The Feverish Princess and the Feverish Border
I, Taiping, have recently discovered a terrifying fact—the world can suddenly become incredibly hot!
Yesterday I was happily munching on a teething toy, but today I feel limp and weak, like a boiled dumpling.
The surrounding sounds became a buzzing noise, and those familiar faces seemed huge, swaying back and forth, their expressions all wrinkled.
(Taiping's inner monologue: I feel so bad... I miss my mother...)
Wu Meiniang touched her daughter's burning forehead, her heart tightening.
The little body was burning hot, and it was whimpering and whimpering, completely unlike its usual lively self.
"How did it suddenly catch a fever?" Li Zhi rushed over after court, still in his court robes, his face filled with undisguised anxiety. "What did the imperial physician say?"
"They said it was indigestion and a cold, and prescribed a medicine, but it's been two hours and the fever hasn't gone down at all." Wu Meiniang held her daughter and gently shook her, her brows furrowed. "Your Majesty, feel it, this fever is rather unusual."
(OS: These symptoms... don't they look a lot like roseola? Historical records seem to mention that Princess Taiping was sickly in her childhood, but they didn't say it was during this time!)
Li Zhi reached out and touched her; indeed, she was burning hot. Seeing his daughter's listless appearance, he felt extremely distressed: "Summon the imperial physician again! And invite Master Sun as well!"
For a time, everyone in the inn was in a state of panic, and medicine, warm water, and handkerchiefs were constantly being sent into the bedrooms.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall, accompanied by Di Renjie's deliberately lowered but undeniably urgent voice: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, an urgent dispatch from Jiannan Road!"
Li Zhi's heart sank suddenly, and he exchanged a glance with Wu Meiniang.
He strode out of the bedroom and received the urgent military report with the feather attached in the side hall.
Li Zhi's face darkened after just one glance at the unfolded document.
"Lu Dongzan personally led an army of 50,000 to the border, declaring that if the trade was not opened up, he would flatten Jiannan Road!"
(OS: Just what I feared most has come to pass!)
Wu Meiniang vaguely heard it from inside the room. Looking at her daughter in her arms, whose face was flushed red from the fever, and listening to her husband's suppressed anger outside, she felt as if her heart had been torn in two.
“Your Majesty,” she called out, her voice tinged with barely perceptible weariness, “whether it is war or peace, calm is required. But here in Taiping…”
Li Zhi returned, clutching the military report, his face unusually anxious: "Taiping's illness is of utmost importance, but the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians on the border are also at stake! Lu Dongzan came prepared this time, and I must immediately summon the prime ministers for a meeting!"
"Your Majesty!" Wu Meiniang interrupted him, her gaze sharp. "Look at Princess Taiping! She has a fever, but her spirits are still good. I suspect this might be roseola infantum; the fever will subside and the rash will appear, and she will be fine. If Your Majesty loses your composure now, you will truly be playing into the hands of the Tibetans!"
(OS: Stay calm, Li Wei! If you can handle the barrage of calls from both the boss and the client, you can handle this!)
She took a deep breath and spoke quickly and clearly: "Your Majesty, please summon the prime ministers to the side hall immediately for a meeting. The border military affairs are being handled by generals like Cheng Wuting. No matter how powerful Lu Dongzan is, he won't be able to break in anytime soon. But if the court loses its composure first, that would be a grave mistake!"
As she spoke, she carefully placed Taiping, who had already been given medicine and was slightly calmer, into the cradle. She turned and walked to Li Zhi, grasping his hand, whose knuckles had turned white from gripping the military report tightly: "Your Majesty, you are Taiping's father, and even more so, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Now, we must go our separate ways—you go to stabilize the court and the country, and I will stay here to stabilize Taiping. Neither of us can afford to be in disarray."
Li Zhi looked into his wife's calm and resolute eyes, which contained concern and an undeniable strength.
His agitated state of mind miraculously calmed down a little, and he gripped her hand tightly in return: "Alright! I'll go to the front court. Taiping... and this place, I'll leave to the Empress."
(OS: My wife is right, the busier I am, the less I can afford to be disorganized!)
Li Zhi turned and strode away, his back view revealing the composure of an emperor.
After seeing her husband off, Wu Meiniang immediately returned to her inner chamber. While instructing the palace servants to continue wiping Taiping down with warm water to cool her down, she instructed her trusted maid: "Go and tell Di Renjie to immediately compile all the recent movements of Tibet, especially the intelligence on the tribes that are at odds with Gar Tongtsen Yulsung. I want to see it in an hour!"
(OS: Lu Dongzan, you want to take advantage of the situation? Let's see who can outlast whom!)
——
[Mini-drama: The Princess's "Brilliant Fever-Reducing Plan"]
1.
In a daze, Taiping felt that her mother's hand was cool and comfortable, so she tried to rub her head against her mother's palm.
(OS: My mother's hands are the best cooling patch in the world!)
2.
When the Second Prince Xian heard that his sister had a fever, he sent her his invention, an "automatic fan puppet," overnight. However, the wind was too strong and blew Taiping's bangs into a high ponytail, almost worsening her condition.
3.
Crown Prince Hong insisted on reciting the Book of Songs outside his sister's room, believing that "refined music can drive away evil spirits." Wu Meiniang politely asked him to leave, saying that "peace requires quiet."
4.
While participating in political discussions in the side hall, Di Renjie had half a piece of milk cake, Princess Taiping's favorite food, tucked into his sleeve, intending to present it to her once her fever subsided.
5.
Meanwhile, our Princess Taiping, in her deep sleep, smacked her lips and dreamed of flying teething sticks and a huge lake of rattles.
(OS: Getting burnt out... isn't so bad?)
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