Chapter 302: Getting Along (1)

Before long, the door opened. Qingfeng stood outside, and upon seeing Zhuo Qing, she immediately smiled and called out, "Sister."

Zhuo Qing waved her hand at the servant standing to the side, took Qingfeng's hand, and said, "Come in quickly."

"Mo'er!" Seeing Gu Yun inside the room, Qingfeng excitedly rushed forward, gripping her hand tightly. For a moment, she was so choked up she couldn't speak. Gu Yun felt a bit awkward but couldn't pull her hand back, so she just stood there stiffly.

Qingfeng gently stroked Gu Yun's increasingly thin face and asked with heartache, "Mo'er, you've lost weight. Is Su Ling bullying you?"

Being caressed on the cheek like this made Gu Yun feel truly awkward. Stepping back slightly, Gu Yun replied, "No one is bullying me." It was already good enough that she wasn't bullying others.

Qingfeng's hand stiffened. Had her little sister become this distant toward her? Was she not even used to her touch? Slowly lowering her hand, her heart ached, but Qingfeng continued to ask with concern, "Have you been doing well these past six months?"

Gu Yun saw the pain in Qingfeng's eyes clearly. However, to her, the woman in front of her was just a stranger she was meeting for the first time; she really couldn't express any deep feelings. Clearing her throat, Gu Yun replied concisely, "I am very well."

"Mo'er, you... what's wrong?" Qingfeng was a bit confused. The woman before her was polite but distant, her eyes revealing a gaze of perseverance and pride. This wasn't the gentle, thoughtful, timid, and obedient little sister in her memory. Panicked, Qingfeng asked urgently, "Did you also lose your memory because you drank that damned forgetfulness soup?"

"I..." Gu Yun was startled. Only that lazy woman Qing would come up with such an irresponsible excuse. Glaring fiercely at the gloating Zhuo Qing, Gu Yun looked back at Qingfeng's worried eyes and laughed dryly, "I'm fine. It's just been too long since we last met, and I'm a bit excited, not knowing what to say."

Excited? She didn't see even half a bit of excitement in her little sister's eyes. Qingfeng's heart felt a sharp pain. The eye contact and small gestures between Mo'er and her sister showed their familiarity and intimacy. It seemed her little sister was only distant toward her. Never mind; her little sister had always been closer to her eldest sister since they were young. With her sister taking care of her, she could rest easy.

Qingfeng's expression dimmed. Zhuo Qing helped her sit down and smiled, "Sit down and talk. You must be careful in the first three months."

Gently stroking her slightly protruding belly, Qingfeng smiled and replied, "It's already been over four months."

Over four months? How fast.

Having interacted with Qingfeng several times, in Zhuo Qing's heart, she was a woman who cherished her family, had a strong and stubborn character, but also had a life full of hardships. Thinking of her situation in the palace, Zhuo Qing asked worriedly, "I asked you to steal the Empress Dowager's seal—did Yan Hongtian discover it?"

Qingfeng's eyes turned cold, and she smiled indifferently, "I don't know. Perhaps he did. In fact, isn't he also using your eagerness to save Lou Xiyan to achieve his own goals? It's just a matter of each getting what they need. Does it make any difference whether he discovered it or not? Everything is just a scheme he set up to weaken the Yang family. We have all been used by him."

The helplessness and disdain in her words made both Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun worry for her. Although they were not Qing Ling or Qing Mo and could not understand the suffering the Qing family had endured, nor had they lived in that vast imperial palace to experience her hardships and bitterness, they didn't want to see any misunderstandings between her and Yan Hongtian. After all, she still had to live in the palace.

Zhuo Qing explained softly, "Back then, in order to help King Hao rebel, the Empress Dowager colluded with the Northwest rebels and stole gold from the national treasury. Later, King Hao's rebellion failed and he was killed, and the gold remained in the hands of the Northwest rebels. This time, Su Ling went to retrieve the gold. Who knew that the Empress Dowager would be dissatisfied with Xiyan because of Princess Zhaoyang's affair, so she took this opportunity to collude with the rebel leaders again to frame Xiyan. Yan Hongtian's original plan was likely to use those rebels to root out all the forces involved in the Golden Case, but I couldn't wait, so I played a risky move."

Qingfeng was a bit confused, "Wasn't all of this designed by Yan Hongtian?"

"You misunderstood him. He was just playing along with the scheme. In fact, he has already shown mercy to the Yang family and Yang Zhilan."

Qingfeng listened quietly, and huge waves rose in her heart. The Empress Dowager actually supported King Hao's rebellion and even framed a high-ranking court official for her own personal grudges. Where did she place Yan Hongtian? No wonder, no wonder he said last night that he didn't understand the feelings between mother and son. No wonder he was filled with such deep sorrow and desolation. One was his own brother, the other his birth mother; he had indeed been betrayed by his closest kin.

She seemed to have really misunderstood him.

Qingfeng was immersed in her own thoughts, and Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun did not disturb her. The room fell into silence. After a long while, Qingfeng suddenly came back to her senses and smiled, "Today is your joyous day; let's not talk about such disappointing things. I'll help you comb your hair into the Immortal-welcoming bun you used to like the most."

Holding her shoulders, Zhuo Qing shook her head and smiled, "No need to trouble yourself." It wasn't a grand banquet, so there was no need to be so formal, and she didn't like it either.

Gently holding Zhuo Qing's hand, Qingfeng insisted, "It's no trouble at all."

Pulling Zhuo Qing to the dressing table in the inner room, Qingfeng gently groomed her hair, just as they often did when they were at home, combing each other's hair. Those times might never return; it wasn't easy for her to see them now.

"Sister, Mo'er. The fact that we are staying in Qiongyue is an unchangeable reality, so you must be happy, do you hear me? Your happiness is my greatest happiness." Qingfeng combed and styled her hair carefully and attentively, every movement gentle and heartfelt. Zhuo Qing could feel her cherishing and lingering attachment. Although she was no longer her sister and didn't have those shared beautiful memories, her pity for her was increasing bit by bit.

The despair for happiness in her words made Zhuo Qing's heart ache. Turning back, she held Qingfeng's hand and placed it gently on her own belly, persuading her in a low voice, "Feng, you should also let yourself be happy. Perhaps Yan Hongtian is disappointing, but you already have a baby. For the sake of the child, you must also be happy, okay?"

"Mm." Qingfeng's hand gently stroked her slightly protruding belly, and a gentle, soft smile finally appeared on her face. Yes, she still had them, and the baby in her belly.

"Madam, the Master invites you, Consort Qing, and Miss Qing to come over for a meal."

Just as the hair bun was finished, the servant's voice came from outside the door again. Qingfeng took Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun's hands and smiled, "Let's go."

As the three of them just walked into the flower hall, a handsome man greeted them. He was dressed in white, not appearing scholarly, but rather possessing a refined, roguish temperament. "Sister-in-law, who is this little beauty beside you..." He said this to Zhuo Qing, but his eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the petite, cute, and sweet-looking Gu Yun.

Qingfeng frowned. Who was he to speak so frivolously?

"Qi Tianyu, long time no see. You're still the same, but I advise you best not to provoke her." Zhuo Qing laughed. This man was truly a rascal; he had to flirt with any woman who looked decent.

Qi Tianyu asked in confusion, "Why?"

Zhuo Qing looked meaningfully at Su Ling, who was standing behind him with a face full of dark clouds. Qi Tianyu turned back and met Su Ling's cold, eagle-like eyes, smiling in understanding. So, the beauty was already taken.

Qingfeng also saw Su Ling's gloomy and terrifying face and couldn't help but want to laugh. She had long heard that General Su did not get close to women; now it seemed that rumors could not be fully trusted.

Clearing his throat, Qi Tianyu smiled tactfully, "It seems I'm a step late." Picking up a wine cup, Qi Tianyu raised it to Lou Xiyan and Zhuo Qing and smiled, "I didn't get to drink the wedding wine last time. This time, we must have a toast!"

Lou Xiyan also raised his wine cup and smiled, "Let's all do it together."

Everyone raised their cups. Yan Hongtian took the wine cup from Qingfeng's hand, handed the tea beside him to her, and whispered, "You drink this." After saying this, Yan Hongtian drank the fine wine in his hand in one gulp, and finished Qingfeng's cup as well.

This scene did not escape the eyes of Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun. The two looked at each other and smiled. Fortunately, Yan Hongtian also had feelings for Qingfeng.

A group of people drank and chatted. By the time the meal was finished, the moon was already high, and it was nearly midnight. As the groom, Lou Xiyan was naturally forced to drink quite a bit during the meal and was so drunk he couldn't even walk. In the end, it was with the support of Mo Bai and Zhuo Qing that he stumbled back to Lanyue Lou.

Outside Lanyue Lou, Qi Tianyu insisted on going in to tease the newlyweds, but was blocked outside the courtyard by the cold and stern Jing Sa: "The Master is already drunk. Please return, Young Master Qi."

With his hand resting roguishly on Jing Sa's shoulder, Qi Tianyu smiled, "That won't do. We haven't teased the newlyweds yet."

Yan Hongtian's group had originally intended to leave, but seeing Qi Tianyu's insistence on teasing the newlyweds, they simply didn't rush to leave and all gathered outside Lanyue Lou.

Jing Sa remained unmoved and replied coldly: "The hour is late. Please return, Young Master Qi."

Qi Tianyu rolled his eyes. How could Xiyan find such a block of wood to be a steward? He had no sense of fun at all. Patting Jing Sa's shoulder hard, Qi Tianyu continued, unwilling to give up: "Jing Sa, don't be so serious. Teasing the newlyweds is what makes it festive! Xiyan won't mind."

Jing Sa stepped back. This time, he ignored his words directly, his tall figure blocking the courtyard gate, determined not to let them in.

Lou Xiwu, who was standing beside Qi Tianyu, had a flushed face from drinking a few too many cups, and her steps were a bit unsteady, but she still joined in the fun and laughed loudly: "That's right, that's right! We want to tease the newlyweds! Tease the newlyweds!"

Seeing her swaying and shouting even though she couldn't stand steadily, Jing Sa stepped forward helplessly to support her unsteady body and whispered a light reprimand: "No nonsense."

Qi Tianyu watched Jing Sa's rare gentleness with interest and couldn't help but smile, "Tsk tsk tsk, truly showing favoritism. It seems that in the three months I was away, the Prime Minister's mansion has been full of peach blossoms." This block of stone had finally been enlightened. It seemed he had chosen the wrong time to go out and had missed quite a few good shows.

Such obvious teasing made Lou Xiwu blush, and she gently pulled her hand away from Jing Sa's, shouting softly: "Brother Qi! What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Nonsense?" Qi Tianyu crossed his arms over his chest, glanced sideways at Jing Sa, and chuckled, "I thought I was about to have wedding wine to drink. Turns out I saw it wrong?"

Even with such obvious teasing, Jing Sa remained calm and composed, facing him with a cold face.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 303 =====