Chapter 690 People’s hearts are not as old as they used to be
Nothing happened that night, until the next morning.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

A crisp knock on the door broke the tranquility of Tianji Pavilion. Outside Qin Wei's room, Liu Xunyi had a solemn expression on his face. He paced back and forth from time to time, and looked very anxious.

"who is it?"

After a while, a slightly painful question came from the room.

"I'm Liu Xunyi, can I come in?"

"Ah?" Hearing Liu Xunyi's voice, Qin Wei's tone changed obviously, and he hurriedly said, "Brother Liu, I slept too late last night, and I haven't changed clothes and washed up yet. You..."

"boom!"

Before he finished speaking, Liu Xunyi suddenly pushed open the door, and immediately startled Qin Wei who was sitting on the bed preparing to change clothes.

Seeing Liu Xunyi coming in uninvited, Qin Wei hurriedly covered his body tightly with the quilt, and at the same time lowered his head to let his loose hair hide the bruises on his face.

"Um... Brother Liu, why are you here so early in the morning?" At this moment, Qin Wei curled up in the corner of the bed like a frightened bird, and smiled calmly, "Since returning from Luoyang City, there has been no work for Tianji Pavilion. It's rare for me to have a few days of leisure, and I have become more and more lazy. I'm sorry to embarrass you."

"You and I are both grown men, why do we have to hide like little girls?" Liu Xunyi looked up and down at the timid Qin Wei, approached the bed step by step, and teased, "If you don't know, you would think you have a beautiful woman hidden in your bed."

"Brother Liu is really good at joking." As Liu Xunyi gradually approached, Qin Wei's laughter became more and more awkward, "Why don't you go out first while I wash and change clothes..."

"No need." Liu Xunyi was not shy and sat down beside the bed, saying with a half-smile, "Just change your clothes and wash up, I won't be in the way if I sit here."

"Isn't this... bad?"

"You and I have been friends since we were little, what is there to be shy about?" Liu Xunyi said meaningfully, "Unless... there is a secret hidden under your quilt that you cannot tell anyone."

"How can this be……"

"is it?"

Before Qin Wei finished speaking, Liu Xunyi's expression suddenly straightened up, and he moved as fast as lightning, immediately opening the quilt. Before Qin Wei could react, his scarred body suddenly appeared in front of Liu Xunyi.

There were also a few bottles and jars hidden under the bedding, which contained some healing medicines, traumatic injury wine and the like.

"Brother Liu, what are you doing?"

Qin Wei subconsciously let out a shout, and then quickly pulled the quilt to cover his wounds.

"What happened?" Liu Xunyi said in a deep voice, "If Ding Chou hadn't told me just now that you were limping when you came back last night, I wouldn't have known you were injured until now."

"What kind of injury is this?" Qin Wei nonchalantly evaded the question, "I just fell accidentally."

"Falling?" Liu Xunyi snorted and laughed, "Where on earth did you fall? How could you get so many scars all at once, from head to toe, and even... whip wounds?"

"I lost my footing and fell down the stairs..."

"Still lying to me?" Liu Xunyi said angrily, "Do you think I'm as easy to fool as Ding Chou? The wounds on your body are clearly caused by being beaten. Do you really think I can't see it?"

"This……"

"What happened?" Liu Xunyi asked, "Who hurt you?"

"Brother Liu, I know you care about me, but I beg you not to ask anymore..."

"No!" Liu Xunyi refused righteously, "You and I are brothers. How can I just sit there and watch someone hurt you?"

Looking at the indignant Liu Xunyi, Qin Wei couldn't help but feel touched. He smiled and said, "I appreciate your kindness, but... this time it's my own fault. You don't have to care, and you can't care."

"You brought this upon yourself?" Liu Xunyi frowned slightly and asked unwillingly, "What do you mean?"

When Liu Xunyi said this, his eyes were fixed on Qin Wei, who had a complicated expression, as if he wanted to remember every subtle expression of his.

"Actually..." After hesitating for a while, Qin Wei finally compromised and said helplessly, "Actually, I was beaten by the young prince's men."

"Oh?"

When Qin Wei said this, Liu Xunyi's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch, and an indescribable hidden meaning flashed in his eyes.

"Why did the young prince hit you?"

"Isn't it because of Princess Xinde?" Qin Wei said self-deprecatingly, "You also know that the young prince has been resentful of me because of Princess Xinde. He didn't punish me before because the marquis protected me. He was bumped into by the young prince in front of the palace last night, so of course he wanted to vent his anger."

"Really?" Liu Xunyi's eyes sparkled, as if thinking about something. "Why did you go to the palace for no reason?"

"The Marquis ordered me to check the guard situation of the palace. As you know, a thief broke into the palace late at night and caused trouble, which made the emperor furious. The Marquis did not want such a thing to happen again, so he wanted to transfer some people from the Tianji Pavilion to help the Imperial Guards strengthen the vigilance. Last night, I was ordered to go and investigate, but I didn't expect to meet the young prince's carriage as soon as I arrived at the palace gate. Not only was I humiliated by him, but I was also beaten for no reason. It's really a narrow road for enemies, and I can only blame myself for my bad luck. Alas!"

Qin Wei's words were bitter, and he looked innocent. But Liu Xunyi's eyes kept flashing with a mysterious light, as if she was immersed in her own thoughts and did not listen carefully to Qin Wei's explanation. "In fact, I have always felt guilty about you and Princess Xinde. I deserved the punishment from the young prince yesterday." Qin Wei's expression darkened, and he said guiltily, "I didn't want you to know about this, but Xiao Dingzi was so outspoken. I will definitely teach him a lesson later."

Liu Xunyi smiled slightly, then changed the subject and asked tentatively: "Besides beating you, did the young prince say anything else to you?"

"Yes! But they were all threats." Qin Wei recalled seriously, "Oh, right! The young prince asked me whether you had successfully escaped from West Lake Langyuan yesterday, and I told him everything that happened yesterday. The young prince called me to the carriage to ask me about this matter alone. I think... he probably doesn't want too many people to know that I have seen you."

Liu Xunyi looked thoughtful and said nothing.

"Brother Liu, don't blame the young prince. After all, there is a difference between relatives and strangers." Qin Wei pretended to be ignorant and advised, "In fact, the young prince has done his best for you. Right now, the Central Plains martial arts world has issued a hunting order for you. To put it bluntly, everyone in Lin'an City is avoiding you like a plague god, fearing that they will get into trouble. The young prince did not avoid danger to meet you, which shows that he attaches great importance to you. When I saw him last night, there were many more guards around the young prince. In the final analysis... all this is thanks to you. Prince Rong was worried that his precious son would be implicated, so he had to..."

"Brother Qin, you don't have to say more. I have always remembered the young prince's kindness in my heart." Liu Xunyi interrupted Qin Wei, then said with a wry smile, "It's just that you are wronged. You can neither resist nor take revenge."

"As brothers, we understand each other!" Qin Wei smiled, stretched out his scarred arm and put it on Liu Xunyi's shoulder, jokingly saying, "If you don't mind, how about you forgive the young prince for his sins?"

"How to forgive sins?"

Qin Wei smiled slyly, looking at the bewildered Liu Xunyi provocatively, and said with a sly smile: "Apply the medicine to me to activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis."

"No problem." Liu Xunyi agreed happily.

"Not just the limbs, but also the chest and back. Oh, and the buttocks..."

"What? Aren't you afraid that I'll take advantage of you?"

"It's better to give a good deal to our brothers than to outsiders! Haha..."

Accompanied by a burst of laughter, anger and cursing, Liu Xunyi and Qin Wei seemed to have returned to their childhood.

In those days, daily practice was very tiring and it was inevitable that one would feel tired and sore all over. So they would massage each other, encourage each other, chat and laugh, and bicker with each other, just like they do today.

Although the days at that time were hard and difficult, at least we were sincere to each other and had no ulterior motives.

In contrast, today, although on the surface they are talking and laughing, they are actually engaging in a battle of wits and courage, countering each other’s moves, testing each other, and making their own calculations.

Liu Xunyi used the name of visiting the injured to test Qin Wei's true strength and whether there were any unspeakable secrets between him and Zhao Xie.

Qin Wei was the same, speaking half-truths and avoiding the truth, trying to evade Liu Xunyi's probing and make him believe that he was sincere.

Everything is just as Qin Wei said: "It's tacitly understood by both parties!"

……

last night.

After returning to Tianji Pavilion with wounds all over his body, Qin Wei did not go back to rest, but went to Zhao Yuan's room.

"How did you get beaten like this?" Zhao Yuan looked at Qin Wei in amazement under the dim candlelight and asked in surprise, "Where have you been?"

"Reporting to the Marquis, I have followed the plan and made peace with Brother Liu." Qin Wei endured the pain and said intermittently, "I found that he and the young prince... had a secret meeting in Langyuan, West Lake this afternoon."

"What?" Zhao Yuan's face changed, and he asked hurriedly, "What are they talking about?"

"Your Majesty guessed correctly. Brother Liu really refuses to give up on the princess..." Qin Wei went straight to the point and said bluntly, "He asked the young prince to take a letter to the palace for him and give it to the princess."

"Hiss!" Zhao Yuan's heart suddenly rose to his throat, and he asked anxiously, "Did Zhao Yu agree?"

"Yes." Qin Wei nodded slowly. "After I learned about this, I have been secretly monitoring the young prince until the evening. When the young prince was about to bring the letter into the palace, I stopped him in time outside the palace gate."

"Well done!" Zhao Yuan praised. "What happened next? What happened to your injury?"

"In order to gain the young prince's trust, I was willing to be taught a lesson by his men." Qin Wei said bitterly, "But it's okay, just some superficial injuries."

"That's good!" Zhao Yuan looked at the embarrassed Qin Wei with complicated eyes and sighed, "Qin Wei, I'm sorry for putting you through this."

"I have no regrets in dying for the Marquis." Qin Wei said righteously, "In fact, I disturbed you late at night to discuss countermeasures with you so as not to reveal any flaws in front of Brother Liu. I was beaten outside the palace gate today and was witnessed by many people, so it is impossible to hide it. I guess... Brother Liu will definitely take this opportunity to test my strength."

"Your worries are not without reason." Zhao Yuan thought, "This is about the young prince and the palace. Liu Xunyi can't help but be suspicious." After saying this, Zhao Yuan cast a serious look at Qin Wei and asked, "What do you think?"

"My Lord, if Brother Liu asks about this, I intend to tell the truth. However, I will lie and say that the Marquis sent me to the palace to do some work, and I met the little prince by chance on the way, so as to dispel his concerns. If he asks the Marquis about this matter..."

"Don't worry! I know how to deal with it." Zhao Yuan understood immediately and readily agreed to Qin Wei's proposal. Then he changed his mind and said cautiously, "However, I am more concerned about the letter that Liu Xunyi wrote to Zhao Xin..."

"Don't worry, sir. The letter... is here!"

While speaking, Qin Wei stretched out his trembling right hand towards Zhao Yuan. At this moment, between his fingers, there was a blank letter.

……

(End of this chapter)