Shang Rui was stunned, then he realized what she was talking about, and followed her line of sight to look at his hands. He had been so busy these days that he hadn't paid any attention to himself. That night, when Tian Yuan and Helan Xun were in Kangning Palace, Ming Lian brought hot water to clean his hands, only to find that his hands were frozen. He hated people yelling the most, so he scolded Ming Lian and forgot about it.
He said disdainfully: "It's a small matter. I'm not a woman."
Xia Yue said seriously: "This thing can be said to be small or big. If it develops a chronic disease, it will relapse every year. Seeing you spend money like this and being so generous, why don't you have someone at home to take care of you carefully. Tell your personal servant later to go home, slice the ginger, mash it into a paste, then soak it in white wine, and apply it on your hands. You can wrap it with a piece of cloth, but some people don't like the smell." She talked naggingly.
Because her mother died early and her father never remarried, she was the only one left at home, along with her father and younger brother. Both men didn't care much about her food and clothing, so things like caring about her health, treating illnesses, decocting medicine, and preparing meals all fell on her alone. Over time, she developed the habit of being nagging and worrying like an old woman.
"However, your family is not short of money, there is another way, that is, take some egg whites and mix them with honey..."
As she said this, she stared into Shang Rui's eyes, afraid that he would be distracted and miss her teaching. She spoke faster than usual, and while she spoke, she used her only remaining right hand to carefully indicate how to stir it.
Shang Rui met Xia Yue's gaze and looked at that face. She had a pair of unforgettable eyes, smart and graceful, but in terms of beauty, she was not as beautiful as Xu Fengjiao. The beauty of the Xu family was rarely matched by women in the world, and the most beautiful person he had ever seen in the world was probably his mother. At this time, Min Xia Yue's face was not good, probably because of her injuries and several high fevers, but this did not prevent her eyebrows, eyes, lips and nose from showing vivid emotions, sometimes angry, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, sometimes cunning, sometimes resolute, and sometimes using those clumsy methods to test him.
He listened quietly at first, but later on, he suddenly laughed.
Xia Yue frowned: "Don't think I'm meddling."
Shang Rui found it even more amusing after hearing this. He stretched out his hand and said, "Show me your left hand."
Only then did she remember that she was also a patient, so she did as she was told.
He never hesitated to mention the difference between men and women, and took her hand directly. The doctor later rebandaged the wound on her hand and carefully fixed it. Shang Rui carefully examined it and asked, "Does it hurt?"
"Not bad." Xia Yue replied.
"Can you move your fingers?"
Xia Yue flexed her fingers.
Shang Rui put down her hand with satisfaction, and suddenly said, "I said I've seen you before."
This was the third time he had mentioned this, but she couldn't remember where the two of them had crossed paths, so she asked curiously, "Where?"
"On the streets of Jinluo."
Xia Yue frowned.
"You don't remember?" Shang Rui asked.
She shook her head: "When did it happen?"
"It's been more than a year since you last asked us to go to Cuiwei Tower." Shang Rui reminded.
"you?"
"Well, I went to Jinluo with... someone else. I was sitting in the sedan chair at the time, and it was someone else who stopped you to ask for directions."
Xia Yue tilted her head: "I can't seem to remember."
Shang Rui glanced at her and couldn't help but recall the playful and cunning look on Xia Yue's face when she was standing outside the sedan chair and they were talking back and forth.
Finally, he turned his gaze away and said in a very calm tone: "Maybe I remembered it wrongly."
At this time, Tian Yuan showed his face in the distance, and Shang Rui nodded slightly at him.
"Miss Min," he suddenly asked again, "Brother Tian and I made a bet. He said that the Gao Xin jade I saw must be a fake. If you have it with you, please lend it to me so that he can feast his eyes on it."
Xia Yue looked at Shang Rui, brushed the fine hair by her ear with her hand, and replied: "I also borrowed that jade, and now it has been returned to its original owner."
Shang Rui smiled and said, "Miss, are you afraid that I will covet that thing, so you are just trying to fool me."
Xia Yue said hurriedly: "No, no, if you have such evil intentions, why would you return the jade to me intact? It is indeed no longer with me."
In fact, he knew that the jade was not with her, but for some reason he always liked to talk to her about this and that and see how embarrassed she was.
Mrs. Wu came back, and Shang Rui took the opportunity to leave and went to the study to meet Tian Yuan and Yao Chuang.
"Your Majesty, I got it back." Yao Chuang took out the jade cicada and presented it to Shang Rui with both hands.
"Where is she hiding?"
"In my own room."
Shang Rui took it and rubbed it with his fingers.
The jade is ancient and heavy, and the carving on it is simple yet delicate, different from the complicated and gorgeous styles nowadays. Only a few strokes are used to simply outline a cicada. The whole thing is not conspicuous at first glance. If you meet someone who doesn't know the value of it, they will definitely think it is a worthless thing.
Shang Rui lowered his head and played with it for a while, then asked, "Did anyone notice?"
Yao Chuang next to him replied: "I am very careful."
Yao Chuang added: "But I don't know why the emperor had to go through so much trouble. Wouldn't it be better if he didn't return it to the girl at that time?"
Tian Yuan coughed and glanced at Yao Chuang. He thought Shang Rui would either not answer Yao Chuang at all or simply explain his foresight, but he didn't expect the other party to just say, "I like it, what's your business?" Tian Yuan almost couldn't hold back his breath and laughed out loud.
Yao Chuang looked at Tian Yuan, then glanced at Shang Rui, and didn't dare to ask any more questions.
Shang Rui walked a few steps in the room, walked to the wall and opened the window, and the cold air outside immediately rushed in with the wind. There was a small hill between this room and the pavilion just now, so he could only see the top of the pavilion.
"Leave a wall." Shang Rui said seriously.
"I'm here." Tian Yuan stepped forward.
"You have to keep her on your farm."
"If Miss Min insists on leaving..." Tian Yuan was in a dilemma.
"Can't you think of a solution yourself?"
"… yes."
During the meal, Xia Yue learned that Shang Rui had left. She couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. She felt stupid and dumb. She stayed here for a few days but couldn't find out anything. She drank the medicine and went back to the house alone. After calming down, she recalled all the people who had appeared here in her mind, Wu, Tian Yuan, Yao Chuang, Huang Minglian... and finally "Hongwu".
According to her own observation, the master of the Tian family must be working in the court, but she didn't know what position he held. And since everyone obeyed "Hongwu", his status was probably one level higher than Tian Yuan. According to the way "Hongwu" spoke and behaved, he must have an extraordinary background. There are few people in the world who look alike for no reason. Judging from the similarities in his appearance with Zijin, they might be relatives. However, Zijin's maternal family, the Chen family, almost perished along with the Prince's Mansion, and only some side branches were left to take refuge in the north. If this "Hongwu" was a relative of the Wei family, how could he be hostile to Xu Jingye that day? When he saw her holding Zijin's jade that day, since he recognized her at a glance, he should have sent her to see the official.
However, there is definitely no one with the surname Hong on either side. I just seem to remember my father mentioned before that there was a Hong family in the Western Regions. They founded the dynasty together with Emperor Taizu. But later, because of the "Wuyang Rebellion", the father and his two sons died in battle on the same day, and the family gradually declined.
But is he the descendant of the Hong family
The more Xia Yue thought about it, the more headache she felt. Finally, her whole body began to feel uncomfortable. She simply went to bed early. Unexpectedly, as soon as she closed her eyes, she really fell into a drowsy sleep.
In the dream, she returned to the day when she wanted to return the jade pendant in Yishan. Halfway back to the city, Shang Rui lent her a horse to ride. The cold wind kept blowing and she was shivering with cold. However, she pulled the reins but could not climb up. As a result, she heard Shang Rui mocking her coldly from the side. The more anxious she became, the weaker her feet became.
In the middle of the night, He Xiang discovered that Xia Yue, who was sleeping with her clothes on, suddenly had a high fever.
The sudden onset of the disease frightened He Xiang, so she had to go find someone. Naturally, Tian Yuan and his wife also knew about it. After Shang Rui left that message, Tian Yuan did not dare to neglect it and had to stay here, but he never thought that such an accident would happen at night.
"It's all my fault," Wu said angrily. "Miss Xia Yue's injuries haven't healed yet, so she should have rested well. How could we let her sit outside for so long during the day?"
"What's the point of you saying this? We'll know only when the doctor comes." Tian Yuan said to his wife while standing outside the house.
On such a cold snowy night, Tianjiazhuang was several miles away from the city, and the doctor didn't know when he could arrive.
Although Xia Yue's whole body was burning, her mind was still clear. She knew some basic medical skills, so she asked someone to pick out a few herbs that had not been boiled before, and asked He Xiang to boil them for her to drink. Not long after, the fever gradually subsided.
Tian Yuan and his wife also felt a little relieved.
The doctor rushed in at dawn, covered in snow. He felt the pulse and hesitated.
Wu asked, "Doctor Liu, is there anything wrong?"
The doctor twirled his beard and asked, "Is there any other discomfort in the girl?" This man was the one who treated Xia Yue's hand injury a few days ago. He was invited because he was very good at treating bone injuries. When he sent someone to call the doctor at night, he didn't think too much about it. He just opened the door and brought him in directly.
"Apart from the headache and body aches, there is no other discomfort."
Doctor Liu nodded, wrote a prescription, and asked someone to get the medicine.
Because of this, Tian Yuan, who was known as the most diligent person in David's Dynasty, was late for court for the first time in history. When he arrived at Qiantai Hall, he happened to hear Ye Jun arguing with someone in the hall.
Ye Jun was a censor, originally a student of Prime Minister Wang Ji. On the surface, he had slightly different political views from his teacher, but in fact, he followed Wang Ji's lead and made false plans. He rarely made outstanding remarks and was cautious and kept to himself. Now this matter must have been arranged by Wang Ji in advance, so Tian Yuan simply did not go into the palace to get involved, but stood outside and listened for a while.
When leaving the court, Shang Rui said to Ming Lian, "Ask Xu Jingye to go to Chengfu Palace."
When Shang Rui arrived at Chengfu Palace, Wang Xiaoxiang seemed to have been there for a long time.