When Jiang Changning and Zeng Zhaofu arrived outside the room where Zheng Mingzhu was placed, they heard Princess Yiya loudly questioning the Queen Mother of Runan, "Why did my Mingzhu fall into the water?"
When the Queen Mother of Runan Prince heard the news that Zheng Mingzhu fell into the water, she secretly groaned. In this cold winter, the water in the pond was icy cold. If a person fell into the water, even if he was rescued immediately, it would be unbearable!
"I asked Huizhu, and it was because the county princess wanted to get closer to see the ice lotus in the pond and accidentally fell in." The Queen Mother of Runan King explained.
"You mean my pearl deserved to fall into the water?" Princess Yiya said in a sharp voice.
This was indeed the case, but the Queen Mother of Runan could not answer like that. "It was the servants who failed to take good care of the county lady."
Zheng Mingzhu was followed by a maid from the Zheng family. It was her fault that she did not take good care of her master, and the Runan Palace could not be blamed.
"Is this what the Runan Palace told me?" Princess Yiya asked angrily.
"Sister Yiya, I just want to make things clear. You came as a guest, but I didn't entertain her well, causing the county princess to fall into the water. I apologize to you. The consultation fee and medicine money will be paid by the Runan Palace." said the Runan Prince's Concubine Dowager.
"The Zheng family doesn't need your medical fees and medicine money." Princess Yi Ya said unhappily.
Someone nearby tried to smooth things over, "It's not about whether the Zheng family is short of money or not. After all, the county lady's case happened in the Ru'nan Palace, and the consultation fee and medicine money were paid by the palace."
With a bunch of people trying to smooth things over, and since Zheng Mingzhu just fell into the water and didn't die, Princess Yiya didn't want to offend the Runan Palace to death.
The matter was settled with the Ru'nan Palace paying a large sum of medical fees and medicine costs, and also presenting a generous gift.
The banquet at the Prince of Runan's Palace did not end happily because Zheng Mingzhu fell into the water.
"Grand Princess Yiya is so unreasonable. It was Zheng Mingzhu who refused to listen and insisted on stepping over the stone pier." Princess Huizhu said angrily.
"We are fortunate that the matter can be resolved in this way." The Queen Mother of Prince Runan said with a worried look on her face.
"We have given tens of thousands of taels of silver to the Zheng family as an apology. What else does Princess Yiya want?" Princess Huizhu said angrily.
She has been following her mother's household management for the past few years and knows that the mansion now has little income and high expenses. The ten thousand taels of silver that were paid out today were taken from her dowry. How could she not be angry
She was really worried that when her fiancé took off his mourning clothes and came to marry her, she would not be able to offer a generous dowry.
"It's so cold, Zheng Mingzhu was pulled out of the pond, she was soaked, caught a cold, and was frightened, I'm afraid she'll get sick, and then there will be trouble."
"She deserves to be sick." Princess Huizhu hated the willful Zheng Mingzhu.
"She deserves it, but what happened to her was in our house and it involves our house." The Queen Mother of Runan frowned.
"What a troublemaker." Princess Huizhu pouted, "I shouldn't have invited her if I had known."
"Now we can only pray to the Bodhisattva to protect her and keep her from getting sick." The Queen Mother of Runan Prince clasped her hands together and said.
Unfortunately, the Buddha did not respond when Zheng Mingzhu prayed to him at that time, and he developed a high fever as soon as he returned home.
Princess Yi Ya loved her daughter so much that she ignored the custom of not inviting a doctor during the New Year and sent a letter to invite the imperial physician to the palace.
The imperial physician examined Zheng Mingzhu's pulse and said, "Princess, the county lady was immersed in ice water. Although she was rescued in time, she still suffered from a cold."
"Okay, hurry up and write the prescription." Princess Yi Ya interrupted him.
An hour later, Zheng Mingzhu took the medicine, but the high fever still did not subside.
It wasn't just Princess Yiya and Prince Consort Zheng who were anxious. The imperial physician was also panicking. "If the county lady's fever doesn't go down, it will be dangerous."
There is a high possibility that the patient will become a fool due to the burns, but the imperial physician did not dare to say this openly.
When the Zheng family was in a panic, there was a loud cry in Princess Wenhe's mansion. Princess Wenhe passed away at the age of 77, which was a very long life in that era.
I hope the palace can give Princess Wenhe some posthumous honors.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the day after receiving the news of Princess Wenhe's death, the Concubine Dowager changed her clothes and took Prince Jin, Jiang Changning and Princess Kang Ren to Princess Wenhe's Mansion.
Princess Wenhe was old and of high seniority, so the Concubine Dowager had to go to pay her condolences in person.
Jiang Changning saw Zhao Xifang, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying and whose face was haggard, at the mourning hall, and said politely, "My condolences."
"Thank you." Zhao Xifang lowered her eyelids and said.
The weather was cold and many elderly people couldn't stand it. On the seventh night of the New Year, Xie Baoyin's grandmother, Mrs. Xie, also passed away.
Xie Baoyin was very sad, but Mrs. Xie was secretly happy. Without the old woman's advice, she had the final say in the backyard.
The dead are the greatest. Even though the Prince of Jin's Mansion and the Xie family had little contact, the Prince of Jin was an official in the same dynasty as General Xie after all.
At the funeral hall, when Jiang Changning saw Xie Baoyin, he also said, "My condolences."
"Sister Ning, I don't have a grandmother anymore." Xie Baoyin burst into tears.
Although both of them lost their grandmother, Xie Baoyin's grief was much greater than Zhao Xifang's.
Jiang Changning didn't know how to comfort her after hearing her words. He thought for a while and said, "I heard that after a person dies, they will turn into stars in the sky and protect the people on earth. When you miss your grandmother in the future, just look up at the sky and look for your grandmother star."
"Grandma must be the brightest star in the sky." Xie Baoyin said with a choked voice.
"Don't be sad, live a good life. Your grandmother in heaven will be relieved when she sees you." Jiang Changning said softly.
"Sister Ning, thank you." Xie Baoyin said gratefully. She thought Jiang Changning would ignore her.
"You're welcome. Take care and goodbye." Jiang Changning did not stay long and left with King Jin.
They changed into their outer clothes in the carriage as they had to go to the Ningxia Palace for a banquet soon.
During the New Year, banquets were held one after another in various mansions. Jiang Changning was annoyed. While changing his clothes, he said, "I will also hold a banquet tomorrow and have all these people come to our mansion in carriages."
Although the various mansions were not far from each other, Jiang Changning felt it necessary to make some effort to get them to come to Prince Jin's Mansion for the banquet, which lasted from before the New Year to after the New Year.
King Jin smiled and reached out to help her take off the silver earrings. "Go back and have the people below prepare. How about holding a lantern festival for the Lantern Festival?"
"I just said that. Preparing a banquet is a lot of work, and my mother likes quiet time, so let's forget it." Jiang Changning took the silver earrings, put them in the jewelry box, and took out another jewelry box.
In the jewelry box was a pair of gilded earrings with kingfisher feathers and auspicious clouds and flowers, which matched the blue embroidered palace dress that Jiang Changning was wearing today very well, and looked elegant and noble.
"Let me help you put them on." Prince Jin took the earrings and carefully passed the golden hook through her ear hole.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Jiang Changning smiled with his eyebrows curved.
"I said, I don't want a verbal thank you."
Jiang Changning moved closer and wanted to kiss him, but the carriage suddenly stopped and Jiang Changning threw himself into his arms.
(End of this chapter)