High-class Spring Joy

Chu Jingxian and Qinghe, who were talking, both stopped.

The two exchanged a glance, and Qinghe shook her head, unsure who would be looking for her at this time.

Qinghe looked at the person in front of her, shook her head, indicating that she didn't know either.

Chu Jingxian was naturally reluctant to let Qinghe go. He had finally been able to see again. His eyesight was already intermittent, and he wasn't sure when he would be able to see again. Even if he could see occasionally at that time, Qinghe was not by his side at all, and her fate was unknown.

At that time, he couldn't even see her if he wanted to. Qinghe wasn't often by his side to begin with, and his vision was even more ethereal. It was only when he could finally see again that Qinghe was safely by his side.

He just wanted to look closely, and he didn't want to do or say anything, nor did he need to do anything with the person in front of him or say anything profound or meaningful to Qinghe.

He didn't want to talk to Qinghe about other people's affairs or anything related to other people. He just wanted to quietly look at the person in front of him, Qinghe.

How wonderful it would be to just stay here quietly with Qinghe, to let him quietly look at the person in front of him, to look at her face.

As long as he could stay quietly like this, as long as he could quietly look at the person in front of him, Chu Jingxian felt that this night was enough.

But even such a wish cannot be fulfilled, as someone will always interfere.

Chu Jingxian, standing before her, was naturally unwilling. Even if he was unwilling, it was Qinghe's own business. She whispered to Chen Sha outside the door, "Who is it?"

Chen Sha outside the door quickly provided the answer: "They said it was from the South Courtyard, apparently sent by the young prince of the Northern Frontier Kingdom. They said they had something to discuss with Miss Qinghe and that it absolutely could not be delayed; we must go tonight."

Chu Jingxian's brows furrowed immediately.

If it involves the affairs of the Northern Frontier Kingdom, then we certainly cannot easily refuse now.

Chu Jingxian suppressed his emotions and looked up at the person in front of him: "Do you want to go? If you don't want to go, I can refuse them for you. I heard it's a bit sensitive now, but it's much better than before. If you don't want to, I'll refuse them for you. If you do want to, then I won't stop you. I'll send someone to take you there."

As Chu Jingxian spoke, his gaze fell on Qinghe's face. Every inch of his gaze was fixed on Qinghe's face, and he was unwilling to look away for even a moment, as if he was afraid that he would not be able to look at her again after this glance. He always lingered on her face without scrutinizing her at all.

Mingming Qinghe had never experienced such a scene before. No one had ever looked at his face or him like that, with such focus. No one had ever looked at him so intently. She was just a maid, and the gazes that fell on her were always easily moved away.

All the masters looked down at them with disdain. The better ones didn't carry as much arrogance and contempt, but there was more indifference in their bones. Of course, this was all normal, given the difference in status.

Qinghe was already used to it. Even if the gaze that fell on her face or body lingered a little longer, it was mostly scrutiny or sizing.

Having served as a maid and servant for so many years, Qinghe was already used to those kinds of looks. It was normal for her, and she wouldn't feel any particular emotion about it. However, as a human being, she still instinctively disliked those kinds of looks.

Even though Qinghe's gaze later held a touch of tenderness, and even at its gentlest moments carried a hint of affection, it still carried an inherent sense of superiority.

The Third Young Master in front of her did not. His gaze lingered on Qinghe's face for so long, yet it did not evoke any disgust or aversion in Qinghe. Instead, it made her feel nervous. However, this nervousness was not out of fear, but rather out of concern that there might be something on her face that made her look unattractive, or that she looked rather haggard.

In short, she was worried that her face wasn't pretty enough, but not that Chu Jingxian was looking at her and wanted to do something.

Qinghe wasn't worried that the person in front of her would say something like punishment or reprimand next. Perhaps this was trust, the trust she had in the Third Young Master after experiencing so many things.

But the person in front of her was none other than the young prince of the Northern Frontier Kingdom. Qinghe had no idea what Fei Sheng wanted from her, that a little kid wouldn't be asleep so late...

This was Qinghe's truest thought.

But since Chu Jingxian had spoken, Qinghe naturally had to reply. Qinghe thought for a moment: "It's so late, the young prince must have something to say to me. And although the situation has eased now, we cannot relax our courtesy in the slightest. I absolutely do not want to affect the diplomatic relations between our two countries because of myself."

As Qinghe spoke, she thought the same thing. How could she let her own efforts affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries? How many people had participated in the peace talks, how much effort had been put in, and how many people would be affected?

Countless people are eagerly awaiting the outcome of these peace talks, whether from their own country, the Northern Frontier Kingdom, or others. Neighboring countries, and most importantly, the Tibetan Kingdom, are also affected. These peace talks will impact more than just the situations of those two nations. The situations of these countries are interconnected; a single move can have far-reaching consequences. How can they be viewed in isolation?

Qinghe would never allow herself to give the other party an excuse or anger them over something so trivial. Having already put in so much effort, she absolutely couldn't let the slightest slackening now affect her previous contributions and efforts. Wouldn't that be disregarding all that previous hard work? Wouldn't all that effort be wasted, and all the suffering and hard work done for the peace talks between the two countries be for naught?

So even if Qinghe just wanted to look at Chu Jingxian in front of her, to say anything to him, or even to do nothing at all, just to quietly look at him, to chat about random, unimportant things, Qinghe would feel...completely satisfied.

But now is definitely not the time to relax.

After thinking about it, Qinghe quickly responded and answered.

Chu Jingxian and Qinghe stared at each other. Qinghe just looked at Chu Jingxian in front of her. Neither of them spoke, but the emotions in their eyes seemed to be understood without being spoken.

"Go there. I'll have someone escort you there, and when you come back, I'll also escort you back."

Chu Jingxian spoke with complex emotions in his eyes. He just clenched his fingers on the armrest, then stood up and saw Qinghe out.

After Qinghe left, Chu Jingxian kept staring at the door, watching the slender figure disappear into the distance. It was the figure he had been thinking about for many days, but they hadn't spent much time together before she left again, forced to leave.

Even though they were so far away, Chu Jingxian's gaze couldn't bear to leave them for even a moment.

Last time, in that snowdrift, Chu Jingxian watched his figure leave step by step, gradually receding into the distance.

Even though he had to make that choice last time because of the circumstances, it was still hard to bear watching someone leave, especially someone he cared about so much. He hadn't seen Qinghe for half a month during the peace talks from Bianjing to Mohan City. When he finally saw her, it was under such dangerous circumstances that he had to push her away with his own hands.

He finally got to see her, but could only watch helplessly as Qinghe ran away. At that moment, he desperately hoped that the girl in front of him could run faster and farther. Even though Chu Jingxian knew that it was a trap set by His Highness the Crown Prince, a trap they had set together to lure him into a trap, even Chu Jingxian didn't have a 100% chance of winning such a trap. His chances of winning were rather low.

Moreover, in such a dangerous situation, even if you win, who can guarantee that nothing unexpected will happen? Didn't the young prince of the Northern Frontier Kingdom have an accident?

Chu Jingxian was willing to gamble his own life for himself and the Crown Prince, but he absolutely could not gamble with Qinghe's life, even if it was a trap.

Watching Qinghe run away step by step, Chu Jingxian felt a sense of relief. He was relieved that the little girl could still run, and that she hadn't stubbornly stayed behind to stay with him. But he was also heartbroken. His heartache wasn't because the little girl had run away, but because he hadn't seen her for so long. They hadn't exchanged many words, nor spent much time together, yet they had to part again, and what's more, their fates were uncertain, and he didn't know when they would meet again.

This is what hurt Chu Jingxian the most at that time.

Chu Jingxian was somewhat lost in his own thoughts. Originally, because of the peace talks between the Northern Frontier Kingdom and the two countries, things had been tense and he had been very busy. Then, he set up that scheme. Every step felt like walking on iron chains on a cliff. He didn't know if he would fall and die without a burial place, or if he would survive the ordeal. Now, the situation had finally stabilized a little and improved somewhat.

Chu Jingxian's thoughts naturally relaxed as well. When people relax, they tend to think about things they dare not think about during tense moments or when they are busy with other things. These are the things they think about most and the things that distract them the most.

For Chu Jingxian, the thing that could distract him the most was Qinghe, who was moving further and further away from him.

Chu Jingxian hadn't reacted yet, and didn't even realize it himself, as his gaze followed Qinghe's departure step by step forward.

Later, after leaving the courtyard, Chen Sha sent Qing He to the South Courtyard.

Chen Sha had just stopped, waiting for Qing He to finish speaking and come out, when he turned around and saw a figure appear beside him. Fei Sheng thought that he had really encountered an assassin, and that there was someone causing trouble again.

Turning his head, he saw it was his own young master!

Fei Sheng quickly withdrew his attack and looked at Chu Jingxian with a puzzled expression, asking, "Young Master, why are you here? It's so dark, can you even see? If you wanted to come out, why didn't you have your men escort you?"

Chu Jingxian's gaze was still fixed on the gate of the South Garden. She completely ignored Chen Sha's question and instead asked a completely different one: "When did she go in? The people inside shouldn't hurt her, right?"

Chen Sha scratched the back of his head: "It's very quiet inside, doesn't seem like there's any arguing. And when the Mongolian girl went in, she was smiling, so she probably wouldn't have harmed Qinghe, right?"

-

When Qinghe entered, Feisheng was being held down on the bed, taking medicine and being bandaged.

Several servants were attending to him. Qinghe had never imagined that Feisheng would have such a background. Even if she guessed that Feisheng might be from a wealthy family, she would never have thought that he was a prince.

Qinghe stood at the door, feeling a little awkward. She didn't know what kind of greeting she should give when she went in, or what she should say.

Fei Sheng noticed Qing He's appearance and, seeing her expression, knew she was flustered: "Sit wherever you like. Where did your fierceness go? Where did your courage go? Are you scared now?"

Qinghe was speechless at Feisheng's words. At that time, she was angry with Feisheng because this child was always causing trouble. She had finally managed to bandage his leg, but he insisted on getting down and walking by himself.

If it were just Fei Sheng and Qing He, Qing He could say whatever she wanted without fear, and she would definitely defend herself and argue back. But there were several palace servants with them.

Even if Qinghe were no longer a maid, she would still remember the most basic rules of being careful not to be overheard and to be cautious in her words and actions.

Qinghe remained silent and obedient.

Fei Sheng had probably guessed why he was too busy to speak, so he simply took the bowl of medicine from the servant next to him, drank it all in one gulp, and then waved his hand: "You may all leave now."

All of them took their leave, and soon only Qinghe and Feisheng remained.

"Alright, stop pretending now. Even if you keep acting like this, I know what you're really like."

As Fei Sheng spoke, he looked at Qing He in front of him with an expression that said, "I don't know you at all."

Even if the person in front of him was the young prince of the Northern Frontier Kingdom, he was still just a child of a few years old. For a child of a few years old to look at him like that…

Qinghe blushed, no longer bothering to pretend. She plopped down on a nearby stool, picked up the teapot from the table, poured herself a cup of tea, and sipped it slowly. "Greetings, Your Highness the Young Prince of the Northern Frontier Kingdom. Shall I bow to you?"

No. I'm more used to you the way you are.

Fei Sheng hurriedly struggled to lean against the bedside, looking at Qing He's unpretentious demeanor, and found it quite pleasing to the eye: "I called you here today because I truly have something to discuss with you. I asked you before whether your current fiancé is good to you, and since you didn't answer, I have to make the decision myself. You know my identity, so the marriage I can find for you is naturally not something ordinary people can access. Therefore, I called you here only to ask you one question: would you be willing to be an empress?"

"Stop messing around."

Qinghe's first reaction was to wave her hand with a smile, but the smile on her face quickly froze.

What did she just hear?!