Sure enough, Wen Renying grew up with them and knew her parents better than Xiaocao. When they met the next day, Han was still the same as before. It seemed that the mention of Third Master Xie yesterday was just a small episode.
Han is still preparing for the Dragon Boat Festival. Xiaocao needs to go to the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion today. It has been seven days since the Dingbei Princess was buried, and the Dingbei Prince should be back. It is absolutely impossible for Xiaocao to say that she is not worried about his injuries.
But there was no need to rush, Xiaocao went there after lunch.
Although King Dingbei was not in a good mood, he had finally cleaned himself up and was no longer as untidy and depressed as he was at the beginning. Xiaocao could understand King Dingbei's current mood, but it did not mean that...
The old concubine, Princess Changning, the men under Prince Dingbei, and even the entire Prince Dingbei's mansion, were all concerned about Prince Dingbei's injuries. Therefore, when Xiaocao examined Prince Dingbei's injuries, there were quite a few people around.
The injuries on my back aren't serious, but this leg...
Seeing Xiaocao's gloomy face and dark eyes staring at King Dingbei, everyone knew that the situation was probably not good.
King Dingbei was sitting and Xiaocao was squatting, so his sight line was naturally not as high as King Dingbei's. However, that upward gaze made King Dingbei's scalp tingle. He knew that sometimes a glance from him could make his subordinates silent, but he had never experienced it personally. However, now, he might have experienced it.
"Wen Ren..."
"If Your Majesty doesn't want his legs anymore, you can just say so. I have repeatedly reminded you that you cannot stand up and cannot use force on your legs before the time comes. Do you think I'm lying to you?" Xiaocao spoke very rudely, not hiding her emotions at all.
She could understand his feelings, but that didn't mean she could tolerate his mistakes. Apart from anything else, even if it was to let the deceased rest in peace, he should take good care of himself. Being sad was not an excuse to do anything reckless.
King Dingbei opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but finally chose to remain silent. He lowered his head obediently, looked at the grass carefully, apologized, admitted his mistake, and looked like he was listening to a lecture obediently.
Xiaocao's expression didn't ease at all.
Everyone else's heart started to lift. "Xuan girl, Xiaobei's injury..."
Xiao Cao rubbed his temple and let out a breath. "Let's wait a few days and see. I hope I don't have to do it again. If I re-set the bone, the effect will definitely not be as good as the first time. It may even cause necrosis of the broken bone because it didn't heal properly and it took too long. The willow branch bone setting will be useless and the leg will be completely useless."
It was like a bolt from the blue. The old concubine staggered and her body began to tremble.
Xiao Cao quickly stepped forward to support her, secretly blaming herself for being so angry that she didn't take the old concubine into consideration. "Old concubine, don't worry, this is just the worst possible outcome, the possibility is very low, really."
Looking at King Dingbei again, he had a worried look on his face, "Grandmother..." He subconsciously wanted to stand up.
"Sit back, Your Majesty, do you have any self-awareness at all?" Xiao Cao said sternly with a dark face.
King Dingbei's body stiffened and he slowly sat back, looking a little cowardly no matter how you looked at him.
The old concubine took a breath, looked at King Dingbei, and said sternly, "My old bones are still fine, you don't need to worry about it. You and Guangsi had a good relationship. She is gone, you are sad, I know, we are all very sad, but Mubei, remember, you are my grandson, the only remaining bloodline of the Mu family, you should know that from your hair to your heels, you do not belong to you alone. Guangsi is my granddaughter-in-law, I cherish her and can give her glory after her death, please don't make me hate her, your leg could have been healed, if it was because of her, believe me, I will not only move her spirit tablet out of the ancestral hall, I can also dig up her grave and let her body be abandoned in the wilderness."
The people around gasped, and Xiaocao's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch. Although the old concubine appeared to be a serious and self-disciplined person, in Xiaocao's eyes, she was actually not much different from an ordinary old lady. Only now did she truly feel that she was indeed a heroine who had been on the battlefield and was a ruthless person!
King Dingbei tightly grasped the armrests on both sides, silent. After an unknown amount of time, he slowly let go and said, "Grandma, it was my grandson's fault. Please don't be angry. I will definitely take good care of my injuries and won't mess around again."
The old concubine's anger eased a little, but she didn't say anything more to King Dingbei. She looked at Xiaocao and suppressed her anger, so that it was completely invisible. "Xuan girl, I'll trouble you from now on. Just tell me what to do and we will cooperate. If this bastard dares to disobey again, tell me and I will deal with him."
"Old Concubine Dowager, it's not that serious. I was just anxious for a moment." Xiaocao is now restraining her temper, for fear of affecting this ruthless man. Sometimes, saying harsh words can really hurt people. Moreover, the old concubine is clearly the kind of person who keeps her word.
Princess Dingbei's family also left in the first two days and rushed back to Northern Frontier as fast as they could. Otherwise, if they knew what the old empress dowager said, they would be very disappointed.
The Mu family only has the Prince of Dingbei as their only son, so it is normal for the old concubine to value him. However, he failed to control himself and his injuries worsened. The old concubine took her anger out on his daughter, and not only refused to accept incense and worshipped him, but also abandoned her body in the wilderness. Anyone would be unhappy. The old concubine's prestige would probably be discounted, and her respect for him would naturally weaken.
The old concubine's mentality is actually the norm for many people. In fact, she is not an unreasonable person. On the contrary, she is clear about gratitude and resentment, and pays attention to right and wrong. It's just that because she has lost too much, she can no longer bear it...
Xiaocao asked Princess Changning to help the old concubine to rest, and left the matter to her. If there was anything needed, there were other people to help. She promised the old concubine that she would do her best.
When Xiaocao faced King Dingbei again, King Dingbei looked at her quietly, "Fourth Miss, I'm sorry."
In fact, when the old concubine said that, Xiao Cao's anger had almost subsided. "I was just too anxious just now. Your Highness, there is no need to say these things. Just take good care of him in the future. There is still a greater hope of recovery. However, he was supposed to try to stand up after a while, but now I am afraid it will take a long time, and this is assuming that he will not be re-set."
"I understand. Don't worry, Fourth Miss. I will pay extra attention next time."
Xiaocao nodded and said nothing more. Because she needed to observe for another two days, she could only continue to use the medicine for the time being. However, Xiaocao made some adjustments to the medicine.
The next day was the Dragon Boat Festival. Although they were in two different times and spaces, some of the historical backgrounds were surprisingly similar.
Xiaocao arrived at Prince Dingbei's mansion quite early, basically after breakfast, and brought with her quite a few rice dumplings with various fillings. Perhaps because it was a festival, the atmosphere between the old concubine and Prince Dingbei seemed quite harmonious, because Xiaocao had prescribed tranquilizers for Prince Dingbei yesterday. He must have slept well last night, and he looked much better today, both in spirit and complexion. He smiled faintly when he saw Xiaocao.
The pain will always fade away with the passage of time.
The old empress dowager had something else to do, so she took Princess Changning with her. She seemed to be very relieved about Xiaocao.
"Because I have to go out with my family today, I came here early to take a look."
"It's just a change of medicine. It will be the same if the fourth lady comes again tomorrow."
"It is better to be cautious in the next two days and deal with problems in a timely manner. Sometimes, not to mention one or two days, even a shorter period of time may result in different results. We cannot be careless or lazy."
Seeing Xiaocao's attitude, King Dingbei felt more and more guilty. However, was he secretly annoyed about losing control of his emotions? Guangsi was not only his wife...
King Dingbei put these things away bit by bit and hid them in his heart. He would not allow himself to lose control again. No matter how sad he was, he would never let anyone around him see it.
Although the time from yesterday to today was short, and the injury seemed to be of similar severity in the eyes of others, Xiao Cao rarely showed a relaxed smile, "It looks good, and there should be no need to re-set the bone."
King Dingbei looked down at Xiaocao, who was half-kneeling in front of him to check his injuries, with a pure smile on her face. She was really happy for his slight improvement, and she looked particularly touching.
"That's naturally the best thing to do. Thank you, Fourth Miss." King Dingbei said softly.
Xiao Cao stood up with her smile on her face, "That's because you're lucky, Your Highness. If you do it again, it's hard to say what the result will be. However, if you do it again, Your Highness, I won't care about you anymore. I can't take care of a disobedient patient." She said jokingly.
There are many women around King Dingbei, but it can be said that this is the first time that he can get along with Xiaocao in such a relaxed and casual way, and with a sense of intimacy. This feeling is completely different from when he was with Guangsi.
"Some mistakes are okay to make once. How can you make them again? If there is a next time, I will be too ashamed to face the Fourth Girl." The Fourth Girl is really scary when she gets angry.
"That's the best. Only obedient patients are likable. - The prince's current condition still needs to be observed for another two days. I will come early tomorrow morning. However, if the prince feels anything unusual, you must let someone tell me. I will probably be near Tianshui Lake today. Don't think of bothering me or wasting my time. It's just playing. Naturally, it's not as important as the prince's injury. Remember?"
King Dingbei felt his heart beat faster for some reason. He was afraid to look Xiaocao in the eye. He lowered his eyes slightly, smiled slightly, and nodded, "I will follow the Fourth Lady's words."
Xiaocao was amused by him and said, "I'll take my leave first." Xiaocao squatted down.
King Dingbei asked someone to send her back.
King Dingbei sat quietly, watching Xiaocao leave, thinking nothing. Only when Xiaocao's figure completely disappeared did he retract his gaze and prepare to return to the house.
The old concubine came over from the other side.
"Grandma." I felt a little strange. It seemed like my grandmother didn't show up on purpose just now.
The old concubine stood in front of King Dingbei, waved away the others, and said in a serious tone, "Mubei, Guangsi is gone, you will always have to remarry, isn't it time to consider it now?"
Mu Bei just thought that it was because of his injury that his grandmother was still angry at Guangsi. He felt a pain in his heart but did not show it on his face. He knew that his grandmother attached great importance to the Dingbei Prince's Mansion, or more precisely, the Mu family. She hoped that the Mu family could prosper and change the situation where the family line could be cut off at any time.
"Grandma, can you please wait for a year? I don't know how well my injuries will recover. Even if I can recover and return to Northern Frontier, it will definitely take a long time to recuperate. Before that, I will let the Mu family leave incense."
"In your eyes, is grandma just for the sake of the Mu family's incense?"
Mu Bei moved his lips but didn't say anything, but there was a hint of acquiescence in his expression.
"Because grandma said something cruel, do you think grandma is cruel and have a grudge against her?"
"No, Grandma, you're overthinking it."
"I asked you to consider remarrying because I'm worried that if time goes on too long, Xuan girl will be hired away by another family. After all, she's already eighteen years old. Even if they want to keep her, they can't keep her for too long."
Mu Bei's face was extremely calm, because he had suppressed all his emotions in his heart. The old concubine's words instantly broke his composure. He stared at the old concubine with some astonishment, "No, Grandmother, you mean... Fourth Miss..."
"How about I marry Xuan girl to be your concubine?" The old concubine smiled rarely.
The expression on King Dingbei's face kept changing, and it took him a long while to regain his ability to speak. "Grandmother, are you kidding me?"
"Marriage is a serious matter, how can it be treated as a joke? I just want to ask you, are you willing?"
King Dingbei opened his mouth, wondering how he should respond.