Looking at the thin Du Gu Qing with his white hair, Mei Qingxue made up her mind to investigate this matter thoroughly. The people from the Azure Sea Pavilion had long infiltrated the palace, and now was the perfect time to use them for this investigation.
"You're okay. That's great!" Mei Qingxue buried her head in his chest. Maybe it was just in her mind, but she felt that Du Gu Qing's heartbeat was much stronger than usual today.
"Do I look ugly like this?" His white hair was so strange. "You look very handsome. Xue really likes it," she said. He looked like a character from an anime, with his white hair fluttering, extremely handsome.
"As long as Xue likes it, I don't care what others say." He didn't care about the world's opinions. She was the only one that mattered to him.
"Have a good rest. When you're better, you have to accompany me back to my hometown," Mei Qingxue said, missing her family. If they knew that their son - in - law was better now, they wouldn't have to worry about her being a widow all day.
"Brother's wedding is settled. As his sister, I must attend. It's really a double - joy," Du Gu Qing no longer had to worry about his life ending at the age of twenty - five.
His elder brother was going to marry. According to Xuan Qiao, the Prime Minister's Mansion was very satisfied with the Luo family's proposal, and Mei Haoxuan was also very happy. The wedding date had been set. The two of them just held hands and stared at each other silently, as if they had forgotten about time.
"Mother, do you think sister will come back?" Mei Haoxuan asked Xia Ruolan uncertainly. Xia Ruolan looked at her eldest son with a beaming smile on her face. "I didn't expect Xue'er to have such good taste."
"Of course."
"Don't worry. If your sister knows you're getting married, she'll be jumping for joy." Xia Ruolan patted her son's hand. She was sewing the four - season clothes for a thirteen - year - old girl that her daughter had asked for. Last time, she had sent a few pieces back with Xuan Qiao, and Xuan Qiao had brought back a message saying that the person liked them very much. The one in Xia Ruolan's hand now was the last piece. After finishing this, she would make underwear, middle - layer clothes, shoes and socks for Haoxuan.
"How's the investigation into your brother - in - law's poisoning going?" Xia Ruolan asked while quickly threading the needle. After learning from Concubine Qin that the Sixth Prince had been cured of the poison and would have no more worries in the future, Xia Ruolan was also happy for her daughter. "Brother - in - law was poisoned in a very strange way. The palace has investigated several times but found nothing. I heard that it might be related to the Eldest Prince, but I don't think it's necessary for the three brothers to target their little brother like this."
"You're telling me all this, but I don't understand. I only know that we have to catch the bad guys who hurt your brother - in - law and punish them severely."
"Of course, mother. Don't worry. I'm keeping an eye on it. After all, I'm in the palace, so it's more convenient for me to handle many things. Mother, please tell sister to be patient. I'll help her pay attention. He's my brother - in - law. How could I not care?"
Xia Ruolan looked at her child with joy. "You two siblings have been very close since childhood. Even when it comes to what kind of wife you want to find, your sister can help you."
"Mother, don't be deceived by sister's appearance. Although she's young, she has a sharp eye."
"Stop speaking ill of your sister. Your sister will be back tomorrow. You two siblings can spend some time together." Now that he was going to have a wife, if he still got close to his married sister, he was afraid Miss Luo might not like it.
"Mother, Miss Luo is a good person. She won't mind. As long as sister likes Miss Luo, it'll be good for them to interact more as sisters - in - law." Mei Haoxuan smiled. All he wanted was a harmonious family. As long as Miss Luo could do that, he would respect and love her.
"Mother, I have to go to work. Don't overuse your eyes."
"Go. You're so verbose."
Mei Haoxuan kept a close eye on everyone in the palace but found no clues. He wanted to exchange information with his sister, but since he hadn't seen her enter the palace for a long time, he had to put this thought aside. He knew his sister's personality well and was sure that she wouldn't let herself suffer. However, this matter was very complicated, and he didn't know if his sister had enough influence to handle it.
Mei Qingxue took good care of Du Gu Qing and had already assigned the task. She suspected Concubine Yue and Concubine Yu because they were the mothers of the other two princes.
Du Gu Ming was imprisoned in the Gulan Garden, and his mother was a suspect.
Du Gu Jue was even more suspicious. That person was rather insidious, and none of these people could be let off. Du Gu Qing silently watched her arrangements. A look of helplessness flashed in his eyes, but in the end, he said nothing.
When Mei Qingxue received the information from the Azure Sea Pavilion, her mind exploded with a "boom".
"Self - poisoning suspected"
These six simple words burned Mei Qingxue's eyes.
She angrily crumpled the note into a ball. The anger in her chest couldn't be suppressed. "Du Gu Qing, you jerk! Do you even care about your own life?"
Du Gu Qing looked at her with helplessness in his eyes. "Xue, please listen to me..."
"Why did you do such a thing?" Mei Qingxue didn't want to hear his explanation. Did he know how worried she had been about him? She even wished she could take his pain for him. Damn it! Did he not value his own life or simply not care about others' feelings?
As she thought about it, tears welled up in her eyes.
Du Gu Qing wiped her tears while explaining, "The Eldest Prince hired assassins from your Azure Sea Pavilion. When the Emperor is furious, he will surely investigate the martial - arts organizations involved. I even think the Emperor is already suspicious of you!" His intuition had always been very accurate. Du Gu You wouldn't sit idle. Even when he was so weak, he was still under suspicion. Now that he was better, he should leave the capital as soon as possible.
"Now it seems that the Eldest Prince and the Third Prince are fighting for power, and I'm sitting on the sidelines to reap the benefits. It seems safe now, but in fact, there are many problems. Once our relationship with the Azure Sea Pavilion is discovered, we won't be able to escape. The Emperor seems to favor me because I've had the cold poison since childhood and won't live past twenty - five. He arranged for you to marry me because your father is the current Prime Minister and your brother is an important imperial guard commander. Only by marrying me can the power of the three princes be balanced! Because... I've always been a discarded piece. He never thought of letting me inherit the throne!" He wasn't wrong about this. Du Gu You did favor him, but he no longer believed it.
"I know you never had any thoughts about that position. I understand everything you said, but I just can't forgive your actions." The raging anger in her just now had disappeared.
"Qingxue, will you hate me for selfishly marrying you? But... I've loved you for six years. What can I do? When the Emperor arranged the marriage, I was actually very happy..."
Before he could finish his words, a soft little hand covered his mouth. "Silly. It's my fortune to marry you!" As long as you get better soon and stop making me worry.
"After I recover this time, can I ask for a fief?"
Du Gu Qing asked for Mei Qingxue's opinion. He knew that Mei Qingxue was the most beloved daughter in her family and was afraid that she would be reluctant to leave.
"Sure. Choose a place with beautiful scenery and a suitable climate. You can recuperate there, and I can also invite my father to go there for his old age." She had long wanted to go to the beautiful Jiangnan region, but she was afraid that such a fertile place would be difficult for Du Gu Qing to obtain as a fief.
"Okay!" Seeing that Mei Qingxue didn't object to his idea, Du Gu Qing grabbed her little hand. With her by his side, he didn't need anything else.
"Did you ever think about what would happen to me when you poisoned yourself?"
Tears streamed down Mei Qingxue's face. The heart - wrenching pain of almost losing him was still so vivid.
"I was thinking about protecting your Azure Sea Pavilion from being discovered..." After saying this, Du Gu Qing realized his slip - up and his face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
Mei Qingxue stopped crying. She had felt something was wrong when Du Gu Qing was speaking just now, and now she finally realized that Du Gu Qing knew everything about her. Thinking of this, Mei Qingxue jumped up and pointed at him. "Tell me, did you never drink the sleeping pills I gave you?"
Damn it! You've been fooling me all this time, and now you've exposed yourself!
"I drank them. I really did. I didn't spit them out. I drank them all."
Since he even knew about the sleeping pills, Mei Qingxue's face burned with embarrassment. Did he watch her climb over the wall every day thinking she was so cool?
"Du Gu Qing, you jerk, you liar, you scoundrel! I... I'm going back to my hometown!" Mei Qingxue was both ashamed and angry, though not really angry. Damn it! It was so embarrassing!
Just as she was about to storm off, Du Gu Qing propped up his weak body, jumped out of bed, and hugged her tightly. "I followed you because I was afraid something might happen to you!"
"I didn't want you to know that the sleeping pills didn't work on me. I wanted to protect you secretly. I didn't want you to know because I was afraid that if I died one day, you would be reluctant to let me go and would be in pain. It's better if you don't know."
"Silly, silly. Don't you know that husband and wife are one? We're inseparable. You're in me, and I'm in you," Mei Qingxue quickly supported Du Gu Qing. "Lie down quickly. Your body is still not fully recovered."
"Then don't leave," Du Gu Qing's eyes showed a pleading look. How could he let go of the person he had loved for six years so easily?
"I won't leave. I'm just angry with you. Now I want to find something to eat so that I'll have the energy to scold you!" She just felt so embarrassed. All the things she thought were her secrets had been discovered by him one by one. Fortunately, he didn't know her secret of being a reincarnated person. She was really hungry now. She had been busy since early in the morning. When Eunuch Tang came today, she didn't have the nerve to eat. Instead, she accompanied the happy old eunuch chatting. The old eunuch came to the mansion every few days under the pretext of the Emperor's concern for the Sixth Prince. When he left, he would carry away a food box of five - nut pastries. Of course, he didn't come empty - handed. He would bring all kinds of delicious pastries from the palace.
Sometimes he would even bring a few dishes, saying that they were from Concubine Qin for Du Gu Qing to nourish his body. Mei Qingxue actually knew that they were for her. It seemed that her mother - in - law was really nice to her. She was secretly happy in her heart!