Chapter 90: Fear of Losing Xuanye
Yinzhen was frightened. He hid further behind Tong Jia Zi Fu, staring at her with his big eyes.
Tong Jia Zifu's pretty brows knitted together. She clutched Yinzhen's hand tightly and said to Defei, "Yifei just returned from a near-death experience. How could she know anything about Yinzuo's situation? I know you're heartbroken, but you shouldn't involve others unnecessarily."
"Am I implicated others for no reason?" Concubine De smiled bitterly, finally raising her head and staring at Tong Jia Zifu. "Back then, when you took the Fourth Prince away, the Emperor issued a decree that all children born to concubines could be raised by his own lap. Wasn't it for Concubine Yi? Yesterday, when my Yinzuo had a high fever, the Imperial Hospital Director stayed in the Yikun Palace the entire time. Even the Emperor didn't come to Yonghe Palace to see Yinzuo. Wasn't it for Concubine Yi?"
Tong Jia Zifu was momentarily speechless at De Fei's question. There was no answer to the question, after all, her cousin was indeed partial to Concubine Yi. "At least now, it seems that raising Yinzhen under my wing is better than raising him under yours. I just assumed those two words you said were just a sign of excessive grief and confusion. Don't tell anyone else." She had originally intended to bring Yinzhen to ease De Fei's grief, but it seemed that De Fei didn't take Yinzhen seriously at all. Glancing at De Fei again, Tong Jia Zifu was about to drag Yinzhen out of Yonghe Palace.
However, the feet of the little man next to her seemed to be stuck to the ground. Tong Jia Zifu looked at Yinzhen curiously.
Yinzhen shook his thin lips tightly and suddenly said, "Mother, Concubine Yi's mother is a good person and a good teacher. She will not harm my sixth brother."
Tears streamed down Concubine De's cheeks. She smiled bitterly and said, "Fourth Prince, your sixth brother is gone, and you still want to speak for Concubine Yi? You, you are not a child who grew up in Yonghe Palace after all."
"Defei!" Tong Jia Zifu whispered. She could clearly feel the small hand she held in her palm suddenly become cold. She squatted down, looked into Yinzhen's eyes, and said, "Don't be afraid, Fourth Prince. Mother is here."
Yinzhen blinked his eyes, trying hard to hold back his tears, and then nodded seriously at Tong Jia Zifu.
Tong Jia Zifu regretted all the way back to Chengqian Palace. She regretted why she brought Yinzhen to Yonghe Palace at this time. She knew very well that Defei did not have any blood relationship with Yinzhen. How could Yinzhen replace Yinzuo, who had always been at her knees?
"Little Fourth, Mother was wrong. From now on, Mother will never force you to come to Yonghe Palace to pay your respects. From now on, you will just be the prince of Chengqian Palace."
But then Yinzhen said, "Mother, I will do as you say and come to Yonghe Palace every day to pay my respects. I know you are doing this for your own good."
Tong Jia Zifu hesitated for a moment and said, "Yinzhen, your mother just said..."
"I know that Concubine Yi is a good teacher. She would not have any intention of harming anyone. My sixth brother's affairs have nothing to do with her." Yinzhen touched the Buddhist beads on his wrist and said, "I will pray for my sixth brother. I hope that he will be safe and happy in his next life."
Tong Jia Zifu felt relieved. She was truly worried that De Fei's momentary nonsense would lead Yin Zhen astray. She certainly couldn't empathize with De Fei's grief, but she knew she was grieving. However, no matter how grieving she was, she shouldn't have said those words to a child like the Fourth Prince. Tong Jia Zifu sighed heavily, feeling even more strongly that she had to take good care of Yin Zhen and not send this good boy back to that hell on a whim.
Xiu Yu slept for a long time this time before waking up. When she woke up, Xiao Tao was by her side.
"Master, you are finally awake." Seeing Xiu Yu open his eyes, Xiao Tao finally smiled. She squatted beside the bed and asked, "Master, are you hungry? Are you thirsty?"
Xiu Yu's voice was still a little hoarse: "Have I slept for a long time?"
"You've slept for two whole days and nights." Xiao Tao carefully helped Xiu Yu up. "Would you like some water first?"
Xiu Yu nodded and looked at the rocking cradle beside the bed.
Xiao Tao handed Xiu Yu a cup of warm water and said, "You have given the Emperor another little prince, the Eleventh Prince."
"It's not easy to fill it up." Xiu Yu took a big gulp of water and felt that he had no strength in his whole body. His eyelids drooped and he said, "The emperor..."
Xiao Tao hesitated for a moment and said, "Master, the Sixth Prince passed away on the day our Eleventh Prince was born."
"What?" Xiu Yu was also surprised: "Sixth Prince is gone?"
Xiao Tao handed Xiu Yu the soup he had prepared early in the morning and said, "The Emperor originally told us not to tell you about this matter, but I feel that we should not keep it from you."
"How do you say it?"
"You were in danger on the day the eleventh prince was born. The emperor has been guarding here and has also called Sun Zhiding and others to our palace, so..." Xiao Tao lowered her head slightly. She was somewhat sad for Concubine De about what happened in Yonghe Palace.
Xiu Yu asked, "So, when the Sixth Prince was in the most critical condition, the Emperor didn't go to see him? Doctor Sun and the others didn't go either?"
"The Imperial Physician was there, too." Xiao Tao quickly comforted Xiu Yu, "I heard from Liang Jiugong that the Sixth Prince is weak. Imperial Physician Sun has long since told the Emperor that the Sixth Prince might not reach adulthood."
Xiu Yu wasn't the type to take all the blame on herself. She simply said, "Anyway, it just happened. I'm afraid Concubine De will blame me for this. And the Fourth Prince..."
"Our Yinzhen is sensible," said Tong Jia Zifu, who happened to be visiting Xiu Yu in Yikun Palace. "But the wall between him and his biological mother is probably something he can never cross."
Seeing that Tong Jia Zifu had already sat down familiarly, Xiu Yu smiled and said, "I just woke up, so I won't greet you."
"You're talking as if I'm supposed to bow to you every time I come to your place." Tong Jia Zifu observed Xiu Yu's expression and said, "After the last incident and this one, you've been severely injured. Will it take you six months to recover?"
Xiu Yu smiled and said, "If it doesn't delay my teaching you, Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, he will let me be half his teacher, right?"
"Of course." Tong Jia Zifu simply stood up and walked to the bedside, sitting down next to Xiu Yu: "I think Yinzhen would like to treat you as his entire master. Just keep your heart in your stomach and take good care of yourself. Your cousin and I will take care of the outside world."
"Thank you." Xiu Yu leaned against the headboard. "As for me, the last thing I want to do is get involved in the mess in the harem."
"These messes in the harem?" It was the first time Tong Jia Zifu heard a concubine describe the affairs of the harem in this way. "That's true. You are indeed different from them. Naturally, you don't want to spend your time on those messes."
"It's a pity that problems don't find people, but people find problems." Xiu Yu sighed: "Don't you think so?"
"You mean Concubine De?" Tong Jia Zifu folded her hands on her legs. "Concubine De is angry and upset. She won't and wouldn't dare come to Yikun Palace to cause trouble for you."
"How do you say it?"
Tong Jia Zifu said, "She is a gentle and sweet girl to her cousin. If she gets into a conflict with you, wouldn't that ruin her well-behaved..."
"Image?" Xiu Yu originally wanted to say character setting, but considering that Tong Jia Zifu would definitely not understand the meaning of character setting, she changed the word.
“Yes, that’s the image.”
Xiu Yu smiled and shook her head: "Probably..."
"Don't think that everyone lives according to their own wishes like you and I do. Besides, the reason we can do this is because we have my cousin's protection. In this harem, there are many who pretend not to fight or compete in front of my cousin."
"Why does the Emperor still like that?"
Tong Jia Zifu said, "If my cousin gets angry with you, can't he find someone gentler to relieve his anger?"
Xiu Yu remained silent.
Tong Jia Zifu added, "This is probably the advantage of being an emperor. You can find whatever you want."
"You are probably the only one in the harem who dares to speak of the emperor like that." Xiu Yu smiled again, but looked obviously tired.
"I heard that you would wake up today, so I came to see you. I can't disturb your rest." Tong Jia Zi Fu said as she helped Xiu Yu lie down.
Xiao Tao bowed and said, "I will escort the Imperial Concubine out."
Tong Jia Zifu saw that Xiu Yu fell asleep very quickly, and knew that it would probably take a long time for her to recover. She sighed softly and walked out of Yikun Palace.
When Xiuyu woke up again, it was dark. Only the candlelight shone into the bed through the hibiscus curtains. Xuanye had just laid down when he saw Xiuyu wake up. He was very surprised: "Xiao Tao told me that you woke up and fell asleep again. I thought I couldn't chat with you today."
Xiu Yu was held in Xuanye's arms and said, "I thought I would see you when I woke up."
Xuanye's voice sank. "Xiao Liu is gone. I didn't get to see him one last time. I should have given him a proper send-off." After all, they were his own children, connected by blood. When Xuanye mentioned Yinzuo, his words were filled with sadness. "I always feel that I have let Xiao Liu down."
Xiu Yu put her arms around Xuanye's waist, unable to say a word of comfort. She always felt that no matter how much comfort others offered, it would be of no use in such matters.
Xuanye rubbed Xiuyu's cheek, feeling her warmth, and said, "You scared me twice, you really are..."
"I'm scared too." Xiu Yu closed her eyes slightly: "The children are still young. If they don't have me as their mother, they will become motherless children..."
"Have you ever thought about what would happen to me if you were gone?" Xuanye hugged Xiuyu tightly. "I saw you bleed so much that my eyes became red too. If you were gone, I would let them all be buried with you."
"Then they should probably be grateful that I survived." Xiu Yu closed his eyes and whispered, "Your Majesty, I miss my mother and my father. It's a pity that they are outside the Great Wall, so far away from me..."
Xuanye lowered his head slightly, kissed Xiu Yu's forehead lightly, and said softly: "Go to sleep, the imperial physician said that sleep will help you recover." He listened to Xiu Yu's breathing gradually becoming even, and knew that she was asleep, but he still couldn't bear to pull his arm away. He was the emperor, the high and mighty king. He had never thought that there would be a day when he would be so afraid of losing, afraid of losing someone.
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