Upon learning that Qingying had fallen into the water, Wei Huaixu unexpectedly came to visit her in broad daylight.
Qingying was half asleep when she opened her eyes and saw him. She thought she was dreaming. She vaguely heard his voice, which was particularly clear, and then she realized that this was not a dream.
"You... how did you get here?" She grabbed Wei Huaixu's sleeve and looked around nervously.
Yu Yue, who was standing nearby, said, "Don't worry, Miss. His Highness the Crown Prince came to the mansion under the guise of official business. He pretended to inquire about your situation from the master before coming to visit you."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
Wei Huaixu tucked her into the blanket and said helplessly, "Do you think I'm the kind of reckless and impulsive person who doesn't care about your reputation at all?"
"No...it's me..."
"Don't worry, just trust me."
Having barely slept a wink all night, Qingying is now very weak and looks extremely haggard.
She lowered her eyelashes and turned her back to him.
"What's wrong?" Wei Huaixu thought she was angry, so he coaxed her in a soft voice, "I was indeed a little anxious. When I heard that you had fallen into the water, I wished I could fly over right away. I promise I will let you know in advance next time so that you won't worry."
"No... I just think I must look awful right now, and I don't want you to see me like this." Qingying's voice was muffled, with a hint of hoarseness from illness.
"Is that all it is?" Wei Huaixu chuckled. "Jiaojiao, your worries are a bit unnecessary. When we first met, I was lying on the roadside in a sorry state, poisoned. At that time, you didn't even know who I was, but you didn't despise me. You even healed my wounds and took good care of me. How could I despise you now?"
"That's different..."
"What's different?"
"I...I just want you to see my most beautiful self, not this half-dead state I am now."
Wei Huaixu gently patted her shoulder through the brocade quilt and said in a gentle voice, "Jiaojiao, you and I will be husband and wife in the future. As a husband, how can I only see the most perfect version of my wife? The years ahead are long, and we will see more of each other. Moreover, as time goes by, we will gradually grow old. When my hair is full of white and I may even lose the ability to take care of myself, I'm afraid that you will be the only one who will despise me."
"I wouldn't say that." Qingying finally turned around, her mood clearly much better, but she frowned and said, "In your eyes, am I such a superficial person, only good for sharing the good times but not the bad?"
"Of course not." Wei Huaixu reached out and pinched her cheek, his eyes filled with infinite tenderness. "My Jiaojiao, you are the kindest person in the world."
Qingying was finally made to laugh.
He couldn't stay there too long, so he left in a hurry after only a quarter of an hour.
Qingying continued to rest in bed.
Unexpectedly, as night fell, Wei Huaixu came again, feeling his way through the window.
They had exchanged secret signals; hitting the window three times with a stone meant it was him.
However, Qingying was too weak to get out of bed at the moment, so she had Yuyue open the window.
Yu Yue was always perceptive. After letting Wei Huaixu in, she closed the window slightly and consciously retreated to the outside to guard the door.
Qingying, who had just taken another nap, seemed to be getting worse. With the afternoon filled with continuous rain outside and her being plagued by nightmares inside, how could she possibly recover?
At that moment, her eyelids drooped listlessly, and her voice was even hoarseer, "Why are you here again?"
"Of course I'm worried about you. I thought of you the whole time I was doing after I returned to the palace today. I spent the whole afternoon reading the Book of Documents, but I didn't turn a single page. I picked up my pen to write an essay, but the first thing I wrote was your name."
He spoke with a sense of helplessness and grievance.
Qingying's expression softened, and she gently stroked his cheek. "A-Xu, my body is so weak. What if I were to leave you one day..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted sharply: "Don't say such unlucky things!"
"But……"
"No, Jiaojiao, you will live to be a hundred years old." He stroked Qingying's temple and said softly, "We will both live to be a hundred years old."
Qingying gazed at him intently, and after a moment, nodded. "Yes, we will both live to be a hundred years old."
Then, Wei Huaixu took out a paper package from his pocket.
"What's this?"
"Open it and take a look." He smiled and handed it over.
Qingying obediently opened the paper package and saw that it contained round, plump candied fruits.
Wei Huaixu explained, "Today, when I saw you taking the medicine, it was so bitter that you couldn't open your eyes. I could barely stand the smell, so I thought of something to help you relieve the bitterness. I asked the imperial physician, and he said that this would not affect your ability to take the medicine."
"Thank you for your trouble."
Qingying picked one up and popped it into her mouth; the sweet taste spread throughout her mouth.
"It's not good to eat too many sweets so late. Save them for tomorrow after you take your medicine." With that, he rewrapped the candied fruit and placed it on the table beside him.
Qingying was never a glutton, so she obediently finished eating, rinsed her mouth, and lay down again.
Wei Huaixu suddenly noticed the rabbit-shaped sachet hanging next to him. "This sachet has probably lost its scent after being used for a long time. I'll have someone make a new one tomorrow."
"No need to make a new one, just take it to exchange for medicine."
"Alright, whatever you like." He noticed the empty string hanging from the bottom of the sachet and asked, "Where's the jade ring?"
Qingying touched her nose somewhat guiltily and mumbled, "It's...it's broken."
"I see... But I'm afraid I can't find a better jade right now. I'll replace it for you once I find one."
That was a superior white jade presented as tribute by the Northern Yue. It had a delicate and smooth texture and a pure color, and was quite rare in Donglin.
Qingying thought of the broken jade ring she still kept in her jewelry box, and recalled the day Jinheng said he could restore it...
"By the way, I heard that the Emperor intends to send Princess Yongning to marry a foreign ruler?"
She had been distracted by Lu Xingli a few days ago and forgot to ask about this.
Wei Huaixu nodded. "Father Emperor does indeed have this intention. There are no princesses of suitable age in the palace, so after much thought, only Yongning is suitable."
"I've heard that the princess had a past relationship with Grand Tutor Jin. How could the princess be willing to go on a political marriage?"
Wei Huaixu looked at her strangely, "How did you know about this?"
He remembered that the matter had been suppressed.
Qingying pursed her lips and said, "It seems that the princess herself spread the word."
Wei Huaixu frowned, then relaxed, and sighed, "These rumors have been circulating in the streets for the past few days. There was even a storyteller who went to teahouses to tell the legendary love story of Jin Heng and Yong Ning. He told it so vividly that the storyteller was eventually arrested and detained for two days for spreading rumors and causing trouble, and only then did the matter gradually subside. I suppose that apart from Yong Ning herself, no one else knows so much about this matter."
"This... has already been suppressed?"
She hasn't even heard a sound yet.
"Otherwise? Father Emperor originally intended for Yongning to go for a marriage alliance. The envoy from Beiyue will arrive in the capital next month. At this critical juncture, how can we allow any mishaps?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com