Chapter 708 A Shrewd Concubine
“A doctor surnamed Qiu?” In the Imperial Institute of Medicine, Chu Liuchen leaned against a couch and asked. He had been fine since he woke up, but the Empress Dowager was worried about him, so she asked him to stay in the imperial palace.
“Yes, this man surnamed Qiu and Mingqiu Nun are from the same sect, but he has been driven out of the sect long before!” Xiao Xuanzi, who served him beside him, said.
Chu Liuchen narrowed his eyes, supported his forehead with his hand and said, “Chu Liuzhou asked the doctor from Duke Xing. Duke Xing’s Mansion is in a mess now, and Duke Xing secretly sent someone to watch over his nephew!”
“Yes, master, Duke Xing’s Mansion is in a total mess now!” Xiao Xuanzi said with a smile. He had always disliked Duke Xing’s Mansion, so he was glad to see Duke Xing’s Mansion in a mess. “Master, shall we seize this man surnamed Wang and snatch the thing from him?”
Chu Liuchen shook his head and said, “We don’t need to do that. It’s good to see them in the current situation. I don’t want to intervene in it at this time. I am going to help Chu Liuzhou. Pass a message to him. It would be boring if he knows nothing about what has happened in his mansion!”
“Master, do you mean… the horse?” Xiao Xuanzi rolled his eyes and responded cleverly.
“Exactly!” Chu Liuchen raised his eyebrows and said with an increasingly lazy smile. It didn’t matter that Chu Liuzhou didn’t know it. He, who had always been kind, could help Chu Liuzhou by letting him know it!
Seeing his master show such a smile, Xiao Xuanzi shivered, felt chills up his spine and hurriedly lowered his head.
“His Majesty is here!” There came a eunuch’s shout from afar.
Chu Liuchen lowered his body a little. Xiao Xuanzi hurriedly went to fetch another cushion and put it behind his back, and then stepped aside obediently.
As the door was pushed open, the current Emperor, Emperor Qianyuan, strode in and was only followed by a eunuch, Derong. Then the door was gently closed behind him.
“Uncle!” Seeing the Emperor come in, Chu Liuchen sat up with his hands on the edges of the couch, as if intending to get out of the couch.
“Forego formalities.” The Emperor said, waved his hand and walked up to him. Derong hurriedly carried a big nanmu chair over from the side.
“Uncle, in fact, I am fine!” Chu Liuchen said with a smile, got up from the couch with Xiao Xuanzi’s help, and bowed to the Emperor.
His slightly pale face indicated that he had not recovered yet, but he was in good spirits with a pleasant smile on his handsome and gentle face.
“Well, you don’t have to be overcourteous in front of me!” The Emperor said with a smile on his face.
Derong immediately took two steps forward and worked with Xiao Xuanzi to help Chu Liuchen up. They helped him back to the couch so that Chu Liuchen could continue leaning against it. Derong did not dare to neglect Prince Chen, since both the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were concerned about him.
“How are you feeling today?” After looking Chu Liuchen up and down and then looking at the cold medicine on the table, the Emperor frowned and said with displeasure, “Are you going to skip taking the medicine again?”
“Uncle, no matter how immature I am, I won’t do that again. The medicine was too hot just now, so I instructed Xiao Xuanzi to put it there to get cool!” Chu Liuchen said with a smile.
“You also know that you are immature!” The Emperor said. Chu Liuchen’s words made him burst into laughter and his face soften.
“Uncle, that’s what happened in the past. I cherish my life very much now. Since I have to take care of you and grandma in the future, how can I ruin my health for nothing!” Chu Liuchen said and also laughed. He exuded a sort of special gentleness belonging to a young man while showing a smile on his delicate face, which made others feel comfortable.
With tenderness in his eye, he showed a sincere smile instead of the kind of rigid smile he usually showed. Although his smile was sometimes gentle, it somehow seemed like a fragile mask on his face.
“Uncle, since I’ve recovered, can I go back to my mansion? Living in the imperial palace… it’s not as comfortable as living in my mansion!” Chu Liuchen said again.
“Are you fully recovered?” The Emperor looked at him in disbelief and asked.
“Of course. Several imperial physicians in the Imperial Institute of Medicine can prove it. If you don’t believe me, you can call them here!” Chu Liuchen said with a smile.
“Why do you recover so fast?” The Emperor asked, not fully convinced. Chu Liuchen had been weaker than others since he was a child. Something, that had little influence on others, could cause him to get seriously sick and even imperil his life sometimes. When he was a child, he had been close to death several times.
Not only the Empress Dowager was frightened, but also the Emperor could not rest assured every time they thought of those experiences.
“Uncle, during the past three years, Qi Jue and Mingqiu Nun worked together to nurse my health. In fact, I’m fine now!” Chu Liuchen said bluntly.
The Emperor looked at him. Although he had sat up and talked for a while, he didn’t look tired. The Emperor breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He had always been worried that Chu Liuchen would be too sickly to grow up. Although Chu Liuchen had a pale face and was a little weaker than ordinary people, at least Chu Liuchen got a little better.
He had always felt guilty for what had happened to Chu Liuchen. If it weren’t for him, Chu Liuchen wouldn’t have been in so poor health! Chu Liuchen had been poisoned when he was born!
It was all because of him!
“Stay here one more day under observation, and you can go back to your mansion if you don’t feel uncomfortable again. Your Imperial Grandmother will come to see you later. If you leave, your Imperial Grandmother will definitely be unhappy!” The Emperor tried to persuade him to stay in a soft tone.
Derong lowered his head and stood behind the Emperor with nothing else in his mind. As the Emperor’s personal eunuch, he naturally knew that he did not need to say anything at this time.
He had paid attention to how the Emperor got along with several princes, and had always been clear about how the Emperor treated Prince Chen, but now he was confused!
In the past, no one knew how long Prince Chen could live, so no one would say anything about the Emperor’s great concern for him.
But what about now?
Now the imperial court was a place where the talented gathered. At this time, Prince Chen returned to health. As a eunuch holding the writing brush for the Emperor, how could he not know what it meant?
He subconsciously raised his head slightly and met a pair of gentle and pretty eyes belonging to Chu Liuchen, who had a gentle smile and clear eyes, but he was somehow frightened and hurriedly lowered his head.
Was Prince Chen’s returning to health at this time a blessing or a curse? Even he, the Emperor’s trusted eunuch, was not sure.
But at that moment, Prince Chen’s gentle eyes frightened him, as if he could see through all his thoughts.
What was the Emperor thinking? What was Prince Chen thinking? And what was the one, who had always behaved properly and acted like an invisible person in the imperial palace, thinking?
Derong had an intuition that the imperial court would not be peaceful anymore…
The funeral of Wang Yishu was simple!
But it was only relatively simple. No one had expected that Old Madam would request to conduct a funeral for Miss Wang, who had lived in a corner of Duke Xing’s Mansion and almost been forgotten by everyone in Duke Xing’s Mansion.
Although they didn’t invite any guests, they conducted a decent funeral and even specially invited some monks to recite scriptures. The coffin was placed in Wang Shengxue’s courtyard outside Duke Xing’s Mansion.
Old Madam personally led a group of Misses of Duke Xing’s Mansion to offer incense to Wang Yishu, showing enough respect.
Wang Yishu, a distant cousin of Duke Xing’s Mansion living in Duke Xing’s Mansion, was not supposed to be taken seriously by Duke Xing’s Mansion even though she was dead. However, Duke Xing’s Mansion showed great respect for her, which reminded others of Wang Yishu, who attempted to frame Shao Wanru in the imperial palace.
At that time, Wang Yishu was Madam of Duke Xing’s niece, while Shao Wanru was the Second Miss of the Qin’s Mansion. They somehow had become enemies since then. Thinking about it now, people believed that there must be something fishy about it.
In particular, Old Madam led a group of granddaughters to show respect for the Wang’s Mansion, which gave people the impression that Duke Xing’s Mansion felt guilty for Wang Yishu’s death.
The courtyard of the Wang’s Mansion was newly bought, and they had moved from the previous small courtyard to the big courtyard they had just bought.
However, Wang Yishu’s funeral was conducted in the previous courtyard. It was said that the members of the Wang’s Mansion thought that conducting a funeral in their new residence would bring them misfortune and they couldn’t bear to live in the courtyard if the funeral was conducted there.
Therefore, Shao Wanru met Ning Xueqing, whom she had met in the last life, in this place, which seemed to be narrow.
Different from the ostentatious lady in the last life, Ning Xueqing in front of her was not arrogant at all. She looked docile and decorous. When she saw Old Madam, she became more respectful, kowtowed a few times before standing up, and then looked at Old Madam joyfully. It was her original maid, Dongxing, who stood beside her and greeted the guests with her. But now, Dongxing was on an equal footing with her.
Both of them were Wang Shengxue’s concubines, having their own maids.
“You are the Second Miss of the Ning’s Mansion?” Old Madam frowned and looked at Ning Xueqing. After looking her up and down, she said lightly.
“Yes!” Ning Xueqing said softly.
Old Madam turned her eyes in disgust. She had never liked this kind of woman, who was originally a Miss from an aristocratic family but abandoned herself to have an affair with a man. Ning Xueqing happened to be the kind of woman she hated the most.
The Misses from Duke Xing’s Mansion looked at Ning Xueqing with arrogance and disdain. As Misses of noble birth, they really looked down on Ning Xueqing in front of them.
It seemed that Ning Xueqing didn’t notice the contempt on their faces. She still followed them with a smile into the living room, and then instructed the servants to serve tea.
Dongxing followed her and also wanted to help, but she was a maid originally, so she became timid in front of the Mesdames and Misses of Duke Xing’s Mansion. What was more, she was caught in Duke Xing’s Mansion at that time. Although it had been three years, she still felt ashamed and angry every time she thought of it.
After thinking for a while, she still didn’t dare to come over. So she stayed there, watching Ning Xueqing take care of the guests!
Shao Wanru sat behind everyone and glanced at Old Madam’s and Shao Yanru’s faces indifferently. Both of them looked sullen and seemed to be forced to come here. It should be requested by Wang Shengxue. Duke Xing’s Mansion had to come here and offer incense to Wang Yishu. Old Madam and Shao Yanru considered it a disgrace to them.
However, if it was Wang Shengxue’s only request, Shao Wanru would look down upon him!
What was more, Ning Xueqing was here. This woman had always been good at scheming, so their visiting here certainly would not be all she was up to!
“Madam, something terrible happened!” As soon as everyone sat down and took a sip of tea, they saw an old maid rush over in a panic and said to Ning Xueqing.