forced to fall in love

Chapter 30 Princess Consort

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The next day, when Zhao Qingsui opened his eyes again, the room was already brightly lit by the light coming in from the window.

She rarely gets up so late, and even if she doesn't have to go to court early like ordinary officials, she still gets up very early.

Ever since Zhao Qing was able to read and understand things, getting up early is one of her habits, and the second is to take the restoration of Datai as her duty every day.

When she was still young, Zhao Cong would say to her: "You are the princess I love the most, don't worry about so many things, I will bear the burden."

But after quelling the Taitai rebellion, Zhao Qingsui gradually showed that although she was a woman, she had more decisive courage.

Make strategies, seek people's hearts, deploy troops and generals, fight in a roundabout way, and even use yourself as a bait to fight with only your own soldiers and city guards.

Before the battle, the dawn was about to break, and a ray of light suddenly parted from the sky, and the distant sky shone on the city wall. Zhao Qingsui did not hesitate or shrink back.

During the war, there were shouts everywhere, fireworks surrounded, blood stained the city walls, and she also went straight up.

It took three years for the war to level off. Zhao Qingsui had tasted the coldness of falling white snow dipped into the bones in the cold winter, and also tasted the dizziness under the red roof of the head in the hot summer.

Datai was finally unified as it wished, and every city and pond were taken back from the rebels.

Zhao Qingsui stood on the city wall. When he turned around and looked down at the scene in the city, there were house wreckage and rising black smoke. The wounded were everywhere. The armor of the soldiers was stained with blood. Zhao Qingsui only wrinkled his brows, which had not been smoothed for a long time.

Three years of fighting did not improve Zhao Qingsui's health, but made her already weak body even more sick.

Throughout the year, only at noon when the scorching sun hits the sun in summer, the temperature of her palm can change.

When Zhao Qing returned to the capital, he didn't have half a day to recuperate. Since the day he arrived, he had made twelve words to Zhao Cong.

Tax exemption, agricultural development, construction of canals, and good harvest.

People depend on food, and there is Zhao Cong above the court, but outside the court, the first thing she wants to ensure is the first link of food.

After that, Zhao Qingsui put a lot of energy into agriculture, and it was not until this year, which is the fifth year of Datai, that he saw results.

Not long after Zhao Qingsui came back from the inspection tour of the fiefdom, there was an incident of hidden weapons in the capital, which obviously made her gradually relieved and tightened. Another war.

That would burn all her hard work, and become the black smoke that she saw when she stood on the city wall and turned around that day.

Zhao Qingsui's eyes froze, he sat up, his long hair slid down from his shoulders and spread out.

"Su Rui."

"Your Highness, you are awake."

A figure came in from outside the door.

"Well, come in."

"Yes."

The door was slowly opened, and Su Rui came in with a few maidservants to wait for Zhao Qingsui to wash and change clothes.

"Has the son-in-law left?"

Zhao Qingsui raised her hands slightly, and Su Rui lowered her head to help her straighten her sleeves.

"Return to Your Highness, the son-in-law is still practicing sword in the courtyard."

"Oh, did you get up early?"

"Yes, the son-in-law seems to be a little worried about your fatigue yesterday, and has come to ask the slave several times if you are awake."

Zhao Qingsui raised his brows slightly, and when he stepped out of the room, he said: "Well, go and have a look."

From far away, Zhao Qingsui could see figures dancing in the courtyard and sword lights, the sword lights were reflected on the beams of the house, and then flashed past her eyes, appearing on the pillars of the corridor.

The passing wind picked up the broken hair from the man's temples, and also picked up his slightly loose robe.

Zhao Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, and turned away the redundant servants, leaving only Su Rui standing behind her.

He flipped his wrist, and danced a sword flower, and stepped back quickly, bent over and swept his legs around, and then the sword light turned and stabbed forward.

Zhao Qingsui's eyes fell firmly on his body, followed his bending down, leaping up and up, and finally deflected slightly, stopping at his chest.

I don't know why the robe is so wide, but I always feel a little weird.

Lingxi jumped up and swung, and just as soon as he landed, he noticed the figure standing beside him from the corner of his eyes.

When she turned around, she met Zhao Qingsui's gaze, but she didn't know if it was an illusion of consonance, but she always felt that Zhao Qingsui's gaze was slightly shifted.

Lingxi immediately retracted the sword, holding the hilt with both hands, with the edge of the sword facing down, bent down and said: "Your Highness."

Zhao Qingsui suddenly withdrew his gaze and approached her: "Well, has the son-in-law eaten breakfast?"

"Not used yet."

"Let's go together then."

"Yes."

Zhao Qingsui motioned to Su Rui who was behind him, and the latter bowed his head and retreated, but in an instant he bent down and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me for my crime."

"What is the crime of the son-in-law?"

"Last night, without His Highness's consent, I did it without permission..."

Lingxi stopped suddenly, she couldn't think of suitable words to describe her action of carrying someone back last night.

"Well, I already know about this matter, but if the son-in-law doesn't do this, wouldn't it be better for me to sleep in the carriage for one night?"

"Get up."

"Yes, thank you Your Highness."

When Lingxi got up, the heat from just practiced the sword slowly poured out, his forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat, his originally fair neck was stained with a layer of crimson, even the pinnae of his ears were tinged with red.

When Zhao Qingsui looked at her closely, he inexplicably felt that Lu Mu's face was a little more feminine. Looking at the crimson neck, he realized why she felt weird.

What is weird is not the chest or the face, but the less prominent Adam's apple.

When reaching out, even though the person in front of him restrained himself very well, Zhao Qingsui still noticed her slight dodge.

The fingertips just landed on the outline of her face, stroking along the edge of her chin, but the middle finger and ring finger seemed to have passed her Adam's apple.

But before Zhao Qingsui noticed anything, the extremely tense throat of the person in front of him rolled, which made the corners of Zhao Qingsui's lips slightly curved.

Then Zhao Qingsui not only did not distance himself, but took a small step forward and said, "Why are you so nervous, son-in-law?"

"Your Highness, is this inappropriate?"

Lingxi couldn't refuse her hand, and couldn't even block her sight, so he could only use the so-called "ethics" to speak.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Qingsui narrowed his eyes slightly with deep eyes.

Lingxi was speechless, his gaze was restrained, and a layer of heat rose from the hilt of the sword he was holding in his palm.

"Your Highness, breakfast is ready."

Suddenly, Su Rui's voice came from behind, and the stiff atmosphere was subtly weakened.

Zhao Qingsui suddenly withdrew his strength and said: "Since son-in-law and Bengong are husband and wife, Li Deli didn't say a word, shouldn't Bengong be like this in the courtyard."

Lingxi took half a step back, bent over to salute, and said in a low voice, "Your Highness."

It seemed to hit the soft cotton, but it made Zhao Qingsui relieve his strength.

The person in front of him clearly obeyed her, and would protect her mainly in case of danger, but if there was anything, he kept a deliberate distance from her.

The more she understood this point, the more irritable she became.

Zhao Qingsui walked away.

Lingxi maintained the posture of saluting for a long time, and the hilt of the sword in his palm seemed to melt into his body. When Lingxi put the sword back into its sheath, he realized that the tiger's mouth was blue because of his strength.

Lingxi changed from his sword-practicing uniform, and when he put on his official uniform and went again, there was no one in the main hall, only the steaming breakfast was left on the table.

Lingxi sighed secretly, and left the mansion for Dali Temple after breakfast.

Li Cai and Lingxi discussed, and they decided to split into two ways. Li Cai continued to stay in Dali Temple to interrogate the thief he had caught before, to see if he could get something out of his mouth, while Lingxi continued to follow the troupe's clues.

This time is different from the last time, Lingxi only brought two people, each changed into casual clothes, and went to the troupe with her to listen to the play.

It was the same big wooden door that was pushed open, and today inside was the same as last time, with opera performances babbling on the wooden stage.

"Master, come to listen to the play again."

The servant next to her was obviously impressed with Lingxi because of what happened last time, and greeted her warmly when she came in.

"Yeah." Lingxi's eyes swept over the people sitting below the stage, and then took in the people on the stage.

"Grandpa, what our lady boss said is right? I hope you've heard it once and want to hear it again."

Round two! "The boy had a proud expression on his face.

"Well, it's good, but why do you have a lot less audience this time than before?"

Lingxi chose a seat to sit down, and the servant immediately served her tea.

The servant lowered his voice, and said in Lingxi's ear: "Hey, sir, don't you know, that wasn't the last time we were hired to perform in the palace. It was a good job, maybe we could get some rewards, but who knows, It’s not our turn to perform yet, and there’s a problem with the dance troupe in front, it’s all in vain, and I heard that Her Royal Highness is furious because of it.”

"Oh? The problem has something to do with you?"

Consonance looked up at him.

"No, no, sir, how dare we dare, this story spread somehow, saying that opera troupes and dance troupes like ours are not safe, and in addition, the number of guards patrolling the capital has also increased in recent days, always It’s a bit unsafe, and there are fewer listeners.”

"That's it, but speaking of it, your troupe can only sing operas, why don't you perform something else, maybe the audience will come back again."

Lingxi pushed open the lid of the cup, and the aroma of tea floated in front of his eyes.

"Our theatrical troupe can also perform acrobatics, and it's pretty good. We were performing acrobatics a few days ago, but today's master came here by accident. The people performing acrobatics happened to be called to the Spring Night Tower."

"Spring Night Building?"

Lingxi's hand holding the teacup froze suddenly, and exchanged glances with his subordinates over the servant.

Such a coincidence?The so-called "flower moon night" is really "night" mixed with "flower moon"?

"That's right, but the Spring Night Tower is also our regular customer. Sometimes every three to five days, sometimes every half a month, we will be called to perform acrobatics. If you want to see it, sir, you can come back in a few days, and we will definitely be there."

Lingxi tilted her head to look at him, but said nothing.

The boy looked at him, then turned around to look at the other two as if he was thinking of something, and said with a smile: "Master, have you never been to the Spring Night Tower?"

"Where is it? Just tell me." Lingxi took out the reward silver and placed it beside the teacup.

Seeing Shang Yin, the young man narrowed his eyes into a line of laughter and then lowered his voice, lowering his head and explaining to them in words that only a few of them could understand.

"..."

Lingxi and his subordinates left the big wooden gate, and the three of them walked in the noisy market, Lingxi frowned and his face was gloomy.

"Master Lu, I'm afraid you can't go to that place."

"That's right. If His Highness knows, the misunderstanding will be serious. Otherwise, we two brothers will go in, and Mr. Lu will help you outside?"

Lingxi was in trouble for a while, she couldn't give up on the clues she found so hard, but if she really wanted to go, Lingxi was already sweating from the back just thinking about it.

After thinking about it, Lingxi asked her subordinates to go there first and wait for her outside. She turned around and went back to the mansion first, and ordered Chai Gao to help her put the hot water needed for bathing in the room at night, so that she could take a bath and change clothes when she returned to the mansion.

Later, when Lingxi rushed over, it was already dusk, and the sky was getting dark.

The three tidied up for a while, confirmed again and again that there were no official accessories, and then walked away.

The Spring Night Building is placed in the middle of a lake, and there is a high plaque hanging far away. After Lingxi stood up and recognized these three words, before he stepped on the small arched stone bridge, there was a beautifully dressed woman approach.

Lingxi selectively blocked their words, and the two subordinates carefully helped her stop the approaching woman.

The three of them walked all the way in. Behind the stone arch bridge is a long corridor on the water. The more you walk in, the more you can see the colorful lights hanging inside, and the red ribbons floating in the air with the wind, which seem to be in harmony with your feet. of the red carpet.

The main building of Chunye Building is an attic. As soon as Lingxi stepped into it, the surrounding strong smell of wine and rouge mixed with other things rushed up together.

There are countless people playing and playing blindfolded beside him, the sound of playing and laughing seems to be pushing into Lingxi's mind.

The old bustard came up to introduce them, and the subordinates sent her away first, and the three sat down in a remote place where they could observe the whole situation.

After a while, the acrobatic show was on, but there were not many people in the lobby who were interested in watching the show.

After all, with a beautiful woman in his arms, who would be distracted from watching the show.

"it is good!"

A sudden sound in the distance caused Lingxi to take a closer look.

In the private room on the second floor of the attic, diagonally across from them, there were two men sitting, and one of the slightly fat men was the one who applauded.

When Lingxi looked at him, the man was still clapping his hands. He seemed to be in a particularly good mood. The next moment, a bustard walked up to him with a smile. The two of them seemed to have said something. Putting out the reward money and putting it in the hands of the old bustard, the old bustard smiled and bent over, exited the private room, and soon came down from the second floor, behind the screen in the lobby, said something to the tall, thin man in linen, and then the man turned his head and smiled slightly. After scanning around, he handed the envelope in his arms to the old bustard, and the old bustard smiled again and went up to the second floor.

Not long after, Lingxi saw that there was only the applauding man left in the private room, and Lingxi found the old bustard at the corner, but only she could be seen from a tricky angle, and after she handed over the envelope in her hand, Lingxi saw her passing white fan.

But then, Lingxi saw the exquisite imprint on the back of the fan handle, reflecting the light, and following his light posture of holding the fan, the light was reflected on the screen, as if the shape was projected down.

Looking at the magnified shape, Lingxi inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity.

……

After Lingxi and his subordinates left Chunye Tower, they hurried back to the mansion, and Chai Gao happened to meet her at the gate.

"My son-in-law." Chai Gao just called her, his face was startled, and he said in a low voice: "You you..."

Lingxi glanced at him and vetoed his idea, "It's an investigation, has Your Highness returned home?"

"Not yet...not yet!"

"Well, is the hot water ready?"

Lingxi's footsteps, three steps into one step, just short of trotting.

"Ready."

Lingxi didn't speak to him again, walked into the corner courtyard, then went back to the house and closed the door.

The clothes on her body were taken off immediately, and the heat of the hot water instantly blurred Lingxi's vision. Lingxi held her breath and immersed her whole body in the hot water.

"See Your Highness! All blessings, Your Highness!"

When Chai Gao's voice sounded in the courtyard, Lingxi was putting on his coat.

The changed robe was still put aside, but this time Lingxi couldn't say "His Royal Highness stay away" anyway, because in an instant, the door was pushed open.

Lingxi turned around and looked at Zhao Qingsui silently who had pushed the door in. His dark eyes were like a cold arrow, shooting her down with precision.

"Your Highness, please listen to the minister's explanation!"

Zhao Qingsui sat in the main seat, and Su Rui who came with her was placed outside the courtyard by Zhao Qingsui, and then all the servants in the courtyard were dismissed, and no one was allowed to enter without the princess' order.

The unprocessed coats in the room were thrown behind the screen, and it didn't take long for the door to close before the mixed smell spread.

"Then you have to explain carefully!" Zhao Qingsui articulated every word clearly, with extremely rare anger appearing in his tone.

"Your Highness, please appease your anger. I went to that place only to investigate the case and have no other intentions."

"That's right, then tell me to listen to me, what did you find out?"

Zhao Qingsui's voice was like a biting wind in winter, blowing with snow.

"Chen," Lingxi frowned, "I just have doubts, but I haven't got any definite evidence yet."

She just felt that the mark was familiar, but she couldn't remember where she saw it at all, and how did it relate to the people in front of her.

"The son-in-law wants to say, you have doubts but no evidence, so you still need to find evidence?"

"I dare not."

"presumptuous!"

Zhao Qingsui shouted coldly, his forehead almost touched the ground, and there were several wrinkles between his brows, and he suddenly thought of something, as if he had grasped at straws.

When the forehead hit the ground, there was a muffled sound, and then Lingxi resolutely gritted his teeth and said: "Your Highness, I am a woman, and I deserve death for lying to you, but I will definitely not have extra thoughts about that place."

The room fell into an eerie silence for a long time, Lingxi lowered his head, sweat dripped down his forehead.

"The body of a woman..." Zhao Qingsui repeated Lingxi's words, even the ending sound was inexplicably soft.

But in an instant, the voice changed again, "Can I go to that place at will?"

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