Chapter 142.1 – Extra Chapter 1

It was the end of March, when the spring view was just right, the best time to go out and play.

When Qi Yang returned power to the Little Emperor, Lu Qipei also resigned and returned the royal guard token. Honestly, she had no regrets. She wasn’t someone who craved power, but she had to work hard to protect the country for the Little Emperor. When she thought about it, Lu Qipei felt that she must have owed the royal family in her previous life. Then she remembered that she indeed owed Qi Yang in her previous life, and she could only feel helpless.

After finally enduring until the Little Emperor could finally take charge, the young couple was both overjoyed. Some people said that after Her Royal Highness The Princess returning the power so easily, her Prince Consort would definitely persuade her. Even the so called “Princess Faction” went to begging to her, but the Heavens knew that she wanted to run away even more than Qi Yang!

Resigning from her post and refusing power, Lu Qipei was relaxed.

Qi Yang didn’t have it as good as her. Although they were doing the same thing, how could a Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review resigning and a Princess acting as regent returning power be the same? Of course, things would be different.

Nothing happened after Lu Qipei handed over the official seal, but it was different for Qi Yang. She had too much power in her hands, and returning it was not so simple. Right now, she had to hand everything over to the Little Emperor, and she was really busy.

So on this nice spring day, Lu Qipei was relaxing. After staying in the mansion for a few days, a group of seven or eight people came to see her. Without needing to think about it, she knew that they had to be from the “Princess Faction” whose interests were affected, and they wanted to beg her to persuade Qi Yang.

How could Lu Qipei care about them? Although these people were all under the banner of the “Princess Faction”, how could Lu Qipei not know the actual situation? From the very start, the two of them had never wanted power, so naturally they would not deliberately support forces opposing the Emperor Faction. Aside from the forces that they had gathered during the previous Emperor’s reign, they were all people who came to attach themselves later. The faction was also divided into two groups.

Qi Yang and Lu Qipei still took responsibility for the forces they had gathered, and they had arranged a way out for them over the past year. And for the so-called Princess Faction who came to attach themselves later after seeing the situation, the two of them actually didn’t care much about them.

Lu Qipei couldn’t be bothered wasting words for these people, so she simply closed the gates and disappeared. But after locking herself up in the mansion for a few days and suddenly becoming idle, she started feeling bored and uncomfortable after a while.

She painted, played the zither, brewed tea, and mixed incense… It was really boring to spend time alone in the mansion every day, just relying on these things to pass time.

So one day, looking at the peach blossoms blooming in the mansion, Lu Qipei started to come up with an idea.

Leaving the princess’s mansion through the back door, Lu Qipei rode all the way outside the city, and went to the peach blossom forest by Qingshui River, bringing back a peach blossom for Qi Yang. They had been really busy the past three years, with Qi Yang having to manage the government, deal with the various forces in the court, and teach her nephew.

Although Lu Qipei’s official position was just the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, how could she watch her wife be busy alone? The two of them were so busy that they didn’t have time to go out and watch the flowers, so Lu Qipei would go to the peach blossom forest by Qingshui River every year to pick a peach blossom for Qi Yang.

This year would probably be the last time. They would no longer be in the capital next spring – where would Her Royal Highness The Princess go to pick flowers?

Lu Qipei picked the flower while thinking about something, then rode back home. She had not stopped anywhere for long lately, afraid of accidentally meeting and getting caught up with someone, so she simply regarded this horse-riding trip as a chance to relax.

When she returned to the princess’s mansion, Qi Yang had unexpectedly returned early, and the two of them met in the courtyard.

It was rare for her to see Qi Yang return early, so naturally Lu Qipei was happy. She held up the newly picked peach blossom and handed it over, “Ah Ning, I specially went outside the city to pick this for you. Do you think the peach blossom have bloomed well this year?”

Although she came and returned riding a horse, she guarded the flower carefully along the way, and because she came back quickly, the newly picked peach blossom was well preserved. There were dozens of small pink blossoms on one branch, but they were all in bloom, with red stamens in different positions. At first glance, you could see that it had been carefully selected.

Qi Yang reached out and took it. Lu Qipei looked at her with eager eyes, waiting for her to bloom into a smile like always, and give her a kiss as reward. Her Royal Highness took the flower and smiled, but she didn’t kiss Lu Qipei, and smacked her forehead with the flowers instead, not too hard but not too light either.

It didn’t hurt, but as Lu Qipei touched her forehead and look at the scattered petals, she felt a bit puzzled and heartbroken.

Qi Yang couldn’t help smiling seeing Lu Qipei’s momentarily dumbfounded looked, her brows curving like a child. “Silly, why would you go out just to get a flower.” As she said that, she brushed away the flower petals that had littered Lu Qipei’s hair and clothes.

Hearing this, Lu Qipei felt a bit wronged and said, “Your Highness, I picked the flowers every year, and you obviously liked them.” Why did you change your mind this year?

Qi Yang seemed to have heard those unspoken words and raised her hand, using the flower branch in her hand to prop up Lu Qipei’s chin. It was a rather frivolous gesture, as if she was teasing her. With a smile on her face, she looked at the person in front of her and said, “I’m afraid you went there for nothing… because this year, I can go there with you!”

After saying that, Qi Yang didn’t wait for Lu Qipei to react and said cheerfully, “I’ve finished handing over all the government affairs. Let’s go for an outing tomorrow!”

Hearing this, Lu Qipei, who was being somewhat embarrassed by Qi Yang’s frivolous teasing, couldn’t care about blushing anymore. She didn’t care about the maid watching next to them either, and happily hugged Qi Yang and spun around – her days of staying alone in an empty room was finally over!

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