Proud Feather

Chapter 128 Prolonged Illness
While the court and the public were arguing endlessly, Chu Ling was sunbathing in the Imperial Garden while listening to Xiao Shunzi relay the story.

"Did they really fight? How badly did it go?" she asked with great interest.

Xiao Shunzi chuckled and said, "They really fought! I heard that Lord Cao pulled out several hairs from his beard, and Lord Yan had a big tooth mark on his hand. I went over to take a look, and it was almost bleeding!"

Chu Ling clicked her tongue in amazement: "I really can't tell that Lord Cao is so old, yet he still has such good teeth."

"Isn't that right? If it weren't for Prime Minister Zhang stopping us in time, we probably would have had a piece of meat bitten off."

Zheng Qiu came over to serve tea and snacks, and said with a smile, "These two have a long-standing feud. I heard that they made enemies when they were at the Imperial Academy because they were competing for the top spot in the imperial examinations. After entering officialdom, they worked in the same place and have been at odds ever since."

“Oh…” Chu Ling said, “Qiu Niang, you know so much.”

Zheng Qiu smiled slightly: "When I was serving by Her Majesty's side, all the officials in the court had heard about it."

Chu Ling had a strange feeling. The last time she heard Qiu Niang mention her mother, she realized that some things were different from what she had imagined.

So she asked, "How does Mother know all this? Qiu Niang..."

Zheng Qiu glanced at Xiao Shunzi, who understood and retreated outside the pavilion.

Chu Ling lowered her voice and asked, "Could it be that the Empress Dowager will interfere in court affairs?"

As Zheng Qiu poured her tea, he replied softly, "When His Majesty ascended the throne as the Duke of Jia, he had never learned how to handle state affairs. It was only through Your Highness's assistance and the couple's joint efforts that he gradually got the hang of it."

"Oh..." Chu Ling was surprised. Last time, Zheng Qiu told her that her mother would go to the battlefield when she was in her fiefdom, but she didn't expect that she would also participate in political affairs after coming to the capital. No wonder her father missed her mother so much. The two had not only a husband-wife relationship, but also a deep bond of mutual support.

However, his mother had been gone for too long, and even the deepest affection eventually fades. His father was already a typical emperor, and in his heart, imperial power was still the most important thing.

“Princess,” Zheng Qiu said in a low voice, “don’t be fooled by the current commotion, the relocation of the palace is inevitable.”

Chu Ling nodded: "Father wishes to move the palace."

Zheng Qiu was slightly surprised by her certainty: "Princess..."

Chu Ling smiled sarcastically. As the saying goes, the bystander sees most of the game. Now that she was no longer influenced by the bond between father and daughter, she naturally understood her father's thoughts clearly.

“But I don’t want to move to another palace,” she continued, “at least not now.”

Zheng Qiu asked, "How long will it take for the princess? His Majesty has this intention, but it can only be delayed for a while."

Chu Ling fiddled with her fingers: "Celebrating the New Year first is a given. Next, we'll see how things go. At the very least, we'll have to wait until my elder brother's funeral, right?"

The date for the Crown Prince's funeral has not yet been set, as the mausoleum is still under construction. Chu Ling harbors a wish: to complete that matter before her elder brother is laid to rest. In this way, her brother can depart in peace.

Zheng Qiu said, "This servant has an idea."
-
No matter how noisy it was outside, Crown Princess Lü Chan had no mind to pay attention. She was so anxious that she had blisters on her lips because the little prince's illness had not improved.

It's not that serious, but a child being sick for so long is not a good sign. You know, even in the royal family, many children die young.

"Is it still burning?" she asked the palace servant.

"The fever has subsided," the palace maid replied. "I can feel that she doesn't have a fever, but she's just listless and refuses to eat, and keeps making a fuss."

As she spoke, Lü Chan entered the room. The little prince whimpered, and upon seeing her, tears welled up in his eyes: "Mother..."

Lu Chan's heart ached. She stepped forward, took the child, and hugged him tightly: "Jin'er, be good. Tell your mother where you feel unwell."

The young prince shook his head: "I don't feel well at all."

He was still too young to explain clearly; he only knew he was in pain. Lü Chan had no choice but to hold him and comfort him. He finally managed to eat half a bowl of porridge before she felt relieved.

"Go to the Imperial Medical Academy and invite Director Zhuang again."

“We’ve been there. The Imperial Censor is at Yongchun Palace.”

Lu Chan thought for a moment and said, "Then let's invite Physician Huang. Who else is good at pediatrics? Physician Chen and Physician Wei, whoever is on duty, let's invite a few more."

"Yes."

However, no matter how many imperial physicians came, they all said pretty much the same thing.

The young prince had caught a cold; being small and frail, he needed to rest properly. They didn't even dare prescribe medicine, saying that the medicine prescribed by the head steward was already very good.

Lü Chan was well aware of the imperial physicians' intentions. The young prince's status was delicate, and they feared that doing too much would lead to mistakes, so they simply chose not to act. Besides, with Imperial Physician Zhuang having already done it, were they going to say that Imperial Physician Zhuang had treated him incorrectly?
Having no other choice, Lü Chan pondered for a long time and finally decided to personally go to Yongchun Palace to invite the head of the household.

She knew it wasn't appropriate to do this, as Consort Tian was trying to protect her pregnancy, but she couldn't help worrying about the child, so she had no choice but to do it, even though it was inappropriate.

As expected, the estate manager couldn't leave.

When Lü Chan saw Consort Shu's face, she was even more startled.

However, after only a month or so, Consort Tian's face had become sunken, and she was so thin that a gust of wind could blow her away. To make matters worse, she was pregnant, and it seemed as if her life force had been completely drained.

Consort Tian said weakly, "Your Highness, please don't mind. I can't leave the steward right now. Once I've taken my medicine and stabilized, I'll have him go see the little grandson, okay?"

How could Lü Chan dare not refuse? She hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself and rest well. Please do not trouble yourself because of me."

Consort Tian smiled and said, "I also feel sorry for the little prince. Whenever the steward of the estate is free, I will ask him to go see him."

"Yes, thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

As Lü Chan left Yongchun Palace, Chu Ling came to meet her.

"Sister-in-law! You really are here."

"A-Ling," Lü Chan called out, "Why are you here?"

"I went to the East Palace to see Jin'er, and they said you came to Yongchun Palace." Chu Ling glanced at the palace gate. "What, you couldn't invite Master Zhuang?"

Lü Chan replied, "The head steward is unavailable right now. Her Majesty said she would call him over when he is free later."

Chu Ling responded with an "oh" and walked back with her: "How is Consort Shu? I heard she's having severe morning sickness."

"Hmm." Lü Chan said softly, "I've lost a lot of weight, I don't even dare to speak loudly."

That means it's really serious. It's not that we're deliberately keeping the imperial physician around.

Chu Ling was puzzled; this hadn't happened in her previous life. Consort Shu had always been perfectly healthy, and hadn't even gotten pregnant...

Wait a minute! A possibility occurred to her. Chronologically, Consort Shu's pregnancy occurred before her rebirth, and this shouldn't have changed. Therefore, Consort Shu must have been pregnant in her previous life as well, but miscarried early, and the news never leaked out.

In that case, the child probably won't stay, and they shouldn't get involved in Yongchun Palace's affairs, lest they get implicated and cause trouble.

Hearing her say this, Lü Chan wholeheartedly agreed: "If it really doesn't work, I'll ask my family to find some famous doctors."

As they talked, they arrived at the garden. Passing through here, they would reach the East Palace.