Chapter 52 The Silent Azalea: "Miss Xue and Princess Baojia fell into the Fuguang Pond..."

Consort Xue was somewhat surprised, but Jiang Yao spoke to her very seriously.

“My second brother said that every person who dies is buried in the ground. Then they become the wind, the rain, and the flowers and grass. That’s what death is.”

She moved lightly twice.

“My second brother also said that they didn’t disappear, but are still with us in another way. Every breeze that blows, every flower that blooms, is a sign that they are here with us.”

Consort Xue: "Your second brother is telling you all this?"

Jiang Yao: "My second brother talks a lot, even more than me. But I don't like listening to every word he says. When I get tired of listening, I pretend to be asleep, and he will go and talk to someone else."

"Hmm... I think the little princess must have turned into the wind, into the rain, and into every flower to stay by your side."

Jiang Yao spun around, her red dress forming a small flower shape.

"When was the little princess born?" she asked.

"Springtime," Consort Xue replied.

"The little princess was born in spring, so she will come back in spring. There are so many azaleas here, maybe they are all her. She has accompanied you all this way. These flowers are so beautiful."

Consort Xue glanced at the vibrant azaleas, then turned away. The path was strewn with fallen petals, some blown by the wind and rolling to her feet.

In Jiang Yao's eyes, Consort Xue still smiled gently, but her brows were furrowed and her eyes were brimming with light.

She held up her hand to roughly measure her head height, looking quite pleased, and whispered, "If I grow up, I'll probably be about this tall..."

Consort Xue lowered her eyes slightly, and the tears fell one by one without making a sound.

Even her expression was calm, with a slight smile always on her face.

Jiang Yao was a little confused. How could someone not even make a sound when crying? She subconsciously stood on tiptoe and wiped away Consort Xue's tears.

Consort Xue smiled and gently patted her fluffy head.

The two continued walking along the flower path.

"And in which month were you born?"

"I was also born in spring, right here in the season when azaleas are in full bloom. My dad said that when my mom gave birth to me, it rained, and the azaleas in the yard were blooming beautifully."

Consort Xue looked at the azalea in her hand: "So you like azaleas?"

She nodded: "Yes."

She was quite happy as she was talking, but then she pouted, and even her low complaints were extremely cute.

"But my dad always calls me Little Cuckoo."

"Perhaps it's because you were born as delicate and vibrant as this azalea."

Jiang Yao immediately retorted.

"No, that's not true. My dad says I talk too much, chattering like a cuckoo. He also said I must have been a hunter in my past life, and that's why I'm the one who torments him."

"That's absolutely outrageous! How could you say that!"

Consort Xue smiled gently and agreed with her.

"That's going too far."

"Right, right, even Her Majesty thinks so. My father is going too far. I don't think I'm being noisy at all."

They walked out of the flower path, chatting amongst themselves, and arrived at Jichun Pavilion.

In the distance, a man in a robe could be seen striding towards them.

Jiang Yao immediately waved: "Dad!"

Jiang Shiyu, who was about to rush towards her, stopped immediately upon seeing who she was. He even took several steps back and bowed respectfully.

"Your subject Jiang Shiyu greets the Noble Consort."

Consort Xue stood in Jichun Pavilion and nodded slightly to him.

Please rise.

Jiang Shiyu then stood up, but he turned slightly to the side and said, "My daughter is playful and mischievous, and has disturbed Your Highness. Please forgive her."

Jiang Yao was slightly annoyed; she had never been playful or mischievous.

Consort Xue looked at the sun, which was already more than half gone, and said with a faint smile, "She is very well. Lord Jiang has raised his child very well."

"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness." After saying this, Jiang Shiyu said quite solemnly, "Ayao, thank Your Highness."

Jiang Yao was actually not very happy with his behavior, but she still performed a very proper bow: "Your subject Jiang Yao thanks Your Majesty for your praise."

"Get up, the ground is cold."

The two fell silent for a moment, and the group of palace servants behind them all turned away and bowed their heads, not daring to utter a word.

Jiang Shiyu took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said, "My daughter has been away from her seat for a long time and has disturbed Your Majesty. I should take her back now."

Consort Xue said softly, "Go, go find your father."

Jiang Shiyu remained some distance away, bowing respectfully.

Jiang Shiyu immediately strode forward to Jiang Yao's side, took her hand, and left.

After walking a short distance, Jiang Yao stopped and tugged at Jiang Shiyu's sleeve: "Father..."

He crouched down: "What's wrong?"

Her eyes reddened: "Did I say or do something wrong?"

Jiang Shiyu was taken aback: "Why would you think that?"

Jiang Yao said sullenly, "The Imperial Concubine is crying."

Jiang Shiyu gently touched her face and comforted her softly, "No one did anything wrong, Ayao, including you."

Jiang Yao lowered her head, her voice choked with emotion.

"But why is the Imperial Concubine crying? If I didn't say anything wrong or upset her, why is she crying?"

Jiang Shiyu picked her up and gently patted her back.

“Ah Yao, it’s not your fault. The Imperial Concubine… she just misses her child.”

He patted Jiang Yao's head: "Don't think so much, okay?"

Jiang Yao buried her face in his shoulder and mumbled an "Mmm".

So the two gradually drifted apart, and Consort Xue prepared to return to her seat.

Yunyu, walking behind her, turned around, her eyes widening instantly. She quickly stepped forward and spoke in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty and Consort Shu were also at Jilan Pavilion just now, behind the flower path. This should be..."

Consort Xue calmly wiped away her tears.

"Ignore him."

The palace skirts trailed behind them, and after they had walked some distance, palace servants hurried over.

"Miss Xue and Princess Baojia had an argument on Peach Blossom Embankment, and both of them fell into Fuguang Pond!"

Consort Xue hurried to Fuguang Pond, where chaos reigned. Some were calling for help, while others were jumping into the water.

Consort Xue was practically clinging to the bridgehead, and unusually lost her composure, shouting a few times.

"Qiao Niang!"

"Qiao Niang!"

Xue Chan, who was underwater, was jolted awake by Consort Xue's rather pitiful cries. She gritted her teeth and released her hand that was originally on Bao Jia's shoulder.

She pulled Baojia to swim upstream, but Baojia struggled desperately in panic and clung to Xue Chan, refusing to let go.

Xue Chan tried to push her away, but Bao Jia clung to her like a lifeline, refusing to let go. She had already choked on some water and was extremely frightened; in her struggle, she almost pinned Xue Chan firmly down in the water.

Xue Chan wished she could just shove her down in the water and kill her, but then she saw someone swimming towards them and heard someone speak.

"Your Highness, release her at once!"

She made a snap decision and let Baojia struggle with her as they fell into the water.

Zheng Shaoyu, who was by the water's edge, pulled Cheng Huaizhu out of the water. She cried out in surprise, "Painting! Painting! Painting!"

Zheng Shaoyu pushed her back and jumped into the water to retrieve the paintings that had drifted away.

When he retrieved it, Cheng Huaizhu immediately rushed over and unfolded it, exclaiming in shock, "Ah! All these paintings are ruined!"

Zheng Shaoyu said, "What painting is more important than life!"

Cheng Huaizhu pushed him away and carefully held Xue Chan's paintings, saying, "What do you know!"

Zheng Shaoyu didn't say anything even though she was scolding and pushing him.

Deng Run and Jiang Ce have already rescued Bao Jia and Xue Chan.

Cheng Huaizhu, clutching the painting, stumbled and ran over.

Xue Chan has already fallen into a coma.

Consort Xue touched Xue Chan's icy hand, her whole body trembling.

Yunyu, along with several palace attendants, directed the packing and summoned the imperial physicians.

Because it's close to Yuquan Pavilion, we temporarily moved everyone there.

When the Emperor and Consort Shu arrived at Yuquan Pavilion, she had already woken up, with Yu Lang standing beside her.

Baojia cried and sobbed, "It's all her fault! She insisted on taking the painting!"

Yu Lang was furious: "Shut up! At a time like this, you're still trying to shift the blame onto others! As a princess, you don't study literature and are arrogant and conceited."

She was about to continue her reprimand when a voice outside called out, "His Majesty has arrived!"

Everyone knelt down and kowtowed. When Baojia saw that the Emperor and Consort Shu had come, she felt even more aggrieved and wanted to complain.

Consort Shu immediately rebuked her: "Stop crying."

Baojia immediately choked up, crying so hard she could barely breathe.

Consort Shu helped the Emperor sit down, and a group of people knelt down on the ground in a flurry.

The emperor glanced at it and asked the imperial physician first, "How is the princess?"

The imperial physician said, "Your Majesty, the princess was just a little frightened after falling into the water and swallowed some water. She will be fine after taking a few doses of medicine and resting for a few days."

The Emperor nodded slightly, and Consort Shu behind him breathed a sigh of relief. Consort Shu frowned and asked the palace servants in a cold voice, "What exactly happened?"

Baojia sat up abruptly, on the verge of bursting into tears and complaining.

The emperor gave her a cold glance, and Baojia immediately shut her mouth and buried her face in Consort Shu's arms, sobbing.

She kept whispering, "It's all her fault... and she even tried to kill me."

The emperor found her incessant sobbing annoying, rubbed his throbbing temples, and coldly said, "Yu Lang, speak."

Yu Lang sighed and said, "Father, when I arrived I saw Bao Jia fall off the bridge and pull Miss Xue down with him."

The emperor then asked, "So what about her saying that the Xue family wanted to kill her?"

Yu Lang suppressed his anger and said, "I don't know about this matter. I only know that when they went into the water to save people, it was Bao Jia who held onto Miss Xue and refused to let go."

Wang Xu immediately summoned the palace servants and guards who had gone into the water to rescue the person, and their answers were almost identical to what she had given.

The emperor closed his eyes and turned the thumb ring.

"How's the Xue family doing?"

"Your Majesty, he is still unconscious."

The emperor paused in turning the thumb ring, and Wang Xu immediately pressed, "Who is attending to you at this moment?"

The palace maid said, "It was the Imperial Concubine and Miss Xiao from the Marquis of Mingyi's mansion. Miss Cheng's second daughter also fell into the water."

The emperor opened his eyes and glanced around the small room, which was full of people, with even more people outside.

What caused this?

When Baojia was questioned by the emperor, she shrank into Consort Shu's arms. Seeing her guilty look, Consort Shu felt a terrible headache coming on.

The room was completely silent; no one dared to respond for a moment.

The emperor leaned back and said calmly, "If that's the case, then drag them all out and question them."

As soon as he said this, a palace servant immediately began to explain in a trembling voice why he had fallen into the water.

"The princess encountered Miss Xue and Miss Cheng carrying a painting on the Peach Blossom Embankment. The princess demanded they hand it over. Miss Xue refused, which angered the princess, who then ordered her men to seize the painting. During the struggle, the princess threw the painting into the Fuguang Pond, which led to the commotion... In the chaos, the princess tried to hit Miss Xue but accidentally fell in herself. Miss Xue tried to pull her out but was also pulled in..."

"The princess said she wanted to settle both the old and new scores together..."

The palace maid spoke lower and lower, lying prostrate on the ground, not daring to lift her head.

The emperor looked up at Baojia and said, "Why did you steal her painting out of the blue?"

Baojia sobbed, but still stubbornly insisted, "I just want to see the painting, but she won't let me. But I am a princess, so what if I want to see the painting? Why can't she give it to me?"

Yu Lang: "......"

Consort Shu said angrily, "I have truly spoiled you!"

The emperor then asked her, "What about the so-called new accounts and old accounts?"

Baojia immediately closed her eyes and fainted.

Yu Lang couldn't stand it any longer and said, "It's probably because of the argument this morning."

Morning?

The emperor's thumb ring spun rapidly again, and he asked in a calm tone, "What's going on this time?"

After asking his questions, Wang Xu came in, his face also looking rather grim. But to save face, he sidled up to the emperor and explained the whole situation.

Seeing Wang Xu's reaction, Consort Shu sighed helplessly and became angry.

The emperor's expression instantly turned cold. He stood up and looked around at everyone in the room, finally settling on Consort Shu and Bao Jia, who was already "fainting" in her arms, and gave a faint smile.

Consort Shu's heart sank.

"I'm leaving. There's no need for further words. You know what you need to do."

After saying that, he left with his men.