The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 224
by Little PandaSheng’er Will Love Her Wife This Much Too
Although Qu Ting was missing an arm, Qian Shuangying had taken such excellent care of him over the past year that even his skin had grown much fairer and smoother.
Just as in the past, he remained a handsome young gentleman.
When Qu Sheng, Lin Xizhao, and the others entered the room, Zhao Jiayu wept with joy by their side. Although she had never spoken much with Qu Ting, she still remembered that he had treated them wonderfully when they were children.
「Sheng-meimei,」 Qu Ting called out with a smile as he watched Qu Sheng enter.
The corners of Qu Sheng’s eyes grew damp, and she smiled in return. 「Third Brother.」
Physician Liu had already examined him and confirmed that Qu Ting’s cognitive faculties had fully recovered, though he still needed to rest quietly for some time. Having been in a ‘deep sleep’ for so long, he couldn’t be constantly disturbed by visitors.
Everyone in the room chatted with Qu Ting for a brief while. Seeing that he was recovering well, they felt reassured and left so he could get proper rest.
As Qu Sheng was about to step outside, Qian Shuangying asked her to stay behind, having noticed that Qu Ting had something he wished to say to his sister.
Qu Sheng sat down as Qian Shuangying poured a cup of tea. Qu Sheng looked up to thank her, then turned her gaze back to Qu Ting.
「Third Brother, you must focus entirely on recuperating. If you need anything at all, just let Third Sister-in-law know, and Sheng’er will certainly see to it.」
Qu Ting smiled. As he reached to lift his tea, Qu Sheng instinctively stretched out a hand and uncovered the porcelain lid of the teacup for him. But the moment she did, her heart skipped a beat.
Qu Ting was also stunned for a brief moment, but he quickly smiled again.
Qu Ting was missing his left arm.
Previously, when he lacked awareness and was cared for entirely by Qian Shuangying, he hadn’t felt it. But now that he was conscious of his missing limb, the realization was much like the time Qu Sheng had lost her sight.
Seeing Qu Sheng staring at him with deep concern, Qu Ting smiled. 「Don’t worry, I’m not that fragile.」
As he spoke, he looked at Qian Shuangying with a gentle smile. 「I still have your Third Sister-in-law.」
Back then, Qian Shuangying had defied her family’s objections to venture into the Northern Frontier to search for him. He would never forget such deep devotion in this lifetime. With such a wonderful wife by his side, what was there to fear, even if he had lost an arm?
Qu Sheng pursed her lips slightly and looked at the sister-in-law who had steadfastly remained by her Third Brother’s side, her heart filled with immense gratitude.
「I only saw Second Uncle today. Are the other elders doing well?」 Qu Ting had not asked this in front of the family earlier, knowing that the others might hesitate to tell him the truth out of concern for his condition. But Qu Sheng would.
Qu Sheng’s hand froze on her teacup, and Qian Shuangying’s face beside them also clouded with worry.
「There’s no need to hide anything from me. Just tell me the truth.」 Upon waking, Qu Ting only knew that Qian Shuangying had gone to the Northern Frontier to find him and that Qu Sheng had become the Emperor. He knew nothing of the rest.
Furthermore, he didn’t understand how Qu Sheng had ascended the throne, but what he cared about most at this moment was the family elders.
The Qu family’s imperial throne couldn’t have appeared out of thin air; something momentous must have occurred.
Qu Sheng lowered her eyes while Qian Shuangying clenched her hands nervously.
Qu Sheng’s lips parted and closed. After a brief pause, she looked up at Qu Ting and said, 「Father is still alive, but his current condition is the same as yours was previously.」
Hearing this, the fearful doubts in his heart eased slightly.
「What about Fourth Uncle and my father?」 When Qu Sheng didn’t continue, Qu Ting took the initiative to ask.
Qu Sheng’s lips pressed into a tight line. She looked up at Qu Ting and said, 「Fourth Uncle was killed in battle after you were captured, and Third Uncle also sacrificed his life to save me.」
Qu Ting had already suspected as much, but hearing Qu Sheng confirm it with her own lips still brought a sharp pang of grief to his heart.
Qu Ting gripped his teacup tightly with his remaining hand, his lips trembling. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked up at Qu Sheng. 「I want to go see Eldest Uncle first.」
Qu Sheng met his gaze. Back when she had first heard the tragic news of the two elders, she had been equally heartbroken. She had also lost her maternal uncle. When she had led her troops to the gates of the Jin capital, the primary reason she had chosen not to drag the Jin family down with her in mutual ruin was largely because of Jin Yunyou’s death.
Even if he had been lured out of the city by trickery, he would never have lost his composure and let his guard down had he not cared so deeply for her.
Qu Sheng and Qian Shuangying brought Qu Ting to Qu Jinian’s chambers, where Lin Xizhao and Jin Yunfei were currently caring for the elder.
Upon hearing the servant’s announcement, they hurriedly looked toward the entrance.
As Qu Sheng entered, she exchanged a glance with Lin Xizhao. Qu Sheng nodded, and Lin Xizhao smiled. 「Physician Liu says Father’s condition has been very good lately, and it won’t be long before he wakes up as well.」
Qu Ting smiled and nodded, but Lin Xizhao noticed his red-rimmed eyes and surmised he had likely learned about the passing of the two family elders.
Lin Xizhao walked over to Qu Sheng, who gave her a meaningful look that confirmed her suspicions.
Qu Ting sat beside Qu Jinian’s bed, listening as the others explained the patriarch’s condition, and understood that his life was no longer in danger.
Once Qu Ting stepped out of Qu Jinian’s room, Qu Sheng led him toward the family ancestral hall. When the others heard where he was going, they all hurried over.
Qu Yu was coughing non-stop from running, which frightened Zhao Jiayu into continuously rubbing his back to help him catch his breath.
Looking at Qu Yu’s sickly frame, Qu Ting felt deeply pained. If only he had not gone to the battlefield in his stead back then… But if Qu Yu had been the one to lose an arm instead, Qu Ting would have been equally heartbroken. No matter how he imagined changing the past, there was no outcome he would have wanted.
「Don’t worry, Fourth Brother, I’m fine,」 Qu Ting comforted Qu Yu.
Qu Yu looked at Qu Ting, then glanced at Qu Sheng, still panting heavily and deeply worried.
「Come inside with me to pay respects to Father and Fourth Uncle.」
Hearing this, Qu Yu was certain that Qu Ting already knew the truth. The three siblings entered the ancestral hall. Staring at the brand-new ancestral tablets, Qu Ting felt a sharp squeeze in his chest as tears blurred his vision.
Qu Ting led his younger brother and sister in performing the kneeling bows, then burned incense to pay their respects.
When the three of them emerged, Qu Ting had already wiped away his tears, forcing down the bitterness in his heart to offer a faint smile. Third Aunt of the Qu family stepped forward and embraced her son, weeping with profound grief.
The members of the Qu family present also covered their faces and wept; the family’s tribulations had finally come to an end.
In the evening, the family gathered together for dinner, with much of the conversation revolving around praise for Qian Shuangying. Whenever Qu Ting looked at her, his eyes were filled with tenderness. During the time he had lacked conscious awareness, he hadn’t been completely oblivious; he had often been able to hear his wife’s voice telling him of what was happening in the world outside.
But he hadn’t been able to hear her all the time. He had also heard the sound of her weeping. At those moments, he had struggled desperately to wake from his dream, but it had all been in vain.
Now that his beloved was right before his eyes, he would cherish and protect her twice as much in the future.
On the eve of the Empress Coronation Ceremony1, Lin Xizhao and Qu Sheng were separated. It was said that it was unlucky for a couple to meet on the eve of their grand wedding, and under the earnest persuasion of everyone, Qu Sheng had reluctantly agreed to the arrangement.
Lin Xizhao sat in the temporary palace chambers prepared for her, staring in a daze at the wooden box storing the Phoenix Crown.
She had seen the Phoenix Crown of the Tiansheng Empress, and compared to this one, they were as different as clouds and mud. Such a luxurious crown wasn’t something that could be crafted overnight; work on it must have begun long before Qu Sheng had even announced her intention to establish her as Empress.
「Does my wife like it?」
While Lin Xizhao was lost in thought, Qu Sheng’s voice sounded in her ears. She raised her head, looked around, and saw that Qu Sheng had already slipped through her door—except today, she was dressed in the attire of a palace maid.
「Sheng’er, why are you here?」 Lin Xizhao stood up and walked toward Qu Sheng.
Leaning against the door, Qu Sheng smiled and stepped forward, fully expecting Lin Xizhao to embrace her in excitement. Instead, Lin Xizhao simply stood before her, scrutinizing her clothing. 「Why are you wearing a palace maid’s uniform?」
A look of slight embarrassment crossed Qu Sheng’s face upon hearing this. She pretended to clear her throat and asked, 「Is it that unsightly?」
Qu Sheng’s earnest expression puzzled Lin Xizhao for a second, but she quickly broke into a laugh and shook her head gently. 「It’s not unsightly. You look like a cute little sister from next door.」
Qu Sheng pouted upon hearing this. Even if she was a few years younger than her, she couldn’t be described as ‘cute.’ She was her beloved, after all—the one who would be her pillar of support. How could she be called ‘cute’?
「Why are you wearing a palace maid’s uniform?」 Lin Xizhao asked again.
Qu Sheng was the monarch of a nation, and wearing a palace maid’s uniform within these imperial halls was highly improper.
「Mother and the others refused to let me see my wife, and Sheng’er couldn’t sleep at night,」 Qu Sheng explained, sounding somewhat aggrieved.
It was currently only the start of the Xu Hour2. For Qu Sheng to come over at this time, she had certainly not gone to sleep and then gotten back up. Lin Xizhao stared at her, seemingly understanding why she had dressed like this.
「Who brought you here?」 Lin Xizhao asked.
The palace was heavily guarded. For an extra maid to appear out of nowhere and enter her chambers without any summons, she would certainly have been caught, so someone must have escorted her. As for the person who had escorted her, they must be the commander of the palace guards.
「Bingying is outside,」 Qu Sheng said with a smile.
At this moment, Xiao Bingying was personally on duty here tonight and had escorted Qu Sheng all the way, so no one had dared to question the person by her side.
Lin Xizhao was somewhat helpless. It was merely a single day and night apart, yet when she thought of how Qu Sheng, just to see her, was willing to cast aside her imperial dignity and disguise herself as a palace maid, she suddenly found herself deeply moved as well.
Even in her childhood, Qu Sheng had cared deeply about her own dignity. Although she had feigned foolishness, Lin Xizhao had always been able to see that she loved cleanliness and minded her own behavior.
「Sheng’er missed her wife.」 Having not seen Lin Xizhao for a whole day, she missed her terribly. Sitting in the imperial bedchamber that belonged to them, she saw Lin Xizhao’s figure everywhere she looked. But though she longed for her, she couldn’t see her, and her heart felt as though a dense swarm of ants was gnawing at it, making it absolutely impossible for her to remain in the bedchamber without Lin Xizhao.
She couldn’t even endure a single day of separation.
「Sheng’er…」 Lin Xizhao looked at Qu Sheng and reached out and embraced her.
She didn’t think she had been particularly good to Qu Sheng in the past, merely doing what an older sister ought to do. Yet Qu Sheng loved her so deeply that she had no way to repay such devotion.
Nothing in this world seemed comparable to the feelings Qu Sheng held for her.
Qu Sheng held Lin Xizhao close, breathing in the cool fragrance of her neck and shoulder. The restlessness within her body seemed to find its antidote, gradually settling down.
Qu Sheng nuzzled her neck, sighing softly in her heart. Glancing over, she saw the Phoenix Crown sitting on the table and asked with a smile, 「Does my wife like the Phoenix Crown Sheng’er had prepared?」
Hearing this, Lin Xizhao was momentarily dazed and pulled back slightly from Qu Sheng. She turned her head to look at the crown, which sparkled like a river of stars. How could she not like it?
「I love it,」 Lin Xizhao replied with a gentle smile.
Qu Sheng took her hand and led her over, turning her head to look at Lin Xizhao with a smile. 「This Phoenix Crown is adorned with one hundred and twenty gemstones and three thousand six hundred and fifty pearls, symbolizing the twelve months and three hundred and sixty-five days of a year.」 As Qu Sheng spoke, she lifted Lin Xizhao’s slender fingers to her lips, kissed them gently, and continued, 「Sheng’er will love her wife like this too—twelve months, three hundred and sixty-five days, repeating in an endless cycle, never stopping.」
Lin Xizhao had not counted the gemstones and pearls on it, and the servants who delivered it hadn’t mentioned this to her either. Hearing Qu Sheng speak of it now, her heart trembled so deeply that she was left speechless.
The love Qu Sheng gave her far exceeded her imagination; it was so deep and heavy.
Seeing the tears glistening in Lin Xizhao’s eyes, Qu Sheng reached out to gently wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes. She leaned in, drawing closer and closer, until her warm lips pressed against the very source of her longing tonight.
The moon was already slanting to the west. Xiao Bingying, clad in light armor with her longsword hanging at her waist, looked up at the starry sky. On nights when she wasn’t on duty in the palace, Cheng Xi would always wait up for her to return, no matter how late it was. Tonight, however, she had been dragged out on short notice.
Xiao Bingying had already been standing guard outside for three hours, but she still saw no sign of Qu Sheng emerging.
The author has something to say:
Qu Sheng: “Thank you for your hard work, Bingying-jiejie.”
Xiao Bingying: “…”
Tomorrow should be the final chapter.
Footnotes
- A grand state ceremony in imperial China during which the emperor officially crowns and inaugurates the empress, establishing her formal authority over the inner palace.
- xūshí: The eleventh of the twelve traditional Chinese two-hour time periods, corresponding to the late evening hours between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
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