Chapter 18: Unwilling to Leave the Palace
Queen Wei smiled softly and said to Yun Xiangye, "No need to be polite, stand up and take a seat."
Yun Xiangye stood up and answered, then sat down next to Xie Zhixuan.
After Empress Wei asked her female officials to draft an imperial decree for Ye Wanhe to leave the palace, she sent a eunuch to the Eastern Palace to announce the decree.
While waiting for Li Shanggong to arrive, Queen Wei started discussing the matter of the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace with Xie Zhixuan.
Yun Xiangye was listening at the side, and recalled that her cousin had mentioned two days ago that among the five noble ladies who wanted to marry Gu Yan, one was the Crown Princess's sister.
Queen Wei said, "Yan'er's daughter is already two years old, and Yun'er is two years older than Yan'er. The Crown Princess has no children yet, so the Crown Princess' wedding date should not be delayed any longer. I asked the Taoist priest yesterday, and he said that April 6th is an auspicious day for the wedding."
Xie Zhixuan asked, "Doesn't the daughter of the Fu family still have to observe mourning for a year?"
Queen Wei said, "She is my stepmother after all. I have been keeping her for two years and no one will complain. The East Palace cannot be childless forever. There are not many children in this palace. I think it is better to welcome the Crown Princess into the palace in April."
The palace had already prepared everything needed to marry the Crown Princess, but the plan was delayed because Fu Qianran, who was named Crown Princess, had to observe five years of mourning.
Xie Zhixuan said, "You are right, sister-in-law. It is possible to get married in April. After all, the Eastern Palace cannot be without an heir forever."
Queen Wei smiled and said, "I was so jealous when I saw the lovely Nuonuo the other day. I just hope I can have a grandson next year."
Yun Xiangye smiled faintly as she listened to Queen Wei praising Nuonuo.
"Mother."
Prince Zhao Yun entered the room and saw Xie Zhixuan there. He bowed and said, "Aunt."
Yun Xiangye hurriedly stood up and saluted to Zhao Yun, "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhao Yun said, "No need to be so polite, sister-in-law."
Yun Xiangye saw that her cousin was following behind Zhao Yun.
Ye Wanhe was wearing the clothes of a senior palace maid. She lowered her eyebrows and bowed respectfully to the queen and the eldest princess.
Zhao Yun walked up to Queen Wei and said, "Mother, have you issued an imperial decree to have Aunt Ye leave the palace?"
Queen Wei smiled calmly and said, "What a coincidence, Wanhe is Xiangye's cousin. Wanhe is also 25 years old and has reached the age to leave the palace. If she is allowed to leave the palace before the end of the year, she can also see her family sooner."
Zhao Yun frowned slightly and said, "But mother, Wanhe doesn't want to leave the palace."
Yun Xiangye looked at Zhao Yun. Why would Sister He not want to leave the palace?
Uncle and aunt are waiting for Sister He to come home so that the family can be reunited.
Queen Wei looked at Ye Wanhe and said, "Really?"
Zhao Yun nodded and said, "Mother, Aunt Ye is now at this age. In the palace, she is a first-rank female official and a senior maid in front of the East Palace. If she leaves the palace, she may not have a good future."
Yun Xiangye didn't care about offending Zhao Yun, and whispered: "But my uncle and aunt have been looking forward to Sister He's return home and a family reunion..."
Zhao Yun glanced at Yun Xiangye calmly, then turned to ask Ye Wanhe behind him: "Wanhe, tell me, do you want to stay in the palace or leave?"
Yun Xiangye looked at Ye Wanhe with expectation. If it wasn't for the approaching New Year, her uncle and aunt might have followed her to Chang'an. Everyone in the family wanted their cousin to come home very much.
Ye Wanhe knelt down towards Queen Wei and said, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your grace in allowing me to leave the palace as soon as possible."
Ye Wanhe raised her eyes to glance at Zhao Yun, who had a gloomy expression, and bowed her head and said, "It's just that I don't want to leave the palace. I am willing to continue to stay by my master's side and serve him."
Xie Zhixuan smiled and said, "You are a loyal man, but there are rules in the palace that women can leave the palace when they are 25 years old. You still have family members waiting for you to go home and reunite with them, so you should go home and reunite with them."
Ye Wanhe lowered her eyebrows and said, "Your Highness has been very kind to me over the years. I am willing to continue to serve you..."
Zhao Yun breathed a sigh of relief and said to Xie Zhixuan, "Aunt, since Wan He is willing to stay in the palace, there is no need to let her leave."
Yun Xiangye looked at her cousin who was kneeling on the ground. She didn't believe that her cousin was willing to stay in the palace.
Although my uncle's family is not wealthy, they are a small merchant family. Although they are not rich, they still have maids to serve them at home. My cousin would not give up her job as a lady to become a slave just for the sake of loyalty.
My cousin clearly said today that she wanted to leave the palace, and the Empress and the Princess would help her leave.
Xie Zhixuan looked at Ye Wanhe who was kneeling on the ground and asked, "Why do you smell like medicine?"
Ye Wanhe said hurriedly: "Your Highness, I have been feeling unwell these days, so I took some medicine."
Xie Zhixuan said to Ye Wanhe: "Stand up and come over to me."
Ye Wanhe slowly stood up and walked to Xie Zhixuan's side.
Xie Zhixuan reached out and held Ye Wanhe's wrist.
Seeing Xie Zhixuan diagnosing her pulse, Ye Wanhe hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I dare not let you diagnose my pulse..."
Xie Zhixuan took Ye Wanhe's pulse with her fingers, frowned slightly, glanced at Zhao Yun, let go of Ye Wanhe's wrist, and wiped her hands with a handkerchief beside her.
Yun Xiangye saw Xie Zhixuan's expression and asked in a low voice, "Mom, is my cousin okay?"
"It's nothing serious." Xie Zhixuan said lightly.
Ye Wanhe bowed and said, "Thank you, Princess, for taking my pulse."
Xie Zhixuan glanced at Zhao Yun, then said to Queen Wei, "Sister-in-law, you just said that the Crown Prince will get married on the sixth day of April. Now is the time to announce it to the world."
Queen Wei chuckled and said, "Well, after discussing with the previous dynasty, we will announce to the world that the wedding will take place in April."
Zhao Yun's face did not show the joy of getting married soon. He just bowed and said, "Mother, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."
Queen Wei smiled faintly and said, "You can go down."
Yun Xiangye bowed and respectfully saw Zhao Yun off. Looking at her cousin's back, Yun Xiangye was puzzled. She could obviously leave the palace, so why did her sister say that she didn't want to leave? What was the good of being a slave and maid in the palace and being cautious?
Yun Xiangye looked at Xie Zhixuan and said, "Mom, I want to go see my cousin."
Xie Zhixuan said: "Yeah."
Yun Xiangye went to chase her cousin after leaving Fengyi Palace. However, before she caught up with her, she thought of Nuonuo at home. Nuonuo woke up from a nap and didn't see her parents, so she was bound to cry again.
It’s time to see my cousin and ask for clarification. It’s more important to leave the palace as soon as possible.
Yun Xiangye walked towards Fengyi Palace and heard words coming from inside the house.
Xie Zhixuan handed the handkerchief she had just wiped her hands to the palace maid and said, "Throw it away."
Queen Wei took a sip of tea and said, "What's wrong? After checking Wan He's pulse, you don't even want the handkerchief?"
Xie Zhixuan said, "The safflower smell is obvious in the medicinal smell of Ye Wanhe, which is obviously a common contraceptive prescription. I felt her pulse and it was a sign of deficiency of Qi and blood after partying every night. Her body is already stained with such a strong smell of medicine, which shows that she has taken contraceptive medicine a lot. Now it is difficult for her to have children. If she drinks more contraceptive medicine, I am afraid she will be childless in the future. No matter how she is treated, it will be useless."
Queen Wei coughed twice, her voice slightly cold: "No wonder Ye Wanhe didn't want to leave the palace just now. How could she be willing to leave the palace to be the Crown Prince's woman? It's a pity that I just praised her for being honest and dutiful."
Queen Wei said, "The Crown Princess will soon enter the palace. This kind of seductive servant must not be allowed to stay in the East Palace for long."
Yun Xiangye, who was standing at the door, heard the words inside and stopped in her tracks as she was about to enter Fengyi Palace. She frowned.
Recalling the scene of seeing her cousin drinking medicine the day before, she felt a little sad and didn't understand why her cousin was unwilling to leave the palace?
Yun Xiangye didn't care whether Nuonuo would make a fuss when she woke up and couldn't see her, and turned around and walked towards the East Palace.
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