Not long after meeting Qiu Che, Yu Ming knocked on the door and said that Wang had something to ask her to come over early.
When she arrived at the lobby, Li Qingwu was already sitting there, talking and laughing with Wang. When she heard the footsteps, she looked up.
Qiu Che looked at her for a moment, then silently looked away.
The atmosphere was a little subtle.
Wang looked at this and that, vaguely aware of something, and smiled and called her over: "Come to eat."
Qiu Che lifted his robe and sat down, urging her inconspicuously: "Mom, didn't you say there was something urgent?"
"Isn't eating an urgent matter?" Wang looked at her with a reproachful look, "You two... quarreled?"
Li Qingwu looked up at Qiu Che, who looked straight ahead and said calmly: "No."
Seeing that she was motionless and had no intention of telling the reason, she was holding chopsticks and quietly waiting for her answer.
The smile on Wang's face faded a little: "I'll tell you about this later."
Li Qingwu understood that it was not convenient for her, the "daughter-in-law", to hear it.
She lowered her head quietly, pretending not to hear, and began to eat.
Wang also urged Qiu Che: "Eat, eat."
Qiu Che said indifferently: "If you have anything to say, just say it here. Qingwu is not an outsider."
Wang was embarrassed: "I didn't say Qingwu is an outsider...it's just that this matter is a family scandal."
She was embarrassed to let Li Qingwu hear it.
Qiu Che said seriously: "That's even more important. Aren't we a family now?"
Li Qingwu's hand holding the chopsticks tightened slightly.
Wang said helplessly: "Okay...it's Qiu, the head of the Qiu family, who came to the door today." It
was nothing more than Qiuzhe's matter.
He had both hands broken by Qiu Che, and he ran to the doctor in a panic. As a result, the doctor looked at his hands, twisted them, and put his broken hands back in place amid Qiuzhe's screams.
Qiu Che considered the consequences when he took action, and just let the other party suffer a little, and he would not really break his hands.
The doctor said it was a minor injury, but Qiu Zhe didn't believe it at all -
or he didn't want to believe it. Even if it was indeed a minor injury, he couldn't swallow this breath, and he had to emphasize the minor injury into a major injury.
As expected, Qiu Chudong was annoyed by him and felt that Qiu Che had indeed gone too far this time. After all,
they were a family. How could he hit his brother in front of outsiders?
He ran to the princess's mansion nervously, ready to have a big fight with Qiu Che, but he didn't expect that the other party was not here at all.
So he grabbed Wang and made a big fuss in the princess's mansion, asking her to tell Qiu Che that if she didn't apologize to Qiu Zhe, she would be expelled from the Qiu family.
Wang didn't want to go back with the other party anymore, but when she heard him threatening her daughter like this, she was angry and anxious, and she couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Qiu Che sneered at this.
"...That's it?"
Wang nodded in confusion: "Ah."
Isn't this enough?
But even Li Qingwu, apart from the initial shock, lowered his head again after hearing this and drank the porridge calmly.
Wang said all in one breath, fearing that Qiu Che would look embarrassed, but seeing that both of them looked normal, she couldn't help but ask blankly: "You...what's your reaction?"
Qiu Che smiled and picked up the public chopsticks to put a chopstick of braised pork in her bowl, "Mother, do you think being expelled from the Qiu family is a good or bad thing for me now?"
Wang thought for a while: "Even if it's a good thing...but if you say it out, it's not good to hear, and it will affect your reputation...If someone knows about it, I'm afraid they will exaggerate and criticize you."
Qiu Che comforted her: "It doesn't matter, mother, don't you think my reputation in the court is bad enough now?"
This statement has a bit of a "whatever" meaning of playing tricks.
Wang was speechless and hesitated. The more Qiu Che acted like this, the more worried she became. If one day she loses power in the future, will anyone really be able to protect her? It's better to be safe than sorry .
Qiu Che smiled, as if he knew what she was thinking, and patted the back of her hand to bring her back to her senses: "Mother."
"If that day really comes, no one can protect me except me." The meaning is already very clear.
She does not leave any way out for herself, nor does she need others to leave any for her. Just as she once said to Li Qingwu, she will only move forward.
Retreating is the abyss. Li Qingwu cast a veiled glance at her. Qiu Che thought she was also worried, and smiled at her faintly, then picked up the chopsticks again and said, "Let's eat."
"Next time he comes to make trouble again, just let Yuming drive them out." Wang also sighed and stopped talking.
After finishing a meal quietly, Qiu Che put down her chopsticks first and said, "I have something else to do, so I'll go back first."
She asked Yuming, who was guarding the door, to follow her. On the other side, Li Qingwu watched her leave, met Wang's inquiring eyes, blushed, and pretended to be calm and lowered his head to eat. Wang looked at her for a few more times and said, "Qingwu."
"Hmm?" Li Qingwu said hurriedly, "Mom, if you have something to say, just say it." Wang held her hand and sighed softly, "Che'er is too stubborn... Mom is afraid that she is stubborn and does not know how to adapt. I hope you can watch her more by her side."
Li Qingwu was stunned for a moment: "Mom... Aning, if she insists on doing something, I can't persuade her." Even if she was moved, she was very clear about how much weight she had in the other person's heart.
"Aning?" Wang was at a loss for a moment, "You mean Che'er?" Li Qingwu froze. Wang... didn't know? Didn't she know this name? Didn't Qiu Che say that this was the name Wang gave her?
Wang was still nagging, saying: "You can't see it yourself, but I know that this child has been stubborn since she was young. She didn't understand the ways of the world because of her studies. She was very dull. Later, she got better... but she was very cold. Only when you are next to her can I see that she has some popularity."
Li Qingwu thought hesitantly: "Is it true?" She didn't think Qiu Che was dull, nor did she think she was cold. If she said cold... then the Qiu Che in the dream might have some influence.
Li Qingwu didn't feel much about this one now. But Wang answered affirmatively: "Yes!"
She muttered something again, but Li Qingwu was distracted and didn't listen anymore. The word Xining is the same as the word of Qiu Che in the dream.
Qiu Che is only eighteen years old now, and will be nineteen at the end of the year. It is normal that Wang hasn't given her a name yet.
How did Qiu Che know that Wang would give her the name "Xining"?
If Qiu Che chose it herself, and Li Qingwu happened to have a dream about her, so he naturally thought that the other party's name was "Xining" in the dream, this would make sense.
But... Li Qingwu always felt that the dream might not be a dream - it was something she had really experienced. She
just remembered it slowly.
If the dream was true,
then if Qiu Che also knew that she had this word, does that mean...
Li Qingwu slowly came up with a guess in her mind.
But it was too incredible, so she didn't dare to think deeply about it.
Shaking her head, Li Qingwu thought absentmindedly as if to comfort herself.
Maybe... the word Xining was originally what Qiu Che wanted to take?
Qiu Che walked leisurely in front, and Yu Ming whispered behind him: "Master, we have checked. It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who went to find Qiu Zhe personally."
Qiu Che's footsteps paused silently, and then continued to walk forward: "Are you prepared?"
Yu Ming shook his head: "It seems that he was in a whim before this. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not know Qiu Zhe."
Qiu Che was thoughtful and said in a deep voice: "I asked you to check Qiu Chudong's affairs. It has been more than a month now... Have you found anything?"
Yu Ming hesitated for a moment: "There are indeed some. Our people found the women who used to be concubines in the Qiu family. They said that some of them had given birth to children, but they were all baby girls, and were lost by the head of the Qiu family."
Before the Qiu family fell, Qiu Chudong was a real lecher, a dandy, and a hopeless person. There were more concubines in the backyard than one another.
But he had very few children. There were only two children under his knees, Qiu Che and Qiu Zhe.
Qiu Che had always felt strange about this.
But he didn't expect that it was not that there were few, but that the rest were girls, so they were not qualified to stay.
Qiu Che's face turned cold, and he repeated, "Lost?"
"That is... abandoned. They were given to families who couldn't have children. These concubines all knew about it, but most of them got married later and didn't go to see those children."
When they mentioned this, their faces were full of bitterness and a bit numb, not caring much: "It's just a girl, it doesn't matter if she's lost."
It won't drag them down.
"In other words," Qiu Che said unclearly, "No one knows whether those children are dead or alive now?"
Yu Ming's scalp tingled, not knowing whether it was because of the news he had found or because of Qiu Che's tone at this time:
"In order to verify what they said, we also went to find the so-called adopted families, but they didn't know about it and said they had never adopted any children."
"Originally suspected that those women were lying..."
Qiu Che rejected: "Impossible."
Telling such a lie would not do them any good.
Yu Ming was embarrassed: "It is true."
"Later, one of us accidentally found... There were more than ten female baby skeletons buried under the Qiu family's house."
Qiu Che frowned and looked sideways.
"There have always been people in the Qiu Mansion. It was only today that the father and son of the Qiu family were out, and Madam Liu has been bedridden for the past few days, so we were able to send a coroner to investigate."
Yu Ming paused and added with difficulty, "Those baby girls did not die of natural causes."
Some were frozen to death, some were starved to death, and some were strangled to death.
They were not thrown away. They
were killed.
Qiu Che did not speak for a long time.
She only knew that Qiu Chudong preferred boys, but Wang was not a person who pursued fame and fortune, and would not dress her up as a man just for this.
In the past, when she asked this question, Wang always avoided the question.
Now everything has an answer.
Girls must die.
So she must be a boy from birth.
Maybe Wang didn't know where those girls who were born went in the end, but her mother's nature still overwhelmed everything.
She wanted to keep the child, so she asked Qiu Che to dress up as a boy, just to prevent her from being sent away.
By mistake, Qiu Che's life was saved.
"...Have you found out why Qiu Chudong did this?"
Yu Ming speculated: "According to the memories of some old people in the capital, the head of the Qiu family and the head of the Lin family sometimes argued... The head of the Lin family often said that it would be better if he was a woman."
A woman can better understand the suffering of women, and will not go against her mother because of some boring and disgusting ideas.
It's a pity that she has been wise for half her life, but she only has one son.
Qiu Chudong was probably mad at her.
So when he became the head of the family and found out that Qiu Che was a girl, he often said: "It would be better if you were a man."
Of course, he didn't really think so, because he could tolerate Qiu Che to pave the way for his precious son.
Saying this kind of thing is just to disgust people.
Yu Ming took a deep breath and continued, "There is some evidence that proves that the head of the Lin family did not die of illness, but it has been a long time and there is no way to dig up her grave to confirm her cause of death... But we suspect that the head of the Qiu family is suspected of killing his mother."
The previous head of the Qiu family, Lin Xi, lived to his early forties, when he was in his prime, but suddenly fell ill and passed away.
All the property of the Qiu family fell into the hands of Qiu Chudong, the only son of the Qiu family.
Now that the cause of Lin Xi's death has been discovered to be strange, Qiu Chudong, who had attended to his mother at her bedside and saw her for the last time, is a big suspect.
After Yu Ming finished speaking, he lowered his head quietly, waiting for Qiu Che to speak.
After a long time, Qiu Che opened the door and stepped into the study, saying coldly: "Collect evidence, witnesses, material evidence... everything that can convict Qiu Chudong of a crime, whether it is the head of the Lin family or those baby girls... prepare all the documents and send them to my study."
"Yes."
Yaotai lay on the rocking chair, flipping through the storybook in her hand. After flipping for a long time, she closed it boredly: "It's so boring... Aren't there any new books?"
Li Qingwu was sitting at the stone table next to her looking at the account books. Hearing this, he didn't move: "If you are bored, you might as well look at more account books. There are so many accounts, and I can't check them all by myself."
Yaotai came over with a giggle and patted her shoulder: "Oh, our eldest princess is beautiful, kind-hearted and capable. You have worked hard... Just take a break when you are tired, why are you in such a hurry."
Li Qingwu said helplessly: "I have to go back early and rush to have lunch."
"Why do you go back to eat every day," Yaotai was discouraged, "Your manager Qiu Cheng is too lenient."
"It's not her business," Li Qingwu smiled, a little embarrassed, "I want to go back."
"Oh," Yaotai turned around flexibly and sat back, supporting her chin elegantly, throwing her a coquettish look, with gossip in her eyes, "What's the matter?"
Li Qingwu: "Not really..."
Yaotai clapped her hands and said firmly: "Then there is!"
Li Qingwu: "..."
She didn't say anything. After a while, under Yaotai's piercing eyes, she closed the account book in agony, blushing and whispering: "I like her...I haven't said it yet."
Yaotai: "..."
She was shocked and said: "That's it?"
Li Qingwu exclaimed: "That's it."
Yaotai let out a long "tsk" and lay back in boredom: "So why don't you say it?"
She thought that the two of them had already understood each other's minds, and all that was left was to break that layer of paper.
Li Qingwu bit her lip: "I don't know how she sees me..."
Even if she could accept the "women can also be together" that Yaotai brainwashed in her ears every day, she didn't know if Qiu Che could accept it.
If not, I'm afraid this feeling won't even have a chance to be expressed.
Yaotai was furious and slammed the table and said: "You are stupid!"
Li Qingwu came back to his senses and looked at the teapot that shook three times, and said a little slowly: "...Ah?"
Yaotai was very disappointed: "Why do you want to know this? Whether you like it now or not, isn't it enough to like it in the future?"
Li Qingwu blinked and actually felt that what she said made some sense.
Yaotai said in a clear and logical manner: "If you like her, just go for it! Seduce her! Use all your little tricks! Eye contact, physical contact, spiritual contact... use whatever you want! Don't stop until she thinks she likes you too, isn't that enough!"
Li Qingwu blushed and his heart beat fast when he heard this, and he felt as if he had just woken up from a dream.
She stammered, "Does it really work?"
Yaotai rolled her eyes, "Believe me, I've tried it myself - hey, I haven't told you yet?"
"What?"
"Didn't I say that I also have someone I like?" Yaotai said excitedly, "That's how I hooked him in the first place! Although in the end he got fed up and kicked me out, it was a failure..."
Yaotai touched her nose and coughed, saying, "But it's okay, City Lord Qiu is definitely not that kind of person, just do as I say!"
"Be gentle and considerate first, be understanding, let her feel that you are different, then open your heart, give her the illusion of ambiguity, play hard to get... In less than a month, I guarantee that your City Lord Qiu will be hooked!"
She seemed to have done the first point, so let's start with... the second point?
Li Qingwu hesitated, "Will it really work?"
Yaotai snapped her fingers and vowed, "Of course! If it doesn't work, come to me again! I have another idea."
It's just that it's too fierce, and she's afraid that those who are into pure love won't be able to handle it.
Yaotai looked at Li Qingwu's tangled face, and thought with great joy:
It is really more interesting to match a couple up with your own hands.
After Li Qingwu declined to go to the dinner for the third time on the grounds of official business, he knocked on the study door again.
Now Qiu Che can tell who is who by the footsteps. As soon as the other party arrived at the door, she immediately knew that it was Li Qingwu. She paused and said in a deep voice: "Come in."
Li Qingwu pushed the door open and walked in.
Qiu Che's eyes swept over her subconsciously.
Perhaps it was due to the etiquette of royal women. Even in the princess's mansion, Li Qingwu dressed elegantly every day, neither low-key nor high-profile.
But it just looked very clean and comfortable.
Just like now, wearing a goose yellow long skirt, with a pearl pendant hairpin on her head, and lip balm on her lips, she was gentle and generous.
Qiu Che thought of this, and then wondered, why didn't she pay attention to these before?
Just as she was lost in thought, Li Qingwu came up to her and put a bowl of soup in front of her.
Qiu Che smiled as soon as she saw it: "What did you cook today?"
Li Qingwu said: "It's vegetable and lean meat porridge."
Qiu Che: "You made it?"
Li Qingwu nodded.
Qiu Che put down his pen, picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and said helplessly: "Thank you. But don't bother so much. It's not night now, and the cook hasn't rested yet..."
"I want to make it."
Qiu Che paused as he lowered his head to drink the porridge.
What does this mean?
Does he just want to make it, or does he want to make it for her?
It sounds... weird.
Li Qingwu seemed to be unaware of it. He glanced at the piles of documents on her desk and said in a gentle voice: "Are you busy recently?"
In fact, he wasn't busy, but Qiu Che didn't know why, thinking about seeing Li Qingwu at dinner, he felt inexplicably anxious.
So he simply pushed it away, out of sight, out of mind.
But of course he couldn't say this.
Qiu Che nodded with a guilty conscience: "...Yeah. I'm investigating the Qiu family's case."
"Qiu family?"
When he mentioned this, Qiu Che's expression suddenly turned cold again.
She briefly told Li Qingwu the whole story, without looking at his eyes, and thought with her eyes downcast: "What I fear most now is that those women are unwilling to stand up as witnesses."
Li Qingwu sat down on the chair beside her: "You want to overthrow Qiu Chudong?"
Qiu Che nodded: "I'm preparing, but I have to wait for a chance."
In order to overthrow this father and son in one fell swoop and let her never worry about future troubles, she must be prepared to be exposed as a woman dressed as a man by the dog jumping over the wall. With
her current power, Qiu Che cannot guarantee that she can escape unscathed from the emperor.
Li Qingwu was thoughtful.
Qiu Che said: "Do you think..."
She stopped halfway through her words: "Forget it."
Li Qingwu came back to his senses: "What's wrong? You say."
Qiu Che also felt that it was unlike her to be so awkward, but she shouldn't have said this, it was too inappropriate.
But just seeing Li Qingwu silent, she didn't know why her brain twitched and she couldn't help but speak quickly.
She took a deep breath, loosened her fingers holding the bowl, stirred the porridge carelessly, and said, "I mean, don't you think I'm unkind?"
Qiu Che never considered these things before.
She didn't consider human feelings, nor did she consider how others would look at her.
But now that she asked this question, although her face was still cold, she was inexplicably nervous, wondering how Li Qingwu would answer.
The other side was quiet for a moment, and laughed softly: "Why would you think so?"
Qiu Che didn't look up, and her tone was still light: "They all think so."
Even Wang had once accused her of being too ruthless to her father and brother.
"In fact, they didn't really do anything to me," at least not now, "but they scolded me more and were more partial... and raised me to this age, but I was determined to unite with outsiders and look for evidence everywhere to bring them down."
It sounded a bit harsh and indifferent, like an ungrateful ungrateful person.
Li Qingwu tilted his head and thought for a while: "Why don't you think about what they have given you since you were a child?"
Qiu Che was silent.
Li Qingwu said again: "Don't be too hard on yourself. You should know what you are doing best. Just don't regret it. I think you are doing well now."
It should be said that they may have been together for a long time, and even the words they say are becoming more and more similar.
Qiu Che nodded in agreement, and breathed a sigh of relief in her heart - although she didn't know why she breathed a sigh of relief.
She thought for a while: "Didn't I ask a question?"
"What?"
"You seem to have always had a good impression of me," Qiu Che said carefully, "We have indeed met before, right?"
Li Qingwu paused and said softly, "Yeah."
Qiu Che paused subtly while eating porridge and looked up at her.
This was not the first time she asked this question.
She thought Li Qingwu would remain silent and deal with it as before.
Li Qingwu smiled, as if he could not bear her gaze, turned his eyes and looked around, and said in a nervous tone,
"Do you still remember... the Lantern Festival a year ago?"
Seeing Qiu Che's face showing a bit of confusion, Li Qingwu nodded in understanding: "I know you don't remember."
Otherwise, he would not have told her on the wedding night that he bought the jade pendant.
That jade pendant was clearly stuffed into the other party by her.
Qiu Che tried hard to recall it again, but to no avail.
In fact, it was eleven years away from the Lantern Festival when she was seventeen years old, and she remembered it.
What happened on the Lantern Festival eleven years ago, if it was not something that left a very deep impression, she really couldn't remember it.
Li Qingwu said it was okay, and asked, "Do you want to listen?"
Yaotai said that you should open your heart and accept the other person.
So although she didn't really want to always bring up these old stories, it didn't matter if she told Qiu Che.
Qiu Che said, "What? Lantern Festival? Listen."
"Well..." Li Qingwu responded, smiled, and whispered, "Actually, it's my one-man show."
Her first half of life can be described as muddleheaded.
Before the 15-year-old coming-of-age ceremony, she had actually been unknown in the palace. The emperor left her to the queen and never remembered her as a daughter again.
She didn't even have a higher sense of existence than the third prince.
Until she was 15 years old, on the Lantern Festival.
The emperor had just met with Prime Minister Wu, and probably because of the conflict of opinion, the emperor and his ministers parted unhappily.
At the palace banquet, the emperor drank a few glasses of wine, and suddenly looked at her among the princes and princesses.
He stared at this child who he had hardly seen a few times for a long time, and the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.
Then he picked her out of several children and asked her to follow him out of the palace incognito.
It was at this time that the rumor of unlimited favor began to spread, of course, it was probably also instructed by the emperor.
Li Qingwu followed the emperor out of the palace despite the jealous eyes of other concubines or princes.
The moon on the Lantern Festival was very round. It was said that the Nanwang River in the capital, where wishes were very effective, was filled with various lanterns.
There were voices everywhere and lights and decorations.
There was no curfew that night, and all the fireworks of the world could be seen clearly walking on the street.
Li Shi took her out, but not for fun.
He actually just wanted to give her a lesson and buy her some clothes and jewelry by the way -
to show her a little fatherly love from his fingers, so that she would be grateful to him and more loyal to him.
But when passing by those clothing shops that Li Qingwu had never seen before, and those stalls selling lanterns, he seemed to be unable to see the other party's eager eyes. He
did not look sideways, and even walked past with a bit of disgust.
Royal children are not allowed to buy those kinds of street goods.
Even lanterns are not allowed.
After so many times, Li Qingwu no longer tried to convey her wishes.
She once again accepted the fact that she was just an insignificant puppet, and responded to Li's long speech with a low head and a pleasing look, persuading herself in her heart not to indulge in this virtual illusion of fatherly love.
As a result, she was distracted in the middle of the conversation, and in a blink of an eye, she was almost knocked to the ground.
She blurted out the words of apology, but the person who bumped into her was not willing to give up.
The other party was a burly man in plain clothes. He almost shouted loudly: "If you want to quarrel, you are still fighting? You stinky old woman, are you still celebrating the festival? Let me see how I will deal with you when I get home - get up and follow me!"
After saying that, he immediately came to pull Li Qingwu's hand.
Li Qingwu's first reaction was confused, but then she quickly reacted.
She immediately stepped back, dodged the other party's outstretched hand, and said vigilantly: "Who are you?! What are you doing?!"
The dispute quickly attracted the attention of the people around.
The sturdy man was still acting, and said in a flattering manner: "Why are you pretending? Don't make a scene here, come home with me--"
Li Qingwu raised his voice: "I don't even know you!"
The sturdy man also raised his voice: "Everyone, please disperse. My woman is shy. She likes to make a scene when she quarrels. Don't listen to her!"
The discussion in the crowd became louder.
Li Qingwu turned around and wanted to run, but the crowd was blocked by the onlookers.
They watched coldly, and no one reached out to pull her.
Li Qingwu's cold sweat dripped from the corner of his forehead, and his eyes quickly moved in the crowd, and finally fell on a young man who was about to pass by the bank of Nanwang River.
He walked alone, with a slender figure, holding a lotus lantern in his hand, his eyes lowered and lost in thought, and he didn't pay any attention to what these people were doing here.
The wind from the river bank blew across the hem of his clothes, and his sleeves fluttered in the night, and his black robe almost merged with the darkness.
It was like a banished immortal who was isolated from the world.
Without thinking, Li Qingwu came up with a quick idea and shouted, "Husband!"
Everyone was startled by her shout.
Even the big man was stunned for a moment.
Li Qingwu had already lifted up her skirt and ran away, passing through the layers of people. At the moment when the young man turned his head to look at her, she grabbed "his" arm.
In an instant, the lotus lantern in the young man's hand fell to the ground with a click because he couldn't hold it firmly.
The wick went out.
"Husband," Li Qingwu didn't care about so much anymore. She stared at the other's clear eyes and said anxiously, "Someone said I'm his wife..."
She almost pleaded and clenched the young man's wrist, whispering, "Save me."
The young man was stunned for only a moment.
Then she heard behind her, the big man had squeezed through the crowd and chased after her, still shouting, "Wife! Who are you calling!"
Li Qingwu was so nervous that her whole body was stiff.
Her mind was full of what if this person refused to help her, what if the big man wanted to take her away by force...
Just as she was thinking about it, the person in front of her suddenly moved.
"He" grabbed Li Qingwu's wrist with his backhand and whispered, "Run!"
Li Qingwu's body was faster than her brain.
Qiu Che said to run, so they ran.
In public, under everyone's gaze.
Li Qingwu was breathing hotly and running almost out of breath. She looked up vaguely and saw her flying veil and the high and fluttering ponytail of the boy in front of her.
She had never run like this before.
Unrestrained and unrestrained.
And almost running with all her strength, as if she wanted to run out all the air in her chest.
Her feet were three-inch golden lotus, so she could only walk in small steps and graceful manners since she was six years old.
She was a qualified princess, a qualified royal lady, she would not call a strange man "husband" in public, nor would she be dragged by a strange man to run.
Although her feet were aching from running, she still didn't stop.
This was too crazy. It was
too much fun.
Hand in hand, they passed through the crowd and many figures in the eyes of the world until they ran to an empty corner.
When they let go of each other's hands, Li Qingwu caught a glimpse of a butterfly-like mark on the place where he had just grabbed.
It seemed to be flapping its wings and about to fly.
Is it a birthmark?
This thought flashed through Li Qingwu's mind.
Both of them bent down and supported their knees, gasping for breath.
It was almost difficult to maintain their demeanor.
They looked at each other and laughed out loud.
Li Qingwu looked at the boy's bright eyes, and somehow, in this cold night, she asked, "What's your name?"
"Qiu Che." Qiu Che stood up and gave a simple and neat answer, and then said, "Qiu for autumn, Che for clear... What about you?"
Li Qingwu opened her mouth, and for a moment, she almost blurted out
her name out of excitement. But the few remaining rationalities still prevented her from giving her her name.
She only said, "My last name is Xiao."
This is her mother's last name.
Qiu Che smiled, "Miss Xiao."
"Yeah."
"How can you be so brave?" She was laughing, "Are you really following me? Aren't you afraid that I'm also a bad guy?"
As soon as she said this, Li Qingwu knew that Qiu Che had definitely understood what she meant.
She should have felt a chill after realizing it, but looking at the other person's smiling eyes, she felt nothing.
Li Qingwu said, "You are not."
"How do you know I am not?"
Li Qingwu stood up, calmed his breathing, and turned his head away from her: "Intuition."
Qiu Che: "Then your intuition is quite accurate."
"Where are your family members?"
Li Qingwu was silent for a moment and lied: "Dead."
It is hard to say whether this is an almost vicious curse.
Maybe the running tonight was really too dizzying, and she could actually say such words to a stranger.
Li Qingwu turned her head and asked, "What about you? Why are you alone?"
Qiu Che also paused, and said half-truthfully: "Buried."
This was really not a funny joke.
But the two looked at each other again and laughed together.
I don't know what I am laughing at, I just want to laugh.
Li Qingwu originally smiled very reservedly, like a standard lady from a noble family, smiling without showing her teeth, but after being looked at by her, she couldn't help it.
Fortunately, there was a veil covering it, otherwise it would really be too unprincess-like.
Li Qingwu thought.
They laughed face to face for a long time. Qiu Che wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "We are both alone now, shall we go together?"
Li Qingwu: "Hmm?"
Qiu Che said, "Do you want to enjoy the moon?"
Li Qingwu looked at the place where she pointed - it was the eaves of a restaurant.
Then he looked at their current position and hesitated, "... It's so high."
And there were people below.
Qiu Che stretched out his hand and said, "Hold me."
Men and women should not touch each other.
But when Li Qingwu put his hand on her, he did not think about so many pedantic rules.
She only felt that she was dazed in the wind and stood on the eaves.
Qiu Che calmly let go of his hand on her waist.
When he stepped back, Li Qingwu saw the moon above his head.
Clear, round, almost transparent, without any impurities.
They were just a foot away, silently watching the moon for nearly half an hour.
People came and went under the restaurant, and often when someone looked up, they accidentally saw these two figures.
The exclamation of surprise was already very small.
Qiu Che sat in a casual posture, looking unconcerned.
Li Qingwu felt relieved for some reason.
Qiu Che didn't know what she was thinking, she just kept drinking silently.
The smile in her eyes just now disappeared again, replaced by a dull and dead aura that was very similar to the aura of Li Qingwu.
Half an hour later, Li Qingwu woke up as if from a dream and said, "You don't want your lamp anymore?"
Qiu Che waved her hand indifferently, took another sip of wine, and said softly, "No, there are too many people, they should have been kicked into the river."
Li Qingwu said "Oh".
After a while, she said, "I have to go."
Li Shi was probably looking for her.
Qiu Che came back to her senses, didn't ask anything, just sent her down again.
This time, probably because he was a little drunk, he was not polite, and just carried her down.
Li Qingwu's ears were red.
Fortunately, it was night, and there were not many people on the street. Qiu Che was half drunk, so her expression could not be seen clearly.
Li Qingwu said, "Thank you for today. And I'm sorry for knocking over your lantern."
"It's okay," Qiu Che narrowed his eyes, "I just made it myself."
"Can you make lanterns?"
"I can do other things." Qiu Che smiled, not sure if he was joking, "My goal is to be the best carpenter in the capital, open the best carpentry shop, and carve the most beautiful flowers on the wood."
Li Qingwu didn't know what to say: "That's great."
She thought about it and took off a white jade pendant from her waist.
It was the most common thing in the palace, but it was the only relic left to her by the palace maid who had died many years ago.
She wore it close to her body for many years, and it was even stained with her own scent.
Now she handed the jade pendant to Qiu Che, but said: "I broke your lantern, this is for you."
Qiu Che glanced at it and didn't take it: "No, this looks very expensive..."
"It's very expensive," Li Qingwu said, "so don't throw it away."
"If you don't want it, then think of it as me practicing carving for you. I will be the first customer of your woodworking shop. I will come to you another day and pay you separately."
Qiu Che's drunken head thought slowly for a while, and took it: "...Okay."
"What do you want to carve?"
Li Qingwu's eyes flashed with the lantern, and he said: "...Lotus."
"Okay. Remember to come and get it."
Li Qingwu also said: "Okay."
She turned around and took a few steps in the direction she came from.
Qiu Che also turned around, ready to jump back up and continue to enjoy the moon.
Li Qingwu could not help it, turned around and took two steps back in the already sparse crowd.
While retreating, she called out to Qiu Che who had already turned around: "Heyââ"
but did not call out his name.
But Qiu Che seemed to have a telepathic connection and turned around in an instant
. At that moment, the night wind blew up a corner of Li Qingwu's veil.
Qiu Che saw her standing alone in the crowd, wearing a goose yellow dress, extremely bright.
Just like her exposed eyebrows, it was amazing.
She said, "Wait for me to find you."
Li Qingwu did not wait for Qiu Che's answer, turned around, and walked step by step in the direction she came from.
It was like a brief intersection with another world for less than half a day, and then steadily returned to the trajectory of life that she should have.
But when passing by the bank of Nanyang River, her eyes could not help but search around the river.
Coincidentally, the lamp was still lying in its original position, and no one picked it up.
Li Qingwu thought, it's good, if Qiu Che passes by here on his way back, he can still take it back.
After all, it was made by her own hands. It would be a pity if it fell off.
She retracted her gaze and walked past without looking sideways.
After a while, a pair of embroidered shoes hurriedly stopped in front of the lamp.
Li Qingwu picked up the lamp with a red face, thinking.
She was just afraid that the lamp would be picked up by someone.
She was just keeping it for Qiu Che.
She was just...
she was just waiting, looking forward to their next meeting.
It was only a quarter of an hour since they parted, but those clear and bright eyes had already left a mark in her heart.
When Li Shi found her, Li Qingwu had already tidied herself up, but the other party didn't notice it at all. She was so angry that she came up and scolded her.
Li Qingwu didn't dare to say what happened to her. She just stammered and said that she wanted to release lanterns, so she was squeezed away by the crowd.
After all, they were still outside. Li Shi glared at her fiercely and said nothing more.
He wanted Li Qingwu to throw away the broken lantern, but Li Qingwu was very stubborn and refused to let go of the lantern that could not be lit.
The father and daughter stared at each other by the river for a long time, and Cui Wenshen stood by and watched for a long time without daring to speak.
After a while, Li Shi irritably flicked his sleeves and said, "Go back to the palace!"
Li Qingwu loosened her tense back, but still held the lantern tightly.
After returning to the palace, she was punished to be confined for two months because of this incident, but she only said to the outside world that
she was voluntarily studying. Li Qingwu felt like a thief.
Fearing that the queen and the emperor would find something unusual, she quietly hid all the things about Qiu Che after that day.
- Her lamp, and her memory.
She also frantically used other objects to remind herself of the existence of that first encounter.
She began to be obsessed with "lotus" and butterflies. She embroidered many lotus-shaped handkerchiefs, wrote the name "Qiu Che" many times, and traced the other person's eyebrows countless times, but she still couldn't stop that face from gradually fading in her memory and becoming a silent ink painting.
And the reunion she was looking forward to never came. It was not
until a year later that she accidentally heard that the champion of this session was named Qiu Che, and then her dead heart became alive again.
She sneaked out of the palace and met Qiu Che again in Linglong Pavilion.
But at that time, when the other person looked at her, he was already completely unfamiliar.
Li Qingwu later tossed and turned countless times, thinking, if she had stopped someone else on the Lantern Festival, if she had not left the palace on the day of the parade to see if the champion was the person in her memory...
would the result be different?
But now, it doesn't seem to be much better.
She always knew that Qiu Che never took the initiative to break into her world, but was a beam of light that Li Qingwu wishfully pulled in.
She never dared to accuse the other party of not remembering that playful first encounter, nor did she dare to mention the playful promise.
She dared not say to Qiu Che: I came back as promised.
It was you who didn't remember me.
Because she had no position.
Because from the beginning to the end, she was the only one who had planned it for a long time.
Because she subconsciously felt that if she said it, Qiu Che would change everything back.
The connection and entanglement between them seemed to be completely wiped out, without any involvement.
She was the first to get into the play, and she was the first to sink. She was also the first to shrink back timidly.
Li Qingwu thought, she deserved it.
Cowards have no love.