The Self-cultivation of a Salted Fish Concubine

Chapter 351: A gap

The emperor asked in a deep voice, "Where is the eldest princess?"

"Lady Fang is worried about the eldest princess, so she has already taken her back to her own palace. She sent someone to tell Consort Zhaode about this so she wouldn't worry."

The emperor nodded slightly and said, "Go tell Lady Fang that I will visit the princess later."

Xie Run smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I heard from the palace maids and eunuchs that when they were in danger today, it was the eldest princess who stepped forward and protected Taotao and the second princess."

"The eldest princess is worthy of being the eldest sister. Although she is young, she already has the demeanor of an emperor."

Since the eldest son made a mistake and couldn't make up for it, he could only try his best to praise his eldest daughter, so as to help the emperor regain some face and make him happy.

The emperor's expression did indeed soften, and even showed a hint of tenderness: "Miss Fang has taught the eldest princess well."

Xie Run said, "Your Majesty, Lady Fang has done a great job in educating the eldest princess. Taotao is now under the care of her elder sister. I, the concubine, would like to ask for mercy on Lady Fang's behalf."

The emperor smiled and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

As he spoke, he looked at Eunuch Shi'an and said, "Immediately issue an order to promote Concubine Fang to Concubine Fang."

"Recently, the Lanhai Kingdom has sent a large tribute of pearls. Take two boxes to the eldest princess and tell her that I give them to her as a reward for her bravery and intelligence."

Xie Run looked at the emperor curiously.

The word "brave" is rarely used to praise women, let alone a little child like the princess.

The emperor glanced at the eldest prince again and said, "You bully your brothers and sisters-in-law, which is unfilial and unrighteous. If I give you a lenient punishment, it will inevitably cause injustice to your brothers and sisters."

The eldest prince remained stiff even as the emperor scolded him.

Only after a long while did he subconsciously shout, "Father, Emperor..."

The emperor was filled with anger, but when he heard him call him "father", most of the anger in his chest dissipated.

His tone suddenly changed: "I will punish you with ten strokes of the cane and make you copy the Book of Filial Piety a hundred times. From now on, you will live in the Prince's Pavilion and are not allowed to come to the harem for no reason!"

The eldest prince still stared at the emperor in a daze.

The wet nurse beside him trembled as she led him to pay his respects.

After dealing with the eldest prince, the emperor turned around and saw his chubby son sleeping soundly with his head tilted back in his wet nurse's arms.

Xie Run was playing with the second princess with a doll.

The second princess stared at the doll for a long time and suddenly laughed.

Seeing this, the emperor's tone softened a bit: "Did I scare you today?"

Xie Run: "I was indeed a little scared. But I know there are people to take care of me, so it won't be a big deal."

"The people around you are well trained."

Xie Run: "It was Miss Fang, though. She was the one who was truly frightened. She came running all the way here as soon as she heard the news. Her hair was all messed up, and she was so scared that she lost two of her souls."

The emperor nodded and watched Xie Run teasing the second princess.

The second princess giggled from time to time, and two dimples appeared on her chubby little face, making her look particularly adorable.

Xie Run teased the Second Princess while saying, "I just haven't seen anyone from Fengyi Palace. I don't know if something happened."

The emperor's eyes were calm: "The queen vomited blood."

Xie Run was startled, and the doll in his hand was snatched away by the second princess to play with.

She hurriedly asked, "Is the Queen in serious condition?"

This sudden vomiting of blood couldn't be because he heard the news that the second princess was bullied?

But the queen is not someone who can't sit still.

Emperor: "A letter arrived from the Xia Dynasty, and it said something."

Xie Run suddenly didn't know what to say.

The Queen's health was already not very good, and now that two countries were at war, the Queen was caught in the middle, and I wonder how much gossip she would have to endure.

Xie Run: "I will go see the Empress later, at least I will feel more at ease."

The Emperor: "You are so careless! Aren't you afraid that Tao Tao will be frightened?"

Xie Run said with a smile, "Your Majesty, if a child is raised too delicately, he will always be afraid of this and that, and that will easily lead to fright."

"Tao Tao is a tough guy. A few days ago, he was playing in the Imperial Garden and secretly caught some earthworms to play with."

"As long as adults don't make a fuss, children won't be easily frightened."

The emperor thought of the third princess who was well-mannered and well-mannered.

"Hui Xiuyi keeps a close eye on the Third Princess, calling the Imperial Physician at the slightest sign of trouble. It was said that the parrot Hui Xiuyi kept chirped, and it frightened the Third Princess so much that she cried for two days straight."

The emperor was also very upset when he mentioned these things.

"She sent a message saying she wanted to invite a senior monk from Baoji Temple to chant sutras to calm the Third Princess' soul."

Xie Run said gently, "I have also heard a little about this matter. The Empress has handed it over to Concubine Wen to handle."

"In my opinion, why not invite a high monk as soon as possible and pray for the Empress and the Third Princess, hoping for their safety?"

The emperor nodded nonchalantly: "You can talk to the queen about this when the time comes."

Seeing that the emperor looked tired, Xie Run took off his hair bun and let him lie on the bed for a nap.

Ever since Xie Run went to the Heavenly Prison to see Fang Yuaner, the emperor had not been to Showa Palace for several days and had not asked about the affairs of Showa Palace.

This is different from before.

In the past, the emperor was busy with the affairs of the previous dynasty. Although he came to Showa Palace less frequently, he would occasionally give gifts or have meals at Showa Palace.

When Hua Zhaorong was at the peak of her favor, the emperor never neglected Xie Run.

During this period, the emperor seemed to deliberately ignore Showa Palace and Xie Run's existence.

Xie Run was a sensitive person and vaguely realized that it was the words that Fang Yuan'er said to her that day that had spread and caused some alienation between the emperor and her.

Although he didn't know what the barrier was, it still made the emperor feel uncomfortable whenever he thought of him.

She didn't dare to cause trouble and just stayed quietly in Showa Palace to look after the children.

Unexpectedly, the eldest prince's disturbance brought the emperor to her.

Xie Run was eating fruit in the corridor and said calmly, "There's a saying that when you meet someone, you develop feelings for them. There's some truth to that."

Xiao Shu was helping to peel fruit nearby. Upon hearing this, she looked at Xie Run in confusion: "Who does the Queen want to see?"

Dan Tao understood and nodded Xiao Shu's head, "Just focus on peeling your fruit. The Queen wants to eat the fruit in your hand."

Xie Run also smiled faintly.

Although the emperor's inner estrangement was somewhat relieved, he still did not stay at Showa Palace that night.

Xie Run was not in a hurry. He asked someone to prepare a soup and send it to the imperial study.

The next day, the emperor did not come, but he gave a lot of rewards.

When Eunuch Shi'an came to deliver the reward, he also brought a message to Xie Run.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor is worried about the Empress's health and has summoned Dr. Xie to the palace. If he can cure the Empress, he will be rewarded."

Xie Run smiled and said, "I also hope that the Queen will recover soon."

But I am not so optimistic in my heart.

When Xie Jiang first passed the news to Xie Run, saying that the queen's life span was shortened, he should have been aware of the sequelae of the queen's miscarriage.

Now the Queen's health is getting worse and worse. Even if Xie Jiang is the reincarnation of Bian Que, he can only delay the symptoms but not cure them.

She accepted the reward and asked someone to take out a portion and send it to Concubine Fang's palace as a thank-you gift to the eldest princess.

After lunch, Xie Run took his men to Fengyi Palace.

As soon as he arrived at Fengyi Palace, Xie Run smelled a faint scent of medicine.

Everyone who came and went in the palace lowered their heads and was very quiet, not daring to make a sound.