Chapter 108 Those hands under the bright yellow brocade quilt…
Beneath the bright yellow brocade quilt, those hands were withered and thin, pale and sickly. Feng Mian's trembling hands grasped them, the coldness from her palms making her eyelashes flutter, and tears fell like broken strings, leaving dark stains on the quilt.
Six months ago, when I saw her off at her wedding, these hands had gently stroked the top of her head, but now they have aged so much.
The room was warm and cozy with the floor heating on, but these hands were chillingly cold.
Feng Mian rubbed his cold knuckles, trying to warm them with his palms, his voice choked with emotion: "Uncle, Xiaoman is back. Can you hear me?"
The person on the bed had their eyes closed and showed no reaction.
Feng Mian could no longer hold back and buried her head in her hands, sobbing silently, her shoulders trembling slightly.
A hand gently patted her shoulder as Chu Jingze stood behind her, soothingly saying, "The imperial physician said that Father's condition is relatively stable. As long as his loved ones stay with him, there is a great chance that he will wake up."
"I have already instructed people to tidy up the Summer Moon Palace. Go and wash up first. If Father Emperor wakes up and sees you looking so tired and haggard, he will surely be heartbroken."
Feng Mian nodded, carefully tucked Emperor Jiayu's hands under the covers, and then carefully tucked the corners of the covers before following Chu Jingze out of the bedroom, turning back every few steps.
When she washed away the dust of her journey and changed into some casual clothes, Chu Jingze had already prepared a hot pot and was waiting for her in the side hall.
Hearing footsteps, he turned his head and smiled gently at Feng Mian. The steam from the hot pot enveloped him like clouds, making his features appear even more gentle.
"Xiaoman, come here."
The palace servants quietly withdrew, and Chu Jingze personally rolled up his sleeves and poured the sliced raw meat into the hot pot to cook. "In previous years, as soon as winter came, you would clamor to eat hot pot with me and Father Emperor, saying that eating it would warm your lungs and make you sweat profusely, which would be a good start to winter and you wouldn't get sick for the whole winter."
He placed the blanched and discolored slices of meat into the celadon dish in front of Feng Mian. As he turned away, he glanced at her face for a moment, a hint of tenderness and relief in his eyes. "I thought I wouldn't be able to have this hot pot this year."
The familiar surroundings and the long-lost aroma of hot pot eased Feng Mian's mood slightly and restored his appetite. He picked up a slice of meat from Chu Jingze's plate and casually said, "Brother, can you eat with sister-in-law? I remember she said in her letter that she also loves hot pot."
Chu Jingze paused slightly in his hand holding the ladle, lowered his eyes and smiled, casually asking, "It seems you and Prince Baili get along quite well. Is the hot pot from the Northern Frontier delicious?"
Feng Mian accepted the soup bowl from Chu Jingze, concealing a moment of hesitation as he drank the soup. With his uncle unconscious and his elder brother, the Crown Prince, overseeing state affairs, he should be informed of the Luo family's suspected rebellion.
However, she did not have concrete evidence and could not guarantee that her elder brother, the Crown Prince, would believe her.
Secondly, she recalled the strange words and actions of Eunuch Qiushi and Little Stone. There weren't many people in Shengjing who could extend their reach into the palace. Having just returned to the palace, she was certain that someone was closely watching her every move, and she wasn't sure whether she should trust her elder brother, the Crown Prince. After all, her uncle had bypassed him, secretly placing the tiger tally in her hand, clearly showing that he trusted those around him more than he trusted her.
She put down the soup bowl and shook her head. "I didn't have time to taste it before I rushed back to visit my uncle. I'll write to my brother about it after I've tasted it."
Chu Jingqi remained noncommittal, his hands continuing to work to ensure there was always food on the plate in front of Feng Mian, while chatting with her casually, "How have you been in the Northern Frontier?"
Mentioning the Northern Frontier, Feng Mian's lips curled into a faint smile. Chu Jingze immediately recognized her and shook his head, "Alright, alright, no need to say anymore. It seems you're quite content and don't want to leave."
"No, I still miss my uncle and brother often."
Chu Jingze scoffed lightly, "I think you only remember me when you need my brother, right? You sent so many letters to the Crown Princess, but only a few to me."
He feigned sadness and said, "I've really wasted my time loving you."
Feng Mian: "Really? I've written several letters to my brother too."
"Shall I fetch the letter and compare it with yours?"
Feng Mian recounted the events in detail, feeling rather guilty. She was impatient to write the same things over and over again, and often skipped over her elder brother, the Crown Prince, who was well-behaved. She immediately made an excuse for herself, "My sister-in-law and I are both women, so naturally we have more to talk about."
"It's really heartbreaking to hear this." Chu Jingze picked up a leafy green vegetable and put it in her small dish. "Your brother watched you grow up, and now you're so distant from your brother that you have nothing to talk about."
The hot pot was bubbling, and Feng Mian quickly scooped a piece of meat into his bowl. "It was my fault, I apologize to you. I promise I will never show favoritism again. If there is a letter from my uncle and sister-in-law, there will be a letter from my brother."
"That's more like it." Chu Jingze seemed satisfied, and with a slight smile, he looked at the slices of meat in the bowl and then scooped all the meat out of the pot and gave it to Feng Mian.
"Eat more. You've never gained weight since you were little, and you look even thinner now that you've come back."
Feng Mian obediently buried her head in eating meat.
As Chu Jingze slowly ate the piece of meat that Feng Mian had given him, he looked at Feng Mian and chuckled softly after a while.
"What are you laughing at?" Feng Mian looked up at him in surprise, and seeing the obvious amusement in his eyes, she became even more puzzled and touched the corner of her mouth. "Is there something dirty on my face?"
Chu Jingze shook his head and said, "I just suddenly remembered when we were little, there was a time when you really liked to play house, pretending to be an adult, picking a bunch of leaves to cook, and forcing me to eat them all, saying that if I didn't eat properly, I wouldn't grow tall..."
Memories buried deep in time resurfaced. Back then, Chu Jinglian forbade the other noble ladies from playing with her, and the palace servants around her were not familiar with her. She could only follow Chu Jingze around, trying to play with him.
While the noble ladies played house, she played house with Chu Jingze, taking on the roles of grandfather, husband, son, and grandson, feeding him feasts of tree leaves at every meal. While the noble ladies dressed up as beautiful dolls, she played dress-up with Chu Jingze, constantly sticking twigs, leaves, and flowers into his hair and body, making the dignified prince look like a plant spirit when he went out…
Despite all these mischievous antics from the children, Chu Jingze patiently cooperated with them.
She picked up the bowl and covered her face, a wave of shame rushing to her head: "Alright, alright, please, brother, stop talking, I was just ignorant back then..."
Seeing her reaction, Chu Jingze became even more amused. After laughing enough, he rested his chin on one hand, elbow on the table, tilted his head to look at her, and smiled gently. "I really miss those days. Back then, Xiaoman was so small with short arms and legs. She couldn't run far and would always follow behind her brother. She told her brother everything, and nothing was more important than her brother..."
Knowing that the more embarrassed she was, the more Chu Jingze wanted her to be, Feng Mian forced herself to calm down, grunted twice, and scooped all the food out of the hot pot, leaving him not a single leaf.
She puffed out her cheeks and muttered, "I already said I was young and didn't know any better back then."
Besides, at that time, her uncle was still just as important as her brother. But seeing how smug he was, it was best not to say anything to discourage him, and let him be happy for a while longer.
“I’m not a child anymore.” Feng Mian winked smugly. “I’m a princess consort who can hold a position in the Northern Kingdom now. Brother, you mustn’t laugh at me anymore.”
The smile on Chu Jingze's face faded, and he gave a soft hum.
He gracefully raised his hand, picked up a small teapot from the tea stove beside him, poured two cups of tea, and pushed one towards Feng Mian, saying, "Eating too much hot pot makes you irritable, drink more tea. The imperial physicians are busy enough these days, don't add another patient to their ranks."
"Thank you, brother." Feng Mian took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. Thinking of his uncle who was still unconscious, his heart sank again. "I'm full. I'll go keep my uncle company."
"You should rest more..."
“You need rest more than I do.” She looked up at the dark circles under Chu Jingze’s eyes. “These days you’ve been busy overseeing the country and taking care of your uncle. You must not have had a proper rest in a long time. From now on, you should spend more time taking care of your uncle and rest. When your uncle wakes up, I will send someone to call you immediately. Your uncle will definitely not blame you.”
Chu Jingze paused for a moment, then didn't insist further, simply saying, "I'll take you back."
He got up and was about to call for someone to carry a sedan chair to come over, but Feng Mian stopped him, saying, "It's only a few steps, let's walk. We just finished eating, and as the saying goes, 'A full stomach and a hundred steps will prolong life and cure all diseases.'"
After leaving the Summer Moon Palace, Feng Mian had only walked a hundred meters along the palace road when he suddenly frowned and looked around.
Chu Jingze: "What are you looking at?"
"Has the changing of the guards' schedule changed? At this time in the past, a squad of guards would patrol this road with their hounds, but today, there's not a single dog in sight, not even a human."
"So you said you were going to walk to the Mingxin Hall because you wanted to run into the puppy?"
"It's just on the way. Never mind, maybe we're just not meant to be." Feng Mian didn't manage to run into the greyhound, so she simply gave up, but she frowned almost imperceptibly as she turned around.
She always felt that the atmosphere in the palace was different. Apart from the fact that the familiar palace servants were still in the Summer Moon Palace, which made her feel at ease, she always felt uneasy about the impending storm when she walked around other places.
"Brother."
"Oh, right..."
After a moment of silence, the two spoke at the same time.
They exchanged a glance, and Feng Mian said, "Brother, you speak first."
Chu Jingze: "I heard that the younger generation of the Luo family is ignorant and bullied you in the Northern Frontier, almost getting into a fight with you. I have already spoken to Lord Luo about this matter, and that kid will not act recklessly in front of you again."
Feng Mian paused slightly. How did he know that Luo Chier had almost come to blows with her? She hadn't written a letter to complain.
As if seeing through her doubts, Chu Jingze added, "The envoy who delivered the festival gifts overheard the people talking in Yunzhong County and made a special note of it to report to me."
He sighed heavily, "If it weren't for this chance encounter, neither my father nor I would have known you were being bullied. The Northern Frontier is still quite far away; if..."
"It's alright. With A-Zhu around, he didn't get any benefit at all. Brother, you can rest assured. Although you and Uncle are not by my side, the people Uncle personally selected can protect me well in your place."
Chu Jingze was silent for a moment, then said, "After you got married, the palace became much quieter. My father and I often missed you. But you, with your husband, are content with everything and don't want anything else."
"Brother, why are you so long-winded today? Of course I miss you and Uncle. I'll try my best to come back to see you every year from now on!"
Chu Jingze responded with a soft laugh.
For some reason, Feng Mian felt that the laughter carried a slight chill, which quickly dissipated in the wind.
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