Chapter 6 The Begonia suits you perfectly.
The small pond outside the Bihua Palace was filled with the incessant chirping of cicadas, and cicadas of all sizes perched on the leaves of trees. Their calls were a unique hallmark of May.
Two months have passed in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Shuifu has been under house arrest for two months.
During this time, she never saw Shen Jizhao once, and Shen Jizhao naturally wouldn't break the rules and take the initiative to visit her.
Besides, in his heart, she probably didn't hold enough weight for him to break the rules.
Jiang Shuifu originally thought this banquet was a good way to enhance their relationship.
Unexpectedly, this further diminished their already limited friendship.
It's like strangers living under the same roof.
It seems like we've gone back to the way things were at the beginning.
He was busy with official duties, and she was all alone.
They have always been like this all these years.
Jiang Shuifu sat under the eaves, gazing at the sky outside. The sunset was magnificent, dyeing the clouds with vibrant colors, creating a peaceful scene.
She began to bury herself in picking out needles and thread.
The nightgown she made for Shen Jizhao last time had some areas where the hem wasn't tight enough, and she wanted to mend it.
But in fact, both the special cuffs and the embroidered snake pattern were already perfect enough, and the technique was comparable to that of the embroiderers in the palace.
But this is for him, and Jiang Shuifu will definitely do her best.
According to Shen Jizhao's habits, his clothes were usually dark purple, navy blue, black and other deep colors.
But Jiang Shuifu made this nightgown in bright red.
Shen Jizhao's brow bone is sharp, and the lines are so handsome and skillfully crafted that they are extremely attractive.
She rarely saw him wear bright red, but the first time she saw him, she felt that this color suited him best.
Moreover, she also had her own agenda.
No one knew that on their wedding night, as the veil fell to the ground and their eyes met, the young man in the red robe, flushed with drunkenness, was unrestrained and romantic.
He captivated her at first sight.
The carefree young man picked a crabapple blossom for her.
"Today is our wedding day, madam... it's time for the bridal chamber."
When drunk, Shen Jizhao is completely different. He will affectionately call her "Madam," hug and kiss her, and even use brute force...
That night, he clung to her until the red candle burned out.
From then on, she really liked this color.
She thought that the best relationship between husband and wife was when the wife took the husband's surname and the husband followed the wife's surname.
Drip, drip, the scales of the Teng Snake that Jiang Shuifu was picking were wet with water droplets, turning their color dark red, as if the sleeping Teng Snake had opened its eyes with a fierce look.
She immediately wiped it with her sleeve; the red silk was extremely delicate and couldn't withstand rain.
Pan Tao took an oil-paper umbrella from inside the house and chattered away:
"Your Highness, please come inside quickly. The weather is changing so fast. The rain came so suddenly, and it looks like it won't be light. There might be a thunderstorm tonight!"
The raindrops gradually gathered into lines, and before long, the rain poured down, splashing along the eaves and wetting Jiang Shuifu's skirt.
Jiang Shuifu clutched her nightgown to her chest and was about to walk into the room when a figure appeared in her line of sight.
The man's brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes filled with an intense, unyielding gaze, exuding a cold and aloof air.
His body stood straight, his back square, just like his entire being, inviolable, extremely principled, and his boundaries indiscriminate.
It is Shen Jizhao.
He passed by her magnificent palace.
This was the first time Jiang Shuifu had seen him during her confinement, or rather, it wasn't a meeting, but just a fleeting glance.
She instinctively ran a few steps forward, trying to get a better look at him.
Shen Jizhao stopped, seemingly also caught off guard by the sudden downpour.
Jinqing whispered something to him from behind.
He paused for a second, as if recalling something, then frowned as if remembering something.
Jiang Shuifu knew that this was his expression of rejection.
Jin Qing said another sentence, glancing at Jiang Shuifu.
In that instant, amidst the patter of rain, Jiang Shuifu understood.
Before Jinqing could react, she took the umbrella that Pantao had held for her and ran towards the gate, calling out:
"My husband!"
Jiang Shuifu practically ran over, the umbrella in her hand swaying with her movements, large raindrops taking the opportunity to strike her thin dress directly.
But she didn't care at all. Just as she was about to step out of the palace gate, she stopped, took a few breaths, and adjusted herself back to her gentle and virtuous state.
"I'll have the kitchen prepare some ginger soup later, so my husband can warm himself up when he gets back. It's chilly tonight, so remember to add extra blankets and be careful not to catch a cold."
Jiang Shuifu handed the umbrella to Jin Qing, her eyes following Shen Jizhao closely, her tone quick yet full of concern.
She is still under house arrest and doesn't dare to talk to him much, so she can only finish what she wants to say as quickly as possible.
Jiang Shuifu's eyes sparkled. In the past, Shen Jizhao would only return to the palace late at night. Even if he returned earlier occasionally, he would never take this route.
So she was surprised and delighted by his appearance today.
Shen Jizhao's earlier stop was probably because Jin Qing suggested he take shelter from the rain at Bihua Palace, but Shen Jizhao refused.
No one knew him better than her; he would never break the royal dignity he held in his heart.
At this moment, Jin Qing was already holding an umbrella to shield Shen Jizhao. Jiang Shuifu was just a step away from him. Although Jin Qing tried her best to tilt the umbrella, it was not very useful. The rain falling from the sky mixed with the rain splashing from the umbrella surface and pattered on her body.
Shen Jizhao simply looked at the Crown Princess, who was a head shorter than him, with cold indifference.
Despite her being much shorter than him, he never bowed his head.
It was as if he was certain she would look up, and he didn't care whether she was tired or not.
With just one glance, Jiang Shuifu's heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks flushed slightly, a stark contrast to her fair lips, which had been battered by the heavy rain.
She ran so fast that a crabapple blossom accidentally drifted into her hair.
Shen Jizhao unexpectedly raised his hand, brushed the petals from her hair, and crushed them in his hand.
"The rouge fades with the rain, the crabapple blossoms are most enchanting when half-open, this crabapple suits you perfectly."
He quickly looked away after speaking and strode forward without looking back.
He suddenly remembered that on his wedding day, a colleague had insisted on giving him a bunch of crabapple blossoms, saying they had a special use. He stumbled and knocked the bunch of crabapple blossoms away, and in the end, only one blossom remained.
He smiled, and before she could finish, he casually tossed it to her.
That crabapple blossom was truly eerie, that night…
He didn't want to think about it anymore. From the moment they met, he felt nothing for his Crown Princess, and even felt some disgust towards her. She was unruly and prone to tantrums.
Moreover, her eyes were too bright, as if they were trying to burn him and assimilate him, which annoyed him.
He and she were completely different.
He would never value parental love as much as she did.
He doesn't like it.
He doesn't need her approval. If one day she stops looking at him with those alluring eyes, he might give her a second glance.
Pan Tao quickly ran over and held the umbrella she had just found over Jiang Shuifu's shoulders, and also draped a cloak over her shoulders.
Pan Tao watched as Jiang Shuifu's soft, slender body was soaked through by the rain, and she could barely stand in the rain. Her face turned red with anger, and her resentment towards the Crown Prince intensified.
Jiang Shuifu was different from her. He said that the crabapple blossoms complemented her. Did he also remember that night?
Her cheeks were flushed.
After returning to her room, Pan Tao quickly boiled water for Jiang Shuifu to bathe.
Jiang Shuifu was scrubbed clean and soaked in hot water for a long time before she was wrapped up tightly and sat in front of the dressing table to braid her hair.
Just then, the peaches came over carrying a bowl of ginger soup.
"Your Highness, you were caught in the rain and caught a chill. Please drink the ginger soup."
Jiang Shuifu's thoughts were pulled back.
"Has it been sent to the Crown Prince?"
The peach muttered to itself:
"He doesn't need us to deliver anything; the entire Eastern Palace is lining up eagerly."
Jiang Shuifu looked at her with hopeful eyes, and Pan Tao couldn't bear to disappoint her.
"Yes, yes, I sent it through the guards at the gate."
Jiang Shuifu felt relieved, and then she firmly retorted:
“They are different.”
She made this soup; she's made it so many times, he should be able to tell the difference.
As dusk fell, the clouds outside turned pitch black, carrying down a torrent of rain.
A rumbling sound occasionally echoed in the air.
Intermittently, thunder and lightning crackled and popped.
Jiang Shuifu had already gone to bed, her body trembling slightly as she was wrapped in her blanket. Her mother had passed away long ago, and she always felt particularly anxious during thunderstorms like this.
The peaches rushed into the inner hall in a hurry, shouting as they went:
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince has fallen unconscious. Jinqing is currently settling him in the main hall!"
Jiang Shuifu, who was almost asleep, immediately got up upon hearing this.
He put on his cloak and hurried outside.
The sleeping quarters were only a few steps away from the main hall. Jiang Shuifu had asked Shen Jizhao many times why he was unconscious, but Pan Tao knew nothing about it.
When she arrived at the main hall, she saw with her own eyes Shen Jizhao slumped in a round-backed chair.
His face was pale, his thin lips were bloodless, and the dark blue fabric on his arms had turned dark and clung to him stickily.
Several streams of dark red blood flowed down his arm.
The veins on the back of his hand dripped through his fingers.
Like rose sap that is so dazzling it could be terrifying, blooming quietly in the dark night.
"My husband!"
Jiang Shuifu's eyes instantly reddened, and she hurriedly helped Shen Jizhao up, her movements gentle, as if afraid of hurting him.
Jinqing helped Shen Jizhao.
How could my husband be injured?
Who can hurt him?
Jin Qing remained silent and did not answer Jiang Shuifu's question.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Jiang Shuifu became even more anxious and had to change the question.
How long have you been injured?
"Have you called a doctor?"
Jinqing can answer these questions.
"It has been about three hours. The Crown Prince did not allow the imperial physician to be summoned, so he only gave me a simple bandage."
Three hours? Isn't that when she was outside her palace?
Was he already injured then? With the rain so heavy, why didn't he let her help treat his injuries?
He preferred to endure the pain himself, even when his wound became infected, rather than enter her palace.
Jiang Shuifu's eyes darkened for a moment as she ripped off Shen Jizhao's clothes.
The strong arm was a bloody mess, with tattered cloth tangled around it, and the wound was so deep that bone was visible.
Pan Tao quickly brought over scissors, needles and thread, medicinal wine, and other bandaging tools.
Everyone inside was sent away, leaving only Jiang Shuifu alone.
She carefully cut open the fabric on Shen Jizhao's arm, heated a needle with a candle flame, and began to pick out the fabric and rotten flesh from inside the flesh.
Throughout the entire process, she was very focused, treating the injury step by step.
Royal wives have a lot to learn, and among them, Jiang Shuifu studied medicine most diligently. After all, the change of imperial power inevitably involves open and covert struggles, not to mention that Shen Jizhao has twenty-eight brothers.
She studied almost every day when she first married into the Eastern Palace.
This is precisely to deal with such emergencies.
However, in the two years since their marriage, she has never used her medical skills.
Jiang Shuifu was initially relieved, but she would occasionally stumble upon him when he was injured.
It was then that she learned he had suffered many injuries, but he simply hadn't told her.
After she stitched up his wound, she stayed by his bedside. Even though it was midnight, she couldn't sleep and kept staring at the sleeping man.
These few hours are the most critical, and someone needs to take care of him every step of the way.
The blood on Shen Jizhao's arm had stained his robes, so Jiang Shuifu had to wipe his body with water and also wipe his sweat.
After wiping herself down, she leaned over the couch and continued to watch him.
A short while later, Shen Jizhao suddenly developed a fever. Her alarm bells rang. She picked up a handkerchief she had prepared beforehand and placed it on his forehead. She then lifted the blanket and used a bamboo stick dipped in water to apply it to his dry lips.
After all this, Shen Jizhao's popularity finally cooled down.
Before Jiang Shuifu could catch her breath, he started to feel cold again, his lips trembling from the cold.
She quickly added blankets to him, layer after layer, but found it was no use.
When a wound is infected, a person's body temperature is most volatile, and it is important to avoid excessively cold or hot temperatures.
Jiang Shuifu was at her wit's end. She had tried everything, from adding winter blankets to using hot water bottles, but nothing worked. He remained as cold as ice that couldn't be warmed up.
Her eyes darted around anxiously, and after thinking it over, she realized there was only one way.
Her face was burning hot.
A note from the author:
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"The rouge on her cheeks fades with the rain, but she is most enchanting when she is half-open." — He Xiyao, "Crabapple Blossom"
Shen Jizhao: If one day she stops looking at me with those bewitching eyes, I might take another look at her.
Author (horrified): How did you know that day would come?! You peeked at my manuscript!! (fuming) (Too much!)
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