With a "click," the ruler in Li's hand fell to the ground. She was stunned and looked at Hongshi, saying "you," but she didn't know how to continue.
Tears silently streamed from her eyes. She was stunned for a moment, then suddenly her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground.
"Secondary Consort!"
The maidservant rushed to help her, but Madam Li gasped, then suddenly raised her hand and angrily slapped Hongshi across the face: "You are not worthy to mention your second brother! You are not worthy!!"
“My Hongyun is so good, so good… He’s already ten years old…” After hitting him, Madam Li cried even harder, “Hongyun, my Hongyun!”
Hongshi was frightened by her crying. He covered his face and nestled in Granny Feng's arms, not daring to utter a sound, only silently shedding tears.
Li cried until she fainted, and the Fulu Courtyard was in chaos again. Hongshi, held by Granny Feng, sat blankly by the window, looking at Li's pale face and uneven breathing. He couldn't help but ask, "Granny, is Second Brother... alright?"
"The Second Prince is exceptionally intelligent and learns everything very quickly. The Prince loves and cherishes him dearly." Granny Feng also regretted letting Hongshi mention the Second Prince. At that time, she only hoped that Hongshi would not be beaten and thought that mentioning Hongyun would soften the Consort's heart, but she did not expect to anger the Consort to this extent.
She hugged Hongshi tighter, her voice filled with sorrow: "Back then... the eldest prince was gone, but the concubine gave birth to you, the third prince. Both princes in the entire palace were born to your mother..."
How glorious the Li family was back then!
It was around that time that the prince, for the sake of his two sons, requested that Lady Li be granted the title of secondary consort. At that time, even Lady Ulanara had to avoid her and stay in the main courtyard.
As for the Second Prince Hongyun, he followed the Prince to the palace for banquets and went hunting. What a favored son of heaven he was!
"Third Prince, no matter what, we must take care of our health." Granny Feng felt she had done the right thing. What was the point of someone like Hongyun studying so hard? "Health is the most important thing. As long as you grow up safely, even if you don't know a single word, your father will ensure your safety for life..."
As she lay in bed, Li vaguely heard what Granny Feng was saying, and tears welled up in her eyes again.
How could she not know?
Having already lost two sons, her only hope for Hongshi now is that he lives.
She wanted to be the heir to a royal family, but only if Hongshi lived! She was nearly forty years old, and had given birth to three sons in her life, but now she only had Hongshi...
How could she bear to force him to hit him?
Li propped herself up and raised her hand to call Hongshi over.
Hongshi's face was still in pain, and he didn't really want to pay attention to her, but Granny Feng picked him up and went straight to the bedside to put his hand into Li's hand.
Madam Li held his chubby hand, her eyes blurry with tears: "Hongshi, my good son, it's all my fault, I shouldn't have hit you... Please don't blame me, okay? Your brothers are all gone, you're all I have left, sob sob sob..."
"Mother!" Hongshi cried out and threw himself into Li's arms. The mother and son embraced and wept bitterly. Granny Feng wiped away her tears as well. The room was filled with the sound of crying, yet it was also filled with a touch of warmth.
On the other side, Qian Shengyan was in a standoff.
Qingxue blocked the entrance to the west hall, resolutely forbidding her from taking Yuanshou back to bed to sleep. Qian Shengyan, however, felt that since Yinzhen had already returned to the front courtyard, he definitely wouldn't come over. What was wrong with her sleeping with her son?
Having had a good sleep, Yuan Shou was enthusiastically playing with Qian Shengyan's half-down long hair, occasionally making "eee-eee-eee" sounds. Qian Shengyan looked pitifully at Qingxue: "I, I'm very cold at night... I can only sleep well when I'm hugging Yuan Shou..."
"I'll add two more hand warmers to your bed, and I'll change them again in the middle of the night to make sure you're warm," Qingxue said with a smile.
Qian Shengyan choked for a moment, unsure of what to say. Qingxue then earnestly advised her, "Princess, that's the rule. You'll get used to it..."
Before she could finish speaking, Qian Shengyan seized the opportunity as she turned to the side, grabbed Yuan Shou, and rushed out.
As she ran, she turned back and replied, "Okay, okay, I know! I'll get used to it!"
“…Okay…” Qingxue was both amused and exasperated. She turned around and quickly chased after him, “Princess! Put down the Fourth Prince! Come back quickly!”
Green Willow and Green Smoke followed behind, covering their mouths and laughing so hard their shoulders were shaking. Green Cloud and Green Water also lowered their heads and chuckled. The atmosphere in the entire Dongyou Academy was extremely pleasant.
In this pleasant atmosphere, Zhang Defu came in and helped Yinzhen deliver something to Qian Shengyan: "His Highness said he forgot to take it when he came; it's for the Princess."
"What is it?" Qian Shengyan took the sandalwood box, which was quite heavy. Zhang Defu naturally didn't know what it was, so he bowed his head, said goodbye, and left.
Qingxue chuckled and walked over to stand by the bed, ignoring Qian Shengyan. Qian Shengyan chuckled twice at her and called her over to come and see what was in the box.
— Upon opening it, there were actually several books inside?
Qian Shengyan curiously took it out and glanced at it. Upon seeing the title, she laughed: "Is it a play script?"
"Really." Qingxue looked on, puzzled. "Why would the Prince send this?"
Qian Shengyan guessed that it was because she had seen the travelogue on her little table today that she thought of finding some playbooks for her to read to pass the time. But she didn't say anything. She just smiled and finished washing up and went to bed. She played with the little fat boy for a while, and when Yuan Shou fell asleep, she lit a candle and started reading the playbooks.
The next morning, Qingxue was startled by Qian Shengyan's swollen eyes and almost went to fetch the imperial physician, but Qian Shengyan stopped her somewhat embarrassedly: "No, no... I just... I went to bed late last night."
"How could your eyes be swollen if you sleep late?" Qingxue didn't believe it.
Qian Shengyan stuck out her tongue: "That script was pretty good, it even made me... cough, cry."
Qingxue: ...
She was both amused and exasperated, so she had someone break off a few icicles, wrapped them in a towel, and used them to cover Qian Shengyan's eyes to reduce the swelling. When Yinzhen came later, he also learned about this. He first laughed at Qian Shengyan, and then asked her which show she had watched.
“This is it, the story of a young lady from a respectable family and a scholar taking the imperial examination.” Qian Shengyan didn’t mince words. “Actually, the story is quite cliché, but it’s really well written. Sigh, when the scholar returned to find his mistress after passing the examination, he found out that she was already engaged. The two parted with great reluctance, which made me feel so sad.”
Yinzhen laughed as he read, but didn't say much. In the evening, he had a box of opera scripts brought over. Qian Shengyan was so happy that she almost forgot about her son and only wanted to read those wonderful things that were even more exciting than modern novels.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it was the 100th day of the Fifth Prince's life.
Qian Shengyan started packing in the late afternoon. She was going to take Yuanshou to the main courtyard for a meal to celebrate the Fifth Prince's 100th day. Oh, he can't be called the Fifth Prince anymore. Yesterday, Yinzhen gave him a nickname, Tianshen.
Qingxue prepared some new children's clothes as a congratulatory gift for Qian Shengyan, and Qian Shengyan didn't object. Timing it right, she carried the chubby Yuanshou, dressed in his new clothes, and led a group of servants to the main courtyard.
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