Seeing Shi Aohan looking unhappy, He Chan greeted her, "Cousin, what's happened?"
Shi Aohan said in a low voice, "My embroidered handkerchief has disappeared for no reason."
He Chan let out a sneer. "Maybe you were in a hurry when you left home. Your maid is always so careless. Maybe you left it at home."
Shi Aohan had her doubts. Her maid was indeed not very careful, but what about herself... Had she forgotten it today?
He Chan tugged at Shi Aohan's arm. "Cousin, you don't have to be so nice to Princess Qin. She's just the quiet type. She's like that with everyone. She's so boring."
It was just like this this morning that He Chan had pulled her around. He Chan loved to make a ruckus. With all the commotion, she must have forgotten about the embroidered handkerchief.
It must be this way. Otherwise, how could the handkerchief that had been placed inside her inner garment disappear? Lu Wanning hadn't gotten close to her, and she had always been on guard. If it wasn't someone with martial arts skills, who could have taken the handkerchief without a sound?
Shi Aohan then forced a smile and chided He Chan playfully, "Chan'er, don't talk like that. After all, Princess Qin is a princess."
He Chan didn't like it when Shi Aohan said this, so she let go of her hand. "Now that cousin has won Lu Wanning's favor and has also gotten in with Princess Qin, you don't dote on Chan'er anymore."
Shi Aohan let out a chuckle and booped He Chan on the nose. "Chan'er is so innocent. How could cousin not like you?"
With He Kang there to crack jokes as well, He Chan soon cheered up and laughed with the two of them.
In the Guanjv Palace, the queen rubbed her throbbing temples and had someone bring another gold hairpin. She presented it to the princess consort. "This was meant for Ning'er. Just now when those girls were causing a ruckus, I didn't get a chance to give it to her. Ning'er and Chan'er are both grown up now. As an aunt and an older sister, you should raise them well. You can't let them run wild all day. Especially Ning'er. As a county princess, she should be a role model among the noble ladies."
Although the princess consort thought the same way, she didn't like it when her sister talked about Ning'er like that. So she said, "Your Majesty may not know, but Ning'er has a simple nature. Usually, she's not the kind of person to cause trouble."
Lady He was a bit annoyed. So your Ning'er isn't the kind to cause trouble. Does that mean Chan'er is?
But then the queen smiled. "Of course I know. Ning'er is the one I dote on the most."
...
Lu Wanning personally fed the empress dowager her medicine and then popped a preserved fruit into her mouth. Only then did she ask, "Your Majesty, is this preserved fruit delicious?"
The empress dowager couldn't help but laugh. "You little rascal. Are you craving my preserved fruits? Nanny Gui, wrap up the rest and give them to Ning'er."
Lu Wanning quickly waved her hands. "Your Majesty, that's not what Ning'er meant. You still have to take your medicine. How can I take all the preserved fruits? Ning'er just... just wanted to try one."
As she was speaking, she couldn't help but swallow.
This made the empress dowager laugh even more. She pointed at Lu Wanning and said to Nanny Gui, "Look at her. At her age, she still doesn't know how to be shy."
Nanny Gui knew that Lu Wanning was deliberately trying to cheer up the empress dowager, so she wouldn't tease her. She said, "Your Majesty, the county princess is filial. She knows that the empress dowager likes to eat preserved fruits, so she doesn't want to take them all."
The empress dowager reached out and picked up a preserved fruit, intending to put it into Lu Wanning's mouth. But then she thought that she was old and was afraid that the young girl might find it disgusting, so she wanted to pull her hand back.
But by this time, Lu Wanning had already opened her mouth and bitten the preserved fruit. A smile spread across her face. "The snacks in the empress dowager's palace are really delicious. They taste just like the ones I ate when I was a child."
The two of them were having a great time when a palace maid hesitantly came over to report something. When the head maid saw this, her expression changed slightly. She immediately walked over and tried to shoo the palace maid away.
However, the empress dowager had already seen her. She squinted and asked, "Is that the person I sent to call Jin Yu? Where is Jin Yu?"
Before Lu Wanning came, the empress dowager had heard that Sheng Jinyu had entered the palace, so she had sent someone to summon him. But it must be that there was something going on in the palace hall, and he had been delayed until now. The empress dowager hadn't really cared before, but seeing the person, she suddenly remembered to ask.
The palace maid quickly knelt down and whispered, "Your Majesty, Prince Yu fainted in the main hall. He's resting in the side hall of the Hall of Diligent Government right now. Your servants weren't able to report to him."
Lu Wanning was so shocked that the plate in her hand almost fell. Fortunately, she quickly regained her composure and held it steady. She turned around, took a deep breath, and placed the plate on a palace maid's tray.
The empress dowager sat up straight and frowned. "Fainted? What happened?"
The palace maid naturally didn't know.
Nanny Gui waved her hand. "That's enough. You're so clumsy. Yuanyang, don't bring such a clumsy palace maid in front of Her Majesty again. You go there yourself and find out what's going on."
The head maid named Yuanyang bowed and led everyone out.
The empress dowager looked worried. She leaned back on the bed and didn't say a word. Lu Wanning was also worried. She didn't understand why Prince Yu had fainted out of the blue.
Seeing this, Nanny Gui said to Lu Wanning, "County princess, Her Majesty is tired. It's time for her to rest."
Only then did Lu Wanning realize what was going on. She stood up, bowed, and left. But after she left, she suddenly remembered that the new fabric she had asked the empress dowager for was still in the room. She quickly turned back and was about to push the door open when she heard the empress dowager's voice inside.
"When Jin Yu was a child and had an attack of his illness, the imperial doctor diagnosed that he wouldn't live past twenty. Now... now..."
Nanny Gui quickly said, "That was a quack doctor. The emperor has already beheaded him. Prince Yu has always been in good health. This time, he must have fainted because he was too busy with official business. Your Majesty, don't think too much about it."
Lu Wanning was stunned. Prince Yu had a hidden illness? He wouldn't live past twenty? He was already nineteen. He would turn twenty at the end of the year. In the book, he had passed away at the end of next year. By then, he would have been twenty - one. This was different...
Could it be that because the royal family had taken good care of him, he had lived one more year?
Lost in her thoughts, Lu Wanning didn't dare to go in anymore. She turned around and was about to leave when she saw Princess Qin walking slowly towards her. As usual, she looked a bit dull.
Lu Wanning quickly stepped forward to greet her. "Your Highness."
Princess Qin stared at her blankly for a moment, then bowed in return. A little dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth when she smiled. "Zhaoyang, Mother said that she'll allow me to go out of the palace to ride horses in a while. But my horsemanship is not very good. Can you teach me, Zhaoyang?"
She seemed to be deliberately flattering and trying to get close.
Lu Wanning nodded vaguely. She turned around and explained, "The empress dowager is tired. It's not convenient to disturb her."
Princess Qin didn't seem to care. She followed Lu Wanning out. As they walked, she said, "I've only been outside the palace a few times. The nanny said there's nothing good outside, but I still really want to go out and play."
Lu Wanning didn't know why she was rambling on today. She was really worried about Prince Yu, so she casually said, "If you want to go out of the palace, you can come to my house to play."
Princess Qin smiled. "Okay."
Lu Wanning thought for a moment and then lowered her voice. "Do you know about Prince Yu's health?"
Princess Qin always reacted a bit slowly. It took her a long time to say, "Is Prince Yu not in good health? I've never heard of it. People say that I was raised by the imperial concubine, but I don't have any memories of that. I haven't seen Prince Yu many times. But Prince Yu has always been nice to me. He always comes to see me every time he enters the palace."
Lu Wanning was a bit disappointed. She had always thought that Princess Qin must have some connection with Prince Yu. But now it seemed that wasn't the case? Princess Qin really seemed to be just as she appeared on the outside. There was nothing hidden about her.