After Cheng Wang married, the noisy Jing City gradually calmed down. It was as though no one remembered the eldest imperial prince who was imprisoned in Bright Moon Tower, and no one remembered the imperial censor who had been killed by striking a pillar in court. The people that lived in Jing City were usually the most realistic. They would only remember what they could remember, and wouldn't remember anything that they should forget.
Just as everyone was living peacefully, a piece of news came out of the palace. The Emperor was ill. Shu guifei and Jing guifei attended night and night, but didn't see any improvement. Shu guifei even had a judge of the Imperial Hospital beaten to death.
The Emperor was ill, and very seriously ill. This was a signal in Jing City. If it wasn't that Shu guifei had ordered the judge of the Imperial Hospital to be beaten to death, the news probably wouldn't have spread. In a short period of time, each family had their own thoughts. But Tian Jin Ke and the other high-ranking officials of the Emperor all closed their doors and refused to receive anyone.
Many people went to Duan Wang Fu to ask for news. Not just Qu Qing Ju, even the paternal families of Feng Zi Jin, Jiang Yong Yu and the others were asked. These people didn't think, what could the paternal family of a qie of a wang fu know? Did they think Duan Wang was stupid to tell this kind of thing to a qie, and at this time, let the qie send the news to her paternal family?
If they could only ask the paternal family of a qie, it meant that they didn't have much ability. It showed that these people weren't smart enough. If they wanted to climb up in this lifetime, they would have to be blessed by the Heavens.
Qu Qing Ju heard Jiang Yong Yu come to report that someone had come to her paternal family to ask for news and let her sit down.
"My father doesn't know much and wouldn't know such an important matter. He could only refuse them all," Jiang Yong Yu presented the letter in her hand to Qu Qing Ju, "This is the list of visitors. My father is timid and recorded the names of these people as well as the gifts. Wang fei, please look."
Qu Qing Ju took the letter and put it to one side. She didn't even look at the contents inside. She smiled at Jiang Yong Yu as she said: "This is difficult for Gao tang. I will definitely explain this matter to wang ye."
In Qu Qing Ju's eyes, Jiang Yong Yu was the one that could see the situation the best out of He Heng's qieshi and was the one that could do things the best. She even felt pity for Jiang Yong Yu. If Jiang Yong Yu did not enter the palace as a female candidate and married an ordinary rich family's son, she would have a good life.
Jiang Yong Yu saw that Wang Fei didn't look at the letter and wasn't surprised. With Wang Fei's personality and conduct, she definitely wouldn't look at these things. This was one of Wang Fei's cleverness.
"The needlework in this servant's room is not finished yet. I won't disturb Wang Fei any longer. Goodbye." What she wanted to say had been said. Jiang Yong Yu didn't want to rely on wang fei to gain wang ye's favor. She thought very clearly now that her beauty had no chance of gaining wang ye's favor. It was better to follow wang fei's footsteps. Her days would be better.
Qu Qing Ju didn't keep her. She nodded and had Mu Jin personally send her out.
Jiang Yong Yu walked out of the main house and thanked Mu Jin again and again for sending her off. Finally, Mu Jin walked her to the gate of the main courtyard before turning to leave.
Ai Lu supported Jiang Yong Yu as she carefully walked down the steps. She turned to look at Mu Jin's departing figure and said in a small voice: "Zhuzi, wang fei let the most trusted Mu Jin guniang send you off. It means that wang fei thinks highly of you."
Jiang Yong Yu didn't speak. After she walked a short distance, she saw wang ye walking from another direction. Her steps paused and she lowered her head in greeting to wang ye.
He Heng saw her come out from the direction of the main courtyard and asked: "Wang fei didn't take a nap?"
"Wang ye, wang fei had already gotten up just now," Jiang Yong Yu obediently answered.
"En," He Heng nodded and walked in the direction of the main courtyard. He didn't even look at Jiang Yong Yu.
Jiang Yong Yu straightened her body and raised her head to look at He Heng's back. She suddenly thought, now that the Emperor was seriously ill, if wang ye … …
She shook her head. No matter what, she had to respect wang fei. She saw this wang fu very clearly. It was already in wang fei's hands. Even if other women entered the fu in the future, they would just be wang ye's playthings. Wang ye's love for wang fei wasn't fake.
He Heng carelessly flipped through the list in his hand. Seeing Qu Qing Ju start to work on the potted plants again, he said: "These people aren't important. Some of them are lao san's subordinates that came to fish in troubled waters. The people of the Jiang Family are very practical."
Qu Qing Ju was carefully trimming out a rabbit ear. Hearing He Heng say this, her hands paused. She hadn't thought that He Heng would mention outside matters to her. Did he really think of her as one of his own that he didn't even disguise his words?
"Wang ye means that san shu is secretly doing something?" She put down the scissors and turned to wash her hands before asking, "Wang ye, how about I tell you a folk story?"
"What story?" He Heng saw Qu Qing Ju's expression was stern. She waved her hand for the servants to leave before smiling and suggesting, "Why don't I hear it?"
"An old man had two sons. The old man favoured the younger son and always left all the good things for the younger son. Later, the old man became seriously ill. The younger son thought that the old man would leave all the property to him. But one day, the younger son heard a neighbor say that his father had secretly given something good to da ge. The younger son was angry and went to find his father to make a fuss. Who knew that the old man was angered to death. The younger son was very regretful. Later, he found out that the neighbor was lying. But the dead are dead, there's no use in regret. " Qu Qing Ju sighed, "Do you think that this younger son harmed himself? It's not a good thing to follow the crowd."
He Heng smiled, replying: "I've heard this story before. Qing Ju and I really are connected."
Qu Qing Ju smiled. She talked with him for a while before he hurriedly left. She knew inside that He Heng didn't want her idea, but her attitude. This man was ambitious. He didn't want the person next to him to have a different stance than him. But he was satisfied with this person so he said those words to test her.
It hadn't even been a year since she came to this place but she understood what power was, and understood the terror of power. With power, a woman could divorce her husband. Without power, she had to grovel and bend her knees to others.
Looking at the letter that He Heng had left behind on the table, Qu Qing Ju reached out to take a look. She slowly closed the list and handed it to Mu Jin for her to carefully put it away.
Mu Jin looked worriedly at her. Right now, Jing City was in such a mess, she didn't know what would happen, "Wang fei … …"
"Don't worry. Tell the servants that everything in the fu will be the same as before. But if anyone dares to speak nonsense, they will be thrown out of the fu. No one can be merciful." Qu Qing Ju's expression was calm as she ordered, "The qieshi in the fu cannot send messages to outsiders. If there is any disobedience, just report to me."
"Yes," Mu Jin saw that wang fei seemed to have a card up her sleeve and her heart slowly relaxed.
"Niangniang," A palace maid ran in front of Shu guifei with a panicked expression. Seeing that the room was filled with Shu guifei's trusted aides, she opened: "Nubi just heard a piece of news from Xiao De Zi of Tian Qi Palace. Today, when Jing guifei niangniang was attending to her illness, the Emperor praised Duan Wang in front of many people."
Shu guifei, who had been lying on the chaise and being massaged by a palace maid, instantly straightened. Her expression changed slightly as she exclaimed: "The Emperor has woken up?! What did he say? "
The palace maid knelt down and said fearfully: "Nubi heard that the Emperor praised Duan Wang for his conduct, for his breadth of mind, and that he had the air of xiandi."
"Xiandi?" Shu guifei furrowed her brows. Xiandi was a wise ruler that many people praised. The Emperor was very respectful of xiandi and often lamented that he wasn't a wise ruler. If it wasn't that xiandi only had one son, he wouldn't have been able to inherit the throne. After hearing these words many times, Shu guifei understood the position xiandi held in the Emperor's heart. Now the Emperor was comparing Duan Wang to xiandi, what did he mean?
When Yuan'er was born, didn't the Emperor say that only Yuan'er's eyes and brows were similar to xiandi? Why was he praising the son of that whore Wei shi?
"Go summon His Highness Rui Wang into the palace. Say that ben gong is sick from attending to the illness. Let Rui Wang show his filial piety before the Emperor goes to bed."
The yahuan kneeling on the ground hesitated but in the end, she silently retreated. At this time, niangniang was saying to the public that she was sick from attending to the illness. In the eyes of others, would there be a suspicion that she wasn't willing to attend to the Emperor? But she was just a little palace maid. Guifei definitely wouldn't like her to talk too much. Even more, the Emperor had always favored guifei. It probably wouldn't be a big matter.
In Tian Qi Palace, Qing De Emperor woke up from his dreams. Smelling the faint scent of medicine in the room, he was dazed for a moment. He looked outside the tent and saw a hazy figure sitting outside the tent. It must have been watching over him. His heart warmed and he couldn't resist asking, "Beloved fei, why haven't you gone to rest?"
"Emperor, you're awake?" The mosquito net was hung up. Jing guifei's joyful tearful face appeared in his eyes. He finally understood. The one guarding outside was Jing guifei and not Shu guifei. In this instant, he was slightly startled. Twenty three years ago, when he had fainted from a great illness, who was the woman crying by his ear?
"Emperor, what's wrong, are you not feeling well," Jing guifei's face was full of panic. She turned and sent someone to summon the taiyi outside. Then she knelt by his bed, sobbing, "Emperor, you really scared qie. If something happened to you, what would qie do?"
"It's not that serious," Qing De Emperor coughed a few times. He reached out to pat her arm that was lying on the edge of the bed, "Heng'er is so big, why are you crying like this?"
"It's because Heng'er is big that qie doesn't have anything to worry about. If it was you … … what meaning would there be for qie to live," Jing guifei saw the taiyi come in and stood to wipe the tears of true emotion on her face. She pretended to be stern as she said, "Take good care of the Emperor's pulse. If you don't do your best, then you will end up like the taiyi that Shu guifei beat to death."
"Please, niangniang, don't worry," The taiyi bowed to Qing De Emperor and then reached out to take the Emperor's pulse. A long time later, he slowly released a breath, "Now that the Emperor has woken up, it means that he has survived. But in the past few days, the fire in his heart has been too strong and caused his body to be weak. Adding on the exhaustion from managing state affairs, he suddenly fell ill. He just needs to rest for a while and he will recover."
"Is what you say true?" Jing guifei didn't care that there was a taiyi present. She cried and laughed, "Thank the heavens and earth, thank the heavens and earth."
The taiyi who was taking the pulse looked at this scene and felt deeply moved. Didn't they say that Shu guifei was more favored than Jing guifei? Why was it that it was Jing guifei who had been watching over the Emperor and was even crying in joy because the Emperor's body had recovered? Thinking about it, he couldn't help but shake his head inside. He didn't care for a woman that truly cared for him, but favored the tyrannical Shu guifei. The Emperor really wasted Jing guifei's sincerity.
"Quick, go write a prescription for the Emperor," Jing guifei said as she wiped her tears, "When the Emperor recovers, ben gong will reward you well."
After the taiyi left, Jing guifei took the bowl of medicinal porridge from the palace and helped Qing De Emperor eat half a bowl. Seeing Qing De Emperor's complexion improve slightly, she said: "Seeing the Emperor like this, qie remembers twenty three years ago. At that time, qie was kneeling in front of your bed, frantically crying and begging the heavens. Even when I fainted, you didn't wake up." She gave a bitter smile, "Today, qie has finally seen you wake up with my own eyes. It really is a blessing from the heavens."
"Twenty three years ago, you … …" Qing De Emperor's expression changed. He looked at Jing guifei's haggard face. A beat later, he gave a long sigh. Grasping her hand, he said, "Zhen sees that you are tired. Go rest in the side hall."
"But … …"
"Be obedient. If you don't trust zhen, zhen will send someone to call you in four hours. This is zhen's decree." Qing De Emperor's tone was resolute.
Jing guifei could only helplessly stand and leave the main hall. After lying on the bed in the side hall, a sliver of a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. Shu guifei, this good sister, always left such good opportunities for her. It made her feel that if she didn't take advantage of these opportunities, she would be unfair to this good sister.
Twenty three years ago?
At that time, the seriously ill Emperor didn't have any brothers, only a few distant cousins. They, the feipin who didn't have children, who didn't cry and beg the Heavens to spare the Emperor's life?
In the main hall of Tian Qi Palace, Qing De Emperor dazedly lay on the bed. A beat later, he asked a taijian standing silently at one side: "Where's Shu guifei?"
"Emperor, last night, Shu guifei caught a cold while attending to you. At the third watch, she was supported by a palace maid back to the palace to rest and recover," The one who answered was the head taijian. He said in a small voice, "In the morning, someone came to report that Shu guifei niangniang was overworked. If she doesn't rest, she might fall ill."
"Then when did Jing guifei niangniang start watching over zhen?" Qing De Emperor's face was slightly cold.
"Jing guifei niangniang heard that you fainted and has been attending," The head taijian looked at the Emperor's expression and carefully said, "In the morning, Jing guifei fainted from exhaustion. But niangniang wasn't willing to leave and nucai didn't dare to persuade her so niangniang hasn't slept for two days and two nights."
"En, zhen knows." Qing De Emperor closed his eyes. Just as the head taijian thought he had fallen asleep, he opened again, "Have the Imperial Kitchen simmer lily yam pigeon soup for Jing guifei niangniang. Zhen remembers that she likes to use this."
The head taijian hurriedly complied and retreated. When he came out of the main door of the main hall, he looked at the sky dyed red by the setting sun. The sky was probably going to change.
In the silence of the main hall, a sigh came from Qing De Emperor. Had he been wrong all these years?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
