Chapter 22 Undercurrent "I'm much better now. Thank you for staying with me for so long. ...
Yu Qing was in the courtyard, holding a white jade flute in his hand.
This was the first time she played the flute given to her by Concubine Rong. It was indeed as Qingjia said, a treasured masterpiece. The sound of the flute was flawless, like the cry of a phoenix.
But she didn't know many songs. She had almost played all the familiar ones one by one, and the rest were only vaguely completed by memory.
Yu Lang taught her to play the flute. When she was a child, she accidentally fell from the stone platform where she practiced martial arts, injured her leg, and scratched her hand. She cried and made a fuss at night. Her mother didn't know nursery rhymes, so Yu Lang especially spoiled his sister and played the flute to put her to sleep.
Later, Yu Lang made her a purple bamboo flute. With age, it had become old and cracked, and the pitch was no longer accurate. When she played songs from the frontier, it seemed to melt into the wind and sand of the northern desert, a very bleak feeling.
Because of his childhood memories, Yu Qing felt that this method might work. Perhaps the sound of the flute could relieve the princess for a while and help her fall asleep earlier.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Someone called her. Yu Qing put down the flute and turned around, only to see that it was the princess's maid.
"Your Highness invites you over."
The bitter aroma of medicine still filled the princess's bedroom, stronger than during the day.
Yu Qing discovered that the princess was not lying down, but was leaning against the head of the bed in her pajamas, looking at him quietly.
"Your Highness?"
Qingjia said, "You were playing the flute just now."
Yu Qing wanted to coax the princess to sleep, but she was not asleep yet. She couldn't help but say awkwardly, "Did I disturb Your Highness? I was just trying to make you feel better..."
In fact, she deliberately kept a distance so that the sound would not be too loud.
Qing Jia shook her head, her expression changing light and dark under the dim light. She said slowly, "Didn't the Prince Consort say that you can't play the flute?"
"Um?"
Yu Qing was puzzled for a moment before he remembered.
When she got Rong Fei's flute, she wanted to leave her biological mother's things in the hands of the princess and let her keep them, so she declined.
She had forgotten about it long ago, and didn't want the princess to remember her excuse, so she said sheepishly, "I only know a little bit, and it's not very nice."
The princess whispered, "Who said that? I think every tune is good. How come you play it so beautifully?"
Yu Qing said, "It's because the flute has a good tone. If Your Highness likes it, I will continue to play it for you."
Qingjia recognized the flute in Yu Qing's hand, was silent for a moment, then looked up and smiled at Yu Qing.
"It's too late tonight. Don't you want to go to Tanyin Temple tomorrow? Go to bed early. You've had a tiring day. Play for me again next time," said the princess. "I'm much better now. Thank you for staying with me for so long."
*
On the second day, Yu Qing took the scriptures and rode quickly to Tanyin Temple to meet Monk Anren again.
"Last time you said that I was born with bad luck and would bring disaster to the princess. Was that something you made up, or was it true?" she asked doubtfully.
The princess's sudden illness made Yu Qing feel uneasy. When he saw Anren at this moment, he subconsciously remembered his assertion last time.
An Ren wondered, "Wasn't that something we had planned with you guys beforehand?"
Yu Qing: "...The princess just fell ill. I always feel it's too coincidental."
An Ren laughed and said, "You're just too concerned. You're frightened by something that didn't even exist."
Yu Qing said, "Can you tell Qingjia's fortune? Will she live to be a hundred years old?"
"I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know about these things. Didn't the Imperial Astronomical Observatory say that your horoscopes are compatible and your marriage is predestined? I'm sure they wouldn't say that," An Ren said leisurely. "I don't know anything else, but it seems like you've fallen in love. If that's the case, why hide it from your wife? I thought you two were having trouble."
It’s hard to explain to outsiders.
Yu Qing thought helplessly, if the Imperial Astronomical Observatory was really good at fortune-telling, how could it have predicted the marriage between her and Qingjia? It was probably unreliable.
She burned the copied scriptures before the Buddha, silently praying in her heart. She had originally copied the scriptures in a pretense, but now she really hoped that it would eliminate the disaster and illness for Qingjia.
Flipping through the papers, Yu Qing found a few pages of beautiful handwriting that did not belong to her, and remembered the time when Qingjia came by by chance and helped her copy it.
She couldn't bear to burn them for a moment, so she put the pages away and put them in her arms, silently saying to the Buddha that she was disrespectful and that she would not offer these pages for the time being and would complete them later.
Two days later, Yu Qing's rest ended and she went to court to meet the emperor for the first time since her marriage.
She hadn't received her official position yet, and she had no part in the discussion. She was completely preoccupied with the princess, standing there, not listening at all. After the court was dismissed, many officials came over to try to get close to her and congratulate her, but Prince Yu would just say a few perfunctory words and quickly walk away.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
Yu Qing was almost at his carriage when he heard a familiar voice. He turned around and found it was Crown Prince Xie Tingxuan.
It would be fine for others, but it was not right for the Crown Prince to pretend he didn't see it, so Yu Qing could only bow and say, "Your Highness."
"The Crown Prince's holiday is finally over. I was thinking of visiting him at his residence, but I just couldn't find the time. How have you been lately?"
Yu Qing said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. How dare you trouble me to come to my house? If Your Highness misses Qingjia, I will bring her to see you another day."
Xie Tingxuan paused. He didn’t care much about whether Qing Jia was good or not. He was mainly doing it for Yu Qing.
"Haha, today is worse than tomorrow. I happen to be free today, so I wanted to invite some people over for tea and a chat. Would you like to come over, Prince?"
Yu Qing had no interest at all. If it were usual, he would have gone to give the prince face, but he really had no free time these two days.
She declined politely, "I'm afraid I can't go today, and that would be a shame to Your Highness. I must return home early to accompany the princess."
"Oh?" Xie Tingxuan smiled curiously. "I often hear about newlyweds, but I've never heard of them being inseparable for even half a day. How could the prince and Qingjia be so harmonious?"
Yu Qing shook her head: "Actually, the princess just had a serious illness and hasn't recovered yet."
The prince asked in surprise, "She's sick? What's wrong? Can we call a doctor?"
Yu Qing said, "Well, Imperial Physician Sun has been taking care of me at the Marquis' residence these past few days. But he doesn't have any good prescriptions, since this is a chronic illness that's been going on for over ten years."
Xie Tingxuan looked bewildered: "...old illness? You mean..."
Seeing him like this, Yu Qing understood. Perhaps the Crown Prince had no idea and had never paid any attention to his younger sister, Qingjia. It was said that Qingjia was the Queen's adopted daughter, but she never imagined that the Crown Prince had no sibling affection for her at all.
"I was born with this weakness, and every time it strikes I suffer unbearably, so I am worried."
"Oh, that's true..." The prince pondered for a moment, and at this moment it was not appropriate to force the invitation, so he said, "This disease is very difficult to treat. I have some rare medicinal herbs that can warm and replenish vital energy. I will send them to the Marquis' Mansion."
Yu Qing said: "Thank you, Your Highness. I will take my leave now."
*
Xie Tingxuan's face darkened slightly. He had made full preparations to have a chat with Yu Qing, but Yu Qing showed no sign of taking the initiative.
After returning to the East Palace, he couldn't help but feel even more annoyed when he heard reports about the He family and the fifth prince.
The tea poured by the servant was a little hot. Xie Tingxuan frowned and gave him a beating directly.
The Crown Princess asked, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?"
Xie Tingxuan said, "I think the Golden Feather Guard will fall into the hands of the He family."
The Crown Princess: "Hmm? Prince Yu doesn't plan to join forces with His Highness? Didn't the Queen Mother already look for the Seventh Princess?"
"Who knows," Xie Tingxuan said, "Yu Qing said today that Qingjia was sick and returned home early. I don't know if it's true or just an excuse."
The Crown Princess also frowned. "The Seventh Princess and we have never been on the same page. It's hard for our mother to raise her for so many years. She is the daughter of Concubine Rong. Not only will she try her best to help Your Highness, she might even try to get in the way. It would have been better to introduce Xin'er to the Crown Prince. Xin'er is much smarter..."
The Crown Prince said, "What do you know? Father wanted to recall Yu Qing, but Mother was just taking advantage of the situation. It's not appropriate to mention anyone other than Qing Jia. Qing Jia is still a princess, and to grant her a marriage, Yu Qing's return would be justified, and Father would feel at ease. If we had mentioned Xin'er's name directly, wouldn't that have aroused Father's suspicion?"
"..." The Crown Princess sighed, "But the Seventh Princess's marriage is useless. I just want to share His Highness's worries..."
"Forget it, let's wait a few days and see." said the prince.
*
"The prince consort is here."
Didn’t you go to court today? Why are you back so early?
Xie Jing was muttering to himself when Yu Qing pushed the door open and walked in.
Xie Jing struggled to stand up and looked up to find that the man was still wearing a red court robe. On the front of the robe was an embroidered animal pattern representing a military commander, and he wore a black and gold waist belt. He looked extremely noble and neat, and his face looked like a beautiful jade.
"Your Highness is awake now. Are you feeling better today?" Yu Qing walked over quickly.
“…”
Xie Jing felt complicated for a moment.
...He had been ill for several days, his life was disorganized and he had no time to take care of his appearance. If Yu Qing stood in the middle of the room so radiantly, wouldn't he look even more haggard?
"...It's OK," Yu Qing heard Qing Jia say gloomily, "Why did the Prince Consort come back so early?"
"I have nothing to do at court, so I'll go home early." Yu Qing knew from her voice that she was still not feeling much better, so he asked, "Have you taken the medicine? Is it still painful? Can you eat something today?"
Xie Jing actually still found it difficult to swallow, so he only took a few bites of the light porridge and vegetables.
"I ran into His Royal Highness the Crown Prince today after leaving court," Yu Qing said. "He heard you were ill and he missed you so much he even sent some medicine."
Although she knew that the prince was just being polite, he was still Qingjia's relative. If there wasn't even someone who cared about her, she would be disappointed. Yu Qing said this just to comfort Qingjia.
Xie Jing's heart sank when he heard this. He remembered the Queen's previous instructions and knew that the Prince still intended to win over Yu Qing.
"What else did Brother Crown Prince say?"
"Nothing much. I came back early and didn't talk much."
"Hmm." Xie Jing was skeptical.
He wasn't worried about Yu Qing, but Xie Tingxuan. If she were to get involved with him, it would only harm Yu Qing. He wondered if Xie Tingxuan would have any other dirty tricks up his sleeve.
He forced himself to stay awake and talked to Yu Qing for a while. As soon as Yu Qing left, Xie Jing fell back on the bed and rubbed his eyebrows.
Yu Qing has a clean record and a promising future; Xie Tingxuan cannot be allowed to get his hands on him. However, as a military commander, he's probably unfamiliar with the complexities of scheming and might be deceived. I'll have to find a way to warn him about the Crown Prince.
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