12dz Chapter 127 Mysterious Prescription
Chapter 127 Mysterious Prescription
"Your Majesty, I have made thorough inquiries. The Emperor is currently in his study! He has not yet summoned any concubines to accompany him."
Jianqiu knelt slightly in greeting, respectfully reporting the news she had just received to the elegant and graceful empress before her. In just a moment, she had a clear understanding of the emperor's whereabouts.
"Very good, come with me to see the Emperor!"
Soon, the queen arrived outside the imperial study.
The empress walked slowly into the hall with great grace, bowed respectfully to the emperor, and said softly, "Your Majesty, I have come to pay my respects to you."
Then, she raised her head slightly, her eyes revealing a hint of solemnity, and continued, "I have something I want to discuss with the emperor."
The emperor put down the book in his hand and nodded slightly to signal the queen to continue.
The Queen gathered her thoughts for a moment, then spoke slowly, "Your Majesty, I have a niece, Qingying, and I would like to ask Your Majesty to grant her marriage to the Fourth Prince as his concubine. What do you think?"
"Oh? Grant the marriage to the Fourth Prince? Would the Queen be willing to do that?" The Emperor looked at the Queen and asked.
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince is a man of noble character, diligent and studious. He has grown up now, and if he has someone to take care of him, I will naturally feel more at ease."
"The Queen is considering this matter. Let me think about it." The Emperor did not agree immediately.
"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now."
"Your Majesty, why are you going back so soon today?" Jianqiu asked in confusion as they just left the imperial study.
"The Emperor will naturally inform Concubine Rong. Let's go back first!"
Sure enough, not long after the queen left, the emperor sent Su Peisheng to the Yiku Palace to summon her.
"I have something I want to discuss with you. What do you think?"
"I dare not. I don't know what it is. Please tell me clearly, Your Majesty."
"The Queen just came and requested that her niece, Princess Qingying, be given to the Fourth Prince as his wife."
"This... Your Majesty? Do you agree?" I asked in surprise.
"The Queen only asked for the position of Concubine. After all, the Queen has always been virtuous and respectful. Now that she has asked for this, I cannot refuse directly. I will only consider it."
"Your Majesty, Princess Qingying is of such noble status, and her family is the renowned Ulanara clan. How could I and the Fourth Prince be qualified to be her match? If Princess Qingying were to condescend to become a concubine, I'm afraid it would be an injustice to this princess of noble birth!"
"That's fine. It's the Queen's own request, so it's not unfair to her. Don't worry, I'll take care to choose a wife for him in the future."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Mother, why do you want to give me the person that my third brother doesn't want? I don't like Princess Qingying." When I told the fourth prince the news that the emperor had granted the marriage, his face was full of reluctance.
"Since the Third Prince doesn't want her, you're showing your generosity by taking her in. Besides, all you have to do is marry her and keep her in your house, and treat her well. No one's forcing you to treat her as an equal, right?"
After I said this, he finally understood and no longer looked worried, so I let him leave the palace and return home early.
At this time, Baojuan quietly took out a box and gave it to me, and whispered to me: "I have already done what the queen asked me to do before."
Hearing this, I hurriedly opened the box, and what caught my eye was the red gold bracelet inlaid with beads.
However, this is not the one that the Queen had previously awarded, but one that I asked Baojuan to secretly go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to find someone to imitate. It looks so good that it can be mistaken for the real thing.
These days, after repeated experiments, I have developed a fragrance that smells the same as that bracelet, and most people can't tell the difference at all.
As for the bracelet that contained the lingling incense, I had Wei Lin remove it completely and I have been wearing it ever since.
The emperor once praised this kind of fragrance, calling it a rare and unique one. I also specifically told the emperor that it was unique to the bracelet given by the empress. Gradually, the emperor believed it.
Recently, I have been wearing the bracelet, and the Queen is very relieved because she is sure that I will not have any more children and will not pose any threat to her.
Because of this, the Queen's trust in me gradually deepened, and she would often invite me to her room to talk with her.
Every time I step into the Queen's room, I notice the exquisitely crafted box placed in a prominent position. It seems that the Queen treasures this box, yet it has never been opened.
I have noticed several times that whenever the Queen was alone, she would unconsciously reach out and gently stroke the box, with an indescribable expression on her face, as if it contained endless profound meaning.
My intuition tells me that this seemingly ordinary box must be hiding the Queen's unknown secret. I have to find a way to see what is inside the box.
The only way is to see the secret in the box when the queen is away.
Because I often stayed in the Queen's Palace, after a long time, the palace maids and eunuchs no longer found it strange.
That day, I came to pay my respects to the Queen as usual, but the Queen had to go out for a while because of something sudden, so I waited for the Queen to come back in the outer room.
When the Queen left, she took Jianqiu with her, but left Huichun waiting by her side. As long as she is here, I can't go in.
So I pretended to want to drink tea and asked Huichun to pour me a cup of tea. Huichun didn't think much about it and went out to pour tea.
I hurriedly told Baojuan to wait outside the door and try to buy time for me.
"Don't worry, Madam. I know this matter is of great importance!"
I went to look for the box as planned, and sure enough, I found it next to the Queen's bed, but it was locked.
I reached out and plucked a hairpin from my hair, and with great effort I finally opened it. To my surprise, there wasn't anything valuable in the box.
Instead, there was a prescription for abortion. The handwriting was yellowed, so it must have been there for years.
Although I didn't know what it meant, I wrote down the name of the medicine on the prescription and then quietly put the box back to its place.
At this moment, Baojuan's voice was heard outside: "Sister Huichun, let me help you serve tea!"
"No need, I can do it myself. This is my job." Huichun hurriedly declined.
I knew that Baojuan was delaying time for me because she saw that I hadn't left yet, so I hurried out and just sat down, pretending to be calm, when Huichun came in with tea.
Huichun bowed slightly, holding an exquisite teacup in both hands, and said to Concubine Rong respectfully with a smile, "Concubine Rong, please have some tea."
I took the teacup, opened my red lips, and responded softly, "Thank you very much."
Huichun quickly lowered her head and replied, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. Serving you is my duty. As long as Your Majesty is satisfied, it will be the greatest gift to you."