The Marquis was in a heavy mood because of Yirou's affairs and had little appetite. Xia Chu coaxed him to take a few bites, then he put down his chopsticks and sighed, letting them eat slowly, before going to the study.
Xia Chu stopped Cong Ting, who was following him, and asked him to go to the kitchen to prepare some medicinal food for the Marquis to warm, and see if he had an appetite later.
Before Cong Ting could respond, Su Qianle spoke first: "I'll go."
Xia Chu turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. Su Qianle smiled slightly and explained: "I have eaten too much of this medicinal food. I know which ones are suitable for me. Cong Ting is a man after all. I'm afraid he is not as careful as me, so I'll go ahead."
Xia Chu thought about it for a while and nodded in agreement: "Thank you for the hard work."
Su Qianle waved her hand and bowed and retreated. Cong Ting also retreated and followed the Marquis to the study.
"Qianle has been very sensible recently, and she seems to have changed a lot." Lan Yuying gave Xia Chu a chopstick dish, and Xu Wenlan beside her immediately brought a bowl and signaled that he wanted it too.
"Yeah, I'm quite surprised, but it's a good thing after all." After sighing, Xia Chu saw an extra chopstick dish in the bowl, with a smile on his lips. He raised his head and was about to say, Meng An still loves me, then he saw it Lan Yuying and Xu Wenlan were chatting with each other.
The food in the bowl suddenly lost its aroma, so he put his forehead on his forehead and pinched his eyebrows.
"You two should eat slowly." Xia Chu picked up a golden jade steamed bun and bit it in his mouth, stood up and left the hall. Lan Yuying had just opened her mouth, but before she could call him, Xu Wenlan fed her a chopstick dish. Fortunately, Xia Chu I have never looked back and seen this scene.
Otherwise, I might not be able to swallow the steamed buns I'm chewing.
When he returned to Yunqiyuan, Su Qian'an was giving Han Sa medicine. Su Qian'an's attack was careless, and she grinned in pain and screamed.
Xia Chu walked over and took the jade muscle ointment from Su Qianan's hand. While applying the medicine for him, he asked, "When will your master come over today?"
Han Sa had just experienced Su Qian'an's torture, and now she felt cool and comfortable after being smeared by Xia Chu's soft hands. When she heard him ask about Xiao Mubai, she frowned and said, "The prince is guarding Ci'an Palace. I don't know when he will be able to leave today." Didn't you send someone to tell the young master when you returned home?"
Xia Chu frowned slightly. The Marquis told him that Xiao Mubai went to Ci'an Palace, but he didn't say that he would guard Ci'an Palace.
"Can he take medicine today?" Xia Chu's voice suddenly became serious.
"It's not time to take the medicine yet. I'm going to go into the palace to deliver the medicine to him after taking the medicine." Han Sa glanced at Xia Chu furtively and saw that his face was solemn, a rare expression of solemnity.
"Forget it, you deliberately bringing medicine into the palace will inevitably arouse suspicion. I happen to be going to Xiang's house, so I'll let Xiang Chengfang deliver it." After Xia Chu finished speaking, he threw the jade muscle ointment in his hand to Su Qian'an.
Han Sa raised her hand towards his back, flattened the corners of her mouth, and as Su Qian'an came down with a palm to help him evacuate the congestion, he felt pain and screamed: "I'm going to finish applying the medicine before leaving..."
When Xia Chu went to Xiang's house, he originally wanted him to teach some simple medical skills to the literate refugees in the Ren family ancestral hall, but now he just happened to be sending this set of decoctions to the palace.
In order to avoid suspicion, he also cooked a bowl of restorative soup for Xiao Zimu.
When Xiang Chengfang saw Xiao Mubai finish drinking, he also gave the remaining bowl of ordinary mind-restoring decoction to Xiao Zimu.
Xiao Zimu saw Xiao Mubai drink it all without saying a word, so he naturally took it and drank it all in one gulp.
When Xiao Mubai saw that it was Xiang Chengfang who delivered the medicine instead of Han Sa, he guessed what Xia Chu was thinking. He was probably afraid that the person who poisoned him back then would be alert, so he asked Xiang Chengfang to find someone. The prince worked hard at the night and boiled two cups of soup to nourish his body and sent it over as an excuse. This was Xiang Chengfang's responsibility and it was natural.
After Xiao Zimu finished drinking, he smelled Xiao Mubai's empty medicine bowl: "Xiang Zhangyuan, this smell seems different. Why does the second brother's bowl smell like blood?"
Xiang Chengfang quickly collected the empty bowls and put them into the food box, calmed his expression and lowered his voice: "Your Highness, Seventh Highness, you can't talk nonsense at this moment. They are all the same soothing decoction. I feel sorry for you two Highnesses."
Xiao Zimu thought for a moment about the imperial aunt lying inside who had just died. He realized that his words were careless, so he said no more.
Xiang Chengfang bowed to the two of them and then retreated. The two of them stood guard at the entrance of Ci'an Palace until late at night.
Although the weather is still quite hot at the moment, the autumn wind at night still feels a bit chilly on my body. Especially at the entrance of Ci'an Palace, it feels more and more gloomy.
Logically speaking, a prince like Xiao Mubai who had sealed his residence could not stay in the palace overnight, but the emperor neither kicked him out of the palace nor invited him to see him.
The sound of Luo Geng was heard at midnight. Eunuch Li couldn't bear it anymore and walked out, advising the two of them: "Your Highnesses, it's better to go back. I'm afraid the Emperor won't come out tonight."
Seeing that Xiao Mubai was silent, Xiao Zimu could only speak to himself: "Eunuch Li, please go back and wait in front of the emperor. You don't need to pay attention to us. You have nothing to worry about."
Seeing that both of them looked unmoved, Eunuch Li sighed and turned around to enter Ci'an Palace.
In the palace, the emperor had been sitting quietly for several hours holding Feng Yirou's final pen.
There were only a few words in the letter, hoping that after her death, she could be buried with Du Hanfei as his wife.
If these words had been spoken when Yirou was still alive, the emperor would have refused without even thinking about it, and would have sternly scolded her for being ridiculous.
Du Hanfei was a death row prisoner, and his entire family would be massacred. After his death, his body was only worthy of being thrown into a mass grave and covered with straw mats. There would be no burial anywhere.
Yirou used her death to help Du Han fly to the house to find a way to rest in peace...
Was it him who personally forced Yirou into this desperate situation
Yirou's death had a huge impact on the emperor's heart, as if a scene many years ago was reappearing before his eyes.
Everyone has their moments when they are young and frivolous, and the Emperor is no exception. Seventeen years ago, the emperor had a startling glance at a woman on the outskirts of Chang'an. However, the woman had already made a private life-long commitment to someone else.
The emperor didn't even find a reason, he slaughtered his whole family, imprisoned the woman, and the woman also hanged herself. What's more coincidental is that she also left a few words, hoping to be with him after death. People share the same cave.
In the end, the emperor did not follow her wish and buried her alone on a high mountain overlooking the entire Chang'an.
She wanted to leave, but he wouldn't let her leave. Even if she died, her soul would look at his Chang'an City and him in Chang'an City day and night.
This incident became a hidden pain in the emperor's heart, and no one knew about it.
But today, Yirou's death, hanging, final writing, and acupoint deeply touched the emperor's heart. He guarded Yirou's body all night, and Xiao Zimu and Xiao Mubai also guarded it until the next day. At Mao hour in the early morning, until about the time of morning dynasty, the gate of Ci'an Palace was opened again...
(End of chapter)