After the young palace maid carefully examined Fang He, confirming she only had minor abrasions and a slightly swollen hand, the young physician breathed a sigh of relief.
He pinched Fang He’s soft hand through a handkerchief, smiling:
“It’s nothing serious; just apply some ointment for a couple of days…”
While speaking, with a snap, Fang He cried out in pain before she could react, her wrist being set back in place.
The black-clad shadow guard hadn’t dared to use much force.
Liang Jiugong learned that Fang He was fine and smiled a bit more relaxed, “Then the young lady should rest well. If you have any orders, just call Chunlai.”
“These days, let Wei Zhu keep an eye on Li Dequan’s tasks. If you need anything, just tell this kid.”
The palace maids serving before the Emperor follow the protocol of addressing the Empress with the word “ask.”
Second-rank palace maids start with “quiet,” and third-rank palace maids, like the tea maids, start with “spring.”
Calling Chunlai means she is not a lowly maid; only a palace maid can have a rough servant to attend to her.
By calling Wei Zhu to facilitate, Liang Jiugong was elevating Fang He’s status, compensating for Li Dequan’s earlier mistake.
Fang He and Wei Zhu both expressed their gratitude, respectfully thanking him.
Wei Zhu had tasks and couldn’t stay long, reminding Fang He to rest well before leaving.
Chunlai tidied up Fang He’s belongings, seeing her lackluster spirit, and volunteered to go fetch hot water, saying she would help Fang He wash up and rest well.
Once the room was completely empty, Fang He felt a sharp ache in her nose, almost unable to control her trembling.
The places that hadn’t been checked were also painful; the more it hurt, the more she realized this wasn’t a nightmare; she had truly almost died.
She couldn’t go back, sobbing~
In her heart, she wailed, but at this moment, her eyes were particularly dry.
Unless there was a purpose, she had never liked to cry since she was little.
Because when she cried, her parents would only be impatient, while their spouses and children would be happy.
But the torment of feeling wronged and lonely never diminished.
Wei Zhu was right; she looked down on the riches of the palace; in her previous life, she had enjoyed prosperity.
She only wanted a simple home, to have a child connected by blood, to fill her empty heart.
Even now, knowing that every path in this world is difficult, she still wasn’t prepared to give up.
She couldn’t change the world, nor did she have the ambition of a female protagonist in a novel, but she knew how to change herself to adapt to this world.
Having done it once in her childhood, it shouldn’t be that hard, right?
Fang He spread her arms and legs, falling back onto the thick bedding, feeling the soreness all over her body almost reaching her heart.
Woe, what a painful realization; how about rolling up first, getting herself out of the palace, and then lying flat…
“Miss, wash up and then sleep?” Chunlai, seeing Fang He’s face sometimes pale and sometimes indignant, felt a chill in her heart and softly interrupted her thoughts.
As she helped Fang He out of her clothes and prepared to assist her into the bath, she gasped in shock, almost making Fang He, who was only wearing a bellyband and underpants, jump up.
“What’s wrong…” Fang He instinctively swallowed her impatience from the pain, changing to a gentle tone, “What happened?”
Chunlai pointed at her waist: “Miss, why do you have a handprint on your waist?”
Isn’t it possessed by a ghost?!
Fang He looked down and saw a half-blue and purple handprint on her waist.
No wonder she always felt pain all over, especially in her waist; she had been too shocked to notice at the time.
That hit from the black-clad figure wasn’t even as forceful as Master Kang’s!
He was so afraid of hurting her with the poisoned wine!
If he was afraid, he shouldn’t have helped; she wouldn’t rush to reincarnate!
She just had to realize… this must be the revenge of the Aisin Gioro family’s inherited pettiness!
On the eighth day of the tenth month, the imperial entourage passed through Qihe, crossing the Jishui Bridge, leaving behind a poem that Fang He
had never heard before, excitedly disembarking at the Qiu family river, stopping at the villa left by the governor of Jinan, Huang Cheng.
Kangxi didn’t even meet with the local officials, only asking Huang Cheng to accompany him, and in the afternoon took his concubines and five princes to see the Baotu Spring, said to be the number one spring in the world.
Fang He stayed honestly in the room to recuperate; it was a bit boring, but three months without duty was worth it.
After all, with Chunlai and Wei Zhu, there was no shortage of fresh news. Chunlai could even recite the Emperor’s poem “Crossing the Jishui,” praising it to Fang He.
“His Majesty’s poetry has already reached the literati in Jiangnan, and they are all praising it.”
Fang He:
What happened in Shandong just yesterday, and it spread to Jiangnan so quickly?
If it weren’t for the advance notice, she would have swallowed the paper on which the poem was written.
“And there are people praising His Majesty’s poetic talent as stunning and extraordinary, not meant to be hidden in the palace, and it should be admired by the world. They especially requested His Majesty to inscribe a poem at Baotu Spring.”
Fang He: “…” The Qian Xiaosi, who had been scolded countless times by Geng Shuning, did his love for stamps come from this?
Without needing Fang He to ask if the poem was inscribed, Wei Zhu brought the news.
“His Majesty is humble, only saying he doesn’t wish to compete with the literati, ruining the style of specialized skills, and he wouldn’t leave a poem on the stone wall, only inscribing the words ‘Raging Rapids’ to encourage the literati of the world!”
Chunlar’s face showed a strange pride, as if her child had just grown up, and Fang He’s expression was also quite strange.
She didn’t understand what encouragement meant, but not inscribing a poem, wasn’t that a bit self-aware?
After all, she hadn’t heard the poem about Baotu Spring; she had only heard the one about geese.
However, after hearing the lively commotion outside, Fang He felt a bit curious about whether the scenery at Baotu Spring at this time was as beautiful as her grandmother’s home in later years.
Considering that she was also half a Shandong person, she really wanted to see what the current state of Daming Lake, the hometown of Xia Yuhu, looked like.
But looking down at her specially wrapped wrist, Fang He weighed the consequences of going out and decided to suppress her curiosity.
She could hold back, but Kangxi had no intention of letting her stay in the capital.
Just two days had passed since Kangxi returned from climbing Mount Tai, and before Chunlai could finish speaking, the Emperor had already composed a few popular poems… yet none of them became famous in later generations.
Wei Zhu entered with a subtle expression, holding a plate of snacks.
“Older sister, this is the snack that the Emperor has rewarded you with, I heard it’s called Jimo Mapi…” Wei Zhu looked as if she wanted to laugh but was also worried, her round face almost twisting into a bun shape.
“The Emperor said, if you haven’t healed your injury yet, he will send you some zhua gao and honey san dao tomorrow.”
Fang He thought:
Does this mean if I keep dawdling, he will come and poke me?
Does this man not know that a sprain takes a hundred days to heal!
A dislocated wrist is still an injury!
How can I still eat?
Looking at the snacks, she only felt her kidneys ache.
But recalling the earlier sizzling sound of the potted plant, Fang He gathered her energy, held her breath, and ate the Jimo Mapi.
To be honest, she had eaten honey san dao before, but she had never tried Jimo Mapi.
It melted in her mouth, crispy and fragrant, with a hint of sweet milk flavor.
Fang He said sternly, “Thanks to the Emperor for reminding me, I only just realized I need to be on duty. I am truly ashamed. Please go get me… three more plates, I will eat more and remember this lesson, and in the future, I will never trouble the Emperor again to remind me!”
Wei Zhu and Chunlai:
“…” Can one really derive such profound principles from gluttony?
The next morning, the dragon boat set off from the Qiu family riverbank towards Suqian, preparing to inspect the flood control project on the north bank of the Yellow River.
Fang He was woken up by Chunlai just after midnight, just like when she was in the tea room.
She painfully got up to wash and changed into a new palace outfit in lake green, which was a shade lighter than the tea room’s attire, her small face turning a bit green.
When Liang Jiugong saw Fang He, he was not surprised at all, just smiled and quietly reminded her, “Miss, you just served in front of the Emperor, just watch for now, no need to act personally.”
“Wait until the Emperor has finished meeting with the ministers, then you can go in and serve.”
Fang He still complied, but she was calmer than before, slightly nodding and softly thanking Liang Jiugong for his reminder.
She did not mind the glances from the other palace maids and carefully examined the items that would be needed for serving.
First was the Emperor’s dragon robe, held by a palace maid in a deep green palace outfit.
Beside her were other accompanying maids dressed in lake green, some holding copper basins, some carrying snow-white cotton towels, and others holding items for washing…
Fang He’s gaze shifted to a certain spot, her pupils suddenly constricting; she saw soap and a pig bristle toothbrush, along with tooth powder in a delicate white porcelain box.
Wasn’t this what she had made for Wei Zhu?
Little Chen had brought some into the palace, asking Wei Zhu to give it to Fang He, and even the longevity flower design on the soap was something Fang He had specially thought of for good luck.
Was this a coincidence… or was it a reminder from Master Kang?
Fang He tightly pinched her fingertips, showing no signs of any unusual reaction, silently standing in the corner like a pillar while others served Kangxi as he got up.
Whether it was a coincidence or a reminder, she could not let herself be startled, only feeling fortunate that she was cautious enough not to reveal anything that should not exist in this era.
After Kangxi finished his breakfast, he went to the third floor, only asking Liang Jiugong to serve him, while the accompanying maids and the palace maids from Duan Ning Palace all withdrew.
Fang He was momentarily unsure of where to go, so she went to wait at the entrance of the second floor, just in time to run into the duty maid, Cen Ying, with whom she could at least exchange a few words.
When Kangxi returned to the second floor, an hour and a half had already passed.
After getting used to standing still, three hours surprisingly did not feel too difficult to endure.
Upon entering the hall, Kangxi washed his hands at the copper basin and, seeing Fang He holding a towel obediently, he smiled and teased her. “These things are still quite useful. If you have any secret recipes, you can give a copy to the workshop. It’s better than earning a few coins outside.” Fang He gritted her teeth and honestly replied, “I was just thinking about leaving the palace soon, wanting to have a livelihood outside, and considering that it’s better to have one less thing to worry about, I asked someone to set up a shop outside.”
Kangxi did not care about Fang He’s little thoughts, nor did he mind where her recipes came from; they were just clever tricks.
But he did not like people around him to have secrets. Hearing this, he simply said, “Grind the ink.”
After sitting down at the central imperial desk, Kangxi began to examine the brush tips while continuing to ask-
“Isn’t there also a whitening pill? It made the little ones scrimp and save to buy it. Why don’t you take care of your own skin?”
It was still relatively delicate to the touch, but the color was too poor, lowering the standard in front of him.
Fang He had dislocated her right wrist and did not dare to use much strength, fearing that it would dislocate again from fatigue, so she simply used her left hand to slowly grind the ink stick.
Hearing this, she pondered slightly, fearing that in the future, if she were to be served a cup of poison, it would be better to be completely honest. “Replying to the Emperor, I am using it, but I made a darker color powder earlier, for internal and external use, hiding the flaws within…”
Kangxi looked at her with a half-smile, no wonder he felt that this little groundhog’s claws and face had different colors.
Dark powder was occasionally used by the secret guards, nothing unusual.
Hearing her speak more honestly than before, without the usual flattery, Kangxi felt satisfied and did not care about her previous intentions to hide her flaws, no longer paying attention to her.
In terms of not disturbing the peace while still serving well, Kangxi had to admit that no one else compared to Fang He.
He quickly forgot that there was such a person beside him.
After finishing a page of large characters, Kangxi looked up and saw her eagerly staring at the paper under his hand, which piqued his interest.
“You can read?”
Ah?
Fang He was actually watching when Kangxi would finish writing.
She had stood outside for so long and ground ink, feeling tired and hungry; a bit of zhua gao and honey san dao would be nice.
Hearing this, she was momentarily stunned, hesitated slightly, lowered her eyes to appear modest, and said gently, “I only recognize a few characters…”
She said this without feeling guilty.
After all, as a university student, she knew quite a few simplified characters, but for traditional characters… well, it was better to be modest.
Kangxi raised an eyebrow slightly; this girl had quite a few secrets.
Old Madam Xu could hardly recognize a few characters, and Qiao Cheng could at most recognize account books.
She had been in the tea room for nine years, and there hadn’t been any talented women who loved to teach; where did she get the confidence to be modest?
Kangxi pondered for a moment and picked up a memorial to present to her.
“Then read it out loud.”
Fang He respectfully responded, opened the memorial, and fell silent.
She recognized quite a few characters, such as “Sheng An Fu Qi,” “Heaven and Earth,” and so on.
But… the first sentence had many obscure characters; out of ten characters, she only recognized four.
She read slowly, “Dong Ting Gong Wen… Sheng Jia Qin Lin… Tu Qiu Dong…”
Kangxi also fell silent.
If he hadn’t just read this memorial last night, he would have almost thought that Cao Yin had changed the name from Lian Ting to Dong Ting.
Reading “Tu” as “,” out of three sentences, two characters were wrong, and she could hardly read a few; what was she being modest about?
He looked at Fang He, who was still racking her brain to recognize the characters, and sighed slightly, feeling that this knife might not be so easy to sharpen.
He couldn’t have her delivering messages into the palace in the future and not be able to convey even a single letter clearly.
He pinched his forehead and instructed Liang Jiugong, “You go find a copy of the Three Character Classic and have her attend classes with the Fifth Prince.”
Fang He awkwardly put down the memorial, feeling a bit embarrassed about going to school with the six-year-old Fifth Prince.
Actually, given her the opportunity, she could recognize characters quite quickly; she just didn’t know traditional characters and had picked up a bit of her grandmother’s scholar’s habits.
She said softly, “Emperor… how about I learn by myself?”
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