Chapter 280 Rubella
Without caring about so much else, they invited Eunuch Huang, who came to announce the decree, to the small side hall, and the maid served him fragrant tea. Eunuch Huang naturally understood the friendship between the wife of Weiyuan Marquis and the Queen, and he did not hide anything when asked. Meimei then learned that the prince had suddenly had rubella last night. His whole body was hot, and he was twitching and talking nonsense, which scared the emperor, the Queen and the Queen Mother. They summoned the imperial physician to see him. After taking the medicine, the condition was relieved. The imperial physician said that this kind of rubella can be fatal, and it is not suitable to keep the patient in the hot and stuffy palace. It would be best if a spacious, cool and windproof place could be found to keep the patient for five or six days. After hearing this, the emperor and the Queen discussed and took the prince out of the city to Yiyun Villa overnight. The Queen Mother was worried about the prince's illness. After they left, she was still worried in the palace. She asked the people from the Imperial Observatory to ask and talk. They came to a conclusion: that is, the emperor may be too busy to forget about the matter of not going to the Imperial Temple to repay the vow and thank the emperor this year, but the Queen should remember it. After giving birth to the prince, the mother and son have been safe and healthy for more than a year. How could she forget the Buddha's blessing? The Queen Mother immediately ordered Eunuch Tan to go to Yiyun Villa to talk to the emperor. The emperor was silent and agreed with the Queen Mother's words. He asked the Queen to return to the palace to prepare, leave the city today, and understand that the female family members walk slowly. Set off on the tenth day, and make sure to arrive at the Imperial Temple on the fourteenth day. On the fifteenth day, visit the Buddha and perform several rituals to pray for the prince.
The prince is only a little over a year old. Doesn't he need his mother to be by his side when he is sick? If the queen goes to the imperial temple, who will take care of the prince? Can the queen rest assured?
Eunuch Huang seemed to see what Meimei was thinking, and smiled, "The Emperor will return to the palace at dawn to take care of state affairs. Except for the pregnant Concubine Rong and the two sick concubines, the rest of the concubines in the palace will go to the imperial temple with the Empress. The Empress Dowager will go to Yiyun Villa to look after the prince. His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi, the Princess of Qi, Princess Sude, and Miss Ziyao who is beside the Empress Dowager will accompany them!"
It turned out that the Queen had left Lin Runan behind, which made her feel a little more at ease.
So Meimei packed up herself and told Cuixi to stay at home, and to take Lin Pozi and others to accompany Liu Jingyun to take care of the housework. Cuilian took care of Qinghua Court and looked after Heng'er with Xia Lian and Ping'er. She took Cuisi and Cheng'er with her. Baizhan had been given a military order by Xu Junying, so he followed her as soon as he went out. She had no choice but to take him with her. Unfortunately, these two enemies were engaged. Cuisi was still wearing the bracelet bought by Baizhan on her wrist, but they would quarrel from time to time. Cuisi's rolling eyes and Baizhan's murderous gaze crossed and flew back and forth at the window and door, adding a lot of fun to Meimei's boring journey. She couldn't help teasing Cuisi:
"Don't like Bai Zhan? Then let's change him?"
Cui Si lowered her head and said nothing. Cheng'er innocently answered, "I think Brother Bai Zhan is very good. Ping'er and I like him. He often helps us with things. Yesterday he climbed up the tree to help us pick cassia flowers. He picked a full basket!"
Meimei smiled and said, "But Cuisi doesn't like it, why not...give Baizhan to Cheng'er and Cuisi find someone else?"
Cui Si was startled and looked up at Meimei, but Cheng'er said leisurely: "I don't want it!"
"Why?" Meimei and Cuisi asked at the same time, feeling that this delicate and beautiful little girl in front of them was a little unusual.
Cheng'er said seriously, "I'm not stupid. Brother Baizhan likes Sister Cuisi. When Ping'er and I asked him for help, we just said 'Sister Cuisi asked us to do it', and he was happy to do it, and he did it very quickly. Besides, there are many men in the world, why do you have to choose your sister's man? Even if your sister doesn't like him, they were engaged and had a name, so I wouldn't want him even if he was given to me!"
Meimei looked at Cheng'er, feeling mixed emotions. The girls around her were too deeply influenced by her. Was it right or wrong for them to form such thoughts in this dynasty? If she could protect them for their whole lives, it wouldn't matter, but what if she couldn't? Would they suffer losses or be hurt because of this?
Cui Si smiled and stretched out her hand to pinch the back of Cheng'er's delicate hand, leaving a light red mark: "You silly girl, how old are you? You dare to answer me when the young lady gives you a try? Who said I'll give it to you? You're so beautiful!"
Cheng Er stroked the back of her hand, pointed at Cui Si and giggled, "Who is the young lady trying to test? Now it's revealed! Sister Cui Si can't bear to part with Brother Bai Zhan!"
Meimei smiled and said, "Of course she is reluctant to part with it. Baizhan bought her such a beautiful bracelet. If she doesn't marry him, Baizhan will take it back. It would be strange if she is willing to part with it!"
Cui Si blushed with shame: "Young Madam is making fun of me again!"
"How can you be teasing? I'm envious. Lord Hou has never bought me any jewelry!"
Cui Si said, "Young Madam has so many jewels. Lord Hou bought the best fragrant wood from the south to make a jewel box for you!"
"Yes, he just gave me an empty box, but it was filled with jewelry that I had saved up myself! So, you should feel happy, Bai Zhan will even buy you a bracelet to wear close to your body, why do you always look at him with a cold eye? Be nice to him, smile, and he will give you more!"
Meimei reached out and touched Cheng'er's head: "You and Ping'er are only thirteen years old this year. You have seen too much of your sisters' affairs, right?"
Cheng'er's smiling face was cute and attractive: "We're watching! We hope that Lord Hou and Young Madam will get better and better. As long as Lord Hou and Young Madam are well, the sisters will be well, and everyone will be well, then Ping'er and I will be happy!"
The master and servant were chatting and laughing in the carriage, and before they knew it they had arrived at the post station for rest and recuperation. They got off the carriage and went inside. After a night's rest, they came out and saw that the carriages and horses on the official road of the post station were still in an orderly manner as they had stopped yesterday. After listening to Bai Zhan's words, they realized that there were too many people and not enough rooms to accommodate them. Apart from the concubines in the palace, only a few women from outside the court who were of high rank could stay at the post station last night. The rest all stayed in their own carriages.
As the empress was about to leave, Wan'er, a female official beside the empress, came to invite her, saying that the wife of Marquis Weiyuan would accompany the empress today, and they would ride on the phoenix chariot together to chat and relieve her boredom on the journey.
Meimei went to the Queen's carriage and saw the Queen lying on her side on a low couch. She was dressed lightly, but it was still difficult to hide her noble splendor. Hearing Meimei's deliberate lowering of her voice to greet her, the Queen sighed and said:
"How can I sleep? I just closed my eyes to rest my mind. Get up and sit close by so we can talk."
Meimei walked to the couch and sat down leaning against the edge. The carriage swayed gently. Seeing that the queen looked tired, she said, "If your majesty wants to sleep, go ahead. I'll stay here."
The queen had no smile on her face. "There are countless palace maids. Do you want me to watch over you when I sleep? I just left the city yesterday. The ladies who had to sit with me on the phoenix chariot should be the palace ladies. I felt sick of those concubines and didn't want to say anything. I was too tired at the post station last night. After dealing with the greetings from the concubines in the palace, I only said a few words to my sister-in-law and then went to bed. That's why I summoned you today!"
Meimei looked at her with pity: "Are you tired? Let me massage you for you?"
"Okay, come on up!"
The Queen was not polite either. Meimei took off her embroidered shoes and climbed onto the low couch. She started from the top of her head and gently massaged her. The expression on the Queen's face seemed to be slightly relieved.
"Meimei, do you think I was too nervous? I thought I was taking perfect care of the prince every day, but he still got the flu. Seeing how uncomfortable he was and the emperor's gloomy face, I..."
The queen sobbed softly, "The prince makes me feel distressed, but the emperor makes me feel cold! Do you know what he said to me? He said: If you can't take care of the child, let the queen mother take care of it! He never speaks to me in that tone... Ever since Concubine Rong became pregnant, he has favored no less than ten new concubines. Together with the concubines who were originally ranked as sleeping concubines, there are more than twenty concubines. Concubine Rong is now four months pregnant, and the other two concubines are said to be sick. I doubt whether she is pregnant with a dragon fetus... The emperor treats me differently than before!"
Meimei rubbed the empress's shoulder blades, feeling her body trembling slightly from crying, and sighed inwardly: That's the emperor. Which emperor in history only loved one beauty? Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who was known as a romantic, fell in love with Yang Guifei at the age of 60, and also flirted with other women, not to mention such a handsome and energetic young emperor, who had the whole world under his control and three thousand beauties gathered in his backyard, allowing him to choose whatever he wanted. In such an environment, is it possible for him to favor only one person or only look at three or four women?
Women who enter the palace as concubines, no matter what purpose they have in approaching the emperor on the dragon throne, if they have the ability, should not fantasize about love except seducing and seizing! Otherwise, they will die miserably, which is a hundred times more painful than those women who have no wisdom and only rely on their looks or luck to win a night of favor, and then cannot see the emperor's face for many years.
At this moment, Meimei suddenly thought of the Little Mermaid. When she read this fairy tale as a child, she felt sorry for the Little Mermaid thousands of times. But it was not because she could not get the prince's love, but because she did not stab the knife into the prince's heart!
Because of this idea, her mother glared at her for a whole night, but after Meimei explained her reason, her mother hugged her and kissed her again and again, and then kicked her father that night, and the mother and daughter slept together. Meimei moved her mother's reason: What is love? Family affection is the most important. Between the prince and her parents and siblings, she chose the latter!
Meimei asked about the prince's condition, and the queen shed more tears. She recounted the general situation of the prince's illness and said:
"It's not uncommon for children to get rubella, and it usually happens in the hot spring and summer. It comes on quickly and goes away quickly. Your Majesty, don't panic!"
The queen choked up and said, "The queen mother said that the children in the palace never have such diseases. She reprimanded me for not fulfilling my mother's duties. The maids around the prince were severely punished and replaced... Your Majesty, he listened to the queen mother and didn't help me this time. Maybe it was really like that. In our wealthy families, children are raised with great care and rarely get rashes. What's more, it's really terrible for the children of the royal family to have rashes in clusters! It's my fault! I don't ask for anything else, I just hope that after returning to the palace, the emperor will not listen to the queen mother and give the prince to her to raise!"
Meimei said, "Rash doesn't just develop when you want to. Sometimes it's caused by the wind, and the body is hot and cold, which can cause discomfort in the abdomen and cause external symptoms. Before Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi left, did they tell the queen about some common ways to prevent diseases in young children?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
