Alas, no wonder everyone says that Cui Huan is the kindest and most considerate woman in the world!
The cold wind in the first lunar month was bone-chilling. Wei Dongling, who had caught a cold, curled up tightly. Cui Huan quickly fetched boiling hot water, poured it into a large wooden tub for her to take a hot bath, and then carefully washed her long hair with saponin water.
Wei Dongling leaned lazily in the bathtub, letting Cui Huan do as she pleased. Suddenly, she recalled the time when they were on the run in Xiliang. She had a persistent high fever, but fortunately, Cui Huan had hidden her in a dirty flock of sheep, so they didn't freeze to death.
Cui Huan must have been tired and scared at that time, too! But she never thought of abandoning Wei Dongling and running away on her own. Come to think of it, the days she had known Cui Huan were not that long, far less than the eight years she had spent with Qi Jinxuan day and night. Cui Huan was kind and generous, treating her like a real sister and daring to follow her through thick and thin.
Cui Huan: Alas, what can I do? I'm the elder, after all. I've got to look out for you, don't I?
Listening to the rain pattering on the tiles outside, Wei Dongling was quite comfortable soaking in the bathtub. It was warm and refreshing.
Seeing that she was almost falling asleep, Cui Huan rolled her eyes and snorted, "Even dogs know to run home to take shelter from the rain on a rainy day. But you, you just keep going blindly without turning back."
Hearing this, Wei Dongling's eyebrows curved into a smile. Then her expression changed. Alas! Wasn't this girl indirectly calling her worse than a dog?
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Pin Hao knocked gently on the wooden door outside and called out anxiously, "Has Miss Wei gone to bed?"
Just as Wei Dongling was about to reply, Cui Huan said coldly, "Miss Wei is exhausted today and has caught a cold. She just went to bed. Do you have something to say?"
Pin Hao said urgently, "Miss Cui Huan, I have an urgent matter and need Miss Wei's help. Could you please pass on the message for me?"
Cui Huan said impatiently, "Wait!"
Pin Hao outside the door could tell that Cui Huan was in a bad mood. He could only lower his head and softly call out, "Please do me a favor, Miss Cui Huan. I really have an urgent matter and need Miss Wei's help."
Cui Huan didn't respond. Wei Dongling shook her head at her, telling her not to make things difficult for Pin Hao.
Not long after, Wei Dongling finished her bath, dried herself, put on her clothes, and wrapped herself in a thick quilt before opening the door to let Pin Hao in.
Pin Hao stepped forward and knelt on one knee. He bowed his head and pleaded to Wei Dongling behind the screen, "Miss Wei! Miss Qi is not in a good condition right now. I'd like to ask Nanny Ruan to come and take a look."
Wei Dongling sipped the ginger tea brought by Cui Huan slowly and said softly, "If Miss Qi is ill, it might not be appropriate. You know, Nanny Ruan is not an expert in gynecology."
Cui Huan continued, "Yes! She is the legitimate daughter of General Qi's mansion. If we ask an ordinary doctor to treat her, it might be okay if she is cured. But if not, won't it cause trouble for Nanny Ruan? Let's just forget about this thankless task!"
"I have money!" Pin Hao rummaged through his clothes in a hurry and took out a money bag. He shook it on the ground, and a pile of silver coins and a gold ingot fell to the ground. Pin Hao quickly picked them up and said to Wei Dongling, "Please be kind, Miss Wei. Just let Nanny Ruan go with me! If this is not enough, I have more!"
Pin Hao had seen with his own eyes how money-loving Wei Dongling was! The gold ingot in his money bag was originally for emergencies, but now he took it out without hesitation.
Wei Dongling sighed and said, "It's really not about the money! Pin Hao, sometimes if you try your best to save someone, you might end up in trouble! " She didn't want to have any more entanglements with Qi Jinxuan in the future. People's hearts are hard to fathom. Some people won't appreciate your kindness even if you treat them well. Instead, they might even bite the hand that feeds them. It wouldn't be a big deal to let Nanny Ruan go, but she was afraid that if the baby couldn't be saved, Qi Jinxuan would scold her. Wouldn't that be self - inflicted humiliation?
Pin Hao's eyes were red as he said, "Now that Prince Yun is no longer alive, the fetus in Miss Qi's belly is the only descendant of Prince Yun! Miss Wei, please, for the sake of your past relationship with the prince, let Nanny Ruan help her!"
Wei Dongling sighed silently in her heart and waved her hand, "Forget it. Put the money away! Go and ask Nanny Ruan to help on your own. Don't say it's my idea."
Pin Hao quickly bowed his head to thank her and insisted on leaving the bag of silver. Wei Dongling said impatiently, "Take it away quickly. Do you think I would care about this little money?"
Pin Hao was at a loss for words. He had no choice but to put away the silver and turned to go and ask Nanny Ruan.
Seeing Pin Hao walking away, Cui Huan stepped forward to bolt the door and sneered, "Oh, it's the first time I've seen you being so generous! You won't even take the money that's offered to you?"
Wei Dongling sighed and said, "We can't take money that goes against our conscience!"
The rain didn't stop until dawn.
Yu Haiming received the news and quietly brought a group of uncles to visit Old Man Su. Lin Baiwan felt so guilty that he didn't know what to do. If it weren't for his kindness in taking in that unknown woman, Old Man Su wouldn't have had to drift outside for so long.
When everyone saw that Wei Dongling had finally returned safely, they were overjoyed and hugged each other, crying.
Uncle Li discussed with everyone for a while and they all agreed that Old Man Su couldn't stay here for long. Uncle Li whispered instructions, "Do whatever you need to do regarding the Su Mansion. Just find a courtyard for Old Man Su and Miss Wei to stay. It's not a good idea to keep bothering Prince Xuan like this."
Everyone nodded in agreement and got busy.
Nanny Ruan didn't come back until almost noon. Her eyes were extremely tired, which made Wei Dongling feel a pang of heartache.
Nanny Ruan forced herself to cheer up and whispered to Wei Dongling, "The baby is saved. It's in good condition. Don't worry."
Wei Dongling quickly nodded and helped Nanny Ruan into the room to rest.
Uncle Li came over and talked to Wei Dongling about the situation in the palace. The emperor had been ill in bed for a long time, and his condition was unstable. Most of the time, he was in a coma. Under the guidance of the Prince Rui, the tenth prince, Murong Yunqian, was doing a decent job in handling state affairs. The opposing voices in the court were gradually getting smaller.
Wei Dongling sighed silently. If things continued like this, once the emperor died, the tenth prince might really ascend to the throne smoothly. And now the ninth prince's condition was also fluctuating. She wanted to enter the palace to plead with the emperor for the ninth prince and find out if the person who had poisoned him had the antidote.
But currently, the palace was heavily guarded. According to Lord Shen, even the empress dowager could only stand at the door of the emperor's bedroom and take a distant look. It was even more difficult for other concubines to see the emperor.
Wei Dongling pondered for a moment and asked, "Can we find a way to start from the Imperial Hospital?"
Uncle Li said in a deep voice, "You mean, find a way to enter the palace and go to the emperor on the pretext of treating his illness?"
Wei Dongling nodded and said, "I must see him! No matter what, I can't just watch the tenth prince ascend to the throne! A prince who feigns madness and has evil intentions doesn't deserve that position!"
Uncle Li sighed and said, "It will be extremely difficult for you to persuade the emperor!"
Wei Dongling lowered her eyes and said, "No matter what, I have to enter the palace and give it a try!"