Chapter 101
After seeing off Princess Dunshu, Qi Xiao sat alone in his inner study for a while. Just as he was lost in thought, Jiang Deqing crept in quietly and, bowing low, said in a soft voice, "Your Highness, before the王爷 left, he instructed that Your Highness should rest after lunch every day. It's almost now the hour of Wei."
Qi Xiao rose as expected and headed to the bedchamber, with Jiang Deqing following behind and chuckling softly. Normally, no matter how much he pleaded, Qi Xiao would never listen. But now, just by mentioning Bai Ren, one word was all it took.
It was still cold on the outer corridor. Qi Xiao pulled his light fur cloak tighter and smiled faintly. "There's no need for Your Grace to chuckle secretly. A wife's words have always carried more weight than a mother's—that's the natural order."
Jiang Deqing hastily replied in alarm, "I wouldn't dare, Your Highness. Your words are truly too kind."
Qi Xiao paused his steps and idly teased the silk birds hanging on the corridor, asking, "What else did he say before he left?"
Jiang Deqing took a small porcelain jar of grain from beside him and handed it to Qi Xiao. "He also said that since it's early spring with the warmth just returning, I should be careful not to let Your Highness catch a chill. And to keep persuading Your Highness not to drink cold wine, not to stay up late."
Jiang Deqing smiled warmly. "To be honest, Your Highness, before王爷 left, he gave this old servant a whole pouch of gold melon seeds. The saying goes, 'When you receive a ruler's favor, be loyal to the ruler's cause.' This old servant understands that principle."
Qi Xiao couldn't help but laugh. "You're quite honest."
"This old servant wouldn't dare hide anything from Your Highness. I simply felt grateful for王爷's careful thoughtfulness and couldn't help but incur Your Highness's displeasure." Jiang Deqing's flattery was perfectly timed. "Though王爷 is back home, his heart must be so worried about Your Highness. If this servant can't even handle such simple instructions, how could I face王爷 again?"
Jiang Deqing thought for a moment and then sighed. "Speaking of which… Your Highness should spend less time in the inner study. Last time王爷 heard that Your Highness hasn't returned to the bedchamber since last year's incident, he was distressed beyond measure. Even for王爷's sake, Your Highness should take better care of yourself."
Qi Xiao fed the birds some food, then casually set the grain jar aside and said softly, "I was just thinking… never mind. Send word to the palace people for me, and also tell Xi Xiang to keep an eye on things."
When Qi Xiao entered the inner room and quietly gave his instructions, Jiang Deqing was startled. "This… wouldn't this cause chaos?"
Qi Xiao冷笑ed. "I'm just worried they won't cause chaos."
Jiang Deqing felt uneasy and whispered, "Perhaps we should wait a while? Wait for… wait for王爷 to return. Then there'd be someone to consult with."
Qi Xiao laughed. "I want to clean up this mess precisely while he's not here. You're suggesting I wait for him? Fine, go ahead."
Jiang Deqing tried to persuade him further, but Qi Xiao's mind was made up. All he could do was agree and leave.
In a side hall of the Yonghua Palace, Concubine Xue stood by the window, staring blankly at the gloomy sky outside. A female official beside her had been enduring for some time before finally unable to hold back, stepped forward and whispered, "Your Highness… what are your thoughts on what Princess Dunshu said that day?"
The female official had been present when Princess Dunshu came to see Concubine Xue that day. Concubine Xue, who relied heavily on her, replied blankly, "I… I can't say."
The female official was anxious in her heart and whispered, "How can you still be so indecisive? What time is this? If we wait any longer… Empress Feng will have eaten Your Highness's bones."
That morning when she went to Fenghua Palace for morning greetings, Concubine Xue had again been given a dressing down by Empress Feng. She had been favored for years and had a prince; she had never suffered such indignity. Now that the dragon was stranded in shallow waters, everyone in the palace wanted to kick her. The once-bustling Yonghua Palace had become like a cold palace. Concubine Xue's mind couldn't turn around this弯儿, and she said in a daze, "If I really listen to her, then… then won't my Qi'er have no chance at all?"
The female official bit her lip and said bitterly, "But you must also consider… if you don't listen to the Crown Prince, how much chance is there?"
Concubine Xue frowned in agony. "It's all my fault… this past year I let people flatter me until I lost all perspective, and in my restlessness, I ruined my son's great future." Concubine Xue wept bitterly. The female official hastily tried to comfort her, "Please don't think like that, Your Highness. It was always a life-or-death gamble anyway. Now that we've learned our lesson and stepped back, perhaps it's not such a bad thing. At least we've preserved our lives."
Concubine Xue gave a bitter, cold smile. "Preserved our lives? You think the Crown Prince is a great philanthropist? I know what happened back then. If he succeeds in the future, for revenge, he might slaughter all of the Emperor's offspring… Father has always warned me not to oppose the Crown Prince—there must be a reason. Allying with him is merely the worst of all strategies anyway."
The female official urged repeatedly, "It's still better than having no options… Perhaps Your Highness could send another letter to the Duke? The Duke's thinking is always more thorough than ours."
"No!" Concubine Xue said sternly. "Because of what happened before, I've already implicated Father. I heard Father's already been气得病了 from me. How could I add to his worries while he's ill?"
The female official was torn. "Then what should we do? Your Highness said… said the Emperor has that illness! Then… how much time do we have? If the Feng family gains power in the future, there really will be no way out. If the Crown Prince wins, and we didn't respond to him now, in the future… we'll be in trouble too."
Concubine Xue's mind was also in turmoil. In the end, she was still unwilling. She kept wondering if there was any way for her son to turn defeat into victory. But heaven was unkind. Now she had even lost her greatest advantage—the Emperor's favor. What else could she do?
Just as they were hesitating in every way possible, a young palace maid rushed in stumbling, fell to her knees on the ground, and cried, "Your Highness… it's bad, Your Highness…"
The female official supported Concubine Xue and said sternly, "What's bad? Speak properly. Be careful not to frighten Her Highness."
"Yes, yes…" The young maid sobbed uncontrollably. "Just now we were helping the Third Prince rest for his nap. The Third Prince had only been lying down for a short while before he rolled off the bed and fell to the floor. We were startled. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turned pale—it was terrifying…"
Concubine Xue nearly fainted, and shrieked, "Quick, fetch the imperial physician!"
"We did, but it was useless…" The young maid cried so hard she couldn't breathe, sobbing, "As soon as the incident happened, Feicui went to beg Empress Feng for permission to summon the imperial physician, but, but…"
The female official was extremely anxious and demanded angrily, "But what? Speak!"
The young maid broke into loud sobs. "Empress Feng didn't respond. She even smiled and asked Feicui if the Third Prince had deliberately eaten something bad this time, trying to frame someone… Your Highness knows, who would harm anyone? Feicui didn't dare say anything, only knocked her head on the floor, begging Empress Feng to save him. Empress Feng didn't respond, saying that all the imperial physicians were attending to the Emperor in Chengqian Palace, so they had no time to deal with someone else's theatricals. Feicui had no choice but to come back. She sent me to beg Your Highness to think of something. If we wait any longer… it might be too late!"
Concubine Xue's temples throbbed, her eyebrows shot up, and she hissed, "Go… Bring my seal. Go directly to the Imperial Medical Bureau. I want to see who dares not come!"
The young maid hastily agreed, took the Consort's seal, and left. Concubine Xue's face was ashen, her neck stiff, and she said coldly, "Once I've saved Qi'er, I'll… I'll go find Princess Dunshu and tell her that I… agree to everything."
A few days later, Qi Xiao looked at Concubine Xue's personal letter and said softly, "Concubine Xue truly has sincerity. She deliberately sent over a handle, just to let me know she's genuine. Heh… she's quite sensible."
Jiang Deqing smiled apologetically. This time Qi Xiao had nearly cost Qi Qi his life, but Concubine Xue thought it was the Feng family making a move. After clutching her son and walking back from the gates of death, Concubine Xue immediately made up her mind—she had to ally with Qi Xiao. She wanted nothing else, only for Qi Xiao to preserve the lives of her and her son, and preserve the entire Xue family.
Qi Xiao smiled faintly. "This deal isn't a loss for her."
Jiang Deqing hastily said, "Of course not, ha ha… Speaking of which, it's quite funny. Empress Feng insisted it was Concubine Xue stirring up trouble again, trying to make the Emperor feel sorry for her. Concubine Xue pointed straight at Fenghua Palace, saying it was Empress Feng trying to harm people and destroy evidence. The husband says the husband is right, the wife says the wife is right. Your Highness's method of stirring up chaos is truly brilliant. The Emperor's spirit was already weak; now that it's come to this, he's completely confused. His illness has worsened considerably."
Qi Xiao冷笑ed. Jiang Deqing then said happily, "If王爷 knew about this, he'd certainly be pleased."
A gentle smile crossed Qi Xiao's lips, and he said softly, "If there were no delays on the road, he should have arrived at Lingdu by now."
Jiang Deqing nodded and smiled. "That's right. When the Princess Consort sees王爷, she'll probably be startled. When he left, he was as thin as a paper person. After two months apart, he went back looking like a completely different person—both handsome and thriving. The Princess Consort will be so happy, certainly praising Your Highness for taking such good care of him."
Qi Xiao smiled elegantly. Then suddenly remembering something, he frowned. "Has Kang Tai already arrived in the capital? What's the situation?"
Jiang Deqing嗤笑ed and shook his head. "She arrived the day before yesterday. This one is really something. Even though her title of county princess has been stripped away, she still wants to put on airs. After arriving in the capital, she refused to go directly to the Li residence. Instead, she wanted to seek refuge with Princess Roujia, hoping to be married off from the He residence. The He family old matriarch has no backbone. After all, she's Princess Roujia's younger sister—she didn't dare refuse. The He son-in-law had an even harder time of it. Though the situation isn't proper, Kang Tai is his sister-in-law after all. If he said anything improper, it would seem like he wasn't showing proper respect to Princess Roujia. He was truly in a difficult position."
Qi Xiao frowned. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?! He's not here. If he knew his sister was being wronged, wouldn't he be angry?"
Jiang Deqing smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. Princess Roujia wasn't wronged. Who could have imagined… in the end, it was Princess Roujia who came out to speak. The Princess had just completed her second month post-partum. Her body was still a bit weak, but her spirit was excellent. When she heard about Kang Tai's scheme, she directly put on a cloak and went out to meet her. She stood guard at the He residence and wouldn't let Kang Tai enter. Kang Tai couldn't get out of her sedan chair, so she had to send her wet nurse to plead with Princess Roujia. No matter how silver-tongued they were, Princess Roujia simply wouldn't let them in. Finally, Kang Tai lost her patience and started cursing from inside the sedan chair. Her language was quite vulgar. But… she's fierce, Princess Roujia is fiercer. One sentence from her froze the entire situation."
Jiang Deqing looked at Qi Xiao and smiled. "Princess Roujia said… 'If you want to get married, hurry to the Li residence before they change their minds. If you don't want to marry, then turn around and go back to Lingnan. The Prince's mansion may not have much, but we can still afford to feed you!'"
"Kang Tai cursed that times have changed. Princess Roujia smiled in response… 'Times have changed—you understand that much. But the current Prince of Lingnan is my proper brother, not yours.'"