Chu Ning was really tired from being tossed in Lingyan Pavilion.
On the way back, she sat next to Xiao Yu, her eyes half-closed, and she didn't say a word.
The night wind blew, and she tightened her clothes, but she couldn't help shivering.
"Have you caught a cold?" Xiao Yu put his arms around her and asked softly.
At this time, his mood calmed down temporarily, and he remembered that he was more arrogant than usual, and now that winter is approaching, the evening is chilly, and he doesn't know if she is blowing more wind by the window.
Chu Ning's mind was dizzy, and after hearing the words, he felt irritable, but he still responded patiently: "It's probably because the wind is blowing, and my head hurts a little. How is Your Highness? I can't catch a cold anymore."
Xiao Yu twitched the corners of his mouth, hugged her tighter, shook his head and said, "I'm fine."
Although he was weak, he was not at the point where he could not help himself. In the past, he suddenly fell ill only because he tested poison with his body and was tired for days.
After returning to Wanchun Palace, Xiao Yu helped Chu Ning to lie down in the bedroom, and then ordered someone to boil ginger tea soup.
He was temporarily appeased because of his emotions. At this time, he was extremely patient, holding the tea bowl in person, feeding the sweet and spicy tea soup into her mouth one by one.
After the doors and windows were closed, there was no cold wind blowing in, so Chu Ning felt more comfortable.
She leaned on the pillow and drank ginger tea, and slowly brought up the events of seeing Qi Chenxiang in the Baifu Hall.
"I want to come to the Queen Mother to let me go today, because I want to reveal to Her Highness the intention of the Qi family to marry the saint through me, so as to put more pressure on Her Highness."
Xiao Yu's face naturally sank after hearing this. Fortunately, he had expected that the Queen Mother's summoning today had no ulterior motives.
"Sure enough, it's just a relative." He sighed, both contempt and ridicule, "I knew I couldn't hold him down, so I turned to please. No wonder I heard that Qi Mu had sent people to the Wei family in private I'm looking for it, I'm afraid it's time to enter the palace soon. I just don't know if my uncle will be as appreciative as the late emperor. "
Xiao Ke's mother, Wei Cairen, came from a humble background. I heard that the family lived in Yanzhou for generations and worked in agriculture for generations. When there was a famine in Yanzhou that year, the Wei family's parents could not make a living. In order to give their daughter a meal, they let her enter the Ye Ting Palace as a low-level handyman.
As for the Wei family that Qi Mu went to look for, it should be Wei Cairen's younger brother, Xiao Kezhi's uncle Wei Shou.
According to the etiquette system, his biological mother has been posthumously named Queen Mother, and when this uncle comes, he should also be named Duke.
Chu Ning thought about Xiao Kezhi's behavior that he had seen recently, and couldn't help shaking his head secretly in his heart.
He is completely different from the late emperor Xiao Lian. Although he is taciturn, he must have made up his mind and will not be easily shaken. The Qi family's favor is very important in the eyes of others. Not worth mentioning.
She wiped the thin layer of sweat from drinking ginger tea on her forehead with a handkerchief: "I'll just see if this has any other impact on Your Highness."
Xiao Yu paused, grabbed her hand and forced a smile: "We are all downwind, and the queen mother's move is just to make me mess up, don't worry."
Chu Ning nodded, but he knew in his heart that he was not as calm as he said.
"Okay, I have to go back to the East Palace tomorrow. You can rest first, I still have some things to deal with." He didn't want to talk about the matter, and after watching Chu Ning lay down, he got up and went to another room.
"Cui He—" After he left, Chu Ning didn't sleep, but lay on the bed and called someone.
Cui He knew what she had in mind, so she had made preparations, and when Xiao Yu left, she came in with the decoction.
"The maid can make the servants worry today!" She said with lingering fears while supporting Chu Ning to sit down.
"Don't be afraid, with Liu Kang here, he's fine, and he won't let others come half a step closer." Chu Ning drank the medicine in one breath. The sour, bitter, and spicy tastes were intertwined, and she couldn't help frowning. , After drinking a bowl of clear tea, I felt better, "Is the bathroom ready?"
Lingyan Pavilion was simple and crude, she only cleaned it up, even if she was groggy now, she still wanted to take a good bath.
"It's all good, the servants will be ready as soon as they come back." Cui He helped her to the bathing room and continued to whisper, "His Royal Highness is always so irritable, and always makes the lady suffer. The lady is in the hot water. Just take a dip, go get rid of the sickness, and maybe you'll be fine when you wake up tomorrow."
Chu Ning smiled indifferently: "After the Queen Mother's birthday banquet, he will go to Huazhou, and it will be easy for a while."
As she spoke, she stepped into the steam-drenched bathroom, took off her clothes, stepped into the tub, felt the hot water from all around, closed her eyes slowly, and thought about the things in Lingyan Pavilion.
Xiao Kezhi's words were still echoing in her ears, which made her slowly grasp the sentence—
"There are so many women in the world, why should I be obsessed with a married woman with unknown intentions?"
At that time, she thought that the focus of this sentence was on the words "married woman", but after thinking about it carefully, she finally realized that it should be "unknown meaning".
He is a person who disregards the national funeral etiquette and allows the gray wolf he reared to bite off the neck of his courtier in public. How can he care more about her being a married woman
However, because of his forbearance and temperament that he could dormant in Ganzhou for fourteen years, I am afraid that what he cares most about is her intention to approach him - whether it is for the crown prince, for herself, or for other hidden feelings.
It's just that she is still a little hesitant. Does she really want to gamble at this time and reveal her secret to him
…
In the main hall on the other side, Xiao Yu sat on the couch in a trance after reading the files that had been sorted out by the officials in charge of the Ministry of Water today.
In fact, the news that the Qi family was going to marry Xiao Kezhi made him a little nervous.
He only thought that Empress Dowager Qi's release of Xiao Kezhi into Chang'an was an expedient measure. Judging from the clues in these days, it was obvious that the two sides had not reached a very reliable alliance.
But if the Qi family intends to back down and take the initiative to marry, things will be different.
This marriage is almost only beneficial to Xiao Kezhi. Not only can it take the opportunity to completely suppress the position of the East Palace, but it can also take advantage of the Qi family's many years of management in the court to stabilize the minds of the courtiers effortlessly. , to be able to harmonize the ruler and ministers, and to put it at a low level, it can make the implementation of every decree issued in the Taiji Palace more smooth in the six departments and localities.
If it were him, he would never miss this opportunity. Xiao Kezhi is not stupid, and 80% will be the same.
But in this way, Donggong has no meaning to exist anymore, and his time of death should come.
What should he do
Xu Rong's words slowly rang in his ears, causing him to frown deeply.
His subordinates, such as Wei Fujing and others, still intend to marry him. There is no reason for him. These are his confidants. Only on the side of the East Palace can temporarily ensure safety.
But for him, these people are only the icing on the cake, and they are completely useless.
What he needs is a boost that will allow him to compete with others.
…
After all, Chu Ning still fell ill.
Zhao Yanzhou was also handed over to Zhao Yanzhou to direct everyone back to the East Palace in the early morning of the second day, and she only leaned in the car and closed her eyes, wrapped in a thicker cloth.
Cui He has asked Feng Yu to come over once, saying that she has contracted the wind and cold, so she has to keep warm every day, take a lot of rest, and take a few more medicines and it will be fine.
At this moment, her mouth and nostrils were filled with the bitter taste of medicine, and she was already a little drowsy. After finally returning to the East Palace, she couldn't care about anything else and went back to the room to rest.
The disease lasted for five days, and it was only on the sixth day that I felt better.
In the afternoon, Cui He came in with the ginseng soup that had just been boiled, and helped Chu Ning, who had just woken up from a nap, to get up: "Miss, drink it quickly, I have to eat crabs in a while, it's hard to raise it, but I can't let the cold Things get hurt again."
It was heard that the day before yesterday, Xiao Kezhi's uncle Wei Shou's family had been transferred to Chang'an, and now he has become the emperor's newly proclaimed Duke of Lu.
Today, Duke Lu and his wife Xu are going to enter the palace to express their gratitude. The Queen Mother Qi ordered an autumn crab feast in the Ningyun Pavilion to entertain Mrs. Lu Guo. Many family members and daughters of the clans in Chang'an had to enter the palace for the banquet, and naturally there was also the prince concubine Chu Ning.
She frowned at the yellow ginseng soup that night, took it without a word, and went to the mirror to dress up.
The few nourishing holy products that Queen Mother Qi rewarded were not used by Xiao Yu, but most of them entered her belly.
"The queen mother has always looked down on people from humble backgrounds, but this time it's different for Madam Lu." Cuihe muttered as she added a small coat to her top, "I heard that the crab only came from yesterday. Suzhou sent to Chang'an, and even the Queen Mother herself has never tasted it."
Chu Ning took a look at the mirror left and right, and shook his head with a smile, "Just to give Mrs. Lu Guo a face, she is the aunt of the saint, how can you really look at it?"
Empress Dowager Qi came from a famous family. Like many aristocratic families, she never looked down on the poor family, let alone ordinary farmers like the Wei family who were not even the poor family.
Back then, when Wei Cairen was awarded a posthumous title, Wei Shou didn't get the slightest award, and many of them were deliberately done by the Queen Mother Qi.
As for the crab, it seems to be kind, but in fact it is mean.
Autumn crabs are unusually plump, and for Zhongming Dingshijia, it is also a treasure that only comes once a year. In order to be worthy of such seasonal delicacies, these noble people have already eaten their tricks.
Let a peasant woman who is a farmer all year round look at the things that she can see everywhere in the paddy fields on weekdays, and there are so many complicated doorways in the plates of the nobles, it is really suspected of being a disgrace.
This is Empress Dowager Qi, who personally supports the Wei family while secretly beating.
After a while, after she was dressed, she boarded the carriage and entered the Taiji Palace directly from Anlimen in the north.
A lot of people have come to Ningyun Pavilion, and even the Queen Mother Qi has arrived. She is sitting on the main seat and talking to a few older ladies. In the fight, only Qi Chenxiang respectfully stood beside the Empress Dowager, and she immediately seemed much more stable than others.
When the palace servants in the hall saw Chu Ning coming over, he opened his mouth to remind him, and for a while, the eyes of several women were all turned towards this direction.
Chu Ning smiled and saluted, as if she didn't see their strange eyes.
"Get up." Empress Dowager Qi raised her hand lightly, and looked at her with her slightly cloudy eyes, "I heard that you have been ill for a few days, and I was worried that you had been kneeling in my palace for a long time and suffered from the cold air on the ground that day. ."
These words were indifferent, but not very pleasant, as if to imply that she was frightened and ill by what happened in the Baifu Hall that day.
Chu Ning got up and said with a smile: "The Queen Mother is concerned. I was blown by the wind when I was watching the scenery in Lingyan Pavilion that day, and then I caught the wind and cold. Today is great."
The others looked at the atmosphere between the two and did not speak for a while.
At this time, the palace servant looked at a few people not far away and said, "Mrs. Lu Guo is here."