Chapter 47
The board continued to fall, and Jiang Jiang could no longer count how many times it was.
Her vision began to blur and her ears began to ring.
Just as consciousness was about to fade away, a clear voice pierced the chaos.
"stop!!"
The sound was like the first ray of sunshine at dawn, and Jiang Jiang struggled to lift her heavy eyelids.
In the sight, a bright yellow figure was running hurriedly with her skirt lifted up. The golden hairpin in her hair swayed violently with her movements, drawing dazzling streams of light in the sunlight.
"Mother!" The little princess bit her lip, ran to Concubine Shu, grabbed her sleeve and shook her gently, "My daughter is used to being served by this servant, and she would feel uncomfortable if she were to change. How about you spare her life?"
Concubine Shu didn't say anything. Jiang Jiang then heard the little princess' forced calm and nonchalant voice, "She's nothing more than a dead thing. Mother is so favored, so father will definitely not care for Mother's sake! Anyway, my daughter is used to her, so Mother can just give her a small punishment or a big warning..."
The little princess's arrogant words drew a chuckle from Concubine Shu.
The little princess saw her mother smile, her eyes lit up, and then she started to act coquettishly.
The princess's voice gradually faded away. Jiang Jiang could no longer hold on and fell into endless darkness.
…
The severe pain woke Jiang Jiang from his coma.
She found herself lying face down on her bed in her own quarters, with a burning pain on her back.
The doctor was wiping her wound with a cotton cloth soaked in medicinal wine, and it felt hot with every touch.
"Hiss~" Jiang Jiang couldn't help but gasp, and the sound startled another person in the room.
"Awake?" A proud voice came from the window.
Jiang Jiang turned her head with difficulty and saw the little princess sitting at the sandalwood round table drinking tea.
The little princess was wearing a light yellow dress, her face was tense and she deliberately avoided looking over here.
Jiang Jiang's eyes were filled with tears, and she struggled to get up and salute, "Your servant, thank you, Princess, for saving my life..."
"Lie back!" the princess suddenly shouted, scaring the doctor so much that her hands trembled.
The little princess seemed to realize she was overreacting and turned her head away awkwardly, but her voice softened. "Anyway, I've said it before, I'm just used to you serving me. Besides, your explanation is much more interesting than the Master's. You've got to keep telling me while you're still alive!"
Jiang Jiang was stunned.
She saw that after the princess said this, the tips of her ears turned red and her fingers holding the teacup rubbed the rim of the cup nervously.
This was the little gesture the princess made when she was shy, and Jiang Jiang was very familiar with it.
"Yes, I will... do my best!" Jiang Jiang's voice choked, tears welling up in her eyes.
She knew that the princess was in no need of someone to tell stories to!
The Grand Tutor's knowledge was a thousand times better than hers, not to mention that there were thousands of palace ladies who could speak better than her, so she was simply insignificant.
The princess suddenly stood up and slammed the teacup onto the table. "Alright, take good care of yourself! Come and serve me as soon as you're well!"
After saying that, she hurried out. When she stepped over the threshold, she tripped over the hem of her skirt and almost fell.
"Princess!" Jiang Jiang subconsciously wanted to get up, but it pulled the wound and made her gasp in pain.
The princess ran away without looking back.
As the doctor continued applying the medicine, she whispered, "You're so lucky! Her Highness the Fifth Princess stayed by your side for an hour! She even specifically ordered the use of the best ointment!"
Jiang Jiang buried her face in the pillow, her eyes moist.
The wound on my back still hurts, but my heart feels like it’s warm.
She secretly swore in her heart that this life was given by the princess, and from now on, she must take extra care of the little princess!
After Jiang Jiang recovered from his injury, he served the little princess even more wholeheartedly.
She always got up before dawn, got ready early, and when it was time to get up, she personally helped the princess wash and change her clothes.
If the princess kicked the quilt at night, she would carefully tuck it back in.
As the days passed, the little princess gradually grew taller and her round face revealed the outline of a young girl.
In the spring when the little princess was ten years old, Concubine Shu became pregnant again.
This news caused an uproar in the entire palace. The palace maids and eunuchs discussed privately that if it was a prince, Concubine Shu's status would be more stable and might even be improved, and they, the servants, would have an easier time in the palace!
"Jiang Jiang, my mother hasn't seen me for three days!" The little princess lay by the window, looking at the big tree in the yard.
Ever since Concubine Shu was diagnosed with pregnancy, she has stayed indoors on the pretext of taking care of the fetus, for fear that someone would harm the fetus in her womb.
Jiang Jiang was standing aside, making tea for the princess. Upon hearing this, she paused, "Your Majesty is being cautious. You're keeping the door closed because you're afraid someone might offend the little prince! Princess, don't overthink it. Once the baby is stable, you can see her!"
"Hmm..." The little princess turned her head and looked at Jiang Jiang who was making tea skillfully. She was silent for a while and suddenly said, "How do you know it's the little prince and not the little princess?"
Jiang Jiang thought the princess was still unhappy and was about to explain when she saw her lower her eyes and said in a surprisingly calm voice, "Mother needs a prince. With a prince, she will be more respectable in front of father, and we will have someone to rely on. So, let it continue to be the little prince!"
Jiang Jiang opened her mouth, but didn't know how to start.
The princess was only ten years old. What was she doing when she was ten?
It seems that I can help with the chores within my ability and also help take care of my younger brothers and sisters.
Despite this, at her age, she can act coquettishly in her mother's arms without restraint.
However, because of this cannibalistic harem, the ten-year-old princess could only use her reason to suppress her feelings of missing her mother.
She bent down, holding a cup of tea in her hands, and said, "Princess, once your pregnancy is stable, may I accompany you to pay my respects to you?"
The princess nodded, forcing a smile.
…
Concubine Shu was extremely cautious during her pregnancy.
She no longer stepped out of the bedroom. All food and drink entering the body had to go through three inspections, and even the incense was replaced with the mildest soothing incense.
Shu Fei was afraid of any accidents, so she even forgot to pay her respects to her own daughter.
This overprotection caused the princess to neglect herself even more.
Only after the imperial physician took the princess's pulse and said the fetus was stable did Concubine Shu agree to see the princess, but she was unwilling to let the princess get close.
The princess knew that her mother was afraid that she would be clumsy and that something might happen to her if she touched her.
Although she kept comforting herself that her mother had her reasons, she was still extremely lost.
When Concubine Shu was eight months pregnant, something unexpected happened.
That day, the princess had just finished school and walked to the palace gate when she saw that the palace servants inside were in chaos.
"What's going on?" Jiang Jiang grabbed a hurried palace maid and asked.
When the palace maid saw that it was the princess, she hurriedly paid her respects and explained the reason for the incident.
No matter how cautious Concubine Shu is, there are times when she lets her guard down.
Today, I was suddenly attacked by a villain and suddenly had a stomachache that wouldn't stop. I'm afraid I'm in premature labor.
The princess turned pale on the spot and ran to Concubine Shu's bedroom with her skirt lifted up. Jiang Jiang followed closely behind her, her heart pounding like a drum.
The screams of Concubine Shu came from the bedroom, heart-wrenching.
The princess wanted to rush in, but was stopped by the nanny. "The delivery room is filthy. The Fifth Princess is a royal princess, so she can't go in!"
"Then...then my mother, she..." Tears rolled down her cheeks unconsciously, the princess trembled all over, and could not speak clearly.
Jiang Jiang hugged her from behind and patted the princess's back in an inappropriate way.
The princess did not blame Jiang Jiang, but actually calmed down a little.
"Mother, what's going on now?" the princess asked anxiously.
The nanny shook her head and said that Concubine Shu was still in labor.
The production lasted a day and a night.
During this period, the emperor came to see once, waited for a while, and then left.
The only one who was always guarding the door was the princess, and Jiang Jiang was by her side.
The palace maids came in and out, their expressions becoming more and more solemn.
The last person to come out was the imperial physician. He arranged for someone to pass on the news to the emperor. Seeing the princess approach and bowing to pay her respects, he said in a heavy voice, "Princess, I am incompetent. The queen... has passed away, and the little prince in her womb could not be saved!"
The princess stood there, as if she didn't understand what was said.
She was just a ten-year-old child and had no idea about female childbirth.
But she still tried to understand, knowing that she might never see her mother again.
Jiang Jiang looked at her empty eyes and felt heartbroken.
Soon, the emperor rushed over and the imperial physician knelt on the ground to explain the situation.
There is indeed a little prince in Concubine Shu's belly.
The emperor was heartbroken. After all, it was one of his beloved concubines who had passed away, and he had also lost a prince.
He ordered someone to investigate what was going on. While he was arranging people, he saw the princess standing nearby.
He waved his hand and sent someone to take the princess back.
Jiang Jiang knelt down, then stood up and helped the princess away.
Along the way, the princess said nothing and looked lifeless, like an exquisite doll.
Jiang Jiang was a little scared. Even if the princess cried loudly, it would be better than looking lifeless like this.
Because he was too worried, Jiang Jiang specially replaced the person on night duty and stayed to keep watch for the princess personally. He didn't even dare to rest on the small couch outside the palace, but instead waited by the bed.
As the night deepened, the noisy sounds outside gradually subsided.
The princess then hugged the quilt and sobbed softly.
In this huge harem, she even cried carefully.
…
After finding out who had framed Concubine Shu, the emperor banished the culprit to the cold palace, posthumously conferred the title of noble concubine on Concubine Shu, and buried her with great honor in the imperial mausoleum.
But the emperor's heart is inherently cold.
The grief passed quickly.
Within seven days, palace maids saw the emperor listening to music and watching dance in Concubine Li's palace.
As for the little princess, he simply told the servants to take good care of her and then forgot about it.
She's just a princess, it doesn't matter.
The real blow came one after another.
When Shufei's father, the Minister of Works, heard that his beloved daughter had died, he fell ill.
This elderly minister was already frail and sickly, and the death of Concubine Shu left his family without any support in the harem.
After this blow, he fell ill and followed his daughter in less than a month.
The younger brother of Concubine Shu and the uncle of the princess was a mediocre man who got an eighth-rank sinecure thanks to his father's relationship with the Minister of Works. After his father and sister died, he had no foundation in the court and was quickly pushed to the margins.
In just a few months, the little princess went from being the center of attention to an orphan whom no one cared about.
The princess's palace became increasingly deserted, and the palace maids and eunuchs all looked for ways to be transferred elsewhere.
Only Jiang Jiang stayed by the princess' side, watching her become more silent day by day.
"Princess, please have some porridge at least." Jiang Jiang gently advised while holding the steaming hot chicken porridge.
Since the death of Concubine Shu, the little princess has become visibly thinner. Her originally round cheeks have become sunken, and her eyes appear bigger and emptier.
The princess shook her head and looked out the window.
Jiang Jiang followed her gaze and his heart trembled.
The flowers in the courtyard that were once the favorite of Concubine Shu died inexplicably because no one had taken care of them for several days.
…
Half a year later, the emperor promoted Lipin to a higher rank and she became the new Shufei.
It's not just because Concubine Li is good at dealing with people and is very popular with the emperor.
More importantly, her third prince just turned nine this year. He is smart and clever and will please the emperor.
"I heard that the former Concubine Shu was gentle and elegant, and was once a famous talented woman in the whole capital. The current Concubine Shu is a bit..."
The new Concubine Shu did not come from a good family. She was just the daughter of a minor official and had climbed up step by step. Compared with the previous Concubine Shu, she was petty and had a bad temper.
The previous Concubine Shu had just passed away, and the new Concubine Shu was appointed only half a year ago, which led to the palace people often comparing the two Concubines.
As a result, these gossips often reached the ears of the third prince.
Every time he heard it, he would frown and throw the items in his bedroom to the ground.
Finally one day, the third prince met the princess in the imperial garden.
Jiang Jiang immediately realized something was wrong. The third prince looked at the princess as if he was an enemy.
In the past six months, due to the death of her mother, the decline of her mother's family, and the neglect of the emperor, the princess has been in a daze and depressed all day long.
Jiang Jiang wanted to make the princess happy, so she specifically said that the plum blossoms were in full bloom in the imperial garden and asked the princess to go and appreciate them.
But unexpectedly, I met the third prince.
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