Within the palace walls, there were countless twists and turns.
Du Mi stood on the highest point in the palace, looking far into the distance at the two groups of people leaving the palace one after another.
He stood by the carved wooden railing, his expression still calm.
But he just stood there alone, not making any move to leave for a long time, as if waiting for someone.
Before long, Wen Lang, the emperor of the Eastern Barbarians, actually found him.
"You seem to know that I will come," Wen Lang said as he stepped onto the last step.
Du Mi turned around and calmly said, "Your Majesty is kind - hearted. How could you be completely at ease with them?"
Wen Lang shifted his gaze awkwardly to the side and said stiffly, "I'm not so cold - blooded as to let these two children go to their deaths. Could you... help me with a divination today? Will there be any danger for them on their way to Chuanzhou? The people of Xiliang are really vicious. I can never completely set my mind at ease."
Hearing this, Du Mi faced the east and closed his eyes.
No one knew how long it had passed before Du Mi slowly opened his eyes. There was still no ripple in them.
"There will be no great danger or great fortune. When the Prince of Ning goes to Chuanzhou, there should not be too many obstacles. As a pampered prince of the Eastern Barbarians, this is Wen Yi's first long - distance journey. With someone to help him, there won't be too many twists and turns. Although Xiliang will be a trial for them, it's just..."
No great danger meant there would be small dangers...
Wen Lang asked urgently, "Just what?"
Du Mi's eyes seemed desolate, and then he slowly said, "The trial in Xiliang is already predestined, but the only variable among them is... the human heart."
The human heart is the most unpredictable.
...
On the way back to the Great Yan, it was quite smooth.
Although the journey was long, it wasn't too hard for Chu Qing.
To her surprise, Nangong Jin was even more interesting than she thought. He seemed to know all the anecdotes and wild tales by heart and told them to her one by one, gradually dispelling the gloom in Chu Qing's heart. From time to time, Chu Qing's giggles could be heard in the carriage.
During this time, Chu Qing tried again to contact Little Meatball to find out if Wei Ying would be in danger on his way to Chuanzhou, but she didn't get a response from Little Meatball for a long time.
Although she was anxious, there was nothing she could do.
Fortunately, with Nangong Jin's escort, they soon arrived in Yongcheng.
Looking at the city gate of Yongcheng just in front of her, Chu Qing felt a surge of emotions. The last time she left alone, and this time when she came back, she was pregnant.
Memories came flooding back, making her a bit timid as she approached home.
Until... she saw a group of people at the city gate.
Chu Qing couldn't hold back her tears any longer and burst into tears.
When Chu Xing, Qin Zhao, and Chu Zhan saw the somewhat bulky Chu Qing, they immediately rushed towards her excitedly.
"Qing'er!" Qin Zhao had already covered her mouth and sobbed softly.
Seeing this, Chu Qing's nose turned sour and she immediately stepped forward to meet them.
Then the four - member family hugged each other and didn't let go for a long time.
"You silly girl!" Chu Xing's eyes were red as he looked at his daughter's swollen belly. A wave of fear welled up in his heart.
At this moment, Qin Zhao's hands were also trembling slightly as she gently stroked Chu Qing's belly, her eyes full of pity.
They couldn't imagine what Chu Qing had gone through in the past six months. She was a precious daughter who should have been pampered, and when she was pregnant, there should have been a large group of people to serve her.
But...
Chu Qing had been on the move everywhere.
How could this not make them feel heart - broken!
Chu Qing was very touched to be so cherished. But besides the touch, she gradually realized how risky it was for her to suddenly leave Yongcheng to find Wei Ying.
"Father, Mother, I'm unfilial... I made you worry," Chu Qing bit her lower lip, trying not to cry.
She knew that pregnant women were most likely to be emotionally volatile, and Chu Qing didn't like the feeling of being unable to control her emotions.
If she cried, she would cry until the sky darkened.
This would really be indecent.
"Silly girl, what are you talking about being unfilial!" Chu Xing pretended to be angry and turned his head away. Then he added, "Even if your brother is unfilial, you won't be."
Chu Zhan, who had been looking serious, was stunned for a moment, then pouted and said, "Father is too partial to little sister!"
Chu Xing gave him a sideways look and said calmly, "Still blaming me for being partial to Qing'er? You, as an elder brother, came back by yourself and left Qing'er alone to drift around. Is it wrong for me to feel sorry for my girl? I haven't even settled the score with you, but you're complaining about me?"
Hearing this, Chu Zhan lowered his eyes guiltily.
At that time, Chu Qing had entrusted him to keep an eye on the whereabouts of Mrs. Zhou's daughter. He left the city the next day. Who would have thought that when he came back, he heard the news that Chu Qing was missing.
He originally wanted to go with Wei Ying to rescue her, but was stopped by Wei Ying.
Wei Ying told him to go back to the Great Yan first, saying that maybe the enemy thought the most dangerous place was the safest.
At that time, he didn't know what was wrong with his mind, and actually believed that his little sister might have been kidnapped back to the Great Yan!
But after he returned to the Great Yan, he belatedly realized that Wei Ying had lied to him.
Wei Ying didn't want to drag Chu Zhan into danger when the situation of the enemy was unknown.
Although Chu Zhan understood Wei Ying's good intentions, he was still worried. Just when he made up his mind to go to the northern grassland, he happened to get the news that Chu Qing was safe.
Seeing Chu Zhan lower his head, Qin Zhao quickly noticed and said gently, "Silly boy, how could your father really blame you? Qing'er's accident has nothing to do with you. You've always been the most outstanding elder brother to Qing'er."
Hearing Qin Zhao's words, Chu Qing noticed that Chu Zhan was avoiding her eyes.
Sighing silently in her heart, Chu Qing said softly to Chu Zhan, "Yes! Mother is absolutely right! And, brother, when did you become so sensitive? If you treated Ling'er with the same caution as you treat me, you wouldn't still be..."
Suddenly, Chu Qing's mouth was covered by Chu Zhan.
Seeing the fierce threat in Chu Zhan's eyes, Chu Qing immediately understood that he should no longer be blaming himself. Then... she wrinkled her nose and snorted at him.
Chu Zhan was still the Chu Zhan who couldn't find a wife no matter what.
...
Due to her identity, Chu Qing didn't go back to the Chu Mansion with Chu Zhan and the others. Instead, she turned and went directly back to the Prince of Ning's Mansion.
Wei Ju, the steward of the Prince of Ning's Mansion, had been waiting eagerly at the mansion gate.
Liu Xin was waiting with him.
He originally wanted to go to the city gate to pick her up, but when he heard that the three members of the Chu family had gone there early in the morning, he thought that his princess would probably want to see her family more. So he led the people from the mansion and waited directly at the mansion gate.
When she saw Chu Qing being helped out of the carriage by Lv Luo, Liu Xin couldn't hold back and immediately ran over. This little girl, who usually never showed her emotions, actually cried out.
In the past six months, her heart had always been floating with her master.
Chu Qing touched the little girl's head with emotion. After not seeing her for more than half a year, this little girl seemed to have grown a bit taller.
Seeing Liu Xin, Lv Luo beside her didn't hide her emotions at all and directly threw herself into Liu Xin's arms.
The two little girls hugged each other, crying and laughing.
The corners of Chu Qing's mouth were slightly raised, but the redness in the corners of her eyes still didn't fade for a long time.