Mountains and rivers are waiting for you to return

Chapter 86 Queen Establishment
The rain came suddenly and heavily.

The inn's waiter walked up the stairs to the second floor, and the wooden steps creaked amid the sound of rain.

Pei Nai poured himself a glass of sake.

Just then a cool breeze blew through the hall. The waiter put down two plates of side dishes, turned around and was about to hook up the sparse foil on the three sides, but Pei Nai stopped him.

The inn is located on the edge of the town. In a corner of the second floor, one side is the town's street scene on a rainy day, and the other side is the unobstructed view of the distant mountains and thick clouds.

It's just some wind, such a beautiful scenery should not be wasted.

Two more guests walked in from the first floor, and the waiter who had just come downstairs went over to greet them.

"Here, here!" The voices of other guests came from downstairs.

"Why are you here just now? I've been waiting for you for a long time. Waiter, bring two more dishes!"

One of the new companions was still panting a little: "There is something you don't know yet? The official bulletin just came down, and the notice hasn't been posted yet."

"What's the matter? Stop being so mysterious and just tell me now!"

"The emperor has appointed Princess Chen Zhao of the Guangping Palace as his queen. The wedding ceremony will be held in a year. At that time, there will be a general amnesty and the whole country will celebrate together!"

His words caused a sensation in the inn, and the downstairs became noisy and chaotic.

Pei Nai drank the sake and recalled Yi Xi's answer that day, the name that was beyond her expectations.

Yixi told Pei Nai a story.

The story takes place in the 22nd year of Zhengkang, when Yixi had just reached childhood.

She attended a banquet with her father, the king, and her mother. As usual, as soon as she entered the palace, she played with other children of the same age from other noble families.

But halfway through the journey, she discovered that one of her companions had disappeared, so she followed the direction indicated by the servant to look for him.

The young child, who had been on good terms with her, was getting angry at his mother.

Seeing this, she hid aside and did not show up, and happened to hear her name from the conversation between the two.

The child said that he did not want to play with Princess Chen Zhao, but was scolded by his mother: "Your father has no one to help him in the court. Only if you make friends with Princess Chen Zhao can I use this opportunity to speak in front of Princess Guangping and others. If you have a good relationship with them, I can help your father in the future. It's not about being reluctant when children are playing!"

Yixi, who had always been the center of attention and surrounded by her peers wherever she went since she was a child, understood for the first time why she was so popular.

Yixi, feeling aggrieved and upset, was unwilling to return to the party.

So she broke into the backyard of the mansion, where she met a young man who had been on her mind for nearly ten years.

The boy was alone, but his clothes were extremely luxurious, and he did not look like a servant's child.

He can appear here openly, so why doesn't he attend the banquet?
Yixi had never seen him before and was very curious, so she went up to ask.

The boy's gaze and words were extremely cold at first.

But Yixi did not back off. She took the initiative to communicate with him and folded two flutes out of leaves, which she demonstrated to the boy and made him happy.

The boy gradually changed his attitude towards her and was no longer so resistant.

After a long time, her mother and the hostess of the marquis's mansion came together and her mother brought her back to the banquet.

Before leaving the yard where the young man was, Yixi vaguely heard the hostess of the Marquis' Mansion say a few words. The young man answered her, and then the hostess laughed a few times.

Yixi turned around at this moment.

Although she did not hear the content of the conversation, she clearly saw the smile on the boy's face.

And that smile fascinated her for no reason.

After returning to the palace, she told her father and mother about her encounter with the young man that day.

After hearing this, her father suddenly became serious and told her not to disturb him again.

Yixi didn't understand and simply agreed, as if she had completely forgotten about the incident. However, she would try to get her father to take her with him every time he went to the Marquis' Mansion to discuss matters.

She made the excuse that she was going to the study in the mansion to read, but in fact she was leaving to look for the young man.

Although the boy did not reject her coming, nor was he indifferent, he just did his own thing every time, saying what he was supposed to say and doing what he was supposed to do, and never overstepped the line, as if he was an adult dealing with a child.

He had smiled at her before, but Yixi knew that smile was completely different from the first time she saw it.

More than a year passed like this.

Until one day, the young man moved out of the mansion, and she didn't even have the chance to say goodbye, and they lost contact with each other ever since.

The next time she saw the young man was in the Golden Palace.

Looking up at the young man on the dragon throne and seeing his indifferent eyes, Yixi finally understood what "alienation" meant.

And she could no longer speak of this relationship.

Pei Nai understood halfway through that the "young man" was Xiao Mingyi, who was temporarily staying in the Marquis' Mansion, and she was the "Mistress of the Marquis' Mansion". Yi Xi should have guessed her identity a long time ago, but she knew that she had her own unspeakable secrets, so she never asked too many questions.

After listening to Yixi's story, Pei Nai finally understood her thoughts.

After thinking it over again and again, he said to her: "But I have never heard Xiao Mingyi mention you. He may not have any feelings for you."

Yixi shook her head. "I don't care. I thought before that since I can't be with the one I love, I will obey my parents' orders about marriage and don't ask for anything. I never thought I would meet such a husband's family."

"A man's heart can never be faithful. Today you asked me to follow my heart again, so I thought I might as well fulfill my wish for so many years. No matter what the outcome, it will be worth it."

Pei Nai didn't think there was anything wrong.

Prince Guangping is a prince of a different surname, and Yixi and Xiao Mingyi have no blood relationship.

However, the affection hidden deep in Ju Liancheng's heart was strangled in the bud before it could be expressed.

Whenever he thought of it, Pei Nai felt regretful.

On the night of departure, Xiao Mingyi went to the Tang Mansion to see Pei Nai off.

He told Pei Nai that Jin Ling'er took the initiative to confess that Jiang Qingyue had fabricated the rumor that Tang Mingzhi was a jinx.

At the same time, the truth behind the incident between Yan Xier and Yu Ren has been uncovered. It was both done by Jiang Qingyue, with the purpose of revenge against Yi Xi and expanding Tang Mingzhi's misfortune.

If only half of the medicine had not been used at the time of the incident, it would have been almost impossible to convict Jiang Qingyue.

Xiao Mingyi asked Pei Nai how he wanted to deal with Jiang Qingyue, Jin Ling'er and others.

Pei Nai thought for a moment and said, "Don't charge it as a crime of deceiving the emperor. It's too serious. For Jiang Yueteng's sake, just give him a lighter sentence."

Xiao Mingyi nodded, but said nothing more.

Pei Nai looked at Xiao Mingyi at that time and thought: Perhaps she hadn't seen the kind of smile that Yi Xi described for a long time.

She paused and told him that Yixi wanted to enter the palace.

There was a hint of surprise in Xiao Mingyi's eyes, and he nodded in response.

But Yixi didn't want the position of queen, and Pei Nai just conveyed Yixi's wishes.

Now this result also surprised her a little.

Previously, the one who presided over the harem was Concubine Yan, who was the best candidate for the title of queen. However, she was now implicated by her third sister, Yan Xier, and lost her qualifications.

War is about to come, and enthroning a queen at this time will indeed help calm the people.

With all the possibilities, Pei Nai couldn't figure out what Xiao Mingyi was thinking.

The sound of rain gradually stopped.

Pei Nai's thoughts stopped and he put down the bamboo chopsticks.

"Shopkeeper, come here for a moment," she shouted.

"Sir, please wait a moment. I'll be right there!"

The waiter walked up the stairs quickly, "What can I do for you, sir?"

Pei Nai pointed at the plates on the table, "Give me another helping of these dishes, we have friends coming."

"Okay, sir."

The waiter turned and left, and the sound of footsteps on the stairs became lighter and lighter.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of Pei Nai, standing aside awkwardly.

"I'm done eating, so I'll go ahead. I've ordered the dishes for you, so just catch up after you finish eating." Pei Nai brushed his sleeves and stood up.

Du Ling's face was filled with helplessness. "I brought some dry food with me, so you don't have to prepare an extra meal for me."

Pei Nai had heard this many times, but he still insisted: "It's not good to always eat dry food. You don't want to eat with me, and you can catch up with me in a blink of an eye. Why bother your stomach?"

"You have left the other guards behind. Now you have no one to protect you. I cannot leave you, otherwise I will not be able to explain to my superiors." Du Ling insisted.

"It's because they are too slow. When there are too many people, it's easy to delay the journey." Pei Nai picked up the spear and bag standing beside him.

"I'm leaving first. The dishes have already been ordered. Don't waste food."

"Madam." Du Ling called her when she turned around.

When Pei Nai heard this name, he frowned unhappily and turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

Du Ling paused for a moment and said, "Master has woken up."

(End of this chapter)