Chapter 342: Purity and Marital Duty
Tao Wanxin looked up to see Prince Yong frowning.
"I..."
Zhao Minghong reached out with his left hand to take hers, but her hand was resting on her embroidery hoop. The needle, pointing up through the fabric, pricked him square in the palm.
Prince Yong hissed in pain.
Seeing the bead of blood on the needle’s tip, Tao Wanxin grew even more quiet.
Instead of pulling his hand back, Zhao Minghong grabbed hers, draped it over his shoulder, and without another word, swept her up into his arms.
"Go, tell her to hurry!"
"Third Brother..." Princess Qingyun was forced to swallow the words on the tip of her tongue.
Watching Prince Yong stride away with Princess Yong in his arms, Princess Qingyun stood in the doorway, wondering, ’Who is Third Brother in such a mad rush to summon?’
「A short while later.」
A carriage stopped at the main gate of Prince Yong’s Mansion. Ji Qingwu stepped out, not yet fully awake, her head still spinning.
She rubbed her eyes and let out a long breath, her cheeks puffing out slightly in a sullen expression.
After the trouble of getting Jiu Jiu to the palace, being forcibly woken up when she was only halfway through her sleep was not a pleasant feeling at all.
Once the Maids led Ji Qingwu inside, her face, contrary to its usual demeanor, was devoid of any smile.
Princess Qingyun, who was sitting in the room, brightened up, but she didn’t dare approach to greet Ji Qingwu when she saw her unhappy expression.
Princess Yong had already been made to lie down on the bed, under strict orders to rest.
Zhao Minghong turned and urged Ji Qingwu, who was still standing in the doorway, "Hurry and take a look. What’s wrong with the Princess Consort?"
He never felt at ease calling for other Imperial Physicians, especially after the recent incident of someone poisoning the little prince’s medicinal soup.
After much thought, Prince Yong decided it was best to summon Ji Qingwu.
Zhao Minghong said, "What are you doing standing in the doorway? Get over here."
Ji Qingwu shot Prince Yong a sidelong glance and said irritably, "Would the Prince please move aside? How else am I supposed to get through?"
Zhao Minghong quickly made room and stood to one side.
The moment Ji Qingwu entered the room, she found the air stifling. A few steps further in, she saw that Tao Wanxin’s complexion was indeed not good. She was pale, drained of all color, and held a handkerchief to her lips.
Tao Wanxin lowered the handkerchief covering her mouth and nose. "Qingwu, you’re here," she said.
"Well? Can’t you see how much pain she’s in?"
Zhao Minghong was being incredibly noisy behind her.
Ji Qingwu sat on the edge of the bed and began to check Princess Yong’s pulse.
Before long, she frowned. Her eyes swept around the room, and her gaze finally landed on Prince Yong.
Zhao Minghong stepped forward, ready to hear her diagnosis, but Ji Qingwu stopped him with a raised hand.
"Don’t come any closer."
Ji Qingwu’s delicate nose twitched, and her expression was hard to read. "Would the Prince please change his clothes and then come back."
Zhao Minghong glanced down at his robes, bewildered. "What does this have to do with me?"
Tao Wanxin silently turned her face toward the wall.
Only then did Prince Yong belatedly lift his sleeve and take a sniff.
Ji Qingwu said, "The Princess Consort is mostly fine. Her vitality is a little low, and she needs to walk around more. On top of that, her morning sickness has been quite severe recently. I must ask the Prince—"
"—to keep yourself clean."
And she meant that in the most literal sense.
Ji Qingwu could guess where Prince Yong had just come from. He must have been dealing with Prime Minister Su and his faction.
The reek of blood on him was enough to make even her feel uncomfortable, let alone the pregnant Princess Yong, whose senses were far more acute.
Princess Qingyun also stood up and pulled Prince Yong aside.
She said with disgust, "Third Brother, the smell on you is overwhelming. Third Sister-in-law was doing fine, but you’re about to make her sick with your stench."
Losing face, Zhao Minghong’s expression darkened. "Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?"
Princess Qingyun quietly glanced at Ji Qingwu’s soft profile. "I haven’t seen my fifth cousin in a long time," she said. "I wanted to see her."
The two of them stood together, chattering back and forth and droning on behind Ji Qingwu.
She turned her head and said unsparingly, "Would the Prince and Princess please step outside? You’re giving me a headache."
The two royals, shooed out the door by Ji Qingwu, simply stared at each other, dumbfounded.
As a light breeze blew past, Zhao Minghong finally noticed the intensity of the foul, bloody stench clinging to him.
He walked down the steps. "I’m going to bathe and change. If you have nothing else to do, head back to the Princess Mansion. Don’t go wandering about—it’s not safe yet. The Fourth Prince of Xijin faked his own death to escape, and he might still be lurking somewhere in Lin’an."
’That treacherous, cunning Yu Wen Tianqing... To think he actually had the ability to escape death’s door.’
All Princess Qingyun could think about was Li Chengxun’s departure.
She said miserably, "Third Brother, Chengxun is being sent to Longzhou. Can’t you convince Imperial Brother to retract the order?"
"Retract the order? Are you trying to get me killed?!"
Zhao Minghong stopped in his tracks and turned to glare at her.
"Have you seen the state of things? Li Chengxun is your Prince Consort. If he makes a name for himself in Longzhou, that glory will be yours as well."
Princess Qingyun shook her head. "I don’t want that hollow glory. I just want him to stay with me. If he leaves, I’ll be sleeping alone. I’ll have sleepless nights."
Zhao Minghong said, "But you slept by yourself before you were married, didn’t you?"
Princess Qingyun snapped, both shy and annoyed, "Third Brother, you’re shameless!"
Exasperated, Zhao Minghong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "You brought it up first. Don’t tell me you married a Prince Consort just for someone to play with and sleep with?"
In her heart, that was exactly what Princess Qingyun thought.
She cared first and foremost about looks. Talent and character were a distant second.
When she woke in the middle of the night, opening her eyes to the handsome face of the man sleeping beside her would sweep away all her worries.
’So what if she was captivated by his face? What was so wrong with that? Why shouldn’t she be?’
But Li Chengxun had accepted Emperor Wu Su’s decree and was already back at the Princess Mansion, packing his bags. She couldn’t use her authority as a princess to stop him.
"I don’t care! Third Brother, please, talk to Imperial Brother for me. See if he can..."
As she spoke, Princess Qingyun became overwhelmed. The thought of not being able to see his face anymore made her voice choke up.
But her words belied her true feelings. "Longzhou is too dangerous," she said. "I don’t want him to go."
Zhao Minghong sighed. "Qingyun, don’t you understand? If the Beili Empire falls, your title of ’Princess’ will be nothing but an empty shell."
After experiencing the assassination attempt that left the Emperor grievously wounded and near death—regardless of whether Emperor Wu Su had orchestrated it—Prince Yong had come to deeply understand that status and titles were ephemeral.
With uncharacteristic seriousness, Zhao Minghong said, "Qingyun, let me give you some advice as your brother. Don’t stand in Li Chengxun’s way. His ambition is considerable, and Imperial Brother intends to give him this chance. He’ll go whether you agree to it or not."
"Why not send him off happily? It would be a better show of your devotion as husband and wife."
Princess Qingyun bit her lip and said nothing, looking wronged.
Seeing her expression, Prince Yong said no more, turning on his heel and heading straight for the bathing chamber.
Back in the room, Ji Qingwu propped open a window. Her nose twitched again. Aside from the reek of blood, there seemed to be another, peculiar scent mixed in the air.
It was somewhat similar to the "Two Lives’ Joy" poison she had once been afflicted with.