"Your Highness, wake up... You've slept long enough today. The flowers in the backyard are blooming. Why don't you go take a look..."
Inside the house, the gauze curtains swayed slightly, and the morning light filtered through the carved window lattices, lightly sprinkling on the couch.
Gan Tang called softly, his eyes revealing a hidden bitterness.
Yuan Zhao's eyelashes trembled and he slowly opened his eyes.
She looked around in confusion, then slowly lifted her eyelids and looked out the window.
The light was already setting in the west, and I hadn't noticed when it was almost afternoon.
"Is it already this late..." Her voice was low and hoarse, revealing a barely perceptible weakness.
She supported herself on the edge of the bed and sat up, her movements slow and weak, as if this most ordinary act of getting up had also consumed a great deal of her strength.
Gan Tang hurried forward to help her down from the bed, and the skin his palms touched was cold and withered.
Her heart ached, and her voice trembled slightly.
"Your Highness, I heard that the young prince went to the palace to invite a royal physician for you..."
Yuan Zhao was stunned for a moment, frowning slightly: "Young Prince?"
Gan Tang was also stunned, then realized that Yuan Zhao's thoughts were confused, so he explained in a gentle voice,
"It's Miss Jiaojiao. Have you forgotten? A few days ago, the master came in person to ask you to seal the jade disc for Miss Jiaojiao..."
"Jade disc?" Yuan Zhao's fingers tightened slightly, and he repeated in disbelief, "The Imperial Jade Disc?"
Gan Tang nodded hesitantly.
"Yes, Your Highness, you stamped it yourself... Have you forgotten?"
Yuan Zhao was silent.
She walked out step by step, but a mess of thoughts surged in her mind.
After returning to Beijing, her health deteriorated and her consciousness was often unclear.
When did she start to forget so many things?
She has no recollection of even the things she approved with her own hands?
She suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned back, her eyes full of panic.
"Where's Nannan? Nannan hasn't been here for several days, right?"
She held Gan Tang's hand tightly, so tightly that it almost hurt Gan Tang.
At that moment, Gan Tang saw deep fear and anxiety in her eyes.
Nannan...is her only child...
Gan Tang's heart tightened, and he quickly comforted her.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. The Second Miss went up the mountain with the Crown Princess to worship Buddha a few days ago, so she didn't come to pay her respects to you."
Yuan Zhao stood there in a daze, his fingertips slowly loosening their grip, but his expression remained dazed. After a while, he murmured:
"That's good... That's good..."
The master and servant slowly walked to the backyard.
The Wei Mansion in the capital was extremely luxurious, with pavilions and towers decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, and vermilion railings and jade bricks, all of which exuded an exquisitely crafted elegance. It was even more extravagant than her former princess's mansion.
But at this moment, Yuan Zhao stood in this garden full of flowers, but he only felt tired.
The peach blossoms are dazzling, the peonies are elegant, the azaleas are gorgeous, and the peonies are enchanting...
A riot of colour spreads out before your eyes, so gorgeous it's dazzling.
But she had no intention of appreciating it.
"Has Biyun gone to the princess's mansion?" she asked suddenly.
Gan Tang was slightly startled, then whispered back, "Biyun went...but when the adults found out, they were unhappy and got angry, so they sent her to clean the backyard as punishment."
Yuan Zhao sighed, his tone a little tired.
"Let her come back... If Wei Shaoqing asks, just say I need someone to take care of me."
Gan Tang nodded in agreement, but saw that Yuan Zhao's eyes were fixed on the flower trees in the distance, with a dazed expression, and he didn't move his eyes for a long time.
After a long while, Yuan Zhao spoke softly,
"Is the phoenix tree in the princess's mansion still in bloom?"
Gan Tang was shocked, a hint of regret appeared in his eyes.
She looked at Yuan Zhao almost breathlessly, hesitated for a moment, and then said softly,
"Your Highness, that tree... has been dead for many years. Have you forgotten?"
It has been dead for many years.
Yuan Zhao's fingers curled slightly, and after a while, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
That smile revealed weakness and fatigue, as well as a hint of melancholy that she herself was not aware of.
She turned around gently and walked back, leaning slightly on Gan Tang's arm, walking slowly.
"Gan Tang..." she whispered, her voice as light as the wind, "I think I'm almost dying..."
Gan Tang's heart trembled, and his eyes instantly turned red: "Your Highness..."
"The only thing I'm worried about is Nannan." She said in a gentle voice, "I want to find a proper marriage for her in the end... so that she can live a good life in the future..."
Gan Tang was about to cry. She bit her lip, trying hard to hold back her sobs, and forced a smile.
"There are so many good men in the capital, they can definitely find a good match for the second girl..."
But Yuan Zhao slowly shook his head, his eyes rare to be clear and firm.
"Nannan... she can't speak. If she stays in the capital, even if she lives in a wealthy family, people will laugh at her... If I'm gone, she'll have no one to rely on..."
Her voice grew fainter and fainter, and all her strength seemed to be dissipating with the wind.
Gan Tang gently held her hand, trying to give her some warmth, but the pain in his heart was beyond words.
"Your Highness means..."
Yuan Zhao's fingertips slowly tightened in her palm. After a long moment, she slowly spoke.
"Go back... and help me grind the ink."
Her voice was very soft. "I want to write a letter."
…
There have been many major events in the capital recently, all of which are related to Princess Showa, who has disappeared from the public eye for a long time.
It was said that the princess had been staying at home all year round, but suddenly her husband submitted a memorial requesting that his adopted daughter be given a royal jade disc.
The prince also decided to arrange a marriage between his own daughter and a young general from Liang Province.
I heard that this daughter is also mute.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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