OBS Chapter 143 Return
Chapter 143 Return
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the carved windows and fell on her face as Chu Qingyin slowly woke up. Pei Yuanling beside her had already gotten up.
She got up, did her hair and makeup, and then left the room.
In the courtyard, the guards had already prepared, and Lu Zhiheng was standing to the side, also wearing the clothes brought by the servants. It was still his favorite outfit, white robes and a gentleman as jade.
Seeing Chu Qingyin come out, Pei Yuanling stepped forward, took her hand, and said, "Yinyin, let's go."
Chu Qingyin nodded and followed Pei Yuanling out of the courtyard.
Lu Zhiheng followed behind, his gaze occasionally falling on Chu Qingyin's back before quickly looking away.
"Sister-in-law Amei, Brother Liu, thank you so much for taking care of me these past few days."
Chu Qingyin walked to the two people standing in the corner and curtsied to them to show her respect.
"Your Majesty is too kind."
After a night of processing, Liu the Hunter was no longer so panicked.
The two of them returned her greeting together, but did not kneel down.
Chu Qingyin took out a piece of fine mutton fat jade from her bosom and handed it to Liu the hunter, saying, "My father is Minister Qiao in the capital. If you, young man Liu, are able to go to the capital to take the imperial examination in the future, you can use this to ask the Minister's mansion for protection."
Fearing rejection, Chu Qingyin directly stuffed the jade pendant into Sister-in-law Amei's arms.
"I really don't know how to repay Brother Liu's kindness in taking me in. I hope Brother Liu and Aunt Mei will not blame me for deceiving you."
As she spoke, Chu Qingyin's eyes became a little moist.
Such a life was something she dared not hope for anymore.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."
Amei gently wiped her eyes. She truly liked this girl, Yinyin, who was beautiful and had a good temperament.
She had thought that she and Young Master Lu were a perfect match, but she never expected that one of them was the emperor's concubine and the other was the chief minister of the court.
It's impossible in this lifetime.
As for the farewell gift she specially prepared for the two of them, it is probably no longer suitable for the present.
Chu Qingyin had no idea what the other person was thinking. She only assumed that the other person was still resentful of her deception, so she sighed and left with Pei Yuanling.
The group was large and impressive. Chu Qingyin mounted her horse and rode alongside Pei Yuanling, protected by numerous guards.
"Yinyin, take care!" The woman finally couldn't hold back anymore, wiped away her tears, and chased after them, calling out in the direction the group had gone.
"Alright, they've all gone far, let's go back."
Liu the hunter sighed and gently tugged at Sister Mei's arm. "Don't shout anymore. She's gone back to where she belongs now, and it's unlikely we'll ever cross paths again."
Sister-in-law Amei reluctantly withdrew her gaze and looked down at the jade pendant in her arms.
The jade pendant was warm to the touch, as if it still carried the warmth of Chu Qingyin.
"Honey, do you think we should really keep this jade pendant? It's a royal item; won't it bring us trouble?"
Sister-in-law Amei looked worried and handed the jade pendant to Hunter Liu.
Hunter Liu stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Keep it. This is a token of Yinyin's affection. Although we are rough men, we know that this is her way of expressing gratitude to us. We'll just hide this jade pendant well from now on and not make a fuss about it."
Although still somewhat apprehensive, Sister-in-law Amei carefully put the jade pendant into her bosom.
If it were about using this jade to persuade her son to take a minor official position in the capital, the woman, though not well-educated, knew the term "exploiting a favor for personal gain."
She truly regarded Chu Qingyin as her own sister; she would never do such a thing.
The two returned to the house and stared blankly at the empty courtyard for a moment.
The woman sighed and went to tidy up the room where Chu Qingyin had stayed. Under the bedding, she found a lot of loose silver coins, totaling several hundred taels, and even a few taels of gold. It was clear that the girl, Yinyin, had gathered them up last night.
This money is enough for their family to buy a nice house in town and live comfortably for generations.
"Honey, look..."
Aunt Mei took the bag of silver out, her eyes filled with tears: "The Empress still remembers me saying that the land in town is too expensive and we can't afford it, so she has gathered so much silver to leave behind."
"Oh, she's so thoughtful."
If it were ordinary large silver ingots, they would be worried, as those are not things that ordinary people like them can possess. But what she left behind were small pieces of silver, which anyone could tell at a glance were accumulated over many years.
Your Highness handled this matter with utmost care and attention to detail.
The atmosphere was somewhat somber on the way back to the palace.
After descending the mountain road, the group switched to a carriage. Pei Yuanling sat in the carriage with his eyes closed, resting, while Chu Qingyin leaned on the man's shoulder, gazing out the window in a daze.
Remembering what Sister-in-law Amei had said to her when she left, she felt a mix of emotions.
Pei Yuanling seemed to sense her emotions and tightened his arms around her waist: "Are you reluctant to leave here?"
Chu Qingyin shook her head slightly and leaned against Pei Yuanling's chest. "I'm just feeling a bit sentimental."
Pei Yuanling's eyes darkened, and he gently nuzzled Chu Qingyin's head with his chin: "What are you reminiscing about?"
Chu Qingyin leaned closer to him, smiling gently, "I am grateful for Your Majesty's effective governance, which has brought peace and prosperity to the people of Daqing. They are kind-hearted, which is why I still have the opportunity to return to Your Majesty's side."
Her dark head rested against the man's firm, warm chest, and she said slowly, "Yesterday, my concubine and Sister-in-law Amei went to the town to sell things. Seeing that the people were living peacefully, my concubine was also happy."
Chu Qingyin recounted to Pei Yuanling what she had seen and heard in town the day before.
As the person in his arms spoke animatedly about what they had heard and seen, Pei Yuanling's brows slowly relaxed.
Unexpectedly, even in her distress abroad, she was still thinking of herself.
"My beloved concubine is so thoughtful."
"Your Majesty, I have truly learned many things, and I have even learned to identify medicinal herbs from Sister-in-law Mei." Chu Qingyin smiled brightly, holding his hand and recounting how many kinds of medicinal herbs she recognized.
"My Yinyin, you are truly the most intelligent girl." Pei Yuanling pulled her into his arms, his calloused fingers caressing Chu Qingyin's eyebrows and eyes, his gaze so tender it seemed to overflow with tears.
Chu Qingyin smiled and kissed his chin.
The journey back to the palace wasn't too far, but the winding mountain path took nearly three days.
**
Xishan Imperial Palace.
Upon learning that Pei Yuanling had found Consort Qiao's whereabouts and had personally gone to fetch her, and was now on his way back, Empress Wang was furious.
She smashed nearly half of the porcelain decorations in the main hall, leaving the room in a mess. Her usual dignified and virtuous demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
Her brows were furrowed, and her slightly upturned phoenix eyes were red; her reason was almost completely overwhelmed by anger and hatred.
"That vile woman Qiao Qingyin, what method did she use to make His Majesty value her so much!" Empress Wang didn't believe that just her face could make Pei Yuanling disregard the bigger picture!
"Lin Qing. Didn't you hire an assassin to kill her? How come she's been safely brought back?"
And that Chief Minister Lu, he also returned unharmed!
"Your Majesty, this servant did indeed release two groups of assassins, but they were intercepted both times. When my men found them, there were only corpses left; not a single survivor was left."
Lin Qing knelt on the ground, trembling. He had messed up three things in a row, and even though he was the Empress's most trusted person, he could hardly escape unscathed.
"How could this be?"
Empress Wang was astonished. How could Lu Zhiheng alone deal with two waves of assassins?
That's impossible.
"This servant doesn't know either..." After saying this, Lin Qing lowered his head even further, his body trembling, fearing that Empress Wang would punish him.
But after waiting and waiting, he still hadn't heard Empress Wang finish speaking and punish him.
After a long while, a sigh came from above.
Empress Wang looked dejected and slumped onto the soft couch by the window. She quickly regained her usual dignified demeanor and said coldly, "Enough. Have someone come in and tidy up the palace. His Majesty is about to return. Tell all the concubines to come with me to the palace gate to greet him!"