The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 269

Bonus Chapter 5

“No, you’re not like Qianjie—that silly.”

A brief silence fell over the room. Zhu Qianjie looked up at the two jiejie gazing at each other and asked, “Is that not allowed?”

            

Zhao Ningying looked at her first, then smiled and exchanged a glance with Qu Ning before replying, “Of course it’s fine.”

Qu Ning also looked at Zhu Qianjie, but didn’t answer. Her temperament had grown quite like her Mother Emperor’s—not as fond of chatter as she had been in childhood.

“You get up first, I’ll make the bed.” Zhao Ningying’s bed was large; sleeping three was plenty.

            

In the past, the one who came most often to squeeze in with them was Qu Zhimu, but ever since her grand wedding, she had never shared a bed with them again.

Their jieqi¹ had Qu Zhimu so thoroughly wrapped around her finger that she had no time to spare for them.

Zhu Qianjie stood up, shot a gleeful look at Qu Ning, and asked, “Ning-jiejie, are you thirsty?”

            

Qu Ning gave her a glance but said nothing. She reached past Zhu Qianjie to help Zhao Ningying spread the bedding. Each grabbing one end, they smoothed the quilt flat. Zhao Ningying looked up at her and asked, “In the army, did you always do these things yourself?”

“Mm.” Qu Ning’s response was subdued. During her time at the military camp, she had mostly taken care of herself. This was also what Qu Sheng required. Although when Qu Sheng first entered the battlefield back then, she had Lin Xizhao attending to her every need, her daughter could not be coddled.

Zhu Qianjie glanced at the two of them, then went to the small square table and poured two cups of tea. Zhao Ningying finished making the bed and had barely glanced at Qu Ning when Zhu Qianjie brought the water over: “Ying-jiejie, here, have some water first.”

            

Zhao Ningying lowered her gaze for a moment, a faint smile on her lips, and accepted the cup. “Does Ning-jiejie want some?”

Qu Ning glanced sideways at Zhu Qianjie first, then reached over and took the cup right out of Zhu Qianjie’s hand, downing it in one go.

“I thought you didn’t want any,” Zhu Qianjie muttered with a resentful pout.

            

She didn’t dare utter a word of protest after Qu Ning had taken it from her.

“You brought it all the way back, why wouldn’t I drink it?” Qu Ning’s two years in the military seemed to have forged a straightforward, steel-tempered disposition, but Zhao Ningying thought otherwise.

Zhao Ningying handed her cup back to Zhu Qianjie and said, “You can have mine.”

            

“No need, I’ll just pour another. Does Ning-jiejie want more?” Zhu Qianjie had a way of being pesky without ever truly making people angry.

Qu Ning glanced at her, her expression seeming less stiff than before. “No more.”

Hearing Qu Ning’s tone soften, Zhao Ningying smiled, drank her water, and reached over to take the cup from Qu Ning’s hand as well.

            

Zhao Ningying went to set the cups down, and Zhu Qianjie trotted along after her. She poured herself fresh water and gulped it down, then laughed, “The water in Ying-jiejie’s room really does taste better.”

Zhao Ningying thought her flattery was laying it on a bit thick. She chuckled softly and said, “Alright now, our Ning-jiejie is still waiting for us to rest.” As she spoke, her brow arched slightly as she looked toward Qu Ning.

Zhu Qianjie smiled and followed behind Zhao Ningying. Walking to the edge of the bed, she asked, “Which one of you is sleeping on the inside?”

            

Zhao Ningying looked at Qu Ning, but Qu Ning only stared back at her without speaking. After a long moment, Zhao Ningying gave a helpless little laugh and said, “I’ll sleep on the inside, then.”

“Got it!” Hearing that Zhao Ningying would take the inside spot, Zhu Qianjie immediately went off to undress.

Zhao Ningying watched Zhu Qianjie’s adorable little mannerisms, her eyes curving involuntarily. But when she looked up at Qu Ning, she found Qu Ning already gazing intently at her.

            

Zhao Ningying lowered her eyes to evade Qu Ning’s unusually intent gaze. Her smile lingered, but now carried an imperceptible trace of shyness.

Zhao Ningying changed and climbed onto the bed. Over on the other side, Zhu Qianjie had just draped her clothes over the wooden rack and turned around—only to see Qu Ning following right behind Zhao Ningying onto the bed as well.

“Hey, we agreed I’d sleep in the middle!” Zhu Qianjie’s little brow furrowed, displeased with Qu Ning’s behavior.

            

Qu Ning settled in next to Zhao Ningying, her face gentle but her words utterly merciless. She looked at Zhu Qianjie and said, “I never agreed to that.”

“What kind of Older Female Cousin does that? Ying-jiejie, look at her!” Zhu Qianjie grew indignant but had no way to deal with her, so she could only seek Zhao Ningying’s help.

Zhao Ningying looked at Qu Ning helplessly. Seeing that Qu Ning’s expression hadn’t changed at all as she pulled the blanket over herself with downcast eyes, she could only coax, “Come on up first, don’t catch a chill.”

            

Zhu Qianjie pouted and reluctantly climbed up. Qu Ning, unconcerned, pulled the blanket over her as well. Zhu Qianjie sat there, still dissatisfied. Zhao Ningying tried to negotiate with both of them to find a compromise: “How about I switch places with Ning-jiejie?”

Qu Ning’s eyelids lifted slightly. Zhu Qianjie looked over and didn’t dare provoke her. Even her own mother could never get the upper hand against her Younger Female Cousin—how could she possibly best her Older Female Cousin?

“I suppose that works,” Zhu Qianjie said slowly, not entirely pleased. But she knew when to quit while she was ahead. Besides, she didn’t want to sleep next to Qu Ning now anyway—who knew if she’d play some prank on her in the middle of the night while she slept.

            

“What about you, Ning-jiejie?” Zhao Ningying tilted her head to look at Qu Ning.

Qu Ning only lowered her eyes—she seemed to have had her answer ready all along. “Either way is fine with me.”

Zhu Qianjie rolled her eyes and repeated Qu Ning’s words under her breath in a sarcastic, sing-song tone, her head bobbing side to side: “Either way is fine with me.”

            

Qu Ning and Zhao Ningying both looked over. Qu Ning inhaled sharply. Sensing that Qu Ning was about to lose her temper, Zhu Qianjie shrank her neck. Zhao Ningying quickly reached for Qu Ning’s hand and said with a laugh, “Alright, let’s switch.”

Qu Ning turned to look at Zhao Ningying. Seeing that this normally cool-faced girl now wore such tenderness in her eyes, she lost all her ire in an instant. She shifted aside, letting Zhao Ningying move past her.

Zhao Ningying settled in the middle. She first helped Zhu Qianjie pull the blanket up and tuck her in, then glanced sideways at Qu Ning, who was waiting for her to lie down.

            

“Is it a bit cramped?” It had been a long time since they’d slept like this. When they were little, they were always squeezing in together, but then again, they had been much smaller then.

Qu Ning shook her head. “It’s fine.” They could lie flat, though they did shift inward a bit, worried about Zhu Qianjie getting squeezed off the edge.

Qu Ning lay down. Zhao Ningying glanced down at her, then turned to look at Zhu Qianjie, who was still fidgeting and adjusting her posture, and lay down as well.

            

Once Zhao Ningying lay down, she felt a gaze from the inner side. She turned her head and met Qu Ning’s eyes directly. Qu Ning was looking at her—her gaze lacked the gentleness of her Empress Mother, carrying instead a hint of possessiveness, yet held in careful check.

“I’ll sleep holding Ying-jiejie.” On the other side, Zhu Qianjie, oblivious to everything, reached out and wrapped her arms around one of Zhao Ningying’s.

Qu Ning lifted her eyes but couldn’t see clearly. She only caught the tenderness and doting warmth on Zhao Ningying’s face as she turned to look at Zhu Qianjie.

            

When Zhao Ningying looked back, Qu Ning had already turned away and lay flat on her back. The smile that had lingered on Zhao Ningying’s face faded slightly when she saw Qu Ning turn away and stop looking at her.

Meanwhile, Zhu Qianjie kept peppering Zhao Ningying with questions about the bandit campaign: “My mother said the mountains over there are full of miasma². With your constitution, Ying-jiejie, and knowing something about prevention, that’s how you managed to wipe out those mountain bandits. Did they all get caught?”

Zhao Ningying glanced at her, a gentle smile returning to her face, and replied, “They were all caught, but their leader jumped off a cliff and died from the fall. Some leads couldn’t be extracted.”

            

“Oh? Were they important leads?” Zhu Qianjie looked up and asked.

Zhao Ningying pressed her lips together and answered, “They were.”

“Don’t worry, even if he were alive, we might not have been able to get anything out of him. Mother Emperor has already ordered Third Uncle and Third Aunt to investigate this matter. I’m sure it will be cleared up soon.” Qu Ning suddenly interjected.

            

Zhao Ningying’s bandit campaign had been difficult in part because there had been a leak on their side—someone had been passing intelligence to the bandits.

Zhao Ningying turned to look at Qu Ning. At this moment, Qu Ning had also turned her head toward her. Their eyes met. Qu Ning’s lips curved slightly as she reassured her again, “Don’t worry. Every trade has its specialization³—investigating cases doesn’t fall on your shoulders. You have already done very well.”

Remembering their exchange at the Ten-Mile Pavilion today, when Zhao Ningying had deliberately yielded to Qu Ning, she gave a soft laugh and replied, “Mm.”

            

And so Qu Ning and Zhao Ningying fell into conversation. Zhu Qianjie listened to them trade stories about their respective military camps. Qu Ning had made a fair point—every trade has its specialization. Zhu Qianjie was in commerce; she knew nothing of military campaigns. So, listening and listening, she fell asleep still clutching Zhao Ningying’s arm.

“The conditions in the Northern Army are much harsher than in the south. When the sandstorms blow, they last for months. Ning-jiejie has gotten thinner, and steadier too,” Zhao Ningying murmured, looking at Qu Ning.

Qu Ning’s gaze traced over Zhao Ningying’s face, noting the sharper lines of her jaw, and whispered with a small smile, “You have gotten thinner too. Tomorrow I will take you to every restaurant in the Capital City and eat it all back.”

            

Zhao Ningying raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t we be going to the palace?”

Qu Ning laughed. “Nothing in the palace suits your taste the way the outside does. Well—except for what my Empress Mother makes. Tomorrow, let us eat our way through every delicacy in the Capital City and build you back up properly.”

Zhao Ningying gave a soft laugh. “Are you sure? Will it not upset your stomach?”

            

“No, you are not like Qianjie—that silly.” As Qu Ning spoke, she even glanced over at Zhu Qianjie.

At this moment, Zhu Qianjie was fast asleep and had no idea that her Older Female Cousin was calling her silly right to her face.

Zhao Ningying shot her a playful glare and glanced at Zhu Qianjie. Who said Zhu Qianjie was silly? She was not silly at all.

            

The two of them talked for a long time, not resting until the latter half of the night.

Morning light filtered through the window. Zhu Qianjie had fallen asleep early the night before, so naturally she woke up a bit earlier too. She opened her eyes, raised a hand to shield against the sunlight, yawned involuntarily, and stretched. But the moment she finished stretching and shifted her body, she tumbled right off the bed.

A loud thud echoed from the thick wooden floor, accompanied by Zhu Qianjie’s pained yelp. Both people on the bed had trained in military camps—upon hearing such a commotion, they sat bolt upright. Qu Ning opened her eyes, and it took a few moments to register what object was on the floor.

            

Zhu Qianjie clutched her waist and backside, looking up at the two on the bed in their peculiar posture. Her own sleeping spot had been so narrow—she must have bumped into Qu Ning’s body and, unable to steady herself, gotten squeezed off. She blinked and demanded loudly, “What are you two doing?”

By now, Qu Ning and Zhao Ningying had already swapped positions from the original arrangement. Qu Ning sat up, but her body was angled toward the inside, while Zhao Ningying seemed to have just emerged from Qu Ning’s embrace—one hand still resting on Qu Ning’s waist, and her head had apparently been pillowed on Qu Ning’s arm.

Hearing Zhu Qianjie’s words, the two looked at each other. Though both were in sleepwear, the sudden start had left their clothes somewhat disheveled.

            

The moment Zhao Ningying realized she had been sleeping in Qu Ning’s arms, she froze—then saw Qu Ning hastily withdraw her arm, looking flustered at being caught red-handed by Zhu Qianjie.

But Zhao Ningying remembered little of last night and said no more.

---

The author has something to say:

            

Qu Ning: “What could I be doing, I was holding my wife while sleeping, that’s all.”

Zhu Qianjie: “!!!”

---