"Thank you, thank you," Mei Qingxue thanked repeatedly. Seeing that the dignified Crown Princess didn't despise their gifts, which were just some eggs, cloth shoes, red dates, and even small embroidered purses, zongzi, and all sorts of odds and ends, Mei Qingxue felt that she had never been so happy. In the previous nine lifetimes, she never felt that she had any sense of existence. Now, in the eyes of the common people, she saw her own reflection. In this lifetime, she was very happy.
"King of Hell, thank you!" She didn't know how many times she had cursed the King of Hell, but this was the first time she thanked him.
"This dead girl finally said something kind - hearted," the King of Hell muttered.
The next words from Mei Qingxue almost made the King of Hell stumble. "When I get back to the capital, I'll definitely burn countless ingots of gold and candles for you."
He, the dignified King of Hell, was supposed to eat gold - ingot candles? He wasn't a dead ghost or a wandering soul. "I want meat, I want to eat meat!" The King of Hell mumbled, but unfortunately, Mei Qingxue couldn't hear him.
"Let's go!"
The common people made way, and Mei Qingxue's carriage slowly moved forward. The common people chanted the name of the Plum Blossom Fairy and silently followed the carriage for a long time.
It was not until the carriage left Linzhou.
Mei Qingxue picked up a red date and gently put it into her mouth. It was so sweet.
"Crown Princess, look..." Mei Qingxue lifted the curtain and saw her guards in a sorry state. "These are all food. You can eat them. Don't waste them. They are the wishes of the common people."
"Yes," the guard who had spoken was on the verge of crying. Food? The things hanging on him could last him all the way to the capital. "Princess, we can't eat any more."
Another guard frowned miserably. His body was full of zongzi. He had already eaten more than a dozen, with meat, red dates, and salted eggs. Now, every time he burped, the smell of zongzi would come out.
"Eat slowly. When you're hungry, you can use them as dry rations," Mei Qingxue said, munching on a zongzi as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Yes,"
Passers - by on the road stopped to take a few more looks at these strange guards. They saw that each guard was frowning, with all kinds of things hanging on their bodies. Some guards even had braids of garlic, strings of peppers, and corns hanging on them.
"Look at these people. They're so strange!"
"What's so strange? This is the carriage of the Crown Princess. The common people in Linzhou were reluctant to let her go, so they gave her these gifts. There were even more originally," a well - informed person said respectfully.
"I've lived half my life and never seen a person being held back by the common people and not allowed to leave."
"Don't say you haven't seen it. I haven't either, and I'm a few years older than you."
Mei Qingxue didn't hear these remarks. Now, she was also worried about the things that filled the carriage. There were so many things in the carriage that she couldn't even move. She finally realized that it wasn't easy to accept such kindness.
"Princess..."
The guard outside the carriage called out miserably again. "There's a town ahead. We'll hire another carriage. Just hold on, okay? Although these things are not valuable, they are the hearts of the common people. I can't just throw them away casually!"
Others might never get the support of the common people. What good deeds had she, Mei Qingxue, done to deserve this?
"Yes, Crown Princess!" The guards didn't understand, but seeing their master being loved by the people, they felt proud in their hearts. "Remember, the common people are the backing of the officials and the court!"
Mei Qingxue said this to the guards. She didn't expect them to understand. If everyone knew this truth, there wouldn't be people like Su Minghui. It was still a problem with the system.
Mei Qingxue couldn't manage all that. It would be Du Guqing's business in the future. Now, what she was worried about was how many concubines Du Guqing would stuff into her courtyard after she got home.
Although she knew Du Guqing's feelings, the ancients didn't have the concept of monogamy, while she, Mei Qingxue, did. Even if Du Guqing could understand her thoughts, he couldn't refuse the orders of the emperor and the queen. This was what worried her the most.
"Crown Princess, the capital is ahead. Shall we enter the city now?" a guard reported.
"No..." Mei Qingxue reached out to stop the guard. "You go into the city to find out if there's anything new, such as something about the Crown Prince. No matter how small, I'll wait here for your report."
"Yes!" The guard immediately took the order.
The guard left. Mei Qingxue looked at the food in the carriage. If Du Guqing wasn't honest, she would immediately turn the carriage around. Anyway, the dry rations in the carriage were enough to last for a long time.
"Crown Princess, why don't we enter the city?" A guard knew that Mei Qingxue was easy - going, so he raised his question. "Wait a while. I want to know some things. If I enter the city, I won't be able to know.
Once you enter the deep palace, all the news from the outside will be blocked.
Wouldn't you be at the mercy of others? It was easier to turn around before returning to the Crown Prince's Mansion.
"Report..." The guard soon came back.
"The most talked - about thing in the city now is the story of the Crown Prince making a beauty stand in the hot sun."
"Oh?" Mei Qingxue immediately knew what was going on. A look of joy appeared on her face. "Enter the city!"
"Yes!" When the guards heard that they were going to enter the city, their mouths were watering. They had eaten red dates and zongzi all the way. Now, all they wanted was to go back and have a good meal.
Hearing the sound of the guards swallowing their saliva outside the carriage, Mei Qingxue smiled bitterly. She had eaten a lot too, but there were still so many...
"Report to the Crown Prince. The Crown Princess is back," Han Chao said respectfully, standing in front of Du Guqing. As soon as he saw the carriage of the Crown Princess, he came to report immediately. "Really? Come, go with me to greet her."
"Yes!"
Yue Ru had just given birth to a fat baby boy and hadn't recovered from confinement yet, so she didn't come out to greet them. When Du Guqing saw the things on Mei Qingxue's carriage, he was also stunned for a moment. "Han Chao, tell Uncle Fu to distribute these things. Don't waste them. If I find out, I'll skin him alive."
"What are these?" Du Guqing didn't know the specific situation and saw Mei Qingxue being so serious about not wasting them. Mei Qingxue wrapped up a big package from the carriage. "You're the Crown Prince. You should start by not wasting."
"Everyone gets a share. Don't waste them. These are the wishes of the common people in Linzhou."
As soon as Mei Qingxue said this, Du Guqing understood. "You can't even imagine what it's like when the whole town turns out. They were all there to see me off. There were too many things to take. So many people were crying together. I couldn't bear it!"
As Mei Qingxue spoke, her eyes turned red. Uncle Fu bowed. "Crown Princess, don't worry. We won't waste them!"
There were really a lot of things. After distributing them, each person received a big package.
"Don't waste them," Mei Qingxue looked at them.
"We won't waste them, we won't waste them," Du Guqing was the first to promise and symbolically stuffed a red date into his mouth.
"Have a feast tonight to welcome the Crown Princess. Uncle Fu, tell the kitchen to prepare some dishes. The guards will also have extra dishes. They've worked hard all the way,"
"Thank you, Crown Prince," When the guards heard that they would have extra dishes tonight and wouldn't have to eat zongzi anymore, their eyes shone with a green light. They had eaten zongzi all the way. They didn't even want to think about it for the rest of their lives, with all kinds of flavors.
There were also salted eggs and red dates...
"Xue'er, were you tired?" Du Guqing looked at his wife's somewhat thinner face and asked with concern. In just one month, she had lost a lot of weight.
"Not tired. It was just a bit tiring on the way back and forth. When I was in the south of the Yangtze River, my grandfather's place had delicious food every day," Mei Qingxue laughed.
"Tell me about how you made the beauty stand in the hot sun?"
"You already know about this? Who has such a big mouth?" Du Guqing had a smiling face, but his words showed his surprise. Mei Qingxue didn't care. "Tell me. Did you take a fancy to any young lady?"
"I didn't take a fancy to anyone myself. But I did find one for you."
"Oh?" Mei Qingxue knew that Du Guqing must have a deep meaning when he said this. "What do you mean?"
"That woman doesn't want to marry as a concubine. I just thought that you would like to make friends with her. Besides, I promised her that you would decide her marriage in the future. She wants to marry a military general and go to the battlefield with her husband, just like you!"
"I've never been to the battlefield!"
"I just thought that woman was like you. So, I thought you would like to arrange a marriage for her," It was an intuition. Du Guqing was so sure about what Mei Qingxue would do.
"Then let her marry Guo Jun, the grandson of the old Duke. I also think highly of him. When you ascend the throne, he will be one of your brave generals," Mei Qingxue had a particularly good impression of Guo Jun.
When her brother came back from the battlefield, he praised Xiao Bei and Guo Jun. They didn't even know who had chosen these people. Whenever Mei Qingxue thought of this, she felt a little proud. After living for ten lifetimes, judging people was her forte. No one else would have such rich experience as her.
"Okay. I'll ask Father for an imperial edict during the court tomorrow morning," Du Guqing knew that Mei Qingxue thought highly of his cousin, and he also intended to reuse him. If Li Yuefeng married him, she would surely fulfill her wish.
"Xue'er, don't let your husband sleep in the study tonight, okay?" Du Guqing had a pitiful expression on his face. He had slept in the study for a long time. Just after dealing with the case files, there was trouble on the border. After the matter of the crown prince was settled, Mei Qingxue went to the south of the Yangtze River alone.
"Okay. I'll forgive you this time," Mei Qingxue gently poked Du Guqing's forehead with her finger. This fool, they were husband and wife. It was only natural. Moreover, a short separation made the heart grow fonder, and it was just the right time...
Mei Qingxue smiled and peeled a zongzi. "Come, the last one was salty. This one is delicious. There are a lot of beans in it!" There were still many zongzi left.
Anyway, she wouldn't waste them.
It was just hard for everyone in the Crown Prince's Mansion. They had already reached the point of turning pale at the mention of zongzi. Uncle Fu and Han Chao poured the wine and looked at the red dates, salted eggs, and zongzi on the plate. They gritted their teeth.
"Cheers..."
They picked up a zongzi and swallowed it with their eyes closed.
"Uncle Fu, how much food did the Crown Princess bring back?" Han Chao frowned and asked carefully. "It can last for another three days," Uncle Fu smiled bitterly.
"Ah?" The big guard's hand trembled, and the zongzi fell on the table.
"There's nothing we can do. Our mansion doesn't have many people,"
"The Crown Princess said not to waste!" Uncle Fu pointed at the zongzi that Han Chao had dropped on the table, looking quite proud.