sisters
The winter in Weizhou seems to come especially early and is especially harsh. It is almost the third year of Guangqi, and time has passed so quickly.
The top of Weizhou City was soon covered with layer upon layer of white snow. Looking around, the sky and the earth were covered in a vast white blanket. The cold wind blew up the snow foam, which hit people's faces, making them feel freezing cold.
In this solemn silence, Ning Lingyi fell ill.
The illness came on suddenly and fiercely, as if all the worries, concerns, fears, and hard work of the past few years had been accumulated in one place and finally broke out in the cold winter as the year was coming to an end.
At first she just caught a cold and coughed a few times, but she didn't take it seriously and continued to force herself to handle the mountain of official business.
Until that morning, when she wanted to get up, she suddenly felt dizzy and fell directly to the edge of the couch, hitting her forehead on the footstool, leaving a shocking purple bruise.
Su Qingfan rushed over upon hearing the news. When he touched Ning Lingyi, her forehead was terribly hot. She was drowsy, her cheeks were abnormally flushed, and her lips were dry and pale.
"Your Highness!"
Su Qingfan's voice instantly became tearful. She had never seen Ning Lingyi so fragile.
Nong Zishi immediately blocked the news and strictly prohibited it from spreading outside. At the same time, he invited almost all the famous doctors in and outside Weizhou City. He wrote out a pile of prescriptions and gave Ning Lingyi bowl after bowl of decoctions, but Ning Lingyi's high fever kept coming back and forth, and she was always drowsy more often than awake.
When she was awake, her eyes were still clear, and she would even ask about some government affairs and give some instructions. Her logic was clear and her tone was steady, as if she had just taken a short nap.
But once she fell asleep, it was like she fell into a bottomless abyss, her breathing became shallow, and she would not wake up for a long time, which made people terrified, fearing that she would never open her eyes again next time.
Ning Lingyao stayed by her sister's bedside day and night, her face pale with fear. She secretly wiped away her tears countless times, imitating the nanny's clumsy way of wiping her sister's forehead with her palms, and prayed in a low voice over and over again: "Sister, get well soon. Yaoyao, be obedient and never let you worry about me again..."
Nong Zishi was extremely anxious. He had to stabilize the internal and external situations, conceal the news of his coach's serious illness, and worry about seeking medical treatment and medicine. After a few days, he had a few glaring white hairs on his temples.
He took charge of all urgent official business and made decisions outside the bedroom, never letting any disturbance reach Ning Lingyi's ears.
One day, Ning Lingyi woke up slowly. The sky outside the window was dim and she didn't know whether it was morning or evening.
She felt as if her whole body had been run over, weak and sore, and her throat was dry and sore.
"water……"
She hummed faintly.
Su Qingfan, who had been dozing with his forehead supported by his hand, woke up immediately, hurriedly brought her some warm water, and carefully fed her to drink.
Ning Lingyao also came over and looked at her sister with red eyes.
After drinking the water, Ning Lingyi felt better. Su Qingfan brought her the warm porridge and side dishes and urged her to eat some.
Ning Lingyi reluctantly took a few bites and then shook her head, unable to swallow it.
Ning Lingyao looked at her sister's thin face, and her eyes suddenly lit up: "Sister, wait for me!"
As she spoke, she ran out quickly. After a while, she came back with a few sweet potatoes still covered in mud in her arms, and held them in front of Ning Lingyi as if they were treasures.
"Sister, this is from Yaya's family! Her parents said they harvested some sweet potatoes this year, and they're incredibly sweet. They want to send some to Your Highness to try! How about we roast them and eat them? Just like... just like how we used to roast taro on the little stove in the palace in the winter?"
Ning Lingyi looked at her sister's expectant and cautious eyes, her heart softened slightly, and she nodded.
Su Qingfan immediately asked someone to bring a small red clay brazier and stoked the charcoal fire.
Ning Lingyao clumsily buried the sweet potato in the hot ashes, and the three women sat around the warm brazier, waiting quietly.
After a while, a sweet aroma spread, making people's appetites whet.
Ning Lingyao carefully took one out. It was so hot that she blew on her fingers, but she couldn't wait to break it open, revealing the golden, soft and glutinous flesh, steaming hot.
She handed half to Ning Lingyi: "Sister, try it!"
Ning Lingyi took the half piece of roasted sweet potato and took a careful bite.
It's very sweet and warm, with a rustic, homely flavor, sliding down the throat, and it seems to soothe the stomach that has been empty for a long time and the cold body a little bit.
"It's delicious. Thank you, Yaoyao. I'm sorry for making you worry."
"No, no, no, my sister is fine! She is the best! I love her the most!" Ning Lingyao felt a little sad in her heart. It was her sister who had always protected her from the wind and rain, and she understood it best.
Ning Lingyi looked at her sister's little face and felt relieved to see her sister had grown up.
Su Qingfan also handed over some warm water and took good care of Ning Lingyi.
It seemed as if at this moment, she was no longer the brave princess in front of others, and her sisters and relatives were so close to her that it turned out that she also needed to be taken care of.
She ate slowly, occasionally whispering a few words.
The flickering firelight illuminated three young faces. Outside the window, there was the sound of falling snow. At this moment, there were no military or national affairs, no intrigues, only rare tranquility and warmth.
Ning Lingyi didn't know why she was so ill. Maybe she was really too tired.
She couldn't remember how many things she had experienced along the way.
But at this moment, looking at the two most important people around her eating this simple food, she suddenly felt that living like this, not thinking about anything and not caring about anything, seemed pretty good too.
Her spirit seemed to be truly nourished by this simple happiness, and she gradually got better.
When Nong Zishi came to see her, he saw that her complexion had improved and she was even able to lean on the soft pillow and chat and laugh. The heavy stone in his heart finally fell halfway, and he made up his mind not to let official business tire her anymore.
From then on, no matter how many urgent military situations or pending matters there were, Nong Zishi would take them all on and handle them all alone.
If any of his subordinates questioned him and asked to see His Highness for a decision, his face would darken and his tone would be colder than ever before: "Your Highness needs to rest. I will handle any major issues! If there are any mistakes, I, Nong Zishi, will bear the full responsibility in the future. It has nothing to do with Your Highness!"
In this way, he created a period of quiet and peaceful time for Ning Lingyi, isolated from the world.
Ning Lingyi really let go of all her worries. Every day she just read some books, admired the snow scene outside the window, and ate the simple but thoughtful food that Su Qingfan and Ning Lingyao had found in various ways. Her body recovered day by day.
As the days go by, this winter seems to be getting much happier.
Su Qingfan often stayed by her side, telling her many interesting stories about the sea, how she secretly learned to sail when she was a child, how she cast a net to catch fish for the first time but was dragged by a big fish and almost fell into the sea, and how magnificent the sunrise at sea was and how bright the starry sky was.
Ning Lingyi also relaxed for a rare time and shared the winter fun in the deep palace, such as secretly cultivating daffodils in the warm room, and cutting paper-cuts and guessing lantern riddles with the palace maids. Those trivial joys of an ordinary girl that were almost forgotten for a long time became clear again.
My mood became cheerful and the illness healed quickly.
It was a sunny day, the sky had cleared after the snow, and the air was crisp.
Ning Lingyi felt stronger and suddenly said, "I want to go out for a walk and ride a horse."
Su Qingfan and Ning Lingyao looked at each other, both a little worried, but seeing her eyes shining with a long-lost vitality, they smiled and agreed.
The three men put on thick cloaks, chose docile horses, left the mansion, and rode slowly to the wilderness outside the city.
Looking around, the fields are all white, the snow is dazzling. Although the cold wind blows on your face, it makes people feel relieved.
Ning Lingyi took a deep breath of cold air, suddenly shook the reins, and shouted softly: "Go!"
The horses broke into a trot, and Su Qingfan and Ning Lingyao hurried to catch up.
At first they were worried about her health, but later they saw that she was riding steadily and laughing sweetly, as if she had returned to her carefree youth. The two of them felt relieved and followed her on horseback.
Laughter fell on the white snowfield. Fine beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of the three people, their cheeks were flushed, and their eyes were shining with happiness.
Ning Lingyi finally realized that only by taking a day off from her busy life could she appreciate the true meaning of life.
As the sun set, the three of them returned home having a great time.
Ning Lingyi felt relaxed all over, as if all the sickness she had felt in the past few days had been driven away by the cold wind and running. She felt a happy and relaxed mood she hadn't felt in a long time.
Su Qingfan said that he would cook a pot of mutton soup in the evening. Drinking a bowl of it in winter would warm the heart and lungs and was the most nourishing thing.
But this rare sense of relaxation came to an abrupt end when he returned to the gate of the Governor's Mansion.
Jing Zhao, wearing a dark fur coat, stood quietly in the wind and snow outside the mansion gate. He didn't know how long he had been waiting, and a thin layer of snow had accumulated on his shoulders.
When he saw Ning Lingyi returning, he quickly stepped forward and bowed, his expression more solemn than ever before.
Su Qingfan's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously wanted to step forward to stop him: "Mr. Jing, His Highness is feeling better today. If you have anything to say, you can do it tomorrow..."
Ning Lingyi raised her hand to stop her.
The joy of riding a horse just now quickly faded from her eyes, and the familiar look that Su Qingfan was familiar with returned to her eyes, making Su Qingfan feel that Ning Lingyi was back.
She looked at Jing Zhao, expecting something, and said, "What's the matter? Tell me."
Jing Zhao bowed deeply and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, urgent news from the capital."
"The cavalry of the Western Qiang Baru tribe rampaged through the capital, killing many people. General Pan Hao disobeyed the imperial order and led his troops to attack. However, as the Western Qiang retreated, they spread rumors everywhere."
He paused, looked up at Ning Lingyi, and spoke word by word, "The Qiang people claim that the current emperor ascended to the throne because of a secret agreement with them back then, ceding the three Heshuo prefectures in exchange! Now that the imperial court has broken its promise, they are raising an army to attack. This rumor has spread like wildfire inside and outside the capital, causing panic among the people and unrest. I'm afraid of a major chaos!"
The cold wind blew snow foam across the silent courtyard.
Jing Zhao's voice grew increasingly earnest, carrying a kind of bewitching power: "Your Highness, chaos has broken out in the capital. Emperor Guangqi's reputation as a man of no virtue has been firmly established. The people are divided and the foundation of the country is shaken. I implore Your Highness to immediately lead your troops south, take control of the capital, restore order, and restore the throne!"
Ning Lingyi stood in the wind and snow, motionless. The redness brought by horse racing faded from her face little by little, leaving only calmness.
She looked towards the capital, her gaze seemed to penetrate thousands of mountains and rivers, and she saw the turbulent waves rising in the towering imperial city.
It seems that Su Qing’s mutton soup can no longer be drunk.
Emperor Guangqi, Prince Yong, Ning Yanli, Royal Brother, which title should I use?
Is this the throne you want?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
