Chapter 229 Quiet
Mingxiu finally woke up.
She couldn't possibly not be involved in He Shu's funeral arrangements; there were still many things to worry about.
Xiao Qing sat beside her, unsure of where to begin.
Mingxiu managed a weak smile and said, "Your Majesty, this servant knows."
Xiao Qing felt a pang of sadness. "What do you know? I..."
Mingxiu shook her head at her, "I am already extremely grateful that His Majesty has allowed me to keep vigil."
Her gaze was slightly unfocused, and her voice lowered.
“Grandpa is getting old. I knew that when I took his pulse that day…but…but…”
As she spoke, her eyes reddened again, and tears quickly welled up and swirled in her eyes.
Xiao Qing couldn't help but reach out and hug her, only to find her body incredibly stiff.
She gently patted Mingxiu's back twice, her voice becoming even softer: "Xiu, it's my fault, blame me, it's all because of..."
Mingxiu, however, held her head high, preventing her from continuing.
"His Majesty."
She forced back her tears, "While I'm away, please take good care of yourself... The weather in Nanhua is short in spring and long in summer. After winter, the weather will gradually get warmer. Your Majesty must not indulge in cold things and harm your spleen and stomach..."
Xiao Qing couldn't hold back her tears either.
“Xiu…” She hugged Mingxiu tightly, feeling an indescribable sadness in her heart.
Mingxiu was passively held by her, her head turned to one side, but she did not reach out her hand in return.
Her head seemed to be starting to hurt again.
A dimly lit room, a cold body, chaotic screams, a blank stare—time and space were almost distorted in her mind, as if a thread was pulling her along, causing her to suffer in this chaos.
She opened her mouth, trying to make a sound, but no sound came out.
Xiao Qing personally escorted Mingxiu out of the palace, with Zhao Youchen and Ma Hong standing beside her.
The people waiting outside the palace were Fu Mingyi's men; they looked unfamiliar and had serious, aloof expressions.
Mingxiu curtsied to her and took her leave, whispering, "Take care, Your Majesty."
Xiao Qing watched Mingxiu step out from inside the palace walls. The gray and cold sky was bleak and desolate, making the vermilion palace walls appear much darker.
The palace attendant guarding the gate looked at Ma Hong with some hesitation, unsure whether to close the gate or not.
Ma Hong glanced at them, knowing they were following palace rules, but their emperor was clearly in pain, and since Mingxiu couldn't see him now, the emperor certainly wouldn't move.
After Mingxiu walked along the long palace road and could no longer see him, Xiao Qing remained rooted to the spot.
Ma Hong couldn't hold back any longer.
"Your Majesty, it's cold outside. Would you like me to escort you back first?"
Xiao Qingcai seemed to come back to his senses.
She nodded slightly before turning around.
Zhao Youchen followed closely beside him, secretly relieved.
He thought to himself that He Shu was the Emperor's imperial physician, and the Emperor had a very deep affection for him. If it weren't for that, the Emperor wouldn't have sent Mingxiu, who had always been by his side, to Tianyin Temple to keep vigil for Imperial Physician He for a year.
From his perspective, this was a great favor from Xiao Qing to He Shu.
He was just worried that their emperor would be too heartbroken and harm his health.
Sure enough, after returning to Chengde Palace, Xiao Qing was still clearly not in a good mood.
Zhao Youchen watched her casually flip through the books on the bookshelf, taking out a book, glancing at it briefly, then putting it back and looking for the next one.
This clearly shows that the reader wasn't really engaged in reading the book.
Ma Hong frowned with worry, wanting to go in and persuade him, but when he reached the door, he stepped back.
He's followed His Majesty's temperament for so many years, he knows it pretty well.
Your Majesty is kind-hearted and considerate of others. You seem gentle, but you can be stubborn at times. Once you get stuck on a problem, it's hard to get out of it.
At this point, the more you try to persuade him, the less effective it will be; His Majesty must figure it out himself.
In the past two days, he had clearly seen that although His Majesty was saddened by Physician He's matter, he felt that something was not quite right.
For example, what does the death of Physician He have to do with the Grand Tutor? But His Majesty's attitude towards the Grand Tutor has been rather strange these past two days.
Well, although he was polite, he seemed a bit... distant?
While they were struggling and distressed outside the door, Xiao Qing repeated the same actions in front of the bookshelf.
During this time, Ma Hong asked about the meal three times, but Xiao Qing didn't really want to eat and refused.
Finally, Zhao Youchen couldn't stand it anymore and, together with Ma Hong, came to persuade Xiao Qingcai. Xiao Qingcai nodded slightly and said, "Then let's eat together."
As the meal was served, Xiao Qing couldn't help but think of the times she and Mingxiu had dined together when they were alone.
Although such occasions are rare, Mingxiu always adheres to etiquette and refuses to sit at the table. However, she can't resist Xiao Qing's entreaties, and she is both annoyed and amused each time, so she reluctantly eats with him.
Zhao Youchen sat to the left of Xiao Qing, while Ma Hong stood beside him; he dared not sit down.
Xiao Qing stopped using her chopsticks, so Ma Hong glanced at Zhao Youchen.
Zhao Youchen, who was sitting beside him, said softly, "Your Majesty?"
Xiao Qing didn't really have much of an appetite, but if she didn't eat, Zhao Youchen probably wouldn't either, so she forced a smile and said, "It's okay, eat."
Seeing that she had started eating, Zhao Youchen, after taking a few bites and fearing that she might be thinking about sad things again, asked, "The winter hunt is just around the corner. Does Your Majesty have any plans? I'd like to make arrangements in advance."
Xiao Qing started thinking.
Although Mingxiu would be away from her for a long time, things still needed to be done, and life had to go on day by day.
"Let's proceed as usual." Xiao Qing paused. "This time there are more women, and most of them are probably not skilled in riding and archery, so we need to strengthen defenses outside the hunting grounds."
Zhao Youchen nodded; he had already thought all of these things through. But seeing Xiao Qing say such things made him feel somewhat relieved.
Xiao Qing perked up and said, "You still need to discuss the specifics with the Grand Tutor."
The two exchanged a few more words when someone came to report that Prince Yan had arrived.
Ma Hong was secretly delighted.
Recently, His Majesty and Prince Yan have grown closer. His Majesty is in a bad mood right now, and Prince Yan might be able to keep him company and cheer him up.
Ma Hong went to invite him, and Zhao Youchen got up to wait.
A short while later, Prince Yan entered.
He was holding a small child who seemed to have lost some weight.
Zhao Youchen bowed respectfully, and Xiao Yan responded in kind.
Xiao Qing smiled and said, "You've come at the perfect time, let's use them together."
Xiao Yan smiled and took his seat, followed by Zhao Youchen.
Ma Hong quickly added bowls and chopsticks and took Xiao Xiao over.
Xiao Yan stepped aside and turned to look at Xiao Qing. "Your Majesty, I have come here today with a request."
"Go ahead," Xiao Qing said, looking at him.
"Your Majesty, I said that if I have offended you, please do not blame me." Xiao Yan stroked the little one in his arms with a look of doting affection.
Xiao Qing glanced at Xiao Xiao, "Speak."
Xiao Yan nodded and said, "Xiao Xiao is really too lonely. I had wanted to reunite Xiao Xiao with its two brothers before. But later... I realized that it was indeed inappropriate to make this request at this time, but if they have no one to take care of them..."
Ma Hong paused, then involuntarily glanced furtively at Xiao Qing.
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