Although he received sincere and beautiful wishes on his birthday, such as “happiness as vast as the East Sea and longevity as great as the Southern Mountains”, Shen Qingzhuo still fell seriously ill after returning to Jiyue Pavilion that night.
This physical condition of his was too weak to withstand jumping into the water twice in the middle of winter. Since then, he has had a persistent low-grade fever, coughed all night long, and had difficulty sleeping.
Following the emperor’s order, the imperial physician went to Jiyue Pavilion on time every day to treat the patient. He prepared the medicine himself and worked diligently without any delay. However, the disease came like a mountain falling and went away like a thread being pulled, and there was no sign of improvement.
Young Master Shen lay drowsily on a warm bed to recuperate. Even during his illness, he was still thinking about his little disciple, who was under confinement. From time to time, he sent Xiao Dezi to secretly send some food, clothing, and daily necessities to the cold palace.
When he felt a little better, he forced himself to get up and annotate poems and songs at his desk one by one. He then gave them to his little disciple in the cold palace to study on his own in order to pass the time.
The master and his disciple, one in the cold palace and the other in Jiyue Pavilion, communicated with each other through letters, which was quite elegant and literary.
It’s just that Xiao Dezi has to work hard as a messenger to deliver secret messages back and forth.
The year is coming to an end, the sun and the moon are passing, and in the blink of an eye, another year is coming to an end.
The day Shen Qingzhuo got up from the bed, the sky was clear and the bright sunlight shone through the red walls and black tiles, climbing up his face lovingly.
Having just recovered from a serious illness, Young Master Shen’s face was pale, and his figure became increasingly thin. Even though he was wearing a fluffy fox fur coat, his slender waist seemed like it would break if bent.
“Young Master, it’s windy today. How about you go into the inner hall to avoid the wind?” Xiao Dezi stood beside him and advised with a worried look.
Shen Qingzhuo closed his eyes and enjoyed the fresh air. After a while, he replied leisurely: “If your Young Master doesn’t get some sun, grass will grow on his head.”
Xiao Dezi burst out laughing: “Young Master, you really know how to joke.”
The eunuchs and maids in Jiyue Pavilion were busy cleaning and dusting, tying red silk on the tree branches, and hanging auspicious knots everywhere, creating a joyful atmosphere.
Shen Qingzhuo asked curiously, “Are there any happy events in the palace recently?”
“Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, Young Master.” Xiao Dezi replied with a smile, “It’s a good sign that Young Master will recover on New Year’s Eve. May you be healthy and free from disease and disaster in the coming year!”
“So fast?” Shen Qingzhuo held the fox fur with one hand, looking thoughtful.
Ordinary people usually prepare New Year’s goods after the Little New Year, while the palace begins preparations in the twelfth lunar month. The Guanglu Temple and the monks’ supervisors are so busy that they finally manage to get everything ready before New Year’s Eve.
On New Year’s Eve, Shen Qingzhuo slept until noon, then he got up lazily, dressed, washed, and leaned on the warm couch, reading a book out of boredom.
According to the customs of the Dayong Dynasty, on New Year’s Eve, the emperor had to share a reunion dinner with the concubines and princes. Emperor Guangxi took pity on the original owner for being alone and specially allowed the original owner to attend the banquet with the princes.
“Today is New Year’s Eve, but His Highness is still under confinement.” Before leaving, Shen Qingzhuo told Xiao Dezi, “Prepare a rich dinner and send it to the cold palace while it’s still hot.”
Xiao Dezi responded: “The servant understands.”
The royal banquet on New Year’s Eve was held in Chengde Hall. When Emperor Guangxi entered the hall, the concubines and princes sitting on both sides stood up and saluted.
Emperor Guangxi, wearing a bright yellow embroidered dragon robe, raised his hand slightly and said, “No need to be polite.”
Everyone sat down again, and he walked forward slowly to greet the Empress Dowager, who was sitting elegantly on the phoenix chair: “May Mother Empress be blessed with good health.”
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, “Your Majesty is thoughtful.”
Shen Qingzhuo sat in his seat obediently, watching the scene with his eyes and nose, quietly appreciating the loving motherly love and filial piety between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.
Today’s family dinner has gathered almost all the nobles in the palace.
Everyone present knew him, but there were only a few people he could call out by name, so he had to be careful with everything he said and did.
After a moment, the Empress Dowager looked around gently and asked, “Why isn’t Shen’er here?”
When these words were spoken, everyone in the hall had different expressions, except Shen Qingzhuo, who seemed not to have heard them and quietly lowered his eyes to listen.
In previous years, no one cared about the existence of the Seventh Prince in the cold palace. Everyone unanimously excluded him from the royal banquet. Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager brought him up this year.
Emperor Guangxi’s face darkened: “The Seventh Prince is still under confinement.”
“It’s Chinese New Year, why is he still under confinement?” The Empress Dowager frowned slightly and said in a disapproving tone, “Shen’er is still young. Even if he made a mistake, he should be allowed to have a good New Year.”
“Mother Empress doesn’t know.” At this time, Concubine Shu choked up and said, “Yuan’er has woken up since he fell into the water last year, but he has been in a daze all day long. He can only lie on the bed and rest. I don’t know when he will recover.”
Shen Qingzhuo secretly complained in his heart, Maybe in the next life.
The Empress Dowager, who was sitting on the right side of Emperor Guangxi, comforted in a gentle voice, “Don’t worry too much, Concubine Shu. The Imperial Physician will definitely find a way to cure the Fourth Prince.”
Shen Qingzhuo raised his eyes and calmly looked at the dignified Empress.
According to the description in the original book, this Empress of the Dayong Dynasty was born into a poor family and had no one to rely on. She won the Emperor’s favor with her gentle and respectful nature and was canonized as the Empress who rules the country by Emperor Guangxi.
The reason is simple. The Empress of this dynasty had interfered in state affairs before, and Emperor Guangxi hated the interference of foreign relatives in government affairs. He did not want the Empress’s mother’s family to hold high positions, so he tried to cut off the signs of collusion between powerful officials and the harem from the root.
However, is this Empress really as gentle, virtuous, and sensible as she appears to be?
Not really.
“That’s enough.” Emperor Guangxi’s tone was filled with impatience. “Stop talking about those depressing things on such a good day.”
Seeing this, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince quickly changed the subject and said, “Imperial Grandmother, early this morning, a magpie flew to the Eastern Palace, chirping so beautifully. Do you think this indicates that there will be a happy event in the palace after the New Year?”
“You are just good at making your Imperial Grandmother happy.” The Empress Dowager smiled lovingly, “What’s the good news? Is the Crown Prince going to marry a Crown Princess?”
After the interruption, the atmosphere at the banquet became relaxed again.
Before the family banquet ended, the princes, in order of age, knelt three times and kowtowed nine times to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress, and received purses filled with gold and silver, which are commonly known as lucky money.
Shen Qingzhuo was among them, so he naturally received one too.
“You had a serious illness and became emaciated.” The Empress Dowager looked at him lovingly, “Did the calming incense Aijia1I; me (a term of address used by widowed empresses or imperial concubines). give you have any effect?”
“Thanks to Empress Dowager Niangniang, Qingzhuo has been sleeping well recently.” Shen Qingzhuo lowered his eyebrows and replied, “It’s just that I just recovered from a serious illness, and my body is still a little weak.”
“Zhen almost forgot about this.” Emperor Guangxi leaned back in his chair and waved his hand with a slightly tired look. “You should go back and rest today, take care of yourself, and don’t make your father and brother worry.”
“Yes.” Shen Qingzhuo bowed again, “Qingzhuo will take his leave first.”
He respectfully left the inner hall, and the moment he turned around, he was keenly aware of an unignorable gaze fixed on his face.
He turned his eyes slightly and met a pair of clear and bright eyes.
It was the Third Prince, Xiao Hongyao.
However, he did not stay for long. He withdrew his gaze as if nothing had happened and slowly left Chengde Palace.
After returning to Jiyue Pavilion, Shen Qingzhuo had no time to rest. He hurriedly called Xiao Dezi to ask about the Seventh Prince’s situation today.
Xiao Dezi reported truthfully: “His Highness was in a bad mood today. He only asked the servant to put the dinner on the table and then drove me out.”
“Drove you out?” Shen Qingzhuo frowned slightly. “You kindly sent him dinner, but he still drove you out?”
“His Highness is not usually like this.” Xiao Dezi quickly said something nice for his Highness. “Maybe he is not feeling well today. From what the servant sees, His Highness doesn’t look very well.”
Shen Qingzhuo let out a light “tsk” and guessed in his heart that his little disciple was making a fuss again, so he stood up, changed into a snow cape, and went towards the cold palace alone.
Today is New Year’s Eve. He gave the servants of Jiyue Pavilion a holiday and only left Xiao Dezi to serve him. At this moment, he doesn’t need to avoid other people deliberately.
After leaving the lively New Year’s Eve banquet and standing in front of the gloomy and cold palace door, the comparison between the two made him feel that this place was even more deserted.
Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t help but sigh.
It was in this gloomy cold palace that his little disciple spent eleven New Year’s Eves with his crazy mother.
With a creaky sound, he slowly pushed open the heavy palace door.
At the same time, Xiao Shen was lying on his back on the bed, staring at the dark roof, motionless like a corpse.
New Year’s Eve, another New Year’s Eve.
He never looked forward to New Year’s Eve. This day had no extra meaning to him. It just meant that he had lived another year.
“Little disciple?” A familiar voice suddenly sounded in his ears in the dead silence and darkness.
Xiao Shen’s whole body trembled, and he suddenly jumped off the bed. In his excitement, he kneeled firmly on the ground, facing the door with a “thump.”
Shen Qingzhuo stood at the door, looking slightly surprised.
After a moment, he said hesitantly, “Dear disciple, are you asking for New Year’s money from Master?”
Xiao Shen: “……”
