Chapter 149: Following
The emperor was overjoyed when he heard the news, and he ran out of the Heren Hall in his robe. Ji Qing had been prepared, so how could he let the emperor lose his dignity? He shouted and set off to Kunning Palace!
The eunuchs and guards ran to catch up with the emperor, adjusting their formations. The emperor was reminded and reluctantly slowed down. He turned around and shouted to Xu Junying who was lagging behind, "So slow? Can't you run without a horse?"
Xu Junying deliberately fell behind and caught the eunuch who reported the news, asking him if he had seen Marquis Weiyuan. How was she? The eunuch said that Marquis Weiyuan was there. He had stayed in Kunning Palace with Taoist Master Zhang and Lingxuzi last night, but he looked very happy and energetic this morning.
Xu Junying played chess, talked, read books, and even fencing with the emperor in the Heren Hall last night. He did not sleep all night. Every other watch, a young eunuch came to report the news. Every time, he said that the baby was not born. His queen was in pain. Seeing the emperor anxious, he felt heavy in his heart. Half of him was worried about the emperor and his wife, and half was about Mei Niang. He was afraid that she could not stay up all night. She must be sad to stay by the queen's side and not sleep. Moreover, she stayed up all night with Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi. What kind of communication would they have in a long night? The two old friends broke the unspoken rules between them, showed goodwill to Mei Niang, secretly helped her, and worked together to hide what Mei Niang did outside from him. He could not let it go. He instinctively did not like Mei Niang to get too close to them again.
The emperor kept repeating, "Mother and child are safe! Mother and child are safe! Great, I will do so! I will reward Zhang Jingyun, Lingxuzi, and Qin Meiniang..."
Xu Junying said that the emperor should be called Weiyuan Hou, or Xu Qinshi - my wife!"
The emperor laughed and said, "I'm used to calling her by her maiden name! What? I helped you marry her, so can't I just call her by her name?"
Xu Junying remained silent, and the emperor was too lazy to pay attention to him. He excitedly said to Ji Qing, "As for those ladies in the Buddhist temple, regardless of their rank, they will all be rewarded! Ask the imperial chef to prepare delicious food, invite them to have breakfast, and then they can leave the palace and go home!"
Ji Qing led people to do the work. Xu Junying accompanied the emperor to Kunning Palace. They saw that the empress dowager was already there, holding the newborn prince, smiling from ear to ear. The emperor and Xu Junying stood one after the other, and bowed to the empress dowager and greeted her. The empress dowager just nodded at them, which was considered a greeting. The emperor also happily came over, smiled and looked at her carefully, and was about to enter the inner bedroom to see the queen, but was stopped by the empress dowager:
"My dear, come and sit down. Hug my good grandson. Who does he look like? He looks like you! You looked like this when you were just born. Other children could only sleep, but you wouldn't. You would blink and pout. You were so adorable!"
The emperor held the little baby that the queen mother had put in his arms, waved and called Xu Junying, gently touched the baby's right cheek with his finger, and said with a smile, "Look, this little kid is looking for food. If you touch him like this, he will turn his face and look around!"
Xu Junying found it interesting and laughed. The little prince is really smart. My Heng'er would never be like this! "
The emperor laughed and said, "Heng'er is already that big. He will cry and shout when he is hungry and will grab food to eat. Only newborn babies are like this. I held the two princesses in my arms before, and it was accidental."
Seeing two grown men holding a little baby and playing with them with great interest, the Queen Mother couldn't help laughing and scolded them, "You two, the king and his subject, really haven't grown up yet!"
The emperor stroked the little face, put away his smile, and said to Xu Junying, "You sit with the Queen Mother, I will go in to see the Queen!"
After saying that, he didn't ask the Queen Mother and walked inside quickly. The Queen Mother stretched out her hand and wanted to call the Emperor. Xu Junying seemed to block her sight unintentionally, and helped her sit down in the seat attentively, saying with a smile:
"The Emperor is so happy that he has a son! The Empress Dowager has always been worried about the Emperor's offspring. Now she can finally relax a little."
The Queen Mother sighed. How can I be relaxed? Now I have a grandson, I want to see more of them. The Emperor now has two princesses and a prince, but the Sixth Prince Qi refuses to marry a princess... Alas! There are always endless worries, we are all enemies! "
"Don't worry, Queen Mother. When the time comes, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi will naturally marry the princess!"
Xu Junying answered the Queen Mother absentmindedly, and quickly looked at the door of the inner bedroom. The Emperor went in, and the couple, Mei Niang should have come out. Where are Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi? Are they also in there?
Just as I finished thinking, I saw Mei Niang leading the way out, followed by several maids and palace maids. The Queen Mother looked unhappy and cleaned up the place. There was still a smell inside. The Emperor just doesn't like to listen!"
Mei Niang walked up to the Queen Mother, bowed, and said, "I'll go to the kitchen to see if the medicine is ready!"
The Queen Mother nodded nonchalantly. "
Mei Niang didn't even look at Xu Junying. She took two steps back, bowed to him with her head down, then turned and walked away.
In fact, she didn't have much of an opinion about Xu Junying. If he could let her leave the Xu Mansion as soon as possible, she even thought she could make friends with him. Yesterday, the Queen Mother scolded her in front of the maids and nannies. She knew that it was all because of Old Lady Xu who was talking about her poor background, lack of education, and lack of respect and filial piety to her elders. She hated the elders of the Xu Mansion more and more, and she didn't want to see Xu Junying anymore.
The emperor and the queen were holding hands and whispering to each other, admiring the fruit of their love, so she had to come out. She didn't want to face the queen mother or see Xu Junying. She would rather find an excuse to go to the small kitchen and watch Lingxuzi boil the medicine. Lingxuzi was very cautious and serious in using medicine in extraordinary times. He wrote the prescription and taught people to take the medicine, then re-prepared the medicine and personally watched the medicine pot boil. Zhang Jingyun said that in the prescriptions written by Lingxuzi, sometimes the fire and the burning firewood were also considered as a medicine.
She walked past the flower corridor, turned into the inner courtyard, passed by the small flower hall, and saw Zhang Jingyun sitting inside writing prescriptions through the carved window lattices. She didn't intend to go in and disturb him. When the queen gave birth to the dragon son, her whole body was soaked, as if she had just been fished out of the water. She was so exhausted that she could not speak, but her eyes were moving, indicating that she was still conscious. The mother was not allowed to take a bath. Her clothes were soaked with sweat many times last night. Each time, the palace maids just wiped her body with a dry towel and changed into dry clothes directly. They did the same this morning and just wiped it. These few days have been the damp and stuffy weather in spring, when all kinds of bacteria are most likely to grow and spread. Mei Niang whispered to the queen if she wanted to wash her body with water. The queen closed her eyes for a while, then opened them again. Mei Niang took it as her consent, and ran to tell Zhang Jingyun, asking him to prescribe a prescription, using honeysuckle or Panax notoginseng, etc., to boil water, and use it to wash the queen's body. Zhang Jingyun said: You can boil the medicine and wipe the body, or you can use ginger water, but not today, you have to wait at least three days later. He will prescribe a prescription and keep it, and use this medicine to wipe the body during the confinement period in the future.
In the small kitchen, Lingxuzi was sitting on a small stool, stirring the medicine in the pot slowly with a half-burned stick. He was concentrating and trying to count how many times he had to stir it. Mei Niang saw him like that and became playful. She tiptoed to his back and was about to shout when she heard a voice behind her:
"Don't be naughty, you..."
She was frightened, patted her chest and turned around. Seeing Zhang Jingyun standing at the door, she pointed at him and shouted:
"Are you kidding? You're scaring me to death!"
Zhang Jingyun also laughed and said, "Aren't you trying to scare people? You should be braver, but you got scared instead!"
"Who says scary people have to be brave? Why don't you write the recipe in the small flower hall and come here to do it?"
"I wanted to come and see what you were going to do."
"Haha! You must have opened your third eye, right? When you see someone, you think to yourself, I didn't mean to scare him when I came here. He was too serious, as if he was counting, and I couldn't help but mess it up so that I could make him count again!"
Lingxuzi smiled and stood up, tapping her with the branch in his hand. You didn't expect that the mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole is behind it, right? You guessed it, I was counting, and I had to count to a hundred. But I'm not a cicada, which will stop chirping if scared, but I can continue counting - you can't scare me, I just heard your footsteps a long time ago, but I didn't look back! "
Mei Niang was surprised that the sound of my walking was so loud without skipping any words.
Lingxuzi said that the sound of footsteps and fluttering clothes are not very loud. I have been practicing my hearing since I was a child, so I can hear them!"
"It's great to have such good hearing. Can I practice without skipping words?
Zhang Jingyun smiled at her and said, "I didn't mean to scare you just now. I just wanted to remind you that he knew you were coming and you couldn't scare him...You need to practice listening from a young age. Why are you practicing this?"
Mei Niang waved her hands indifferently and said she would not do it. It was just for fun. If it was too difficult, I would not practice it. It would not be of much use for you to practice it, right? "No novel website, not many words"
Lingxuzi said that when practicing qigong, one should generally practice listening and eyesight, which will always be useful."
Mei Niang went to look through the cupboards! There are a lot of fresh ingredients. Breakfast hasn't arrived yet, so I'll cook for you, okay?"
Lingxuzi smiled and said, "You are a noble, but you can cook?"
Mei Niang boasted that I am Cen Meimei, I can't cook, so I open a restaurant or inn? I don't cook anything complicated, just a bowl of noodles for each person, that's all!"
Zhang Jingyun said that you should wait until your hand is healed before boiling it. It is not appropriate to touch raw water now!"
Mei Niang looked at her hand and smiled bitterly. I let you see that when the queen gave birth to the prince, I also felt pain. "
Lingxuzi said I saw it too, it's okay, I'll give you a bottle of ointment, apply it for two days and it will return to its original state - yes, why did you come here? Just to find food?"
"No, the Emperor is here. If I'm not with the Empress, I have to stand with the Queen Mother. I can't stand it, so I might as well come to you!"
Lingxuzi smiled and shook his head, "Won't Junying follow the emperor? He's here, are you afraid?"
Mei Niang said that he and I..."
The shadow at the door flashed, and Xu Junying came in, smiling and said, "You and me? I was just one step late, and I couldn't catch up with you. You ran really fast, and you didn't say to come to the inner courtyard, so I couldn't find you even if I looked everywhere!"
The three people in the small kitchen were stunned for a moment. Mei Niang pointed at him and asked, "Is it true that Weiyuan Hou walked without making any sound? Lingxuzi, can't you hear it?"
Lingxuzi was a little embarrassed. I was just joking with you guys and didn’t listen carefully. Junying came... so fast! "
After Mei Niang came in, Zhang Jingyun followed in, chatting and laughing. Mei Niang opened and closed the cupboards, scooped water with a spoon, and made all kinds of noises. While talking to him, he also had to watch the fire, so he really didn't listen to the noise outside. But he also understood that Xu Junying didn't come too quickly, but had come a long time ago. He was very good at light skills, so if he didn't want the people in the room to notice, it would be easy to do.
Zhang Jingyun nodded and greeted Xu Junying. He was in the same situation as Lingxuzi, and did not notice Xu Junying's arrival. However, he intentionally stood in a favorable position. Anyone coming in from the main courtyard in front would be seen by him if they took the right road. Even if Xu Junying came from that direction, he would have stood by the left window for a while and then suddenly walked in.
Zhang Jingyun was very calm, without any sense of embarrassment. He felt that it was normal to stand with Mei Niang at this moment. The three of them were ordered to guard Kunning Palace. Mei Niang was still the Marquis of Weiyuan, but based on his understanding of Mei Niang, she would not be that soon.
She was like his mother, but stronger and braver than her. She refused to share a husband with anyone else, so she resolutely gave up and tried every possible way, relying on her intelligence and wisdom to make careful preparations for leaving the mansion.
Xu Junying talked with Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi for a few words. He was in a very bad mood at the moment. He had been worried all night. He finally saw Mei Niang. She said goodbye to the Queen Mother and walked past him without even raising her eyelids. His heart felt like it had fallen into an ice cellar. The Queen Mother said in a sarcastic tone that this Weiyuan Marquis was indeed as your grandmother said, lacking in education. She also comforted him that he didn't need to wait too long. After informing the emperor, he would issue an imperial decree the next day or the day after tomorrow to allow you to marry your cousin Zhuang!"
The Queen Mother said something exactly the same as his grandmother's, saying how things would be better after marrying cousin Zhuang, and that he could have a few more concubines, more children, and so on. He couldn't stand Mei Niang's attitude anymore, so he didn't bother to cover for the Emperor. He stopped accompanying the Queen Mother and found an excuse to run out. He knew where the small kitchen was, and as soon as he turned into the inner courtyard, he saw Zhang Jingyun following Mei Niang. The two of them entered the small kitchen one after the other. At that moment, his heart, liver, and lungs melted together, and he leaped to the left window of the small kitchen with a few leaps. He saw Lingxuzi and breathed a sigh of relief - as long as a man and a woman were not alone facing each other, it didn't matter.
He did not rush in directly, for fear of causing greater resentment from Mei Niang. After listening to the Queen Mother's words, he could more or less guess that Mei Niang treated him like that. At home, she had no scruples in criticizing her grandmother in front of him and made it clear that she did not like her. When she arrived at the palace, the Queen Mother might have helped her grandmother to tell her, causing her resentment and annoyance. She could not afford to offend the Queen Mother, who had long since stopped giving her face.
Mei Niang, Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi talked about everything, chatting and laughing at ease. He leaned against the wall, feeling extremely sad. The Queen Mother was alone in the main courtyard palace, and it was bound to disturb the Emperor and the Empress. The Emperor rarely disobeyed the Queen Mother's wishes in trivial matters. Today, he could not stay in Kunning Palace for long. Lingxuzi and Zhang Jingyun, as imperial physicians, could come and go freely in the palace, and had the privilege of not welcoming or seeing off the emperor, but he could not. If the Emperor left, he had to leave. Just when he was undecided about whether to leave or stay, or whether to go into the small kitchen to meet them, the words Mei Niang wanted to say made him feel bad, so he walked in without thinking and interrupted the rest of her words. No matter what, it must be right not to let them hear it.
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