The Crown Princess frowned.
"Stand up! Such rudeness is a disgrace to your lord! Are the servants of your Prince Qin's mansion just freeloaders? Hurry up and help your princess to her feet!"
The two maids were also frightened and hurriedly reached out to help them up.
But as soon as they helped her up, Princess Qin felt weak all over and fell down again.
This time, both maids also fell to the ground, leaving the three of them in a very sorry state.
The Crown Princess felt very embarrassed.
"The daughter of a minor official is indeed not presentable."
She said it softly, but those around her still heard it.
Princess Qin suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with the shame and cowardice of being humiliated.
Princess Wu couldn't bear to watch any longer and quickly called the nanny who had come with her to help.
"Second sister-in-law has never been in good health. Is she tired? Why don't you go to the side hall to rest for a while? Who knows how long we'll be here!"
Princess Qin twitched the corners of her mouth, gave her a smile, and shook her head.
"Everyone is here, how can I go to rest first?"
Princess Qin came from a humble background, and because Prince Qin was disabled and not favored by the emperor, she was always invisible in the palace, which led to Princess Qin being both self-conscious and timid.
The Crown Princess has always looked down on her second brother's wife, but she usually maintains a polite facade. Today, however, she doesn't even give her that much face.
Princess Wu shook her head secretly and advised, "There are so many people here! It won't make a difference if we wait a little longer. Besides, even if the Empress Dowager wakes up, she won't call us first. Second Sister-in-law, go and rest for a while. Nothing will happen."
Princess Wu's words gave Princess Qin confidence. She tugged at her handkerchief, nodded, and then followed the maids and servants to the side hall.
Princess Wu watched her leave, then turned around and saw the Crown Princess with her chin held high, looking arrogant and domineering. She couldn't help but whisper a word of advice.
"You know that Princess Qin is timid, sister-in-law, so why say such things about her?"
The Crown Princess ignored her.
The King of Qin had no power or influence in the court, his mother was gone, and he had no family to rely on. To the Crown Princess, he was a completely useless person.
Princess Qin was the daughter of the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, a family of low social standing and not very useful.
Therefore, the Crown Princess never took the Prince of Qin and his wife seriously.
"So what if I said a few words to her? As the eldest sister-in-law and the Crown Princess, am I not allowed to say anything to her?"
The Queen Consort of Wu was furious.
Since suffering a serious illness before the new year, the Crown Princess's personality has become increasingly eccentric.
She shut her mouth and didn't speak again.
On the other side, Princess Qin was helped to lie down on a soft couch in a side hall.
Her maid placed two soft pillows behind her to make her more comfortable.
“I advised you not to come before, and look, Princess Lu didn’t come.”
The maid couldn't help but say.
Princess Qin sighed softly, "How can I compare to Princess Lu? She's pregnant!"
"Why can't we compare? You and she are both princesses, and your father and her father are both third-rank officials." The maid was Princess Qin's dowry maid and was devoted to her.
"Although both are of the third rank, my father was only the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, while the Princess Consort of Lu's father was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, my uncle was a reader in the Hanlin Academy, and my late grandfather was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Secretary. The Cao family is full of noble and distinguished families; how can our Yan family compare?"
The Queen of Qin spoke in a low, melancholy tone.
"But you married a prince, and now you are a first-rank princess!" The maid didn't understand much; she only felt that her mistress was also a princess, and therefore equal to other princesses.
The Princess Consort of Qin remained silent.
Although the King of Qin was a prince, he was disabled, powerless, and his mother had died early. His maternal family had no capable members, making him virtually invisible in court. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen a princess from such a humble background.
Prince Lu's birth mother was Consort De, one of the Four Consorts. She had a son and a daughter. Although her family was not a noble or high-ranking family, her relatives by marriage were spread throughout the court. Princess Cao, the wife of Prince Lu, was Consort De's cousin.
Princess Qin was in a bad mood and didn't want to talk to the maid anymore. She turned her head and looked at the two pots of flowers on the windowsill.
"These flowers are quite unique; I've never seen them before!"
Princess Qin said casually.
Seeing that she liked it, the maid went to the window and moved one of the potted plants in front of her.
The leaves of this flower resemble those of a peony, but are a rare bright red, while the top bears three flowers—one large and two small—that are dark green.
"I've only ever seen red flowers and green leaves before; this is the first time I've ever seen red leaves and green flowers."
The Queen Consort of Qin found it very novel and reached out to touch the petals, only to find that she touched a finger's worth of sap.
When you bring your hand close to your nose, it smells wonderfully fragrant.
The Queen of Qin exclaimed again, "There are so many wonderful things in the palace! I wonder how the gardeners managed to cultivate such unique flowers."
She couldn't resist touching it again and again.
The maid knew that her mistress wanted a potted plant, but she dared not ask for anything from the Empress Dowager's palace, so she could only touch and look at it.
Before long, a palace maid brought in hot tea, and a maid took the tray and poured a cup for Princess Qin.
Princess Qin casually picked up the teacup, but because she moved too quickly, some tea spilled out.
She didn't notice anything amiss and drank it directly.
After finishing her tea, her complexion improved. She spoke a few words to her maid and then lay down to sleep.
She slept for an hour.
The maid initially thought her mistress was just tired and didn't think much of it. But after an hour, when she called her mistress several times and she still hadn't woken up, she immediately panicked.
She rushed out and called for help.
Just then, Dingxiang came out of the bedchamber. Hearing her voice, she gave a few instructions to the others and came over.
"What happened?"
"Our princess, our princess, she can't be woken up..."
The maid looked bewildered and couldn't speak clearly. Dingxiang asked her twice before she understood what she meant.
Dingxiang strode into the side hall and saw a thin young woman lying on a soft couch.
After carefully taking her pulse, Dingxiang couldn't find anything wrong. She was puzzled and carefully examined Princess Qin.
Princess Qin's face had a rosy blush from sleeping, and there was no sign of anything wrong.
"Are you too tired?"
She muttered something to herself.
The maid beside her shook her head repeatedly: "Impossible. Our princess is timid. Every time she enters the palace, she never even takes a nap, let alone falls asleep."
Dingxiang touched her hair and said, "Excuse me," then stretched out her thumb and pinched the Princess Qin's philtrum hard.
She used eight-tenths of her strength, pinching the Princess Qin's philtrum until it left a deep mark, but the princess did not wake up.
Dingxiang's heart sank.
This is beyond the scope of her medical expertise.
Unconscious?
Dingxiang had never seen this disease before.
"Wait here, I'll be right back."
Dingxiang gave a few instructions to the maid, then turned and ran out.
The first person she thought of was Song Xibai.
However, she is currently in Renshou Palace, where many eyes are watching her every move, so it is impossible for her to run back to the East Palace to ask Song Xibai for help.
Dingxiang's gaze swept around the courtyard, and suddenly landed on one person.
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