Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Xie Run slept seven or eight hours out of every twelve, her mind hazy and sluggish, leaving her no energy to manage affairs in the rear courtyard of Prince Jing's residence. Dantao only found the opportunity today to tell her two pieces of news: that the Eldest Young Master was ill, and that Consort Fang's morning sickness was severe. Xie Run was completely dazed. It took her a moment to react. "Then we should send a couple of people to check on them." Dantao said helplessly, "This servant already took care of it." If they waited for the mistress to give orders, it would be too late by the time anything got done. Xie Run looked up at the sky. The sun was shining brightly at this hour. "Isn't it about time for the midday meal?" "The mistress has dozed off again—you already had your midday meal long ago." Xie Run had been sleeping deeply these past few days, waking at irregular hours, and her mealtimes were even more irregular. Fortunately, the courtyard had its own small kitchen, so she could eat whenever she wanted without having to endure the whims of the main kitchen. Xie Run was silent for a moment. "I really have been sleeping in a daze these past few days." She felt this wasn't good. When the mind wasn't clear, it was easy to lose vigilance and even easier to be schemed against. Dantao said, "The flower nursery just delivered two new osmanthus trees. Would the mistress like to go outside to take a look? It might help clear your head." Xie Run nodded. As soon as she stepped out the door, the cold air hit her in the face, clearing her mind somewhat. Seeing the newly delivered osmanthus, Dantao suddenly felt some regret. Xiaoshu couldn't hold back. "Those wretched servants in the flower nursery. The mistress is pregnant, and they still dare to send something like this?!" Too bullying! The osmanthus before them was thin and withered, its branches so frail a child could snap them with a touch. How could it possibly survive being planted? Seeing the osmanthus, Xie Run also vaguely recalled that Prince Jing hadn't visited her courtyard for over half a month now. She suddenly started, gripping Dantao's hand. "Dantao, I've been sleeping in a daze for over half a month!" Dantao was taken aback, thinking Xie Run was asking her a question, and nodded. "Yes. It's already the end of October now." "Something's wrong!" Dantao and Xiaoshu's scalps tightened. "What's wrong?" Xie Run said, "Instinct." Xie Run thought seriously for a moment. "I didn't have any symptoms of drowsiness in the first three and a half months of my pregnancy. How is it that the symptoms appeared as soon as the Prince returned?" Dantao said softly, "The imperial physician said it's normal." Xiaoshu also said softly, "Consort Fang didn't have morning sickness in her first three months either, but she started vomiting a few days ago. The imperial physician said that with pregnancy, symptoms vary greatly..." Xie Run supported her belly and paced back and forth a few steps, but she began to feel sleepy again. The more it happened, the more she felt something was off. A faint fragrance of osmanthus drifted at the tip of her nose. Granny Ma was leading Yueya'er to water the flowers Xie Run had planted. Back in early autumn, the flower nursery had delivered osmanthus once, and the quality had been excellent. The flowers had bloomed for over a month, and now that it was the end of October, they were nearly finished blooming. Xie Run said, "This osmanthus has a long-lasting fragrance." Dantao was startled. "Is the mistress suspicious that the flowers have a problem? But these osmanthus have been blooming for over a month, and the mistress's drowsiness only started half a month ago." Xie Run shook her head. "I don't know." She added, "Have someone investigate—look into everything that entered the courtyard in the past half month." Dantao and Xiaoshu hurried to handle it. But after searching for three days, scouring every corner of Linxuan Pavilion, they found nothing. Even every type of flower planted in the courtyard was inspected, with not a single anomaly. Dantao sighed. "The mistress is pregnant, so it's natural for her to be suspicious. We servants will do our best to search, if only to put the mistress's mind at ease." The people of Linxuan Pavilion naturally followed orders. But Xie Run still couldn't feel at ease. Starting that very day, she even began having nightmares. She tried to break free from this state, forcing herself to stay awake, and would go out for walks whenever she had the chance. But after just a couple of steps, she would start feeling dizzy. Dantao and Xiaoshu were terrified and quickly supported her. "Go fetch the imperial physician!" The imperial physician came but found no problem. "Concubine Xie is with child; excessive sleepiness is a common matter and the body's natural instinct. Why go against instinct and harm your own body?" This was a disapproval of Xie Run refusing to sleep and forcing herself to walk outside. When Xie Run woke, she leaned hazily against the headboard, and a flash of insight suddenly crossed her mind. She grabbed Dantao's hand. "Send word to the Princess Consort, saying that I miss my family and cannot sleep day or night!" Dantao was startled, then understood immediately. "Does the mistress wish to see the Eldest Young Lady?" Xie Run struggled to keep her drooping eyelids open. "I don't trust these imperial physicians. The only one I can trust now is my elder sister." Xie Jiang truly lived up to her Female Lead Script. In less than two months since arriving in the capital, she had cured the Duke of Zhenguo's chronic ailment and also cured Prime Minister Fang's headache, already making a name for herself in the capital. But Dantao didn't know this yet. She merely thought that since Xie Jiang was a member of the Xie family, even if her medical skills weren't up to par, having her come to see the mistress would put her mind at ease. Just as Linxuan Pavilion sent word to the Princess Consort's side, a major incident suddenly occurred at Xiachi Courtyard. Fang Yuan'er was vomiting blood! This news sent a chill through everyone in Linxuan Pavilion. Both were pregnant, both had symptoms that appeared suddenly—how could they be certain their own mistress had nothing wrong?! Dantao immediately dispatched someone to the Princess Consort's Qingsong Courtyard. The Princess Consort had just finished seeing Eldest Young Master and hadn't even changed her clothes when she heard the news that Consort Fang was vomiting blood. She was on her way to Xiachi Courtyard when she ran into Dantao. "Concubine Xie misses her family?" The Princess Consort's eyes held a hint of confusion. Dantao, her eyes red-rimmed, said, "My mistress has been sleeping fitfully these past few days and keeps having nightmares. When she woke up today, she said she missed her family dearly..." After the imperial physician examined Xie Run, he always came to report to the Princess Consort that all was well. The Princess Consort also knew that Xie Run's pregnancy was stable, and that she had merely developed a habit of sleeping more lately. It was just that she herself was being paranoid, always suspecting someone was trying to harm her. The Princess Consort didn't have much time for idle talk right now. "Fine, have Tinghe make the arrangements later." The Princess Consort was also afraid that Xie Run might cause more trouble on her end. After a while, Xie Jiang was brought into the residence. Xie Run was sleeping soundly. Dantao said, "Eldest Young Miss, let me wake my mistress." Xie Jiang waved her hand. "No need to wake her. I can take her pulse directly." "Then we'll trouble you, Eldest Young Miss." Xie Jiang was led by a servant to take Xie Run's pulse at her bedside, her two willow-leaf eyebrows silently furrowing. Dantao's heart was in her throat. "Eldest Young Miss, is my mistress... truly being harmed by someone?" Xie Jiang calmly withdrew her hand. "It's poisoning." Dantao and Xiaoshu's faces changed instantly. "How could she be poisoned? My mistress has been so careful." Xie Jiang thought to herself, this little princely residence really runs deep. Xie Jiang comforted the two maids: "Don't worry, the poison isn't deep. It won't harm the fetus." Seeing her confident and composed demeanor, Dantao's heart settled somewhat. She quickly bowed. "Could Eldest Young Miss also take a look at the things in the courtyard? We servants are foolish—we've searched the courtyard several times but can't find where the poison came from..." Xie Jiang pulled out a set of silver needles from her self-crafted medical kit and said casually, "Fine. Let me first remove the poison from Suisui." After a few slender silver needles were inserted, Xie Run slowly opened her eyes.