Chapter 121

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After Wei Qingqi fell asleep, Jiang Man gently got out of bed, opened the cabinet, touched the jewelry and fabric that Li Huairou had sent, and slowly smiled.

She was not stupid; she knew how to win over a man’s heart. Wei Qingqi was her sky; she wouldn’t prefer others over him. So, as for the matter of feeling moved and eager, she could only release them slowly, in the dead of night.

Only after she came out of the palace had she realized what the life of a human being was. Although the palace was magnificent, it belonged to the masters, and the slaves were only worthy of laying on the ground.

But when she arrived at the Wei house, Jiang Man truly began to enjoy life. Although Wei Qingqi was a little cautious, it was because he cared too much about her. This could be regarded as the love between husband and wife, and she also enjoyed it.

Huairou had given her this opportunity. Although she felt a little ashamed, Jiang Man would not refuse if she had to do it again. As for the return, she’d wait until the future—when Huairou was able to get out of the palace—and then they’d talk about it!

Jiang Man gently closed the cabinet. Although what Huairou had sent was good, she couldn’t use the things. Her husband would buy her whatever she wanted.

Li Huairou didn’t know what Jiang Man was thinking. And even if she did, she wouldn’t have taken it to heart. After all, Jiang Man’s behavior could be seen in the plot. She was also mentally prepared. The reason why she still did this was, first, to maintain her previous characterization, and second, to let Wei Qingxue feel at ease. Let her think that Jiang Man was her weakness—if she could hold Jiang Man, she would be able to hold her. This was a good thing for her and Jiang Man!

All of her heart and mind were now on the clothes she was making for the fifteenth prince.

Caixia’s riding outfit was ready, and Li Huairou had just started. She took the seam out and sewed it apart. Suddenly, one day, she found that her eyesight was a little bit blurry. She was so frightened that she hurried to get wolfberries to make tea, and she started doing eye exercises. Paying attention to the combination of work and rest, she no longer did needlework by lamplight at night.

After two days, her eyesight returned to normal, and Li Huairou was relieved. Damn, there weren’t any myopia glasses at this time, and it would be bad if she were nearsighted.

Li Huairou hurried up and finally got that outfit ready before the fifteenth prince’s birthday.

Looking at her own scarred fingers, Li Huairou swore that she would never use needles again.

Wei Qingxue learned that she’d finished the clothes, so she called her over, looked at the clothes carefully, and nodded. “Not bad, tomorrow is the fifteenth prince’s birthday. He’ll just wear this one?” With this skill, if it were not because of good luck, how could she serve beside a prince?

Li Huairou was stunned for a while. “Ah? It isn’t good, isn’t it?”

Wei Qingxue couldn’t help laughing now. “It seems that you are still quite self-aware!”

Li Huairou smiled awkwardly.

“Forget it. Let the fifteenth prince make the decision!” Wei Qingxue said with a smile.

The fifteenth prince was, of course, willing. He was very happy as he held the clothes. “This cloth is so beautiful, I like it so much! I’ll wear this tomorrow.”

Li Huairou smiled. “Your Highness, don’t try to make this slave happy. This slave clearly knows how her craftsmanship is. Tomorrow is your birthday, and the emperor might come. Your Highness, let’s wear other clothes. The clothes Caixia made for you look good.”

“No, I’ll wear this. I like to wear this.” The fifteenth prince hugged his clothes and didn’t let go.

Li Huairou couldn’t persuade him either, so she had to leave it to him.

On the fifteenth prince’s birthday, the emperor came.

The emperor was in a good mood, but when his eyes fell on the fifteenth prince, he stopped for a while and felt a little dissatisfied. He said to Wei Qingxue, “What’s wrong with the fifteenth prince’s clothes? Or could it be that Yongshou Palace doesn’t even have a palace maid who knows needlework?”

Wei Qingxue held back a smile. “That was specially made by the maid who had been serving the fifteenth prince for his birthday, and he put it on because of her feelings.”

The emperor listened to this. Nodding his head, he replied, “He’s a good boy. It’s just that even though it’s fine to wear it in your palace, it’s better to change it when he goes outside. Don’t make people think that I have treated him harshly.”

Wei Qingxue smiled and nodded. “Yes, this concubine knows?”

The emperor thought about it and asked again, “Is that palace maid the same as the one that night?”

Wei Qingxue nodded. “Although the palace maid’s hands and feet are a little rough, she is more loyal to the fifteenth prince. He is also used to her care.”

“Mm.” The emperor nodded, called the fifteenth prince to his side, and asked him about his recent homework. The fifteenth prince gave a fluent answer, and the emperor was very satisfied.

The emperor had lunch at Yongshou Palace and went to discuss matters in court. And he came to Yongshou Palace for dinner again. It happened that the fifteenth prince was practicing calligraphy. On a whim, the emperor supported the fifteenth prince’s hand in order to teach him to practice calligraphy.

In the evening, the emperor naturally rested in Yongshou Palace.

Tonight was the sixteenth, and, as a rule, the emperor should have rested in the noble consort’s palace.

The next day, before the emperor’s morning court, he also sent the fifteenth prince to the study room.

There was an uproar in the harem.

This was treatment that even the second prince from the deceased queen had never received! For a time, the fifteenth prince and the concubine behind him became a thorn in the eyes of many people. Especially those concubines with children, including the empress.

The empress was the successor. When the emperor had made her the empress, he’d been reluctant to do so, but she was suitable for that status, and the empress dowager had highly recommended her, so she took the position. The empress gave birth to two sons and a daughter, and only the twelfth prince survived, who naturally was her treasure.

The twelfth prince was her first-born son and the same as her very own heart and liver, so the empress naturally had high hopes for him. However, this seemed to be just the empress’s wishful thinking. The emperor didn’t treat the twelfth prince, with average qualifications, specially.

But no matter what, the twelfth prince was also the heart of the empress; how could she allow others to surpass him?

When Concubine Ling was favored, the empress didn’t take it seriously. After all, as long as the empress didn’t die, Concubine Ling would always be a concubine. But when it came to the twelfth prince, the empress couldn’t bear it.

The same was true for Noble Consort Chun and Noble Consort Jia, who had two sons under them.

For a time, Concubine Ling and the fifteenth prince became the target of public criticism.

This was the result that Wei Qingxue had long expected, and this was what she was waiting for.

They’d suffer a little aggravation now, but it was all for the future.

But even though she was fully prepared, Wei Qingxue still accidentally crushed the tea cup in her hand when she learned that the fifteenth prince had fallen off a horse.

At that time, she had just come back from greeting the empress. She’d been taunted and ridiculed. On the way back, she’d been humiliated by Noble Consort Chun and Noble Consort Jia. She’d been made to kneel for nearly fifteen minutes on the warm stone path. At that time, her knees were all swollen, so Qing Xin and Li Xin were giving her medicine in which to soak her legs.

Upon learning that the fifteenth prince had fallen off a horse, Wei Qingxue accidentally crushed the tea cup in her hand and then subconsciously stood up to leave, but she forgot that her legs were still soaking in the medicine, and she fell heavily.

There was chaos in Yongshou Palace.

The emperor came in a hurry after hearing the news. The fifteenth prince’s right leg and left hand had been fractured, and the imperial physician was bandaging him. After the emperor questioned the imperial physician, he felt a little relieved. He was furious when he learned that Concubine Ling was also injured.

Qing Xin knelt on the ground. “My Lady learned that the fifteenth prince was injured, and she was in a hurry. She wanted to see the fifteenth prince, but she forgot that her legs were soaking in the medicine bucket, and she fell.”

The emperor hurriedly went to see Concubine Ling’s injury, and he found that her head was wrapped in white cloth, with Li Xin applying medicine to her legs.

This injury was not from a fall.

The emperor pointed at Qing Xin and said, “What the hell is going on? Speak!”

Qing Xin looked at Concubine Lin embarrassedly. But under the emperor’s angry eyes, she still said, “After the lady greeted the empress, she was stopped on the way back by Noble Consort Chun and Noble Consort Jia in the imperial garden. My lady greeted the two noble consorts, but the two noble consorts were talking, forgetting that the lady was still kneeling. So…”

Needless to say, the emperor also knew.

Wei Qingxue said weakly, “Your Majesty, this concubine is fine. The fifteenth, he…”

“Don’t worry. The fifteenth prince is fine—no internal organs were injured, and the imperial physician is bandaging him. He can recuperate in Yongshou Palace during these days. As for the missed homework, I will teach him.” The emperor sat beside the bed and patted Wei Qingxue’s hand lightly.

Isn’t it because I have a preference for the fifteenth prince? The more you are like this, the more I love him!

The emperor replaced all the servants under to the fifteenth prince and issued another decree to promote Concubine Ling to Consort Ling.

When Li Huairou heard the news, she was feeding the fifteenth prince medicine. The medicine was mixed with herbs to calm the nerves and aid sleep. After the fifteenth prince took it, he fell into a deep sleep.

Li Huairou sat on the edge of the bed, wiping the sweat from the fifteenth prince’s forehead, and suddenly understood the cause and effect. According to the rules in the palace, the princes could only stay with their biological mother until their full moon, and then they would be sent to the prince’s office. The fifteenth prince had been living in Yongshou Palace due to special circumstances.

[(Man yue (满月) a baby’s completion of its first month of life]

There had been rumors before that the empress intended to let the fifteenth prince move to his brother’s office.

Li Huairou looked at the fifteenth prince’s pale face and his sweat that was dripping from the pain. She was stunned. Wei Qingxue was really scary. She was killing two birds with one stone—probably more than that!

She just didn’t know what the fifteenth prince’s mood would be after he learned the truth.

Wei Qingxue came in person the next day. She asked Li Huairou and the others to retreat, sat beside the bed, and talked to the fifteenth prince alone for a long time.

She left after that. Before leaving, she told the fifteenth prince, “If it still hurts badly, why don’t you read a book? Maybe it won’t hurt so much. Your father emperor said that he will make up for the missed homework for you.”

“Thank you, Concubine Mother. This son knows,” the fifteenth prince said softly.

After Wei Qingxue left, Li Huairou and others prepared to go in.

“Sister Rou, come in. You others are not allowed to come in,” the fifteenth prince said.

Caixia and the others were stunned for a while, then obediently stopped and stood outside the door.

Li Huairou went in and said, “Your Highness, is the pain so bad? If it hurts, just cry. This servant will close her eyes, so she won’t see it.”

She knelt down in front of the bed, closed her eyes, and said this softly.

“Sister Rou, take a seat,” the fifteenth prince said quietly.

Li Huairou sat up and the fifteenth prince laid on her lap, wrapped his arms around her waist, and did not speak.

Because the weather was getting hotter, the palace maids had put on summer clothes, which were thin. Li Huairou clearly felt that her palace skirt was wet with tears. She didn’t speak and gently stroked the fifteenth prince’s head, just like the time when they were in Huaiyin Palace.

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This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

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