Although Ruan Yuewei and Zhao Qinghui were cousins, they were close because of the large age difference between them and Ruan Yuewei grew up in the Empress Dowager's palace. The two saw each other only a few times a year, at weddings, funerals, and New Year's greetings.
This young boy had a weakness that he had from his mother's womb. He was born pale and weak, with a thin and pointed face. However, he had a pair of big eyes, which were so dark that you could see the pupils. When he looked at people, his eyes were fixed, like two deep ancient wells, emitting a chilling air.
Ruan Yuewei was good at dealing with children, and she was not stingy with her care for this sickly cousin of the prince. After one or two times, he always followed her.
But as long as there were other brothers and sisters around her, he would stand far away, never play with them, and just stare at her without blinking.
Ruan Yuewei didn't take it seriously at that time, until one time, when their family had a banquet and relatives came to visit. Many children came, including Zhao Qinghui.
As she had more children, she could no longer take care of this strange cousin, and he continued to watch her and talk.
After the guests left, she discovered that the canary she had raised for three years had its neck twisted and was thrown under the crabapple tree in the yard.
She didn't know who did it, but she vaguely felt that Zhao Qinghui was involved.
Since then, she was a little afraid of him and always tried to avoid him, but he still followed her like a ghost. Later, he gradually grew up and became sensible, and began to restrain himself. But sometimes, when Ruan Yuewei glanced over inadvertently, she would always find that he was looking at her again.
In the past, Ruan Yuewei liked this feeling very much. It was like being stared at by a poisonous snake. Even if you know that the snake does not want to hurt you, it is not a pleasant thing to be approached and entangled by it.
But she had just been hit by Huan Xuan, and for the first time in her life, she felt that his look was not so annoying. Besides, although he was weird, he was the eldest son of the Wu'an Duke's Mansion, and the Wu'an Duke had real power. Unlike their Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion, which was getting worse year by year, and after the death of Empress Dowager Ruan,
She smiled at him and said, "Why are you here, cousin? Do you want to go to the waterside to drink wine?"
"I came here specifically to visit my cousin." Zhao Qinghui tried his best to restrain himself, but greed still flashed in his eyes.
Ruan Yuewei was a little scared, so she leaned closer to Shu Zhu and forced a smile, "Cousin, what's the matter?"
Zhao Qinghui said, "Last time I went home to entertain guests, I saw that my cousin seemed hesitant. I didn't ask her at that time, but she has been on my mind. So I thought of finding an opportunity to ask her how she is doing recently."
Seeing that he was not as unkind as before and had not done anything inappropriate, Ruan Yuewei breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he thought that there were still people in this world who cared about her. He could tell from her expression that she was depressed, and he tried every means to find an opportunity to ask her. In comparison, Huan Xuan seemed even more indifferent.
Thinking of Huan Xuan, her eyes welled up, but she held back her tears and said with a smile, "Thank you for your concern, cousin. I have no hesitation."
Zhao Qinghui took a half step forward and said, "Cousin, don't lie to me. I know you are the best at putting yourself in a difficult position to accommodate others, but what happened to you in the palace?"
Ruan Yuewei was startled and looked around, afraid that someone else might have heard it.
Zhao Qinghui smiled and said, "My cousin, you must be frightened. There is only one way out. I have asked someone to guard there. You will know if anyone approaches."
After a pause, he said with a calm face, "I came to see my cousin for no other reason than to ask if there is anything I can help with."
Ruan Yuewei felt relieved: "Your Highness the Crown Prince treats me very well."
It cannot be said that the prince treated her very well. Although he was distracted by the affairs of the court recently and was not as considerate to her as when they first got married, he still stayed in her courtyard for more than half of the month and gave her all the good things he had.
She felt guilty towards the prince for having such feelings for Huan Xuan, but people's hearts were under her control. She just kept this affection in her heart as a thought, and she didn't really want to do anything. Thinking of this, she felt relieved.
Zhao Qinghui blinked his eyes. His eyelashes were very long and his eyes were beautiful in shape, but they didn't fit well on this face, making them look weird like a doll.
"If it's because of the prince, then it must be because of the King of Qi?" he said faintly.
Ruan Yuewei was horrified and her face turned pale: "Cousin, be careful with your words!"
Zhao Qinghui tilted his head, his eyes opened wider, full of confusion: "Why is my cousin so frightened? I just heard some rumors about the King of Qi, and I thought my cousin would be very happy."
Ruan Yuewei asked: "What rumors?"
Zhao Qinghui said: "I heard that the King of Qi has a concubine who looks like my cousin..."
Her secret thoughts were not seen through by others. Ruan Yue breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned again: "Has the news... spread?"
Zhao Qinghui nodded with a sullen face. In fact, only a few people knew about this matter, and he had been paying attention to what Huan Xuan knew.
Ruan Yuewei's face turned pale and blue, and she bit her lip, not knowing what to say.
"As long as that woman stays in Chang'an, my sister will be criticized," Zhao Qinghui's eyes flashed with a sinister look, "I really feel sorry for my sister."
Ruan Yue's eyes were filled with tears, but she tried hard to hold them back and said, "That is the King of Qi's own business. It has nothing to do with me. Let them talk."
"I can help my sister," Zhao Qinghui said, "I have checked the identity of that woman. She is just a poor orphan. I can..."
Ruan Yuewei's heart skipped a beat, and the canary with a broken neck suddenly flashed through her mind. She instantly understood what he meant, and hurriedly stopped him from talking: "Cousin, don't talk nonsense!"
"Don't worry, cousin. I won't kill her," Zhao Qinghui said, "I just want her to stay in the capital and not get in your way."
Ruan Yuewei's heart was slightly moved, but she immediately came to her senses and said seriously: "You'd better give up this idea as soon as possible, and don't go to provoke King Qi!"
He paused and slowed down his tone: "I know you are thinking about me, but the King of Qi is more cautious than others. You will only bring disaster by doing this."
Zhao Qinghui stared at her for a while, then slowly said, "Okay, if you change your mind one day, just say a word. You know, I'm willing to do anything for you."
At this time, two coughs were heard in the distance. Zhao Qinghui reluctantly said, "Someone is coming. I'll find a place to hide. Cousin, go out first. I'll leave in an hour."
Ruan Yuewei nodded and walked out quickly.
She had cold sweat on her back, but she felt inexplicably relieved in her heart. Although this Prince Zhao was so sinister that it made people feel too comfortable, his heart towards her was so sincere.
…
Huan Xuan had been entertaining guests at Qujiang Lake for a day, and there was a night banquet at Furong Garden. After the banquet, he returned to the palace without even changing his clothes. He called Gao Mai and asked, "Did someone bring back the things from Chang'anfang?"
Gao Mai said yes.
Huan Xuan asked again: "Is Grandma Gao back too?"
"She will be back in the afternoon," Gao Mai said, "Do you want me to go and fetch her?"
"No, we'll talk about it tomorrow," Huan Xuan estimated that the old nanny had gone to bed, "What do the people in Chang'anfang say?"
Gao Mai really admired his prince. Every time he wanted to find out other people's news, he would beat around the bush. If he had something to say, he would not talk nicely and would always act condescendingly.
No one is here, and I don’t know who I’m doing this for.
"Reporting to Your Highness," he replied respectfully, "When I went there today, Mrs. Lu was out. I want to wait for Mrs. Lu to come back, and then I will send someone to ask her?"
Huan Xuan raised his eyebrows and said, "Of course, if you had told me earlier about her, I would have reported it to you."
Gao Mai: “…Yes.”
Huan Xuan added, "Tomorrow you will go to inspect several manors in the capital and ask Madam Gao. If she wants to go to Lantian to see her nephew, then take her with you."
…
In the mountain and pond courtyard.
Chun Tiao helped Sui Sui sit back on the bed, and felt that her forehead was burning hot, so he hurried to find a doctor.
Sui Sui stopped her and said, "There is no clinic in the town. We have to go to the north of the city to ask for help. It's late at night and we don't have the royal palace token. What should we do if we encounter the Jinwu Guards patrolling the streets?"
Chun Tiao said: "The guards are also from the palace. The Jinwu Guards will know once they investigate. They have to consider the face of the palace..."
Before she finished speaking, she remembered that their wife was no longer the same as before. Before, she was favored and all the rules were no problem for her, but now she had been clearly rejected by the King of Qi.
Before, she was still hoping that His Highness would remember their wife's kindness and change his mind one day. But when she came back this evening and asked, she found out that all of Prince Qi's personal belongings in Qinghan Courtyard had been moved out, and even Grandma Gao had been ordered to return to the palace.
The reason for taking things away could be said to be for easier access, but once Grandma Gao left, everyone knew that Lu Suisui was completely hopeless.
If the servants were allowed to break the clock again at this time, and the Jinwu Guards found the King of Qi, she didn't know what would happen to his wife.
Sui Sui didn't know that Chun Tiao had thought so much. She just relied on her good health and felt that a small cold was not worth mobilizing so many troops.
"Go and boil some cold medicine to give me a chill. I'll be fine by tomorrow morning." Sui Sui said nonchalantly.
Chun Tiao was still a little hesitant: "But my wife's forehead is terribly hot."
Sui Sui touched his forehead with the back of his hand and said casually, "Maybe your hands are cold, I feel they are fine. As the saying goes, 'If you are sick, you can get treatment with Chinese medicine', don't worry."
Chun Tiao still couldn't let go of her worries, so she asked Uncle Fu to invite an old doctor from the neighborhood. Doctor Fu couldn't cure diseases, but thanks to her good fortune, the diseases healed quickly.
Sui Sui drank the sweat-inducing medicine, let Doctor Fu touch his forehead, and then went back to sleep.
After all the trouble, she felt sleepy and lay quietly on the bed, with Huan Jiong's words repeating over and over in her mind.
Someone must have found a way to let him know the truth that the Queen had abandoned him, but that person would definitely expose himself - a sensitive, inferior, yet proud person like Prince Chen would never be willing to be used by others. You can tell from his angry look when he found out that he was being used.
The person who benefited the most from Huan Ye's death was of course Huan Rong. It was not difficult for him to know about the Queen's affairs - in this kind of thing, as long as you pay attention, you can always find clues.
She just didn't understand. Huan Ye proposed to give up his throne after returning to Chang'an. Huan Rong only needed to patiently wait for him to give up the throne. Why did he have to go to the extra mile to instigate Prince Chen
Regardless of whether that person was Huan Rong or not, he did not personally participate in the matter, and at best he could only be considered to have alienated the brothers. Even if there was evidence, she could not put him to death - after all, she was not so powerful that she could assassinate the crown prince single-handedly.
Moreover, Huan Rong is Huan Ye's fellow brother. If she was not sure, she would not kill him.
She tossed and turned for a long time, thinking, and finally fell into a sleep when she heard the chirping of birds outside.
The doctor seemed to have some tips. When she woke up, her forehead didn't seem so hot anymore.
Sui Sui was sweating all over and went to the bathroom to take a bath. He was thinking that he would go to the cosmetics shop tomorrow and listen to the street talk to see if the bodies they threw in the mountains had been found.
Her fever was up and down that day and it never completely went away, but she didn't care because it looked very serious and just took medicine on time to induce sweating.
On the third day, she got up and had breakfast, asked Chun Tiao to prepare the carriage, and bent down to take out the Hu clothes she wore when going out from the suitcase. When she stood up, she suddenly felt dizzy, her eyes went dark, and she fainted.
Chun Tiao returned to the room and saw Sui Sui lying on the ground. He was shocked. He touched his forehead and found that he had a fever again, and it seemed to be hotter than last night.
She quickly pinched Sui Sui's philtrum and gave her some tea. Sui Sui woke up and realized that she had been too careless this time.
Fortunately, it was daytime, and Chun Tiao immediately sent someone to the north of the city to call a doctor. After waiting for a long time, the doctor finally came. The doctor touched her wrist and knew that her fever was frighteningly high without even taking her pulse.
The doctor wrote a prescription to reduce the fever. Chun Tiao muttered to Xiao Tong: "My wife has always been in good health. How come she went to Qinglong Temple to fulfill her vow and came back with a high fever..."
When the doctor heard this, he frowned and stopped writing: "Which temple did you say she went to?"
Chun Tiao said: "Qinglong Temple and Linghua Temple."
When making a wish, I worshipped the Buddhas of both temples, and did the same when fulfilling the wish.
The doctor's expression suddenly became serious. "An epidemic broke out in the Beitian Hospital of Qinglong Temple. Yesterday, the Yulin Guards and the Imperial Medical Bureau went to seal off the temple. This lady just went to Qinglong Temple the day before yesterday. It is very likely that she was infected with the epidemic."