A Figure on Jade Steps in the Wind and Snow 35

Chapter 35: Smiling

Shen Zhishu hastily grabbed a cloth towel, dried her body in a few moves, pulled on her clothes, and strode out of the bathroom.

When she rushed to the inner room, she saw the Eldest Princess lying motionless on the bed, and the old imperial physician was kneeling by the bed, diligently taking her pulse. Everyone present was holding their breath, and not a sound of breathing could be heard.

…She really fainted!

Shen Zhishu frowned and stood by the side, watching the old imperial physician treat Jiang Yu.

The old imperial physician’s hands were trembling, and she turned to take out a silver needle from her bag.

Shen Zhishu was not familiar with this old imperial physician’s usual style, so she asked the attendant in a low voice, “Why is she using needles directly? Shouldn’t she report the illness first?”

“She has always been like this, she starts directly, and only after the treatment has shown some effect will she speak,” the attendant said in a low voice. “She says she’s afraid that speaking will affect her thinking.”

Shen Zhishu was still a little worried, mainly because the old imperial physician’s hands were really shaking. It took her three tries to insert a needle in the right place, and Shen Zhishu felt the pain for Jiang Yu just by watching.

After she had fumbled and inserted a dozen needles, Jiang Yu’s eyelashes trembled, and she finally woke up faintly.

Shen Zhishu suspected that Jiang Yu had been woken up by the pain.

The old imperial physician was visibly happy, and then she sighed, “Your Highness should still take more care of your body in your daily life. A healthy diet and a good mentality are the long-term plan. Your Highness’s body is already a little weak. You didn’t have breakfast today, and you stood outside in the wind at night, so the cold has already entered your body. When you were bathing, you were steamed by the heat, and the cold and warmth clashed. In addition, your emotions fluctuated too much, which caused your qi and blood to rush up, and your blood circulation was not smooth, so you lost consciousness.”

…Emotional fluctuations were too much? She really couldn’t tell at all.

Jiang Yu’s face was as calm as a frozen lake in winter.

Thinking this, Shen Zhishu said something else, “Why didn’t Your Highness have breakfast today? You were just advising me to have a regular schedule, but you don’t take care of your own body. You gave me quite a scare.”

An attendant came forward to feed her a few sips of water. Jiang Yu propped herself up on the bed, first thanked the old imperial physician, and then said in a faint voice, “I didn’t have time.”

“What was so urgent that you didn’t even have time to eat?”

Jiang Yu pulled the blanket tighter and thought for a moment, “I drafted a letter early this morning and sent it to the palace, explaining the matter of the Martial Hall, and had someone deliver it to the Emperor.”

“You could have eaten after you finished writing, couldn’t you?”

“No,” Jiang Yu shook her head. “Before I had time to order food, the Emperor suddenly arrived. If she had seen that I hadn’t had breakfast, she would have definitely nagged me for a while. Anyway, it was only two hours until lunch, so I didn’t eat. I had the small kitchen take it away and share it with the attendants.”

“Just because of that?”

“Just because of that.”

Shen Zhishu turned her head and pulled over an attendant, “Is what your master said true?”

That attendant nodded like a garlic pounder, “Absolutely true, I wouldn’t lie to the General.”

Shen Zhishu smiled, “Why would Your Highness abuse your own body because of what others do? If Xie Jin didn’t eat breakfast because her mother was nagging her and I found out, I would have given her a couple of punches.”

Jiang Yu’s eyebrows raised slightly, “Then will the General give me a couple of punches?”

Shen Zhishu: ?

“With Your Highness’s constitution, two slaps from me and your waist would break,” Shen Zhishu smiled. “Xie Jin is tough and can take a beating, but Your Highness is different.”

Jiang Yu muttered softly, “Aren’t we all friends? What’s the difference?”

Shen Zhishu finally realized belatedly that Jiang Yu was “competing.”

Competition between friends was actually very common. For example, Xie Jin had once called another person “good friend,” and she had been very uncomfortable after finding out. She had forced her to admit that she was her best friend in the world before she would let it go.

But Jiang Yu had always been inscrutable, so this kind of mentality was particularly magical on her.

Shen Zhishu thought, no wonder Jiang Yu asked that. This Eldest Princess’s train of thought was always strange.

She liked to seek peace and quiet in a bustling city, liked to play chess alone in the pavilion at night, and didn’t allow anyone to be near her when she bathed… Compared to all of this, the request to “have a new friend treat her equally with her old friend” didn’t seem so strange.

But she didn’t know what Xie Jin would do if she found out.

Thinking of this, Shen Zhishu couldn’t help but laugh.

What came with the laugh was the Eldest Princess’s “What did the General think of that was so funny?”

Shen Zhishu: …

Shen Zhishu thought to herself, I can’t possibly say that I’m imagining the scene of my new and old friends chatting warmly.

An attendant came forward to tuck in the blanket for the Eldest Princess. Shen Zhishu casually made an excuse, “I found Your Highness’s ‘what’s the difference’ a little amusing.”

“Hmm?”

“Of course it’s different. Xie Jin has never been with me…”

Shen Zhishu’s mouth was faster than her brain, and the nonsense she was making up came out without thinking. So, halfway through, after realizing what she was about to say, she suddenly stopped.

Jiang Yu was still asking, “Never been with you what?”

“Never been with me…” Shen Zhishu had a flash of inspiration and changed the subject, “Agreed to plant trees together!”

Jiang Yu was a little baffled and asked in a faint voice, “When did I agree to plant trees with you?”

“Has Your Highness forgotten?” Shen Zhishu smiled. “I said I wanted to replace all the flowers and trees in my courtyard with pines and cypresses, and Your Highness said it was a good idea. Isn’t that the same as agreeing to plant trees with me?”

Jiang Yu: …

Anyone could tell that Shen Zhishu was talking nonsense.

This person’s lies always came out of her mouth, and it even made her doubt the authenticity of the “let’s be friends” from before.

Jiang Yu turned her face away, didn’t continue, and said “Thank you” to the old imperial physician. She was about to stand up, but was pushed back by the old imperial physician.

“Why are you stopping me?” Jiang Yu said. “I’ve rested for a while, I have my strength back.”

The old imperial physician said matter-of-factly, “Your Highness fainted because of insufficient qi and blood. It’s not something that can be cured by resting for a few breaths, you still need to rest quietly. Your Highness, please rest in bed for three to five days, and take ginseng and cinnamon every day to replenish your qi and blood. It’s not too late to move around after your qi and blood are replenished.”

“I can’t get out of bed for these three to five days?”

“No, it’s just that your movements must be slow, and you can’t do anything strenuous, and even less can you overwork your mind and body.”

Jiang Yu’s face was still expressionless, but Shen Zhishu felt that it seemed to have fallen a little.

So Shen Zhishu chimed in, “You should rest. If there’s anything these few days, I can do it for you. You’re at least fainting in your own manor now. If you faint during court in the future, all the civil and military officials will probably faint along with you.”

Jiang Yu sat quietly for a while and suddenly said, “Can you do anything for me?”

“Anything…” Shen Zhishu smiled, “Of course, if it’s about social interactions, I can’t help you. You know, my relationship with you in public is not that close yet.”

Jiang Yu nodded slightly and said, “It’s not a big deal. I have a weaving bureau in the east of the city, and I heard that there have been some troubles recently. I was originally thinking of going there in person tomorrow to see. If the General is free, why don’t you go with me? Firstly, you can help me see where the loopholes are, which will save me some effort; secondly, you can also supervise me so that my actions are not too extreme.”

Shen Zhishu agreed in one go, “Alright, I’m free tomorrow anyway, so we can set off directly from Your Highness’s manor in the morning.”

After she spoke, she saw the corners of Jiang Yu’s eyes and brows seem to rise a little.

Did that mean she was a little happy?

The old imperial physician had already taken her leave, and the attendants had all retreated to guard outside the room. The candlelight in the room was not dim, and the moonlight jumped in through the window lattice.

Shen Zhishu took a step forward, lowered her head, and looked directly into Jiang Yu’s eyes.

She said, “Your Highness doesn’t need to be so reserved with your emotions. Your Highness is not the Emperor, there’s no need to be so inscrutable.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Yu said in a faint voice. “But I’m used to it, I can’t change it in a short time.”

“Then…” Shen Zhishu thought for a moment and asked, “How are you feeling now?”

“Alright.”

“If you’re alright, you don’t have to have a straight face,” Shen Zhishu said. “Raise the corners of your mouth a little, like this.”

As she spoke, she gently curled her lips and made a smiling expression.

Jiang Yu watched for a while and also curled the corners of her mouth—

It was a fake smile, as if Shen Zhishu owed her eight million but was still pretending to be a good person in front of her, so she just smiled and let it go.

Shen Zhishu: …

Shen Zhishu’s grinning mouth suddenly retracted, and she waved her hand, “Forget it, forget it, it’s fine not to smile.”

Jiang Yu: …

Shen Zhishu, seeing Jiang Yu’s instantly fallen face, laughed, “Your Highness, relax. It’s not just the corners of your mouth that should be raised, your eyes should also be slightly curved.”

Jiang Yu did as she was told and received a compliment from Shen Zhishu, “That’s it, Your Highness is very beautiful when you smile.”

So the next morning, when the attendant came in to wash up for her Highness, what she saw was Her Highness smiling at the bronze mirror.

The attendant was greatly alarmed and knelt down with a thud, “Your Highness, this servant knows my crime. This servant shouldn’t have gone to the small kitchen to steal chicken in the middle of the night yesterday.”

Jiang Yu: …

The attendant secretly glanced up and saw that her Highness was still smiling strangely, so she touched her lips and continued to repent, “I also shouldn’t have secretly planted plum blossom branches in the garden.”

Jiang Yu: …

The attendant’s face turned even paler, “And I shouldn’t have secretly pawned the bracelet that Your Highness gave me to buy cat food.”

Jiang Yu: …

The attendant took a deep breath, “And I shouldn’t have…”

“Stop,” the smile on Jiang Yu’s face couldn’t hold on anymore, and she returned to her expressionless demeanor. She turned her head and asked the attendant, “How many things have you been hiding from me?”

The attendant let out a big sigh of relief and smiled, “Your Highness, you’re finally not smiling! Does this mean you’ve forgiven this servant?”

Jiang Yu: …

…What happened to “you can smile when you’re in a good mood”?

Shen Zhishu lied to her again!

**

Shen Zhishu stayed in Jiang Yu’s room for a while and chatted for a few words. Seeing that it was almost the Hour of the Pig—the time when Jiang Yu usually went to bed.

So she cupped her hands at Jiang Yu, “Then this subordinate will take my leave first and not disturb Your Highness’s rest.”

Jiang Yu was quiet for a while and suddenly asked, “Do you also say goodbye to General Xie with a cupped hand?”

…Of course not, Shen Zhishu thought.

She would usually just say “I’m leaving” and then disappear.

She knew what Jiang Yu meant—she thought she was being too polite again.

Shen Zhishu shook her head and smiled, “I’m used to saying goodbye to Your Highness with a cupped hand, I haven’t changed it yet. I’m too casual when I say goodbye to Xie Jin. If I were to do that to you, I’m afraid it would be a grievance to you.”

Jiang Yu blinked, as if she was not going to pursue the matter further.

Shen Zhishu was relieved and was about to turn and leave when she suddenly heard Jiang Yu’s clear and cold voice from behind her:

“I think that when the General and General Xie were fighting in the war, there must have been times when you had to share a bed because of a lack of beds in the military camp.”

Shen Zhishu suddenly had a bad premonition. She braced herself and turned her head, nodding.

Sure enough, Jiang Yu’s next sentence and the sound of her own heartbeat reached her ears at the same time—

“Then will the General also share a bed with me tonight, alright?”