"My esteemed guest, what brings you back?" Mo Yun, carrying a small basket, came out just in time to see Zheng Chunhua standing alone at the entrance of Shufangzhai.
"I'm not going, I'm not feeling well." She walked straight past Mo Yun, brushing past her.
Seeing that Zheng Chunhua's expression was a little off, Mo Yun immediately turned around and followed her, helping her back into the house.
For several days in a row, Zheng Chunhua refused to go out. No matter how Mo Yun tried to persuade her, she would just sit in the room drawing flower patterns or go to the study in the back room to space out, seemingly lost in thought.
That day, Mo Yun went to the kitchen to fetch food for Zheng Chunhua. As she walked along the red palace wall, she herself started coughing a little, wondering if she had caught it from Zheng Chunhua.
Alas, following a disgraced noblewoman offers no future. It's better to be among those who have never been favored, at least they won't be watched and tormented. Not only Zheng Chunhua, but even the maids and eunuchs serving her are tormented by their superiors when they go out. Is this human nature? Perhaps when Zheng Chunhua was favored, Mo Yun couldn't help but feel a little smug. Now that Zheng Chunhua has fallen out of favor, they have to bear the enormous fall from grace that comes with their past smugness.
Cough cough cough...
Someone blocked Mo Yun's way. Before she could even look up, she saw a glimpse of a moon-white robe with a four-clawed golden dragon.
"This servant greets Your Highness, may Your Highness be blessed with ten thousand years of good fortune and peace!" Without even thinking, Mo Yun immediately knelt down to pay her respects.
"Get up. Are you the palace maid who serves Consort Zheng?" The Crown Prince asked knowingly. He had already learned about the situation of the palace maids and eunuchs serving in Zheng Chunhua's palace in the past few days, and he had been waiting here specifically for this palace maid.
A flicker of panic crossed Mo Yun's eyes, but also a hint of delight: How could the Crown Prince have noticed her? Could it be that the Crown Prince has taken a liking to her? Thinking of this, Mo Yun's face flushed slightly... Wasn't Consort De also favored by the Emperor and rose from a palace maid to the position of one of the Four Consorts?
Little did she know, the Crown Prince didn't even look at her, but asked, "That day, I met your Consort Zheng by the rockery in the Imperial Garden. She seemed to be unwell. Was she ill?"
Mo Yun's heart jolted, realizing how ridiculous her previous thoughts had been. She dared not delay, quickly composed herself, and respectfully replied, "Your Highness, Consort has been coughing since winter. Imperial Physician Gu from the Imperial Hospital has come several times, saying she caught a cold and is also frail, and prescribed some medicine. Now it's spring, but Consort's cough hasn't improved much, often coming and going. Alas, it's because Consort isn't serving His Majesty much these days, so those people are unwilling to send more red charcoal. That black charcoal doesn't burn warmly, and the smoke is plentiful; the more Consort smells it, the more she coughs, so I dare not burn too much. But if I don't burn it, the room is cold."
Mo Yun rattled off the reason why Zheng Chunhua had been coughing from a cold since winter until spring, though she didn't know why she had to go into such detail.
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince frowned. He wasn't very familiar with the favor bestowed upon the women in the harem, or the difference between being favored and out of favor, because he was born the Crown Prince and raised by Emperor Kangxi's side. No one dared to do anything to him that would be considered disloyal or unfair. However, he wasn't entirely unaware of these things.
"Are there still imperial physicians available to see patients?" the crown prince asked.
"No, our esteemed person is too soft-hearted and never wants to trouble others," Mo Yun said, bowing his head.
"Alright, I understand. You may go." The Crown Prince flicked his sleeves, turned around, and walked in another direction, followed by a small eunuch who glanced at Mo Yun before leaving.
When the Crown Prince was almost out of sight, Mo Yun finally raised her head and let out a breath. She noticed that the blush on her face hadn't faded yet, so she kept her head down, not daring to let anyone see her heartbeat.
Ah, the Crown Prince's voice is so gentle! Is he concerned about the nobleman? If so...
Mo Yun dared not think any further and hurriedly headed towards the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Zheng Chunhua, dressed in a light green qipao, sat behind her desk, intently drawing a bamboo pattern on the table with a delicate brush.
In the inner palace, many women were lonely. Some spent their days copying scriptures and praying to Buddha, while others drew embroidery patterns to pass the time. Embroidery, a work that required both physical and mental effort, was not commonly done. When Zheng Chunhua first entered the palace, she was favored by Emperor Kangxi, who specially allocated her the Shufangzhai residence, allowing her some freedom instead of living in a side hall belonging to any of the principal consorts. However, after falling out of favor, she had no one to rely on.
Zheng Chunhua was getting tired of drawing, so she stopped and looked up at the window of the Four Friends of Winter, and at the palaces that stretched to the sky.
Suddenly, a figure caught her eye.
Zheng Chunhua was so surprised she almost cried out. She saw a window on the second floor of Chonghua Palace across the way wide open, directly facing her own window. And Crown Prince Yinren was standing at that window, staring at Zheng Chunhua.
She stared at him blankly, as if she could see the pity in his eyes. Her heart inexplicably began to race.
"A benefactor, a benefactor!"
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps interrupted Zheng Chunhua's exchange of glances with the Crown Prince. She quickly lowered her head to hide her panic.
"Your Highness, Physician Zhang from the Imperial Hospital has arrived. He says he's here to take your pulse," said the palace maid Huanyi, her face flushed. Physician Zhang was one of the best physicians in the entire region. For him to come and take Your Highness's pulse today—had the Emperor given instructions? Was Your Highness about to regain favor?
"I know, why are you in such a panic?" Zheng Chunhua tried her best to keep her voice calm as usual. She involuntarily turned her head to look at the window again, but there was no one there.
Huanyi, noticing Zheng Chunhua gazing out the window, asked suspiciously, "What is that important person looking at?"
Zheng Chunhua sighed with a sense of loss and said, "I didn't see anything."
After saying that, she took Huanyi's hand and stood up, and followed her downstairs.
"Greetings, Your Excellency. You look well. How have you been lately?" As soon as Physician Zhang saw Zheng Chunhua come down, he immediately stood up from his seat, cupped his hands in greeting, and said.
"Thank you for your concern, Physician Zhang. I'm fully recovered, though I cough occasionally," Zheng Chunhua replied.
"Please sit here, Your Excellency. Let me take your pulse." Physician Zhang stepped aside, allowing Zheng Chunhua to sit on the main couch.
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