Chapter 116: The Quiet Onlooker.

  She stepped onto the neatly paved path of bluestone in the Cloud Moon Pavilion and entered the courtyard, heading towards Princess Zongyue's sleeping quarters on the seventh day of summer. Behind her followed a maid servant, not one who normally accompanied her, but a strange face.

  Fortunately, the guards at Yunyue Pavilion were very familiar with her. They just took a glance at the maid who was obviously much taller than ordinary girls and let them pass. Concealing their true intentions, Xia Chuqi breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the maid beside her, lifted up the overly long hem of her skirt and entered the bedroom. Meanwhile, the "maid" stood at the door, clenching her fists tightly.

  "Huh, Chu Qi, how did you come again?"

  Zhao Ziyue was sitting at the edge of the table, fiddling with the embroidery patterns on children's clothes. Her inner chamber was decorated in a very luxurious and beautiful manner, with layers of purple-pink gauze curtains that were exquisitely crafted, isolating the outside world and creating a life of pampered luxury for this princess-like young lady. In the incense burner in the chamber, there was a wisp of swirling blue smoke, which reflected off her delicate face, making her look like a dainty little girl with a powdered complexion.

  Looking at Zhao Ziyue's face full of joy and surprise, Xia Chuyi smiled brightly.

  "Aren't you thinking of me? What's wrong, can't I come and see you?"

  Such an excuse is really terrible, and any woman in the palace would not believe it. But she is Zhao Ziyue, isn't she? The strings in her brain are single-stranded, simple to the point where every stroke is clear and legible. She just blinked strangely and didn't even notice the tall servant girl by the door, but still beckoned with a smile.

  "You've come just in time, quickly take a look at these patterns and see which one is good for making little clothes?"

  Xia walked over with a smile and sat down beside her, picking at the embroidery patterns.

  "Zi Yue, are you preparing these now? Isn't it a bit too early?"

  Without raising his head to look at her, Zhao Ziyue's gaze remained fixed on his hands, his tone simple and innocent, "What's early? It's not early. I was just talking to Qingteng earlier, I plan to make everything he needs for the first ten years of his life before the child is born."

  Xia Qiqi took a deep breath, "You really dare to think! Ten years old?"

  "Haha, didn't I predict this? I've been preparing for it."

  Zhao Ziyue smiled softly, and the room was filled with warmth. But Xia Chuyi couldn't help but sigh, feeling that this girl was indeed too naive. It seemed that since she had decided to give birth to the child in her belly, she hadn't considered what kind of consequences it would bring as an unmarried princess, but instead just indulged in the joy of becoming a mother, throwing away all her worries.

  "Zi Yue, have you ever thought about what would happen if the child was born without a father?"

  She found herself becoming a bad person, always going to uncover other people's wounds. But she had to say it, because this was a real problem that Zhao Ziyue was facing. She believed that Emperor Hongtai had already considered the retreat when he agreed to let Zhao Ziyue keep the child. If not for the recent events on the northern border battlefield that made him unable to take action, he would have probably made a decision by now. Perhaps he would immediately arrange a marriage for Zhao Ziyue to cover up this "royal scandal". If that were the case, wouldn't it be pitiful for the crown prince to be fighting outside while the princess had to marry someone else with his child?

  "Chu Qi..."

  She pouted, and Zhao Ziyue lowered her eyelids, and the smile on her face indeed decreased a lot.

  "I previously agreed with the Emperor that no matter what, I will raise this child. If the Emperor is afraid of me losing face for him, then...then spread a rumor that I didn't survive and have already passed away, Princess Zhiyue is gone, and no one will gossip about it anymore. Then the Emperor can arrange for me to live outside the palace, and I'll raise the child myself." She turned her head at this point, "Chu Qi, does the child having a father or not... shouldn't make a difference, right?"

  She seemed to understand but not quite, her eyes darting back and forth as she looked over. Xia Chuqi's heart tightened at the sight, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for this unmarried mother who was still just a child herself.

  "For a child, you can't be a princess anymore, Ziyue, don't you regret it?"

  She smiled and said, "What's good about being a princess? Every day is spent locked up in this small courtyard, unable to go anywhere or do anything. It's better outside, the sky is so high and far away. I'd rather not be a princess."

  "You're no longer a princess, your child can only be an ordinary child."

  Seeing her serious expression, Zhao Ziyue narrowed his eyes, "Is this very important?"

  "It's very important." Xia Chuqi glanced at the maid standing by the door and said in a low voice, "Most people in the world are biased towards wealth and against poverty, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. If the child is not of royal blood, it's hard to guarantee that they won't be bullied."

  "But I am a princess?"

  "At that time, you were no longer a princess."

  Zhao Ziyue was taken aback for a moment, looking at her innocently, "Then Chu Qi, what should I do?"

  It's not easy to get to the point, Xia Zhongqi is right on target, holding her hand and smiling, "Zi Yue, actually, Gui Ge is a very good person, kind-hearted, righteous, and he's also the father of your child. You can tolerate the child, how can you not tolerate the child's father? Why don't you go ask your emperor father for permission to make him your husband?"

  "Chu Qi!" Zhao Ziyue was taken aback by her words, tilting his head to look at her for a while before nodding as if he understood, "Ah, I see. So you're a wolf in sheep's clothing, you'd already left but intentionally came back to find me just to say this?"

  Looking at her vigilant eyes, Xia Chuqi shook his head, "I'm just chatting with you casually, Ziyue, I said all this for your own good. Otherwise, when the emperor has time, he will appoint another man as the prince consort, and your child will have to recognize a non-biological father. Can you bear your child suffering? A non-biological father won't truly love your child, think about it carefully."

  "My father won't agree, I've already discussed it with him." Zhao Ziyue narrowed her eyes and stared at her, slowly putting down the fabric in her hand, pouting, "In the end, you still don't care about me, you just want to plead for that bad person, right?"

  "It's not entirely for you, I just think it would be good for you and your kids."

  Zhao Ziyue hummed coldly and her brow furrowed, "Chu Qi, I've told you before that I don't like it when you mention him again. You still want to talk about it? That's equivalent to wanting to cut ties with me." After saying this, she snuck a glance at Chu Qi, seeing that she didn't make a sound and had no expression, probably thinking she had spoken too harshly. She turned around, pulled on her hand, and in order to change the subject, couldn't help but take a look at the maid by the door who seemed somewhat uneasy.

  "Chu Qi, where did that maid of yours come from? I've never seen her before. Hmph, she's really ugly."

  When the maid heard the words "cruel and unbearable", she shrank her shoulders and quickly lowered her head. Zhao Ziyue, on the other hand, burst out laughing with a "pfft" sound. Xia Chuyi sighed inwardly, looked at her, then at him, and could only smile helplessly.

  "Her Highness is always thinking about the child all day, where does she have time to remember how many maids I have?"

  Zhao Ziyue puckered up her mouth, feeling that the maid looked somewhat familiar, and couldn't help but turn her head to take another look. Then she thought about it and her voice became cheerful again.

  "That's also true, this princess is a noble and often forgets things, it's normal that she can't remember."

  "Princess, generally 'noble people often forget things' is what others say about you, not what you say about yourself."

  "Really?" Zhao Ziyue raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Isn't this princess a noble person?"

  "It's... " Xia Chuyi swallowed a mouthful of blood, "You're very expensive."

  Haha, Zhao Ziyue was chatting with her in a teasing manner, still sounding innocent and childish, misusing idioms and speaking nonsense, but even after being corrected, she remained pleased. The second ghost, dressed as a maid, looked at them with slightly reddened eyes.

  From the moment he came in, he stood still, staring at her from afar, his clenched palm sweating a patch. The damp feeling seeped through his palm and slowly permeated his heart.

  Listening to her say that the emperor had faked his own death, listening to her say that being a princess was not free, listening to her say that she wanted to raise their child alone, he felt like a knife was twisting in his heart. He came today because he heard that she had attempted suicide and had been unconscious for a long time, and had just woken up, feeling guilty and wanting to sneak a peek. But the Cloud Moon Pavilion was not easy to enter, and he couldn't bring her more trouble, so he reluctantly sought out Xia Chuqi to ask about the situation. He didn't expect that heaven would play such a big joke on him, while also giving him such a huge surprise.

  Zhao Ziyue is pregnant, but he didn't dare imagine it.

  She was such a young girl, and yet she had become pregnant. He remembered how slender her waist was, how soft her skin was, and how delicate every part of her body was. She was so beautiful that every time he recalled the absurdity of what had happened, he felt deeply ashamed. Especially when he thought about how, under the influence of the medicine, he had carelessly ravished her inexperienced body, her pained cries, her warm embrace, and his own oblivious pleasure, he couldn't help but think of himself as a scoundrel.

  She was originally a woman he could never touch, she was haughty and disdainful, looking down on people all the time, she was the darling of the current emperor. Those who doted on her were all the most powerful and capable men in the world today. But such a girl, he actually ruined her and even had a child with her.

  "Chu Qi, you think he will really die?"

  Zhao Ziyue's sudden words made Er Gui's clenched fists tighten a few more degrees. His gaze swept past, looking at Zhao Ziyue hesitantly gazing at Xia Chuyi, her eyes very complex. She didn't say who "he" was, but almost subconsciously, he knew she was referring to him. This discovery made his heart beat faster, and a kind of secret joy suddenly sprouted.

  "On the battlefield, things change in an instant, who can say it clearly?"

  When mentioning war, Xia Qi's voice also became somewhat desolate.

  Zhao Ziyue let out a soft "oh" and didn't speak for a long time. Her small white hand fiddled with the corner of the table, pinching and poking at it, biting her lower lip as if deep in thought. After a while, she slowly put down her hand and stroked her belly, asking her...

  "If he dies in battle, will my child know that I was so heartless and dislike me in the future?"

  Is she heartless? Xia Qiuzi knew that this wasn't being heartless. Any woman who encountered such a thing would probably not be able to adjust for a while. But she didn't say anything, Zhao Ziyue was like a child in her eyes, but she was going to be a mother and had to be a mature child, these things still needed her to figure out herself.

  "Otherwise..." Zhao Ziyue said in a low voice, "otherwise, how about this? When Nineteenth Brother's army sets out, I'll secretly take the child to see him. It's not that I want to see him, but rather let my child see him... so if he dies, I won't owe anything to my child, what do you think?"

  Xia Zhiqiu said something else, but Er Gui didn't hear it clearly. His ears were still ringing, and he looked at the delicate and soft girl who was like a child, with red eyes saying all this, and he felt more and more that he should die. If she wasn't such an idiot back then, how would she have ended up like this now?

  "Zi Yue, it's settled then, I have to go."

  Forty-eight hours, several hours have passed, Xia Qi doesn't want to waste another minute or second, she still has many things to do. Whether Zhao Ziyue and Er Gui have a future together or not, she is not God, nor the Matchmaker, having done what she should do, those who should part ways will still part ways.

  "Alright... I'll wait for you on the 29th."

  Twenty-nine is the day when the great army sets out.

  Xia Zhi Qi pushed against the table and stood up, flashing a sly smile at her. "The vanguard camp will set out with the grain and supplies first, we have to depart on the 28th, remember the date? Don't forget it. If something comes up, I may not be able to come." After saying that, she got up and glanced at Er Gui, exchanged a look, then bid farewell and walked out.

  I don't know if it was too nervous or too hasty, but the second ghost, who had never worn a skirt before, tripped over the hem as soon as he stepped out. He stumbled and fell forward, accidentally kicking a stool, and his head hit the door frame heavily. The skirt was hooked by the stool, and with a "pop" sound, he fell into a four-limbed sprawl.

  Everyone in the hall was shocked and pale.

  In a series of "dongs", Zhao Ziyue burst out laughing.

  "Chu Qi, this servant girl is too much fun, walking carefully and still fell..."

  She had always been fond of teasing people and was delighted to see others embarrassed. However, upon hearing her silvery laughter, Er Gui almost fled out of the Cloud Moon Pavilion. He didn't dare breathe heavily, his tension amplified countless times.

  He didn't want to admit it, but he had to admit that he had never been as scared as he was now. He wasn't afraid of death, but he was afraid that she would leave him and really choose someone else to be the father of his children... or after he died, she would spend the rest of her life alone with his children. Either way, it wasn't a situation he wanted to see.

  "Ghost brother, where did you fall?"

  He bowed his head and took a deep breath, Xia Qi asked with concern. But Er Gui did not raise his head, nor dared to look at the gate of Yunyue Pavilion again, his heart tightened, and he barely squeezed out a few words.

  "County Master, I'm so messed up..."

  "It's okay, it was just an accident."

  "To be honest with you, I've thought about it many times since then... actually, I... might have been able to hold back, so why didn't I? Your Highness is right, I'm the one who should die..."

  At the beginning of summer, Qi saw him panting with his forehead, pale and haggard, and when he suddenly raised his head, his eyes were red, saying in a low voice, "Alright, don't be discouraged, you go back first, it's not good to be seen by others. Don't forget, promise me my conditions."

  The two ghosts did not respond, and she slowly added a sentence.

  "Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you, I have a sense of propriety."

  ……

  ……

  She came out of the palace on the seventh day of summer and did not return to Chengguo Gongfu, but instead went to Jishitang by a detour.

  She hadn't seen Gu Ajiao for many days, and today she came to buy medicine and saw her. She found that the girl seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and there were some melancholy on her originally pale face. It is said that after she had no more news with Xia Chang, her uncle's family arranged another marriage for her. However, she didn't like it, and she was stubbornly resisting her family.

  At that time, it was all "parents' orders and matchmakers' words". All women who dared to resist marriage were heroines. Xiaoyi admired her in her heart, but she didn't have extra time to talk to her. After buying the necessary medicine at Jishitang, she carried the medicine package and went to Danfeng Street to find Li Mo.

  There is a mansion which serves as a temporary residence for everyone in Jing Gong.

  After returning from Songzi Slope, Li Miao followed Fu Chenghuang. At that time, in order to resolve the grudges and crises with Chen Daniu, she had no choice but to admit that she was the recognized master of Jin Gong by Yuan Xing. However, things on Jianghu are like this, once you say something, you have to acknowledge it, you can't just pretend it's a fart. Now Jin Gong has been trampled by Chen Daniu and scattered all over the place. Whether for the deceased Yuan Xing or for her own promise on Songzi Slope, she must go and settle the affairs of Jin Gong. Even if she wants to leave in the future, she has to wait until Jin Gong is back on track.

  Seeing her rushing in, Li Mo asked his first sentence.

  "Are you planning to elope with someone?"

  At the beginning of summer, she rolled her eyes at him and said, "Am I such a person without dignity? He does his thing, what's it to me?" As soon as she finished speaking, she received Li Mo's distrustful and disdainful gaze. She rubbed her hands together, could only helplessly sigh, and acknowledged it.

  "Sister, I came to see you today to bid farewell."

  Li Mian did not doubt her sincerity in resigning, but his gaze deepened slightly.

  "Chu Er, have you thought it through?"

  "Cousin... I owe you an apology..." Xia Chuyi felt a bit guilty, holding her hand and sniffling a few times, but found it hard to explain his thoughts clearly to Li Mo.

  She couldn't tell her that she was different from Li Mo. Li Mo's hatred was as deep as the sea, and she had to avenge it. But although she also wanted to avenge herself, and wanted to stand up for Xia Chu, and wanted to clear the names of the people of the Wei Guo Gong Fu and the Li Fu, compared to Zhao Zun's safety, all these things had to take a back seat.

  In this world, for her, there was nothing more important than Zhao Zhu. Zhao Zhu said that the battlefield is bloodshed, killing and a graveyard. Xia Chuqi had not experienced real war, but she also knew how dangerous and terrifying the battlefield was. It was precisely because of this that she must follow him and protect him.

  "Are you making me angry?"

  Lowering her head to steal a glance, she saw Li Mo's expressionless face and his silence. Xia Chuqi pursed her lips again and tightly grasped her hand. "Cousin, you might think I'm not worthy, that I don't deserve to be a daughter of the Xia family. I don't want to make excuses for myself either. All I can tell you is that without Zhao Shi Jiu, even if I were made emperor...I wouldn't be happy. Can you understand me?"

  "Chu Er..."

  He pulled her over to sit on the chair, and Li Mo was facing her, with a heavy tone advising her, "I can understand your thoughts, all women in the world are fools for love. But how much can you help him on the battlefield? You might even become his burden? Have you thought about this?"

  "I won't let him." Xia Chuqi's gaze was firm, "I must be able to help him."

  She finished speaking, but Li Miao didn't react at all.

  She let out a sigh, curved her lips and softened her tone.

  "Sister, although I've decided to leave, rest assured that the great injustice between our two families is etched in my heart. As long as I, Chu Qi, am not dead, clearing my name and dealing with those scoundrels are only a matter of time."

  Li Mian's lips were pursed extremely tightly, "Since you've made up your mind, I won't try to dissuade you."

  "Sister... I don't know when we'll meet again after leaving the capital," Xia Chuyi said, softening her voice and curving the corners of her lips. "This battle is about to begin, and I don't know when I'll be able to return. You must take good care of yourself. There's something I want to say, don't be angry with me. While avenging a grudge is important, I think that living people are more precious than the dead. We should seek revenge, but we should also live well, for that is what our deceased loved ones would have hoped for."

  Her words have a realistic idea, and if you put it bluntly, it can also be understood as selfishness. Nowadays, people value filial piety and righteousness, but not avenging their parents' grievances can crush a person's nerves. However, she is not a saint who sympathizes with the heavens and pities the people. She thinks that first, one must protect the living, and then take revenge for the dead, which is the way of survival.

  She said a lot, but she didn't know if Li Mo had listened to her or not. She just looked at her face in the sunlight, which seemed even paler than usual. But no matter what she said, Li Mo's mouth seemed to hold a hint of faint loss. This made Xia Chuqi feel even more that leaving her alone in the capital was not very kind.

  "Take care, Chu Er."

  Xia Chuiqi sniffled and hugged her tightly.

  "You will always be my cousin."

  Li Mi was slightly stunned, silent for a moment, as if she didn't quite understand the meaning behind her words. Xia Chuyi just smiled at her, without explaining too much. How could she tell her that she wasn't actually her cousin?

  Returned to the Chengguo Gongfu, Xia Chuyi's first thing was to let Qinglan send Da Zui Po Mei Zi away to do things, and then she locked herself in the Jingyi Garden, letting Qinglan take the medicinal materials she had picked up from Jishitang to decoct into a medicinal soup.

  Qing Lian silently followed her, but she didn't quite understand her behavior today either. Holding those few packets of medicine and looking at them, she asked in confusion, "Young Mistress, are you ill?"

  "Really?" Xia Chuyi just smiled.

  "What medicine are you taking when you're not sick?"

  "Who says medicine is only for taking orally? I'm going to soak in a medicinal bath and relax my muscles."

  "Oh? A medicinal bath."

  "Ah, Qing Lan..." Looking at her serene face with a hint of hesitation, Xia Chuqi poured himself a cup of water before pulling her over to sit beside him. With a gentle smile and a subtle request in his tone, he said, "This time, can you just be a quiet observer? Silently... don't tell anyone anything?"

  Digression

  Today's word count is not much, but I've been writing for a long time. My condition is too poor.

  Note: If there is no update by 7 o'clock tomorrow, it means I won't be updating anymore... I'm really exhausted, sorry everyone...

  I've never thought of being perfunctory when writing, maybe some people think that writing is easy and casual, but it's really not. This book is my first ancient language work, it's my treasured child. I don't want to sacrifice the quality of the article just for the sake of updating or "being on time". Of course, from the reader's point of view, all romance novels are the same, and they may not even read between the lines carefully. However, even if I'm scolded by others, I won't change my original intention. Quality is more important than Mount Tai - at least it's more meaningful than quantity and time. Once a book is written, it's permanent, if one plot goes wrong, you can't take it back, I don't want to fool around. If you don't like it, just skip it, no need to come and scold me.

  Besides, Xiangxiang's punctuality review is sometimes late for a few minutes, and you have to wait for an hour. I'm also very helpless about this.