My Princess Has Been Reborn Chapter 74.1

Chapter 74.1 – Too Skinny

Winter solstice passed, and time flew by.

After returning from the Circular Mound Altar, Qi Yang and Lu Qipei moved out from the Lu Mansion and officially moved to the princess's mansion.

The two lived in the main courtyard, with several clusters of green bamboo outside the window. Even in the cold and snowy weather, the bamboos were still verdant green, being the only source of a bright color in the bleakness of winter. They occasionally opened the window and sit there idling, enjoying the greenery as it adorned the world.

Overall, they were very satisfied with this princess mansion that they personally decorated, and their life after moving in was leisurely and comfortable.

Some people did use the princess moving house as an excuse to send greetings, but Qi Yang wasn't stupid, so how could she get involved in the current chaos? She just thanked them and closed the door, and shamelessly spent her days with her prince consort.

When the half a month of marriage leave was over, Lu Qipei had to return to the Court of Judicial Review, and returned to the days of going in the morning and returning in the evening.

Qi Bo was left at the Lu Mansion, and only occasionally came to the princess's mansion to deliver some account books and letters. Regarding the connection with the Lu family, Lu Qipei didn't break it off. She accepted the affairs that were entrusted by Qi Bo even more actively than before, making him very happy.

In the blink of an eye, it was already two months later. Qi Yang's previous arrangement in the northwest finally bore results.

General Sun led an army of a few hundred soldiers from the northwest to enter the Rong State. Sometimes they disguised themselves as the exiled Rong tribes, and sometimes they changed back to their Liang army attire. They roamed around to conduct raids, and in just half a month, they managed to slaughter three small tribes, leaving only the old, the weak, women and children. Now, news had spread back to the Rong capital.

The war with external forces had been unfavorable, and their internal situation at the back were restless. Rong State's offensive finally stopped.

Before New Year's Eve, Rong State sent a ceasefire agreement to the Liang capital. This time, there weren't any unreasonable request like last time. Their request this time was reasonable – they asked Liang to hand over the murderer who killed Xie Hongyi.

The Court of Judicial Review had been investigating this case for several months, and they had previously found out that all the evidence pointed at the Third Prince. The reason was naturally to pin the blame on the Crown Prince.

But the Chief Minister and Vice Minister had handled many cases over the years, and they felt that there were a lot of issues with this case. They had not dared to jump to a conclusion.

Immediately afterwards, Rong State attacked, the Third Prince requested to be sent to the frontlines, and then a series of accidents happened.

And now, the Third Prince was already a dead man. Few people cared about the truth. However, the Emperor obviously could not admit that it had been his son's fault, so he found another scapegoat to account to the Rong State.

It's hard to say whether they believed it or not, but they did withdraw their army before the New Year, making the New Year atmosphere in the capital much better.

After returning home, Lu Qipei looked for a vase and casually put in a red plum blossom that she plucked from the roadside. Afterwards, she went behind the screen and changed her clothes.

When she came back out, she saw Qi Yang sitting at the table, looking at the plum blossom. She couldn't help laughing and said, “I only picked it casually and didn't choose one carefully. If Your Highness like plum blossoms very much, we can go to Huguo Temple to take a look some other day. I remember that there was a plum grove there.”

Qi Yang waved her hand and said, “It's too cold, I don't want to go.”

Winter made people lazy. Although Qi Yang was not afraid of the cold, she really didn't like going out in this harsh winter. She only went to the palace several times recently, and almost everytime she would bump into a prince or two. They were much more attentive than her, and weren't discouraged by the Emperor's indifference.

Lu Qipei lifted her robe and sat beside her. Seeing her lack of interest, she asked, “What is it? Is Ah Ning feeling unhappy today?”

Qi Yang tilted her body to lean on Lu Qipei's shoulder, then closed her eyes and said, “Not really. I'm just feeling a little bored.”

Lu Qipei knew what she meant, so she didn't say anything and just reached out to stroke her back. After a while, she said, “The Crown Prince should be returning in a few days. Do you want to go see him together?”

When Qiyang heard about the Crown Prince, she opened his eyes and said, “I do.”

The peace talks between the two countries took place before the New Year's Eve, but by the time the Crown Prince rushed back to the capital, it was already past New Year.

The weather was good that day; most of the snow on the road had melted, but the cold wind was still biting. There were quite a lot of officials who came out of the city to greet him, waiting outside for a long time. Even their thick fur coats could not completely keep out the cold of winter. From time to time, sounds of suppressed coughs could be heard from among them.

Compared to them, Lu Qipei's treatment was obviously much better. She was sitting in the princess's mansion carriage, with a warm bucket of charcoal burning inside and a warm cup of tea on her hand. Most importantly, she was accompanied by the princess.

She was so relaxed it was almost like she was having a vacation at home. It wasn't until news came from outside that the Crown Prince's carriage was approaching that she adjusted her clothes, put on her cloak and exited the carriage.

Although it was said that the Crown Prince was coming, he was actually still quite a distance away. Lu Qipei was getting off the carriage early to wait just to show her respect. Qi Yang didn't have to, because she was also a princess. There was no need for her to stand in the cold wind.

Just as Lu Qipei got off the carriage, Qi Yang lifted the curtain and said, “Wait.”

Lu Qipei turned back when she heard the movement and said softly, “What is it?”

Qi Yang then reached out and handed her a hand stove, telling her, “Be careful, don't catch a cold.”

Lu Qipei took it with a smile and thanked her, then walked towards the frozen officials.

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Chapter end