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Princess Xinyang preferred tranquility, hence there weren't many servants in the courtyard, and the few servants usually stayed in the front yard. Only Yu Jin and the Dragon Shadow Guard were qualified to enter the rear courtyard.
Yu Jin was originally the legitimate daughter of a distinguished family, unlike the court ladies in the palace. She earned her position in Princess Xinyang's mansion based on her own abilities.
After bidding farewell to the Crown Princess, Yu Jin turned and returned to Princess Xinyang's room.
Princess Xinyang slept until evening and woke up feeling a tightness in her chest.
Yu Jin approached her and noticed her pale complexion. She gently lifted her delicate hand and took her pulse, expressing her concern, "Princess, your pulse seems unsteady. You should have some medicine first."
Yu Jin wasn't a physician, but due to Princess Xinyang's prolonged illness, she had learned a bit about medicine.
Princess Xinyang didn't object. With Yu Jin's support, she sat up, and Yu Jin placed a cushion behind her back.
As Yu Jin went to fetch the medicine, she paused.
On the table, there were two bottles of medicine. One was the Heart-Protecting Pill she had bought from the pharmacist of the State of Yan, and the other was the Hundred Flowers Pill personally sent by the Crown Princess a while ago.
The Hundred Flowers Pill was extremely rare and even more precious than the pharmacist's Heart-Protecting Pill. It was said to cure various ailments.
Yu Jin informed Princess Xinyang about the Crown Princess's visit and her gifting of the Hundred Flowers Pill.
"Bring it here. Let me see." Princess Xinyang said.
She had seen the Heart-Protecting Pill before, so naturally, what she wanted to see now was the Hundred Flowers Pill from the Crown Princess.
Yu Jin picked up the Hundred Flowers Pill from the table, "Huh?"
"What's wrong?" Princess Xinyang asked.
"Why is there a strip of cloth on the bottle? And there are words written on it." Yu Jin replied.
The words were written with a fine charcoal pencil and didn't look as ugly as brushstrokes, but they were still not particularly pleasing to the eye.
For someone like Yu Jin, who came from an educated family, such handwriting was somewhat unpleasant.
However, what truly puzzled Yu Jin wasn't the handwriting itself.
Princess Xinyang looked at the bottle in her hand and asked, "Was there not a strip of cloth before?"
"I remember there wasn't any. Could I have remembered it wrong?" Yu Jin furrowed her brows and looked up, "Long Yi."
Long Yi swiftly descended and landed a few steps away from them.
Yu Jin looked at him and asked, "Did someone come here just now?"
Long Yi remained silent.
"Forget it, why am I even asking you?" Yu Jin shook her head. Long Yi was guarding the room all the time, and he wouldn't allow suspicious individuals to enter.
In that case, it was possible that she had indeed remembered incorrectly or she just didn’t notice it. Perhaps there was already a small strip of cloth on the bottle from the beginning.
Yu Jin chuckled and said, "It must have been written by the seller of the Hundred Flowers Pill." The Crown Princess's handwriting wasn't this odd-looking.
With this interruption, Princess Xinyang didn't immediately take the Hundred Flowers Pill but instead took two of her usual Heart-Protecting Pills.
At midnight, Princess Xinyang started to have a high fever accompanied by severe chest pain.
"Princess!" Yu Jin rushed to the bedside without even putting on her outer garment. She was wearing her sleeping attire and opened the curtains, looking at Princess Xinyang, who appeared pale and had lost color on her lips. Yu Jin was extremely worried!
Princess Xinyang didn't have a congenital heart condition; it had only developed in recent years. The death of the young master had a profound impact on her, as if she had been completely devastated overnight.
Initially, the Heart-Protecting Pill had worked quite well. However, as her condition worsened, the effectiveness of the Heart-Protecting Pill became increasingly limited. Now, it had finally lost its effectiveness completely.
Yu Jin thought of the Hundred Flowers Pill sent by the Crown Princess and took one out.
The pill was white, but Yu Jin had never seen a genuine Hundred Flowers Pill before, so she didn't notice anything amiss at the moment.
She poured warm water and helped Princess Xinyang take the pill.
The medicine quickly took effect. After about fifteen minutes, Princess Xinyang began to feel less uncomfortable. The symptoms of palpitations eased, and the chest pain gradually subsided.
In the latter half of the night, she slept well. When she woke up, her high fever had completely subsided.
Yu Jin wrung a towel and gently wiped Princess Xinyang's forehead while saying with relief, "I didn't expect the Hundred Flowers Pill to work so miraculously. If I had known earlier, I would have found it for you sooner, Princess."
Princess Xinyang responded, "Do you think the Hundred Flowers Pill is something that can be obtained easily?"
Yu Jin smiled and replied, "Well, that’s right. The prescription for the Hundred Flowers Pill has always been the exclusive secret of the Bai Family in the State of Qing. They only produce one batch each year, and it's all a matter of luck to acquire it. The Crown Princess was kind enough to provide it."
"Mm." Princess Xinyang nodded slightly.
Yu Jin continued, "It said two doses of Hundred Flowers Pills daily. Since you're awake, Princess, you should quickly take one."
Last night, Princess Xinyang was feeling so uncomfortable that she didn't have the mood to see what the Hundred Flowers Pill looked like. Now, upon closer inspection, she realized that it was slightly different from the rumored description.
The Hundred Flowers Pill wasn't actually made from a hundred different flowers; it just used a considerable amount of flower petals, so the pill itself had a faint floral scent.
However, this pill... or rather, tablet, was pure white, colorless, and tasteless.
If it didn't have such remarkable effects, Princess Xinyang might have thought that the Crown Princess had bought fake Hundred Flowers Pills.
"It seems that rumors can't be fully trusted." She said and took the Hundred Flowers Pill from Yu Jin, swallowing it with the warm water she received.
The return of an imperial princess to the capital was a major event. It was necessary to pay respects to Empress Dowager Zhuang and the Emperor and Empress. After a few days of travel, Princess Xinyang’s health had improved, and it was time to prepare for entering the imperial palace.
After breakfast, Princess Xinyang brought the specialties from Mount Fengdu and took a carriage to the palace.
The Emperor was reviewing memorandums in his study.
Eunuch Wei bowed and entered the room, saying, "Your Majesty, Princess Xinyang requests an audience."
The Emperor was slightly surprised. He put down the memorandum in his hand and said, "Quickly, let the princess come in."
"Yes." Eunuch Wei went outside personally to invite Princess Xinyang in.
Princess Xinyang stood in the study, raised her arms, and clasped her hands in front of her forehead, bowing in salute, "This younger sister pays respects to Your Majesty."
"Don't be overly courteous!" The Emperor reached out his hand. "Rise!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Princess Xinyang straightened her body.
"Uh... Bring a seat over!" The Emperor said to Eunuch Wei.
"Yes." Eunuch Wei brought a chair without looking aside and said, "Princess, please sit."
Princess Xinyang didn't hesitate and sat down obediently.
The Emperor felt a little nervous.
To be honest, although Princess Xinyang was his younger sister, every time he interacted with her, he felt as if she were his older sister.
Others might not be able to tell, but only the Emperor knew that Princess Xinyang was the most similar to the late Emperor among all of his children.
She resembled him in appearance, and her eyes were even more reminiscent of him.
As for her methods...
He had never believed that the women in the harem were capable of any schemes, except for Empress Dowager Zhuang.
But ever since the incident with Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, he no longer dared to underestimate any woman of the harem.
Moreover, these past few days, he carefully reflected upon things. Thinking back, Princess Xinyang lost the protection of her imperial concubine mother at the age of thirteen and wasn’t close to either Empress Dowager Zhuang or Imperial Consort Liu. In such a situation, it was actually difficult for her to protect herself.
But he had never heard of her being bullied by anyone.
Later, when she married Marquis Xuanping in a high-profile manner, no one dared to bully her even more.
The folk rumors claimed that Princess Xinyang was his most beloved sister, which was why he chose such an outstanding marriage for her. After all, there were so many princesses who coveted Marquis Xuanping back then.
Little did they know that this marriage had been arranged by the late Emperor long ago, and he was just following the late Emperor's instructions.
Concealing his thoughts, the Emperor asked her, "Weren't you ill? Why did you come to the palace?"
Princess Xinyang replied, "It's nothing serious. I came to pay respects to Your Majesty."
"Ah..." The Emperor picked up his teacup and took a sip. "As long as it's nothing serious."
On the other side, Eunuch Wei also served tea to Princess Xinyang. She politely declined, saying, "I've taken my medicine, so I won’t drink tea."
"Yes." Eunuch Wei quickly withdrew the tea.
The Emperor always felt a bit awkward in his interactions with this sister of his. He took several sips of tea and asked, "You haven't been in touch with Zhen for these past few years. How is Mount Fengdu?"
Princess Xinyang calmly replied, "Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
Then, the conversation died down.
The Emperor awkwardly sipped his tea.
Princess Xinyang broke the silence, "I heard that Venerable Sister Jing'an has passed away. Please accept my condolences, Your Majesty."
Was it so hard for her to call him "elder brother"?
The Emperor silently complained before responding vaguely, "It is fine."
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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