Chapter 253: Bee Stings Red Makeup, Happy Events Cause Trouble
The snow was still falling, and long icicles hung from the eaves of Shufangzhai like strings of glittering crystals. The red plum blossoms in the courtyard were bent by the weight of the snow, their petals covered with a thin layer of white, adding a touch of color to their usual beauty.
Xiaoyanzi was examining the phoenix hairpin in front of the mirror. The hairpin, inlaid with a pigeon-blood ruby, shone dazzlingly in the candlelight. She wore a pomegranate-red short jacket with white fox fur trimmings at the collar and cuffs, which accentuated her slender, pale neck. "Ziwei, look, isn't this phoenix hairpin too heavy? I feel like my neck's about to break."
Ziwei sat by the fireplace, reading a medical book. She looked up and smiled. "How can you be so exaggerated? Tomorrow's the wedding, so you should be more cautious." She was wearing a moon-white satin jacket, and the charcoal fire reflected off her cheeks, making them glow. "I think you're just nervous, so you're making excuses."
"Who's nervous?" Little Swallow retorted, stiffening her neck. She turned and ran to the window. "I just want some fresh air." She opened the window, and a gust of cold wind mixed with snow foam rushed in, making her shrink her neck. "Hey, what kind of flower is this? It smells so good."
Two pots of Sophora japonica flowers, in full bloom, had been placed under the windowsill. Their snow-white petals piled on the branches, their fragrance cloyingly sweet. Little Swallow leaned over to pick one, but just as her fingertips touched the petals, she heard a buzzing sound, and a dark mass emerged from the blossoms.
"Oh my god!" Little Swallow was terrified. Those were bees, a black mass flying straight towards her face. She waved her hands frantically to chase them away, screaming, "Go away! Go away!"
"Little Swallow!" Ziwei was so frightened that she dropped her book and ran to the window. Qing'er and Jinsuo also stood up, and the three of them frantically fanned the bees with their cloaks. But the bees were like crazy, stinging Little Swallow alone. In a blink of an eye, several red bumps appeared on her face.
"Ouch! It hurts so much!" Little Swallow was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face. She squatted on the ground with her head in her arms. "These damn bees! They have a grudge against me!"
After finally driving away all the bees, Ziwei quickly helped Xiaoyanzi up. When she saw her face, she gasped: "Your face..."
Xiaoyanzi was dragged to the mirror and nearly fainted. The left side of her face was swollen like a steamed bun, her right eye was stung and narrowed to a slit, and there were two red bumps at the corners of her mouth. She couldn't speak clearly, "What the hell is this!"
She touched her face and suddenly remembered something from her past life—that time she had imitated the Fragrant Concubine and bathed in flower petals, hoping to attract butterflies. But instead of butterflies, she attracted a swarm of bees, which stung her even more miserably than she was now. But in this life, she had never taken a flower bath!
"Something's wrong..." Xiaoyanzi frowned and grimaced in pain. "The bees came here very strangely, as if someone released them on purpose."
Qing'er came over with the ointment and carefully applied it to her face. "Don't let your imagination run wild. Perhaps it was the locust flowers that attracted you." Her movements were very gentle, fearing to hurt Xiaoyanzi. "These flowers were sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs this morning. They said they were to bring some joy to the courtyard."
"The Imperial Household Department?" Xiaoyanzi squinted her swollen eyes, her heart skipping a beat. "Who sent it?"
Jinsuo interjected, "I heard from Xiao Wenzi that... it was an order from Jingren Palace."
Jingren Palace? Isn't that where Concubine Gao was confined? Xiaoyanzi's heart skipped a beat. Could it be her doing?
"No, we need to find a doctor!" Ziwei was so anxious, "Your face is so swollen, how are you going to get married tomorrow?"
When Xiaoyanzi heard about the wedding, she became even more anxious. She stamped her feet and said, "How should I know? This damn bee wouldn't sting me earlier or later, but it has to come at this time!" The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she felt a sense of fear. "Ziwei, do you think there's someone who doesn't want me to marry Yongqi?"
Ziwei was about to speak when Yongqi and Erkang came in through the curtains. Yongqi was wearing the azure-colored official attire of a prince and holding a brocade box. He must have come to deliver something. When he saw Xiaoyanzi's face as soon as he entered, he was so startled that he dropped the box on the ground. "Xiaoyanzi! What's wrong with your face?"
"Yongqi!" Xiaoyanzi saw him and burst into tears. She pointed at her face and said, "I got stung by a bee! Do I look like a pig?"
Yongqi rushed over and carefully held her face, his brows furrowed so tightly that they could kill a mosquito. "How did you get stung by a bee? Where's the imperial physician? Did you call him?" His voice was filled with heartache, but a stern look flashed in his eyes. "Where did this bee come from?"
Erkang also frowned: "How can there be bees here? In this snowy weather, the bees should have been hibernating long ago."
Qing'er told Yongqi about the sophora japonica flowers. After listening, his face was so gloomy that it looked like water was about to drip out. "Where are the people from the Imperial Household Department? Call the person who sent the flowers to me!"
Xiaoyanzi tugged at his sleeve and gasped in pain: "Don't call for help yet. What should I do with my face? Can we still get married tomorrow?"
Yongqi looked at her swollen face, feeling both distressed and amused. He reached out and wiped her tears. "Marry, of course! Even if you turn into Zhu Bajie, I'll still marry you." He turned to Erkang and said, "Quickly, go get the imperial physician, and have someone investigate the origins of these locust flowers."
Erkang nodded, turned around and walked out.
Ziwei helped Xiaoyanzi sit down and said softly, "Don't worry, the imperial physician will definitely have a way to reduce the swelling."
Xiaoyanzi pouted, looking at her swollen face, and mentally cursed the beekeeper a thousand times. She must have been stupid to get stung by a bee in her previous life. She'd been living a peaceful life in this life, so why was she suffering like this? The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. This was definitely not an accident!
Snow was still falling outside the window, and the joy in Shufangzhai was dampened by this sudden change, only to be filled with even more tension. Xiaoyanzi rubbed her face and vowed to herself: No matter who was behind this, I'd get to the bottom of it once I recovered!
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