He paused, taking out the jade pendant from within his sleeve. “This is your jade pendant, remember?”
Su Xi-er had been able to tell that the jade pendant was invaluable, but she was not cognizant of it because she wasn’t the original owner. Du Ling dotes on his younger sister so much, yet, I’m not his real sister.
“I’ll help you put it on. This is an ornament that represents your identity; you must wear it at all times.” Du Ling bent down and tied the exquisite jade pendant around her neck with a fiery red string.
“I realised that your body is cold, but this is a warming jade. Do you feel it?” The corners of Du Ling’s mouth rose as he stared at her.
A trace of warmth began to emanate from her neck, and Su Xi-er nodded at him.
“Your Elder Brother will bring you back to the Western Region and give you everything an imperial princess is supposed to have – perpetual glory. You will no longer be a lowly maidservant from the Palace Side Quarters; you are the noblest imperial princess of the Western Region.” Du Ling grabbed her hand, worrying since it was still ice cold.
Su Xi-er needed a few more days before she could speak, so she was only able to nod. However, she still felt a trace of regret in her heart.
Du Ling has searched for his younger sister for so many years, but even if he has ‘found’ her, it’s no longer the same person.
If he finds out one day that his real sister has died, and that the person occupying her body is Nanzhao’s Eldest Imperial Princess, Ning Rulan, what would his reaction be? Will he invite a Buddhist priest to expel my soul?
Outside the palace, Pei Qianhao kept knitting his brow as he listened to the imperial physician’s report. He didn’t dare to speak a word more than necessary, shivering as he watched Pei Qianhao’s frosty visage. What if Pei Qianhao is angry and sends me flying with no regard for my position?
“It should eventually improve after continuous years of nourishing the body.” Pei Qianhao finally spoke.
The imperial physician trembled as he stammered. “It’s hard to say. The Princess Consort’s constitution was already cold, and now she has suffered again. Umm…a word of advice from this subject: if you value descendants, you’ll need to take in a secondary consort.” As soon as he finished speaking, the imperial physician noticed Pei Qianhao’s expression turn absolutely stormy.
But I haven’t even said the most important part yet… Hence, he decided to pluck up his courage. “Prince Hao, most women who have a cold constitution won’t live long.”
In less than a second, the imperial physician felt a sharp pain in his abdominal area as he was sent flying through the air, landing face-flat on the ground. My poor old bones; an injury to the tendons and bones will last a hundred days! I can’t even move!
Two guards from the Prince Hao Residence immediately came forward and carried the imperial physician out of the repose palace. This imperial physician doesn’t know the weight of the Princess Consort in Prince Hao’s heart. It would’ve been bad enough if he just said it would be hard to give birth to children. To think he even said that the Princess Consort will have a short lifespan!
Prince Hao has already let him off easy by only kicking him!
Pei Qianhao’s expression was terrible, and only after spending several minutes calming himself was he able to return it to normal. Once he got back inside the room, his eyes landed briefly on Du Ling and Su Xi-er’s intertwined hands.
“Du Ling, stay here with Xi-er. I’ll go and prepare some soup.” He bent down and patted Su Xi-er’s cheeks. “Don’t worry, the imperial physician said that you just need some nourishment for your body to recover.”
Pei Qianhao stood up and passed Du Ling some burn ointment. “Help Xi-er apply this to the burns on her arm.”
Du Ling nodded; the two of them had come together because of one woman.
“I’ll apply it for you. Frown if it’s painful.” Du Ling softly coaxed in a voice that even he himself cringed at.
Su Xi-er nodded and held out her arm. To Du Ling’s surprise, her arm was also cold to the touch!
