213. Sick
The temperature is neither too high nor too low right now.
As for burning earth dragons, that's still a long way off.
Burning charcoal seems a bit excessive.
But if we do nothing, things will get a bit cold.
So, as soon as she sat down, the little princess couldn't help but shrink her neck and whispered to the little dumpling, "Why is it even colder when class starts? It feels like the wind is getting into my sleeves."
The little dumpling nodded, tucked its little hands into the sleeves of the rabbit fur cloak, and with the hood up, it became round and fluffy.
The second brother noticed this and quietly pushed the hand warmer next to him toward his younger sister: "Mother asked me to bring this. You can take it and warm yourselves up."
The little dumpling thanked her second brother, took the bag, and shared it with the little princess to warm their hands.
Just then, Qu Zijin walked in, wearing more clothes than usual.
He placed the book on the table, his breath visible in the white mist, yet he still smiled gently and said, “It’s cold today, so let’s not start the new lesson yet. I’ve had someone brew some ginger and jujube tea; have a bowl to warm yourself up first. Now let’s review the ‘Thousand Character Classic,’ and we’ll start the new lesson after we’ve finished drinking it.”
The children responded in unison, and their clear reading voices soon filled the classroom.
"Heaven and earth were dark and yellow, the universe was vast and boundless..."
The little dumpling's sweet voice mingled in the background, and the little moon was soft and sweet, like it was coated with icing sugar.
The palace servants quickly brought over steaming ginger and jujube tea. The sweet ginger flavor mixed with the aroma of jujubes filled the entire school.
The little princess held her teacup, taking small sips, her eyes lighting up again: "If it snows, can we build a snowman in the yard? We can make it into the shape of a little moon, round and chubby, it will definitely be very cute!"
"Okay, okay!" The little dumpling nodded immediately, her eyes full of anticipation. "We also want to give the snowman a cape like Moon's!"
The second brother excitedly added, "We also need to give the snowman a small sword, so it looks like a lone swordsman wandering in the snow, and then we won't be afraid of the wind blowing it over."
Qu Zijin sat to the side, sipping hot tea, and couldn't help but smile as he watched the children's excited expressions.
The lingering summer heat still howled outside the window, but inside the school it was warm and cozy. The aroma of tea, the sound of reading, and the laughter of children mingled together, dispelling most of the winter chill.
After resting for a while, Qu Zijin smiled and said, "Speaking of which, there is a fitting saying: 'Cold comes and heat goes, autumn harvests and winter stores.' Do you remember what this saying means?"
The little dumpling immediately raised its hand: "Moon knows! It's just that winter gets cold, summer gets hot, autumn harvests the grain, and winter hides the grain!"
Qu Zijin praised her highly: "The county princess is indeed clever... Then think about it, besides storing grain, what else can we do in winter?"
The second older brother enthusiastically raised his hand: "We can have a snowball fight!"
"We can also see snow!" the young prince added.
As Qu Zijin listened to their innocent and childlike words, perhaps because he had spent so much time with them, he grew to like children more and more. At this moment, he didn't feel that they were going off-topic; instead, his smile deepened.
-
A cold wind swirled with withered leaves in the courtyard of the Marquis of Beiding's mansion, but the little dumpling's room was already wrapped up tightly in warmth.
Jiang Xiyue personally stood in front of the dressing table, putting the warm inner garment on her daughter, and repeatedly checked: "Is the neckline still drafty? Should we add another fur collar?"
Before the little dumpling could answer, she turned around and pulled out a newly made silver fox fur jacket from the wardrobe: "I had the embroiderer rush it yesterday. Try it on, the fur is softer than rabbit fur, and the wind can't even penetrate it."
The little dumpling stretched out its arms and let its mother manipulate it: "Mother, Mother, the moon is almost wrapped up like a little dumpling!"
"Little rice dumpling is good, it won't get cold." Jiang Xiyue pinched her cheek and stuffed the hand warmer into her arms.
The stove contained carefully blended silver charcoal, which burned without smoke and carried a faint woody fragrance: "Keep this with you, so your hands won't get cold when you're studying."
As the weather gets colder, Jiang Xiyue is always worried that she will catch a cold.
They also felt sorry for their own daughter, who was so young and had to study in the palace, so they doted on her immensely.
The same goes for the Marquis of Beiding. The first thing he does upon returning to his residence is to visit the little dumpling and bring her back some delicious food from time to time.
Although there are no more osmanthus flowers and we can't eat osmanthus cake made from freshly picked osmanthus flowers, our daily meals are still made entirely according to Xiaotuanzi's taste.
Jiang Xiyue knew that she loved sweets, so she had the kitchen stew white fungus soup every day, served it in small porcelain bowls, and kept warm on the charcoal stove, so that she could drink it warm when she returned from the palace.
Marquis Beiding was worried that she wouldn't be full from eating only sweets, so he always asked his steward to go to the street corner to buy some small dumplings and other delicious meat dishes.
With such meticulous care from her parents, the little dumpling still bounced around every day when she returned from the palace, her little face rosy and unaffected by the cold.
The whole family revolved around her, but no one noticed that her eldest son Jin Qizhi's room had been lit up until late at night lately.
The incident occurred one morning.
As usual, after her day off, the little dumpling snuggled up to her parents, holding a freshly roasted chestnut in her arms, all warm and cozy.
It was a bit windy outside, so the Marquis of Beiding called his second brother, who was practicing his self-created sword technique with great enthusiasm, back home. The family warmed themselves by the stove.
The second brother had a flash of inspiration and suggested having a barbecue, which everyone agreed to.
"And big brother! Let's invite big brother to join us!" the little dumpling raised her hand.
Jiang Xiyue smiled and patted her little head: "Okay, let's go call Qizhi. This child is probably still studying in the study."
So the little dumpling led her parents and second brother, skipping and hopping to her eldest brother's yard to call him to come and have a barbecue together.
But as soon as they arrived at the courtyard, they saw Jin Qizhi's servant carrying a dark bowl of medicine out of the house.
"Who is this medicine for?" Jiang Xiyue asked, surprised.
Upon seeing them, the servant knelt down with a thud, not daring to conceal anything: "It is the eldest young master... The eldest young master studies diligently, often reading by lamplight late into the night, and this servant cannot dissuade him."
"The eldest young master read until the third watch of the night last night, and woke up with a fever this morning..."
"This servant wanted to ask a doctor to come and take a look, but the eldest son refused, saying that if the Marquis and his wife found out, they would definitely keep him at home to recuperate and not let him go to school."
"The eldest young master only said that I should brew a bowl of medicine according to the prescriptions and herbs that we already have at home and drink it."
"Is big brother sick?" The little dumpling's round eyes widened with worry, and she immediately ran into the house.
Jin Qizhi was lying on the bed with cracked lips. His once bright eyes were now half-open, and he didn't even have the strength to speak.
Hearing the noise, he looked up at his sister, his voice hoarse: "Sister?"
No sooner had she said that than Jiang Xiyue rushed in. Upon seeing her son's condition, she immediately became anxious: "Qizhi! How did you get so sick? Why didn't you tell your mother!"
She reached out and touched her son's forehead; the burning temperature made her hand tremble. "It's all my fault. I didn't even notice you were staying up until midnight every day..."
Marquis Beiding followed closely in, and seeing his weak son on the bed, he felt heartbroken.
He stepped forward and patted Jiang Xiyue on the back: "It's not your fault. You've been working so hard taking care of Yue'er and managing the household. It's my fault. I always thought that Qizhi was old enough to take care of herself, so I didn't pay much attention and didn't realize how hard you've been working..."
Seeing her parents' self-reproachful expressions, Jin Qizhi felt a little embarrassed and struggled to sit up: "Father, Mother, it's not your fault. I stayed up all night because I wanted to do better on my homework..."
"No matter how important your studies are, they are not as important as your health!" Marquis Beiding interrupted him, his tone unusually stern, yet unable to hide his heartache. "From today onwards, you should focus on recovering! I will talk to the academy teacher about your studies, so you don't need to worry about them."
Jiang Xiyue wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, turned around and instructed the servant: "Bring all the silver charcoal from my room, and make sure the charcoal brazier in Qizhi's room doesn't go out! Light all the floor heaters. Also, go to the kitchen and tell them to stew some bird's nest porridge, and make sure it's cooked until very soft!"
The little girl stood by the bed, her tiny hand tightly gripping her older brother's fingers: "Big brother, get well soon, Yue'er still wants to have a barbecue with you..."
Looking at her sister's concerned eyes, Jin Qizhi felt warm and soft-hearted. She reached out and touched her head, saying, "Okay, I'll listen to you, sister. I'll get better soon."
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