Afterward, Qing Zhuo was still scolded by Qing Yīng for letting his elbow bend outward. Feeling wronged, he pulled Han Feng aside to complain that Qing Yīng’s brain wasn’t working quite right: “I was originally His Highness’s man to begin with, so how could my elbow be bending outward? This is clearly bending inward!”
This made Han Feng laugh uncontrollably. He had also seen through things—this fellow Qing Zhuo’s habit of overthinking wasn’t entirely without benefits. At least this time he had truly guessed the Grand Heir’s thoughts correctly. When his master was at Tianshui Town, he had nearly lost his life, diving into the water without the slightest regard for his own safety just to pull up Miss Song the Sixth. That place was full of rapids and dangerous shoals everywhere—one misstep and he could have crashed into sharp rocks. Yet His Highness hadn’t hesitated for even a moment. Han Feng had reached out to pull him back but failed to grab hold.
Zhou Weizhao poured Song Chuyi a cup of tea. Perhaps because he had been busy these past days spinning around like a top without stopping, he, who was usually full of energy, had taken on several traces of fatigue. When he spoke, his voice was even somewhat hoarse: “I should have properly visited your residence, but now is a troubled time. If I were to go to the Earl of Changning’s residence, who knows how much gossip it would stir up, so I had no choice but to meet you here.”
After falling into the water, he had been ill for two or three days. Although Perfected One Taibai had cleared the remaining poison from his body earlier, his injuries still hadn’t completely healed. After being soaked in cold water, his health had declined. During those days, he and Ye Jingchuan had nearly worked Imperial Physician Yan and Attendant Hu to death.
Song Chuyi glanced at the dark circles around his eyes, lowered her head to test the temperature of the water in his cup, then looked up at him again: “These past days must have been chaotic and restless. It would have been better to stay in the Eastern Palace to rest and recuperate.”
Song Chuyi wasn’t someone who said pleasant-sounding things. For her to say this much was already expressing her concern. Zhou Weizhao didn’t care what she said—just hearing her voice was enough. Besides, he could understand the concern in her words. Hearing this, he smiled: “I originally wanted to rest for a few days before coming to see you, but I was afraid you would suffer grievances, so I simply decided not to rest.”
Song Chuyi’s face reddened bit by bit. Her head wanted to droop down to her collar, and even her two ears were tinged with a layer of crimson.
During the days when Zhou Weizhao was gravely ill, she had truly suffered. Guilt, panic, and worry had all surged up at once. Combined with the exhaustion of traveling day after day, she had nearly collapsed on the spot.
At that time, she had wrapped herself in thick blankets on the boat in the summer night, bundling herself up like a bear to make herself sweat it out faster—she couldn’t fall ill. If she fell ill, there would be no one to look after Zhou Weizhao and Ye Jingchuan. Ye Jingkuan was busy dealing with that group of people from Tianshui Town who had colluded with Huangjue Temple, and Lai Chenglong had departed even more urgently, traveling day and night with the people from Huangjue Temple and Ma Yuantong’s group, returning to the capital ahead of everyone else to prevent any further accidents on the road.
Only she remained on the boat as the person in charge. She wasn’t afraid—someone who had died once would rarely feel fear except when truly facing life and death—but she was terrified, terrified that Zhou Weizhao would never open his eyes again.
Later, midway through the journey, Zhou Weizhao opened his eyes under the treatment of Imperial Physician Yan and the others. For the first time, he spoke harshly and sternly to Qing Yīng and the others, ordering them to take her back to rest.
Sometimes Song Chuyi truly didn’t know how Zhang Tianshi had raised Zhou Weizhao, to be able to raise him to be so upright and proper. She had seen many different kinds of people—counting past and present lives together, she had seen an enormous number of people. Without exception, they all had a selfish side, including herself. But Zhou Weizhao alone seemed like a sun, never letting people see any dark side.
Later, when she said this to Zhou Weizhao, he had recovered for the most part. Leaning weakly against his pillow, he smiled at her: “If you say that, then I would be a sage. But I’m not a sage after all. I don’t have the same patience with others as I do with you. Look, I showed no mercy to the people from Huangjue Temple.”
Then he paused and said words that Song Chuyi still found too moving even when recalling them now: “Xiao Yi, I only have this sincerity and patience for you. Whatever you do, whatever you want to do, as long as I have it, as long as you want it, there’s nothing I’m unwilling to give. I’m different from others—I don’t need three wives and four concubines, nor do I want to divide one heart into countless pieces to give away. I’m not looking to marry some excellent Grand Heir Consort. I only want a wife, and I feel that the wife I want for this lifetime is only you.”
Song Chuyi was lost in her memories. When she raised her head to look at Zhou Weizhao again, the cup in her hand had already grown cold. Zhou Weizhao patiently refilled her water, still looking at her with a smile.
Song Chuyi had no choice but to search for something to say: “Why did Your Highness need to request Her Majesty the Empress to issue such an edict? Now…”
Now everyone in the capital who understood would see through the Empress’s intentions.
Though Zhou Weizhao’s complexion was pale, he didn’t spare his smiles. Hearing her say this, he couldn’t help but laugh again: “I did this deliberately, also to give a warning to those other people who are eyeing me covetously.” He looked at Song Chuyi: “Otherwise, when the time comes and those mothers-in-law throughout the capital start scheming against each other, such incidents cannot be prohibited. Better to use the Wei family as this example who sticks her neck out, and make them all restrain themselves.”
The Grand Heir had reached the age to select a Grand Heir Consort. Having just taken up his duties, he had already established such tremendous merit as quelling a rebellion. He had become the most desirable catch among desirable catches. Any prestigious noble family in the capital with eligible young ladies had designs on him. He had only just returned to the capital, and the thresholds of Her Majesty the Empress and the Eastern Palace Crown Princess had nearly been trampled to pieces by these madams.
This was only a matter of a few days. Madam Wei had even set her sights on Song Chuyi, wanting to spread bad rumors about Song Chuyi and completely ruin this marriage prospect for the Song family. Even someone as good-tempered as Zhou Weizhao rarely got angry—this matter of fate and destiny was mysterious and hard to explain, but some people just believed in it. For instance, his Imperial Grandfather, though always sagacious and discerning, also believed in these things. Otherwise, he wouldn’t tirelessly dig Zhang Tianshi down from Longhu Mountain year after year to burn blue memorials for him, hoping that one day the Queen Mother of the West would send her blue bird to deliver him the elixir of immortality. But speaking of which, fortunately Emperor Jianzhang deeply believed in these things, which was why Zhou Weizhao, this eldest grandson registered under the Celestial Master’s name, was so beloved by him. This could also be considered a heaven-bestowed advantage.
“Slander from many mouths can melt metal; accumulated destruction can dissolve bones.” Used well, rumors could kill. He couldn’t allow such danger to appear around Song Chuyi. If Madam Wei could spread rumors this time and still remain safe and sound, in the future more people would dare to slander Song Chuyi with rumors. Zhou Weizhao truly had no choice but to lose his temper over this matter—naturally, even when losing his temper, he wouldn’t personally confront Madam Wei in any way. He had plenty of methods.