Chapter 21 The Princess's Secret
Madam Yin was also afraid that she might do anything in a fit of anger. After all, Aunt Xue was in poor health and was now relying on medicine to prolong her life. Chi Ying was even more reckless. She didn't care about her own life, but she couldn't drag the entire Chi family down with her!
He could only suppress his anger and order people to clean up Chi Yingyue's room.
Chi Ying composed herself, walked out the door, and said to Cheng Huai, "I will stay at the manor tonight to accompany my mother, and return to the Prince's manor early tomorrow morning. Please send a message back to inform His Highness."
Cheng Huai glanced at the princess again, then bowed and agreed.
When the guard who had been secretly following Lady Yin returned to report, he realized that the Chi family was indeed hiding a secret. He simply ordered the guard to return to the mansion and report the matter.
After having dinner in the Yin family's courtyard, Chi Ying first instructed Bao Shan to leave the mansion and go to Huichun Hall.
The doctors at Huichuntang are compassionate and kind-hearted; they would never collude with the Yin family.
Madam Yin looked at her coldly: "What, you still don't trust me? Are you afraid I'll mistreat Aunt Xue? Since I promised you, I won't go back on my word."
Chi Ying stopped beating around the bush and sneered, "Haven't Mother and the doctor colluded enough?"
Madam Yin trembled with anger: "You've really grown wings, you really think you're a princess now?"
Chi Ying ignored her.
Cheng Huai stood guard outside the courtyard gate and saw the princess's maid Bao Shan go out. She said she was going to get medicine for Madam Yin according to the prescription, but her words seemed evasive. He took note of this and immediately assigned someone to secretly follow her to investigate.
Not long after, Chi Ying came out of the Yin family's courtyard and headed to Chaohua Garden, which was Chi Yingyue's former boudoir.
Cheng Huai then led his men to follow and stood guard outside the Chaohua Garden.
Seeing that she couldn't get rid of him, Chi Ying had no choice but to give up for the time being and think of another way when it got dark.
Chi Yingyue had been away from the manor for several months, but her boudoir remained as clean and tidy as ever. Although the Marquis's manor was in decline, her upbringing was comparable to that of a lady from a high-ranking family.
Chi Ying glanced at the magnificent screen and the pedestal, remembering how she was not allowed to enter this door when she was a child. Now, seeing these things again, her heart was no longer moved.
She had no intention of resting there. Her gaze fell on the gilded and mother-of-pearl-inlaid dressing case, and she looked Xiangqin up and down, and she made up her mind.
"You are skilled in dressing up, could you... disguise me as a maid in the courtyard?"
Xiangqin was slightly surprised: "Miss, you mean..."
Chi Ying nodded. For some reason, she felt that Cheng Huai and the others were being too overprotective. They didn't seem like bodyguards, but rather like they were keeping a close watch on her. If she wanted to go to Chunliu Garden, she would have to find another way.
Regardless, Chi Ying still had to go to Chunliu Garden tonight. Just hearing Yin Shi's side of the story about how well she took care of her mother, Chi Ying was still worried.
Xiangqin hesitated, "This servant has never painted anything like this before..."
Chi Ying: "Give it a try."
Xiangqin had no choice but to send someone to fetch a set of maid's clothes and shoes. She then removed Chi Ying's makeup and hair, applied dark powder to her face, and dotted it with spots of various sizes. She then used stray hairs to cover her forehead and cheeks. In the dim candlelight, the person in the mirror had a dark complexion and was dressed as a maid with fairly delicate features.
Chi Ying stared blankly at the gradual changes in her reflection in the mirror until she could barely recognize herself. Overjoyed, she even wanted to learn a craft from Xiang Qin, thinking she might need it someday.
The room was lit, and she had Xiangqin stay inside, occasionally saying a few words to create the illusion that she was in the room. She then found an excuse to go out with the maids in the courtyard, saying that the princess wanted to eat cheese and asked them to make a bowl. When passing the guards outside the courtyard, Chi Ying hunched over and buried her face in the dim light of the night to hide her features.
Cheng Huai stared at the two men, and was about to ask them a few more questions when a guard came to deliver a message. He went to deal with it, and when he returned, the two servants had already gone towards the kitchen, so he gave up.
Prince Zhao was secretly investigating the Queen's background, which is why he sent him with men to accompany her and check if there was anything suspicious about the Chi residence. However, accompanying her was not for surveillance, and it was not necessary to arrest and interrogate someone who went to the kitchen to prepare food.
After leaving unnoticed, Chi Ying immediately went to Chunliu Garden.
The room was filled with the strong smell of medicine. Chi Ying entered the inner chamber and saw Aunt Xue lying on the bed. All the emotions that had been building up over the past few days surged into her heart, and she couldn't help but tear up: "Mother."
Aunt Xue was resting on the soft pillows when she saw someone coming. She didn't pay attention at first, until the person came closer and called her "Mother". Aunt Xue looked her over carefully and realized that it was her daughter. She was both surprised and happy. "A-Ying, why are you dressed like this?"
After saying that, a sudden panic gripped her: "You came secretly? What if someone found out?"
Chi Ying shook her head and poured her a glass of warm water. "No one noticed, Mother. I came to see you. How have you been these past few days?"
Aunt Xue was still the same as before, but thanks to the two ginseng roots, her complexion was not bad. To reassure her daughter, she only said some nice things.
Just then, Baoshan led in Dr. Hu Zhengqing from Huichuntang.
This Doctor Hu is quite famous in the capital and often treats poor people. Even Chi Ying has heard of him. She never expected that Bao Shan would be able to invite him.
Bao Shan said, "Doctor Hu happens to be in office today, so I invited him here."
Chi Ying glanced at her gratefully, then said to Doctor Hu, "Please take a look at my... aunt."
Doctor Hu nodded, put down his medicine box, and took Aunt Xue's pulse. After looking at the prescriptions Aunt Xue usually used, he pondered for a long time before saying, "Your pulse is weak and thready, which is a sign of kidney deficiency and insufficient heart blood. This prescription only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."
Chi Ying asked urgently, "Is there any way to cure it?"
Dr. Hu: "I will add a few more herbs to this prescription to replenish qi and strengthen the body, and to warm and nourish the blood. I will start by slowly conditioning the body. If it can get through spring and summer, I will decide on a course of action based on the condition."
Chi Ying nodded. "Thank you, doctor."
Thinking of something, he asked again, "Does the Jiji Pill have any medicinal effect?"
Doctor Hu's eyes lit up: "Jiji Dan is an excellent medicine for nourishing vital energy. It would be perfect to combine it with decoctions. However, the ingredients are expensive and the preparation is complicated, hence the high price..."
He sized up the woman before him. She was dressed as a maid, and in bed she was a sickly concubine. She must not be well-liked in the household. How could she afford the Jiji Pill? He sighed and said, "Strengthening the foundation and nourishing the vital energy is not something that can be done overnight. It requires long-term use."
Chi Ying was silent for a moment, then said, "I understand. Thank you, doctor."
Previously, Madam Yin had given her mother a few Jiji Pills, which saved her life. However, each Jiji Pill cost ten taels of silver, and those made with better ingredients cost over a hundred taels. But the Earl of Changyuan was a man who wouldn't even give her fifty taels. How could they bear to continue giving their mother these expensive pills? Moreover, Madam Yin disliked her and her daughter to the extreme and would not take good care of her. They were just using cheap prescriptions to fool her and barely keep her alive.
Chi Ying paid the consultation fee and had Bao Shan quietly lead Doctor Hu out through the side gate to get a new prescription and fill the medicine.
She still had a few dozen taels of silver, but it was just a drop in the bucket.
We still need to talk to the Yin family.
After everyone left, only the mother and daughter remained in the house.
Aunt Xue grasped Chi Ying's hand. "Didn't you say that the man you married was terminally ill? Why hasn't he come back yet? Has something happened?"
Chi Ying smiled and said, "He didn't die. He's cured and treats me very well now. But... my second sister has another good match and doesn't want to switch identities with me. I'm afraid I'll have to stay in that mansion for a while longer."
Aunt Xue always felt that it wasn't that simple. The second young lady was, after all, the daughter of the Marquis's family. The man who would let her marry to bring good luck must not be an ordinary family. If he was really as good as her daughter said, why didn't the second young lady marry him?
Chi Ying reassured her, "I'll figure out how to pay for the medicine, Mother, you don't need to..."
Before she could finish speaking, Aunt Xue seemed to notice something and reached out to touch the red mark on her neck. "What's this...?"
Chi Ying subconsciously wiped her neck, her fingertips brushing off a little powder. She paused for a moment before realizing what had happened, her cheeks flushing slightly.
Aunt Xue, being an experienced woman, and seeing the woman's blushing face, knew exactly what she was thinking. "You...slept in the same room with that young man?"
Chi Ying pursed her lips: "Not really, we were just close."
Aunt Xue: "Did he think you were the second young lady?"
Chi Ying paused for a moment, then nodded.
Aunt Xue was filled with mixed emotions: "You've had physical intimacy with him. What if your identity is exposed in the future...?"
Chi Ying pondered for a long time, then looked at her gently and said, "Mother, just consider me as having married him. I promise you that whether I continue to be his wife or manage to extricate myself unscathed, I will protect myself. Mother, you must also promise me that you will take good care of yourself and wait for me to come back."
Aunt Xue nodded, only regretting that her body was useless and that her daughter had suffered because of her.
...
Prince Zhao's Mansion.
The subordinate who came to report originally thought that King Zhao was at Yan Gui Lou, but unexpectedly he was at Shu Yu Zhai.
The two guards met outside the courtyard gate and went inside together to report.
Yan Xuecui sat on the couch drinking tea. He first heard that the princess was staying at the Chi residence tonight. He wiped the corner of his lips with the handkerchief in his hand, lowered his eyelids, and only gave a faint "hmm".
"Furthermore," the guard paused, "Madam Yin met someone in the back room today. He claimed to be the steward of the manor, but I heard him call Madam Yin 'Mother,' and... the woman is pregnant, saying it's His Highness Prince Xuan's child..."
Yuan De almost lost his composure: "The Prince of Xuan's child?"
The guard nodded: "Yes, Madam Yin and her servants have been very discreet in their actions, trying to avoid outsiders. That's all I heard."
Yan Xuecui frowned and smiled lightly, a kind of unexpected absurdity.
Another guard followed Bao Shan to Huichun Hall and also uncovered some important clues. Since the matter was of great importance, he did not return to the Changyuan Marquis's residence but chose to return directly to the mansion to report.
"Your subordinate followed Baoshan to Huichuntang to fetch a doctor, but saw... saw His Highness Prince Xuan's carriage parked in the shadows on the street."
Yuan De was taken aback: "It's King Xuan again?"
The guard said, "That Bao Shan secretly went to pay her respects to King Xuan. It was King Xuan who sent someone to the clinic and specially invited the best doctor from Huichun Hall to go to the Changyuan Earl's Mansion to examine Lady Yin's pulse."
Yuan De pondered, "So, Lady Yin actually has a daughter, and she's carrying Prince Xuan's child? Our Princess Consort might also... also have some connection with Prince Xuan?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the atmosphere in the room suddenly freeze, and he cautiously looked at the person on the bed.
Yan Xuecui put down her teacup, maintaining her usual composure, as if she had noticed it all along.
Yuan De still felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if, in an instant, the room had become almost frozen still, and even the sparrows in the trees outside the window had fallen silent.
A note from the author:
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The male lead will find out soon! 30 random red envelopes~ [pink heart]
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