Chapter 4
The miscarriage, the fall into the water, and the beating left Lin Chuxue deathly ill. She remained unconscious for three days.
I persuaded Prince Dun, whose eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, to rest while I kept watch over her.
In the middle of the night, Lin Chuxue developed a high fever and began struggling and sobbing.
“The hairpin belongs to this servant. It has nothing to do with the princess consort. Let her go. It was all this servant’s fault.”
She wept so bitterly that it seemed she was still being beaten and begging for mercy in her dreams.
I took her hand and gathered her into my arms, patting her as though soothing a child.
“It’s all right. Everything has been settled. Prince Cheng even paid us a great deal of silver in compensation. When you wake up, we’ll spend it all on delicious things for you.”
She hid in my arms and whimpered, truly like a frightened little rabbit.
Perhaps my reassurance helped, because she woke the next day.
The first thing she did was kneel on the bed and apologize to me.
“This concubine brought trouble upon Your Highness. I deserve to die.”
I helped her lie down and tucked the blankets around her again.
“We were too weak, so anyone who pleased could trample over us. Don’t worry. From today onward, I will run this household!”
I turned to the maid with an irritated frown.
“Where is Prince Dun? The secondary consort is awake. Why hasn’t he come to see her?”
Xiaocui answered timidly,
“People from Prince Cheng’s residence came to rush His Highness into sending over the flowers Prince Cheng chose. His Highness went to the nursery early this morning.”
Damn it!
What was wrong with the little dumpling? Someone slapped his left cheek, and he offered them the right one too!
After settling Lin Chuxue, I hurried to the nursery with the few household servants we had.
Prince Dun had his sleeves rolled up and mud all over his face. He and the gardeners were digging up the camellia Prince Cheng had demanded by name.
Steward Wang from Prince Cheng’s residence sat at a small table nearby. After taking a sip of tea, he called out reproachfully,
“Your Highness, he wants the plant beside it too. Be careful not to damage it!”
Prince Dun did not answer, but his hands grew even gentler.
I walked up to the steward, snatched away his tea, and handed it to the maid beside me.
A reaction meme of a certain legendary singer flashed through my head: Why drink tea? Eat shit instead!
Steward Wang looked displeased when I took his tea.
He neither bowed nor greeted me. He merely rolled his eyes and continued lecturing the little dumpling.
“Slowly, Your Highness. If you damage the roots, the blossoms will fall.”
I could take no more.
“Xiao Yixuan, come here!”
The little dumpling turned at the sound of my voice. When he saw me, he brushed the dirt from his clothes and came over.
“Chuxue is awake. Go see her. I’ll handle things here.”
The instant Prince Dun heard that Lin Chuxue was awake, he dropped everything and ran.
The steward jumped to his feet and tried to follow.
“Prince Dun, where are you going? Our prince is still waiting…”
I grabbed him and hauled him back.
“Prince Dun is clumsy. Why don’t you retrieve the flowers yourself, Steward Wang?”
He flicked his sleeves.
“You jest, Your Highness. I would not know how.”
“You don’t know how?” I raised my voice. “Then why did you come here? Hurry back and send someone who knows how to handle flowers! Your prince is still waiting!”
He had probably heard about the infamous day I threw Princess Consort Cheng into the lotus pond.
The moment my expression turned fierce, he fled with his men.
When they returned that afternoon, I had our steward claim that the manor garden was under renovation and tell them to come back in four days.
Naturally, they refused and tried to force their way in.
I ordered the gatekeeper to shut the gates and ignored every insult they hurled from outside.