Chapter 79: She is pregnant and wants Xie to be buried with her.
Cong Ying was forced to tilt her neck back, and Xie Xuanlan's hand wiped the wine stains from her collar bit by bit.
He knew clearly that she was anxious, but his movements were slow and lingering, his slender knuckles stroking her collar as if he was trying to embroider a flower.
He didn't ask, but was waiting for her explanation.
Cong Ying whispered, "I heard the Prince of Huai ordering a rein for the princess's horse, so it would run for water from thirst during the hunt. He also ordered his assassins to ambush the necessary forests, disguised as the Prince of Jin's archers, so they could pin the blame on the Prince of Jin."
Xie Xuanlan said, "If your lord were so easy to kill, why would Xiao Zezhen have lived in fear for years? Moreover, after succeeding, he would have framed the Prince of Jin. He was setting a trap for you, Ah Ying, and you... are distracted by your concern."
"I thought so at first, but the princess's horse was indeed drugged."
Cong Ying told Xie Xuanlan about encountering a female official washing her arms by the stream and then going to the stables to inspect the area. She showed him her knuckles, which had been burned by the drugs, and said, "I'm afraid someone might take advantage of the situation."
The horse's body is protected by its mane, so the medicine will only penetrate into the flesh and blood with sweat when it runs. However, it is different for human skin. Just a little touch will cause several red rashes on the fingertips. Because of the uncontrollable scratching, there are already signs of skin breaking and bleeding.
Xie Xuanlan grabbed her wrist and said unhappily, "Are you using your hand to test poison? I'll let my mother find you some medicine later."
"Then this matter..."
Xie Xuanlan said, "Prince Huai, Prime Minister Xie, the Princess, and the Prince of Jin—regardless of who's stirring up trouble and who's trying to fish in vain, these people all have ulterior motives. Conspiracies always fall on people. They love to fight, so just keep fighting. If you stop them now, there will be another time. Only when all is lost will they be honest. You want to take the risk of mediating, but how many times can you really manage? Ah Ying, don't get involved in these scandals."
Cong Ying had to admit that Xie Xuanlan's opinion was the wisest. These people were all using their own abilities to stir up trouble. If she got caught up in the middle of it, she would just be a small boat drifting with the current.
Cong Ying nodded silently.
Seeing that she was still reluctant, Xie Xuanlan said in a slightly cold voice: "I will ask Prince Jin about this for you, is that okay?"
Actually, there is also Princess Chun'an...
But Ying knew in her heart that Xie Xuanlan himself did not want to get involved in so many trivial matters. What's more, the Xie family and your master were at loggerheads with each other, and your master might not believe what he said, and he was afraid that it would only cause trouble.
Someone was talking outside the tent. It sounded like Madam Xie. Cong Ying gently pushed him away and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Madam Xie came in through the curtains and saw the mess on the floor. She also saw Cong Ying's hair was disheveled and his clothes were askew, his eyes were red, and he looked like he had been bullied. She was immediately furious and slapped Xie Xuanlan several times, scolding him, "You have lost your mind! Is this the place for you to do such a thing? If these rumors get out, will your dignity as a daughter be lost? You shameless little bastard!"
Xie Xuanlan was being beaten while being stubborn: "She will be my wife sooner or later, so what if I hug her? Those who barge in and gossip about her are the bastards!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Xie was so angry that she wanted to hit him with a feather duster. Cong Ying quickly stepped forward to stop her, and gently tried to reconcile, "Madam, please stop. This isn't Sanlang's fault. It's... I saw him talking to Princess Wenshuang and got angry with him, so he came to comfort me."
Cong Ying wanted to make a big deal out of a small matter, but unexpectedly, the more she tried to smear it, the more it got. Upon hearing this, Madam Xie sneered, "Are you saying that this evil creature is somehow connected to Princess Wenshuang?"
Cong Ying and Xie Xuanlan looked at each other in bewilderment, and she quickly said, "That's not what I meant—"
The feather duster fell faster than her words. Xie Xuanlan was hit, and he gasped and ran out. He stopped at the door and turned back. In front of Mrs. Xie, he pulled Cong Ying over and quickly kissed her on the side of her cheek: "Destroy the bridge after crossing it. I remember this."
*
Princess Chun'an frowned and drank a whole bowl of thick, bitter medicine. Gan Jiu quickly offered her tea and preserved fruit, and advised her, "Your Highness, you have been unwell for many days. Do you still want to go hunting this afternoon?"
Princess Chun'an's hand gently fell on her lower abdomen without saying a word.
At this time, Prince Consort Xuan came in and smelled the medicine. His brows knitted together slightly, "What medicine did the princess drink?"
Princess Chun'an said, "I feel dizzy and tired. The imperial physician prescribed a medicine to relieve the heat. My husband, is there anything you want to talk to me about?"
Their relationship was indeed not good enough to allow them to see each other without any reason. Although their relationship warmed up for a few days after the bandit suppression at Guikuzhang, the old thorns in their hearts were still there, and soon their relationship became as dull as strangers.
Prince Consort Xuan's eyes were filled with ambiguity, his drooping eyelashes concealing his emotions. "There's a man claiming to be Xie's groom who's clamoring to see you. I told him to wait outside, away from others. Do you want to see me?"
Princess Chun'an nodded and asked Gan Jiu to leave. Only she and Prince Consort Xuan were left in the tent.
The person who came to ask for an audience was none other than Wei Ji. He knelt on the ground and relayed to the princess what Cong Ying had told her: "Your Highness's horse has been ridden with horse-drifting powder. Please be careful."
The princess asked, "Who did this?"
Wei Ji: "I don't know."
The princess said, "You are Xie's groom. How can I know what your intentions are when you say something so incoherent?"
Wei Ji was silent for a moment, then raised his hand to untie the kerchief covering his face, revealing a handsome and upright face. "I am not the groom of the Xie family, but Wei Ji of the Imperial Academy. I have a grudge against the Xie family for deceiving them. I will never help the tyrant to harm Your Highness."
He told the princess about the coercion he had suffered at the hands of Xie Miaozhu. The princess then asked him, "How did you find out about Dianma Powder?"
Wei Ji admitted frankly: "It was Madam Jiang Si who asked me to remind His Highness."
It turned out to be Jiang Congying.
Princess Chun'an was lost in thought as she said to Wei Ji, "Go back and pretend nothing happened. I will remember your kindness."
Wei Ji agreed and bowed to take his leave.
Princess Chun'an took down the dagger hanging from the rack and stroked it carefully. This dagger was only worn when she was riding a horse. Seeing this, Prince Consort Xuan asked, "Now that you know they're doing something, do you still plan to end it?"
The princess smiled nonchalantly, "More than a decade ago, when we were in the northwest, you taught me how to protect myself when a horse startled me."
"That's just in case."
"Today is the day of the unforeseen event," said the princess. "The conspiracy can be broken but not avoided."
What's more...
She subconsciously touched her lower abdomen, thinking of the imperial physician's assertion a few days ago, and felt a surge of hatred in her heart that chilled her blood.
For some grudges, it's time for the Xie family to pay with blood.
*
After taking a bath and changing clothes, Cong Ying drank tea with Madam Xie in the tent.
Perhaps Mrs. Xie was very ashamed of Xie Xuanlan's inappropriate behavior. She comforted Congying and guaranteed that Xie would definitely fulfill the marriage contract. She took off the Hetian purple jade bracelet with scroll grass pattern on her wrist and gave it to her.
This jade bracelet is a rare treasure and is famous throughout the entire Yunjing City. Even Cong Ying has heard of it and quickly declined the offer.
Mrs. Xie took her hand and put it on her: "This bracelet is the heirloom of the Xie family. Wear it and you will avoid hearing gossip."
The story of her and Third Master Xie's affair, before they were even married, had already spread among those with ulterior motives, and some would inevitably accuse her of resorting to unscrupulous means to marry into a wealthy family. Madam Xie's gift of this jade bracelet expressed her recognition and appreciation for her; while it couldn't control people's hearts, it certainly stopped the cynical talk.
Cong Ying felt warm in her heart, rubbed the bracelet, and thanked Madam Xie.
Xie Miaozhu walked in and saw it, and pulled Mrs. Xie's sleeve angrily: "Mom, you are too partial. You usually don't lend it to me, why give it to her!"
Madam Xie patted the back of her hand gently. "Isn't it enough for you to have such good things? You just can't stand seeing others have them. Since you're going hunting this afternoon, why are you asking for a bracelet now?"
Zong Ying's eyebrows twitched slightly: "Sixth sister is going hunting this afternoon?"
"Who is your sixth sister?" Xie Miaozhu muttered softly, and said to Cong Ying, "If you lend me the bracelet to play with, I can give you a fox skin."
Mrs. Xie scolded her: "Miaozhu, don't be rude."
Cong Ying smiled and sang: "I heard that Sixth Sister's horse is good, I want to try it too."
Xie Miaozhu snorted: "No."
But she finally borrowed it because Jiang Congying threatened her that if she didn't lend her the horse, she would ask Xie Xuanlan to give her the bow that he had promised to Xie Miaozhu.
Xie Miaozhu brought a horse for her to try out, and watching her mount it, he gritted his teeth and said, "You are not allowed to act pretentiously in front of my mother, and you are not allowed to stir up trouble in front of my third brother. Otherwise, I will help others to snatch my third brother away, and then you will have no place to cry."
Cong Ying held the horse's neck and sat firmly on the horse's back.
After the incident at the Ghost Crying Peak, she deeply realized the importance of riding and archery, and begged Xie Xuanlan to teach her. Xie Xuanlan took her on horseback a few times, and now she can trot on her own. However, she was cautious by nature and did not let this make her feel arrogant. She deliberately asked to try the horse because she remembered the dream in which Xie Miaozhu frightened the horse, causing the princess to have a miscarriage. As a precaution, she did not want Xie Miaozhu to go to the paddock.
Cong Ying looked at Xie Miaozhu with a half-smile: "Could the other person you are talking about be Princess Wen Shuang?"
Xie Miaozhu was surprised: "How do you know?"
Cong Ying feigned anger and sneered, "Alright, let her be your good sister-in-law. I won't return the horse to you."
After saying that, he lightly kicked the horse's belly, and with a "gig" sound, the horse ran away.
Xie Miaozhu was stunned in the back, furious: "Jiang Congying, how dare you play tricks on me!... Mother, mother, look at her!"
Cong Ying rode Xie Miaozhu's horse and strolled to the edge of the paddock. He saw that everyone was ready to go, some wearing gorgeous clothes and crowns, with carved saddles, and some leading Huang Qingcang, looking majestic and awe-inspiring. They would just wait for the order to fly and then gallop towards the vast mountains and forests where the wild beasts were lush and lush.
Princess Chun'an's hunting team was at the head, and the princess herself was riding the chestnut horse that had been dismounted.
Cong Ying was startled, wondering if Wei Ji had failed to tell the princess about the Dianma Powder. She met the princess's gaze, and she gave her a meaningful smile. At that moment, the starting arrow flew off the string, exploding in the air. The princess flicked her whip, and the chestnut horse galloped off.
Following closely behind were the Prince of Huai, Xie Xuanlan and other princes, envoys from Western Tartar, and various civil and military officials.
Cong Ying's heart sank, and she was at a loss for a moment. Just as she was about to grit her teeth and spur her horse to follow, she suddenly heard someone calling her from behind: "A Ying!"
Turning around from Ying, he saw Prince Jin standing under a banyan tree with his hands behind his back. The mottled shadows of the leaves flickered across his face, making his expression obscure and difficult to discern. "You're not allowed to go. Come here."
Cong Ying slowly walked up to him and dismounted. He saw him stretch out his hand, with a wingless firefly lying in his palm.
The King of Jin said, "Since you warned me to beware of assassination, why did you take such a risk yourself?"
Cong Ying said, "It's not me who's in danger, it's the princess. She's not in a good condition to ride or hunt. We must find a way to persuade her to come back."
Prince Jin chuckled: "You know she's pregnant, right?"
Congying's pupils widened slightly in shock. She knew it from her dream. The princess herself didn't know, so how could the King of Jin know?
"You can hardly take care of yourself, so why bother saving a clay Buddha from an earthly Buddha?" King Jin sighed and extended his hand to her: "Come with me, I'll take you to see someone."
Prince Jin brought her to the imperial physician's tent. Doctor Zhang and several young medical officers were gathering herbs. Upon seeing Prince Jin arrive, they dismissed everyone and saluted him. "Your Highness, are you feeling unwell?"
Prince Jin said to Doctor Zhang, "Say again to Jiang Si Niang what you told me last night."
Doctor Zhang was pondering, seeming to have concerns. He heard the Prince of Jin sneer in his ear. He knew the truth was out, and there was no point in hiding it any further. With a sigh, he told Cong Ying, "Princess Chun'an has been pregnant for over a month, but she was exposed to extreme cold while in the late queen's womb, which damaged her body. As a result, the fetus hasn't developed, and it's a sign of stillbirth. She's already tried several strong medications, but there's still no sign of a live fetus."
Cong Ying was shocked and frowned: "The princess is carrying... a stillborn baby?"
Prince Jin nodded. Doctor Zhang was leaving when he saw Cong Ying's expression of pity and stroked the hair beside her ear with caressing.
He knew more about the inside story than Cong Ying. "Your Majesty is determined to pin the blame on Xie, and to drag her down to be buried alongside her mother and her unborn heir. Ah Ying, there's no solution to this. Why are you risking your own life to stop her?"
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