Mommy, these ten years must have exhausted you!
What a thoughtful thing to say. Jun Buli was telling Ziqing that he could, of course, see through her feigned fainting spell—but his concern for her wasn’t feigned at all; he genuinely cared about how exhausted these past ten years must have left her.
Ziqing gently touched Jun Buli’s obedient, well-defined handsome face, her heart overflowing with emotion, momentarily unable to speak.
“Let me take you to see Grandfather,” Jun Buli said seriously. The physician had taken so long, and his father too—he already had a good idea of what was happening outside.
“It’s nothing serious!” Ziqing said, holding her son’s hand, reluctant to ever let go.
“No, we should have you properly examined. Your body isn’t like anyone else’s,” Jun Buli said, lowering his voice, smiling as he stood and crouched down with his back to Ziqing, clearly intending to carry her.
A wave of bittersweet warmth surged through Ziqing’s heart. She felt as though her most familiar Xiong Bao had returned to her once more. Staring at her son’s broad, sturdy back, she felt, for the first time, a sense of security that even rivaled what Jun Beiyue gave her.
“Master, the young master wants to carry you over!” Hongyi reminded quickly.
“Mommy, don’t worry, I promise I’m even steadier than Father!” Jun Buli said with a smile, his manner utterly dismissing the disheveled, weeping Consort Li nearby, as if she weren’t even there.
Yet as Ziqing happily climbed onto his back, he still glanced briefly at Consort Li out of the corner of his eye, instructing, “Hongyi, get the physician here quickly.”
With that, he carried Ziqing away.
Ziqing too glanced once at Consort Li, but didn’t dwell on it, resting her head against her son’s shoulder, unable to suppress a satisfied smile.
As Jun Buli carried Ziqing past, Jun Beiyue stepped aside, watching the mother and son’s retreating figures from a distance, exchanging a look of relief with Ziqing.
In truth, parents often need only a small gesture of their child’s affection to feel utterly content.
That day, Jun Buli carried Ziqing all the way, not leaving her side until deep into the night. Once he left, Hongyi immediately had all the burn medicine from the Imperial Pharmacy delivered to their quarters.
Ziqing watched, dumbfounded, then teased, “Hongyi, we’ve been apart for years—since when did you become so wicked?” “Master, His Majesty had these sent over. He’s in the palace, says he won’t be back until later, and wants Master to rest first,” Hongyi answered honestly.
“How is Consort Li?” Ziqing asked.
Hongyi glanced at her, hesitating, but seeing Ziqing frown, she spoke honestly. “Master, the young master has many people at his disposal now. The moment he sent you off, he immediately had someone take Consort Li to the palace for treatment. I heard half her face is ruined. Right now, the young master has people searching the entire city for medicine.”
Hearing this, Ziqing fell silent for a long while, seemingly deep in thought, saying nothing.
Hongyi couldn’t help herself, advising, “Master, what you did today was… too…”
Ziqing looked up, and Hongyi continued, “Too obvious. The young master surely knows you did it on purpose!”
“That’s exactly the point—I want him to know,” Ziqing said flatly.
“Master, have you heard the saying, the more you try to separate mandarin ducks, the more…” Hongyi ventured cautiously. Within the imperial family, among the noble houses of the capital, similar things had happened before.
The final outcome, more often than not, was that both sides ended up wounded.
“Mandarin ducks?” Ziqing frowned. “I refuse to believe my son’s taste could be that poor!”
Though Ziqing wasn’t entirely calm, she certainly wasn’t foolish. She would never believe, even under torture, that Jun Buli genuinely cared for Li Qinqin that deeply—there had to be some other reason behind all this!
Otherwise, her son would be far too disappointing!
Hongyi was about to advise further, but Ziqing said, “Take me to see the place where Consort Li stayed as a hostage.”
Hongyi immediately understood her meaning and led the way at once!
But after Ziqing walked through the entire West Garden, she found nothing at all—the place where Consort Li had once stayed had long since been vacated, with nothing left behind.
“Where did Buli first meet Consort Li?” Ziqing asked in a low voice as they walked back.
Helplessly, Hongyi shook her head—she had no idea about the specifics either, only knowing that the young master had made a shocking declaration at Consort Li’s coming-of-age ceremony, an announcement that had stunned the entire court and cemented Consort Li’s status.
“Could it be Chancellor Li’s…” Ziqing mused to herself, then immediately shook her head—she couldn’t believe her own son would need to use a woman to consolidate his imperial authority.
Mulling it over without reaching any conclusion, she returned to her quarters to find Jun Beiyue already back. Seeing Ziqing’s furrowed brow, he laughed helplessly, shaking his head.
Ziqing glanced sideways at him, too tired to talk, walking straight into the room.
“Where’s your son?” Jun Beiyue asked with a smile.
Only then did Ziqing remember to ask—had that little brat gone into the palace, or was he still at the estate?
“In the palace. He had Guxi pass word that he won’t be back tonight.”
The moment Jun Beiyue said this, Ziqing sat down heavily, and Jun Beiyue sat down as well, his lips curving into a self-mocking smile. “Your son… heh, quite the composed one, isn’t he!”
Though Consort Li’s face had been ruined, in the end, this incident had actually given her a legitimate reason to leave Prince Yao’s estate—it went without saying that Jun Buli would now have her settled in the palace instead.
Clearly, Ziqing’s feigned fainting, and Jun Beiyue’s delaying of the physician, had both been turned to Jun Buli’s advantage in the end—he’d achieved exactly what he wanted: getting Consort Li moved out.
Ziqing couldn’t help clenching her fists, only now realizing she’d been thoroughly outmaneuvered by her own son, in the gentlest possible way.
“That little brat, he must have his reasons for keeping Consort Li around!” Ziqing said with certainty.
Jun Beiyue’s smile faded, growing serious as well. “What exactly is he hiding from us, that he refuses to say?”
Listening to her master and the Prince’s discussion, Hongyi found herself utterly lost. Having served the young master for so long, she’d never noticed the slightest clue—she couldn’t understand why her master was so certain something was amiss.
Matters of the heart, especially love at first sight, often had no reason behind them at all!
Since ancient times, how many favored imperial consorts had been just like Consort Li—domineering, glittering on the surface, yet capable of bringing an entire kingdom to ruin?
That night, neither Ziqing nor Jun Beiyue could sleep, the couple discussing matters through the entire night. Meanwhile, in the palace, Jun Buli too remained awake through the night.
At that moment, he sat in his study, diligently reviewing memorials, a cup of jasmine green tea beside him, giving off a faint, delicate fragrance.
In stark contrast to the study’s quiet atmosphere, outside the door, Eunuch Xu paced back and forth anxiously, clearly with some urgent matter to report, yet not daring to interrupt.
Finally, as dawn began to break faintly on the horizon, Jun Buli emerged, dressed in his full, resplendent bright-yellow imperial robes. Only then did Eunuch Xu breathe a sigh of relief, stepping forward to report in a low voice, “Your Majesty, Consort Li has cried the entire night. Her tears have washed away all the medicine, and she won’t listen to anyone. If this continues, her injuries truly can’t be treated.”