Chapter 109 "I said, no one can touch..."
The time spent by the bedside of a sick person is actually particularly difficult to endure.
Immersed in the strong, bitter smell of medicine, watching familiar loved ones remain silent and motionless, visibly withering away bit by bit in the cold silence, as if even their vitality is silently slipping away inch by inch.
Not only could she do nothing, but she also had to pretend to be positive and keep talking in his ear, hoping for a miracle to happen, only to be met with repeated disappointment.
Fengmian stayed by her bedside, just like when Emperor Jiayu leaned against the headboard to tell her stories and lull her to sleep when she was a child, whispering in his ear about her experiences in the northern frontier.
"The portrait of the Crown Prince is completely unrelated to him. If you grant me permission, Uncle, I will bring him back for you to see for yourself. The painters in the Northern Frontier really need to improve their skills."
"Don't mention the matter of male concubines in front of him. If he gets jealous and you can't appease him, your uncle will be fully responsible."
As she spoke, she kept glancing at the doorway out of the corner of her eye.
The Crown Prince asked Liuying to fetch the gift the Crown Princess had prepared for her. She then used the excuse of sending Wuliu back to retrieve a return gift, but in reality, she secretly sent her to find the guards on duty at the Sima Supervisory Office.
When she was learning to ride a horse as a child, her uncle secretly told her that the guards of the Imperial Guard were all his confidants, and they didn't usually accompany him, so no one knew about it. In this way, if the palace fell ill, it would be ensured that there were still trusted people who hadn't been controlled, giving them a chance to turn the tide.
At that time, she naively thought, who would be so bold as to cause trouble in the palace? Little did she know that one day she would only have this one path to take.
Two hours passed, but neither of them returned.
Feng Mian leaned over the bedside, nuzzling her head against Emperor Jiayu's hand, her voice soft and slightly vulnerable, "Uncle, I'm a little scared, please wake up soon, okay?"
The smell of medicine in the air grew stronger, mixed with a faint sweet fragrance.
Sleepiness began to droop her eyelids. She yawned slightly, feeling a heavy, dizzy head that made it difficult to lift her head. A sense of unease crept in, but her body was already sluggish, lying limply against the headboard. She tried to open her eyes wide, but the overwhelming sleepiness wouldn't subside; her eyelids grew heavier, and her vision became increasingly blurry.
Before I was completely plunged into darkness, a blurry figure caught my eye out of the corner of my eye, and a familiar scent of ink brushed past my nose.
The Imperial Garden in winter was rather desolate when a bright red figure burst into the gray world.
Chu Jinglian, wrapped in a red cloak woven with gold thread and auspicious patterns, ran towards the East Palace, lifting the hem of her skirt, with Bitao struggling to keep up behind her.
"Princess, Princess, please slow down."
"I can't slow down! That brat Qingping is back, and no one told me? Does she even respect me as a princess? I'm going to ask my brother, just because Fengmian is his sister, does that mean I'm not his sister?"
As she walked to the gate of the East Palace, she slowed down, remembering the cold look on her elder brother, the Crown Prince, she still felt a little scared.
"You stay here and keep watch. If my brother scolds me later, come in and say that Mother wants to see me and rescue me."
Bitao obediently agreed and stood still at the base of the wall.
Chu Jingqi walked to the door and was puzzled. Where had the guards gone? Then she thought, it's good that no one is here. She will quietly appear in front of her elder brother, the Crown Prince, and catch him off guard so he won't have time to think of an excuse!
She tiptoed through the courtyard, avoiding the guards, and circled around to the back of the study, a smug smile on her face. Thankfully, the Eastern Palace hadn't changed much over the years. When she was little, her mother often pushed her to play with her elder brother, the Crown Prince, but he always played with Qingping. Too embarrassed to do so, she would secretly find another way to escape. Over time, she became more familiar with the hidden paths of the Eastern Palace than the owners themselves.
She was sneaking along the wall towards the door, trying to scare her elder brother, the Crown Prince, when she suddenly heard voices coming from the study. Hesitantly, she huddled up in a small ball under the window.
My brother seems to be discussing serious matters. If I barge in now, I'll surely get scolded. It's better to wait.
Thinking this, she curiously leaned closer to listen. What was her elder brother, the Crown Prince, busy with every day?
First came a middle-aged man's voice that was both unfamiliar and familiar: "Since Her Highness the Princess is Baili Xunzhou's weakness, if we can use her as leverage, then surely..."
Chu Jinglian blinked blankly. The surname was Baili. Could it be that prince? What was he trying to blackmail him for?
"No one can touch her." Another cold voice left no room for doubt; it belonged to the Crown Prince's elder brother.
The middle-aged man seemed somewhat annoyed: "If His Majesty can act on it, why can't we act on a mere maid like the princess? Since His Highness has already placed the princess under house arrest..."
With a loud crash, the middle-aged man let out a muffled groan. The Crown Prince said, "I said, no one is allowed to touch her."
His tone was ruthless, unlike anything Chu Jinglian had ever heard before.
She covered her mouth tightly, her legs buckled, and she squatted back down on the ground, her mind a complete mess. What did "Even His Majesty could move" mean? Was her father's illness caused by someone? What did "the princess has been placed under house arrest" mean? What exactly was her elder brother, the Crown Prince, planning to do?
She panicked, trembling all over, her nails digging deep into her palms, the pain reminding her to leave quickly and not let anyone discover her presence here.
She turned around carefully and crept back along the path she had come from, her eyes darting around to make sure her clothes and jewelry didn't snag on anything and leave evidence of her presence.
Finally back in the front yard near the gate, Chu Jinglian stumbled out, clutching the corner of her dress, and nearly fell onto the bluestone pavement before being scooped up by a pair of hands.
"Zhao Ning? What have you been doing? You've gotten yourself into such a mess."
Chu Jinglian shuddered and turned her head to see the Crown Princess Dilan's concerned gaze. She hurriedly withdrew her hand and said, "I...I didn't go anywhere."
She quickly straightened her disheveled skirt and sideburns, forcing a smile onto her pale face, and stammered, "That's me. I was just looking for my brother, but there was no one guarding the door, so I came in by myself..."
She quickly came up with an excuse, raised her hand to adjust the butterfly hairpin at her temple, and said in her usual spoiled tone, "The hairpin accidentally fell into the grass. It was a new style that my mother bought for me, so I couldn't lose it. I was thinking of looking for it... Just as I found it, my sister-in-law came."
Although Dylan was still a little confused, he didn't press further and nodded, saying, "It's good that you found it. It was my oversight; I called the guards away to move some things. His Highness the Crown Prince should be in his study. I'll take you there."
As she spoke, she reached out to take Chu Jinglian's hand, but Chu Jinglian quickly dodged, saying, "No, no need..."
How could Chu Jingqi dare to see her elder brother, the Crown Prince, now? Her current appearance would immediately reveal something was wrong. If she hadn't misheard, her brother had even dared to harm their father, and had even imprisoned that brat Qingping. If she were to deliver herself into this mess, what good could possibly come of it?
She would rather die than go!
Dylan looked at her hand, which she had avoided, with surprise.
Chu Jinglian hurriedly said, "I just remembered that my mother needs to see me. If I wait any longer, she will definitely be angry with me. I won't go to see my brother today."
She nervously clasped her hands together and took two steps toward the door. "Sister-in-law, can we not tell my brother about what happened today? I skipped the nanny's class today, and I'm afraid he'll scold me..."
After speaking, she felt somewhat uneasy. She had only heard that her sister-in-law, the Crown Princess, and her brother's relationship was merely one of polite distance, not particularly intimate. She guessed that the Crown Princess was probably unaware of what her brother was doing, which was why she dared to ask her to keep it a secret. Yet, she was also afraid that something might go wrong, what if she was wrong…
Dylan nodded knowingly. This wasn't the first time Princess Zhaoning had skipped her nanny's lessons; she had personally witnessed the Crown Prince dragging her back to Chengxi Palace three times. "Don't worry, I won't tell His Highness."
"Thank you, sister-in-law. I'll be going now!" Chu Jinglian turned around, disregarding any princess-like demeanor, and ran off.
Liu Yue peeked out from behind Dylan, puzzled. "Why does the princess look like she's seen a ghost? Shouldn't you tell His Highness?"
Dylan waved his hand: "Let's not cause His Highness any more trouble. Since His Majesty fell ill, His Highness has been working day and night and has visibly lost a lot of weight. He finally waited for the Princess to return and kept vigil for His Highness for a whole day. I heard that he also fell ill from exhaustion and wouldn't let anyone visit him. His Highness is worried right now."
"You are right, this servant will certainly not say another word in front of the Crown Prince."
In Chengxi Palace, Consort Rou was absentmindedly holding a teacup.
"Mother!"
A choked shout, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps, burst in, startling Consort Rou so much that she spilled tea all over herself.
The palace servants rushed forward to take away the teacups and took out handkerchiefs to wipe the tea off Consort Rou's body.
"All of you, leave." Consort Rou waved away the palace servants and pulled Chu Jinglian, who rushed towards her, into her arms. "What's wrong? Where have you been wronged this time?"
Chu Jinglian blinked his watery eyes, and only after all the palace servants had left the hall did he nestle into Consort Rou's arms, sobbing, "Mother, my brother, the Crown Prince, my brother..."
The hand gently patting her back paused slightly, but Chu Jinglian didn't notice. He blurted out everything he had heard to his most trusted mother, and then said tearfully, "Mother, do you think Qingping was put under house arrest by my brother because she found out something? Let's go and rescue her. She's full of bad ideas; she'll definitely find a way to save Father!"
"no."
"Mother?" Chu Jinglian blinked in disbelief, two tears still welling up in her eyes sliding down her cheeks. She looked at Consort Rou's expression, which seemed unsurprised by what she had said, and asked in astonishment, "Mother, you... you know everything?"
"The one who went to see the Crown Prince today was your maternal uncle," Consort Rou said calmly.
Chu Jinglian stared in disbelief. She opened her mouth, looked around sharply, and after confirming that there was no one else in the hall, she lowered her voice and asked incredulously, "You know... you... this is your grandfather's idea, right? What are you trying to do? This is treason! This is treason!"
She was so anxious that she jumped up and down, but Consort Rou pulled her back and made her sit down next to her.
"I didn't want to tell you, but you stumbled upon it yourself. Don't worry, your maternal grandfather and the Crown Prince have already made plans for this. You just need to stay by your mother's side and wait for everything to settle down..."
"Why?" Chu Jinglian brushed away Consort Rou's hand, took a deep breath to suppress his sobs, and asked in a tearful voice, "Why? Grandfather has already enjoyed so much honor, what more does he want?"
"Father, although you dote on Qingping a bit, it's because she has no parents. She's more pitiful than me. But... but you haven't mistreated us either..."
“My brother, the Crown Prince, he’s already the Crown Prince. He’ll ascend the throne sooner or later. He…” she whispered the two words, “Why would he plot a rebellion?”
Chu Jinglian cried as she struggled to ask the question, her thin eyelids instantly swelling and turning red.
“You don’t understand…” Consort Rou took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears with heartache, but the more she wiped, the more tears she shed. She sighed.
“You’re right. As a father, especially a royal father, he truly owes you nothing. He treated you with far more care than my father did. But he owes me, he owes the Luo family…”
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