Several bonfires were lit on the flat and wide open space. Various prey were collected and cooked or roasted. Soon, the aroma overflowed, tempting a group of hungry people to salivate. The emperor raised his glass at the banquet, and the ministers responded. They enjoyed the wine to their heart's content, biting and chewing large pieces of fresh and fragrant meat. That feeling was really refreshing. Still following the usual practice, after eating and drinking to their heart's content and talking for a while, the emperor and his concubine withdrew from the table, and the people below began to compete with each other, trying every means to get anyone they liked drunk, forgetting themselves and looking for fun with each other, until the stars turned over and the night dew fell like rain, and then they dispersed after having fun.
Xu Junying was afraid that Meimei was tired, so he ignored his colleagues' teasing and found an excuse to take Meimei back to the tent early. Baoju had already ordered the guards to prepare hot water in the tent. After washing, they went to bed and hugged each other, smelling the faint scent of wild chrysanthemums and whispering. The camp bed was too narrow, and Xu Junying rarely stayed in bed, so he just held Meimei and let her lie comfortably on him while telling her about the fun of hunting during the day. Meimei couldn't help but gasp in amazement when she heard about the thrilling situation when he fought a black bear alone in close combat. She asked him if he was exhausted, and got up to give him a full body massage considerately, nagging him: Don't take risks like this in the future, teamwork is very important, it will be safer when the strength of several people is added together, and remember to protect yourself. Xu Junying lay on the bed enjoying the top service provided by his beloved wife, with a happy and satisfied smile on his lips, and replied:
"Don't worry, I will only do things that are sure to help you. Now I know how to take care of myself more than ever before. Only in this way can I guarantee that I can spend a hundred years with my beloved wife!"
"That's the right way to think about it!"
Meimei pressed hard on the back of his neck and shoulders, and suddenly stopped. Xu Junying was feeling comfortable, and urged: "What's wrong, Meimei? It's so sore there..."
"Listen!" Meimei pressed him down twice, and the simple camp bed made a creaking sound. She said embarrassedly, "It's supposed to be one bed for each person. The camp bed can't bear the pressure of two people. I'll press it for you when I go back. There are guards on duty outside. This noise... is so loud!"
Xu Junying was silent for a moment, then chuckled: "Now that you mention it, I think this sound is very nice, not noisy at all!"
Meimei let him go, turned around, got out of bed and jumped onto the other bed next to her: "Let's just sleep separately!"
Xu Junying quickly followed and sat on the bed, deliberately shaking it twice: "This bed is better, not very noisy, let's sleep on this one!"
In the dim light, Meimei stared at him. Xu Junying smiled and touched her face: "What are you thinking about? The night is cool and the quilt is thin and light. I just want to hug my wife to keep warm while sleeping and occasionally turn over and move around. Is that not okay?"
Meimei blushed. Well, it was because her thoughts were impure and she thought too much.
The next day, the plan was to march to Xiling again and capture more prey to distribute to relatives and friends in the city. The emperor could not resist Concubine Shu's disturbance and wanted to try his luck to see if he could encounter one or two fire foxes and bring them back to her as rewards. He regretted not listening to Concubine Shu and asking Xu Junying for the fire fox as soon as possible. Now it was in Su De's hands. The emperor knew his own sister's temper best. It was like a sheep falling into the tiger's mouth, and there was no way to get it back.
However, Concubine Shu felt unwell for some reason in the middle of the night. Several imperial doctors who came with her could not relieve her condition after treating her for most of the night. Concubine Shu seemed to be in great pain, and the sound of crying and groaning could be heard from time to time in the imperial tent. Ji Qing was afraid that the emperor would be out of breath, so he immediately asked the guards and attendants to set up a new tent and asked the emperor to move out of the old tent and separate from Concubine Shu. Everyone saw the palace maids, eunuchs and imperial doctors coming and going, all of them looked nervous, but they didn't know what kind of emergency Concubine Shu had. The condition of the palace concubine should not be spread privately, and no one dared to inquire. The emperor was worried about Concubine Shu. He was already tired during the day, and he had no rest after a night of tossing and turning. He was in no mood to continue hunting. When it was dawn, he ordered to close the tent and pack up the people and horses and belongings and return to the capital as soon as possible. There were many good medicines in the palace, and it was the right thing to do to treat Concubine Shu as soon as possible.
Xu Junying went into the emperor's tent to drink tea and chat with the emperor to relieve his boredom. He vaguely knew some of the situation. To satisfy Meimei's curiosity, he secretly told her: Concubine Shu had rashes and blisters on her body, which were red and swollen, and some began to fester. The emergency pills and ointments of the imperial doctors could not control the condition. After taking her pulse and diagnosing her, it was initially determined that Concubine Shu wandered around in the woods by the lake during the day and accidentally touched poisonous plants when collecting wild flowers. She had some itchy symptoms before dinner. She was wrong to drink too much. The soju met the mild poison in her body, causing a severe outbreak, which became increasingly difficult to treat. The emperor was also frightened by the crazy rash on her body, and was afraid that she would be disfigured, so he hurriedly withdrew his troops back to the city.
Meimei thought that it was a skin allergy. This kind of thing does happen. There are indeed some poisonous plants growing in the flowers and grass on the mountains. Once you touch their juice, you will get herpes and chickenpox, itching and swelling. Especially people with low skin immunity are very likely to be poisoned in the wild. But it's really strange. So many people stayed by the lake to play together, Su De and Lin Runan, several ladies from outside the court were accompanying them, and there were countless palace maids, eunuchs and guards. Why did Concubine Shu have to encounter such bad luck? She is such a bad person!
Another strange thing happened to the King of Qi. He had just returned from hunting in the forest yesterday. He had made all the arrangements and preparations with the princes and dukes along the way, and was planning to win a great victory today. However, he was so happy that he drank a few more cups last night and was helped back to his tent to rest when he was drunk. He got up early this morning without saying a word to the Emperor, and left the Princess of Qi behind and rushed back to the city with a few guards.
The emperor was very puzzled and at the same time worried about Concubine Shu, and was in a very unhappy mood. When Ji Qing leaned close to his ear and said a few words, a smile slowly broke out on the emperor's face. His eyes rolled a few times, and then, as if he could no longer bear it, he raised his head and laughed loudly in the tent.
The Princess of Qi came on a light horse, but did not ride a horse on the way back. She did not bring the princess's chariot, and she could not get along with Su De. The Concubine Shu was sick, so she occupied the royal chariot alone. The Emperor and Xu Junying and others rode in front of the team. After thinking for a while, he ordered Ji Qing to arrange the Princess of Qi to ride in the carriage of the wife of Weiyuan Marquis. Qin Meimei began to be confused about the situation and blamed Lin Runan for disrupting her plan. Xu Junying had agreed to accompany her on the way back and ride slowly on horseback, but Lin Runan had to take a carriage, so she had to let Xiaobai accompany the princess.
When she heard Lin Runan's explanation, her mouth suddenly opened into an O shape, and could not close for a long time. Lin Runan was already ashamed and embarrassed, and felt disgusted. Seeing her like this, he raised his hand and slapped her on the head. Meimei touched her head and said:
"What if you knock me silly? No one will share this secret with you to solve your confusion!"
Lin Runan said with a bitter face: "Then tell me, how can I solve this problem? I feel so miserable now, I really want to die!"
Meimei crossed her arms over her chest, nodded slightly, and looked at Lin Runan with an evil smile: "How did he climb into your bed?"
Lin Runan lowered her head, suddenly covering her face and sobbing, "It wasn't him... It was me! After you and Xu Junying left last night, I was also drunk, staggering all the way back to their tent. They put the King of Qi on the bed and left. I went to cover him with a blanket, but my feet were unstable and I fell on him and couldn't get up... I don't understand what happened afterwards, but I knew it hurt. I resisted and pushed him, but it was no use!"
Meimei expressed surprise again: "You were the one who went to see him! You, you had sex after drinking!"
Lin Runan burst into tears: "Qin Meimei! I hate you!"
"Okay, don't cry!"
Meimei reached out and patted her back, comforting her: "This is our fate. If we don't have the courage or don't want to fight, we can only obey the arrangement! In fact, I knew that the King of Qi would be changed by you one day. This day came a little early. You have not yet realized your position in each other's hearts. You are both drunk and can't face the things you do, especially the King of Qi. You should give him some time and don't take the initiative to find him. Just do your own things as before and don't interfere with each other. When he has fought with himself, he will come to you. Last night, he hugged you in the tent. I guess he did it in a half-awake state. He returned to the past, the bitter and cold land of the border, and shared a tent with Jian Yu... You don't have to be disgusted. He didn't treat you as a man, but he realized that you were a woman, which means that he has a little consciousness in his heart, or he knew by the smell that the person in his arms was you, Lin Runan, his princess!"
Lin Runan held her head in her hands: "When I think of the male lovers he had... I broke out in cold sweats and vomited all morning!"
Meimei sighed and said, "Runan, you have to adapt and don't think too much. You were often together before you got married to him. Although you quarreled all the time, he didn't hate you. You lived together for more than a year after you got married. You should feel that he is actually protecting you. In a word, there is already love between you! He doesn't hide from you to keep male favorites and play with them. Did you see them together... spending a night together? The King of Qi was born with a bit of evil, hiding his righteousness that he didn't easily reveal. How could those male favorites compare with Jian Yu? I believe that he and Jian Yu may be truly happy with each other, but he may not be willing to devote himself to those male favorites. You already have a place in his heart, so he can keep Jian Yu in his heart forever, and there is no need to disturb you. Life will change slowly, but sometimes we need to control the process ourselves to form the pattern we want."
Lin Runan opened her red eyes, looking at Meimei thoughtfully, a little tangled: "Meimei, I, I once thought that the way King Qi treated me last night was because he mistook me for you!"
"Nonsense!" Mei Mei frowned. "Don't underestimate the cleverness of the King of Qi. He's not so confused that he can't tell whose tent he's lying in!"
"I'm sorry, Meimei! The King of Qi treats you so well, I'm actually very sad. He hates women. In the palace, he would despise maids serving tea, but he has no such taboo with you! He is only willing to hold your hand and be close to you... I became his princess, and he either beat me or scolded me!"
"Tsk tsk! Is this Lin Runan? She's like a jealous woman! In the confrontation between the two of you, you've already lost. But he's already adapted to you. Doesn't he want to hold your hand? Doesn't he push you around at every turn? He's very cruel, but he only beats and scolds you, a woman! What does this show? You are the woman closest to him! He doesn't need to hide in front of you, and he's willing to let you see his unbearable side!"
Lin Runan smiled bitterly: "If I were not your friend, he wouldn't even look at me!"
Meimei grabbed her hand and said, "It's not like that. You have your own personality and he likes it. Runan, you have him in your heart, and besides Jian Yu, he has you in his heart. As I said before, don't let him go and stick with him!"
"Do I have a choice? Can I still leave him? This is how I'll spend my whole life with him!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)