The next day, Qin Luan left the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince had sent two guards to escort her to Nanchu.
Her departure was silent and unnoticed.
Since the Qin Family had been implicated in a crime, the young ladies who used to have a good relationship with Qin Luan had long kept their distance. Only Duanhua had interacted with her somewhat over the past year. However, their relationship was not such that she would get up early to see her off, so Qin Luan left without anyone to bid her farewell.
Qin Luan cast one last look at the city gate of Capital City Daliang. She thought to herself that she would probably never return in this lifetime.
The day Qin Luan left, Duanhua sat alone in the Princess Residence, reflecting for a moment before penning a letter to Su Rong. It was a thick letter detailing her interactions with Yan Huisheng and about Qin Luan leaving the Eastern Palace for Nanchu.
Yesterday, she had drank quite a lot of fruit wine with Qin Luan until they were both mildly intoxicated. After sending Qin Luan back to the Eastern Palace, she didn’t even get down from the carriage. This time she didn’t happen to encounter Yan Huisheng, and the coachman drove the carriage smoothly back to the Residence.
Princess Qingping was shocked to see her return in a tipsy state, "Why did you go drinking?"
"I ran into Qin Luan on the street. She is leaving for Nanchu tomorrow. We got together, chatted a bit over a few drinks. Qin Luan invited me for a meal, so I obliged." Duanhua was still somewhat lucid.
Upon hearing this, Qingping frowned but didn’t ask any more questions, instructing someone to guide Duanhua back to her room to rest instead.
After Duanhua was escorted out, Qingping said to her personal wet nurse, "The Crown Prince really is straightforward. Duanhua was so absorbed in learning etiquette for the past half a month that she was unaware of anything else, but I know. Qin Luan was ill for half a month. The housekeeper of the Eastern Palace, on the order of the Crown Prince, once called in the Imperial Doctor for her, claiming she was suffering from emotional distress. As for why? What would cause such emotional distress in a young lady?"
The wet nurse whispered, "The imperial edict for the Crown Prince’s engagement to Princess Qingping came about half a month ago."
"That’s right," Qingping nodded her head, "It’s good that she left."
The wet nurse lowered her voice, "The Crown Prince is truly wonderful."
Qingping laughed, "Of course."
Were it not for his goodness, her residence would certainly not be attracting so much envy. Over the past half a month, invitations have piled up. If not for her being pregnant, she would have accepted all of them and gone out to interact with the ladies who once ridiculed her and were now trying to flatter her.
After Duanhua sent the letter, she rested her chin on her hand and said to her maidservant, "I don’t know when this letter will arrive."
"If it’s fast, it might take a month."
"That’s still too slow," Duanhua sighed, "and the journey is too far." After a while, she murmured, "I miss Su Rong."
"The Princess is very busy. She probably doesn’t have time to miss you," Cai Ling dared to speak when she saw that Duanhua was upset.
Duanhua glared at her, "Are you implying that I’m too idle?"
Cai Ling hurriedly responded, "The wet nurses have arrived, my Princess, it’s time for your etiquette lessons."
Duanhua turned her head and saw that indeed, they had arrived. She no longer had time to ponder and complained, "Indeed, when I’m busy, I don’t have time to think. Forget it, I forgive her. I don’t know how tired she must be right now. I certainly have a much easier time than her."
With this thought, even learning etiquette didn’t seem so tiring anymore.
Su Rong, who Duanhua had been thinking about, was busy with state affairs every day. All the court officials in Nanchu were kept on their toes. Every day from when she opened her eyes until late at night, there was a never-ending stream of matters to attend to.
After two continuous months of this routine, she finally had a break, falling ill.
She had always been robust, hardly falling ill throughout the year. Besides injuries from a fight that required a doctor, she could be regarded as tough and resilient. It was difficult for illness to bring her down.
Perhaps, she thought, having travelled from Daliang to Nanchu this year, after all the battles and rushing back to govern state affairs tirelessly, it was no wonder she fell ill. One night, after bathing, she didn’t even bother to dry her hair or close the window before collapsing onto her bed to sleep. Zhou Gu discovered her and quickly helped her dry her hair, shut the window, but it was already too late. The next day, she was dizzy and fell ill.
Nurse Zhao and Yuewan felt guilty, thinking they had failed in their duties. Both the Princess and her husband didn’t enjoy personal attendance, especially at night, and they didn’t want to disturb them. This led to a habit where when the Princess waved them off, they would indeed go rest.
Now, however, their lax attention had resulted in the Princess falling ill.
Her illness, a result of a late spring chill, came on suddenly and severely. Zhou Gu stopped attending court. The Emperor also suspended the morning audience, and they all gathered in Su Rong’s room. They called for Doctor Zhang and Qin Feng to treat Su Rong.
Feeling feverish and dizzy, Su Rong was lovingly cared for by Zhou Gu who fed her medicine and water and never left her side.
The Nanchu King noticed Zhou Gu’s skilled care and asked Nurse Zhao, "How did he learn to take care of someone so well?"
After some thought, Nurse Zhao replied, "Last year, the Nangong Family sent someone called Nangong Yu to chase the Princess, and her husband saved her. The Princess was badly injured and took a while to recover, all under the care of her husband."
The Nanchu King nodded his head. He was impressed by his daughter’s choice of husband - considerate and gentle, a qualified royal consort. It was no wonder he was fond of him the moment they first met.
Su Rong was bedridden, but the stacks of paper in the court didn’t disappear. After Zhou Gu stayed with Su Rong for two days, her fever finally subsided. She urged Zhou Gu, "Get some rest. Don’t wait on me tomorrow. Tell my father to go to court too. We can’t have the imperial court stop functioning just because I fell ill."
Zhou Gu shook his head, "Why not let the court officials take a break too? What’s the rush? You can’t hurry some things. You’ve overworked yourself to the point of falling ill, and you still care about the court affairs. You are truly a dedicated crown princess."
Despite being weak, Su Rong managed a chuckle, "That’s right. With great power comes great responsibility. Who would have thought I’d be able to take it so seriously?"
Zhou Gu glared at her, "Rest assured, without you or me, the sky won’t fall."
Su Rong thought about it and realized he was right.
On the third day, Nangong Xin came over and said to Zhou Gu, "You can go about your business. We will take care of the Princess here. I heard that Dawei has sent the seeds for spring planting. There’s a lot of work to do in the Ministry of Housing. If you postpone your work for a few days now, aren’t you going to have to work overnight to catch up? You cannot afford to fall ill again."
Zhou Gu looked at Nangong Xin. Seeing that despite her stern tone, she was sincere in her words and with Su Rong already on her way to recovery, he felt relatively at ease. So, he nodded, "Alright, then we’re counting on you, Your Majesty."
He then left Su Rong in Nangong Xin’s care and truly returned to the Ministry of Housing.
Nangong Xin watched as he left without any suspicion of her. She stood in the center of the room looking at Su Rong lying on the sickbed, "Princess, if you work like this for ten years, Nanchu will prosper, but you might collapse before then. By then, will you still have the strength to fight Dawei?"
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