Chapter 365: Extraordinarily Lively, Why Are You Here Too?
The clinic was now a scene of utter chaos.
Ji Qingwu recognized the voice. She pulled the blanket higher to cover her face.
But the voice calling her name grew more urgent.
’Why is Qingyun here? If she runs into Mo Lingling, there’s bound to be trouble.’
Ji Qingwu pulled the blanket down. Resigned to her fate, she got up, washed, changed her clothes, and prepared to go downstairs.
As she came down the stairs, several people looked up at her at once: Prince Yong, Qingyun, Mo Lingling, Manager Mi, and the clinic’s attendant. Every one of them watched her with an expectant gaze.
Princess Qingyun spoke first. "Fifth Cousin, you’re finally down." She shot a disgruntled glare at Manager Mi and the attendant. "Someone actually stopped me from going up."
Ji Qingwu knew her temper. If no one had stopped her, the princess would have dared to storm in and rip the blanket right off her.
"Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be at the Princess Mansion?"
Princess Qingyun grew angry just thinking about it.
Originally, Li Chengxun was supposed to set out for Longzhou the day before yesterday, but the Emperor issued a decree to postpone his departure for half a month.
With the evidence against Su Fengyue confirmed, dozens of high-ranking court officials had been arrested in the last few days, followed by the confiscation of their homes and their imprisonment. The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice, and the Imperial Supervision Office were swamped.
There were few trustworthy men available at court, so Lu Juan suggested to the Emperor that Li Chengxun stay behind to help for a few days before leaving.
Princess Qingyun said, "Fifth Cousin, you tell me if this is fair. To think Lu Juan is my own cousin-in-law! If the Prince Consort were being kept at the palace for something good, I wouldn’t mind. But he has no time to return to the Princess Mansion at all. I don’t even get to see him."
"Knowing my dear cousin-in-law, he’s definitely using his position to get revenge for some private grudge."
Ji Qingwu feigned surprise and walked over to sit at the square table against the wall as the young attendant set out her breakfast.
"He’s not that kind of person." When it came to family ties, she was still on her older sister’s side.
Ji Qingwu thought for a moment and said, "Just consider it a practice run for living apart."
"Living apart?" Princess Qingyun stomped her foot. "Who said the Prince Consort and I were going to be separated?"
The young attendant poured a cup of warm water for Ji Qingwu and placed it by her hand.
Princess Qingyun shoved him aside. "You have no manners! This princess is speaking with Fifth Cousin. Out of the way!"
"Did you come to my clinic just to throw your weight around?"
Ji Qingwu shot her a look and set down the cup.
"Since you’ve stepped inside, drop the princess and prince act."
Ji Qingwu gave Prince Yong a meaningful look, and Zhao Minghong immediately flashed an overly friendly smile at her.
Princess Qingyun sullenly shut her mouth. That cold glint deep in her Fifth Cousin’s eyes felt incredibly familiar. ’How is she becoming more and more like my dreaded Imperial Brother?’
Zhao Minghong, not the least bit abashed, chimed in to agree with Ji Qingwu.
"Fifth Cousin is absolutely right. We’re all family here. Why stand on ceremony when we’re just talking to family?"
A far cry from his behavior the first day he came to the clinic, when he made a scene and harassed Manager Mi after Tao Wanxin refused to see him.
It’s hard to hit a smiling man, so Ji Qingwu asked with a faint smile of her own, "The Princess Consort is still refusing to see you?"
Prince Yong’s smile froze instantly. "...That’s why I need to ask you, my cousin, to help talk some sense into her." Tao Wanxin’s most trusted person right now was her.
Ji Qingwu said, "The Princess Consort’s health is too fragile for any kind of stress right now. It won’t matter who talks to her. She has to come to terms with it herself."
Princess Yong had already been showing signs of a miscarriage, a situation that was almost beyond saving. But Ji Qingwu had the childbirth system and a large amount of points, so she managed to pull the child back from the Ghost Gate.
But the cost was considerable; it used up half a shelf of Ji Qingwu’s finest medicinal herbs.
The baby was saved, but a successful delivery still depends on how well she rests over the next few months.
Tao Wanxin herself had asked to come to the clinic. Ji Qingwu had considered it—compared to Prince Yong’s Mansion, with its courtyard full of concubines, an "accident" was all too possible.
At the clinic, she could rest peacefully and receive better care, so Ji Qingwu had agreed.
She just hadn’t expected Princess Yong to have other plans.
These past few days, Zhao Minghong was unshaven and haggard, a far cry from his usual suave and dashing self.
With matters at the palace so busy, he also had to lend the Emperor a hand and could no longer be an idle prince. Whenever he had a free moment, he would rush over to the clinic, only to be repeatedly turned away by Tao Wanxin.
Anyone could enter her room—even the shopkeeper and the attendant—but she absolutely refused to let him in.
Zhao Minghong had been deliberately picking fights with Manager Mi just to get Tao Wanxin’s attention.
Seeing Prince Yong’s shoulders slumped in dejection, Ji Qingwu said, "Take things slowly. These misunderstandings didn’t build up in a day. You have to give her time."
When the princess and the prince had both said their piece, Ji Qingwu took a few sips of her osmanthus and lotus root soup. Mo Lingling then spoke up, her voice small and aggrieved.
"Miss Ji..."
Ji Qingwu swallowed the sweet, refreshing soup, which soothed her throat. She raised an eyebrow, signaling for Mo Lingling to continue.
Mo Lingling said, "I want to go back to my hometown for a while."
Princess Qingyun sneered, "The Prince Consort was just assigned to Longzhou, and now you want to leave too? Xianyang is so close to Longzhou. What are you implying by wanting to go back now?"
The color drained from Mo Lingling’s face.
Qingyun was not one to hold her temper in check. She snarled, "Do you think that just because this princess spared your wretched life, you can get entangled with the Prince Consort again? In your dreams!"
Mo Lingling shook her head. "I don’t. I would never dream of such a thing."
If this hadn’t been her Fifth Cousin’s territory, Qingyun wouldn’t have been able to stand sitting at the same table with her.
Ji Qingwu set the empty porcelain bowl on the table. "If you’re going to fight, take it outside. The common folk passing by can be your audience."
’It’s so early in the morning... no, wait, it’s not early anymore. All this chaos is giving me a headache.’
Manager Mi came over, cheerfully carrying a plate of pastries.
"Fifth Missy, these are the new beauty-boosting pastries our kitchen developed. They’re made with peach blossom jam, atractylodes, ginseng, and bitter orange."
’Finally, something that isn’t a complete nuisance.’
Ji Qingwu picked one up and took a bite. The pastry melted on her tongue. The medicinal flavor was faint, easily overpowered by the sweet fragrance of the peach blossom jam.
She smiled and offered a word of praise. "Not bad."
Manager Mi immediately produced an account book from under the tray and presented it to Ji Qingwu.
"Fifth Missy, these are this month’s accounts. Please look them over."
’So that’s what this was about.’
The mere sight of the thick account book made her stomach turn.
Ji Qingwu was about to make an excuse to step outside for some fresh air when another person entered through the door.
They were also here to see her.
"Qingwu, I sent someone to the Wei Family to ask for you. When the servant came back and said you weren’t receiving visitors, I knew you’d be here."
Ji Qingrong entered with one hand pressed to her lower back, carefully supported by Chun Xing.
Ji Qingwu hadn’t seen her older sister in a long time. She promptly pushed the account book back to Manager Mi and went to greet her with a smile.
"Elder Sister, what brings you here too?"