When Li Hua saw her smile, the redness from the roots of his ears spread all the way to his neck. He turned his head to look out the window to avoid her gaze, trying several times to look away, but in the end he did not move away from the shoulder that Gan Qiongying was leaning on. The two remained silent the whole way.
Finally back at her residence, Gan Qiongying was starving. She hadn't been able to eat well at Li Hua's residence, and she still preferred Princess Duanrong's extravagant lifestyle.
Soon, the maidservants prepared a large table of delicious food and drinks.
Li Hua seemed to have a good appetite and even ate the food she put on his plate. The atmosphere was so harmonious that it was unprecedented. Gan Qiongying thought that she should try harder... Even if she couldn't win over the God of Wealth to her side in one fell swoop, it would be good if they could at least get along harmoniously.
Unexpectedly, a maid rushed into the courtyard during the banquet, looking flustered and stumbling.
"Princess!" The maid, Gan Qiongying, was unfamiliar to her. She knelt down and kowtowed, her voice trembling slightly. "General Qu has suddenly fallen ill with a terrible disease. He has been suffering from severe abdominal pain and just vomited blood and fainted!"
"Oh dear!" Gan Qiongying immediately jumped up, shaking her dress, the scalding soup staining the light-colored fabric dark.
"This servant deserves to die!" The usually composed Yin Yue's hands trembled, and she lost her balance, dropping the bowl of soup onto the table. The soup spilled down the table and onto Gan Qiongying.
Gan Qiongying frowned and waved her hand, enduring the heat. She pulled up her clothes and looked down at the unfamiliar maid.
After thinking for a moment, I remembered who this young general was.
No wonder this maid looked unfamiliar; she was the one who served those male concubines in the backyard, whom she had almost forgotten.
"Has the imperial physician been there?" Gan Qiongying asked in a deep voice.
"I saw the royal physician a long time ago, but his condition has not improved over the past few days. Today, he is vomiting blood non-stop, which is why I had to come and inform the princess!" The maid seemed to be on the verge of tears, whether from fear or worry, it was hard to tell.
Yinyue was still kneeling to the side, her head kowtowed tightly to the ground, but she remembered every word the maid had said.
"Yinyue should go and invite the imperial physician to the residence. It would be faster to have Chenwa send someone to the Imperial Hospital to pick up the person."
Although Gan Qiongying had never met her so-called male lovers, human life was at stake, and vomiting blood was a fatal matter. She wanted to get rid of those male lovers, but she never thought of killing them.
"Would the princess like to go and take a look?" Manyue took a handkerchief, knelt down and wiped the soup in front of Gan Qiongying. She glanced at the prince consort who was still eating slowly and said in a low voice, "General Qu is stubborn. The princess should take a look herself."
Full Moon always puts Gan Qiongying first in everything. This young general Qu has been cold to the princess ever since he entered the manor. This time, his sudden illness is the perfect opportunity for the princess to show her favor.
Once the illness is cured, are you afraid that the stubborn little general won't soften up?
However, the phrase "full moon" stirred up a hornet's nest.
Li Hua suddenly stood up, staring at the food in front of him, his voice trembling, "Since Your Highness is busy, then I shall take my leave!"
Gan Qiongying felt a sudden jolt in her heart.
Why are they suddenly calling themselves subjects?!
Li Hua didn't even glance at Gan Qiongying. After finishing speaking, he turned and left. Gan Qiongying immediately got up to pull him away, but he violently shook her off!
His gaze as he turned back to Gan Qiongying was sharp and filled with humiliation and disgust, just as it had been when Gan Qiongying first met him.
Gan Qiongying was momentarily stunned and stood there frozen in place.
After a moment of distraction, when he tried to chase after her to say something, Li Hua had already disappeared!
Why can a cripple run so fast?
Gan Qiongying was on the verge of tears. Was this what it meant for the farm to have worked so hard for thirty years, only to be back to square one?
Gan Qiongying turned around and glared at Manyue. Manyue realized she had said the wrong thing and begged for forgiveness in a low voice.
But this is not her fault. She had served Duanrong since childhood, and like master, servant. She was used to being arrogant. Princess Duanrong had never considered the wishes of others when she acted.
These past few days, she had been exceptionally kind to the prince consort, yet he still got jealous and gave her attitude. Manyue felt that the prince consort was ungrateful!
However, seeing that the princess was very interested in the prince consort, he didn't say anything.
"You'd better watch your words in front of the Prince Consort in the future." Gan Qiongying pinched her brow, intending to let Li Hua calm down first before trying to coax her.
However, his jealous behavior surprised Gan Qiongying.
"Would the princess like to go see General Qu?" Manyue asked cautiously.
Gan Qiongying glanced at the moon gate connecting the main courtyard to the side courtyard, pondered for a moment, and said, "Help me go take a look."
After all, the lives of these male concubines are also lives.
Li Hua hadn't actually gone very far. As dusk settled, he hid behind a low tree behind the moon gate.
As long as Gan Qiongying chases after him and crosses the threshold, she can easily catch him.
But she didn't come.
He witnessed firsthand how anxious Gan Qiongying was to send someone to the palace to fetch the imperial physician. Was she really that concerned about that male favorite?
In fact, Li Hua knew General Qu. There were few people in Yindu who didn't know the Qu family. The story of Princess Duanrong bringing the son of a disgraced official into her household was widely circulated.
Li Hua had also seen General Qu from afar before his family fell into ruin; he was a spirited and handsome young man.
Li Hua stood by the small tree for a long time, watching Gan Qiongying being helped by her maid. She didn't even have time to change her clothes, which were stained with vegetable soup, and she had only eaten half of her meal before she rushed off to see the young man.
It was completely dark, and not all the lights in the courtyard were on yet; the darkness chilled people's hearts.
Li Hua stood under the shade of a tree, the shadow of which seemed to trap him like a cage. He raised his hand and broke off a branch, pointing the sharp end at his palm. Only when blood flowed did he seem to feel the pain.
Who is this for, and who can even see it?
The attendants beside him dared not utter a sound, nor could they clearly see their master's actions, but they could vaguely make out that he seemed to be smiling.
Li Hua did indeed smile.
But it wasn't out of joy, it was out of self-deprecation.
He thought of Princess Duanrong, who had more than a hundred princes gathered from all over the world, and what was he compared to her?
Her radiant smile has graced countless people, and her tender words have been spoken to countless others; she is naturally adept at navigating among them.
Thinking about the various reactions and thoughts he had just had in the carriage that were not his own, he felt only pathetic and ridiculous.
"Thirty-nine." Li Hua only stepped out of the shade of the tree when her legs and feet were numb and the leg that had been injured since childhood was in particular pain.
"Find a courtyard that is far away from the main courtyard and clean it up."
Sanjiu immediately understood his master's intention. He had always felt that they should stay far away from Princess Duanrong! If Princess Duanrong hadn't practically forced them to come, they wouldn't have come to the princess's residence!
Sanjiu led his servants to the villa immediately. It was a long way away. He had seen it before when he sneaked in to familiarize himself with the terrain.
Gan Qiongying was unaware that in the blink of an eye, a fire had broken out in her backyard.
She glanced at General Qu hastily; the boy's thin, stubborn features were half-hidden under the covers. She didn't go closer to look, after all, she really wasn't interested in women.
After confirming with the imperial physician that he was not in mortal danger, she left Yinyue and two maids there to watch over him before returning to her own courtyard.
Then she realized that things were really serious.
The prince consort wants to separate from her!
People are practically moving to the main gate of the Princess's residence!
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