Chapter 133: Trouble Again

  The Great Yong has been established for over 300 years. The imperial surname is Murong, and the current emperor's descendants, as well as a small number of royal relatives, all bear this surname.

  The emperor has been on the throne for seven years and is probably over 40 years old. The previous Emperor Shenwu was 40 years old when he ascended to the throne, and when he established his heir, he was already 62 years old. The current emperor, who was then the crown prince, was not the eldest son but the sixth son of the previous emperor. Calculating this way, is the person in front of him now, who is only 25 or 26 years old, a son of the previous emperor or a son of the current emperor?

  Qin Dai'er silently calculated that the previous emperor had passed away at the age of 65, and the current emperor was 35 years old when he ascended to the throne. Mu Rong Jing was only 25 or 26 years old. Even in ancient times, people married and had children early, but it's impossible for the current emperor to have had a child at the age of 10! Therefore, this person cannot be the son of the current emperor, he can only be the emperor's brother, which means he should be a prince?

  Qin Dai secretly regretted, if she had known he was the prince earlier, she shouldn't have asked for 5,000 taels when saving him, but rather 50,000 taels. Different identities naturally couldn't have the same price tag. Alas, what a loss.

  "Which son of the First Emperor are you?" Having read many books, Qin Dai naturally knew some things. When she first woke up, she had devoured a lot of historical books about the Great Yong Dynasty. Although she remembered that the old emperor had many sons and that the sixth son had inherited the throne, she really couldn't remember which ones the others were.

  "I am the youngest, the smallest son of the former emperor." Murong Jingping was not a talkative person at ordinary times and did not like others to ask him questions. On the contrary, when facing Qin Dai's heart, he almost had an answer for every question.

  Is that Lao Jiu?

  "Has he been in Taizhou all along?" How fast is the flying pigeon? The pigeon was just released this afternoon, and the person arrived tonight. Even if he were a divine bodyguard, it's unlikely, isn't it? This speed is comparable to a telegram!

  "You really can't hide anything from you." He was in Taizhou, but he had a reason not to show his face. Otherwise, why wouldn't he go and save her?

  Qin Dai's heart fell silent, her emotions were complicated and she couldn't express what she was feeling. She knew that Murong Jing had come for the suspicious people who had tied her up, so before he even spoke, she told him everything she knew.

  "...The black-clad man who led the way seemed to have come with a mission, and his target should be the people of the four major families. But why he chose the eldest daughter of the Qi family, I don't know." Qin Dai told the truth, but she didn't mention that sentence "Today is going to change" because it involved too much, and the person in front of her was a member of the royal family, so she could only hide some things.

  Murong Jing is a man who, after hearing these words, immediately had some thoughts in his mind. The person behind the scenes has gradually emerged, and he, who was originally holding back, has become restless, deploying more and more densely, and seems to be eager for quick success.

  A hundred secrets and one leak, he probably wouldn't be happy about it either. As for why someone would kidnap the Qi family's daughter, the answer will eventually come to light, so why rush into things?

  Murong Jing gazed at the blurry figure inside the tent, and for a moment, he was overwhelmed with emotions. Was this really fate? Something that had nothing to do with her initially, yet somehow she got entangled in it. He had wanted to let her live a peaceful life, but destiny was playing tricks on people like this.

  "King of Nine." Let's just call him that for now! It's better than using his actual name, which feels a bit too familiar.

  "I've told you everything I know, can't you leave now?" The implication is "no one else".

  Murong Jing's mouth twitched slightly, was she really so afraid of being associated with him?

  The two people didn't say anything, and there was another silent silence.

  Murong Jing let out a barely audible sigh. "It's late at night, you should get some rest! If anything comes up in the future, have my people send me a message, I'll take care of it for you!"

  Qin Dai Xin knew that he was referring to Yan Shi and her daughter, so she said in a soft voice: "The king's people, how dare the commoner girl order them around? Why not let the king take them back another day?"

  Murong Jingdao: "Are you so afraid of being associated with me that you don't even want someone to protect you?" His temperament had always been calm and composed, rarely did he feel like losing his temper like this.

  Qin Dai Xin put the dagger that she had been holding for half a day back under her pillow, and rubbed her temples with her hands. "As a daughter of a humble family, I wouldn't have repeatedly found myself in dangerous situations if it weren't for your esteemed presence. If you hadn't come, I would truly be safe now; where is the need for someone to protect me?"

  Muyong Jing clenched his teeth upon hearing these words, his enthusiasm was instantly extinguished, not even a spark remained.

  "Alright, so this is how it's going to be?" There was still a hint of expectation in his words, and he clearly hadn't given up yet.

  Qin Dai furrowed her brow in deep thought, then suddenly said: "If Your Highness is here to repay the kindness I showed you twice before, then please don't come again! I, a humble merchant's daughter, am not worthy of your concern. If Your Highness can forget such things, I would be eternally grateful."

  Murong Jing only felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his teeth itched terribly, but he couldn't help it. He just said, "Since that's the case, I'll grant your wish." He gazed at the figure inside the bed curtains for a moment, then got up, pushed open the window, and disappeared into the night.

  Qin Dai's chest felt slightly stuffy, but she didn't know why. Fortunately, she had finally gotten rid of the unwelcome visitor, although he had forgotten to close the window again. Nevertheless, she could now rest easy.

  The night seemed to have returned to calm, as if Murong Jing had never come. The two of them seemed to have gone back to their respective paths, becoming two parallel lines that would never intersect again.

  The old man hugging a wine gourd on the roof seems to disagree.

  He took a big gulp of wine, looked up at the moon in the sky, and muttered to himself: "A person made of thousand-year-old ice and ten-thousand-year-old frost can also have moments like this, isn't it ridiculous? This kid is just stupid! Women should be coaxed." He stopped for a moment, took another gulp of wine, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and laughed: "This girl is the same, her words don't match her heart. Alas, two bewildered children in the red dust, need to put in more effort!" After saying this, the old man jumped up and landed lightly on the ground like a willow catkin, then disappeared after a few jumps.

  Of course, Qin Dai didn't know any of this; she slept dreamlessly through the night until dawn.

  When Qindai Xin opened her eyes, the little maid was already waiting under the corridor and called out. The two maids whispered softly, their voices were very light, but Qindai Xin still heard them clearly.

  "Do you know? The day after tomorrow is Young Master's birthday, the old master and madam have already discussed it early in the morning to invite people to make a big celebration."

  "It's just Master's birthday, it comes every year, what's so different about it?"

  "It's different from the past." Another little maid said mysteriously, "I heard Liu Ma say that many good things have been added to the kitchen, all for the young master's birthday. It is said that noble guests will come."

  Just then, Chunli walked over from a distance. As the second-ranking maid, although she was not very old, after all, she had been serving by Qin Dai's side, so the maids of her age still called her "Sister Chunli".

  "What's going on? It's so lively?" Chun Li whispered: "I'm afraid of disturbing Miss."

  Chun Li is not as strict as Ruyi, so she has a very good relationship with others. She also likes to join in the fun, so the two little maids are not afraid of her. When they hear her ask, they lower their voices and repeat what they said earlier.

  It turns out that the day after tomorrow is her older brother's 21st birthday, how could she not know this?

  In my impression, the government has been very busy these past few days, and it seems like everyone is preparing for something.

  She originally thought it was for the grand occasion of February 2nd, but it seems that's not the case.

  Qin Zichen was actually born on February 6th, she had never known. But how noble could this guest be? Could it be someone from the Qi family?

  Qin Dai Xin touched the dagger under her pillow, originally intending to put it in the lattice drawer at the head of the bed, a place she had specially arranged for storing her own weapons. Cold Wind and Black Beauty, chain flying darts were all placed here when not in use. She and Ruyi had agreed that except for Ruyi, no one else was allowed to touch or tidy up the lattice drawer at the head of the bed, fearing that the maids would see the dagger and become frightened. But thinking about what happened last night, she hesitated again before opening the lattice drawer and putting the dagger back in its place, not wanting the little maids who made her bed to see it.

  "Come on in!"

  The murmurs outside the door stopped abruptly, Chunli covered her mouth, and the two little maids also stopped making a sound. The three of them carried copper basins, towels, and other items as they pushed open the door and entered to attend to Qin Daihe's washing up. After rinsing her hands and face, Qin Daihe then gargled with salted water infused with dried chrysanthemum flowers and brushed her teeth with a simple toothbrush made of high-quality horsehair before finally finishing.

  Chunli finished making the bed and waved her hand for the two little maids to take their things away, starting to prepare to comb Qin Dai's hair.

  Qin Dai Xin sat in front of the dressing mirror, dazed and distracted, making Chun Li feel that something was amiss with her.

  She used a horn comb to apply some osmanthus oil, and then combed Qin Dai's hair from head to toe. Her fingers moved nimbly as she braided an ordinary double braid, but it was more intricate than usual.

  Yan's family had arranged everything in the house, and then went to the room to talk to Qin Dai, smiling: "The weather is getting warmer and warmer, now using well water to wash hands doesn't feel cold!"

  Chun Lai was putting a pearl flower on Qin Dai's head, and tying two yellow silk ribbons, saying: "It's like this, even the walls are sprouting green outside!"

  Qin Dai's heart saw Yan Shi and thought she was the ninth king's person, her interest faded a bit, and she responded with an unenthusiastic "uh" before falling silent.

  Ai Lian brought Xiaoyu to deliver lunch, which was again made by her own hands: red date lotus seed porridge, fish cakes, sweetened cow's milk, almond cake, two or three small dishes, and two boiled eggs.

  Qin Dai Xin merely said: "It's you again, isn't it? Why bother getting up so early to do this yourself? Let the people in the small kitchen handle it."

  Ai Lian smiled and said: "Although they make things finely, they don't get Miss's heart. The things I make, Miss can use more, and it won't be in vain for me to get up an hour earlier."

  This is indeed true. People in the kitchen are used to pursuing flavor and desperately adding all kinds of seasonings, but they lose the original taste of the food itself. In this era without pesticides and fertilizers, the simplest taste of food is rare.

  Although there were many people in the house, Qin Dai did not like them to be too restrained and let everyone do their own thing. She also didn't like having someone wait on her, lest it affect her appetite early in the morning.

  Qin Dai Xin's breakfast was not yet finished when Ruyi hastily came over, her face not looking too good.

  Qin Dai Xin let Chun Li and Ai Lian withdraw, but didn't dismiss Yan Shi. Ruyi knew that this person wouldn't avoid the subject, so she used a tone that was neither high nor low, with no ups and downs, to say: "Something has happened in the mistress's quarters." PS: Thank you to all the readers who like this book and are reading it carefully!