Chapter 70: Birthday Gift

  Yuan Longkui and Yuan Longlin led their soldiers to set up camp outside the village, while Yuan Longqiao and Xia Tian also moved out of Ma Achai's home and into the military camp.

  She put on a pale pink jacket, an emerald green pleated skirt, and a light yellow cloak with a hood. In the summer, she stood in front of a simple dressing mirror, smiled contentedly at her reflection, and the person in the mirror also smiled back at her. She tightened her cloak and flew out of the tent like a happy butterfly.

  Searching everywhere for Yuan Longqiao, as soon as he entered the military camp, it was as if he had hidden himself, and his tracks were difficult to find. After passing by one tent after another, suddenly hearing someone speaking not far away.

  "How is your injury?"

  It's Xiaosan's voice! Summer turned around and immediately walked towards where the sound came from.

  "Thanks for your concern, Third Brother, it's just a flesh wound."

  "Shouldn't you be marrying the daughter of Prime Minister Sito at this time? How can you be with Xiaoxi?"

  "Third Brother's whereabouts are unknown, how can Long Qi get married at this time?"

  Yuan Longqiao did not speak up immediately, and it wasn't until a while later that he slowly said, "Fifth Brother has a heart."

  In the summer, she turned over a tent and finally saw their figures. The two of them had their backs to her, both wearing golden sable cloaks, one with a gold crown holding up his hair, the other with long hair hanging down low.

  "If it weren't for Third Brother's jade pendant, we probably wouldn't have found this place by now." As soon as he caught sight of the familiar jade pendant in Yuan Longqi's hand, Xia Tian instinctively stopped in his tracks and hid behind the tent.

  "The Emperor Father is very concerned about Third Brother, and I believe Third Brother feels the same way. Moreover, this desolate village is indeed not safe, so after a short rest, Third Brother should return to the capital with Long Qi."

  Yuan Long's eyebrows slightly raised, he took the jade pendant from her hand, his deep and calm eyes showed no emotion, "Alright, pass down the order to break camp."

  Looking at Yuan Longqiao standing alone, Xia Tian felt a chill in her heart. She thought he had pawned the jade pendant just to celebrate her birthday, but it turned out that was just a favor he did for someone else so he could return to the palace. And she had been delighted about it for a while. Isn't living here okay? Does he really want to go back that much? Is he thinking of his concubines? Or is he unwilling to be alone with her? The more she thought, the more confused and angry she became. Her eyes were wet with tears, but she bit her lip and took two steps forward, her tone 70% provocative and 30% aggrieved: "You can't wait to go back?"

  Yuan Longqiao slowly turned around, seeing the tears on her cheeks, and his dark pupils couldn't help but shrink. He had long known that she was standing behind them and also knew that she had heard their conversation. Would she think that it represented her own feelings as well, liking this simple and pure interaction? He didn't want to explain and didn't know how to make her understand how reluctant he was to part with these hard-won days.

  Her eyes were as fresh as a bud about to bloom, he let out a soft sigh and slowly walked closer to her, pulling out a jade hairpin from his sleeve and gently inserting it into her hair, his low, magnetic voice saying: "This is your birthday gift."

  Stroking the jade hairpin in her hand, Xia Tian couldn't help but adore it. The two dragonflies with fluttering wings each held a small, delicate pearl, their pale green color extremely fresh and lovely. He said he hadn't prepared any gifts for himself, but in reality, he had secretly gotten one. He still cared about his own, Xia Tian couldn't help but smile sweetly at the corner of her lips, her previous anger long gone. Thinking of his lonely figure when he left, she suddenly felt a pang of heartache again. After some thought, she carefully and solemnly put on the jade hairpin.

  She was hesitating whether to go and "make peace" with him, when she suddenly saw that the person carrying a bow and arrow called Yuwen something was talking to someone wearing strange clothes. Xia Tian was far away from them and couldn't hear what they were saying, but he saw that they seemed to be very familiar with each other, patting each other on the shoulder, and then... She widened her eyes in shock, and after a moment of stunned silence, she couldn't help but smile slyly.

  No wonder there were sayings like "Dragon Yang's preference" and "cutting sleeves to share peaches" in ancient times, she has opened her eyes today.

  "Third brother, I've found out that this time you were ambushed was done by Fourth brother. The previous time Third sister-in-law was attacked was also done by Fourth brother's men."

  Yuan Longqiao leaned on his elbow with one hand, closed his eyes and sat at the edge of the table, listening to Yuan Longbi's words without even lifting his head once.

  "Third Brother! What are you planning to do? Fourth Brother has made several attempts on your life, and yet this time you still don't care?" Yuan Longlin furiously circled the table once, finally unable to bear it any longer, his hands planted firmly on the table, his face angrily staring at his brother who seemed completely unaffected.

  "What do you want? To go before Emperor Father and accuse him?" The eyelids slightly lifted, a faintly cold voice slowly spoke out.

  "I have physical evidence and it shouldn't be difficult to find witnesses either, I'm not afraid that Father Emperor won't severely punish him."

  "How to punish? Fined? House arrest? Imprisonment? Flogging?" Yuan Longqiao put down his arm, sat up straight, and a cold smile appeared on his face. "It's just scratching an itch with a boot, what can it accomplish! Moreover, Fourth Brother is just a hot-headed and impulsive person, the strategies in his heart are not enough to achieve anything. It's easy for us to overthrow him, but we're afraid of being used as a sacrifice for others."

  Yuan Longlin slowly calmed down, with a deep thought on his doll-like face, "Third Brother's meaning is that Fourth Brother is just a chess piece in someone else's hands?!"

  "I don't know if he's a pawn in someone else's hands, but there are definitely more than just him who have ambitions to usurp the throne." After a brief silence, Yuan Longqiao asked again: "Is there any news from the Censorate's Li gentleman?"

  Yuan Longlin composed himself and replied, "The theft of copper and sulfur has been brought under control, but the specific flow is still unclear. However, Lord Li inadvertently obtained a piece of information, it's unknown whether it's related to this matter."

  "What news?"

  "General Li discovered many barbarian soldiers infected with smallpox while patrolling the border."

  His eyes gleamed with a sharp, intelligent light, and Yuan Long's lips curled up slightly as he murmured to himself, "So that's how it is."

  "Third Brother, are those sulfur things used to treat the plague? But why use this method, reporting up and down, won't the imperial court provide them with medical treatment?"

  Yuan Longqiao shook his head ambiguously and did not intend to enlighten this brother who was still worried.

  The curtain was lifted and Yuwen Ximeng walked in with big strides. "I have seen the Third Prince and the Seventh Prince."

  Yuan Longqiao nodded slightly, "Has he been sent off?"

  "Yes, I've sent him off. Before he left, he specifically instructed me to convey his gratitude to Your Highness." Yuwen Qiming said as he walked forward, bent down, and leaned in close to Yuan Longqiao's face. Just as their faces were about to touch, a shrill cry pierced the air: "Ahh! What are you two doing?!" Suddenly, a petite figure darted over, grabbed Yuwen Qiming's collar from behind, and growled: "You can be gay if you want, but don't even think about messing with my husband!"