Chapter 176: Chapter 175: The Traitorous Concubine and the Worthy Empress 10
Hearing that Anning was not feeling well and had yet to call for the Imperial Physician, Prince Jin couldn’t even bother with his meal and immediately entered the inner chamber.
Anning was lying on the bed, her complexion pale, looking very weak.
Prince Jin’s heart ached at the sight of her.
He sat by the bed and reached out to touch Anning’s cheek: "Why didn’t you call for the Imperial Physician?"
Anning, clutching her chest, said, "Calling the Imperial Physician would be useless; this has been an ailment of mine since I was young."
"Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
Prince Jin asked softly.
Anning, still clutching her chest, said, "My heart feels unbearably stuffy. Today, I heard that there is a drought in various parts of Jin Country, and upon calculation, it has indeed been quite some days since it last rained. Looking at the sky, it seems it won’t rain any time soon. I thought of the people being displaced, without food or shelter, and it made my heart distressingly suffocated."
Upon hearing Anning saying this, Prince Jin’s expression turned a bit unsightly.
He didn’t look at Anning but rose and left in a flurry.
After he left, Anning had someone lower the bed curtains and went to sleep peacefully.
For several days in a row, Prince Jin did not visit Qifang Palace again.
The disaster in Jin Country worsened significantly, with even Yang City seeing the emergence of disaster victims.
Courtiers in the royal court were still in disagreement, and every time Prince Jin attended the morning court, he could see chaos ensue.
The ministers asked Prince Jin how to provide disaster relief, and he said if he could do everything himself, what need would there be for courtiers.
After leaving the morning court session, Prince Jin carried on with his eating, drinking, and merrymaking as usual.
A few days later, Prince Jin once again visited Qifang Palace.
Upon entering, he could feel that the atmosphere inside Qifang Palace was somewhat off.
He hastened into the inner room and saw Anning, who was bedridden.
The last time he saw Anning, her complexion looked bad but she seemed alright.
But having not seen her for only a few days, she had become so thin that she was practically just bones, her complexion even worse, looking as if she might pass away if one wasn’t careful.
Prince Jin was terrified, taking a few steps forward to tightly grasp Anning’s hand: "How did you become like this?"
Anning coughed a few times, and her eyes reddened with each cough: "I didn’t wish for this, but there’s no way to cure the disease in my heart, Your Majesty. With my current state, I fear I won’t be able to accompany Your Majesty for much longer. If I pass away, please take good care of yourself, Your Majesty."
Prince Jin’s eyes reddened as well.
He was particularly frightened, to the point of some emotional instability.
His panic-stricken appearance was somewhat alarming.
He held Anning’s hand tightly: "How can your heart disease be treated?"
Anning gave a weak smile: "There’s no way. Unless the entire world is at peace and the people have enough food and clothing, otherwise, this disease of mine will often flare up."
Prince Jin looked deeply into Anning’s eyes for a long time before finally embracing her into his arms: "If that is the case, I shall depend on you then."
Anning smiled and slowly closed her eyes.
Prince Jin, frightened, turned pale, with his fingers trembling slightly as he held Anning.
A Palace Attendant came over carefully: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine has fallen asleep. These past few days, her Highness has not had a peaceful night’s rest."
Prince Jin then let out a huge sigh of relief.
He waited until Anning was soundly asleep before instructing the Palace Attendants to take good care of her, then he left Qifang Palace with long strides.
Returning to Qingzheng Hall, Prince Jin summoned Prime Minister Liu and several courtiers to discuss disaster relief.
The discussion lasted the entire afternoon, and by evening, assignments for disaster relief in various regions were already dispatched.
Regardless of how much the courtiers resisted, Prince Jin was determined to provide relief this time; he erupted in anger, demoted a few of them, and also appointed several diligent ministers to take charge of the work.
After a few days, the disaster victims finally received relief.
Prince Jin managed to take care of the matter and then returned to stay at Qifang Palace.
Anning had become noticeably frail from the illness, almost as if a gust of wind could blow her over, and Prince Jin felt deeply anxious every time he saw her.
Afterward, Prince Jin kept a close watch on the Imperial Kitchen, constantly hassling the cooks to make delicious food for Anning, and also making sure that Anning ate more.
At night, Prince Jin would hold Anning to sleep, often tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
Anning didn’t understand why, and once when she asked him, he told Anning that her body was all bones, which made him uncomfortable.
Anning: ...
Prince Jin was already thin himself, just skin and bones, yet he had the nerve to speak of others.
This time Prince Jin personally oversaw the disaster relief efforts, so the courtiers did not dare to commit fraud, and the disaster situation in Jin Country was quickly brought under control.
Now Feng Chengxi had moved out of the inn and was living in the Hostage Mansion.
He was also constantly paying attention to the affairs of Jin Country, and when he heard the news that Jin Country was suffering from disaster and Prince Jin was ignoring it, Feng Chengxi was especially pleased.
He thought if the disaster continued to worsen, it would likely lead to a popular uprising, and then Jin Country would have to dispatch troops to suppress it, which would create chaos for quite some time.
And during such times, it would be very beneficial for the development of Lu Country.
Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for him to hear about Prince Jin sending people for disaster relief.
Feng Chengxi hurriedly bribed insiders to find out exactly what was happening.
Prince Jin was not a wise and enlightened king, nor did he care much for the life and death of the common people, so why did he efficiently send people for disaster relief this time?
The answer he found was that Noble Princess Consort Xie had fallen ill because of the disaster victims, and Prince Jin hastened the relief efforts for her sake.
This time, Feng Chengxi directly coughed up blood.
He realized that he had truly made a mistake by sending Anning to Jin Country, as it turned out to be a divine assist for Jin Country while leaving himself with an incompetent partner.
Feng Chengxi was nearly enraged to death.
This matter upset him even more than being kept as a hostage in Jin Country.
In a burst of anger, he requested to see Prince Jin, saying that he heard Noble Princess Consort Xie was ill and he wanted to visit her in the palace.
Feng Chengxi wanted to ask Anning exactly what she planned to do.
However, this time Feng Chengxi’s request was not granted by Prince Jin.
Since Prince Jin would not allow him into the palace, he could not meet Anning, leaving Feng Chengxi anxious and frustrated outside the palace.
He again bribed the palace insiders to pass a message to Anning, saying that he wanted to see her.
Anning directly refused, only saying that she needed to recover and it was not convenient to leave the palace to meet.
At night
The Hostage Mansion was brightly lit.
Feng Chengxi sat on a chair, discussing matters with a few strategists.
With a grim face and his right hand pounding heavily on the table, he said: "Now that I cannot see Noble Princess Consort Xie, and I am trapped in Yang City, left without any recourse, what should I do?"
One strategist stroked his chin: "Crown Prince, your servant has a plan."
"Speak."
That strategist pointed in the direction of Zhao City: "Crown Prince, you can send someone back to Zhao City to send a message to the Xie Family, asking Noble Princess Consort Xie’s parents to come to Yang City to meet. Noble Princess Consort Xie may not listen to the Crown Prince, but how can she ignore her own parents?"
Another strategist also laughed: "That’s right, Crown Prince, you forgot that the Xie Family members are all in Zhao City. Noble Princess Consort Xie’s life is in your hands. Now that Noble Princess Consort Xie seems to want to slip out of control, why not tear your face with her and directly threaten her with her family?"
Feng Chengxi thought for a moment and felt settled.
That’s right, Anning could disregard him, but she would not neglect her family’s wellbeing.
Threatening Anning with her family members could regain control over her.
Thinking of the influence Anning had on Prince Jin, Feng Chengxi smiled.
"Indeed, I was momentarily careless, not thinking of the Xie Family members. Well then, let’s hurry and send a message to the Xie Family, asking them to send someone to Yang City."