of them intending to intervene. To be honest, being threatened to kneel in the snow in the middle of the night was infuriating; what could they do when the other party was a prince or grandson of the emperor?
Lingling sat by the carriage and, seeing Xiao Luzi looking over frequently, pouted and said, "Brother Qi, let's go back."
Sun Qi got up, kicked Xiao Luzi, and walked to the carriage. Seeing Xiao Luzi get up and follow behind him, he disdainfully flicked his sleeves and said, "Get lost."
Xiao Luzi coughed and said, "Take the tiger tally."
Sun Qi glared, Lingling reached out and grabbed the blanket, then climbed into the carriage. Sun Qi followed, dejectedly sprawling on the fur mat, remaining silent. Look at the equipment in the carriage: a thick tiger-skin blanket, a small stove, and a box of snacks—it looked like they were preparing for a long journey. Now, look what happened! They'd made their journey, only to be stopped after just one street. And it was his own brother! Did they really intend to hold a knife to his throat and take him back? And that Qiu Su—she seemed determined to never enter the palace.
Sun Qi turned to look at Lingling, and when she saw her looking over, he grinned and pretended to cry, "Ling'er, my life is so miserable."
Ling'er giggled, "It's good for brother to find sister-in-law first. She's suffered so much. If anything happens in the future, will brother really not care?"
Sun Qi pouted, looking like a spoiled child, and pulled Lingling to sit on the thick tiger skin in the carriage, resting his head on her lap, saying, "Ling'er, will you come to the palace with me?"
Lingling remained silent.
"I will issue a new policy another day to abolish the triennial imperial concubine selection. The emperor is poor too, he can't afford to support so many idle people."
Lingling blushed. "I never intended to leave."
After a moment of silence...
"Brother Qi, where are you touching?"
Sun Qi, taking advantage of the situation, rolled over and picked Lingling up in his arms, smothering her mouth with kisses and nibbles, his hands not stopping either. He had been holding back for too long, and even the slightest touch of Lingling's skin made his blood boil.
"Brother Qi!" Lingling grabbed his hand as it was moving downwards in a panic, her voice trembling as she said, "They're in the car, they're all outside, Xiao Luzi."
Sun Qi stopped what he was doing, fiddling with his lower body for a long time with one hand, his face pale and his eyes wide, and he said blankly, "It's over, I took too much medicine."
"What's wrong?"
Sun Qi, his face grave, lifted Lingling up, covered her with his clothes, and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Lingling could hear the grinding sound of teeth grinding together.
Half a day later, Sun Qi released Lingling, lifted the curtain, and shoved Xiao Luzi down into the carriage by the neck. Sun Qi angrily said, "What kind of medicine did you give me? Were you getting revenge for me cutting off your manhood?!"
Xiao Luzi looked at Sun Qi's ashen face in confusion, and after a long while, he remembered something and grabbed his hand, saying in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, spare my life! Find Imperial Physician Liao, a course of acupuncture will do the trick."
The ministers following behind on foot only saw the carriage ahead sway slightly and then veer off to the side of the road, its trajectory strange. They all shook their heads and sighed deeply.
"You mean, the Emperor has finally come to his senses?"
"I suppose so. Shouldn't we prepare to welcome the little prince?"
"But rumors are circulating in the palace that the emperor is impotent."
"How could that be? The Third Prince must have his reasons for not assuming the throne."
The old man sighed, "Alas, the snow is thick and the road is slippery, watch your step."
Everyone fell silent.
59
59. Unintentional peeping...
In late spring, the peach blossoms at the foot of the mountain have all faded, but the flowers on the mountain are still in full bloom.
The same people were still on the mountain, and Lu Mingcheng was still there too. However, the academy wasn't as large as Qiu Su had imagined. There were houses, but not many children. There were only a dozen or so, ranging from seven or eight to teenagers, apparently recruited by Lu Mingcheng from door to door. But now he had one more student, Momo.
Momo's favorite thing to do is stand on the podium with her hands behind her back, look at the students below, and say in a childish voice, "Everyone, read after Momo: The grass on the plain grows thick and thin, and every year it gets a hole."
Lu Mingcheng quite liked Momo because he was smart; at just over two years old, he could recite poems, though only two: "Farewell to the Ancient Grassland" and "Hoeing the Rice Seedlings." However, Momo would always imitate him and disrupt the class, causing the students to burst into laughter and making it impossible to continue the lesson. Lu Mingcheng couldn't bear to send him away, so this stalemate between the two repeated itself day after day.
However, Mo Mo has a wide range of interests, and coming to the school to report is a must. But after making a fuss for a while, he will definitely go somewhere else. Gradually, every time he comes over on his two short legs, Lu Mingcheng will consciously put down his book and wait for him to finish the lesson before taking over.
Mo Mo hated having someone follow him around. After several rounds of fighting with He Zhuo's mother, he finally made the people on the mountain realize that the young master could manage on his own and didn't need a tail following him around every day. However, the mountain lord had become his mount. The mountain lord had been listless and slow-moving since his last injury, so having him by his side was just right.
Qiu Su still likes to go to the back mountain. Judging from her appearance today, she must have encountered something troublesome. She was lying on the stone horse, frowning and muttering something to herself.
After Qiu Su left the capital and the situation in the palace stabilized, He Zhuo returned without a word. At this moment, he was riding another horse, staring blankly at Qiu Su's dangling leg.
He seemed to have forgotten Qin Su in the southern border region; half a year had passed, and she hadn't returned. Magistrate Qin had come to ask him for her several times. At first, he didn't think much of it, but after the number of times she asked, he began to feel that he had really done something wrong.
Just yesterday, Qiu Su, swaying her neck and back, prepared to return to her old ways. Leading Xiao Qiu down the mountain, she stood at the crossroads, but before she could even speak, the other party left their things on the road and vanished. At first, Qiu Su thought it was a trap, perhaps with explosives or something. She stood there for half an hour, until finally Ruan Hu, carrying a large knife, went up and swung it at the wooden crate. When it didn't explode, he swung it twice more, finally getting the things pulled back up the mountain.
The two chests contained real silver, strangely covered with red cloth. The other chest contained fabrics of various colors, but mostly plain and elegant. A third chest held small clothes and toys. So, it seemed like a betrothal gift package, but there was an extra chest of children's items. And considering the group's feigned panic during their "escape," it was less a case of robbery and more like the gifts being delivered to them by the other party.
Sigh, even a fool could see what was going on.
"He Zhuo." Qiu Su patted the horse's head and sighed, "I heard that someone was passing through this mountain path a few days ago. Should we rob them or not?"
He Zhuo spat out the leaf he was holding in his mouth. "Don't we not rob ordinary people?"
"Yes, then we won't steal it."
"Why not grab it? It's free money if it's offered to you."
Qiu Su turned to look at He Zhuo, "What's wrong, feeling upset?"
"No."
"You too, if Qinqin gets back, you'll be in big trouble."