Chapter 20 The Prince Who Failed to Revolt
Zhang Xiaojia deliberately postponed cleaning until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Aside from the daily cleaning of their bedroom, she hadn't even begun to clean the courtyard or the interior of the front hall. She secretly hoped that Imperial Physician Hu would bring eunuchs and palace maids with him this time. She hoped the emperor would be merciful and send someone to take care of things. Otherwise, she would complain when her aunt woke up.
When Zhang Xiaojia finally saw the arrival of Imperial Physician Hu, she couldn't help but burst into laughter when she saw the palace maids and eunuchs following behind him. She felt like she had seen her savior, and she almost cried. This meant that she no longer had to clean the house herself.
Bai Shao felt so distressed when she saw the county princess holding a broom. When had her county princess ever suffered such hardship? Your Majesty is too cruel. When Concubine Chen wakes up, she will definitely beat Your Majesty.
Bai Shao was meticulously combing the county lady's hair, while Zhang Xiaojia stared at herself in the bronze mirror, her comb seemingly unable to straighten her hair. "County lady, Young Master Zhang ordered me to bring you the scar-removing elixir, but I politely declined," Bai Shao reported softly.
"Well done, Bai Shao." The county lady's tone was full of praise. "My father is a great scholar who adheres to tradition, while the emperor advocates reform. My relatives are the prince, my aunt, and His Majesty. The rest of you must retreat. I have been here for nearly two months. If the Zhang family was truly sincere, they should have sent someone to visit us long ago. But no one has shown any interest in us. I can neither understand the Three Obediences and Four Virtues nor am I willing to experience them."
"County Lady, I have followed your orders and sent guards to set off from Quanzhou, passing through Guangzhou, Champa, Brunei and other places, and finally to Mayi. I also specially arranged for the deputy envoy of the Maritime Customs to accompany you on this trip. Guard Lu replied that it is expected to take half a year to return." Bai Shao reported the itinerary.
Zhang Xiaojia smiled when she heard this: "When Guard Lu returns, it will be time for you to marry him."
Bai Shao's cheeks flushed instantly when she heard this: "County Lady, how...how did you know this?"
Zhang Xiaojia spoke gently, following the original owner's memories and arrangements, "Bai Shao, you and I have been together since childhood, and your marriage has always been on my mind. Most noble women in this dynasty marry at eighteen, while commoners marry a little earlier, at sixteen or seventeen. If it weren't for my duties guarding the imperial mausoleum, I would have planned to arrange your marriage before you turned eighteen, but now I have to postpone it. However, I cancelled your indenture when you were fifteen, and you were freed from slavery three years ago."
Bai Shao's eyes were slightly red: "County Master..."
Zhang Xiaojia continued, "Would you be willing to enter the palace and serve as a female official in the backyard?"
After hearing this, Bai Shao smiled through her tears: "County Lady, I do, I do!"
When Imperial Physician Hu was examining Prince Jing, Prince Jing opened his eyes. Imperial Physician Hu wanted to shout, but was stopped by He Fei. He couldn't show off after he woke up.
Zhang Xiaojia had already approved the medicinal materials for his aunt. Imperial Physician Hu originally had some prescriptions he wanted to discuss with Zhang Xiaojia, but when the prince woke up, he had to go back to report to His Majesty and give the medicine to Concubine Chen.
As the saying goes, one comes and goes in a hurry. Zhang Xiaojia was a little surprised that Imperial Physician Hu didn't discuss the illness with her and was about to leave. She saw that the palace maids and eunuchs had already cleaned the entire hall, and watched them leave.
Zhang Xiaojia firmly opposed He Fei's request to stand up and walk after being in a coma for two months: "He Fei, listen carefully. The cause of your illness has caused the structure and functional activities of the higher nervous centers to be severely and widely suppressed. Even if I give you massage and acupuncture every day, as long as your muscle strength and balance ability are fully recovered, you can gradually try to walk under my guidance and command."
"Okay, I understand, my dear wife." He Fei replied.
After He Fei came to his senses, he directly hacked into the Rebirth Group's system and changed all the system monitoring screens of the Queen to screens of Jia Jia working hard.
After He Fei woke up, he used his technical skills to directly hack into the rebirth group's system and quietly replaced the original monitoring footage of the queen with a scene of Zhang Xiaojia working hard.
Meanwhile, Imperial Physician Hu rode a fast horse, anxiously rushing to the palace. Fortunately, the palace gates were still open, and he finally arrived in time. Seeing Imperial Physician Hu's hurried demeanor, the emperor felt a sense of foreboding and wondered if Xiaofei and Xiaojia were alright.
"Your Majesty, great joy! Prince Jing has regained consciousness and is no longer in danger. The County Lady has also prepared all the medicine for Her Majesty the Dowager Concubine Chen." Imperial Physician Hu's voice was filled with excitement.
Upon hearing this, the emperor's frayed nerves finally relaxed, a smile of relief breaking across his face. He knew full well the depth of Yao's sorcery, and had therefore been wary of taking action against her. After all, his mother and brother's lives were in her hands. Now that Xiaofei had awakened and his mother was nearing recovery, he secretly planned to eliminate this threatening figure as soon as possible. Yao was ambitious and difficult to control, and what further frightened him was that the Minister of War and Virtue even intended to send her to the northern army to protect the soldiers. He feared Yao would seize the opportunity to incite rebellion.
"Really? Are they all okay?" the emperor confirmed again, his tone showing concern.
"It is absolutely true, Your Majesty. Prince Jing only needs to rest in bed for about ten more days, and then he will be able to walk freely without any problems." Imperial Physician Hu replied respectfully.
"Go to my mother quickly and heal her."
The Wude Sishi has gone to the imperial mausoleum. When he returns tomorrow, he will know about Xiaofei's situation. The emperor thought about it. If his mother wakes up and knows that Xiaojia is guarding the imperial mausoleum, she will make a fuss. The king never jokes. It was a punishment for his younger brother. He can ask Xiaojia to come back to accompany his mother and arrange someone to tell the Wude Sishi.
——
Zhang Xiaojia pushed He Fei to welcome the second uncle to come for inspection. The second uncle was too lazy to look at it. It would be strange if he didn't help with the arrival of a group of palace maids and eunuchs yesterday. Forget it, a new emperor appoints new ministers. This person is the emperor's man. He took a look at the Buddhist scriptures and found that the handwriting was really good. Even though it was written in the official style, it still had its own style.
"Farewell, Second Uncle."
At this moment, Wude Sishi suddenly noticed that He Fei opened his eyes. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but his face remained calm.
He Fei said, "Tell my brother that I'm fine now and you can leave."
The Wudeshi Envoy respectfully conveyed the Emperor's oral instructions: "Your Majesty has ordered that if the Empress Dowager Chen does not see the Princess Lin'an after she wakes up, she will feel unwell. I hereby order the Princess Lin'an to return to the capital as soon as the Empress Dowager Chen wakes up."
He Fei's face darkened instantly when he heard this: "Why is this happening?"
Then, he asked unwillingly, "What about this king?"
The envoy of Wude replied expressionlessly, "Guarding the imperial mausoleum, your Majesty, is not joking."
"It's so hard here, do you still want the princess to suffer here? You have to be considerate of the princess and not monopolize the Lin'an County Master. The Concubine Chen needs the Lin'an County Master more than you do. As a son, you have to be filial to the Concubine Chen."
He Fei said with a dark face: "Get out of here!"
Zhang Xiaojia said softly, "When my aunt wakes up, I will go back to see her. You go back and tell my brother."
"I'll take my leave."
He Fei felt extremely wronged. It was clearly agreed that Jia Jia would stay with him throughout this life, but now she was going to take Jia Jia away in just two months. Was this a lie?
"Don't worry, I'll go check on my mother and ask Susie how she's doing after the massage. I'll be back soon. I'll always be with you, Brother He."
The antidote Zhang Xiaojia gave to his aunt would wake her up in just ten days, just like when Concubine Chen woke up.
The Emperor immediately went to the Wudesi dungeon. He looked at the Empress and asked in a cold voice, "Five years ago, you saved me. I gave you the throne and made you the mother of the country. I thought I was quite kind to you. You have too many secrets, and I have no way to control them. Do you have any last wishes? If it's not too much, I will grant you your wish."
Yao Wanqing: "You want to kill me, don't you care about the life and death of your mother and your brother? Is it really like Zhang Xiaojia said, you also like her, the position of Shufei is for her?"
"Before he was five years old, Lin'an called me Daddy."
"Please, His Majesty, spare the Yao family. I will meet Zhang Xiaojia."
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