NOVEL WEB Chapter 114: There's a Play
CORRECTION FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTER.
PREVIOUS
Meng Qingqian thought of that day, He Yunxiao’s deep love for Nanzhu, and thought of her promise not to interfere with him and Nanzhu, so she said, “If Mother agrees, then so do i.”
CORRECTED
Meng Qingqian thought of that day, He Yunxiao’s deep love for Nanzhu, and thought of her promise not to interfere with him and Nanzhu, so she said, “If Mother agrees, then I will fulfill them and make them whole.”
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—The Empress Dowager felt that something was not quite right when Meng Qingqian said “fulfill”.
She knew her daughter’s character best. When she can “Want it all”, she will definitely say ” I want it all”. When she could “ride the wave of victory”, she would “ride the wave of victory”. When it is necessary to “break the wrist”, will definitely not hesitate to “break the wrist”.
Even in a desperate situation, she will still find a way to take a bite out of you.
Over the years, she never even said “let you off the hook”, not to mention “make it whole”.
Today was strange, as she was indecisive and “fulfilled” when dealing with He Yunxiao and Nanzhu’s engagement, not like her usual self.
Apart from this hint, the Empress Dowager felt something was wrong in her heart for no reason.
She felt in her intuition that if she agreed to marry Nanzhu to the marquis’s family as his wife today, she would be at a great disadvantage in the future.
Although thinking rationally, with her methods, it was impossible for Nanzhu to have the slightest chance of winning if she were to go against her.
However, the Empress Dowager had a feeling that her good daughter would not be able to defeat Nanzhu.
She was a little surprised by this intuition herself.
Anyway, first she couldn’t promise He Yuanhao!
Drag!
The Empress Dowager rubbed her temples and said lazily, “Gongqin.”
Li Gongqin, as the Empress Dowager’s own nephew and the Princess’ own cousin, plus the part-time Minister of Rites of Qi, plus the part-time father of Li Jin, naturally looked up to the Empress Dowager, who had the highest seniority.
When he saw the Empress Dowager calling him, he immediately stopped joking and bent over and said, “I am here.”
The Empress Dowager continued to lean back in her chair, rubbing her temples and looking as if she had been suffering from distress.
Afterwards, she handed the large red folders filled with bridal gifts, to the palace maid, who, after receiving the folders, turned her hand to Li Gongqin.
“Gongqin, I have some trouble remembering the specifications of the bridal gift required for marrying the Princess. As the Minister of Rites, you are in charge of rites and laws. Take this folded paper back and check it carefully, then submit it to me after you have checked it.”
When the folders reached Li Gongqin’s hands, no one in the room thought there was anything wrong.
It was normal for the Empress Dowager to be forgetful. It was normal for the Ministry of Rites to review the specifications of the bridal price. It was normal for the Empress Dowager to give the bridal gifts to the Ministry of Rites to check because she was forgetful.
No one thought there was anything wrong.
Only He Yuanhao was anxious to marry his daughter-in-law. The matter had already been decided, but then there was this whole “review of the gift list” thing.
Although there was nothing to be gained by examining the gift list. But He Yuanhao, who has been on the battlefield for a long time, understands that a quick decision is better than a late one. If the marriage contract is not approved, it will drag on and on, and it will be lost.
He Yuanhao had long thought that the request for marriage was not that simple, and now he saw that it really was.
He sighed at the accuracy of his intuition as he tried to make a last-ditch effort.
“Brother Li, may I ask how long it takes to review a gift list?”
Li Gongqin said confidently, holding a large red fold in his hand, “To review such a trivial matter as a gift list fold, even if it were left to my son Li Jin, it would only take a day.”
He Yuanhao had naturally heard of Li jin’s name, and when he heard that Li Jin wanted to review it, he hurriedly said, “Minister Li, this is a marriage matter concerning the marriage of the marquis, so please do it yourself. It is a matter of trouble for you, and the Marquis owes you a favour.”
Li Gongqin promised, “Okay, if I were to examine it, half a day would be enough.”
When He Yuanhao heard half a day, he didn’t say anything.
He had personally instructed the Minister of Rites to examine the matter, and it was a matter of great importance for the marriage of the Princess. So the efficiency of half a day was already very fast. Unless the Empress Dowager herself wanted to do something, there was no chance of an accident.
Even if she did not act in a normal way, she would not change her mind at the drop of a hat.
And it was only a half-day delay.
The matter is secure.
……
This afternoon was no different for Linxuan Palace.
Xing’er and the other palace maids were, as usual, sweeping the courtyard, washing clothes and preparing ingredients ……
The owner of Linxuan Palace, the princess Nanzhu, (Meng Qingrou), also came out of the palace as usual in the warm afternoon sun without any wind.
It wasn’t any special activity, but just shifted the matter of embroidering a sachet bag for her sister from inside to outside the house.
She embroidered slowly because of her lack of skill.
In her small, white, delicate hand, she squeezed two pieces of brocade, while the other, identical, equally lovely and pretty, hand, threaded the needle and sewed the cloth together.
She looks down at the sachet bag, sewing slowly and carefully, but still making mistakes from time to time. For example, the stitching was crooked. The pattern was not right, and this often happened from time to time.
Fortunately, the girl had a surprisingly good temper.
Even if she made a mistake, many times, she did not say a word and silently took apart the stitches and sewed again.
The Linxuan Palace is located in a corner of the palace, surrounded by no other tall buildings and no shade, so there is an occasional breeze sweeping across the ground even when the sun is warm.
It was not uncommon to have the wind blowing.
But for Meng Qingrou, it was no small matter.
The sand and soil raised by the little breeze caused her to close her eyes for a moment. But she was still working on her hands. So when she was not careful, the silver needle got stuck in her hard on her finger. Blood flowed from it.
Meng Qingrou was in pain, but the first thing she did not think about was stopping the bleeding. Instead, she hurriedly used her hand to protect her buttocks. Her eyes were closed and her head was lowered, not daring to lift it up.
She looked like she was admitting punishment for her mistake.
Someone was forbidding her to do needlework, forbidding her to get hurt.
After a moment, she suddenly realized that she didn’t have to be like this. So she opened her eyes, lifted her head up and stopped using her hands to protect her bottom.
It was good that she didn’t have to be punished, but she couldn’t be happy with her eyes downcast.
When she took her injured finger into her mouth, it only took a moment, and when she took it out again, the bleeding from the silver needle bite stopped, and the tiny bite, too, was gone.
It heals a little faster than normal.
At this time of the day, the gentle afternoon sun emits gentle rays of sunlight that shine on the little girl’s body.
It was warm.
It warmed up the blood all over her body.
Meng Qingrou looked at the, injured finger in front of her, as if remembering something, and a gentle smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Her body was much better than before. In the past, she would only go out for a while in the afternoon when the sun was at its warmest.
Now, she can go out at all hours of the day if she wants to. Even on colder evenings, there is no difficulty in getting out into the cool air.
But she still only used to walk around a bit in the afternoon. It was a long-standing habit. The rest of the day, even if she could go out, what would she do?
After embroidering the sachet bag for a while, she was still quite close to finishing it, but Meng Qingrou put down her needle and thread and got up, calling out, “Xing’er.”
And she said, “Xing’er, I’m going to pick the herbs.”
Her voice was still not loud, but Xing’er had been listening attentively and answered quickly.
“Alright! Your Highness, wait a moment!”
Xing ‘er handed over the work in hand to the other palace maids, washed her hands, and fetched the sickle and hoe for picking herbs, as well as the bamboo basket for the herbs.
Xing’er walked up to Meng Qingrou, holding the sickle and hoe that would be injured herself, and handed the bamboo basket to Meng Qingrou.
“Your Highness take it.”
“Hm.”
“These sickles and hoes, Your Highness is not allowed to touch them anymore.”
“Yes.”
“The needle and thread had better not be touched either.”
“He said I could ……” Meng Qingrou shook her head and said, “I’m fine to touch it now.”
Xing’er was like a sister to her own little highness and talked about everything, so she naturally knew who this “he” was.
Xing’er smiled and said, “What kind of herbs does Your Highness want to pick today? Is it to cure his illness?”
Meng Qingrou turned her face to the side, “Hmph, not at all.”
Xing’er pretended to be busy and said, “I see, since we won’t be picking today, let’s go back. I don’t need to deliver medicine to anyone else at night anyway.”
Meng Qingrou was carrying a bamboo basket, and when she heard this, she hastily put her arms around Xing’er and coaxed her, “Be good Xing’er, let’s pick plenty today and make two portions, so we don’t need to pick tomorrow either.”
Xing ‘er let the girl hug her, and was sincerely happy.
The climate was getting colder, but everything was getting better.