Chapter 70.2 â Letâs Move When We Return
With the arrival of the war report from the northern border, the storm in the capital dissipated.
The winter solstice was coming soon. There was another military incident this year, so the Emperor took the courtâs civil and military officials along with several princes to Circular Mound Altar1Â to offer some sacrifices to Heaven.
Even Lu Qipei and Qi Yang were brought along, but the Third Prince who was in house arrest was left behind, as if he had been completely forgotten.
In fact, with the arrival of the war report from the northern border, the specifics of the battle in Huai town and Ping town also came. Everyone soon discovered that something wasnât right â the two towns were captured on the same day, but when the Third Prince fled back, he told the Emperor that he lost Ping town because the Crown Prince was defeated and disappeared, affecting the armyâs morale.
What did this mean? Evading responsibility and throwing accusations? When you think about it, there was more than that!
In the carriage heading to the Circular Mound Altar, Qi Yang was leaning her head on Lu Qipeiâs shoulder. There was a rare gloating tone on her voice, âThis time, Third Brother really shot himself on the foot. Royal Father is really done with him.â
Lu Qipeiâs slender finger hooked a strand of Qi Yangâs beautiful hair and twirled it around her fingertips. Hearing this, she said, âThe Third Prince really isnât very smart.â
Of course, Qi Yang had enmity with the Third Prince. In the previous life, Qi Yangâs death could mostly be attributed to the Third Prince. But everything happened so quickly in this life, and before she could set up a plan to take revenge on him, he already put himself on a situation beyond redemption.
Ping town and Huai town were destroyed on the same day, and the Third Prince fled back to the capital. How did he know that the Crown Princeâs town had fallen and he had disappeared?
There was also the matter of how the town was breached. There were indeed traitors in Huai town who opened the city gates and allowed the Rong army to enter. But the investigation on Ping town brought very strange results. After repeated investigations, they couldnât find out who the spy that opened the city gate was. In the end, faint clues were pointing at the Third Prince.
This matter had not been verified, so of course the Crown Prince wouldnât write it in the war report, but he included all the clues and evidence in a secret report to the Emperor. He didnât care whether the Emperor believed it or not, and what the latter would ultimately decide.
Of course, based on the current situation, the Emperor believed it, or at least became suspicious.
Well, these were something that Lu Qipei and Qi Yang didnât know about; Qi Yang only vaguely understood something from seeing the Emperor. The young couple chatted leisurely, and the topic soon moved away from the Third Prince.
Lu Qipei turned to look at the person leaning on her shoulder and asked, âAh Ning, when shall we move to the princessâs mansion?â
This time, the princessâs mansion was something that they selected together, renovated together, and supervised the construction of together. It could be said to be something that they put a lot of effort into. The move was just delayed due to the Crown Princeâs disappearance.
Qi Yang thought for a while without moving from Lu Qipeiâs shoulder, then said, âLetâs stay here for a month, then move afterwards.â
Lu Qipei was puzzled, âDidnât you agree to stay at the Lu Mansion for three days after the wedding, and then move to the princessâs mansion?â
Hearing this, Qi Yang finally sat up and gave a funny look at Lu Qipeiâs slightly discontent face. âI didnât think carefully before. We have just gotten married. It wouldnât be good for your reputation if you move with me to the princessâs mansion too quickly.â
It wasnât uncommon for the prince consort to live with the princess in the princessâs mansion. On the contrary, it was proof of the coupleâs love. But Lu Qipei was a bit different from others; she didnât have a strong background.
The longer Qi Yang stayed with her at the Lu family, the more it would show how much she valued the latter. On the other hand, if the princess moved to the princessâs mansion after staying at the âhusbandâs houseâ for only three days, some people would suspect that she wasnât happy with it.
It was a very biased and nonsensical speculation, but there really were some people who thought that way.
They might not have cared about it, but it was better to avoid trouble where they could. At least in Qi Yangâs heart, she didnât want people to look down on Lu Qipei, and there was no problem staying at the Lu family for a few more days.
Qi Yang also jokingly said, âAh Pei is so anxious to move back to the princessâs mansion with me. Arenât you afraid that others would say that youâre eating soft food2?â
Lu Qipei blinked and said innocently, âMy salary cannot be compared to a princess. What else is it if not eating soft food?â She leaned slightly towards Qi Yang and continued with a softer voice, âYour Highness, are you going to let me eatâ¦?â
Those actions and words seemed to create an invisible air of ambiguity inside the small carriage.
The two were newlyweds; Qi Yang was almost seduced by her ambiguous word choice. She lowered her eyes slightly to meet Lu Qipeiâs â her dark eyes seemed as clear as before, but there also seemed to be something else insideâ¦
Qi Yang opened her mouth, trying to tell her to restrain herself while theyâre on the road, but her lips were blocked by another before she could say anything.
After a moment, a voice was heard, âLetâs move when we return, okay?â
âOkay.â
Author notes:
Lu Qipei (matter-of-factly): After the wedding, it will be a world for just us two to be sweet to each other. Who would want to live with Qi Bo and those people with ulterior motives!
Qi Yang (silent for a moment): I always feel that this is another flagâ¦
Translator notes: