12dz Chapter 285: Persuading to Drink and Catching an Adulterer
Chapter 285: Persuading to Drink and Catching an Adulterer
With a "bang", the wine jar shattered, and the fragrant wine immediately spread all over the ground, bringing an increasingly rich aroma.
"Your Highness, it's such a waste of twenty-year-old Huadiao tribute wine." After Yu Qingli said this, she found a seat and sat down slowly. Xiluo opened all the other windows and ordered the eunuch who came back to bring some sobering soup.
Murong Cheng squinted his eyes and glanced at Yu Qingli, then grabbed a jar of wine beside him and asked lazily, "What are you doing here?"
"No one comes to the temple for no reason, but this time it should be good news for His Highness."
"Good news?" Murong Cheng sneered. "If the princess is talking about your sister's marriage, I'm sorry I won't accompany you."
Yu Qingli smiled upon hearing this and answered irrelevantly, "Under the sad bridge, the spring waves are green, where once a startled wild geese reflected their shadows." What do you think of this poem, Your Highness?"
Murong Cheng's cloudy eyes suddenly became clear. He looked at Yu Qingli and asked, "What do you think of this sentence, Princess?"
"It is beautiful, but too sad."
“How come you see?”
"The most beautiful one is 'The north wind rises tonight, and the startled wild geese fly from a thousand miles away.'"
Murong Cheng heard this and stared at Yu Qingli for a long time without saying a word. After a while, he asked, "Do you know?"
Yu Qingli nodded and said, "Qingli is willing to help. I wonder if the goddess is willing or not, and if the prince is willing."
Yu Qingli's words made Murong Cheng sit up straight immediately. He glanced outside the door and saw the eunuch bringing in some hangover soup. Murong Cheng took it and drank it all in one gulp. He then ordered, "Guard the door well and don't let anyone in."
Seeing that his master was in high spirits and in a good mood, the young eunuch glanced at Yu Qingli with gratitude and ran out.
"Why would the Crown Princess want to get involved in this mess? Yu Zhenzhen is your biological sister." Murong Cheng said with a mocking smile, "The position of Crown Princess is too tempting for some people."
"If I say Qingli respects Miss Liu as a person and admires Your Highness's devotion, Your Highness may not believe it. But if Qingli says that ever since Prime Minister Yu tried to poison me, Qingli has harbored a desire for revenge. Now that Prime Minister Yu has requested an imperial decree to grant me a marriage, and I refuse to grant his wish, will Your Highness believe it?"
Murong Cheng stared at Yu Qingli again, and seeing how she spoke frankly, he suddenly felt that he was really judging others by his own standards.
"The imperial decree has been issued. What else can the princess do?"
The fire of hope was rekindled in Murong Cheng's heart. As soon as he said this, Yu Qingli knew that Murong Cheng had agreed to help her and was willing to cooperate.
Yu Qingli slowly stood up and said, "I have a plan of my own. I just need Your Highness to cooperate."
Most of Murong Cheng's understanding of Yu Qingli came from Murong Yanhui. His uncle had always been very arrogant, but he had always favored Yu Qingli.
Murong Cheng decided to believe Murong Yanhui and Yu Qingli once.
"In that case, I will respectfully await the orders of the princess."
Yu Qingli smiled and nodded, but she fanned her nose with her hand, "But before that, Your Highness should take a bath and change clothes."
Murong Cheng looked at the wine stains on his body and couldn't help laughing.
At this moment, the young eunuch rushed in hurriedly, "Your Highness, Princess, the eldest prince is here."
Murong Cheng was stunned, and Yu Qingli frowned. Although she had already guessed that since Murong Cheng claimed to be ill and absent from court, His Majesty would definitely send someone to visit him, she did not expect that he would come so soon, and that he would send Murong Feng in person.
What should I do? I can't let Murong Feng see me here, and I can't let Murong Feng see Murong Cheng like this, covered in alcohol stains. How can he look sick at all?!
Murong Cheng and Yu Qingli exchanged a glance. Yu Qingli acted decisively, pulling Murong Cheng over and commanding, "You, go to the door and delay for as long as you can. Your Highness, please get into bed. Xiluo, do you still have the golden needle with you?"
"Take it with you." Xiluo immediately understood Yu Qingli's meaning. He quickly picked up the wine jars on the ground and made some arrangements.
When Murong Cheng lay down on the bed, the bedroom had basically returned to normal, except for the wine stains on the carpet and the lingering smell of alcohol in the room.
"Prince's Consort?" Murong Cheng's eyes were full of doubts. Yu Qingli smiled faintly, "Don't worry."
Xiluo took a look inside the hall, and while no one was paying attention, he quietly jumped out of the hall.
Yu Qingli turned her head to look at the entrance of the hall and couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
This move was indeed a helpless one. Compared with Murong Cheng being caught by Murong Feng and charged with feigning illness and deceiving the emperor, his appearance in the prince's bedroom seemed to be a better explanation.
Choosing the lesser of two evils, Yu Qingli had no choice but to cover up for Murong Cheng.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, it is really inconvenient for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to see guests."
The eunuch's voice was shrill and filled with anxiety as he trotted after Murong Feng. Just as Murong Feng was about to enter the palace, the eunuch knelt down in front of him and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince is seriously ill. It's really inconvenient!"
"How dare you! You dog slave, I came here on orders from the emperor, and you dare to stop me?" Murong Feng kicked the little eunuch over, lifted his collar and walked in.
Murong Feng was stunned as soon as he entered the hall. Then he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why are you here?"
Yu Qingli gently lowered the hand that was resting on Murong Cheng's wrist, stood up calmly and said, "Your Highness, Qingli is here to give acupuncture to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"Qingli, when did you learn these?" Murong Feng pointed to a piece of cloth spread beside the bed and the densely packed golden needles on it.
Yu Qingli smiled when she heard this, "Mother always had headaches before, so she has learned a little bit."
Murong Feng narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this, and said in a displeased voice: "Even so, you are still my concubine. Why didn't you bring anyone with you? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has never married, so this is just a waste of time..."
Murong Cheng was about to stand up when he heard this, but Yu Qingli stepped aside to block him. "Your Highness, the door was wide open since Qingli entered the palace, and there were servants waiting on her. Qingli knows she has a clear conscience."
Murong Feng became more and more angry when he saw Yu Qingli defending Murong Cheng. He was originally in a very good mood today when he went to Guanyin Temple with Meihong to play, but after returning, he was assigned such an errand by His Majesty. Although it was to comfort the prince, Murong Feng had other thoughts.
Murong Feng knew a little about why Murong Cheng claimed to be sick and did not attend court. He thought he could catch Murong Cheng this time, but who knew that he actually caught Yu Qingli, the wife he married in public!
Murong Feng was so depressed that he could not help but feel embarrassed. If this matter was exposed, he would lose face, but if he didn't expose it, he would find it hard to swallow his anger.
His brows knitted together as he suddenly smelled the aroma of wine. Murong Feng turned his head and his gaze fell on the wine-stained carpet. His thoughts raced as he immediately said, "Your Highness, Qingli may be somewhat similar to Qi Huang, but she is ultimately not as skilled as the doctors at the Imperial Hospital. It would be better to ask the imperial physicians to take your pulse."
Yu Qingli immediately laughed and said, "Your Highness, do you mean to look down on my humble craftsmanship?"
Murong Feng looked at Yu Qingli with a frown on his face, "Qingli, you are fooling around!"
"Your Highness, everything Qingli said is true. How can you say it's nonsense?"
Murong Feng looked at Yu Qingli coldly, thinking that this woman was really hard to deal with, so he had to give her a lesson no matter how hard he tried.
"Isn't that just nonsense? I'm asking you, how could you know that the Crown Prince was unwell, deep in the palace, and that migraines are something you specialize in?" Murong Feng's face darkened. "Today, either the Crown Prince asks the imperial physician to take his pulse, or we wait for our father to arrive."
Murong Feng stood with his hands behind his back, his sleeves waving, his eyes filled with naked provocation.
Yu Qingli couldn't think of a suitable reason to answer for a moment. The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became quiet. The air seemed to suddenly become cold, and the low pressure carried a smell of gunpowder that was about to explode.
At this moment, a hearty voice suddenly came from outside the hall.
"Murong Feng, Yu Qingli was invited by the king to treat Murong Cheng."
When Yu Qingli raised her eyes, she saw the man in the sunlight striding in with his head held high. He had his usual confident smile on his face, and his eyes quickly passed over her and then fell on Murong Feng.
"I've heard that Yu Qingli is very good at treating headaches, and even the Queen Mother praises her highly. So I sent someone to invite her here early this morning." Murong Yanhui glanced at Murong Feng and said, "I'm just asking your concubine to come and treat her. You wouldn't be so stingy, would you?"
"So it was the Emperor's uncle who notified me?" Murong Feng looked at Yu Qingli, "Qingli, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Yu Qingli replied calmly, "If Your Highness doesn't believe it, no matter how I explain, Your Highness won't believe it. Now that His Highness Prince Yan has given Qingli justice, and His Highness the Crown Prince's headache has eased, it's best for Qingli to take her leave."
"That's good. I have just invited the imperial physician. Lili, you have worked hard. Let the imperial physician take care of the rest." After Murong Yan replied, the imperial physician bowed and walked in. After saluting Murong Feng and Yu Qingli, he knelt beside Murong Cheng's bed.
Murong Feng looked at Murong Yan returning to the hall, then looked at Yu Qingli who was preparing to leave the hall on her own. He gritted his teeth secretly, flicked his sleeves and followed Yu Qingli out of the hall.
Xiluo followed Murong Feng closely. Before leaving the hall, she looked back at Murong Yanhui. Murong Yanhui nodded at Xiluo imperceptibly.
Yu Qingli and Murong Feng returned to the palace in silence. Murong Feng followed Yu Qingli back to her room. As soon as she entered, she asked in a deep voice, "I always thought you had a good relationship with the Emperor's uncle, but I didn't know when you became so close to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
As Murong Feng spoke, he suddenly recalled the prince's cloak that was draped on Yu Qingli that night, and his brows furrowed.
Yu Qingli turned back calmly, "Your Highness, this morning His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan sent someone to ask for help. He said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had a severe headache and that His Royal Highness's physician was off duty, so it would take some time for him to come to the palace. So, he asked Qingli to give His Royal Highness acupuncture to relieve the pain. Qingli felt that something was wrong and sent Xiluo to find His Royal Highness, but she didn't know that His Royal Highness was not in the bedroom. Your Highness also knows that the Prince of Yan is always overbearing. Qingli had no choice but to go to the Crown Prince's palace under his urging."