Chapter 284 Responsible

"Once the princess coughs out the accumulated fluid, she will recover after taking a few more doses of medicine."

As soon as Physician Wei finished speaking, Zheng Yanling immediately understood.

She clasped her hands in a very chivalrous gesture and apologized, "Your Excellency, I admit that my voice was a bit loud just now. Please don't take offense!"

Physician Wei smiled but remained silent.

Jin Yuan changed her clothes and removed her hairpins and ornaments, and was kneeling outside to beg for forgiveness.

Qi Minying was also going to come, but the Empress stopped her just before she left.

The Empress Dowager and the Eldest Princess are next door... disciplining the Crown Prince.

The Empress Dowager had already heard the whole story from the others. She looked at her daughter and grandson, who were about to start arguing, and silently picked up her teacup and took two sips.

Actually, if you ask her... it's not impossible for the Crown Prince and Chang Le to be the same surname. If they can change it once, why can't they change it a second time?

It's a bit of a hassle, but as long as her grandson is happy, she has no objections.

However, she couldn't appear to be completely on the Crown Prince's side; after all, both were her children, and she had to treat them equally.

The eldest princess was furious, but the crown prince nephew in front of her remained kneeling upright, still wearing his wet robes, looking rather pitiful.

Qi Jun: "Aunt, it's all my fault for being so eager to save someone. I only heard someone fall into the water on the shore, and since there was no one around to go in and save her, I took it upon myself to save my cousin..."

The eldest princess jumped up and down: "What do you mean by being so eager to save someone? Yu Xuan is a young girl, and it was so obvious. You, as a man, didn't even try to avoid suspicion. I think you have ulterior motives!"

Qi Jun: "Whatever my aunt says, I'll accept it..."

"However, many people saw it all the way from the island in the middle of the lake to the Lotus Garden. I can't bear to see my cousin being criticized, so I beg my aunt to allow me to propose to her!"

The princess's heart was as cold and hard as stone. "How dare you say that?! Once we were ashore, we could have handed Yuxuan over to a maid. Why did you have to carry her back?!"

Seeing that the other party was stubborn and still insisted that he had to take responsibility for his cousin since he had saved her, she angrily turned to the Empress Dowager for help:

"Mother! You must do something about the Crown Prince! Yu Xuan has finally found a good life by my side, and I will absolutely not let her enter the palace!"

The Empress Dowager then coughed lightly twice and put down her teacup.

Fearing to upset her daughter, the Empress Dowager could only deliberately put on a stern face: "Jun'er, what you did today was indeed a bit too much!"

Qi Jun lowered his eyes, and water droplets rolled down from his hair, landing on his eyelashes, which had become wet and clumped together, as if he had shed tears.

"Grandson knows he was wrong and will never let such a thing happen again."

It has to be said that the Crown Prince's appearance was indeed heartbreaking. In the nearly twenty years since he began his education, when had we ever seen him look so aggrieved yet forbearing?

The eldest princess resisted the urge to kick him: "Heh, you still dare to say you don't have ulterior motives? You probably planned to use saving Yuxuan today to curry favor and ask for her hand in marriage, didn't you?!"

Qi Jun pursed his lips and remained silent.

The Empress Dowager's affection for her grandson reached its peak at this moment: "Alright, Jun'er meant well."

She personally stepped forward and helped the prince up. "Look at this child, he must be feeling very uncomfortable with his clothes wet. He's been talking to you for so long. Go and change your clothes quickly, and have a bowl of hot ginger soup."

Qi Jun stood still, his gaze still aggrieved as he looked at the Princess: "Aunt, please don't be angry, it's all my fault..."

The Empress Dowager patted him on the shoulder: "Go and change your clothes quickly. Your aunt will persuade her. Go now!"

Qi Jun went to change his clothes with peace of mind.

Only the Empress Dowager and the eldest princess and her daughter, who had turned their faces away, remained in the hall.

The Empress Dowager had to coax her daughter: "Oh dear, you know Jun'er, once he's made up his mind, who can change it?"

The eldest princess turned around indignantly: "Mother, since you know he did it on purpose, why are you still indulging him?! I'm already this old. I was already alone and miserable before, without a husband or children, and now that I finally have a daughter like Yuxuan by my side, he wants to take her away after only a few years. Isn't this tearing my heart out?!"

As she spoke, she began to wipe away her tears with a handkerchief.

It's just playing the victim to gain sympathy; the Crown Prince can do it, and so can she!

The Empress Dowager panicked. It was true that she loved her grandson, but this daughter with her tragic fate was the apple of her eye.

The Empress Dowager was now in a dilemma.

"Good sleep, how about we do this..."

The more the princess listened, the more her brows furrowed. Finally, she looked at her mother, who had come up with such a terrible idea, with a strange expression and hesitated, "Mother, will this... really work?"

The Empress Dowager smiled enigmatically.

She had met countless people in her life. If she had previously regarded Qi Yuxuan as just an adopted child and hadn't paid much attention to her affairs, then after today's incident, she would connect all the details she had previously overlooked.

The Empress Dowager was very confident that Mian'er's daughter would definitely like her good grandson.

Qi Yuxuan vomited a large mouthful of water, coughed for a while, and finally woke up.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I was met with several pairs of bright red eyes beside the bed.

"Sister Zheng, Meiniang, Minying... why are you all staring at me like that?"

Yes, she remembered. She had fallen into the water again, but this time she was rescued by the Crown Prince.

Qi Yuxuan was helped up and was about to ask something more when a bowl of strong, bitter medicine was handed to her.

Lanxin: "Princess, drink it quickly! Physician Wei said you must drink this medicine as soon as you wake up!"

Qi Yuxuan was so overwhelmed by the nauseatingly bitter smell that she almost collapsed.

She probably hasn't taken any medicine for over a year, so she now feels a strong aversion to the smell.

I was used to taking bitter medicine before, so why am I becoming more and more pretentious?

Qi Minying pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket, which she had almost finished eating: "Drink quickly, this is candied fruit sent by my elder brother, the Crown Prince!"

Qi Yuxuan pinched her nose and drank it, but Qi Minying quickly stuffed a candied plum into her mouth.

The sweet and sour taste immediately dispelled the bitterness in my mouth.

Qi Yuxuan's brow relaxed: "What are you all doing gathered here? How is the Crown Prince? And Minying, are you alright?"

Qi Minying was about to speak when Zheng Yanling pulled her aside.

She sat imposingly on the embroidered stool, her expression unusually serious: "Princess Chang Le! Don't you have an explanation?"

Qi Yuxuan pointed blankly at herself: "Me?"

Zheng Yanling: "After this incident, the Empress Dowager has now arranged a marriage between you and the Crown Prince, and the Imperial Observatory is already calculating an auspicious day for the wedding! Tell us honestly, when exactly did you and the Crown Prince express your feelings for each other? How could you keep it from us for so long?!"

Qi Yuxuan was completely dumbfounded. Who was engaged to the Crown Prince? Her? The Empress Dowager arranged their engagement?

Qi Yuxuan touched her forehead: "I must not have woken up properly. I'll go back to sleep."

Before she could fall, she was scooped up by several hands.