4576-chapter-75
Chapter 75
The next day, although Nie Qinglin was completely exhausted from the Grand Tutor’s vigorous exploits, her mind was preoccupied, and she forced herself to open her eyes.
The Grand Tutor had already risen early and gone off somewhere unknown.
However, before leaving, he had instructed Nanny Shan to assist the princess with her morning cleansing and to serve her a special breakfast prepared by the small kitchen.
Nanny Shan had grown increasingly proficient at serving others.
Before Nie Qinglin had even woken up, she had already prepared a copper-bottomed bathing tub for cleansing.
Charcoal was lit beneath it, and every quarter of an hour it was reheated, with the brazier removed in time to ensure that when Nie Qinglin awoke, she would have warm water ready for her bath.
The water in the tub was slightly red in hue, likely due to some restorative prescription from a divine physician.
After soaking until a light sweat broke out over her body, Nie Qinglin felt noticeably more refreshed.
Once she was dressed and groomed, she asked, “How is that Miss Shen doing now?”
Nanny Shan replied, “Reporting to Your Highness, the Grand Tutor already summoned the imperial physicians to treat and bandage Miss Shen. She’s currently recuperating in the side hall.”
Nie Qinglin nodded and asked again, “Has Consort Shu replied yet?”
Nanny Shan said that everything had already been arranged and handled.
Only then did Nie Qinglin rise and head to the side hall to check on Shen Hong’er.
It was a truly pitiful sight.
Though Shen Hong’er had managed to draw the dagger yesterday and the bleeding had been quickly stopped, the wound had still reached her sinews and bones.
Her arm was now suspended in a sling, and she lay pale-faced on the couch.
When she saw Princess Yong’an, she didn’t even have time to greet her properly before her eyes turned red with emotion.
“Princess…”
Nie Qinglin quickly sat beside her on a soft stool moved over by Nanny Shan, gently pressing Shen Hong’er back down and saying, “You’re already injured, what need is there for all this formal etiquette? Just lie down and speak.”
Though Shen Hong’er was only a foster child in the Shen household, she had been loved dearly by her aunt since childhood and had never endured such excruciating pain.
Even with medicine applied, the wound had kept her awake the entire night.
Yet the more she recalled the scene at the pond during the day, the more bizarre it seemed.
Clearly, it had been the Grand Tutor who pulled the emperor into the water in fright.
Even if the emperor had choked and nearly drowned, why had the Grand Tutor latched onto His Majesty’s neck like that? That wasn’t rescue…it looked more like the villain Wei taking advantage of His Majesty’s beauty to force himself upon him when no one else was around! And yet, why would the emperor still protect that despicable man?
Tossing and turning all night with such doubts, she now saw Princess Yong’an, who shared the same appearance as the emperor.
It felt like seeing a close relative, and she was eager to confide her worries about the emperor’s predicament.
Nie Qinglin smiled and had Nanny Shan and the attendants leave the room.
But once they were gone, Shen Hong’er realized she had no idea how to bring herself to tell the princess that her brother had been molested by a shameless man.
Thousands of words stuck in her throat, until all she could utter with indignation was, “Princess… His Majesty suffers so much!”
Nie Qinglin chuckled softly.
“Whether my royal brother suffers or not, I cannot say. But seeing you so frail and wan, I am the one who feels heartache.”
Anxious, Shen Hong’er thought the princess hadn’t understood, and she tried to explain further.
But the princess raised a single fair finger to stop her, then calmly said:
“You do realize, don’t you, that you are no longer in the Shen household, but within the palace walls? In this deep palace, from nobles to servants, all carry burdens they dare not speak of. Your cousin and the Sixth Lord of your household once left this palace, they surely understand this truth better than most.
There are some hardships one can share with close friends and kin to relieve the heart’s unrest. But some burdens must be swallowed whole and locked in the gut. For if you slip even once, not only might you bring ruin to your own family, invite disaster upon your dearest kin, but even worse; you could throw the entire dynasty into chaos and leave the people in misery. My brother is someone who can endure. Can you say the same of yourself, Miss Shen?”
Looking at the smiling princess, Shen Hong’er suddenly felt that though she appeared around the same age as herself, her calm composure and steadiness were far beyond her years.
For a moment, she was stunned into silence, overwhelmed by the gentle but pressing force of those words.
Then came another question:
“The Grand Tutor holds you in high regard. He has spoken to the emperor about establishing you as empress. I wonder…would you be willing?”
At this, two faint blushes rose on Shen Hong’er’s pale cheeks.
“Hong’er dares not dream of the empress’s position. Even if I could only be a minor concubine and serve by His Majesty’s side, it would already be a blessing beyond my wildest hopes…”
As she spoke, she lowered her head, the very picture of a young maiden whose dreams of marrying the one she longs for are coming true.
Nie Qinglin had thought that after witnessing her own shameless antics with the Grand Tutor by the waterside, Shen Hong’er would awaken to the truth, that the emperor was not only disabled but entangled with another man and would surely feel fear and hesitation.
Who would’ve thought that this simple question would make Shen Hong’er blush like a girl in love, so eager to marry the emperor!
Upon seeing this clearly, Nie Qinglin felt as if a dagger had struck her own forehead…caught completely off guard and flustered, she blurted out the truth in an attempt to awaken this naive young girl from her dreams:
“But… surely you’ve also learned that my royal brother was born with certain illnesses. In the future, you may only be husband and wife in name. It would be quite an injustice for you…”
Shen Hong’er raised her eyes and said seriously, “Why is it that both you and my cousin say this? The Emperor’s frailty only means he needs someone even more to care for him. How can illness be a reason not to take a wife? His Majesty is gentle and refined, clearly someone considerate and kind. Just as the books say, as long as one can share a respectful and harmonious life together, that’s the highest form of marital bliss. How can that be called an injustice?”
Princess Yong’an nodded solemnly in response, the Shen family truly lived up to its reputation as a household of great scholars; their family teachings were indeed strict!
Nie Qinglin, however, was certain that the two of them were not reading the same kind of books.
But she couldn’t exactly pull out the Grand Tutor’s “Mandarin Duck Chamber Dramas” collection and start giving the innocent Shen girl a full-blown adult education.
With no other solution in sight, perhaps ignorance truly was bliss.
When Nie Qinglin left Shen Hong’er’s room, her steps were unusually heavy—it was the first time she truly felt the weight of a debt of love.
That afternoon, they were scheduled to inspect the spring sowing done during the suburban sacrificial rites, so after returning to the temporary palace, she changed into her imperial robe and crown.
But after changing, she couldn’t help standing before the mirror, turning this way and that, admiring herself endlessly.
Finally, she asked the mute palace maid beside her:
“Looking at me like this… do you feel your heart flutter?”
The mute maid said nothing, her face expressionless, simply staring at the little emperor’s heart-stirring face.
But this kind of behavior, teasing a palace maid was caught by the Grand Tutor, who had just entered.
With a darkened expression, he knocked on the doorframe and said,“Your Majesty looks radiant today, so there’s no need to lean in so close to ask others. It’s time to depart.”
As they went out, the Grand Tutor was thinking: Perhaps it’s time to clean out the emperor’s reading materials. Lately, cheap books have been circulating in the streets about husbands going off to war and their wives falling into scandalous affairs with the scholar next door, happily becoming widows and remarrying. Should I dispatch officials to purge these storybook shops, lest they corrupt the good women of Great Wei?
With a brooding look, the Grand Tutor pondered silently.
The fields the noble ladies had visited in spring had undergone a complete transformation.
Now, vast wheat fields waved in the breeze, forming a sea of vibrant green that immediately lifted one’s spirits.
Delicate wheat blossoms bloomed densely in this endless ocean, and the wheat stalks proudly lifted their heads, their faint fragrance mingling with the lazy sunlight.
For those who had tilled these fields in the spring, a deep sense of pride stirred in their hearts.
When Nie Qinglin stood beside the rice field that the Grand Tutor had personally cultivated, she noticed that due to the warm and fertile soil, some of the crops had already ripened.
The Grand Tutor stepped into the field himself and swung a sickle, cutting a large bundle of wheat.
Then he ordered the royal farmhands to hull and pound the grain, and he also picked some fresh melons and fruits.
He allowed the ministers to freely pick the rest from the fields while he and the emperor returned to the temporary palace first.
Within Princess Yong’an’s quarters was a small attached kitchen.
It had been specially arranged so that when the Grand Tutor stayed overnight, if they grew hungry late at night, they could cook something themselves for a midnight snack.
The Grand Tutor felt that the crops and fruits he had grown with his own hands shouldn’t be sullied by the grubby paws of ordinary folk.
Then he remembered how the little emperor had once cooked personally for that dog of a physician back in Huaxi Village, and the memory left a bitter taste in his heart.
So today, he was determined to have a taste of something this little fruit had personally cooked for him.
Once the palace maid had prepared the fire in the stove, she dismissed the idle servants and said, “Today, this humble servant would like to taste the Princess’s cooking, so would that be permitted?”
Nie Qinglin didn’t find it a troublesome request and readily agreed.
She pointed at the washed greens and asked, “Why didn’t the maid cut them earlier? How are we supposed to cook them now?”
The Grand Tutor glanced at the Princess’s ten slender, jade-like fingers.
He thought that while those delicate hands might hold a flute with grace, wielding a heavy kitchen cleaver seemed less appropriate.
It was rare for the two of them to be alone together in this small kitchen, and he didn’t want any crude servants ruining the mood.
So, he cheerfully took the knife himself and, with the boldness of a man beheading an enemy, chopped the vegetable into three segments and then did the same to the pork.
But Nie Qinglin frowned slightly and said, “Grand Tutor, this isn’t right. The greens should be finely shredded, and the meat pieces are far too big…”
“I don’t like small pieces. Bigger ones suit my appetite better.”
The Grand Tutor had never done kitchen work before and was clearly just muddling through.
Since he said so, Princess Yong’an didn’t press the issue further.
Relying on her past experience, she tossed the ingredients into the pan, seasoned them, stir-fried for a few moments, then set the spatula down.
Feeling a bit tired, she stepped out of the kitchen and sat at the small table with the Grand Tutor to enjoy some tea.
It was only the ever-watchful Nanny Shan, standing just outside the courtyard, who noticed the black smoke rising from the kitchen.
She mustered her courage, entered quietly, and used a damp cloth to remove the scorched iron pan.
Then she came to the two tea-sipping nobles and respectfully asked, “The food in the pot is already burnt. Shall I go gather more melons and vegetables from the field?”
Nie Qinglin was stunned—burnt? That had never happened before.
She glanced at the Grand Tutor’s not-so-pleasant expression and whispered, “I don’t know how it happened… everything seemed fine. What a waste of your hard-earned harvest, Grand Tutor…”
The Grand Tutor lowered his gaze and idly flipped through the military manual in his hand.
“Then perhaps the problem lies with the one doing the cooking? When His Majesty was in Huaxi Village, I recall he was able to make quite a few excellent dishes.”
Nie Qinglin felt he was being willfully unreasonable, but she couldn’t refute him either.
For a moment, she was at a loss for words.
Nanny Shan, unable to bear watching the two brilliant masters go in circles, finally spoke up and said, “There’s always got to be someone watching the heat. But with both the Princess and the Grand Tutor just sitting out here sipping tea and reading like nothing’s happening, even an iron cake would get burned and stuck to the stove! If you ask this servant, both of you have exhausted yourselves enough swinging knives and spatulas. Just take a break and let the imperial kitchen send in some food instead!”
