Chapter 84: First Update!

  Xie died.

  A white rope hanging from the beam, and a lifetime was casually gone.

  After hastily dressing her body, it was already the twenty-fourth day of the first month in the twenty-fifth year of Hong Tai.

  In this era, a concubine had no status, and the relatives of a concubine could not be considered as part of the royal family's legitimate kin. However, despite her unjust death, during her funeral, seven or eight people from the Xie household came to mourn, but after crying for a while, they left without anyone investigating further.

  A woman died, without even a ripple, and afterwards the old emperor probably to appease Shi Changjun, the Left Servant of the Ministry of War, directly issued an edict letting him take over as Minister of War, to show his great imperial favor.

  When she heard this, Xia Chuyi's heart was very complicated.

  No wonder people say that the relationship between the front court and the back courtyard is closely related. Xie Changjin's daughter died, although she was a concubine, but his face was also severely slapped by Zhao Zun, from then on in the imperial court, how could he still be in the same camp as Zhao Zun? It's hard to imagine becoming sworn enemies.

  Now the old emperor, in order to appease him, made him the Minister of War, which is the number one person in charge of the Ministry of War. He can almost directly suppress Zhao's military power and military supplies, etc., which is simply a knife hanging on Zhao's neck.

  She felt that Xie's death might not be so simple after all.

  The old emperor step by step eliminated Zhao E's party members, and also spared no effort. Moreover, he deliberately cultivated the heart of the imperial grandson Zhao Mianze, and it seemed that there was no improvement due to the illness of the crown prince Zhao Ke, and there was no convergence.

  On the court, he further delegated power to Zhao Mianze and repeatedly criticized Ning Wang Zhao Xi. He also listened to various achievements of Jin Wang Zhao Zun. It is said that the luxurious degree of the Jinwang Mansion in Beiping Prefecture is comparable to the imperial city of the capital. His heart was bitter, but Zhao Zun seemed to be indifferent.

  No matter whether it was Xie's death or the old emperor's move, he didn't have a single ripple, and it could be said that he was not concerned at all. It was only at this time that Xia Chuyi once again felt the strength of this man's heart, as well as the chasm that had existed between them for hundreds of years.

  "Chu Qi, what's on your mind? Your eyes are fixed in a stare."

  She nervously bit the pen holder, remaining still for a long time, which caught the attention of Li Mo beside her. "Isn't it that you want to practice good calligraphy? I see that you often sneak away and idle around, not being a sincere person in practicing calligraphy."

  He habitually curled up the corner of his lips, Xia Qi lazily threw away his brush, lightly let out a "heh" sound, turned around and looked at Li Mo with a smile, "Do you still remember? The day I ate broad beans and had diarrhea, that night Shuai led a little maid to our place looking for me, it seemed like she had something to say?"

  Li Mian furrowed his brow, "Are you still thinking about her?"

  Propping up her forehead, Xia Chui hesitated for a moment and nodded, "It's nothing, I just feel that such a lively person is gone, it's really a pity..."

  Li Mian gave her a white eye.

  "What if she doesn't die? If she doesn't die, won't she stay and compete with you for men?"

  “……”

  Seeing her unusual expression, Li Mo curiously asked, "That morning, everyone was blocking you and the 19th prince in the house. It's also fresh to say that the 19th prince is such a person, how can he come to the good doctor's place for no reason and sleep in your room?"

  His facial muscles stiffened for a moment, Xia Qi's instructions had been clear, and he didn't dare mention that Zhao Zhuo had been poisoned, so he just raised an eyebrow, picked up the brush again, and somewhat awkwardly avoided Li Mo's inquiring gaze.

  "Hey, he just had some wine and his brain is a bit muddled. He lay down with me, but we both covered ourselves with a quilt and just chatted. No, not even that, we didn't chat at all, we just went straight to sleep, too tired."

  "Cover with quilt, purely chatting..."

  Li Mian was still pondering over the few words when a shout came from outside, and then a young maid rushed in, it was Qingteng beside Princess Ziyue. The maid was usually very polite, but today she saw her, without saying a word, "plop" and knelt on the ground.

  "Doctor Chu, the princess is feeling a bit unwell, would you mind taking a look?"

  Zhao Ziyue hadn't seen her since Zhao Zhuo forbade her from leaving the house, and it had already been several days since the seventh day of summer.

  In fact, about what happened that night, although Zhao Zun didn't say it outright, she could still guess that Zhao Ziyue must have tampered with his food. Zhao Zun's intention of not wanting to make a big deal out of this matter was also indirectly to protect his younger sister.

  The little demoness was arrogant and willful, if it wasn't necessary, she really didn't want to have anything to do with her. But the words "the princess is ill" made her, as a royal physician, have to muster up her spirits and head to Qingtang Courtyard with her medical box.

  Unexpectedly, Zhao Ziyue was not in the house, but waiting for her in the courtyard.

  He blinked his eyes, Xia Qiuli put down the medical box, stepped forward and saluted, with a faint smile.

  "The princess's body is not comfortable, how can she still stay outside? Although the spring has passed, but the wind is cool in the morning and evening, your body is not good, it's better to rest more at home."

  With a whip tightly grasped in her hand, Zhao Ziyue wore a light yellow soft satin dress, without any hairpins or accessories on her body. She looked unusually simple and plain today, her small face somewhat pale, with a pouting mouth, full of grievance and hurt, like an abandoned puppy, not looking like someone who came to find trouble with her, but rather, three times more pitiful than herself.

  "My nineteenth brother? What is he busy with? Why doesn't he come see me?"

  She didn't find it strange that the horse's head wasn't matching the horse's mouth. She had known since early morning that this little princess hadn't really fallen ill, but was lovesick instead. Glancing at her, Xia Chuqi lazily rubbed his nose and smiled ambiguously.

  "I don't know."

  "Who would have known?"

  Zhao Ziyue's voice became shrill, and Xia Chuyi raised an eyebrow again.

  "Your Highness, please calm down, I don't quite understand what you mean."

  Zhao Ziyue let out a soft snort and smiled in a rather strange way.

  "How dare you pretend in front of me? You wicked-hearted ugly turtle, it's all because of you, you're the one who's been causing trouble. Not only did you seduce my nineteenth brother, but also caused the death of poor Xie Shi. Now that Xie Shi is dead and my brother doesn't like me anymore, how dare you say you know nothing?"

  Her voice was trembling, her words were somewhat bitter, but her tone wasn't sharp, instead it carried a strong sense of resentment, just like a child who had been robbed of their favorite toy. And then there was another kind, no matter how hard she tried to hide it, that emotion couldn't be concealed.

  The corners of her lips curled up slightly on the seventh day of summer.

  "This princess, the more I don't understand. What has Chu certain person ever harmed Madame Xie? Her hanging herself was her own choice about life. If you insist on talking about cause and effect, I'm afraid Your Highness... Ah, I say, Princess, you won't have done something wrong, feeling guilty in your heart, so you can't eat or sleep, suffering from some kind of heart disease?"

  "What nonsense! What does this princess have to be guilty of?"

  Zhao Ziyue let out a low growl.

  But her denial was unconvincing, and on that pale little face, her emotions were written all over it - she was grieving and feeling guilty about Shuai's death.

  To be honest, if the person she was bullying wasn't herself, Xia Chuqi would probably think that Little Princess is actually just a kind-hearted child. Just like last time when she released spiders to scare her, this kind of childish prank, although annoying, didn't involve anyone's life. And as for Xie Shi's death, it was probably the first time she had caused someone's death while playing around, and this little girl must be feeling terrible inside.

  For a feudal princess who has always been spoiled, having such a conscience is actually not easy. After thinking for a moment, Xia Chuyi's tone became slightly softer, considering Zhao Zhu's face and not wanting to argue with her.

  "Whatever you say, Princess, is whatever it is. I came over today to examine you on your behalf, so please tell me, where are you feeling unwell? Why don't we go back inside and let me take a closer look?"

  "This princess is not ill, it's you who are ill."

  “……”

  Xia Chuiqi rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, Zhao Ziyue's eyes reddened and a hint of resentment flashed in her pupils. With a sudden movement, she swung the long whip in her hand towards Xia Chuiqi. From the force and gesture, Xia Chuiqi finally understood why this princess couldn't even understand an idiom - it turned out that she was fond of martial arts but weak in literature?

  Have to say, her whip-wielding posture is still quite good-looking.

  What a pity...

  After all, she couldn't lose the face of a special soldier! Extremely quickly dodging to the side, she almost instinctively grabbed the whip handle and pulled it over, grabbing Zhao Ziyue's arm with one hand, using a small grappling move to pull her back, while the other hand had already grasped her throat.

  "The princess's kung fu is quite good... I, your humble official, admire it..."

  "You... you, your..."

  A belly full of fire rose to the sky, but Zhao Ziyue said a few "you" words in a row, yet she couldn't think of a single curse word. To know that the hardships she had endured for 14 years were not as much as the few days she spent in the Jin Wang Fu. A treasure in the palm of the current emperor, now being challenged by Xia Chuyi again and again, she was so angry that she almost went crazy.

  "You lowly dog slave, how dare you have such a big nerve and approach Her Highness?"

  "Understood..." Xia Chuyi smiled slightly, "Self-defense is justified."

  "Self-defense? You dare say self-defense in front of me?"

  With a few strenuous struggles, Zhao Ziyue couldn't break free, and her already flushed eyes grew even redder, as if they were about to bleed. She glared at Xia Chuyi, then turned her head to look at the guards standing by.

  "Are you all just eating white rice? Not seeing anyone offending the princess, what are you staring at? Hurry up and bring down this ignorant dog slave for the princess..."

  One mouthful of dog slave...

  If she weren't Zhao Zhu's sister, Xia Chuqi would have made her mute for a few days.

  But thinking of Zhao Zhuo, she felt relieved. She's just a 14-year-old little girl, isn't she? If you add up her age for two lifetimes, you can be her aunt, why bother?

  Zhao Ziyue was yelling at the top of her lungs on that end, but those guards' heads were hanging lower and lower, without refuting her or even one person coming over to listen, infuriating her until her small face turned bright red.

  "Are you all thinking of rebelling? Dare to disobey this princess's words?"

  "Princess, forgive me—"

  The guards knelt on the ground, silent.

  At the beginning of summer, however, a smile was drawn out. In the subtle ripples of her black pupils, she smiled and took the long whip from Zhao Ziyue's hand, then released her wrist. "Your Highness is precious and noble, with nothing to do but let the maids serve you and nourish your beauty, so that in the future you can marry a good husband. This dancing with whips and guns is not suitable for you to do, what if you accidentally hurt this beautiful face of yours?"

  "This matter is mainly up to you to handle..."

  After finishing her sentence, Zhao Ziyue swept a glance over with her sideways gaze.

  In an instant, her eyes met Xia Chuqi's, and she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

  This was her first time taking such a close look at Chu Qi.

  He wore the ordinary attire of a good doctor, and from head to foot he looked very common, plain and unremarkable. His skin was a bit rough, but his features were still delicate, especially his big and bright black eyes seemed bottomless. When he focused on looking over, it seemed as if he had some kind of power that made people fear him.

  She wanted to capture that expression.

  It can be seen seriously, but nothing is caught again.

  "You..."

  She looked again and suddenly a sense of familiarity emerged from the bottom of her heart, and she was slightly surprised.

  "Who are you?"

  A faint awkwardness in her heart, Xia Qiuli smiled lightly and took two steps back, clasping her fists together in a salute.

  "Under official promotion Wang Fu good doctor good doctor officer Chu Qi."

  With her lips tightly pursed, Zhao Ziyue scrutinized her from head to toe, but still couldn't think of a solution. She picked up the long whip on the ground again, shook it twice in her hand, and lost some of the arrogance and anger she had earlier, as if she had vented her frustration.

  "Chu Qi, can you stop bothering my nineteenth brother?"

  Is this too hard? Let's try something easier then?

  She slightly raised her head, Xia Chuqi smiled and looked at her, "This matter should be discussed with the prince."

  "You ugly turtle, how dare you say that it was my nineteenth brother who pestered you?"

  "That's not what I meant."

  At the beginning of summer, she met such a person, her head was a bit big, and she didn't want to argue with her anymore. However, Zhao Ziyue's anger was suddenly provoked by her. It should be known that in her heart, Zhao Zun was an existence like a divine temple, how could anyone slander him like this? All of a sudden, the long whip in her hand broke through the air again and directly lashed towards Xia Chuyi's face.

  This little girl likes fighting so much?

  It's clear that you can't beat others, but still want to fight, that's stupid!

  Xia Chuqi let out a sigh, to avoid the whip hitting her face and ruining her looks, she caught the tip of the long whip with her bare hands, took a hit on the back of her hand, and also pulled Zhao Ziyue in front of her. With a light smile, using the whip in her hand, she spun around twice with Zhao Ziyue, then tied her up tightly.

  "I just said that earlier, Your Highness the Princess should be careful, whips and such things are all deadly weapons, not suitable for young ladies to play with."

  "You... you ugly turtle, let me go."

  Zhao Ziyue was so angry she almost cried.

  She smiled softly and curled up her lips.

  "No rush, Your Highness is delicate, I'll 'escort' you in for a check-up first."

  Under the gaze of everyone, she really tied up Princess Ziyue like a pet with that long whip and took her into the house. The maids and guards were all stunned, but no one dared to stop her. Princess Ziyue was still shouting and scolding along the way, but was dragged into the house and thrown onto the bed.

  "Princess, let's discuss this between us."

  "You ugly turtle, I'll kill you first and let the Emperor deal with you afterwards!"

  "Kill me?" Xia Chun's playful heart rose, "If you don't want to eat spiders and snakes anymore, then don't come looking for trouble with this official again." She chuckled softly twice, and her previous careless tone was replaced by a thick layer of cruelty.

  "Your Highness probably doesn't know, but I'm the kind of person who always gets revenge, never willing to suffer losses. You and I have clashed several times, shouldn't you be aware of this by now? Don't worry, even if you have the Emperor's backing, you still can't outplay me. Why do I say that? Because you look fierce on the outside, but your heart is too kind, you can't bring yourself to kill me. But I'm different, I can make it so you can neither live nor die, and won't even give you a chance to report back to the Emperor. There are 180 ways to deal with you, and they'll all shut you up for good, understand?"

  Another time to take out the old trick of scaring little girls, Xia Chuyi was also helpless. This little witch is annoying, but what she really dislikes is that she is Zhao Zhu's younger sister. If you don't think of a way to shock her, who knows what kind of trouble she'll stir up again? She can't be beaten or scolded, and killing her is not an option, so what can be done?

  Originally thought that this little witch would have been threatened, no matter what, she would have to howl a few times before ending the scene. Xia Chuyi had also prepared countless segments of nonsense medicine to tell her. But unexpectedly, after listening to her words, the little girl was staring at her in a daze.

  "What did you just say?"

  Didn't hear clearly? Has your ear gone to swat mosquitoes?

  "Listen up, Princess," Xia Qi snarled, her voice dropping to a menacing tone. "I'm warning you, don't mess with me."

  She puckered up her mouth, Zhao Ziyue looked like she was about to cry but held back, looking quite pitiful. With red eyes and sniffing nose, she asked again, "Not this sentence, another one, what did you say about the princess's heart...?"

  Her eyes met his, as red as her little rabbit's. Xia Chuqi suddenly realized something. She suppressed a smile and chuckled twice, slowly scanning him, "I say, Princess, you're too kind-hearted, but I'm not a kind person, so you always end up losing."

  Can't help but say, this flattery is too exquisite and unique, she's even impressed with herself. Indeed, this sentence hits Zhao Ziyue right where it hurts, this little girl has been spoiled since childhood, on the surface everyone coaxes her and indulges her, but how could she not know that behind her back people scold her as a little demon, a heartless little scourge?

  Her mouth flattened for a moment, and her eyes reddened again.

  "You are the first person to say that I am kind-hearted, not even my loving father and mother have said so, they all say that I am foolish, that I don't understand things, that I will never grow up..."

  Her eyelids drooped slightly, and as she spoke, she bit her lip, as if she had made a great decision.

  "Chu Qi, for the sake of my nineteenth brother, I will marry you——"

  Digression

  I'll post the second update around 3 pm. Since I haven't finished writing, I'll give you something to hold your stomach for now, and I'll continue writing during lunch before posting again.

  (Beauties, dare to take out your monthly tickets to reward me?)

  In addition, let's take a multiple-choice question and see what everyone's first reaction is to yesterday's chapter where Zhang personally "went to the toilet" to cook soup.

  Everyone just vote, and I'll announce the result tomorrow.

  This idiot can't even understand a single word, and yet he writes books, what a complete waste of human space.

  Er Jin again! Today I decided to like her. Or, Er Jin again, worth slapping a palm.

  C and Erjin are too cute! "Down toilet stew" is so lovely, so adorable, so great!

  What's wrong with you guys? This guy has also written classic typos like "peel apple" and "blow banana".

  Acknowledgments:

  Dear Mò Jǐ, upgraded to San Ding Jia - Bàng Yǎn Jun. Dear broke the cost, muah muah da.

  Dear [960394428], upgraded to Yuan, hugs, thank you.