Falling into the water
The golden chrysanthemums in the imperial garden are in full bloom, and the sun is getting cooler.
Snow-white gauze curtains were hung around the octagonal pavilion, fluttering in the wind.
There was a musical instrument table in the pavilion, and a low table next to it, on which were placed some fruits and snacks, as well as a pot of hot tea.
The sound of a piano gurgled in the pavilion, and the girl's slender fingers stroked the strings lightly or slowly.
Qi Qinghe was wearing a frosty white cloak and a light purple palace dress underneath. She was leaning against the railing and sipping tea.
After the song ended, the girl raised her head, her bright eyes filled with anticipation.
"Third Princess is so young, yet her zither skills are so exquisite that I feel ashamed of myself." Qi Qinghe said with a smile, inviting her to come over and sit. "Since today is a day off, there's no need to study. Why not open up and relax a bit? There's no one around here."
Xiao Juntang responded and sat down next to the Empress Dowager. "Although Second Brother is not here, the Empress Dowager should drink less. Drunkenness is harmful to the body."
Although Xiao Juntang looked young, his face was very similar to that of the Second Emperor, especially his eyes, which swept over him calmly, giving Qi Qinghe the illusion that he was being stared at closely by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
She cleared her throat, slowly sat up straight, and sighed, "Okay... Tell Cheng Xi not to find anyone to complain to anymore."
She just took advantage of the fact that the prince was about to leave and drank too much in the past two days. Why did everyone have to remind her?
"My second brother has been away for several days. I'm afraid he won't be back before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Would you like to write a letter to him?" Seeing that his sister-in-law looked uninterested, Xiao Juntang changed the subject.
Write a letter? She didn't want to. Life in the palace was pretty much the same, so what was there to write about?
Why didn't the Crown Prince write about the interesting stories along the way? However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is on official business and probably doesn't have the time for that.
Qi Qinghe was just about to find a reason to refuse when she heard a cold voice coming from the side.
"She was so happy that she almost forgot about her brother, so how could she write a letter?"
The little girl's voice was clear and sweet, and would have been even better if it weren't mixed with sarcasm.
Isn’t this the second emperor’s sister Xiao Junluo, who had had an unexpected incident with her?
Qi Qinghe thought about it over and over again, but still couldn't figure it out. That night, it was clearly Xiao Junluo who almost bumped into her accidentally. It would have been fine if he didn't feel any guilt at all, but how could he be so righteous and come to cause trouble for her.
Xiao Junluo also couldn't understand why the second emperor's brother protected her so much, even though she was not particularly good-looking or talented.
"Your Highness Shao Yao did not mean it. The Queen will not blame her, right?" Fu Jingyuan came with Xiao Junluo.
Qi Qinghe suppressed her smile, but before she could speak, the little girl beside her spoke softly, "My brother the Emperor said that as a royal relative, we enjoy the support of the people and should be considerate of them. We should not be arrogant. Besides, the Emperor's wife is our elder, so why is my sister so outspoken?"
Hearing the imperial sister bring up the imperial brother, Xiao Junluo curled his lips impatiently and muttered dissatisfiedly: "What's so good about her? Third imperial sister, you like her so much."
"Your Highness Shao Yue is well-educated and well-mannered, truly extraordinary. Your Majesty is in the Eastern Palace, so I believe you must know everything about music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Why don't you play a little song for me to open my eyes?" Fu Jingyuan gently pulled Xiao Junluo and smiled to smooth things over.
Qi Qinghe, who had remained silent the entire time, glanced at Fu Jingyuan, too lazy to argue with her. "Miss Fu, if you want to be hard on me because of your failure to be selected, there's no need to do that."
"I have no say in this matter." She retracted her gaze, took Xiao Juntang in her arms, walked around a few people and walked out, "If I had known that Miss Fu and Her Highness Shao Yao were coming, I would have changed the date."
Very rarely, she acted like the Crown Princess and called herself "This Palace".
Xiao Juntang sneered, and when the person was about to walk to his side, he moved his left foot slightly and tripped Qi Qinghe.
Unexpectedly, there was a staircase there.
Qi Qinghe was only thinking about pulling the person away and didn't pay attention to his feet. He was tripped unexpectedly and fell straight onto the bluestone slab, with several pieces of gravel facing his face.
In a hurry, she used her arms to support herself and rolled to the side, but there was a railing next to her.
The Crown Princess fell into the water as the other three people stared in amazement, splashing water high into the water and sprinkling it on them.
Xiao Juntang was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly called out to the palace servants not far away, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry and save them."
The palace ladies woke up as if from a dream, and those who could swim jumped into the water and swam towards Qi Qinghe who was struggling hard.
Xiao Junluo and Fu Jingyuan were pushed away by a group of palace servants and could not see clearly what was happening.
Xiao Junluo's face turned pale, and her mouth trembled, "What should I do, Sister Fu? I just want her to fall and make a fool of herself, not fall into the water. If anything happens to her..."
Fu Jingyuan covered her mouth with his hand and told her to stop talking. Her raised hand trembled uncontrollably, her palms were sweaty, and her pale face was full of panic.
"She fell into the water on her own. It has nothing to do with us." Her teeth were chattering, and she vaguely remembered her aunt's words. If she couldn't marry into the Eastern Palace as she wished, she wouldn't even be able to get a concubine, and would be no different from a waste.
Thinking of this, Fu Jingyuan gritted her teeth and said, "Even if you report it to His Majesty and Aunt, you must say the same thing. Don't be afraid. You are a princess. What can they do to you?"
Xiao Junluo nodded in a daze, touched by Sister Fu's words. Yes, she is a princess, Princess Shao Yao of this palace city, what is there to be afraid of about her.
Thinking of this, she regained some confidence and nodded heavily.
The Crown Princess fell into the water while visiting the garden and fell into a coma. Such a serious matter had happened, but the Crown Prince was not there. Cheng Xi hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly asked the palace maids to invite the Imperial Concubine, and sent someone to the Imperial Hospital to invite the Imperial Physician.
After a day and a night of chaos, Qi Qinghe finally woke up.
She had a severe headache and couldn't open her eyes. She moved her fingers slightly, and it seemed as if her ears, which had been silent, suddenly exploded with several mixed sounds, making her headache even worse.
She raised her eyelids with great effort and struggled to get up.
But as soon as she moved, others rushed to hold her down.
"Your Majesty's fever has not subsided yet, so it's best not to move." An old voice came from afar, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. Now that the Crown Princess has woken up, she will be fine. Just rest well."
The imperial concubine nodded, "Thank you, Imperial Physician Song."
As she spoke, the maid beside her bowed and escorted the imperial physician away. The imperial concubine slowly approached, passed the hanging gauze curtain, and gently sat down beside the bed. "Tang'er has told me about the drowning incident. You should take good care of yourself. I will take care of this matter for you."
Qi Qinghe opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her throat was burning with pain, and she couldn't stop coughing. She sat up with the help of her maid, and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, mother."
The imperial concubine sighed. This child is indeed a good child, gentle and kind, but his personality is just like this. Isn't he too weak?
"The imperial physician is in the side hall. Call him if you have anything, or come to see me. The prince is not here, so you should take good care of yourself." The imperial concubine gave a few more instructions before leaving.
"My queen, how do you feel now?" As soon as the man left, Yun Tao and Yun Xing came forward and asked hurriedly.
“…Drink some water.” Qi Qinghe said weakly and fell back onto the bed.
After about half a day, when the imperial physician examined his pulse and he drank some medicine, he regained some strength.
She pointed at the porridge on the table and looked at Yun Xing and Yun Tao in disbelief.
"The imperial physician has instructed that Your Majesty should eat something light to help her recover." Yun Tao and Yun Xing said calmly.
Qi Qinghe gritted her teeth and drank half a bowl of porridge with a grunt, thinking that when she got better, she would definitely eat all kinds of fish and meat.
Just as she was thinking this, she looked up at the sky and caught a glimpse of Cheng Xi leading a few palace maids, carrying a big red box, coming straight towards her.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Crown Princess. We are here to deliver the imperial edict. His Majesty, mindful of Her Majesty's ill health, has granted her special permission to stand and receive the edict this time." The eunuch next to Cheng Xi chuckled softly and shook the imperial edict in his hand.
A large number of people knelt down around him.
The eunuch read the imperial edict again, and his sharp voice echoed in Mingcheng Palace.
The imperial edict said nothing else but that Princess Shaoyao's words and deeds were inappropriate, causing the Crown Princess to fall into the water. She was punished with ten lashes on the hands and was ordered to reflect on her mistakes indoors for a month. Miss Fu Jingyuan of the Fu family behaved badly and was immediately expelled from the palace.
In addition, this box contains all the supplements as rewards for the Crown Princess.
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. I've troubled you to make this trip. Why don't you sit for a while and drink some hot tea to warm yourself up." Qi Qinghe said softly, his crow-feather eyelashes drooping, covering his eyes.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I have something else to do at home, so I won't sit down. Please have a good rest." The eunuch smiled, turned around and left.
"I'll see you off, father-in-law." Without waiting for the empress to speak, Yun Tao followed in small steps.
After they left, Yun Xing's eyes widened. "Our queen fell into the water and became seriously ill, yet she is only confined to her room."
Qi Qinghe glanced at her, pinched her mouth, and told her not to say anything more. "How dare you make irresponsible remarks about His Majesty's decree? Don't you want your head anymore?"
"Your Majesty!" Yun Tao ran into the palace after seeing the guests off. "I heard about it."
"I gave the eunuch some silver before he would talk." Yun Tao was out of breath from running. After a pause, she continued, "The eunuch said that today, the imperial concubine went to see His Majesty in tears. Half an incense stick later, she heard the sound of something falling in the palace. That's how this imperial edict came about."
Yun Tao looked around and lowered her voice, "I heard that His Majesty had a sullen face as he dragged Her Highness Shao Yao out of the bedroom and punished her in front of the palace maids. Her Highness cried and screamed for a long time, but it was no use."
"Oh, I almost forgot." After saying that, Yun Tao was silent for a moment, patted his head, and took something out of his sleeve, "Your Majesty, this is the letter sent back by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I just happened to come across it, so I brought it in with me."
Qi Qinghe listened to the two little girls talking silently. Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows and took the letter to read it carefully.
The letter was not long, stating that the investigation was going smoothly, that he was fine and in good health, and told her not to worry, as he would be able to go back before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"Your Majesty, why don't you write a reply letter and tell His Highness about the drowning incident so that He can come back and make the decision." Yun Xing said. The two little girls raised their heads and looked at the Queen expectantly.
Qi Qinghe was silent for a moment, "No."
Judging from the tempers of Fu Jingyuan and Princess Shao Yao, this matter will not end so easily.
She wanted to suppress this matter and wait for the next move.
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