Yao Youqing, who was sitting in the chair, suddenly stood up, her eyes reddening: "Aunt Zhou!"
"princess!"
The two took a few steps forward and embraced. Zhou Mama held Yao Youqing in her arms, tears streaming down her face, and said, "This servant thought I would never see you again."
Yao Youqing sobbed uncontrollably, and it took her a long time to calm down. She stood up slightly, wiped her tears, and looked at her, saying, "I thought it would be a while before I could see you again. I didn't expect to see you so soon."
Zhou's mother smiled as she wiped away her tears and held her hand tightly.
“When I returned to the Yao residence, the master had already gone to the palace, and the two Chen brothers had also left. It was the prince who remembered me and specially sent someone to rescue me.”
That day, Yao Youqing went straight to the palace upon entering the capital, but before entering the palace, she sent Zhou Mama to the Yao residence to entrust her with the care of her elderly father.
Mother Zhou knew that she was just making an excuse to get her to leave, not wanting her to go to the palace with her to die.
The Yao family has a prince among their members. Even if the master eventually passes away, the prince will definitely find a way to protect her.
Zhou's mother didn't want to go, but Yao Youqing refused to enter the palace if she didn't go. The escorts got impatient and left her at the gate of Yao's residence.
Once inside the Yao residence, Zhou Mama learned that Yao Yuzhi had already been taken to the palace and that the Chen brothers had been sent away before she left.
She had originally planned that if the princess and the master both died that day, she would immediately follow them.
If the princess dies and the master lives, then the master probably won't last much longer. After she sees the master off in his final moments, she will go to the underworld to continue serving them.
But the news that finally came was completely different from what was expected: the princess and the master were not dead, but they were trapped in the palace.
This unexpected turn of events gave her a glimmer of hope, and she waited anxiously in the mansion every day until she finally received news that the prince had rescued them.
She thought she could finally relax and have no regrets even if she died. But the prince still remembered her. On the very night he rescued the princess and the master, he had her rescued as well. Taking advantage of the chaos in the capital at dawn, he took her out of the city.
Yao Youqing was unaware that the Chen brothers had left the Yao residence. She still believed that Zhou Mama was safe. Even if Wei Chi remembered this person, she would surely have been rescued by the time he went to the Yao residence to look for her.
Unexpectedly, these unexpected changes occurred. If Wei Hong hadn't remembered that Zhou Mama was very important to her and hadn't arranged for someone to take her out of the Yao residence that very night, she might have already been taken out of the Yao residence and killed by Wei Chi in his anger.
Yao Youqing's heart skipped a beat, then settled again. She turned to look at Wei Hong, her eyes still glistening with tears.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Wei Hong smiled and patted her head: "It was just a small favor, no need to thank me."
Madam Zhou released Yao Youqing and said with a smile, "Even if the Princess Consort doesn't need to thank me, I still want to thank you."
She knelt down and kowtowed to Wei Hong, saying, "The situation was so critical at the time that nothing was easy to do. Your Highness saved my life despite all the difficulties, and I am eternally grateful."
Wei Hong didn't hesitate. After accepting her greeting, he gave her a helping hand and said after she stood up, "Ning'er lost her mother at a young age. To her, you are not only her wet nurse, but also like an elder. When an elder is in trouble, I will naturally help him. Otherwise, Ning'er will probably cry a lot in the future, and it will be difficult to coax her."
Zhou's mother and Yao Youqing both smiled, and the atmosphere in the room was pleasant. The master and servants chatted for a while before setting off.
Upon arriving in Shuozhou, Wei Hong immediately began handling military affairs, making reasonable arrangements for the current situation and all possible future developments.
Everyone thought he would strike while the iron was hot, taking advantage of Yao Youqing's exposure of Wei Chi's treason and attacking the capital. However, Wei Hong chose to defend Shuozhou and continue to focus on dealing with the Southern Yan and the Great Jin. He also had people spread the word that he was determined to defend the territory of the Great Liang and would never allow foreign barbarians to invade the land of the Great Liang and humiliate the people of the Great Liang.
On the contrary, after he left the capital, the imperial court immediately dispatched troops to punish him for treason, issuing several proclamations that detailed his major crimes, portraying him as a lawless and heinous criminal, and mobilizing troops from all over the country to jointly punish him, promising that whoever obtained the head of the King of Qin would be promoted and ennobled.
However, few responded. Those who received the military order either made various excuses to refuse to go, or they would just go out for a token mission, shout a few words, and then return without even taking out their weapons.
Despite being the emperor of the Great Liang Dynasty, Wei Chi was ultimately unable to command the troops stationed in various regions, except for the soldiers led by his trusted generals. His military tally was practically useless.
...
In Cangcheng, many people were still unaware of what had happened in the capital. The people on the streets continued their lives as usual, without any significant difference.
Although some people wondered why the princess hadn't returned for so long, Qiongyu was still there, and there was no bad news coming from the border, so they lived their lives peacefully without much worry.
However, the common people were unaware that Liancheng had already learned everything that had happened in the capital from his subordinates.
After listening to his subordinate's account, he remained silent for a long time, his eyelashes trembling slightly on his scarred face. After a long while, he murmured, "I thought she had no choice but to defect, but it turns out to be... a resolute sacrifice."
A subordinate whispered, "Yes, I never expected that someone as gentle as the Princess Consort of Qin would go to such lengths for the King of Qin."
Liancheng, recalling her earlier statement that she hoped the war would end as soon as possible, shook his head slightly: "It's not just for the sake of the King of Qin."
It was also for the sake of the Great Liang, for the soldiers who fought bloody battles on the battlefield, and for the innocent people who suffered.
She had always been clear about why the conflict between Wei Hong and Wei Chi had dragged on for so long without a resolution. Wei Chi's threats made her realize that she could be used as an excuse to send troops and end this endless conflict, so she went without hesitation.
Liancheng looked at the accounts that were no longer easy for him to remember and sighed softly.
"I made a bad bet, I made a bad bet."
He bet that the King of Qin had little chance of winning, and that he would be defeated in this war of attack from three sides.
In this way, the future Liang dynasty will only have that incompetent and tyrannical emperor, who will be no threat to the Southern Yan. He might even be able to take over the Liang dynasty during his lifetime, accomplishing a feat that no emperor of the Southern Yan dynasty had ever achieved.
But now...
"If the King of Qin originally only had a 30% chance of winning, after the Queen's words, his chances have increased to at least 50%."
"Furthermore, he has not immediately launched an attack on the imperial court, but continues to confront the Southern Yan and the Great Jin, which adds another 20%."
"If his father-in-law is willing to help, he can add another 10%."
"He's bound to win this battle."
The subordinate controlled his expression, his face remaining calm, but his heart was already filled with anxiety. He asked, "Young master, shouldn't you be leaving?"
Liancheng, however, seemed not to have heard him. Staring at the complicated accounts in front of him, he sighed softly.
"With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?"
Chapter 113 Slacking Off 53%
A light rain had dispelled much of the July heat. After discussing matters with several officials in the front courtyard, Wei Hong returned to the inner courtyard along the covered walkway.
This house was a temporary purchase for him. It had a large courtyard and beautiful scenery. He took a liking to it at first sight and thought Yao Youqing would definitely like it.
In the past, he would not have bought a house here, because his status was special and he could not live outside of Shangchuan. Buying this house would be useless. If he wanted to keep it like this, he would have to find many people and spend a lot of energy to maintain it. Otherwise, it would probably be abandoned in two or three years.
But now that he has completely broken with the court, and the court has unilaterally announced the stripping of his title, he is much more at ease. He can go wherever he wants and buy a house wherever he wants. He no longer has to worry about the court getting any leverage over him.
Since he's already done things like burning down the palace and besieging the emperor, why would he be afraid of people knowing that he bought a house here and is staying here?
Right now, his priority is to make Ning'er comfortable; nothing else matters.
Although Yao Youqing had left the palace and been rescued by him, the previous experience had obviously still affected her. She had lost a lot of weight and had not recovered yet. Her already slender waist was now even more delicate. When Wei Hong hugged her, he didn't dare to use too much force, for fear of accidentally breaking her waist.
In fact, many officials in Shuozhou had offered to let the couple stay in their own residences, and some were even willing to vacate their own villas for them. However, once they accepted someone's favor, they would inevitably have to attend to social obligations. Wei Hong wanted Yao Youqing to recuperate properly, so he specially bought a house for her so that she could rest in peace and not have to deal with those trivial matters.
He finished his business early today and figured Yao Youqing was still taking a nap, so he gestured for Zhou Mama, who was guarding the door, to be quiet, and then tiptoed inside.
The room was very quiet, except for the fine sound of rain outside the window.
The bed curtains were lowered, confirming his suspicion that the girl had indeed not yet gotten up.
Wei Hong smiled and walked over, wanting to lie down next to her and rest with her for a while. But when he lifted the bed curtains, he saw that the girl was not asleep at all. Her eyes were staring straight at the top of the tent, motionless like a porcelain doll. She didn't even notice him coming close. Her breathing was also very weak, as if she had no soul.
"Ning'er, Ning'er!"
He called her name twice before finally bringing her back to her senses, and she suddenly came to her senses.
"Your Highness?"
Yao Youqing sat up, looked outside, and then looked at him.
"Why are you back so early today? Are you done with work?"
Wei Hong nodded, then glanced at the top of the tent that she had been staring at.
What were you looking at just now?
Yao Youqing said "Oh" and casually replied, "Nothing, I was just woken up by the sound of rain, and I was too lazy to get up, so I just spaced out for a while."
Wei Hong was half-believing and half-doubting, but he sat down on the edge of the bed and put his arm around her shoulder.
"If you can't sleep, why don't you get up and go for a walk? It's quite cool outside now. It's good to get some fresh air after being cooped up in the room for so long."
Yao Youqing nodded, got up, put on her clothes, and went for a walk outside with him.
The garden is very large. Even though it was raining, you could walk all the way to the garden along the covered walkway, and there were very few places where you would need an umbrella.
Viewing the scenery in the rain has a unique charm, especially in such a meticulously designed garden, where every ten steps reveal a new view, and every corner offers a different vista.
Wei Hong was used to the hardships of military life and didn't have much free time to look at these things. Over time, he became less and less concerned and even neglected to maintain his own palace. Apart from the buildings and simple furnishings, there was almost nothing there. It was only after Yao Youqing went there and carefully repaired and renovated it that it regained some vitality.
Logically speaking, this garden should be exactly the type Yao Youqing likes, and she should have looked at it more carefully than him. However, she had been forcing herself to stay awake the whole way, looking at wherever Wei Hong pointed, without paying any attention at all. She even secretly yawned several times when he wasn't looking.
Wei Hong didn't say anything, but when they arrived at a pavilion, he lied and said he was tired. He led her to sit down and rest, and talked to her while holding her. Sure enough, after a short while, the girl in his arms fell into a deep sleep.
He gently patted her shoulder, instructing the servants to lower the light gauze curtains around the pavilion to prevent the wind from blowing directly on her. He then had a cloak brought to her and draped it over her shoulders before quietly asking Zhou Mama, "What has the Princess been doing during the day lately? Did you have a good afternoon nap? Is there anything amiss?"
After thinking for a moment, Mrs. Zhou said, "She just reads books and strolls around the garden to pass the time. There's a pond in this garden where she often goes fishing, and she can sit there for half a day."
"As for her afternoon nap, she takes it normally every day, but her appetite is still not very good, and she eats less. I was thinking of asking Doctor Dou to give the Princess a different prescription to regulate her body. The previous one doesn't seem to be very effective, and she hasn't gotten better after taking it for so many days."
Since fleeing the capital, Yao Youqing has had a poor appetite and sleeps restlessly, often waking up in the middle of the night and needing to touch him to make sure he is beside her before she can fall back asleep.
Later, when they arrived in Shuozhou, he thought that once she was safe, she would feel better, but now it seems that there has been no improvement.
The rain had clearly only been falling for a short time. If she had just been woken up, how could she be so sleepy?
He looked as if he hadn't slept at all, and had been staring blankly at the tent all afternoon.
Is this only happening today, or has it always been like this?
Wei Hong glanced at her waist, which hadn't gained an inch of weight in half a month, and he roughly got a sense of what was going on.
This girl acts like nothing's wrong during the day, and often jokes and laughs when she sees him. I'm afraid she hasn't really recovered from what happened in the capital, but she's just not telling him so as not to interfere with his business.
Wei Hong sighed and gently patted her shoulder.
"From now on, I will come back every day at noon to have lunch with her, and I will leave after she wakes up from her nap."
Madam Zhou was naturally pleased that he was so attentive to her young mistress, but she still asked, "Won't this interfere with the prince's important business?"
"It won't delay you."
As Wei Hong spoke, he gently kissed the top of Yao Youqing's head, lowered his head to touch her forehead, and closed his eyes to rest for a while.
Because of what Ning'er said in court, his pressure has greatly decreased. Even though the Southern Yan and Jin dynasties have not withdrawn their troops and the court is clamoring to attack him, he is actually dealing with it much more easily than before.
She has done so much for him. If he can't even spare a moment to spend with her, then what's the point of talking about self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world? He might as well just let his nephew continue to be the emperor.
Seeing the two of them sleeping face to face, Zhou Mama gave a wink to the servants in the pavilion, and they all withdrew. It wasn't until an hour later that Yao Youqing slowly woke up and returned to the main courtyard with them.