It was July, and it was rainy in the capital this year. As the temperature rose, the humidity became heavier, and the capital was very hot and stuffy. The rumors about the queen's serious illness gradually dissipated.
Although the queen did not show up, no worse news came out. Everyone was smart and knew that the queen would not die, so no one made trouble anymore.
Xue Han entered the palace again and returned to her parents' home the next day, bringing Xiaer with her.
Zhulan felt sorry for her grandson who was in poor health. She held Xiaer in her arms and signaled Qingxue to move the ice basin away and stop fanning her.
Zhulan frowned, "It's so hot, why did you come here with Xiaer?"
Xue Han wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "Tomorrow we are going to a farm outside Beijing to escape the summer heat. I will bring the child to you before we leave Beijing."
Zhulan's heart moved. She also wanted to escape the summer heat. Then she sighed. Shuren couldn't leave the capital, and she couldn't leave either. The older she got, the more she stuck to Shuren. "It's good to leave the capital. It's too hot and stuffy recently."
Xue Han fanned herself with a fan, motioned for the maids to go down, and approached her mother and said, "I went to the palace yesterday."
"Did you see the Queen?"
Xue Han was not surprised that her mother guessed, "Well, the queen has lost a lot of weight, and the palace is full of the smell of medicine, and the incense can't even be dispersed."
Zhulan asked, "How is your spirit?"
"She was in good spirits. I didn't ask any more questions. I chatted with the queen for a while and then left."
Xue Han felt very heavy in her heart. Although the Queen was fine, she was getting weaker. It was a hot summer day, but the Queen covered her legs with a thin quilt and didn't even hold the little princess.
Zhulan hummed. She sincerely hoped that the queen could live a few more years. Seeing Xiaer sitting and playing honestly, the child was very well-behaved. Although he was in poor health, he was precocious. She didn't want to talk too much in front of the child and asked, "Is Ning Hou also going to escape the summer heat?"
Xue Han smiled and said, "Xia'er is leaving Beijing, so Third Uncle will naturally go with him. Third Uncle can't leave Xia'er."
Xiaer raised his head and saw his grandmother looking at him, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, "Grandma."
Zhulan felt soft inside when she heard this, "Hey, is it hot?"
Xiaer shook her head, "It's not hot."
Zhulan felt sad again. The child was not in good health. Looking at her grandson's thin arms, her heart felt like it was being stabbed by needles. He had to take medicine before he could even drink milk. His little body had to drink too much medicine. His hair was not in good health either, so she had to keep shaving his head.
Xue Han and her son stayed for lunch. At noon, Rong Chuan brought Lin Xi and her son over. The family of five had dinner before leaving.
The next day, Zhou Shuren didn't like attending court in the summer. He felt stuffy as soon as he got up. Being unhappy about getting up early affected his mood for the whole day. He also had no patience for the court and just wanted it to be over quickly.
Unexpectedly, when the morning court was about to end, a thunderous sound was heard, saying that the prince was not young anymore and it was time for him to get married.
Zhou Shuren was surprised. He turned his head to see who submitted the memorial and then fell silent. If his memory served him correctly, he had met Lord Meng in the palace a few days ago.
This is obviously what the emperor meant. Why doesn't the emperor say it himself
Zhou Shuren understood it immediately. The emperor was afraid that if the royal family spoke out, the ministers would interpret it as the queen was dying, so the prince was in a hurry to get married, lest the queen's death delay the prince's wedding!
Zhou Shuren lowered his head. He truly had the emperor's trust. He should be the only one who knew Lord Meng.
After hearing this, Elder Wen's eyes lit up, "I will review the matter."
The Wen family was also afraid that the Queen would die. This time, the Queen's serious illness was not fake. Old Master Wen had been much more haggard since the Queen's serious illness, and he only recovered recently.
Lord Shangguan couldn't figure out whether it was the Wen family's instigation or whose work it was. The process of the prince's marriage was complicated and it would take until next year to prepare for it. The earliest the wedding could take place would be next autumn, so now was the perfect time to prepare.
After Lord Shangguan figured it out, he remained silent. This matter had to be decided by the Emperor, and the Shangguan family had no say from beginning to end.
The emperor frowned, then slowly relaxed his brows, "So the prince is not young anymore. When I was your age, I was already married. The unrest in recent years has indeed delayed the prince."
Zhou Shuren lowered his eyes. If he were the Queen, he would ask the Crown Prince not to get married. The past two years were not a good time for marriage. Unfortunately, no one could have expected that the Queen's health would deteriorate so quickly. The Queen had no way to delay it. Obviously, the Queen's condition worried the Emperor, and he made up his mind to let the Crown Prince get married.
In the end, the emperor just sighed and didn't make up his mind, then dismissed the court.
Although he did not give a definite answer, the emperor asked people from the Imperial Observatory to calculate the date, and everyone in the court knew that the prince was indeed going to get married.
Naturally, some people speculated about the queen's health condition, but unfortunately there was no news at all. After a few days, the news of the prince's wedding was finally confirmed.
The Imperial Observatory also calculated the date, and it will be October next year, which will be the day for the prince’s wedding.
Zhou Shuren could not get any news from the Queen, but he could get news from the Emperor. He then realized that the Crown Prince's wedding was also the Emperor's intention, and the Queen's serious illness also stimulated the Emperor.
The Zhou family doesn't have much contact with the elders of the Shangguan family, but more with the younger generations. Mingrui has contact with Shangguan Liu, while Yujiao has more contact with Shangguan Li. As a result, Yujiao went to Shangguan Mansion and came back and went straight to the main courtyard.
Zhulan glanced at the clock and asked, "Why are you back so early today?"
Yujiao came back with gossip, her eyes sparkling, "Grandma, guess what I saw in Shangguan Mansion?"
Zhulan thought about it and guessed it, but still pretended not to know and said, "I can't guess it."
Yu Jiao said mysteriously, "The Queen's maid and nanny have moved into Shangguan Mansion today. They will teach Sister Shangguan in Shangguan Mansion before she gets married."
She felt that Sister Shangguan was so pitiful. The female officials and the nanny would always follow Sister Shangguan, saying that she had to learn a lot of courses in order to better become the Crown Princess.
Zhulan, "If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight."
The Crown Princess’s courses give me a headache just thinking about them.
Yu Jiao nodded in agreement, "So my granddaughter came back. The female official's eyes were so stern that my granddaughter and Shangguan Li didn't dare to speak loudly."
Zhulan tapped her granddaughter's nose and said, "You."
Yu Jiao laughed and said, "My granddaughter's future husband must be able to spoil her. She wants to live a comfortable life."
Zhulan, "How old are you and you're still thinking about your husband? You have no shame."
Yujiao was not afraid of her grandmother. As the youngest granddaughter, she had privileges. She shook her grandmother's arm and said, "Grandma, are you willing to let your spoiled granddaughter suffer?"
Zhulan felt dizzy from the shaking, "Okay, okay, stop shaking, my hair is going to fall apart."
Yu Jiao didn't dare to shake her head, "Grandma, I'll take that as your consent."
Zhu Lan was helpless, "I will help you choose a good one when the time comes, but don't tell anyone about it in the future."
Yu Jiao nodded, "My granddaughter knows, and she will not say anything nonsense."
At dinner that night, Zhulan told Shuren, "Look at the spoiled granddaughter you have become."
Zhou Shuren couldn't do anything with Yujiao. The youngest one did take advantage, and she was lively and loved to act like a spoiled child. She was indeed spoiled a lot. "This girl was scared."
Zhulan, "There are only two granddaughters left, so we really need to choose good husbands for them."
In the palace, the queen picked up some food for the prince, coughed, and seeing that both sons were looking at her, she indicated that everything was fine, and then said, "The female official has arrived at the Shangguan Mansion."
The prince knew, "Father asked me to go to the Shangguan Mansion in two days."
The Queen coughed again, "Hmm."