Chapter 47 p2
Lu Dieqing often wandered around the gates of Changning Palace.
Several times, she was seen and driven away by the guards. She almost took out her waist token, but thinking that the Crown Princess was still in a coma, she didn’t dare to use it rashly and could only leave dejectedly each time.
For three consecutive days, the Crown Princess did not wake up. Even standing at the gates of Changning Palace, she could almost hear the Emperor’s roars.
For these three days, Lu Dieqing herself didn’t know how she had gotten through them.
Every night, Lu Dieqing would blame herself in her heart, holding her little doll and crying.
However, these few days, the little doll, which usually appeared on time at night, was also quiet for some reason.
The little girl didn’t know how many times she had held her little doll and recalled her conversation with the Crown Princess in the secret tunnel, and then felt endless self-reproach.
She didn’t eat much and lost a lot of weight. She was already slender, and now she looked even more fragile, as if she would be blown over by the wind. Her small, palm-sized face was left with only a pair of bright eyes filled with sorrow.
Lu He had noticed the clues and came over to comfort her.
“Daughter, I know you’re grown up now and have your own ideas. No doubt… to be able to get a waist token from that person, you must have been looked after. You’re a sentimental person, so you’re not feeling well right now. But you should know that the fate between people is also fixed. Everyone has their own destiny.”
Lu He was afraid that her daughter would not be able to get over it, so she patiently guided her.
“You should eat when you need to eat, and sleep when you need to sleep. The Crown Princess is now surrounded by the entire imperial medical academy and the famous doctors of the world. She will surely be blessed by the heavens.”
In truth, when she said these things to her daughter, Lu He herself didn’t really believe it.
She had heard that the poison the Crown Princess had taken in the sky prison was very tricky. If a miracle doctor couldn’t be found, it was incurable, and the person would die in their sleep, with almost no exceptions.
Lu He had found this out because the name of the poison, “Three-Day Flower,” had also appeared in the Shan Kingdom before, which was why she knew it so well.
What Lu He was worried about now was her own daughter’s future.
The Chaoying court was in chaos because of the Crown Princess and the Second Prince. The Chaoying Emperor probably had no mind to deal with the envoy.
At that time, when the envoy from the Shan Kingdom came, would they still be able to take her daughter back as they wished?
This was what she was worried about.
But at this juncture, she couldn’t say these things to her daughter. Otherwise, with Qingqing’s personality, she would probably be angry with her for this.
In truth, Lu He could also understand. A fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl who had just come of age was at a time when she valued friendship very much. But when she experienced more things in the future, she would understand that even the best of friends were not as important as her own future.
Lu He looked at her daughter as if she were looking at her past self. She couldn’t help but feel a little worried and regretful for her daughter.
Being too sentimental would only get her hurt.
Especially when they themselves were weak.
“Try to get over it. Life and death are fated. Qingqing, listen to me.”
Lu He patted her daughter’s back.
Lu Dieqing didn’t understand the hidden meaning in her mother’s words. She hadn’t even had a chance to confide in her little doll these past two days. Her heart was filled with frustration and anxiety. She couldn’t help but cry to her mother, “I… I was taken away by the Second Prince’s people that day. At the critical moment, it was the Crown Princess who sent someone to save me. I owe the Crown Princess more than just the help from before.”
“If she dies, I will truly be indebted to her forever. I regret it so much. I hate myself.”
Clearly, the Crown Princess was right there in the secret tunnel that day. She had had countless opportunities to talk to her more, but she hadn’t asked anything clearly and had just left.
Even at this time, Lu Dieqing still hadn’t told her mother about the Crown Princess escaping from the sky prison through the secret tunnel.
She was a person who could keep a secret.
Since the Crown Princess trusted her and shared the matter of the secret tunnel with her, she had to keep it a secret no matter what.
Keeping a secret had to start with oneself to truly count.
If she told someone close to her, then others would also have people close to them to tell. In this way, a secret would become something everyone knew.
The matter of the secret tunnel was no small thing. Lu Dieqing subconsciously felt that the Crown Princess might have arranged some things in advance that could not be spoken of.
But… if things were really that serious, why did the Crown Princess have to rush back to save her before taking the poison?
She couldn’t figure it out. Her head was a mess, and so was her heart.
Heartache.
Lu Dieqing held her head, tears falling like rain.
The greatest blow in her life, falling on her girlish heart in the year she came of age, was truly painful.
Seeing her daughter so sad, Lu He sighed.
“I didn’t know there were these twists to the story. In that case… the Crown Princess indeed has a great kindness towards you.”
“The Second Prince wanted to harm you? His injury is related to you?”
Lu He had discovered another key point.
Lu Dieqing hesitated and nodded.
She couldn’t hide this from her mother.
“The assassin appeared, and I ran away in the chaos…”
Lu He began to pace back and forth, muttering to herself, “This is not right, not right…”
The fire in the Chaoying court had already started, and her daughter had been drawn into such a conflict.
Just as the mother and daughter were thinking about this, they suddenly heard a eunuch’s voice from outside.
“Miss Lu lives here, right?”
The two were startled and exchanged a look before walking out.
Bai Ming was already standing in the courtyard, dealing with Sun Zongguan.
“May I ask why you have come here, Eunuch?”
The couple only had one child, Lu Dieqing. Seeing a palace servant come looking for her, their hearts began to pound.
The head eunuch had a smile on his face, very amiable.
“The Crown Princess is awake. We are here to take Miss Lu to see Her Highness.”
Sun Zongguan had been by the Chaoying Son of Heaven’s side, watching him from being a crown prince to the current supreme ruler, and now to his slightly aging state.
He was very clear that after this incident, the Crown Princess’s weight in His Majesty’s heart had, on the contrary, become heavier.
She was also lucky. The Crown Princess had walked through the gates of hell and had been saved.
It was also thanks to a wandering old miracle doctor who happened to be passing by and knew that the Crown Princess was in mortal danger.
The miracle doctor had answered the imperial notice and had entered the palace today to save Her Highness.
This great rise and fall, Sun Zongguan had seen it all clearly. He knew that the Crown Princess’s position in His Majesty’s heart was almost unshakeable now.
The position of heir, on the contrary, had been a blessing in disguise, and was now truly secure.
And after the Crown Princess woke up, she had not asked for anyone else, but had first thought of this Little Princess of Shan who lived next to the Cold Palace.
Sun Zongguan had been puzzled just now, but now that he had come and seen, he was crystal clear.
No doubt, it was this Little Princess of Shan’s stunning beauty that had left an impression on the Crown Princess’s heart.
Before coming, Sun Zongguan had already investigated and knew that Lu Dieqing was the palace maid the Crown Princess had specially taken out of the palace before the incident.
In any case, the Princess of Shan was no longer the “Cold Palace” hostage that anyone could bully before.
Hearing that Sun Zongguan wanted to invite Lu Dieqing to Changning Palace, Lu He and Bai Ming exchanged a look, both worried.
Don’t blame them for being selfish. It was just that in dealing with these nobles who could change things with a flip of their hand, they were always the subordinate ones, with no room to refuse.
Lu He was grateful for the Crown Princess’s help and regard for her daughter, but she was also worried that the other regarded her daughter too much…
Compared to the couple’s caution and worry, Lu Dieqing’s entire little face lit up, as if a small flower seedling that had grown had come back to life.
“Her Highness is awake?”
She rushed to Sun Zongguan, her eyes, which had been crying for three days, swollen like walnuts. She was also thin and weak, as if she would be blown over by the wind. But at this moment, her eyes were as bright as the stars, which even stunned Sun Zongguan a little.
For these three days, Lu Dieqing had not eaten or drunk well, and could not sleep. Her entire heart had been in torment.
She was so afraid that something would really happen to the Crown Princess.
Endless self-reproach and regret had almost completely crushed her.
But fortunately! The Crown Princess was awake!
Lu Dieqing was instantly radiant, her face visibly happy.
Sun Zongguan waved the fly-whisk in his hand. “Is Miss Lu convenient to come with us to see Her Highness now?”
“Convenient!”
The little girl was so happy she almost jumped up. Her eyes, which had been drooping slightly at the corners, and her red and swollen eyelids, clearly showed that she had cried many times in private.
Therefore, her current performance was even more moving.
Lu He wanted to say something but held back. “…” She wanted to go with her daughter.
However, when Sun Zongguan’s gaze fell on Bai Ming and Lu He, he smiled without smiling. It was clear that he had only come to invite Lu Dieqing and would not make an exception for others to follow.
Lu Dieqing didn’t notice her parents’ expressions, only looking at Sun Zongguan, her face full of anticipation.
“Let’s go quickly!” she urged.
In the past, when she saw these head eunuchs by the nobles’ side, Lu Dieqing would always avoid them, even deliberately keeping a distance and showing a bit of humility.
Now, she had forgotten all these things, leaving only an anxious longing.
She wanted to see the Crown Princess, so much.
*
Three days was not enough for the wound on Zheng Xuening’s wrist to heal.
She had cut her wrist and written a letter in blood.
Every word she wrote was carefully calculated to be enough to move her father, the Emperor, and even make him regret.
The people in Changning Palace were a solid block, their hearts stable.
So, the moment the Second Prince had bribed a palace maid, the other had immediately come to her and confessed everything.
Zheng Xuening had played along, letting the dragon robe be placed in Changning Palace.
Being thrown into the sky prison was a situation she had anticipated.
How to write the blood letter was also something she had deliberated on for several days and nights, studying her father’s weaknesses in character, a psychological attack she had written.
She wanted to completely overturn this game that could no longer be played, and then start over.
The Son of Heaven’s regret and guilt could be used.
The self-inflicted injury was also a necessary part.
When she cut her wrist, the wound only looked scary, but she had avoided the vital points.
The poison she took was also timed, so that the miracle doctor she had long since found could pretend to pass by and enter the palace to resolve it.
Every step of the way, Zheng Xuening had quietly watched it happen, and even pushed it a little at the necessary moments to make it look more intense.
She had predicted everything, predicted the Son of Heaven’s reaction, predicted her own comeback, predicted…
But the one thing she hadn’t predicted was that when she saw that weepy girl rush into Changning Palace and throw herself into her arms, crying her heart out, her own heart would suddenly twist with pain.
“Sob, sob, sob, Your Highness! It’s so good that you’re okay, sob, sob. I thought you were really going to die. Your Highness, you didn’t even tell me. You took poison behind my back. I didn’t know… sob, sob, sob…”
“I shouldn’t have left that day… it was my fault, sob, sob, sob, Your Highness…”
The girl, frightened after the fact, was almost curled into a little kitten, constantly nuzzling into the Crown Princess’s embrace, crying until her tears fell in streams, crying like a little child, without any care for her image, only the relaxed sadness and regret.
Lu Dieqing was truly sad.
She held the Crown Princess tightly and wouldn’t let go, her tears smearing on the other’s clothes, her face buried in the Crown Princess’s neck, crying until she trembled.
Seeing this scene, Matron Zhang also wiped away a tear.
Sun Zongguan stopped outside the hall, listening to the crying and sighing—this was true emotion. No wonder the Crown Princess wanted to see her as soon as she woke up.
The palace staff of Changning Palace, at Matron Zhang’s signal, quietly retreated from the bedchamber one by one, leaving space for the two of them.
Lu Dieqing cried like a heartbroken little kitten, the tears on her face endless.
Zheng Xuening’s nose also tingled from her crying.
She hugged the girl back, pulled her onto her lap, and gently wrapped her arms around her slender waist.
“I’m sorry.”
Zheng Xuening rested her chin on the girl’s head, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze.
“I was wrong.”
She didn’t use “this Princess,” nor did she put on the airs of a Crown Princess, so gentle that it made Lu Dieqing want to cry even more.
“I shouldn’t have made you sad.”
Zheng Xuening looked at the girl in her arms, her heart both sour and painful. She wanted to pull a smile to comfort the girl, but her own tears also fell.
the author’s cooking omg