The Seventh Princess Insists on Making Me Live Off Her - Chapter 5

Consort Lian suddenly interrupted the Emperor. Tugging softly at the Emperor’s sleeve, she said in a sweet voice, “Your Majesty, how could merely bestowing wine be enough? Today’s banquet is being held to celebrate the wedding of the Seventh Princess and her consort. Just look at how perfectly matched they are. This consort thinks Your Majesty should bestow one of the Yusheng Fruit trees from the palace upon them.”

The moment she said this, the entire hall erupted in astonishment.

The Yusheng Fruit trees in the palace bloomed only once every hundred years, then required another hundred years to bear fruit. They were reserved exclusively for the Emperor and her consorts.

The imperial princes and princesses ordinarily used only those that flowered and bore fruit every fifty years. A hundred-year Yusheng Fruit could allow the resulting child to possess a star chart with far stronger powers and attributes.

The Emperor threw her head back and laughed, drinking the wine Consort Lian offered to her lips.

“Why not? Tomorrow, have one transplanted into the Seventh Princess’s Residence.”

The great hall fell completely silent.

The Empress’s expression changed slightly, but in the end, she hesitated and said nothing. Everyone had different thoughts, yet all of them were surprised by Consort Lian’s influence over the Emperor and by how highly Gao Jingxi was valued.

Although she was unwilling, Gao Jingxi still pulled Lian Liejin forward, and the two of them thanked the Emperor together.

Consort Lian sat above them with a radiant smile.

Gao Jingxi felt as though she had been placed over a blazing fire, and Consort Lian was the one who had lit the flames beneath her.

But what exactly was Consort Lian trying to accomplish by “honoring” her in this manner?

As the singing and dancing continued, the atmosphere of the banquet became increasingly harmonious.

After returning to her seat, Gao Jingxi drank quite a lot of wine. Lian Liejin glanced at her inadvertently—

The woman’s eyes, usually as deep and still as water, now shimmered with a captivating light, just like that day…

Lian Liejin promptly slammed the brakes on the depraved carriage speeding through her mind.

She shifted sideways to block everyone else’s view. Taking advantage of the festive drunken atmosphere, she blew gently beside Gao Jingxi’s ear and whispered,

“Consort Lian is truly a person of sophistication. This method of pressuring us to have a child is brilliant.”

Lian Liejin chuckled.

“When the time comes and the two of us cannot produce one, rumors will spread everywhere. Either you will be sick, or I will be incapable.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? How can you shamelessly discuss such a thing?”

“Your Highness, providing the masses with entertaining gossip is the duty of every member of the imperial family.”

Lian Liejin noticed that Gao Jingxi’s hand inside her sleeve had clenched tightly again.

She always did this whenever she was upset.

Lian Liejin leaned close to Gao Jingxi’s ear and gently stroked her hair, her voice carrying a faint trace of drunkenness and temptation.

“Since ancient times, sages and worthies have all been lonely. Only drinkers leave their names behind.”

Gao Jingxi froze.

She immediately began pondering the meaning of the words “sages and worthies” in the verse.

Was it truly referring to wine, or… to people?

“Your Highness, there is no need to think so deeply. This humble subject merely meant that if the fine wine stored by His Majesty never encounters someone who understands it, would it not remain lonely for a thousand years?”

“Did you write that verse?”

Gao Jingxi’s heart trembled slightly.

“How could that be? I’m just someone who married into the position of Princess Consort.”

Gao Jingxi: “…”

What? Had she somehow wronged her?

Completely unaware of her thoughts, Lian Liejin winked at Gao Jingxi.

“Your Highness, let us dispel the sorrows of eternity together.”

At that moment, Gao Jingxi saw light shining within the peach-blossom eyes of the person before her.

After several rounds of wine, the Empress claimed to have a headache and asked Gao Jingxi to accompany her back to Changchun Palace.

“Xi’er, Imperial Mother knows that you were unwilling to marry Jin’er. However, your eldest imperial brother has General Weiwu supporting him among the military officials and the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review among the civil officials. Once you gain the support of an old and established noble such as the Duke of Yan, those ministers will not dare act rashly.”

“Imperial Mother has always told me not to compete, but merely to watch. This daughter has therefore behaved with increasing mediocrity, even becoming spoiled and willful. I also understand that the more outstanding Eldest Imperial Brother becomes, the more wary Imperial Mother will be of him.”

The Empress smiled benevolently.

“Xi’er, extraordinary intelligence is valuable only when hidden within the heart. If you display all of it for others to see, it becomes worthless. Your eldest imperial brother is merely a reckless brute and nothing to fear.”

She paused before continuing, “One month after your wedding, although you still cannot attend court, you must resume going to the imperial study.”

Seeing the worry between the Empress’s brows, Gao Jingxi could not bear to argue further.

“This daughter understands. Imperial Mother, about Noble Consort Lian…”

“Xi’er, you must not casually discuss your imperial mother’s consorts. Go back.”

After dismissing Gao Jingxi, the Empress finally sighed deeply to Momo Zhao beside her.

“Xi’er still does not understand my painstaking efforts. I met Jin’er when she was a child. She is a good child and someone worthy of entrusting one’s entire life to. There is no second Lian Liejin in Changyong who could be as well suited to my Xi’er.”

Momo Zhao massaged the Empress’s temples.

“Your Majesty must take care of your health. Her Highness the Princess will understand your intentions sooner or later.”

“The imperial court is surrounded by wolves. Although Xi’er is exceptionally intelligent, she is still young and impetuous. Her love, hatred, and attachments run too deeply, while she lacks tolerance and detachment. Who knows how much hardship she will suffer in the future?”

“Your Majesty, did Her Highness not inherit her temperament entirely from you?”

Momo Zhao’s words instantly awakened the Empress.

She murmured to herself, “Then just how stubborn must that child be…?”

Outside Changchun Palace, A-You stood holding a bright lantern. Lian Liejin stood beside her, gazing upward at the sky.

The candlelight illuminated her profile, and the sight fell into Gao Jingxi’s eyes.

The snowy landscape made the moonlight appear even brighter.

Gao Jingxi’s gaze shifted slightly as a familiar feeling emerged within her heart. She shook her head and silently scolded herself.

How could she possibly think that Lian Liejin resembled Guan Xie?

One was a noble young lady from a duke’s residence, while the other was a banished immortal untouched by the mortal world.

“Lian Liejin, the banquet is already over. Why are you standing here instead of returning to the Princess Consort’s Residence?”

The night was bitterly cold.

Lian Liejin had just breathed a cloud of white mist into the air when she suddenly heard Gao Jingxi’s clearly displeased voice.

She gently brushed the fallen snow from her shoulder, opened the umbrella in her hand, and said in a low voice,

“Princess, it is snowing. This subject came to bring you home.”

Gao Jingxi had not expected Lian Liejin to say something so heartwarming.

Caught unprepared, she found herself looking directly into the other woman’s eyes.

Yet those eyes, filled with frost and hardship, carried a chill even colder than the wind and snow.

This woman had attracted so much attention at the banquet just moments earlier. Why did she now seem like a completely different person, impossible to understand?

While Gao Jingxi was still distracted, Lian Liejin stepped forward and stood beside her.

“Princess, we are still inside the imperial palace. You surely do not wish for rumors to spread that you and the Princess Consort are on poor terms.”

A-You also whispered from beside them, “Your Highness, Her Majesty the Empress instructed the Princess Consort to accompany you back to the Princess’s Residence.”

The wind and snow grew even fiercer.

A-You walked ahead while carrying the lantern. A dull pain emerged in Gao Jingxi’s abdomen, gradually becoming more intense. Combined with the bone-piercing cold wind, it soon left her drenched in cold sweat.

Lian Liejin, who was holding the umbrella over her, was the first to notice something was wrong.

She quickly swept the weakened Gao Jingxi into her arms.

Fortunately, the three of them had already passed through the palace gates, and the carriage was only a few steps away.

A warming brazier had already been lit inside the carriage. Lian Liejin asked A-You to fetch a small copper hand warmer and had Gao Jingxi hold it.

The snowstorm continued to intensify, and the carriage struggled forward through the snow.

By then, Gao Jingxi was covered in a thin sheen of sweat from the pain, and her petal-like lips had lost all color.

Lian Liejin quietly placed her fingers against Gao Jingxi’s pulse. Her heart jolted in alarm.

“A-You, has the princess been taking any medicine recently?”

A-You’s hand, which had been wiping Gao Jingxi’s sweat, paused when she heard the question.

Only after a moment did she reply softly, “Princess Consort, Her Highness suffered a severe injury some time ago. To recuperate, she has been drinking medicinal decoctions prescribed by the imperial physician. A few days ago, someone also delivered a medicinal pill.”

“Did an imperial physician examine the pill?”

“Imperial Physician Wang examined it.”

“Is that so?”

Lian Liejin’s voice grew heavy. Her face, partly concealed within the shadows, appeared faintly menacing.

“Bring me the pills.”

The carriage slowly stopped, and the driver respectfully announced from outside that they had arrived at the residence.

Without caring about anything else, Lian Liejin carried Gao Jingxi out of the carriage and went directly toward the bridal chamber from their wedding night.

After placing Gao Jingxi on the bed, Lian Liejin loudly instructed A-You to bring the pills.

Once A-You left, she took a silver needle from her sleeve.

The silver needle entered an acupoint, and Gao Jingxi’s pain finally eased. She slowly became calm.

“Princess Consort, I brought the pills.”

Lian Liejin accepted the medicine bottle and poured one pill into her palm. She held it beneath her nose and carefully examined its scent.

Unless she had made a mistake, this was not some miraculous medicine for treating injuries.

It was an addictive drug.

She was, after all, both a physician and an alchemist of the Stellar Medicine Sect, and she owned the largest pharmacy on the entire continent. Now someone was recklessly using a forbidden drug that should have been destroyed long ago.

She had to investigate the matter thoroughly and protect the reputation of the profession.

She turned toward Gao Jingxi.

The woman’s sweat-dampened hair clung to her forehead. Under the hazy candlelight, her face possessed a fragile beauty, as though she might shatter at the slightest touch.

“What kind of injury did your princess suffer that required her to use this sort of medicine?”

Before A-You could answer, Gao Jingxi’s cold voice sounded, carrying an indescribable trace of vulnerability.

“That has nothing to do with the Princess Consort, does it?”

“That is not necessarily true.”

The corner of Lian Liejin’s mouth tilted upward as she smiled frivolously.

“What if the princess dies only a few days after marrying this humble subject? His Majesty might blame me. Perhaps I would even be forced to accompany you in death.”

“Princess Consort! How can you say such a thing?”

A-You stamped her foot anxiously, nearly rushing forward to cover Lian Liejin’s mouth.

“If you wish to preserve your princess’s life, then this bottle of medicine—”

Lian Liejin overturned the bottle, spilling every pill onto the floor, then crushed them beneath her foot.

“Use the prescription I write and have her take it for three days. The medicine will cure the illness.”

“Hmph. I did not expect the Princess Consort to understand medicine.”

Gao Jingxi hugged the brocade quilt and spoke mockingly. However, when she saw Lian Liejin crush all the pills, anger suddenly surged within her.

“How bold of you! You even dare interfere with my medicine!”

“Your Highness!”

Lian Liejin raised her voice.

“They are nothing more than useless pills. Someone wrapped them in stellar power so their toxicity could not be detected. There is no need for Your Highness to become so angry. If you truly do not wish to live, then go ahead and eat them like candy. We certainly will not stop you.”

Before she could finish speaking, Gao Jingxi suddenly summoned strength from somewhere and rushed toward Lian Liejin, snatching the medicine bottle back.

She used so much force that her fingernail accidentally scratched Lian Liejin’s little finger.

A-You stood frozen at the side.

Those pills seemed to have been given to the princess by Physician Guan Xie. She had never expected the Princess Consort to destroy them without hesitation.

After all, there had been Princess Consorts in their dynasty who were punished for angering their princesses. In the most serious cases, some had even been exiled until they died.

Yet while A-You trembled with fear, the two women fell silent, like a stove whose flames had suddenly been extinguished.

The cold wind outside pierced through the paper windows.

Lian Liejin rose and retrieved paper and a brush from the nearby desk. With a sweep of her hand, she wrote down a long prescription, then blew gently across it until the ink completely dried.

“A-You, go obtain the medicine. Boil it into a decoction for internal use and administer it three times a day. The consultation fee is three gold pieces. Payment must be made in cash. Banknotes are not accepted.”