Chapter 121: Pretending to be sick and avoiding the enemy
In Chengqian Palace, Tong Jia Zifu sat sipping her tea, listening to the chatter of several concubines who had come to pay their respects but were actually there to complain. Leading the group was Concubine Hui, who had given birth to the emperor's eldest son and no daughters.
"Imperial Consort, I heard that Prince Dorji of Mobei came to the capital to ask to marry Kejing." Concubine Hui took a sip of tea and continued, "Actually, only Kejing's age is the most suitable. The others are either too old or too young. I don't know what the emperor is thinking. Concubine Yi's daughter is a princess, but daughters born to others are not princesses?"
Tong Jia Zifu smiled and said, "The Emperor hasn't made up his mind yet, and Concubine Hui, you don't need to worry about it, right? This job, after all, won't be your turn, Yinzhi."
Tong Jia Zi Fu's words were certainly a joke, but they still made everyone present laugh.
Concubine Hui curled her lips and said, "Of course, I don't have to worry about this, but I am speaking up for my sisters. How come Concubine Yi can be with the Emperor every day? Wherever the Emperor goes, he takes her with him. Even when the late Empress was alive, she didn't have this honor."
There were naturally many concubines who had the same mentality as Concubine Hui. Imperial Noble Concubine Tong Jia Zi Fu could not help but curse her cousin in her heart, for running off to Changchun Garden to have fun and leaving a mess of things to her, the Imperial Noble Concubine.
"Concubine Hui, if I were you, I wouldn't be so jealous. Now that the eldest prince has made military achievements, it's time for him to gain the emperor's favor. As his mother, why don't you go and find a wife for Yinzhi instead of coming to me to complain about Concubine Yi?"
Concubine Hui was confronted by Tong Jia Zi Fu again. She was a little angry, but facing the Imperial Noble Concubine, she did not dare to act rashly and had to remain silent.
"Who the Emperor favors is determined by his luck and ability. Besides, among us, Concubine Yi is not the only one favored. How did the Sixth Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Eighth Prince come to be?" Tong Jia Zifu said, looking at Concubine De: "Concubine De, doesn't the Emperor favor you? Yinzhen is always praised by the Emperor now, right?"
Concubine De smiled and said, "What the Imperial Noble Concubine said is true. The Emperor has his own considerations when deciding who to keep by his side. He is always thinking about everyone in his heart."
Concubine Hui said, "Concubine De, you'd better be careful. Be careful that your Wenxian will be married to Dorji by the Emperor."
"Concubine Hui, you're going too far." Tong Jia Zifu naturally stopped him immediately. "Which princess the emperor chooses to marry Dorji is his business, and it's also a matter of great importance to the previous dynasty. All we can do is to happily send the princess off to marry. Besides, Dorji is the young prince of Mobei, and his future is limitless. A princess who marries him may not necessarily live an uncomfortable life. She might even have a better life than one who stays in the Forbidden City."
After sending away her cousin's troublesome concubines, Tong Jia Zifu felt exhausted, both physically and mentally. She leaned against the beauty's backrest and rubbed her temples. After a long while, she still felt uncomfortable, so she sat up straight and said, "Prepare the carriages, I will also go to Changchun Garden to take a look."
It is summer now, and Changchun Garden is much more comfortable inside than outside because of the lake and the cool breeze.
Tong Jia Zifu got off the carriage and walked in the garden, fanning herself with a round fan. She smiled and said to the servants beside her, "No wonder my cousin always comes here. It's more comfortable here than in the Forbidden City."
The servant also said, "It is indeed much cooler in the garden than in the Forbidden City. Master, you should move here too."
"I'm moving in too?" Tong Jia Zifu smiled and glanced at the servant. "If I move in, who will appease those concubines in my cousin's harem? If one or two of them go to my cousin and make a scene, I'm afraid he won't be able to bear it."
"Master, you're just too concerned about the Emperor." The servant felt a little sorry for Tong Jia Zifu: "You, what the Imperial Concubine is doing... wouldn't it be better for her to live outside the palace?"
"Can I choose?" Tong Jia Zifu was a little helpless. "But to be honest, after seeing a man like my cousin, other people would probably find it hard to stand in my eyes. It's just a pity that he is my cousin. I was born into the Tong family, so I have no choice."
Xiu Yu was originally drawing in the corridor. When he saw Tong Jia Zi Fu and her group from afar, he went forward to greet them and said with a smile, "Greetings to the Imperial Concubine."
"Your manners are not considerate enough." Tong Jia Zifu and Xiu Yu have a very good relationship now, so naturally these words are just jokes: "You are living a comfortable life painting in the corridor."
"It seems that the Imperial Concubine has been having a hard time lately?" Xiu Yu and Tong Jia Zi Fu walked towards Qingxi Book House together. "Not really. You are already the number one in the harem. Who else can bully you?"
"It's all about my cousin's mess." Thinking of this, Tong Jia Zifu became extremely angry. "Concubine Hui, who doesn't even have a princess, has to worry about someone who does. You know how good she is at talking."
Xiu Yu smiled: "Sister Hui Fei, you are indeed a person who knows how to talk."
Tong Jia Zifu tapped Xiu Yu's forehead gently with the round fan in her hand and said, "You are responsible for my being so annoying. Don't think you can just hide away like this."
"It's summer now, shall I make you a cup of juice? The kind with milk tea in it, as an apology?" Xiu Yu herself doesn't like milk tea, but most girls are not like her.
Tong Jia Zifu really enjoyed it: "Being able to taste your cooking skills, this trip to Changchun Garden is not in vain."
Inside the study of Qingxi Book House, Xuanye was a little surprised to see Tong Jia Zifu coming: "Why are you here?"
"Why can't I come to my cousin's place?" Tong Jia Zifu didn't even greet him and sat down next to Xuanye: "I'm here to settle accounts with my cousin the emperor."
"Settlement of accounts?" Xuanye put down the book in his hand and said, "Tell me, what accounts are we settling?"
"Cousin, you've left me with this mess in your harem, and you don't have a good solution. Shouldn't I be coming to you to settle the score?" Tong Jia Zifu began to complain bitterly, "Do you have a good solution for the Dorji issue?"
"Why are you all discussing Dorji's matter?" Xuanye was a little surprised: "I haven't made a decision yet, and haven't figured out what to do."
Tong Jia Zifu said bluntly, "Kejing, you and Xiuyu must be reluctant to let her go. If it were another princess, her mother wouldn't be willing to let her go either, and then she'd have to hold Xiuyu accountable. That's not a good deal."
Xuanye looked at Tong Jia Zifu and said, "Cousin, you are not here to enjoy the scenery in Changchun Garden, are you? Are you here to offer advice to your cousin?"
"If I really had a good plan, how would you reward me, cousin?" Tong Jia Zifu crossed her legs. "I thought Xiu Yu would definitely come up with a good idea if she stayed by your side. It seems that now that this matter has come to her own child, she has no good solution."
Xuanye said, "After all, this matter concerns Kejing. I'm afraid no matter what advice Yu'er gives, it will be inappropriate."
"Then I, the Imperial Noble Consort, should be the bad guy." Tong Jia Zifu gently waved her round fan. "Cousin, you can organize a horse race. Invite the Mobei prince and a few of the Eight Banners' best equestrians. Also, call all the suitable princesses under your wing. After a day or two of competition, we'll know who's attracted to Dorji and who's attracted to Dorji. By then, if they're both willing, it wouldn't be right for me, as your mother, to stand in the way of my daughter's marriage. As for Kejing, let her pretend to be sick. What do you think, Yu'er?"
Xiu Yu pondered the idea proposed by Tong Jia Zi Fu and said, "Royal Concubine, this idea is indeed good. I raise my hand in approval."
"No need to raise your hand, just agree is fine." Tong Jia Zifu looked at Xuanye again: "What do you think, cousin?"
Xuanye tapped the table lightly with his right fingers and said, "It's a good idea. When the time comes, a man and a woman will both kneel before me and beg me to arrange their marriage. Then the harem will have nothing to say. But Kejing pretends to be sick..." He looked at Xiu Yu.
Xiu Yu smiled and said, "She's good at pretending to be sick. She even pretended to be sick to skip classes when she was little. Don't even mention asking her to pretend to be sick. If she really doesn't want to marry to Mobei and really has no interest in that Dorji, it's possible that she really made herself sick."
As the saying goes, no one knows a daughter better than her mother. Just two days after Xiu Yu said this, Ke Jing really fell ill. She had a high fever all over her body and was shivering, which caught the accompanying imperial physician off guard.
While tending to Ke Jing, Xiu Yu said, "The Imperial Noble Consort came a few days ago and indeed suggested that you feign illness. You actually cooperated and ended up falling ill. Now I'm afraid your Khan Father won't be able to watch the horse race with peace of mind."
Ke Jing leaned against the headboard and smiled weakly, "Mother, now that Father is not here, I'm going to tell you the truth. I've been taking cold showers for two days straight, and then going outside to get some fresh air. It's hard not to get sick."
This time Xiu Yu was speechless: "You are a girl, and your father has made up his mind not to let you marry to Mobei. He is just trying to shut up the ladies in the harem, so why do you have to do it for real? If you get sick in the future, it will be a lifelong problem."
"My daughter can guess what they say about me behind my back." Ke Jing said to Xiu Yu while massaging her temples, "My daughter is truly ill this time and missed the race. If they have any suspicions and come to see me, they are genuine. No one can say anything."
"You." Xiu Yu glared at Ke Jing and said, "Just lie down in bed and take good care of yourself. If the imperial physician forbids you from getting out of bed, then you must not get out of bed. Do you remember that?"
"I'll remember it, my daughter." Ke Jing nodded obediently.
Xiu Yu felt the temperature of the medicine bowl, picked it up, scooped a spoonful and fed it to Ke Jing: "When you are not sick, I have never seen you so obedient."
"Mother..." Ke Jing drank a mouthful of medicine and began to act coquettishly: "It's bitter. How about you make pills for your daughter to eat?"
Xiu Yu snorted lightly: "You are good at making requests."
"Is my daughter sick?" Ke Jing gently held Xiu Yu's hand: "Mother, this medicine is really bitter."
"Okay." Xiu Yu saw her daughter's pale face, but she felt very distressed. "Then drink this bowl first, and we won't make the soup anymore. Make it into pills instead. Mother can add red dates and red beans to the pills. Is that okay?"
"Do a few more." Ke Jing felt sleepy and yawned, then Xiu Yu helped her lie down on the bed.
Xiu Yu said softly, "Go to sleep. The imperial physician said that there are some soothing ingredients added to the medicine. You will have a good sleep."
***
After all, Kejing was a princess who grew up in the harem, so she didn't know the personalities of the concubines too well. Halfway through the horse race, several concubines came to Kejing's residence, ostensibly to visit her, but in reality, to see if Kejing was truly ill.
Ke Jing had just taken a nap at that time and her temperature had dropped a little. However, she was still shocked to see several important ladies standing in a row in front of her bed.
But she reacted in a flash, picked up a handkerchief to cover her mouth, deliberately coughed forcefully, and said weakly: "My dear concubines, please forgive Ke Jing for her impoliteness. The imperial physician said that I have caught a cold and need to pass it on to someone else. My concubines should...stay away from Ke Jing."
Xiu Yu stood by the door, holding back her laughter, and watched Ke Jing performing by herself.
Xuanye naturally also heard the news that several of his concubines came together to "visit the sick", so he found an excuse to leave the horse racing meeting and hurried to where Kejing lived.
Xiu Yu stopped Xuanye at the door and signaled him with her eyes to keep quiet and watch the performance of the ladies quietly.
Kejing's coughing became more and more severe. The other ladies retreated in fear. Concubine Hui turned around first. Seeing Xuanye, she hurriedly bowed and greeted him, saying, "Your Majesty, you have come to see Kejing as well."
Xuanye said "hmm", his face was as dark as it could be.
After the ladies had paid their respects to Xuanye, he asked, "Have you finished visiting the patient? The horse race isn't over yet, so why don't you join in the fun?"
The ladies naturally understood what Xuanye meant and hurried out.
Guessing they were far away, Ke Jing laughed, "Father, your concubines are so funny. When my daughter said I had a disease that could be passed on to others, they wanted to fly away immediately."
Xuanye glared at Kejing and said, "You, even though you're so sick, you still dare to make fun of them..."
"It would be so boring if we don't have some fun." Ke Jing laughed enough and immediately frowned again. After all, being sick really didn't feel good.
Xuanye sat down beside the bed, raised his hand and touched Kejing's forehead, saying, "The fever has finally subsided a little."
Ke Jing smiled.
Xiu Yu said, "Why don't you ask why your princess suddenly fell ill?"
"I'm sick, and there's a reason?" Xuanye was puzzled. "Didn't the imperial physician say that the recent fluctuating weather makes it easy to get sick?"
Xiu Yu rolled her eyes at Ke Jing. "She took a cold shower just to get sick, and then went outside to get some fresh air. It would be strange if she didn't get sick."
After hearing what Xiu Yu said, Xuanye's face darkened again: "Kejing, how can you joke about your own body?"
Ke Jing felt a little headache: "Mother, you didn't protect your daughter, and you even complained about her to my father."
"Your mother has every right to sue you for this." Xuanye tapped Kejing's forehead gently: "You don't even take care of your own body, yet you still abuse it like this!"
Ke Jing had her reasons: "You saw it too. When my daughter said she was sick, your concubines came to visit her immediately. If my daughter was faking illness, how could she escape the eyes of these cunning people? Obviously not."
"You can't act foolishly." Xuanye held Kejing's shoulders and said, "You are my father's precious daughter. If you don't want to do something, I won't force you to do it. You should trust me on this."
Ke Jing looked into Xuanye's eyes and smiled, "I believe you, Father. But I don't want you and Mother to worry too much. I'll just do what I can."
"Okay, let's not discuss this anymore." Xiu Yu lifted the lid of the food box beside her. "The imperial physician said you don't need to drink porridge today. Mother made you some snacks."
"That's great!" Ke Jing felt as if she had been pardoned. "Mother, you don't know. Even with your cooking skills, it's very sad to eat porridge all day."
Xiu Yu handed the plate of snacks to Ke Jing: "Eat it, these are seasonal lotus cakes, filled with..."
Ke Jing was still smiling, but when Xiu Yu mentioned 'something in there...', her expression changed immediately. With a bitter look on her face, she said, "You wouldn't have put the medicine in the pastry, would you?"
"Yeah." Xiu Yu said naturally, "You can eat pills, but not snacks?"
Ke Jing was about to cry: "Mother, I'm getting better, I really am!" As she said that, she lifted the quilt and was about to get out of bed.
Xuanye was quick to act and immediately held Kejing down. "Rest peacefully in bed. Without your mother's permission, you are not allowed to get out of bed."
***
However, after those ladies visited Ke Jing's illness, they were indeed frightened by her. They did not go back to the racecourse directly, but went back to their own residences to take some pills as a precaution. Xiu Yu and the others naturally did not know about this.
At the racecourse, Xuanye's older daughters were actually good horse racers. When Dorji was resting, Defei's daughter Princess Wenxian also got off the horse.
Dorji had been looking for Kejing, but when he heard she was ill and couldn't leave the race, he watched a few of the other princesses compete. This changed his impression of the Qing princesses. He had thought Kejing was a special case, but he had never imagined that the Qing princesses were so powerful, not inferior to his sisters.
"Princess Wenxian." Duoerji handed over the water bag in his hand: "Are you tired from running? Would you like to take a break?"
Wen Xian smiled and took the water bag from Dorji. "I've heard for a long time that Prince Dorji of Mobei is the best among all the Mongolian princes. Seeing him today, I can see that he is indeed the best."
Dorji smiled and said, "Princess, you are too kind."
Wen Xian sat down, looked at the rising hooves and the flying dust on the racecourse, and asked, "Are you Mobei people good at horsemanship too?"
"Yes." Duoerji and Wen Xian also looked at the people competing in the arena. "Our Mobei area is relatively large, and when we run horses, we are not as constrained as here."
"Really?" Wen Xian said lightly, opened the lid of the water bag and took a sip of water.
Dorji looked at Wen Xian's eyebrows and eyes, and actually saw some similarities between him and Kejing.
"Has anyone ever told you that you sisters look alike?"
"We are sisters?"
Wen Xian turned his head and looked at Dorji.
"You mean, me and my fourth sister?"
"Yes." Dorji nodded.
Wen Xian smiled faintly.
"My fourth sister grew up under the love and care of my father and Concubine Yi's mother. She is different from us."
Dorji still found it a little difficult to understand.
"I heard that Her Royal Highness the Princess is the daughter of Consort De, and Consort De is also very favored by the Emperor."
"That's different." Wen Xian pursed her cherry lips. "If it weren't for Concubine Yi's mother, compared to the other ladies, my mother would indeed be considered favored by my father. But with Concubine Yi's mother in front..." She forced a smile. "I now know what it feels like for my father to like someone."
When Dorji met Kejing, he only thought that the princess of the Qing Dynasty was proud and flamboyant. But when he chatted with Wen Xian, he suddenly had a different feeling, that is, the princess of the Qing Dynasty was actually lonely.
"Princess Wenxian, have you ever considered leaving the Forbidden City? Go somewhere free and find someone who truly loves you and cherishes you."
"Someone who likes me and loves me?" Wen Xian looked at Dorji and found his words a little funny. "I've actually figured it out a long time ago. It's probably hard to find someone like my father and Concubine Yi's mother. Maybe there are many women in this world like my mother? Or like other concubines? Find someone, have a few children, and make do with your life."
"Princess, you're too pessimistic." Dorji hesitated. "Your Highness, are you willing to give me a chance?"
"You failed in your bid to marry my fourth sister, and you're already thinking of changing your target?" Wen Xian stood up, whip in hand. "I'm not afraid of going to Mobei, but I won't be someone else's substitute. I'm afraid the young prince will be disappointed."
She got off the horse farm again, and her back revealed a heroic spirit.
Dorji's lips curled slightly. He had just arrived in the capital when he met Kejing, and later learned that she was a princess of the imperial family. At that time, he felt that Kejing might be the princess destined for him. But in recent days, there had been no progress between him and Kejing. He had repeatedly approached her, but it always felt like a cold shoulder. He valued fate and understood that love could not be forced. Seeing Princess Wenxian today, Dorji had other thoughts in mind.
***
When Kejing recovered and the imperial physician said she could get out of bed, Xiuyu took her daughter for a walk in the garden. Tired of walking, the mother and daughter rested in the pavilion.
Xiu Yu looked at the scenery in the distance and said, "The garden is so peaceful, aren't you curious?"
"What are you curious about?" Ke Jing looked at the iced fruit on the stone table, but knew she couldn't eat it yet, so she could only continue holding the teacup in her hand. "I'm curious why the ladies and sisters are gone?"
"What gossip did you hear?" Xiu Yu always knew that her daughter was also a person with ears outside, so she was not surprised.
Ke Jing nodded. "I heard that Dorji has his eyes on Fifth Sister? Consort De wouldn't agree, would she? Besides, with Fifth Sister's personality, would she agree if she knew Dorji had mentioned to Father that he wanted to marry me as his princess?"
"You have quite a lot on your mind," Xiu Yu said with a faint smile. "I heard that Wen Xian was reluctant at first, but I don't know what tricks Dorji used to trick our Fifth Princess into his hands. It seems your father is about to issue an imperial decree arranging the marriage."
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