Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 297: Will you help me?

Chapter 297: Chapter 297: Will you help me?

The Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival span over two days when both the Great Yan Imperial Court and the common people honor their ancestors.

During the Cold Food Festival, stoves are not lit, cold food is eaten, and ancestors are worshipped, which is relatively simple among the populace.

But within the imperial family, the day begins with busyness right from early morning, starting with a visit to the Imperial Mausoleums and Ancestral Temples to pay homage to their ancestors, followed by burning incense to worship the city god.

On this day, civil and military officials will enter the palace, bringing their families along. Currently, with Prince Ling, Jun Yuyan, overseeing governmental affairs, he is responsible for the ancestral worship. As Princess Consort Murong Jiu, she must attend to these ladies.

Women are not allowed to enter the Imperial Mausoleums and Ancestral Temples, except for the Empress, who may enter to pay tribute.

Fortunately, because of this, Murong Jiu doesn’t have to get up as early as Jun Yuyan does. However, relative to usual, she still woke up earlier than normal, donning the extremely elaborate attire of a Princess Consort.

However, whether it was because of last night’s nightmare, Murong Jiu felt extremely exhausted. That indescribable sense of panic still lingered in her heart.

Unexpectedly, the Fourth Prince had just arrived when he noticed her pallor.

Is it that noticeable?

Murong Jiu thought to herself. This morning she had asked Chun Tao to apply rouge to her face to make her complexion seem better, and there was also lip rouge on her lips; it shouldn’t be that obvious.

And also...

The Fourth Prince’s expression was clearly one of concern, so why did she feel a sense of dissonance in her heart?

To tell the truth, she had very little interaction with the Fourth Prince. Every time they met, it was in the palace.

In her recollection, the Fourth Prince was a cautious and mediocre prince. The Second Prince once evaluated him as indecisive and incompetent.

In her previous life, even though the Fourth Prince had pledged loyalty to the Second Prince quite early, he still made mistakes under the Second Prince’s schemes and was sent by the Emperor to a remote and impoverished area to be a prince in name only.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t rested well, but Murong Jiu didn’t think much about it and thanked the Fourth Prince:

"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Jing, for your concern. It’s nothing serious."

The Fourth Prince, upon hearing this, nodded and respectfully stepped aside.

During today’s worship, the Second Prince naturally could not attend, and although the Third Prince could, he excused himself on the grounds of recuperation and did not show up.

With the Emperor gravely ill and the Empress confined to her quarters, the task of leading the worship fell on Jun Yuyan, with the Fourth Prince acting in a supportive role.

Jun Yuyan was so busy that he could barely spare a moment, constantly glancing over at her.

Murong Jiu didn’t want to worry him and thus mustered her spirit. Fortunately, although the clothes were heavy, with Hong Yi and Chun Tao by her side, it wasn’t too tiring.

The Fourth Prince, as usual, was unremarkable and seemed to have a low presence.

It wasn’t until sunset that they returned to Prince Mansion. Murong Jiu fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow; perhaps due to exhaustion, she didn’t have any more nightmares.

After sleeping soundly through the night, her complexion returned to normal, and Jun Yuyan was able to let go of his worries.

The following day, Qingming, turned out to be much more relaxed than the previous one. Worship was only for half the day, and the rest of the day, which had evolved into an outing in the Capital City, saw officials and commoners alike pairing up to pluck willows, swing, cockfight, play polo, fly kites, and more.

Jun Yuyan also flew kites with Murong Jiu, right there in Prince Mansion, avoiding the hustle and bustle of the riverbanks and outskirts.

The two children also had kites, though theirs were made of carved wood, personally crafted by Jun Yuyan, polished smooth and lovely, which the little ones could now hold in their hands for a little while.

Murong Jiu didn’t have much enthusiasm, so after flying the kite with her for a while, Jun Yuyan accompanied her back to Qiyun Courtyard.

"Ah Jiu, was the dream you had the same as the one you had before? Do you need me to invite Master Hui Jue over?"

His eyes were full of concern.

Such a caring glance from Jun Yuyan seemed normal, whereas it felt strange coming from the Fourth Prince. Wait a minute, why was she even thinking about the Fourth Prince?

Murong Jiu shook her head, tossing the strange thoughts from her mind, and said to Jun Yuyan:

"Perhaps it’s because my menstruation is approaching that I feel a bit tired. I should be fine after resting for a couple of days. Also, I can’t remember anything from my dream, so there’s no need to invite Master Hui Jue; the journey is far too long."

As she spoke, she playfully shook the Buddha Beads in her hand and joked, "With the Soul-Settling Bead given to me by the master, no evil spirits dare come near me!"

This was indeed the truth; ever since she had worn the Buddha Beads, she had not had any dreams about her previous life, but she couldn’t recall what she had dreamt about the previous night.

Jun Yuyan still went to find Divine Doctor Zhai, who prepared a bowl of Calming Soup for her to take back.

In the following days, Murong Jiu didn’t have any more nightmares, and her spirits visibly improved. That day’s peculiarities were also discarded from her mind.

While she was amusing Xiao Jin and Xiaoyu with a pellet drum, she suddenly heard that Consort Qin invited her to the palace to tend to her illness—she had been frightened by a wild cat and it had affected her pregnancy.

Murong Jiu glanced at the sky and said, "Why at this hour? The palace is about to lock up soon."

Jun Yuyan quickly came from the study and instructed Steward Lin to decline the invitation, saying they would visit the next day instead.

Steward Lin, troubled, said, "Prince, the one who brought the decree is a chief eunuch from the Emperor’s side. It seems this is not just Consort Qin’s wish but also the Emperor’s. It may not be easy to refuse."

Just as Steward Lin had arrived not long ago, a servant came again, saying the chief eunuch could not wait any longer and was coming to Qiyun Courtyard in person to invite the Princess Consort.

It seemed that they would not rest until she was summoned to the palace.

Since refusal was not an option, she would have to go; one cannot keep declining invitations and risk angering the Emperor.

Murong Jiu changed her clothes, and Jun Yuyan accompanied her to the palace.

Upon meeting the Chief Eunuch Chen, he greeted them with a smile and said, "It’s really a disturbance to come and bother the Prince and Princess Consort at such a late hour, it is my fault. But since Consort Qin has been frightened and her pregnancy is affected, and you, Princess Consort, have childbirth experience and superior medical skills, Consort Qin wished for you to take a look, as the medical women are far inferior compared to you."

Jun Yuyan said coldly, "Isn’t Divine Doctor Miao still in the palace? Why not have Divine Doctor Miao attend to her?"

"It just so happens that The Third Prince is feeling unwell and Divine Doctor Miao has gone to Prince Rui’s Mansion. Moreover, Divine Doctor Miao is a man, which is inconvenient for examining Consort Qin."

Without further discussion, they made their way to the palace and stood outside Consort Qin’s chambers.

As Jun Yuyan was an outsider, it was not appropriate for him to enter. Carrying her medicine box, Murong Jiu followed Eunuch Chen inside.

Two palace maids, evidently from the Western Regions, came to greet her, "Princess Consort, please come in quickly; Her Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time."

The other said to Eunuch Chen, "Thank you for the trouble, His Majesty has returned to rest due to fatigue. Please go back and report."

With that, she stuffed a purse into the eunuch’s hand.

Eunuch Chen, smiling broadly, bowed and took his leave from Murong Jiu.

Murong Jiu, keeping her composure, walked briskly toward Consort Qin’s bedchamber, where Consort Qin was lying on the bed without makeup, her face still rosy and features strikingly beautiful and deep-set, as she smiled and sat up:

"Princess Consort Ling, you finally arrived. I was terribly frightened today; please check for me to see if it affected my pregnancy?"

Murong Jiu asked, "Have you experienced any bleeding?"

"Not at all."

"What does the Imperial Physician say?"

"The Imperial Physician says Her Majesty was shocked, and the baby was somewhat distressed, but after resting for so long, Her Majesty feels much better than earlier," explained a palace maid fluently in Chinese.

Murong Jiu carefully took Consort Qin’s pulse. Consort Qin, however, looked at her and whispered, "Princess Consort Ling, are you willing to help me?"

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