Chapter 61.1 – I Know That Person

Battlefield situations always changed rapidly, but when the scale reached nation-level war, it wouldn’t happen overnight. As the Emperor increased the amount of troop sent to the northern border, the war situation gradually stabilized, and people far away in the capital still lived a peaceful life.

Qi Yang finally found a chance to leave the palace again. Since the war in the northern border had taken up all of the Emperor’s attention, he didn’t have any time left to deal with her lately, so it was quite easy for Qi Yang to leave the palace this time.

She especially waited for a rest day to come out, and asked Lu Qipei to go with her to offer incense at Huguo Temple in the outskirts.

In the morning, the carriage drove out from the royal palace facing the rising sun. The wheels rolled over the street paved with blue stone, circled around the Lu Mansion, and picked up the youth waiting outside.

Shortly after Xie Hongyi left, Qi Bo sent someone to the Court of Judicial Review to ask her to return and live in the mansion. Lu Qipei didn’t agree back then, but she later moved back because of Qi Yang’s words.

And anyways, the current Lu Mansion was no longer a den of tigers for the two of them. After the two of them fully became open to each other, Qi Yang even sent hidden guards to Lu Qipei’s side and no longer hid the fact that she had spies in the Lu Mansion.

Lu Qipei was not angry when she heard about it. Instead, she felt a little pleasantly surprised that her lover was protecting her… In a way, she was being quite indulged.

But for now, the protection Qi Yang arranged for her was not useful yet. Qi Bo seemed to be very fond of her, and had no intention to harm her. Lu Qipei’s life in the Lu Mansion lately could even be said to be quite happy.

At this moment, the carriage had picked her up and continued heading outside the city. The two people inside looked at each other and smiled.

There was the coachman outside the carriage, and just a door could not hide anything, so they didn’t talk about anything important. They just chatted as usual, talking about the recent situation and how they missed each other. At most, there was a few ambiguous little actions.

Even so, the two people who were of one heart but couldn’t see each other every day still felt calm.

The horse hooves clattered on the blue stone pavement, as the driver shook the reins so they would not go too slowly. Half an hour later, they arrived at the city gates. But when they reached there, the way was blocked and they couldn’t leave the city even after a long wait.

The two of them only had this one day off to go out, and they had to return to the city – to the palace even – before the gates were closed at night. It wasn’t good to be delayed too much on the road, so after waiting for a while, Lu Qipei started to become impatient and said, “Why is the city gates so congested today?”

As she said that, she lifted the carriage’s curtain to take a look, and saw several carriages blocking the road ahead. From Lu Qipei’s current angle, she couldn’t see their insignia, but the carriages looked very lavish and even decorated with golden ornaments. The owner of the carriages must have been someone of very high status.

Seeing this, Qi Yang also came to Lu Qipei’s side to take a look, and recognized them at a glance. “The carriage in front is from my Third Brother’s Mansion, while the one on the other side is from Duke Dingguo’s family. There must have been a dispute at the city gates.”

No one knew what the situation at the northern border was like right now. The fact that the Third Prince begged to return to the capital early on in the war report was somehow leaked out, and he gained a bad reputation for being a coward.

The Crown Prince looked very spirited and heroic when he left, but now he gained such infamy. Although he hadn’t returned to the capital yet, the Third Prince’s family had been suppressed so much in the court that they couldn’t hold their heads up.

On the contrary, although Duke Dingguo produced some silkpants like Zhang Zhen, there was no doubt about the Duke’s own abilities. Seeing that the situation at the northern border had changed, the Emperor sent him there. As a result, he won two battles soon after he got there, showing his incredible means.

Looking at the layout of the carriages at the city gates, the person inside should have been the Third Prince’s consort, who was traveling but somehow met with people from Duke Dingguo’s family.

Lu Qipei took another look outside after hearing that. She curiously said, “The Third Prince isn’t in a good situation right now, right? Why is someone from his Mansion still making enemies in the capital?” After saying that, she muttered, “If you want to fight, then fight, don’t block the gates.”

It was such a coincidence that just after she said that, the dispute seemed to have come to an end.

Finally, both sides took a step back, and the two carriages left the city gates in parallel.

When she saw how it ended, Qi Yang couldn’t help but frown. The people from Duke Dingguo’s Mansion were being too rampant, and the Third Prince’s consort was too weak. Taking a step back like this was causing the royal family to lose face!

Qi Yang took back her gaze and couldn’t help but sigh. It wasn’t sure if she was gloating or what, but she said, “Tomorrow, my Third Brother is going to get scolded again.”

Hearing this, Lu Qipei pretended to rub her eyebrows and said, “It’s rare that you get to go out. Ah Ning, let’s not worry about the Third Prince anymore, shall we?” After saying that, she pushed Qi Yang to face her, “Come come come, look at me. Didn’t you say that I was much better to look at?”

Seeing her pulling this trick, Qi Yang couldn’t help but laugh.

The carriage blocking the way finally left the city, and the road was no longer blocked. The coachman pulled the reins and urged the horse to move forward. The laughter of two youths inside came from time to time, finally disappearing amidst the winds of freedom in the outskirts.