The Beloved in the Palm

Chapter 205 It's fatal! Hurry!

A beauty couch was placed in the courtyard, and Xue Qingyin lay on it to bask in the sun for a while.

Nong Xia was a little hesitant in the back, she didn't know how to make the girl feel better...

"Princess, Madam Liu wants to see you." The voice of the guard sounded outside the door.

"Madam Liu?"

"Yes, it's the wife of County Magistrate Liu."

Xue Qingyin sat up slowly: "Oh, then maybe she is here to thank me, please come in."

Not long after, Madam Liu was invited in.

Although she was only the wife of a small county magistrate, she did not seem timid, but instead revealed a bit of rough and straightforwardness.

"I greet the princess." She bowed respectfully, then raised her head and said, "I made some snacks from Xingzhou, I wonder if the princess can eat it?"

As she said this, she carefully glanced at Xue Qingyin's abdomen.

There was a kind light in her eyes.

County Magistrate Liu was not young anymore, and Madam Liu was naturally in her forties, nearly fifty.

She was older than Xu Zhi.

It was not at all inappropriate to look at Xue Qingyin like this.

Xue Qingyin was looked at by her, and then she remembered... Oh, I hadn't pretended for a while since I left the capital, and I had forgotten it.

Let's find a good day to do it.

Otherwise, I should stuff a small pillow inside, which is very troublesome.

"What are they? I think they are edible." Xue Qingyin said to Madam Liu.

Madam Liu knelt down in front of her, opened the food box and said, "They are all walnut cakes, gourd buns, chestnut black chicken and the like."

Xue Qingyin winked at Nong Xia, and Nong Xia went over to help Madam Liu up.

Other palace servants also brought a stool to her.

Madam Liu couldn't help but smile, thinking that Princess Xuan was really a kind and easy-going person.

The palace servants held new plates and cleared out the food inside.

Before Xue Qingyin could grab a piece, the guard came again.

He poked his head into the door and lowered his voice, saying, "Princess, His Majesty has sent someone to Xingzhou, and they are waiting outside. Look at this..."

Mrs. Liu said hurriedly, "His Majesty has sent someone? Then...then I will go first..."

Xue Qingyin looked at Nong Xia, "Take Madam Liu into the house and wait."

Nong Xia replied, "Yes."

The guard said, "The person outside..."

"Bring him in."

"Yes!"

There are two doors in the yard. The guard came to the outer door and looked at these people.

"Princess, let you go in." The guard said.

The man in the lead was named Dou Jianhong. He stepped in and the rest of the people followed him in.

"Wait." The guard stopped him, "Only one person can go in."

"Brother, we are following the order of His Majesty..."

"I'm not forbidding you to go in, but only one person can go in. Why? He's not your leader? Just answer him alone!" The guard's face turned cold.

Dou Jianhong quickly supported the guard's arm and said with a smile: "Okay, I'll go in alone. There are many inconveniences due to the difference between men and women. If it weren't for His Majesty's order, I would never dare to come and offend the princess."

The guard's face eased a little, and then he led the way.

"Xingyuan Prefecture Garrison Captain Dou Jianhong greets Princess Xuan!" The middle-aged man bowed.

"Stand up." Xue Qingyin uttered a word, holding a walnut cake that she had taken a bite of in her hand.

The palace people had tested it for her just now, and it was non-toxic.

Dou Jianhong straightened up when he heard the voice, and saw a stunning beauty in his eyes.

The crimson silk skirt and the drooping hair bun close to the ears make the face more delicate.

He was stunned for a moment, and then he found it a little funny.

This Princess Xuan is really too leisurely. As a woman, how could she know the cruelty of the battlefield in Yizhou...

Xue Qingyin was also looking at Dou Jianhong at this moment.

He had a broad forehead and a flat top, a square face, and was dressed in soft armor and a general. There was a waist badge hanging around his waist, and the waist badge was spinning, and words such as "Ling" and "Fu" could be vaguely seen on it.

"Are you sent by His Majesty?" Xue Qingyin asked with a frown.

"Yes." Dou Jianhong responded, neither humble nor arrogant.

"When did His Majesty receive the letter?" Xue Qingyin asked again.

"Two days ago, as soon as he received the letter, he ordered us to rush here."

"What did His Majesty ask you to tell me and Your Highness?"

"Just that it might be an invasion by the Meng tribe. The Meng tribe is brutal, so don't act rashly. He also ordered us to find out the situation and report back so that the court can dispatch troops."

"Didn't he tell Your Highness to lead troops to Yizhou to stop it?"

"Didn't he say... Did Your Highness leave? I heard that from the officials in Xingzhou."

"You are all the garrison troops in Xingyuan Prefecture? You are still a colonel. "Lieutenant, you are a high-ranking official."

"I don't deserve it. We are all working for the court, so there is no distinction between big and small. Once your majesty gives an order, we must set off immediately."

"I have always heard that the Xingyuan Army is very brave, and I really admire it. By the way, you have fought with the Meng tribe before, right?"

"Yes, it is for this reason that your majesty sent us here first."

Xue Qingyin asked questions very quickly, and the man named Dou Jianhong in front of her answered them one by one.

Xue Qingyin touched the bright red nail on her fingertips and whispered: "In this case, since your highness has just set off, Lieutenant Dou should lead people to follow immediately."

Dou Jianhong nodded: "I will send someone to follow, and I will also send someone back to Beijing to report."

"Well? Lieutenant Dou is not going?"

"Your Majesty, thinking of the fact that the princess was poisoned, ordered me to protect her."

Xue Qingyin smiled: "Wouldn't that hinder Captain Dou from making contributions? I really feel bad about it."

"As a minister, it is really your duty. How can you hinder it?"

Xue Qingyin nodded and said, "Give me a seat."

Dou Jianhong suddenly looked flattered, but the palace servants had already brought a brocade stool for him, so he had no choice but to sit down.

"Want to eat?" Xue Qingyin reached out and plucked the plate in front of her.

The pure whiteness of the bone china plate contrasts sharply with the khaki color of her fingertips.

Dou Jianhong looked down and was startled again.

"Captain Dou's journey has not been easy. I must be both thirsty and hungry. Let's eat something." Xue Qingyin tilted her head and smiled, her posture lazy and relaxed.

Dou Jianhong clenched his palms before picking up the walnut cake: "Thank you, Princess, for the reward."

Xue Qingyin smiled brighter when she saw that he had eaten it.

This smile made Dou Jianhong feel uncomfortable all over.

However, Xue Qingyin had no intention of sending him down at this time. She shook the fan and asked, "How old is Captain Dou? Does he have a wife and children?"

Dou Jianhong's eyes were dazed for a moment: "Once... he died in a military accident."

"Oh?" Xue Qingyin straightened up, "So Colonel Dou is now a widower and alone?"

"...Yes." Dou Jianhong was a little confused as to what Princess Xuan wanted to do.

Even the guards and palace people on the side were puzzled.

Why does the princess pay so much attention to this person alone?

Although he looks good on the outside, he is actually a middle-aged man. Compared with His Highness Prince Xuan, he is as real as heaven and earth.

Xue Qingyin suddenly stood up: "I forgot to let His Highness bring an amulet. Captain Dou will let his men take it for a while. When he catches up with His Highness King Xuan, he will hand it to him personally."

Dou Jianhong responded: "Yes."

Then he raised his eyes and watched Xue Qingyin walk into the house to get the talisman paper.

On the other side, Qiu Sima was still sitting in his original position, frowning.

The governor couldn't help but ask: "What? Are you also worried about Yizhou? With King Xuan here, the war will not spread to our Xingzhou."

"No, it's not... I just think something is not quite right..."

"What?"

"That Commander Dou just now, he spoke a little strangely."

"What's so strange?" the governor wondered, "We have already verified his identity. The token was not forged. When he talked about the Xingyuan Army, he spoke clearly and without any falsehoods. And... you are not talking to me in private. Say, did you send a letter to the capital to report this matter? Then there is nothing wrong with your Majesty sending someone here!"

"It came too soon..."

"He also said that he was from the Xingyuan Prefecture garrison and came here nearby."

Qiu Sima scratched his head.

So what's wrong? He always feels something is wrong...

"Oh? Someone actually escaped? I wonder where they are? - Do you still remember what he said?" Qiu Sima murmured.

"Of course I remember, there's nothing wrong with that. If you ask us, we don't know anything. Of course, we have to find those subordinates who escaped and ask them who can best understand the situation."

"There are still people who have escaped, there are still people who have escaped, there are still people who have escaped..." Qiu Sima read this sentence over and over again.

The governor's ears hurt when he heard it, but after repeating it several times, he felt something was wrong: "These words are a bit strange."

"What's wrong?" Qiu Sima grabbed his arm and asked.

The governor said in a daze: "Some... some are like the words spoken by the murderer after the victim escaped death."

Qiu Sima jumped up: "It's fatal! Hurry! Find Princess Xuan quickly! I'm afraid he is going to Princess Xuan! Now he is really going to be torn into pieces by Prince Xuan! This is the way we lead..."