Chapter 67 What is this "two-pronged approach to swindling blood acid"?
Every word was clear and distinct. Upon hearing such a significant event, Song Ai's face showed no sign of wide-eyed disbelief.
Cuiwei was startled and turned to Yu Nie. When Yu Nie told Song Ai to cancel the marriage, she almost cried out in shock. Her eyes were beyond words.
Her lady-in-waiting displayed a calmness that surprised her, not the bewilderment that followed shock, but a composure that seemed to say "I see," as if she had expected her to do so.
Yu Nie originally thought that her words would shock the person in front of her, and she didn't know how to react, or whether to refute her and say that she was talking nonsense because she was suffering from heatstroke.
Song Ai's eyes showed neither doubt nor surprise, but rather a calm gaze.
Her reaction disturbed her more than the questioning itself.
Could she be suspecting that she's crazy? If that's all, it's not a problem.
Yu Nie secretly observed the person in front of him for a moment, then looked away, about to speak.
After a moment of silence, Song Ai's gaze shifted to the diamond-patterned lilac and peony felt carpet on the ground.
Her tone was so calm it was almost flat, and she spoke first:
"Since ancient times, the words of the emperor have been considered golden words, and once spoken, they cannot be changed. Princess, have you considered the calamities that such a thought would bring upon you if you wanted to cancel the marriage alliance?"
"Where do you intend to place His Majesty?"
This is a very rigorous question, or rather, a very serious one.
It was so profound that she had to understand how inappropriate her words were.
Yu Nie knew, of course, that her words were not to be taken lightly. She said, "My brother is the ruler of a country. How could I let him be known for going back on his word?"
She paused, then feigned ignorance: "I understand what Ju Ling means. I know that the Emperor has already spoken, and if he changes his mind, it will damage the Emperor's authority."
She changed the subject, stealthily glancing at the person in front of her: "But if... it is the Jie people who apply to annul the engagement, I think that way, even if there is any fault, it will not be our fault, and we will not give anyone a reason to criticize us."
"Song Juling said, is this considered a thorough approach?"
Song Ai did not seem to agree with her approach: "The princess is still young, and the affairs of the court are far beyond your imagination. Although the Jie people are a small country, they are not easy to deal with."
She said solemnly, "This servant advises the princess to abandon this idea."
Seeing the solemn expression on the person's face, she stared at him for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing.
He had completely lost the seriousness he had shown when he said he wanted to cancel the marriage; he acted like a child playing around.
In fact, that's exactly what she said: "Song Juling, don't be nervous, I was just saying it casually."
Song Ai gazed intently at the laughing Yu Nie, and when she spoke again, she became docile:
“What Ju Ling just said is true. I should still keep to my duty, learn the six rites and nine rituals, and wait for the right time to marry into the Great Khanate.”
After saying this, she clearly didn't expect her to answer, and deliberately yawned: "I've been shopping all day, and my brain is all muddled. Just pretend you didn't hear what I said before."
She looked at the calm Song Ai, as if nothing had happened: "I'm tired, I'm getting ready to lie down, Ju Ling can send someone in to tidy up."
Judging from her expression, it didn't seem like she was faking it. Song Ai remained silent for a moment, then summoned several female officials from outside and ordered them to serve her in her washing and grooming.
Two palace maids stepped forward as instructed, and Cuiwei also helped her up, heading towards the dressing table.
Not only are there numerous rules during the day, but the procedures before going to bed at night are equally complicated and intricate. A fragrant bath, incense, hair care, changing into nightgown, and taking medicinal food to ensure a more restful sleep are all essential steps that cannot be skipped.
Half an hour has passed by the time each step of the process is completed each day.
However, because her ankle was uncomfortable tonight, and she had just eaten chilled almond milk, both of which are now considered unsuitable, she had to avoid taking a bath and the medicinal food.
The smoke from the lily incense burning in the silver cage on the rosewood frame swirled upwards, and the fragrance of the openwork silver sachet hanging behind the screen was irresistible.
After she settled down on the bed, Song Ai, leading a group of palace maids, stood behind the curtain, placed her hands on her abdomen, and bowed slightly.
"Tomorrow at 9:00 AM, the female scribe of the Imperial Clothing Bureau and the Director of the Imperial Workshop will meet at the Princess's bedchamber to take her measurements and have her clothes made, and to check the specifications of her jewelry. Tonight, Princess, please rest quietly. We, your servants, shall take our leave."
"Yes, Song Juling, you may leave." Her voice sounded sleepy, as if she would close her eyes and fall asleep at any moment.
Song Ai led a group of palace servants out. Before leaving, she glanced at Cuiwei, who was standing beside her, and instructed her, "Cuiwei, make sure the princess rests well. If anything happens, send someone to call me immediately."
Cuiwei respectfully responded.
Once everyone had left, only Cuiwei and Yu Nie, who were on night watch, remained in the hall.
Watching Song Ai lead a large group of people away, Yu Nie nudged Cui Wei's hand and gave her a wink.
Cuiwei understood and immediately followed quietly. Her steps were extremely light, and her embroidered shoes made almost no sound on the floor tiles.
The moonlight outside the palace was as clear as if it had been washed, illuminating the corridors. Cuiwei walked cautiously along the dark side of the corridor, her figure always hidden in the shadows cast by the pillars.
As she stepped out of the inner courtyard, she saw Song Ai suddenly stop. The palace servants accompanying her immediately halted and disappeared into the dense grove of crabapple blossoms.
Under the cover of night, white-clad guards patrolled in the distance.
Song Ai walked around the six silent palace maids with their heads bowed, her pace extremely slow. Her round-necked, belted brocade robe and the pearl and jade crown on her head seemed to be coated with a layer of frost, just like her expression.
After a long pause, Song Ai spoke softly, her voice low but each word sharp as ice: "It is understandable that the princess is young and does not know how to speak properly. But you are all old servants who have followed me for many years, and you should know my rules best."
Cuiwei leaned her ear forward, holding her breath, trying to hear what she was saying.
A breeze carried the mist from the pond, making it cool, and at the same time, Song Ai's voice came through.
She heard her tone suddenly turn cold, devoid of any warmth: "If a single word of what the princess says tonight gets out, watch out for the heads on your necks—whether they're enough for me to feed to the wild dogs."
The palace maids were all terrified, their faces turning ashen, and they replied in hushed tones, "We will obey your instructions."
Having conveyed her meaning, Song Ai remained silent.
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly turned her head and glanced at the swaying palace lanterns.
Cuiwei was so frightened that her breathing slowed down.
Fortunately, the people who were not far from her did not stay for too long.
After withdrawing her gaze, Song Ai did not linger any longer and continued to lead the group forward.
Cuiwei didn't follow them. She stood there for a long time until the group of figures in front of her turned the corridor and disappeared completely into the night. Only then did she quietly emerge from behind the dense flower bushes.
She pressed her wildly beating heart and immediately understood Yu Nie's thoughts. She knew that Yu Nie's sudden move was to test Song Juling's abilities.
It now seems that the other party at least doesn't intend to report it immediately.
Although everything seems safe at the moment, such a test is ultimately too risky.
Thinking this, Cuiwei brushed off the petals that had accidentally gotten on her clothes, glanced at the distant scene one last time, then turned and headed towards the bedroom.
Yu Nie had been pacing back and forth in the bedroom for a long time, glancing frequently at the door, anxiously waiting for the person to return.
Hearing the door open, she caught a glimpse of Cuiwei out of the corner of her eye, quickly went to meet her, her voice filled with barely suppressed urgency: "How is it?"
Cuiwei turned around and closed the door. After composing herself, she recounted what she had just heard to the person in front of her.
Finally, still shaken, she raised her hand and pressed her chest: "Your Highness just now suddenly mentioned canceling the marriage alliance in front of Song Juling. You didn't see how I looked at the time, I was terrified. Aren't you afraid that Song Juling will turn around and report your words to the palace?"
After hearing her words, Yu Nie breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this female official was not the type to gossip or complain about everything.
The weight lifted from her heart. She did this simply because she wanted to cure the Jie people's scurvy, which inevitably required conducting experiments that seemed strange to others, things that were bound to arouse suspicion.
Song Ai is in charge of all the affairs, big and small, of Hongzheng Pavilion. As long as she doesn't cause too much trouble, it will save us a lot of trouble in the future.
She sat back on the couch, responding to Cuiwei's worries: "If she really reports back to the palace, I have an explanation. At worst, I'll just admit I was confused and say I made it up on the spot. I'm quite good at making things up."
"Besides, the marriage has already been arranged. His Majesty wouldn't really do anything to me based on just one sentence. At most, he would just reprimand me for speaking out of turn."
Overall, she had a backup plan and didn't recklessly say those things in front of Song Ai.
To anyone else, her words just now seemed like a sudden, delusional thought. But she had been thinking deeply about it along the way, wondering where to begin in canceling the arranged marriage.
After much thought, she concluded that the breakthrough should not be made with the emperor, but rather with the Jie people.
The marriage was proposed by the emperor; the knife of breaking the agreement must be handed to someone else. If the Jie people wanted to cancel the engagement themselves, the world would only blame them for being ungrateful.
She wasn't good at courtly sophistry or political scheming, but when she was in Huaiyuan, she loved listening to storytellers in teahouses. The people there were all sorts of people. Plus, she had often moved around living under other people's roofs, so she had some ability to read people's hearts, even if she wasn't an expert.
Let alone a person in a high position of power, even an ordinary person would never want to bear the reputation of a crisis of trust.
This is not conducive to governance.
However, the Jie people were a small state, and survival was of paramount importance to them. The cultural influence they received was very different from that of the Central Plains. Trust was important to them, but not to the point of being willing to die rather than submit.
If something more advantageous to them were to emerge, its value would far outweigh the marriage alliance between the two countries.
For a small country like theirs, survival wouldn't be a matter of indifference.
Moreover, since the other party initiated the annulment of the engagement, she would not have to bear any criminal charges, and at the same time, she could avoid being labeled as disregarding the interests of her family and country.
In this way, the emperor also had a way out, and could use the excuse of being "forced to agree" to save face for the royal family. At the same time, by not asking him to make a decision, she could avoid the hidden danger of being held accountable later.
But these are ultimately just incidental benefits, only part of the reason.
Her real plan was to prove herself more useful than a marriage alliance, thereby gaining more autonomy.
She wanted to demonstrate her value in order to escape a fate controlled by others.
Before she could finish speaking, Yu Nie put his arm around Cui Wei's shoulder: "Although it was a bit of a fright, you and I cooperated very well this time. Let's keep up the good work."
Cuiwei knew that she hadn't said those things rashly, so she felt a little relieved.
She instructed her, "Next time Your Highness does something, you must let me know beforehand. We can't be careless." Now, as she spoke, she was still a little scared: "This time it was a lucky accident, but it's hard to say what will happen next time."
Yu Nie nodded: "You're right, we should be careful. To be honest, I was a little impatient this time too."
She was eager to get all the preparations done before the experiment, so she came up with this idea on the way.
Fortunately, this time it ended peacefully without any trouble. She was very relieved.
The words of those around her about canceling the marriage alliance still echoed in her ears. Cuiwei paused, then continued with a worried expression, "Princess, are you really sure about breaking off the engagement with the Jie people?"
Even though she had said it to herself many times, she still couldn't stop worrying.
After all, this is no small matter.
"Of course it's true. You were there when Zijing and I were discussing it."
"Does the princess have something in mind?" Otherwise, she wouldn't have rashly tested Song Ai; it's clear she has other plans.
Yu Nie sprawled out on the couch with an air of nonchalance: "The saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' Tomorrow, I'll start making preparations for both scenarios. I'll go back to Yongxing Temple and investigate thoroughly, hoping that the itinerant doctor left behind any extra clues."
"What's the other backup plan?" Cuiwei asked, her fox-like eyes pleading.
Yu Nie replied, "Of course, we should look for foods that contain ascorbic acid."
She pondered to herself that the scurvy of the Jie people was caused by a lack of ascorbic acid, and the most important thing right now was to find the food with the highest ascorbic acid content.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are naturally the first choice, and among them, fruits take the lead.
She's not a doctor, so she can't really say for sure which fruit has the highest ascorbic acid content.
It seems we absolutely have to conduct an experiment.
She planned in her mind that she must gather all kinds of fruits that she could find tomorrow and try them one by one in order to figure out what they were.
"Lemon? Apple? Orange? Surely one of these will work..." she pondered.
Cuiwei sat to one side, her dark eyebrows furrowed, as if troubled by something. She looked up at the sky and then at the ground.
She couldn't hold back any longer. She fidgeted with her fingers and asked in a very soft voice, "Princess..."
"Um……"
"What... is 'pitulin'?"
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