Cypress Boat Floating

After dinner, Lu Ci Qiu took Ye Jianqing to the palace which was still under construction. That would be their future residence.

Ye Jianqing was actually not very interested in that place. After all, she had lived in that palace for many years before her rebirth. To her, that palace was just a temporary residence and had no meaning at all. Therefore, she really had no interest in what the palace was like.

But Lu Ciqiu didn't think so. He wanted to let Ye Jianqing leave some traces when he built the palace. He always felt that Ye Jianqing was like a gust of wind, he couldn't catch her, and she would disappear as long as he didn't pay attention. She seemed to be just a passer-by here, and she never left anything for people to remember. So he wanted to at least have something for her to remember, to leave some traces of her in this world.

The construction of the palace was actually very fast. It was originally a renovation of a princess's palace from the previous dynasty. The basic structure was not modified. Only the environment was slightly changed and the damaged parts were repaired. It would be better to say that it was a modification on the original basis than to say that it was construction.

The palace is very large. After passing through the front hall, there is the inner courtyard behind. When you enter the inner courtyard, you will see a rockery. Behind the rockery is a pond. After passing the pond is the real resting room. In addition to this pond, Lu Ci Qiu had a pavilion built here, which is the same as the Tingyu Pavilion in the small courtyard of the palace. All other traces of the past have been retained without any changes.

Lu Ci Qiu walked in front and introduced the environment of the palace to Ye Jianqing, while asking her what opinions she had on the renovation of the palace.

But Ye Jianqing knew nothing about houses. If asked, she couldn't say anything. Lu Ci Qiu had no choice but to ask her what she thought about her room.

When Ye Jianqing heard this question, his whole face wrinkled up, and he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, "It's fine as long as it's liveable."

This made Lu Ci Qiu very angry.

There was no way. Seeing that Ye Jianqing really had no idea, he didn't want to force her. There was still a lot of time anyway. If he thought of something later, it would still be in time to do it. Besides, it was almost dark now. If he didn't hurry back to the palace, the palace gates would be closed.

It was already evening when the two returned to the palace. They had been playing outside for the entire morning. They not only ate a lot of things, but also bought a lot of things. Of course, they brought back all the things they bought and distributed them to the palace servants in the courtyard.

Lu Ci Qiu returned to the courtyard and took out a wrapped hairpin from a pile of gifts. This was when he was at the market. He had been thinking about buying a gift for Concubine Shu, but after looking at all the things, he always felt that Concubine Shu would not like them. Seeing this, Ye Jianqing picked up a hairpin he liked from a stall selling hairpins nearby and handed it to Lu Ci Qiu.

She said: "Giving gifts requires careful consideration. If you carefully choose a gift for your mother, she will like it very much no matter what it is."

Thinking about Ye Jianqing's words, Lu Ci Qiu carefully selected various things that Concubine Shu might like along the way. Finally, he returned to the hairpin stall and bought a very small and cute hairpin for Concubine Shu. Although it could not be compared with those carefully crafted hairpins in the palace, the workmanship was also extremely ingenious.

As soon as he returned to the palace, Lu Ci Qiu took the hairpin to see Concubine Shu as a New Year's gift to her.

Concubine Shu had received quite a few gifts in her life, most of which were very exquisite and valuable, but this was the first time she had received such pure love from a child. Although the hairpin could not compare with those in her dressing box, she felt happy no matter how she looked at it, and she didn't care what others said. She wore it for several days in a row, and finally she was afraid of damaging it, so she kept it well.

Ever since he went out last time, Ye Jianqing's mood has improved in the past few days. He is also in the mood to play with the palace servants in the courtyard. As the New Year is getting closer, Lu Ci Qiu sees that Concubine Shu is so happy to receive the gifts, so he also thinks about giving Ye Jianqing a gift as a New Year's gift. He wants to make her happy, as a gift to thank her for saving him so many times. Yes, that's right, it's like that, and it's definitely not because he wants to give a gift.

Giving gifts always has to have a reason.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he still had no idea what Ye Jianqing liked. It was only at this time that he realized that his understanding of Ye Jianqing was so superficial, so superficial that he didn't even know what her favorite thing was.

He wanted to ask Yuqin again, but looking at Yuqin's expression, he guessed that she didn't understand Ye Jianqing as well as he did, so he gave up.

Lu Ci Qiu was worried, thinking about how to find out what Ye Jianqing liked so that he could send her a gift. Ye Jianqing took the initiative to say that she wanted to go see Arnold. Lu Ci Qiu thought that her relationship with Arnold was a little too good, so he was a little concerned.

At this time, Ye Jianqing said, "I always feel that Arnold is weird. I suspect that he knows my past self. Otherwise, how can I explain his overly intimate attitude towards me?"

Lu Ci Qiu fell into deep thought after listening to her words. It seemed to be true. Back then in Nancheng, no matter who interrogated him, Arnold would not say anything, even if he was tortured. But as soon as Ye Jianqing arrived, he told everything.

He was busy with other things at the time and had no time to think about it. Moreover, after sending Arnold back to the capital, this person never came up in their conversation again, so he forgot about it. Until now, he felt strange when Ye Jianqing mentioned it.

"So are you planning to go and meet him?" Lu Ci Qiu asked.

Ye Jianqing wanted to go in her heart, but she also knew that Arnold was now imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice. She didn't know if she could go. If she went, would it bring any trouble to Lu Ci Qiu? After all, he would officially become an official after the New Year. If something happened at this time, it would affect his formal appearance in court.

As if seeing Ye Jianqing's concerns, Lu Ci Qiu said, "It's okay. If you want to go, I'll help you arrange it. In fact, when I came back, my second brother also told me that it's okay if I want to go see him."

"Really?" Ye Jianqing was very surprised, with a smile on his face.

Lu Ci Qiu really likes to see her smile, with her eyes curved. Her smile is so sincere that she can easily pass on this emotion to others. Seeing her smile, Lu Ci Qiu will unconsciously smile along with her.

After the two of them decided to go to the Ministry of Justice Prison, Ye Jianqing hurried back to his room to prepare some things to bring to Arnold. He hadn't seen Arnold for a long time and didn't know how he was doing.

Ye Jianqing had never been to an ancient prison, but she was very afraid of the existence of such a thing, because she had always seen on TV that those prisons were dirty, with rats, cockroaches and other messy insects running around. Although Ye Jianqing was not particularly afraid of these insects due to modern military training, she still had a physiological reaction.

And it’s been shown on TV all the time that people in prison can’t even eat. They only have rotten food to eat all day long, and they don’t have quilts to cover themselves with, so they can only use straw as quilts.

Thinking about this, Ye Jianqing couldn't help but think of Arnold's miserable situation in there, and he couldn't help but prepare some more food, quilts, clothes and other things for Arnold to bring over.

Chinese New Year was just around the corner, and she didn't want Arnold to be alone with only mice and straw for company. She also didn't want Arnold to be without any clothes for the New Year, so she unconsciously brought some extra things with her.

Lu Ci Qiu, who was watching her packing, was completely confused. Although he didn't know why Ye Jianqing had to prepare so many things, she had already prepared them, and Lu Ci Qiu couldn't stop her from taking them. So the two of them had to carry the large and small bags to the Ministry of Justice's prison.

Standing at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice Prison, Ye Jianqing suddenly had the urge to throw away the things in his hands. What is the difference between this, this, this, and modern prisons? The only difference is that the cells here are made of wood?

The floor was very clean, not as eerie as imagined. There were no signs of rats running around, and even the tables and chairs that were picked up were clean.

"The Ministry of Justice prison is often visited by dignitaries. The late emperor also came here and felt that the environment was too bad, so the prisoners were asked to clean up after themselves. A general cleaning was organized for them every week, and they were also asked to do some handicrafts on a daily basis to earn money so that they could provide for their own three meals a day. They would also have people come to teach them to read, and if they really wanted to mend their ways and behaved well in prison, they would be released early." As if seeing Ye Jianqing's shock and confusion, Lu Ci Qiu held back a laugh and leaned close to her ear to explain to her quietly.

"So, Arnold won't keep company with mice in here?" Ye Jianqing turned his head stiffly towards Lu Ci Qiu and asked word by word.

Lu Ci Qiu nodded.

"Will he also have a quilt to cover himself with, instead of straw?"

Lu Ci Qiu nodded.

"So, he also has normal meals to eat, and doesn't have to eat stale rice?"

Before Lu Ci Qiu nodded, the prison boss next to her spoke up first: "Girl, we are a proper prison, and these prisoners are not death row prisoners. How can we let them sleep with straw, eat stale rice, and sleep with rats?"

(⊙o⊙)...

The prison boss's aggrieved words made Ye Jianqing feel so embarrassed instantly. It turned out that TV dramas can really do harm to people!!!

But she suddenly remembered what Lu Ci Qiu had just told her about the actions of the late emperor. Emmm... Why do they feel similar to the practices in modern prisons? Could the late emperor also be a time traveler?

The late emperor is the late emperor, even if the late emperor is really a time traveler, it has nothing to do with her. Her most important thing now is to go and see Arnold. Although the environment here is not bad, she is still a little worried about Arnold.

The prison on this level of the Ministry of Justice is filled with high-ranking officials who have committed crimes. They are usually released after being imprisoned for a few years. Occasionally, some princes who have committed crimes are also imprisoned here.

Therefore, most of the cells on this floor are empty, and not everyone is locked up here every day. People in the upper class still care more about their own reputation.

Arnold committed a serious crime, but the emperor took various factors into consideration, and Lu Zhixing also pleaded for him, so he was also arranged here and locked in the innermost cell.

The innermost cell is different from the previous ones. This one is made of iron and is extremely sturdy.

When Ye Jianqing walked to the prison door, he saw Arnold sitting on the bed, reading a book in his hand in the light from the window.

Quiet and peaceful, the sunlight shines on the book, while he is hidden in the darkness, but his face can be vaguely seen through the reflection of the book.

This kind of Arnold was different from the vicious Arnold who was holding a knife to chop people on Sannan Mountain, and the self-deprecating and stubborn Arnold in the county jail. This was another look of him, a look that Ye Jianqing had never seen before.

Seeing Arnold like this, Ye Jianqing couldn't help but smile. She felt that Arnold was really getting better and getting away from the nightmares in the past. So she smiled and called him.

Arnold raised his head from the book in his hand in a daze, looked towards the corner, and rubbed his eyes with his hands as if he was uncertain.

During the time he was here, he often had dreams in which Ye Jianqing came to find him and took him out, but every time he woke up, there was no one outside.

Looking at Ye Jianqing in front of him, smiling at him and waving at him, just like in a dream, Arnold thought he was still dreaming and didn't dare to confirm it.

He put the book down, staggered to his feet and walked in front of her. His outstretched hand was trembling, and when it was about to touch Ye Jianqing, he quickly retracted his hand. He was afraid that if he touched her, the Ye Jianqing opposite him would leave just like the Ye Jianqing in his dream.

"Arnold, it's me, I'm back." Ye Jianqing grabbed his hand and gave him the most real touch.

Arnold stared blankly at the hands holding him, his eyes gradually changing from a dazed state to surprise, "You...you are real, you finally came to see me!"

"Yes, I came to see you." Perhaps infected by Arnold's emotions, Ye Jianqing felt a little wet in the corners of his eyes.

Under Lu Ci Qiu's instructions, the jailer opened the cell door and let Ye Jianqing and Lu Ci Qiu in. Then he left very conspicuously so as not to disturb them.

After confirming that Ye Jianqing was real, Arnold's eyes never left her. He kept staring at her closely, and his hands were unwilling to let go of Ye Jianqing's hands.

Lu Ci Qiu looked at the pair of tightly clenched hands and bit his back teeth so hard that he almost broke them.

His eyes turned and he saw the two large bundles in his hands. An idea suddenly came to his mind. He squeezed in between the two of them with the two bundles, forced their hands apart, and then pretended to be enthusiastic and took out the things in the bundles one by one to show Arnold.

"Arnold, look, these are the things Qing'er prepared for you, take a look."

Arnold didn't want to separate from Ye Jianqing, but Lu Ci Qiu came in between and he couldn't touch Ye Jianqing. He wanted to push Lu Ci Qiu away, but seeing that Ye Jianqing had no resistance at all, he didn't want to make things difficult for Ye Jianqing because of himself, so he had to force a stiff smile on Lu Ci Qiu.

But Lu Ci Qiu didn't care at all. As long as he could separate him and Ye Jianqing, he didn't care how many such smiling faces he received.