Chapter 85 Hidden Truth "That child Qiyu, has he gotten into some kind of trouble..."
Three days later, at dawn, the Imperial Guards cleared the road, and the Grand Princess arrived at the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence in a carriage.
The Marquis's mansion opened its main gate, incense was burned and a banquet was held. At the head of the banquet, Xiao Yuanzhong, dressed in court attire, led his large family to welcome the princess's carriage.
Inside the Bodhi Hall.
The air was thick with the smell of medicine. Wang Shi lay on a carved rosewood bed. Upon hearing that the Grand Princess had arrived, she hurriedly sent someone to Qiyun Pavilion to invite Cui Ying over. After finishing her business, she struggled to get out of bed and prepare to pay her respects.
"Alright."
A deep, resonant voice rang out. The Grand Princess, surrounded by a group of female officials, stepped into the room and stepped forward to support Wang Shi, saying, "If you're not feeling well, there's no need for such formalities. There's no need for this between us."
The lady-in-waiting brought over a cushioned rosewood chair and placed it beside the couch.
The princess sat down, her gaze carefully examining her old friend's pale and haggard face. Her brows furrowed slightly. "I heard not long ago that you were getting healthier and healthier. How could you suddenly collapse like this?"
Upon hearing this question, tears welled up in Wang's eyes instantly, and her voice choked with sobs: "I truly don't know what sins I have committed that I cannot find peace even in my final moments. Back then, that rebellious son Yuanqing abandoned his wife and children for a prostitute, and now that child Sanlang is going to turn against his family for a prostitute. I just can't understand it. How much grievance have I accumulated that I have to suffer all of it!"
When she got emotional, she pounded her chest and stamped her feet, then coughed violently as if she were coughing up her heart and lungs.
The maidservant hurriedly handed over some warm soup, but the Grand Princess gently waved her hand, took it herself, and carefully fed it to Wang Shi's lips with a spoon.
Wang was flattered and turned her head away, saying, "This concubine dares not."
"What's there to be afraid of?"
The eldest princess said, "You dare to do so many things. In the thirteenth year of Yuande, I said I wanted to secretly go to Bashu to find Yufang and asked if you wanted to go. You were only fifteen years old that year and were strictly controlled by your parents, but you agreed without saying a word. You followed me all the way, braving the elements, crossing mountains and valleys. When the horse's hooves got stuck in the mud, you sat in the wet mud and tried to dig with your hands, getting covered in mud spots, looking like a mountain monkey."
Upon hearing this, Wang couldn't help but laugh through her tears, lost in memories of her youth: "I remember this. Later, we finally made it to Shu, but before we could even meet Yufang, the pursuers sent by your father arrived. I was so scared..."
Those vibrant, youthful scenes are still vivid in my mind, as if they happened yesterday, but upon closer inspection, it turns out that it was almost sixty years ago.
The carefree and joyful young girl could never have imagined that she would one day become an old woman plagued by chronic illnesses and frail in her twilight years.
The eldest princess fed her two sips of soup. After hearing her cough subside a bit, she said, "When we were young, we were all full of vigor and high spirits. We always felt that the sky was shining for us, the sun was rising for us, and everything in the world would go smoothly for us. Later, after having children and experiencing the world, we realized that there is no such thing as a perfect solution in this world."
“Take the three of us for example. I followed my heart and married a wonderful husband. We were a loving couple, but I was widowed young and raised three children on my own. The hardships I endured are beyond what outsiders can understand. You and the Marquis of Dingyuan spent your lives together, growing old together, which was the envy of everyone. However, you have been constantly worried about your children and grandchildren all your life and still have no peace. Yufang married into the royal family and secured her position as empress, but she was childless due to a miscarriage. Even now, as the Empress Dowager, it is still a lifelong regret.”
The eldest princess paused, her gaze distant: "So now I realize that in this life, rather than getting stuck in the pain of one's own obsessions, it is better to go with the flow. Since Heaven has made its arrangements, there must be a profound reason for it. Why bother to go against Heaven and only add to the troubles?"
Madam Wang wept silently, overwhelmed with emotion: "Alas, how could I not understand these principles? How could I not have changed them? It was because of my stubbornness that I married my most beloved niece to my most beloved son, regardless of whether they were truly in love. In the end, they suffered such a tragic fate. So I changed my ways and stopped interfering in my grandchildren's marriages. But what was the result? Heng'er suffered such a terrible setback in his marriage!"
Her tears flowed even more freely, her voice filled with helplessness and resentment: "How could I not know that Qian was all talk and no action, full of scheming? I was just waiting, waiting for the right opportunity, and I had a hundred ways to make her disappear from this world. At that time, I would definitely choose a suitable marriage for Heng'er myself. But I never expected, I really never expected, that man proposes, God disposes. My excellent grandson would fall into the trap of a prostitute, just like his fifth uncle!"
"This brings us back to what I said," the princess said in a steady voice. "Since Heaven has made its arrangements, it has its own purpose, which cannot be forced by human power. Let me ask you, even if you try to interfere, how long can you do so? Ask yourself honestly, how many years do you have left to live? Can you afford to waste them on such matters?"
Wang was speechless and had no words to say.
The Grand Princess put down the porcelain bowl, grasped her withered hand, and spoke softly, yet each word carried immense weight: "At our age, all we can do is let go. Your children and grandchildren came into this world because of you, but they are not yours to possess. They have their own paths to walk, whether good or bad, it is their destiny. If you forcefully interfere, regardless of whether it is effective, the most important thing is that it will damage the warmth between relatives, ultimately leading to alienation and disloyalty. Wouldn't that be a greater loss than gain?"
Wang was still somewhat unwilling: "But am I just supposed to say nothing and let Heng'er support that prostitute and disgrace the family?"
The eldest princess: "Can the sky collapse?"
Wang was taken aback.
"Since the sky isn't going to fall, you should just be a good old lady, enjoying your grandchildren and the joys of family life."
The eldest princess suddenly lowered her voice and said seriously, "You keep chanting Amitabha Buddha all day long, but let me tell you, if a person is filled with resentment and clinging to the past when they are about to die, they will not be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation and will not be able to see the Buddha."
Wang remained silent for a long time, as if all her strength had been drained away. She carefully reviewed the conversation between the two, and the obsessive glint in her eyes gradually faded away, like unraveling a cocoon.
She finally let out a long sigh and said dejectedly, "Now that things have come to this, I can't care about anything else. My children and grandchildren will have their own lives to live, so let them be."
Just then, a maid quietly approached and whispered, "Reporting to the old lady, the third young mistress is sleeping soundly, and we... cannot wake her."
The Grand Princess laughed out loud: "Tuantuan is such a lazybones. She sleeps until noon at home. There's no need to bother her anymore. Let her sleep in."
Wang Shi grasped the princess's hand in return, her voice becoming gentle, filled with mixed emotions: "Thank you, Your Highness, for coming to listen to my rambling complaints. I am truly grateful."
The eldest princess said, "That's not right. I came here not just to listen to your complaints and offer you some advice."
She straightened her expression, her gaze sharpening, and calmly said, "After much thought, I've decided to ask you—"
"Why were you in such a hurry to beg the Empress Dowager to grant Tuantuan and Qiyu a marriage?"
Wang's expression changed, and her eyes unconsciously began to flicker.
She avoided the princess's gaze, her lips first pressed tightly together, then slightly parted, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't, torn between her own thoughts and feelings.
"Don't try to fob me off with that nonsense about your impending death and having no one to take care of you after you die."
The eldest princess spoke firmly, her voice carrying an air of authority: "If it were truly about this matter, you would have consulted with me first, and would never have acted so hastily and then gone directly to the Empress Dowager to plead your case."
Wang remained silent, her expression revealing her struggle.
The eldest princess looked at her face, her tone suddenly becoming heavy, and she cut to the chase:
"This marriage is less about marrying my Tuantuan and more about marrying the reputation of the Duke of Wei's mansion and the remaining influence of me, the eldest princess."
"Tell me honestly, what kind of trouble has Qiyu gotten into?"
...
The sun was high in the sky, its bright and clear light streaming through the windows of Qiyun Pavilion, casting a soft golden glow over the entire room.
Cui Ying woke up comfortably from her sleep and had just stretched when Cui Jin told her that the Princess had come to the Marquis's residence to visit the old lady.
Cui Ying was overjoyed and immediately went to change her clothes: "I'm going to the Bodhi Hall to find my grandmother right now!"
Cui Jin awkwardly poured cold water on the situation: "Miss got up too late; His Highness left half an hour ago."
Cui Ying immediately deflated, slumped back into the quilt, buried her face in the pillow and wailed, "Why did you leave? You could have just woken me up."
Cui Jin wanted to cry but had no tears. She thought to herself, "I've called out to you more than once, but the problem is you just won't wake up."
After wailing, Cui Ying sat up again and listlessly rinsed his mouth with strong tea.
She noticed signs that someone had slept on the floor mat, and after spitting out the tea, she asked, "Did Xiao Qiyu come back last night?"
Cui Jin replied, "He's back. The young master returned around 11:45 AM, and went back to practice martial arts just after 5:00 AM."
Cui Ying nodded and didn't ask any more questions, but a hint of worry gradually appeared in her eyes.
Ever since that incident at the Bodhi Hall, Xiao Qiyu has become like a demon. The already taciturn person has become even more silent, spending all his time in the front yard from morning till night, ignoring everyone, as if he has returned to the icy, unapproachable phase of his childhood.
After having breakfast, Cui Ying dressed and put on a smoky pink cloak with gold-embroidered mink fur lining. She grabbed a handful of dried fruit and prepared to go to the Bodhi Hall to pay her respects to the old lady and ask her if her grandmother had left any messages for her since she came here.
But as she walked out of Qiyun Pavilion, her eyes couldn't help but dart towards the front of the house.
Cui Jin said, "If you are worried about your husband, why don't you go and take a look ahead?"
Cui Ying scoffed: "Worried about him? What's there to worry about in a grown man with hands and feet like him?"
After saying that, she looked at the candied fruit in her hand and pondered for a moment. Then she raised her chin and said in a raised voice, "But this candied fruit is quite delicious. I'll condescend to go and give him some so he can try it."
...
Martial arts training ground.
The activation of the mechanism was deafening, and countless wooden figures spun and charged toward the center of the field, their wooden arms leaving afterimages, exuding a murderous aura like a thousand troops.
Xiao Qiyu sidestepped the wooden figure on the right, and at the same time blocked the attack from the wooden figure on the left with his right arm, making a muffled "bang" sound, and his forearm instantly turned red.
But he seemed to feel no pain at all, not even flinching, and a sharp elbow strike slammed into the chest of the wooden dummy that was trying to sneak up on him from behind, making it stop abruptly.
"Look at your seventh brother, look at his face, and think about why he was so miserable when he was a child!"
"Do you really have to follow in your fifth uncle's footsteps?!"
His grandmother's voice kept echoing in Xiao Qiyu's mind.
Sweat dripped down his taut chin, his soaked clothes clung to his body, every muscle bulged, and a surging, immense power burst forth, almost tearing his body apart, forcing him to strike even harder, risking his life for his own.
The silver bells under the eaves jingled crisply, and all the wooden figures suddenly stopped, dust falling.
Xiao Qiyu lay on the ground, his eyes closed, his chest heaving violently, his neck feeling as if it were being tightly gripped by two hands, the air thin, making it impossible for him to breathe.
The feeling of being on the verge of death.
He thought, it would be good to die like this.
In the numbness of a blank mind, a familiar, sweet fragrance suddenly lingered in his nostrils, as rich as fresh summer fruit in the cold early spring.
Xiao Qiyu slowly raised her eyelashes and saw an upside-down, pale face.
Cui Ying stood on his head, looking down at him. The smoky pink cloak embraced the jade-like figure, who was as delicate and beautiful as a fairy peach. He had something stuffed in his mouth and was chewing it.
Suddenly, a clear strand of saliva spilled from the corner of her lips and rolled down—
Xiao Qiyu's pupils shrank suddenly. In an instant, he no longer wanted to die or felt numb. He turned around and dodged three zhang away.
-----------------------
Author's note: He'll get upset again if I don't give him water next time.
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