Chapter 99 Choosing a Good Time - What Kind of Good Time Is This?
In the following days, Shen Yan did not mention the divorce again, but she did not agree not to divorce either.
Qi Jingxuan was constantly worried, racking his brains to figure out how to solve the problem raised by Shen Yan so that she could stay in the Prince's Mansion with peace of mind and not have to worry about what might happen in the future.
He actually had an answer in his heart, a very simple answer, but this answer involved another person he couldn't let go of, and he found it difficult to speak.
The capital city is where the emperor and many imperial relatives reside. Qi Jingxuan is neither the eldest son nor the heir apparent, and has no powerful background, yet he receives the emperor's greatest favor, which is already a thorn in everyone's side. If he were to also harbor ambitions for power and profit, it would be as if he were courting death and inviting others to seek revenge.
The main reason for all this was that he was in the capital, right under the emperor's nose.
As long as the emperor favors him, no matter how indifferent he appears to be to fame and fortune and how uninterested he is in the position of crown prince, there will still be people who regard him as an enemy.
However, if he voluntarily leaves the capital and goes away from the political strife, even if he does not express his opinion, those who covet the throne will put him, their "opponent," aside and reduce their hostility towards him.
Even if a struggle for the throne were to occur someday, a prince who has neither real power nor is far from the capital would be the least threatening and not worth worrying about.
Once he arrives at his fiefdom, he will have complete control over almost everything except appointing and dismissing local officials. At that point, it will be difficult for his father to control him. The emperor is far away, and his influence is limited. Even if he and Aci don't have children in the future, they can easily adopt one and claim it as their own.
But... what about Mother? What will become of Mother?
Qi Jingxuan had no attachment to the capital. If he were alone, he would immediately enter the palace and request to leave. But if he left, his mother would truly be all alone… To her, the palace was a cage, and her father was the lock on that cage. Without unlocking that lock, she could never leave.
Qi Jingxuan knew perfectly well that the emperor would never agree to let Consort Shu leave the capital with him.
Besides... Aci's parents are both in the capital. Even if he chooses to leave the capital for a new post, would Aci be willing to go with him?
Qi Jingxuan was troubled by these questions. Even though he knew that being sealed was his inevitable fate, it was only a matter of sooner or later, but he still found it difficult to make a decision now.
But soon, he no longer needed to worry about these things, or rather... he had no room to consider them anymore.
…………
"Didn't you say it was just a minor illness that would get better with some rest? How come you've suddenly become so sick?"
As Shen Yan walked towards a courtyard in the Prince's mansion, she asked.
Red Bean followed behind her and whispered, "That's what we all thought at first, but after half a month of recuperation, there was no improvement. These past few days, her illness has suddenly worsened, and she's getting increasingly unwell..."
"I see that she is barely breathing now, and she said that she only wanted to see you one last time before she left, so I dare to plead for her."
The two were talking about a maid named Qinghe. Not long after the incident at the Cheng'an Marquis's residence, the emperor, at Qi Jingxuan's urging, sent several palace maids to the Shen family to take care of Su Shi and Shen Yan. Qinghe was one of them.
Later, the Shen family no longer needed these people, and several palace maids were ordered to return to the palace. Only Qinghe found Shen Yan on the eve of her return and begged her to stay.
At that time, Shen Yan saw that Qing He was the most beautiful among the palace maids and assumed that she had been bullied in the palace and dared not go back. So she took the opportunity to keep her. Later, when Shen Yan married into the royal family, Qing He followed her.
After arriving at the Prince's Mansion, Qinghe was always very dutiful and meticulous in her work. She never competed for anything and never took the initiative to get close to her masters. This made several people who initially suspected that she was trying to get close to Qi Jingxuan gradually lower their guard and become her friends.
A few days ago, Qinghe fell ill. The physician examined her, prescribed medicine, and said she would recover after some rest.
To allow Qinghe to rest properly, Chidou Qingtuan stopped assigning her any tasks after that, letting her recover first. However, her illness didn't improve and in recent days it even worsened rapidly.
Seeing that the person was about to die, the proper procedure was to wait until after death and then carry them out of the manor. If they had family, they should be returned to their family for burial; if they didn't have family, they should be buried somewhere else. It was inappropriate to disturb the master. After all, they weren't any favorite of the master, and they died of illness, so it was even more inappropriate for the master to see them.
Even though Qinghe was so ill, she kept saying she wanted to see Shenyan. Chidou couldn't bear it, and although she knew it was unreasonable, she still came to report to Shenyan.
"The physician said that Qinghe is not suffering from the epidemic and will not be contagious to others, so I dared to come and ask you for help."
Red Bean explained.
Shen Yan nodded and said nothing more, then followed her to the courtyard where Qing He lived.
This courtyard was originally the shared residence of several maids, but now, because Shen Yan is coming, most of them have been cleared out, leaving only Qing Tuan and a few other head maids to guard this place.
Before Shen Yan even entered the room, she could smell a medicinal scent, which became even stronger after she stepped inside.
She frowned, walked to Qinghe's bedside, and called out softly.
Qinghe groggily opened her eyes, and when she saw the figure in front of her, her cloudy eyes regained some brightness. She propped herself up and tried to sit up: "Your Highness..."
Shen Yan gently patted her shoulder, indicating that she should just lie down.
She had intended to ask Qinghe why she was so ill, where she felt unwell, and whether she should see another doctor. But after just one glance at Qinghe, she knew it was unnecessary.
Red Bean was right; Green Root was on its deathbed.
Is there someone or something you're still worried about?
Seeing that her face was ashen, Shen Yan knew that she was having difficulty speaking, so she simply cut to the chase.
Although she had taken Qinghe in, the two didn't interact much, and Qinghe wasn't particularly close to her. Now that Qinghe was so ill, and wanted to see only her, refusing to see anyone else, perhaps she had some final arrangements to make.
Qinghe initially thought so. There was something she had kept in her heart and never mentioned to anyone. She thought she would never dare to speak of it in her life, but now... Prince Ning is dead.
After Prince Ning's death, she hesitated whether to reveal the matter, perhaps it would lead to a quicker conviction of Prince Ning, or a harsher sentence for him.
However, because the evidence against Prince Ning for treason was irrefutable and involved border garrisons and iron mines, the case was handled very quickly. The emperor showed no regard for the father-son relationship and sentenced Prince Ning to death.
Qinghe couldn't think of any punishment more severe than death, so she felt it didn't matter whether she spoke of what she knew or not. But... her best friend was still in the palace, in that dark, sunless well. She really wanted to bring her remains out and give her a proper burial.
Her sister, Qingyu, was murdered and thrown into a dry well that had been unused for many years after she accidentally witnessed Prince Ning having an affair with a concubine in the harem.
Qinghe witnessed everything and was so frightened when she returned that she fell seriously ill and almost didn't make it through.
Fortunately, Prince Ning was unaware that she was hiding in the shadows, so she escaped unharmed.
However, she lived in constant fear, afraid that the Prince of Ning would discover her one day. Therefore, when she was sent out of the palace to serve Lady Su and Shen Yan, she was actually happy inside.
Later, when the palace called them back, she felt afraid whenever she thought of that place and Prince Ning, so she begged Miss Shen to let her stay.
She hadn't had high hopes, but to her surprise, Miss Shen actually agreed.
The time she spent in the Shen family and the Prince's Mansion was the happiest period of her life. There was no power struggle or intrigue, the masters treated the servants well, and the servants were all harmonious with each other.
She thought this was the best of days, and that it would be a blessing to live out her life in such a peaceful way. Unfortunately, her body was not strong enough. She had survived so much suffering in the palace, but she was going to die after only half a year of good days.
But Qinghe also thought that she was actually very lucky to have such a good six months. How many sisters were trapped in the palace their whole lives, struggling endlessly without any way out.
Like Qingyu, because she was born with a face even better than hers, she was targeted by Prince Ning early on. After suffering all kinds of bullying, she ended up being thrown into a dry well. Not to mention having a decent grave, she couldn't even be laid to rest.
But she believed that if she died, the princess and the others would give her a proper burial, and perhaps people would occasionally pay their respects to her.
Qinghe felt she had no regrets. Her only concern was for Qingyu, who was still in the dry well. So she wanted to ask the princess for help to retrieve Qingyu's body and bury her next to her. If that was inconvenient, anywhere else would be fine, as long as she could have a peaceful resting place, instead of the dry well that had taken her life.
But the moment she saw Shen Yan, when Shen Yan asked her if there was anyone or anything she was worried about, she suddenly dismissed the thought.
All of this... what does it have to do with the princess? She's such a good person, why should she bear this burden? Just because she's kind-hearted? Does a kind-hearted person deserve to handle other people's funeral arrangements? Since you knew it might cause her inconvenience, why bother her again?
Tears welled up in Qinghe's eyes. She slowly shook her head and murmured, "No, nothing. I just... wanted to thank the Princess. Thank you, Princess... for giving me these past six months of good times."
Shen Yan was startled, and for some reason, her nose suddenly felt sore.
What good times? The six months she spent as a slave in the Shen family and the Prince's mansion—was that considered good times for her? How much suffering and hardship must one endure to consider such days as good times?
She tilted her head back slightly, suppressing the tears in her eyes, and took her hand, saying, "There will be many more good times, better than this, many, many more good times...
But Qinghe couldn't understand. They both knew that there might still be many good times ahead, but Qinghe's were about to end. So hastily, so suddenly, it was about to end when she was just a teenager.
Qinghe smiled and raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye, but the action was too strenuous for her, and she could only move her fingers before she could no longer continue.
Qinghe reluctantly turned her head and looked at Chidou and the others, whose eyes were already red from crying: "Thank you, thank you all, thank you..."
With her last words, she expressed her gratitude to those who had treated her kindly, and closed her eyes without giving any last words.
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Author's Note: The character Qinghe was previously written as "Yunying," and the other palace maids were all named "Yun X." I forgot that the Third Princess's name was Qi Yunying, which needed to be avoided. I only remembered this now. I'll revise it when I have time, changing Yunying to Qinghe and the others to "Qing X." The plot remains the same. If you see the previous revisions, you don't need to reread them; only the names have been changed.
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