Chapter 82: Stop making trouble and let your wife take care of you with the medicinal bath today.
Lu Bingzhi's gaze fell on Nanny Jiang. Without saying a word, Nanny Jiang felt an inexplicable pressure. This kind of majesty was even more frightening than when he met the Marquis.
Nanny Jiang quickly explained her purpose: "My old mistress has had a headache and misses you, so I sent this servant to tell you, hoping you could come back when you're free."
Lu Bingzhi's face was calm. "If the old lady is ill, I'll have someone invite the imperial physician to the mansion. Yan'er will be attending to her at the mansion for the time being, so it's inconvenient for her to return home."
Nanny Jiang was a little surprised to hear him say this. When she came to her senses and wanted to speak, she saw Lu Bingzhi walking away.
Guanyan, who was following behind him, was holding a long bright yellow box in his hand. He quickly walked around the screen wall and disappeared.
Nanny Jiang straightened up, still feeling a little nervous. It wasn't until they left the Duke of Wei's mansion and boarded the carriage with their maid Qin'er that she patted her chest and said, "What a powerful aura! I wonder how our Third Aunt gets along with this guy privately. When I returned home last time, I felt he was awe-inspiring, but not like he was just now. Just looking at me made me nervous."
Qin'er nodded, but still spoke with a hint of joy, "Although the Crown Prince is powerful, he obviously cares deeply about our Third Aunt. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said he would send for the Imperial Physician upon hearing that the old lady had a headache. He's clearly doing this to save Third Aunt's face."
"Also, Madam just saw how noble Third Aunt is now. Everything in her room is extremely valuable and exquisite. Even our old lady's room is not as good as this. It shows how good Third Aunt's life is now."
As she spoke, she added with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that Third Aunt and our Madam have had a rift over past events, and they've never been close. Because of this, even Sister Qiuzhi is serving outside. She must have taken her anger out on her because of Madam's affairs. No matter how prosperous Third Aunt is now, our Madam, as her mother, probably won't get any of that. Even our Ningshou Marquisate won't get any of that."
"When my aunt first came home, she seemed so gentle, but who knew she was so hot-tempered. From now on, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to get along."
Nanny Jiang nodded and sighed heavily, "What can we servants do? We dare not try to persuade her. Didn't you see that the aunt treated me like an ordinary maid just now? Not to mention serving me tea, she didn't even offer me a seat. Even if I was with the old lady, I would have more face than this. I will not take over the task of visiting the aunt at the Duke of Wei's mansion in the future. Whoever wants to go can go."
The carriage slowly drove out of the alley of the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion and soon arrived at the street, heading towards the Ningshou Marquis Mansion.
This side
Cui Lingyan couldn't help but smile when she saw Lu Bingzhi return. She stood up and walked over to him, saying, "I thought the prince wouldn't be back until the evening, but who knew he'd be back so soon?"
"Has the Crown Prince paid his respects to the Queen Mother?" Cui Lingyan asked casually, like an ordinary wife asking about her husband's affairs.
Lu Bingzhi nodded and said, "I accompanied the Emperor to dine in the Qinzheng Palace before going to the Cining Palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."
Cui Lingyan asked, "How is the Queen Mother?"
Lu Bingzhi walked behind the screen and washed his hands. He took the handkerchief Cui Lingyan handed him and wiped them while saying, "Grandmother has always been in good health, as she is cared for daily by the Imperial Hospital. Although she has minor ailments and pains at her age, that's normal. She takes supplements and lives a healthy life, so she's naturally healthy."
Cui Lingyan smiled, walked forward to unbutton Lu Bingzhi's clothes and changed him into an indigo blue casual suit embroidered with bamboo leaf patterns. Then the two of them came out from behind the screen.
Bi Tao came over with a tray. Cui Lingyan took a cup of tea and handed it to Lu Bingzhi. She then instructed Bi Tao, "Prepare everything for the prince's medicinal bath later. Also, ask the kitchen to prepare some light meals and two side dishes tonight."
Bitao took the order and went down to make arrangements.
Lu Bingzhi took all her arrangements into consideration and was truly pleased that his wife cared so much about him.
He took a sip of tea, reached out and pulled Cui Lingyan to sit beside him, and said softly, "Since Madam is so concerned about your husband's affairs, why don't you serve me during the medicinal bath today?"
Lu Bingzhi was rarely so frivolous. Normally, even if he was close to Cui Lingyan, he would just hold her in his arms before going to bed at night, and he didn't do anything too intimate.
Not to mention asking her to serve her with medicinal bath.
Cui Lingyan's cheeks flushed as she listened. She leaned close to Lu Bingzhi and sniffed him, then said with a bit of embarrassment, "I haven't smelled the prince drinking, so how could it be..."
She was too embarrassed to say anything further, and her cheeks turned even redder when she saw Bitao standing beside her and laughing.
Lu Bingzhi's voice was unusually gentle, and there was an indescribable allure in it: "Of course, I'm not talking nonsense because I'm drunk. It's just that seeing how much Madam cares about me, I think Madam would like to personally serve me a medicinal bath. Would you agree?"
Hearing him repeatedly call her Madam, Cui Lingyan's cheeks grew hotter. Not wanting to make fun of Bi Tao and the others, she quickly whispered, "Stop it, my Lord. I agree to your request."
She could feel that Lu Bingzhi was intentionally being so close to her, and it seemed that the day when they would consummate their marriage would not be long.
They were originally husband and wife, and Lu Bingzhi was so handsome and treated her well, so she naturally would not reject getting closer to him.
What's more, only when the two of them consummated their marriage, those who were watching in the mansion would not talk about it behind her back, saying that she had been a virgin for many days since she entered the mansion, or even say some unpleasant things about Prince Lu Bingzhi.
Even though there had been gossip like this in the capital, Cui Lingyan really didn't want Lu Bingzhi to bear such a reputation. It was too humiliating for a man, and even if Lu Bingzhi didn't take it to heart, she found the words particularly harsh.
Lu Bingzhi, having received her approval, did not continue teasing her. Instead, he reached out and pushed the bright yellow brocade box on the table towards Cui Lingyan, saying, "It's not in vain that you serve me, Madam. This is my thank you gift to you."
After hearing this, Cui Lingyan glared at him with a bit of embarrassment. She knew very well that his idea of asking her to take a medicinal bath was not a sudden impulse, but he had had this idea for a long time.
Cui Lingyan's cheeks flushed as she reached out to open the box, only to see a scroll inside. She took out the scroll, slowly opened it, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
This turned out to be a scroll of kesi flowers of the four seasons, with broken branches of plum blossoms standing proudly in the snow, blooming apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, magnolias, peonies, pomegranates, lotus flowers, crape myrtles, osmanthus flowers, chrysanthemums, hibiscus flowers, narcissus, and wintersweets woven into the scroll in order. The flowers were lifelike, and the fragrance was so fragrant. The craftsmanship was so complicated that it was truly amazing.
Cui Lingyan liked it very much. Her beautiful eyes sparkled like gemstones, and the smile on her face became brighter and more lively than usual.
Seeing how much she liked it, Lu Bingzhi smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it. It's worth my trouble to pick it."
Cui Lingyan was a very perceptive person. Even from just a few words, she could tell that this kesi scroll was definitely not a gift from the Empress Dowager.
She subconsciously looked at Lu Bingzhi with some doubt in her eyes.
Lu Bingzhi explained, "After lunch, I played chess with the emperor. When he lost, he allowed me to pick something from my private storehouse, so I chose this."
Cui Lingyan nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Your Highness. I like this scroll very much."
She slowly rolled up the scroll, and when she lowered her brows, she couldn't help but wonder how Lu Bingzhi got along with the emperor, his nominal uncle and actual father, in private. The thought made her feel a little distressed.
As she was thinking, Lu Bingzhi grabbed her arm and pulled her to sit in front of him with a slight force.
"If you don't like this, I can find you something else. No need to pretend you like it."
Cui Lingyan was stunned for a moment, then shook her head and explained, "It's not that I dislike him. I just remember that the Crown Prince's poisoning was related to the Second Prince. Although the Emperor punished those around the Second Prince, he also protected the Second Prince. It was really unfair to the Crown Prince. I feel a little uncomfortable thinking about this."
Naturally, she didn't dare to tell Lu Bingzhi that she knew his identity, but even if she just said a few simple words of heartache, Lu Bingzhi couldn't help but feel a little soft in his heart when he heard them.
He reached out and pinched her nose, saying gently, "It's all in the past. You don't have to keep it in mind. But I'm also very happy that you feel sorry for me and stand up for me."
Cui Lingyan's eyes reddened, and she nodded. "Then my lord, please promise me that you will be more cautious in the future and not fall into other people's schemes again. Your body and hair are given by your parents, so it is never too much to protect them."
Cui Lingyan had been with him for so many days and had seen Doctor Pei giving him acupuncture, so she had guessed that Lu Bingzhi's previous poisoning was probably intentional. It was just a slow calculation to make the Second Prince Xiao Ze lose the emperor's favor step by step. When his true identity was revealed in the future, the emperor would feel more guilty and distressed for him, the legitimate son of the late queen. The more guilty he felt towards him, the more he wanted to make amends, and the more intolerable he became when he thought of what the Second Prince had done.
It was only natural for Lu Bingzhi to plot against Xiao Ze at the expense of himself. Cui Lingyan also felt that although this move was somewhat risky, the benefits outweighed the disadvantages.
But when she saw Doctor Pei's pale face and beads of sweat on his forehead while he was giving him acupuncture, she couldn't help but feel that he didn't take care of himself enough.
I said this to remind him to consider the fact that he has a wife like her in his future actions and not to take too many risks.
Cui Lingyan naturally couldn't say these words to Lu Bingzhi. She hugged Lu Bingzhi and said, "I saw Doctor Pei giving the prince acupuncture that day, and I felt really distressed."
"A man like the prince shouldn't have to endure such hardships."
Lu Bingzhi had always considered himself a cold and heartless person, one who wouldn't be moved by a woman's words. But at this moment, his heart softened like a pool of water. He subconsciously patted Cui Lingyan on the back and promised, "I'll listen to you. I'll be more careful in the future and won't make you worry anymore."
......
Ningshou Marquis Mansion
After hearing Nanny Jiang's report, Madam Zhai's face darkened at first, but then she heard Nanny Jiang say that she had met Lu Bingzhi. Lu Bingzhi was very concerned when he heard that she had a headache and said that he would ask someone to invite the imperial physician to come and take the pulse of her, his elder. Her face eased a little.
She said with a smile: "The prince is really thoughtful. Although families like us can also invite imperial physicians, the fact that the prince asked for it shows that he, as his grandson-in-law, respects me as an elder. It seems that our girl Yan really married the right person."
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