Twins
Qingping saw no downside to marrying the Crown Prince. He seemed good-tempered, the Empress would like her, and she would escape her slavery and ascend to the throne, where no one could bully her. But her instincts told her that things weren't quite so simple. A good thing was a good thing, but why would such a good thing happen to her? There were so many noble ladies in the family, and the Crown Prince's harem was filled with distinguished ladies. Why did the Empress choose her as his concubine?
She said everything depended on the Queen's orders and she would wait and see what happened.
The queen did not act on impulse, but began to create opportunities for her and the prince to spend time together.
The spring rain fell gently on the bluestone pavement of the Eastern Palace. She carried a pot of flowers in one hand and an umbrella in the other as she struggled to deliver the items to the Eastern Palace. Liang Yuan, the eunuch beside the Crown Prince, had become familiar with her face over the past few days. When he saw Qingping approaching, he hurriedly stepped forward with an umbrella.
"Miss Qingping, hey, hey, hey, why is it raining so hard now? Put it down quickly and take care of the wound carefully."
Qingping placed the flowers at the door and folded her umbrella. "The Queen said this pot of crabapples blossomed with twin branches yesterday, which is a good omen. She asked me to bring it to Your Highness and place it in the room."
She shook her arm, feeling a little sore, and said to Liang Yuan, "Thanks to your medicine, I'm almost healed. It would be good to walk around more now."
Liang Yuan saw her wearing a pink dress, soaked by the rain. Fine raindrops coated her jet-black hair and delicate, snow-white skin, making her look like a red plum soaked in water, icy pink. She must have been so preoccupied with the flowers that she hadn't paid any attention to herself.
He handed her a handkerchief and wiped the water off her sleeves. "Wipe it off quickly. If you catch a cold again, you'll get a new illness before your old one heals."
"Thank you, Eunuch Liang." Qingping was no stranger. Ever since she'd been beaten, it was Liang Yuan who had sent her home. Later, when they met on the road, Liang Yuan had furtively slipped her medicine, several bottles already empty. To show his gratitude, she often made small gifts for Liang Yuan—food, clothing, and accessories. She had a good impression of the eunuch. The people of the Eastern Palace, like the Crown Prince, were kind and friendly, so she was happy to come here on business.
"This flower is a newly planted seed. It needs to be placed in a cold room, watered once in the morning and once in the evening. Half a bucket of water is enough. Too much will drown the roots." After giving these instructions, she said a few more words, "Then I will be leaving. Eunuch, please move the things in quickly."
Liang Yuan nodded. Just as he was about to see her off, he saw the prince dismount and walk out the door. He was very surprised to see Qingping. "It's you? Are you almost healed?"
"Thanks to your highness, I am now fully recovered."
Liang Yuan held up his umbrella while taking Liu Ju's cloak and whip. When Liu Che reached the eaves, he glanced at Qing Ping and said, "The umbrella in your hand is useless. Don't leave in a hurry. I'll ask someone to bring you some clean clothes and a cup of hot tea before you leave."
Qingping hesitated, and Liu Ju joked, "You said before that you would repay me in the next life. Let alone the next life, I don't think you can do me any good in this life."
"No, Your Highness." Qingping didn't know what to say. Liu Ju saw her face flushed red, and as he walked into the inner room, he turned back to look at her and said, "Come in."
Qingping glanced at Liang Yuan, who whispered, "Go, go."
She followed Liu Ju into the room tremblingly, and saw Liu Ju standing with his hands behind his back in front of the table by the window. He was looking at the pot of crabapple flowers on the windowsill that had begun to wither.
"Look, is the crabapple blossoming well?"
"It's a very rare variety. If you take good care of it, it can bloom for another three or two days."
"How do you like it?"
She didn't understand why. "This weeping crabapple is very beautiful."
"Then it's for you."
Qingping found the prince in front of her a bit baffling. Why would he give her a pot of flowers that were about to wither? She wasn't a flower lover. She grew flowers for the queen out of necessity; otherwise, she wouldn't bother caring for such a delicate and troublesome thing. So she declined, saying, "It's just that I don't really like crabapples. Your Highness, please give it to someone else."
"Didn't you say this flower is very valuable? It's a precious thing, why don't you want it?"
"Although it is precious, it is not what a mean person would love."
The prince smiled upon hearing this, his mood brightening slightly. "Then take this pot of flowers out and throw it away, and replace it with the one your mother sent you."
"Your Highness, it's not that you don't like it..." She wanted to say that there was no difference between the pot of flowers sent by the Queen and this one; the variety and posture were almost exactly the same.
"It's what the Queen Mother wants, so I can't refuse."
She nodded, thinking to herself, "Then I should just go find another palace maid. Just now they said her injury hadn't healed, and now they're asking her to move flowers. It's true that none of the people in the royal family are easy to serve."
"You haven't told your mother what I told you last time, right?" Liu Ju suddenly asked. She actually didn't know what he was talking about.
"No... no, Your Highness, don't worry. I haven't told anyone that Your Highness asked Liang Yuan to bring me medicine and to see the imperial physician."
Liu Ju chuckled softly. He handed Qingping a cup of tea and said, "I'm talking about the rabbit. I asked you to keep it a secret for me."
"I didn't say anything. I've been feeding the rabbits and even made a nest for them. Thanks to Your Highness, they've been eating well recently and have grown fat."
There was an unintentional coquettishness in her tone. The girl's skin was getting fatter and fatter. Without the exposure to the wind and sun, her face was whiter than before, and her cheeks had more flesh. When she spoke, her lips moved, which was very cute.
He seemed to see her squatting on the ground, her chin resting on her legs, caressing those plump white rabbits. He couldn't help but smile and said, "That's good. If you raise them well, you'll naturally get a reward."
"Your Highness, I don't need a reward. Your Highness saved my life, and this is what I should do."
Liu Ju listened to her polite words with a smile on his face. At this time, Liang Yuan walked in with a food box. He opened the box one by one, and found a row of exquisite snacks.
"Rice cakes, honey crystal cakes, beef steamed cakes, and apricot preserves!" Her eyes lit up like a happy bird.
"And sweet wine." Liu Ju poured her a glass of sweet wine and pushed it in front of her. "Eat it while it's hot. You still have to help me take care of those rabbits in the future."
"Don't worry, Your Highness. Leave it to me."
The honey crystal cake was fresh from the oven, its icy center still oozing. She tore open the crust, and the glistening sugary liquid dripped down onto the bamboo slips beside the table. Startled, she quickly poured the unfinished tea from the bowl onto her handkerchief, then spread out the bamboo slips to wipe it.
"Don't wipe it, that's the plan that His Highness wants to hand over to His Majesty..."
It was too late to stop him. Liang Yuan watched as the maid had already wiped the writing with her handkerchief and clapped his hands in frustration. "Your Highness has been writing all night."
"It won't rub off, eunuch, look." Qingping threw the handkerchief aside and held up the bamboo slips for Liang Yuan to see. "Your Highness uses Wuzhou ink, which is mixed with Liaotianbai. Writing with it won't get wet, and it won't rub off easily. It's very durable."
Liang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the bamboo slips were indeed spotless and as good as new. "It really is, Your Highness, look..."
Liang Yuan looked at Liu Ju, only to see him staring blankly at the woman with her back to him, smiling gently. His grin faltered for a moment. He also looked at Qingping, thinking that Qingping's good fortune was still to come. However, if she had a personality like hers, entering the Eastern Palace, he didn't know whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing...
Qingping came back a little late today. The Queen woke up from her nap and when she saw her, she couldn't help but ask, "Did the things arrive?"
She thought the Queen might want to ask her what had taken so long, so she said respectfully, "I've handed the things over to Eunuch Liang. Seeing the heavy rain, he invited me to have a cup of tea. If the Queen has any instructions, I'll do it right away."
The queen understood and just smiled: "I don't want you to do anything. I left some ginger tea for you. Drink it after you finish copying this scripture to ward off the cold."
Feeling the Queen's scrutiny, she remembered she'd forgotten to change her clothes. Feeling somewhat guilty, she excused herself and retreated to her inner chambers. Fortunately, the Queen didn't ask any further questions, as if the question she'd asked that day was genuinely a casual one. She couldn't help but feel thankful she hadn't said yes then, or else it would be so awkward now. How could the Queen of a kingdom consider a village girl like her as her daughter-in-law?
This spring rain lasted for a full half month, but the late spring chill hadn't subsided, and instead had intensified. The empress ordered new spring clothes to be made for them and gifted them with many pieces of jewelry. The mist was hazy, the grass was green as oil. Qingping returned from feeding the rabbits early in the morning to see Lingyue Shen giving her a mysterious look.
"why are you laughing?"
"There's good news."
"What good news?"
Ling Yue smiled and whispered in her ear, "The Queen is going to prepare your dowry."
She was surprised. "Who to marry?"
"Who else could it be? Naturally, it's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The position has been decided. With the Phoenix Seal and the Imperial Edict, you will be conferred the title of Liang Di."
"How is that possible?" Qingping had fed rabbits with that guy in the morning, and the other party hadn't revealed a word. How did it come to the stage of preparing a dowry?
Seeing her stunned expression, Ling Yue couldn't help but jokingly said, "The Queen has always favored you. We can all see that, so there's nothing to be surprised about. Just wait to enter the Eastern Palace as a noble lady. When you do, don't forget to support us."
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