Chapter 906: Chapter 906: The Crown Prince Has Returned!
Li Qingmu figured out what he meant and shot Qi Jingyu a "you’re amazing" look.
I mean, how could this not be amazing?
He’d barely been out for any time at all and he’d already found the girl he liked. This little rascal was impressive, very promising!
"Imperial Uncle, they won’t let me be with Ming Yue, it’s so awful! They even want to break us up. Ming Yue must be really upset right now, I have to go find her!"
As he spoke, he stepped forward and looked pitifully at Li Qingmu.
Li Qingmu was speechless. This brat was really good at acting innocent and pitiful. He suddenly remembered that back when he was weak, he’d also been especially good at pretending.
Truly, uncle and nephew were most alike.
"Don’t worry, no one can break you two apart—except yourselves."
Li Qingmu smiled faintly and went up to untie the ropes binding Qi Jingyu. Seeing this, Shi Qin’s expression changed at once and she said in a trembling voice, "My Lord, isn’t what you’re doing a bit inappropriate?"
Li Qingmu looked at her, his face cold. "There’s nothing inappropriate about it. Even if you’re going to take him away to be dealt with, you should at least let him leave without regrets. At the very least, he ought to explain everything to that young lady. Otherwise, you’re just beating apart a pair of lovers."
"Mm mm! Imperial Uncle is right!"
Qi Jingyu’s face was full of agreement, and he blinked his innocent eyes, as if they could even shine.
"Go. At the very least, there should be an ending."
"Mm mm mm!"
Qi Jingyu nodded like a pecking hen, looking overjoyed, and took off running.
"My Lord, if the Crown Prince goes missing again..."
"I’ll take responsibility for this. Don’t worry, he won’t get lost. I’ll keep an eye on him."
The second half of that sentence was added on the spot. Mainly because Shi Qin was Empress Dowager Li’s person; she was bound to be extreme. No amount of assurances would help—better to just watch him personally.
So Li Qingmu and Long Yue mounted Little Zhe Wu again and circled in the air, following after Qi Jingyu.
"Ming Yue, Ming Yue!"
Qi Jingyu had finally been let out. As he ran, he called Gao Mingyue’s name. They had been by this lakeside earlier, but after more than an hour of gathering herbs, she had disappeared.
Seeing that Gao Mingyue was not here, Qi Jingyu guessed that she had most likely gone back. After all, when she couldn’t see him, there was no point in staying.
She was definitely at the inn; he just had to go there to find her, and then properly explain everything to her.
However, when Qi Jingyu rushed to the inn, he found the place empty, the people already gone, with only a letter left on the table.
Qi Jingyu hurriedly picked up the letter and opened it. After reading it, his face suddenly changed!
"What did she say?"
Long Yue sensed something was wrong. After all, she was a woman; there was a certain unspoken resonance between women.
Sure enough, Qi Jingyu just stared blankly out the window and muttered, "She said she’s gone, told me not to look for her. She... will live well, and she doesn’t want to make things hard for me, or for herself..."
Li Qingmu frowned slightly. He felt something was off, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
"She’s gone, she’s left me..."
Qi Jingyu’s face was full of pain. He threw the letter onto the table and buried his head in his arms, sobbing.
She just left like that?
He was going to come find her, so how could she just leave?
Then where was he supposed to go looking for her? She said she wouldn’t go back to her hometown, so as a weak woman, where was she planning to go?
Thinking of these questions, Qi Jingyu felt his head throb, his heart exhausted, his whole being about to collapse.
"She..."
Long Yue started to speak but stopped. In matters like this, it was better not to ask too much.
"No, I have to go find her. I must find her. I won’t be at ease if I can’t!"
As Qi Jingyu spoke, he was about to run out. Li Qingmu frowned. "She’s deliberately hiding from you. You won’t be able to find her."
Qi Jingyu’s raised foot paused in mid-step. He turned back again. "Then... then what should I do?"
"Go back to Shengjing first. As for finding her, we’ll take it slowly. When we get back, I’ll have the people from Yulong Pavilion look for her. Let’s just hope she doesn’t run off to somewhere too remote."
"Mm, all right. Thank you, Imperial Uncle."
Li Qingmu looked at this nephew and shook his head lightly. Stubborn child.
Mm, his temperament was a bit like his own; both of them were quite stubborn.
Unable to find Gao Mingyue, Qi Jingyu was reluctant to leave, but he still had to go back. After all, he’d been gone too long. It was just that on the way back, his heart remained tied to Gao Mingyue, with no mind for anything else.
All the way, Qi Jingyu was very sullen and spoke little. Fortunately, he would still say a few words to Li Qingmu, but toward Shi Qin and Zhou Jun, he was completely cold and perfunctory, even openly disgusted.
Shi Qin’s eyes flickered, no one knew what she was thinking. Zhou Jun was very frustrated. He hadn’t deliberately offended the Crown Prince, but he couldn’t ignore Empress Dowager Li’s orders either. Besides, Lord Shi Qin was personally overseeing things. Sigh, what a headache!
And so, Qi Jingyu was brought back to Shengjing.
After Li Qingmu and Long Yue delivered Qi Jingyu back to the Imperial Palace, they left. As for how Qi Junlian and Empress Dowager Li would punish him, that was not something they could interfere in.
In terms of family matters, those were his parents and grandmother; their seniority was right there. In terms of state affairs, who had more power than the Emperor?
With the Emperor personally intervening, there was no need for anyone else.
After being away for two months, Long Yue and Li Qingmu finally returned home, only to find no trace of their daughter or Xiao Rui’er. Long Yue’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly questioned the servants and workers of the estate.
"My Lord, My Lady, the Young Prince and the Commandery Princess have gone to the Supreme Emperor’s place."
Not long after returning to Dazhou, Nannan had been granted the title of Princess Mingle, which showed how fond Qi Yun was of her.
Now, hearing the servants say that both children were with Qi Yun, Long Yue finally let out a breath of relief.
Honestly, she had always worried that Empress Dowager Li would lay hands on her children. After all, for the past two years they had often been butting heads with Empress Dowager Li.
It wasn’t that they were deliberately making things difficult; it was that Empress Dowager Li had little knowledge and no real grasp of state affairs, yet insisted on meddling in everything and wanting to control everything. It was truly exasperating.
Generally, Emperors did not allow women to interfere in government, but Qi Junlian’s health was too poor; he fell ill at the slightest provocation. Much of his governmental work was being handled with the Empress’s help.
This was not a good thing; it easily bred their lust for power.
Just look at Empress Dowager Li, look at Rong Si...
In a Dynasty, having several such ambitious women was truly a disaster.
"They’re actually with Father, that’s great. A Mu, since we’ve just come back, we ought to go pay our respects and greet Father and Mother."
Long Yue said that, but in reality she was missing her two children more. Li Qingmu could tell, and he smiled faintly. "All right, we’ll go tonight. We’ll prepare some good wine and dishes. Father loves to eat..."
Li Qingmu trailed off mid-sentence. What was it that Father loved to eat?
He actually didn’t know!
Seeing the embarrassed look on the man’s face, Long Yue let out a light laugh. "You’re so much like Father. Just bring what you like to eat. The old man will definitely like it too."
"Then... what about Mother?"
"Her? She should be easy to please. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be cooking for Father with her own hands."
Long Yue accidentally blurted out the plain truth.
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